As the rain and snow

“To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1)

Last night I introduced, by text, two recent high school graduates, heading to the same college. I struggled to choose my words, desiring a substantial, appealing, yet succinct portrayal of each that would connect them. If only I could have consulted Jude! Is there any greater identity, security, comfort, cause for delight and hope than Jesus’s half-brother’s description of God’s children?

We are called! From eternity past, God has always known us. “Thus says the LORD, who created you…’I have called you by name, you are mine.'” “Those he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son…he also called.” “God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” (Isaiah 43:1; Romans 8:29-30; 2 Timothy 1:9)

We are beloved! We are God’s “treasured ones,” loved perfectly, steadfastly, now and forever. “You are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you.” “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” “The LORD has chosen you to be his people for his treasured possession, out of all the people who are on the face of the earth. It is not because you are more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you…but it is because the LORD loves you.” (Psalm 83:3; Isaiah 43:4; Jeremiah 31:1; Deuteronomy 7:6-9)

And we are kept! We are held, never to be snatched out of our Lord’s hands. “You hem me in, behind and before.” “Holy Father, keep them in your name. While I was with them, I kept them in your name. I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost. Keep them from the evil one.” “You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” (John 10:28-29; Psalm 139:5; John 17:11-12,15; Ephesians 1:13-14)

These are true truths that hold fast in any wind of adversity, betrayal, doubt, misunderstanding, uncertainty, insecurity, sorrow, flux. These are anchors for our soul.

Father God, You give abundant life that is marked by Your image, is purposeful and secure. Called. Beloved. Kept. Amazing love, how can it be? Allelujah, what a Savior!

In 2 Chronicles 1, God asked the new King Solomon what he should give him. Solomon asked that God’s word be fulfilled; “Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” God granted the wisdom and knowledge, an anointing that would carry him through his glorious, influential (albeit not pure) reign.

“You have been anointed by the Holy One, and you have all knowledge. The anointing you have received abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything—and is true and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” 1 John 2:20,27

A good teacher knows his subject, understands his students, anticipates questions, and leads his students to discover truth themselves. He inspires curiosity, whets appetite to seek and learn, and explains when needed in comprehensible terms. He not only imparts information, but models and coaches through the learning process. The secret is the relationship, the connectedness, the abiding in what we know.

What do we need for today? There is One Who knows what lies before—the people we will meet, the questions we will be asked, the decisions we will be called upon to make—and He is present. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:8) “Your Teacher will not hide himself. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:20-21)

My Good Teacher, You know all things, and have chosen me to know You. Please “awaken me morning by morning, awaken my ear to hear as one being taught,” and keep me abiding. (Isaiah 50:4)

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John

 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 

My large kitchen window was a clear eye opening to the green world and sky beyond, and a shiny dark eye before dawn. But at sunrise, early bright beams diffusing their rays through the glass, distance became close up, their light showing up all the spots from the sink beneath. Light always exposes contamination and sin.

I can prefer to focus on what is outside me, to plan or order or pick at and criticize external things, but the more I allow the light of God’s word, to shine in my life and my heart and my mind, Holy God Himself exposes my impurities. “In your light, we see light.”(Psalm 36:9)

Light of the world, shine bright upon me. Reveal all that is not of You, and burn it away. May I be a clean and clear conduit of Your truth and glory.

“Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 2 Corinthians 9:6

Leviticus and Numbers detail the ongoing work of those God called to Israel’s priesthood. They were responsible for care of the tabernacle, including transporting, setting up, maintaining, and guarding it; they had to be consecrated, wear special clothes to make offerings, and keep the altar fire and lamps burning continuously. The priests offered twice-daily, daily, and other sacrifices, which involved explicit selection and handling of bulls, rams, goats, lambs, oxen, birds, and grain; they exercised spiritual leadership of the people, upholding both sacred and civic standards, discerning guilt and innocence, executing judgments. They were health and home inspectors. Theirs was not an enviable job.

So when the Lord commanded the taking and dividing of the Promised Land, He provided for the priests through the rest of Israel. Only the Levitical tribe would have no assigned territory; theirs was a specific calling that necessitated a ‘scattered presence.’ So God instructed, “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in, and you shall give…[adjacent] pasturelands around the cities for their livestock. Each in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.” (Numbers 35:2-3)

In God’s design, since the onset of the church, people have given to support its work. As my father used to say, “The air conditioning needs to run.” Paul addresses sacrificial giving in many of his letters, commending gifts given to churches to supply needs and that partner with him as he ministers in God’s name, and promising God’s bounty back on those who give. (Philippians 4:14-20; 1 Timothy 6:17-19) Giving glorifies our Savior, Who gave His all for us. “God loves a cheerful giver. You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:7,11-12)

Lord, how beautiful is the institution of the church! Thank You for the faithful ones who have answered Your call and lead with unwavering commitment. Open my hands and heart that I may I give gratefully, gladly, and generously to support the church, Your living Body.

