ResponsiveReiding

Margin notes: “Can’t get no, satisfaction.”

July 23rd, 2019

Psalm 17:15 (ESV) — 15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote it. The Stones performed it. Experts say it is one of the 100 songs that shook the world. Another says it is the most popular rock song ever written. And over 15 million people bought it to listen to over and over. And its message has been renewed and re-sung in countless ways by countless musicians. So we hear its more clever refrain in the words of Lyle Lovett: “So like the years and all the seasons pass

And like the sand runs through the hour glass

I just keep on running faster

Chasing the happily

I am ever after.”

King David knew better. He knew there can be no ultimate satisfaction in this life. That lack of satisfaction is not a condition to be remedied, but a reality to to be put into its proper context. For we were never meant to find satisfaction in this life. We are not meant to have that, until the resurrection.

David’s line can be taken 2 ways – and perhaps it is meant to be taken both ways.

a. When I awake in the resurrection, I will finally see your likeness God – and at last I will be fully satisfied.

b. When I awake in the resurrection, and your sanctifying work is fully done, I shall be satisfied having been conformed to your likeness.

Here alone is true satisfaction – beholding the likeness, the face of our Dear Redeemer, and being conformed to it. If we seek satisfaction anywhere else, we shall never obtain it. And if we are satisfied apart from it, we are the most blind, deceived and pitiable creatures of all.

And so we read in George MacDonald’s “The Diary of an Old Soul”

Thy fishes breathe but where thy waters roll;      Thy birds fly but within thy airy sea;

My soul breathes only in thy infinite soul;

I breathe, I think, I love, I live but thee.

Oh breathe, oh think,—O Love, live into me;

Unworthy is my life till all divine,

Till thou see in me only what is thine.
Margin notes: Psalm 13

July 17th, 2019

Psalm 13:1–6 (ESV) — 1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

David certainly had his enemies. And so do we. But no enemy is greater, more ruthless, more subtle, dangerous and relentless than our own indwelling sin. And when we read the Psalms that treat of David’s enemies, it is good for us to think in terms of our great enemy of sin in drawing from those Psalms something of the instruction and comfort they are meant to give us.

In this short Psalm, there is an interesting pattern: Three “how long”‘s followed by three counterpoints.

1. How long? / But I have trusted. 2. How long? / My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 3. How long? I will sing to the Lord for He has dealt bountifully.

This is the prayer of one who has made sin and iniquity his enemy – and is engaged in their overthrow. When the battle against indwelling sin rages high, it may seem as though God has forgotten us in our struggle. And it can seem as though His presence is hidden. It can seem like an eternity we’ve been battling and that our inward dialog is one of perpetual sorrow. And that the enemy has triumphed over us.

Yet once again, the Psalmist (like we) pleads for God to consider his case. He pleads for light in the darkness and deliverance from what is too strong for him. And that light comes immediately the counterpoints to his laments.

How long? I don’t know. But this I will remember – I’ve trusted in YOUR steadfast love, not my own.

How long? I don’t know. But I will direct my heart to rejoice in your salvation by grace nevertheless.

How long? I don’t know. But I will sing to you Lord, for battle or no, set-backs or no, trials or no, in Jesus Christ you have dealt bountifully with me. Your grace is greater than my sin. Jesus’ blood is sufficient for all my guilt. And so I will worship you – no matter how long this battle lasts.

Father God – give me David’s heart.
Margin notes: Psalm 11

July 16th, 2019

Psalm 11:1–7 (ESV) — 1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 5 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Whether it is political discourse, the news media, advertising or some special interest group or fad, it seems as though today’s default means of motivating people is fear. Everything we eat or drink will kill us. Our medicines will make us ill. All businesses are out to destroy us. One political party wants to enslave us and the other wishes to manufacture crises to keep money and power. Nature is about to extinguish all life aliens are trying to invade and robots will soon take over the planet. And our only hope is in the voting booth, precious metals or Facebook posts. All unstable too.

But David has a word from the Lord for us.

Since God is my refuge – why (I ask myself) why do I counsel myself to run from trouble? Yes, the wicked are out there, doing their best to destroy in the dark. But my foundation, my refuge is in the Lord – and if I destroy THAT foundation, then what is a righteous person to do? Panic like everyone else? May it never be!

So what are we to do? Go back and reinspect our true foundation and surety in our God because of Christ Jesus. And what are those unshakeable foundation stones?

1. (4a) The Lord – the One who rules over all, rules in HOLINESS. Sin and injustice cannot prevail.

2. (4b) The Lord rules from Heaven. His reign is over all. He really does rule.

3. (4c) This holy, sovereign God – sees. He knows what is going on. He understands every detail.

4. (4c) His eyelids test the children of man – He examines each one with divine perception. No one escapes His observation and His observation is absolutely accurate.

5. (5) The righteous may indeed suffer testing. But the righteous He tests in love. The wicked and the ones who love violence – He is not acting on behalf of. He has a hatred of them.

6. (6) I can trust God to deal with them appropriately.

7. (7a) God is righteous Himself. He cannot act unrighteously because He IS righteous. It is His nature.

8. (7b) God loves righteous deeds. He will look favorably upon those who do things in accordance with His righteousness.

9. (7c) I WILL see Him. He will look upon me with love. That is my end. No matter what happens in the meantime.

Take your refuge in the Lord beloved.
The Book of Ruth – Part 1

July 15th, 2019
Audio for this sermon can be found here

As Al began to unfold for us some weeks back, Ruth is a wonderful and powerful account of the nature of “hesed” or kindness, blessedness and steadfast love. A love that obligates itself to its object in promises and acts of blessing and devotion.