“The LORD spoke to Moses by the Jordan at Jericho, ‘Say to [the people], when you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.'” Numbers 33

The land of spiritual growth is fraught with distraction and danger. What ‘figured stone’ idols and ‘high place’ habits in my life, my schedule, need to go? What disordered affections, preferences, and prejudices need to be driven out? Answering any specific call necessitates saying no to other pulls, be they glittery enticements, self-serving indulgences, or ordinary activities. These ‘inhabitants of the land’ eat away at time and effort He intends for different use, diminish spiritual sensitivity and discernment, obscure perspective, and taint impurity. These ‘barbs and thorns’ will trouble us, whether we recognize their influence immediately or not.

“Catch the little foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in bloom.” Song of Solomon 2:15

Lord, the good land of Your will is broad, rich, full of milk and honey– and choices. I desire to possess it. Grant me discernment to recognize the little foxes, and courage to remove idols and places of self-worship that I might honor and serve You alone, and possess all You have provided, for Your honor and kingdom’s sake.

A man being held in a Turkish prison; parents of wayward, or addicted, or troubled children; a betrayed spouse; a grieving widower left to raise young children; parents who have buried a child; the barren longing for children–sufferers all. Death of a dream, a family, a marriage, an anticipated future; death a pall, a veil.

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted.” Psalm 34:18

There are times when God’s presence and His promises are our only hope, but sure hope they are.

“And he will swallow up… the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth. It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.'” Isaiah 25:7-9

LORD, may Your presence be palpable balm. May Your word be a lighthouse, both fortress and beacon to enfold and enlighten the truth that sufferings ultimately produce hope of Your glory that does not disappoint. (Romans 5:2-5)

“One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what is ahead, I press on for the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 

Paul was content, but never complacent. What an example of one who always had his eyes upward and feet forward, at the Spirit’s direction actively pursuing His Lord and pressing on in God’s work for him. He was not finished until God took him home.

Moses was another such example. In Exodus 40 (also in Numbers 9), “Moses finished the work [on the tabernacle],” but that didn’t mean sitting back. There is no static in the Christian life. God designed time for worship and rest, and action. “The cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. If the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until it was taken up. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD.” We must stay prepared to follow God’s bidding.

Lord, keep my eyes alert, my will eager, my feet facing forward and ready to move whenever and wherever the cloud moves.

Early in His ministry, recorded in John 4, Jesus came weary to Jacob’s well in Samaria, and asked the woman there for a drink. It was noon, “the sixth hour.” They proceeded to talk, and He offered her living water. “Whoever drinks of the water I give him will never be thirsty forever. The water I will give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Less than three years later, also at “the sixth hour,” nailed to a cross, bearing the weight of my sin and the sin of all His own through the ages, “the Roman soldiers offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but…he would not drink it.” (Matthew 27:34,45) Jesus refused to numb his agony or his mind so He could fully accomplish what He had come to earth to do.

It was not until ”the ninth hour,” after three hours of darkness where He bore God’s full wrath, after He split open the way to God, seen in the temple curtain being torn in two, that He would drink. “Knowing that all was now finished, [Jesus] said, ‘I thirst.’” He was given a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch, enough so He could call out in a loud voice, “It is finished!” and breathe His last. (John 19:28-30; Luke 23:44-46)

Jesus, who refused to drink until He had satisfied justice for our sin and sake, offers living water to satisfy us forever. What a Savior!

Whatever my hour, Lord, may I remember Your refusal, remember “It is finished,” and drink deep draughts of Your living water, sated with full satisfaction in You.

 

We are freed to be bondservants, to be “slaves of the Master who bought us.” (2 Peter 2:1) The only way to serve Christ is no longer to serve the devil and the world. The two servitudes could not be more vastly different. One is imposed by a greedy, deceptive, relentless task master, is oppressive and causes despair; the other is offered by a benevolent, generous Lord, is freeing and brings satisfaction, delight, and joy.

“Whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.  The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (2 Peter 2:19; Romans 8:2,6; 1 Peter 2:16)

We have many gods from which to choose: ambition, education, fitness, reputation, our families, comfort and safety, self-gratification in appearance, recreation or pleasure, wealth and perceived security, even control. The world’s offerings are limitless. But there is one God Who is worthy to be served, and whose rule is love.

At the end of his life, Joshua stated his convictions and challenged Israel to do the same. He knew the Matthew 6 truth that “no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” The decision he presents is ours to consider today. “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

“I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. You are my servant whom I have chosen. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator, your King.” Isaiah 43

Adonai, Master, You have freed me that I might live for You. Thank You that I am Yours. Overcome me, that I might serve You with joy and abandon all my days.

Albert Gallatin Edwards, after working as a merchant, an army general, and Assistant Treasury Secretary under five U.S. presidents, in 1887, at age 75, founded an investment firm that has served generations for well over a century. Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born. Moses set out at 80 and spent the last one third of his life leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. What an inspiration! We always have value in God’s economy, and use in His kingdom purposes. Every day and breath is a gift from Him to be spent for Him. When one chapter closes, a new one begins, penned by the Author of Life who is writing the whole story.

“For you, O LORD, are my hope, my trust from my youth. Upon you have I leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. From my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your powers to all those to come.” Psalm 71:5-6,9,17-18

“One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14.

What new chapter might God have for us? What latent skill might He desire to hone at this stage in life to use in new service, work, ministry?

Lord, You entrust each day, each year, to us Your people. And You have numbered these days. May I spend them purposefully, constructively, unselfishly, in a way that shows forth Your goodness and worth, Your wondrous works to the next generation.