That ‘hesed” shows itself in Ruth and in Boaz and in all points as a reminder of God’s own love for His Church.

That concept helps us understand the place of this little book in the larger canon of Scripture.

It has often been asked what role this book plays in regard to the Bible as a whole since it seems – as charming as it is – not to hold any major theological importance.

I would like to suggest to you yet another reason why this book earns its place in the canon: That is how it graphically demonstrates the doctrine we just had read for us in Ephesians chapter 2.

In Ephesians, Paul describes how it is that Gentile believers like the majority of us here today, can find inclusion in the household of faith which was promised only to the people of Israel as the offspring of Abraham.

As you well know, God had chosen the Jewish people alone from all the peoples on the earth to reveal Himself to, give His Word to, and bring the Messiah out of to earth.

When Paul is lamenting that so many of his fellow Jews do not believe in Jesus he says this about the Jewish nation in Romans 9:4-5

Romans 9:4–5 ESV

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

The negative then is also obvious: These things belong to THEM. So how then do you and I get to be a part of this?

Ruth shows us in this most sweet and charming way how this was always a part of God’s plan, and how by His grace it all comes about.

Ruth, this Moabitess, this Gentile woman to whom none of these promises belong – gets brought in, so as not just to be a partaker of God’s exclusive promises to Israel, but also to become the great-grandmother of King David himself, and part of the bloodline of Jesus the Messiah.

Amazing!

So it is with that backdrop in view, we can begin to mine out a host of truths, lessons and encouragements for the Church today.

Ruth 1:1–2 ESV / In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.

Verse 1 helps us locate the events of the book at a particular moment in Israel’s history. And not their finest moment by any means.

As the book of Judges just before Ruth closes, it does so on this note: Judges 21:25

Judges 21:25 ESV / In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

And if you are at all familiar with the book of Judges, you know it contains records of some of the darkest periods in all of Israel’s history.

It was a bizarre time. The wild wild west of Israel’s history. This idea that everyone just did what was right in their own eyes tells you how lawless and dangerous it was.

Ruth 1:1–2 ESV / In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.

So it is that during this time a famine came about in the region of Bethlehem where this family, Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their 2 sons Mahlon and Chilion lived.

Travel not being what it is today and the topography of Judah being what it is, it was possible for somewhat regional famines to occur. Agriculture was very regionalized. The family’s move from Bethlehem to Moab was only about 50 miles. But as we well know in upstate NY, weather conditions from say Rochester to Buffalo can vary in the extreme. So here.

Moab, although technically a foreign nation, was still a cousin nation to Israel. They had a mingled history. And relations between them at this point – at least among the common folk as neighbors – were friendly. This move was really no great shakes to anyone.

And as the word “sojourn” in vs. 1 indicates this was to be a temporary arrangement, not permanent.

So far, so good – until: Ruth 1:3-5

Ruth 1:3–5 ESV / But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Elimelech dies – we don’t know how or what of. And the 2 sons decide to take Moabite wives.

Contrary to popular thought, it was not against God’s law for Jewish men to marry Moabite women. There was a prohibition against Jewish women marrying Moabite – or any foreign men – because the family inheritance of land was passed down through the male bloodline.

The passage often cited in this regard is Deut 23:3

Deuteronomy 23:3 ESV / “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever,

The key to understanding this has to do with what it means that neither of these may “enter the assembly.” Jewish literature tells us that to “enter the assembly” meant to become part of the community leadership or have a voice in local politics.

All land owners had this privilege. But foreign men having no right to own land in Israel, they were not permitted to hold such a place in the local economy.

Ruth 1:3–5 ESV / But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

In any case, in time, Mahlon – whose name means weak or sickly – most likely named that because he had been a sickly child, and Chilion, whose name means failing or pining, both pass away as well.

Ruth 1:6–14 ESV / Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

At this point Naomi, having heard the famine back home was over, and having no husband or sons anymore decides to go home, accompanied by her daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth.

But as they go, Naomi has second thoughts, and appeals to these 2 young women – apparently still of marriageable age – to go back to their people and find new husbands.

The dialog is very emotional and in the end, Orpah does return, but Ruth – as the text says: “clung to her.”

And here we encounter a powerfully poignant and important conversation: Ruth 1:15-18

Ruth 1:15–18 ESV / And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

Ruth simply will not be persuaded. She has seen something in Naomi and perhaps in her exposure to the whole family, which has captured her. And there has grown a love between them that Ruth finds it unbearable to let go of. She makes a most impassioned plea and a series of vows we’ll come back to in a minute. And at last, Naomi relents and off they go to Bethlehem.

Ruth 1:19–22 ESV / So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

So it is they arrive back in Naomi’s hometown, to the welcome – and by the word “stirred” in vs. 19 – also to the sympathies of her neighbors for her losses.

Well then, what are we to glean out of this so far? Let me make just 6 observations.

Observation 1: When providence allows great suffering, it is easy to imagine that God has something against us.

That He is persecuting us in some way.

Look at Naomi’s language so far:

13 – The hand of the Lord has gone out against me

20 – The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me

21 – The Lord has brought me back empty

21 – The Lord has testified against me

21 – The Almighty has brought calamity upon me

This is a brokenhearted woman. And by her own admission, bitter. What emerges in these statements is that she has – at least for the moment – lost any sense of the kindness of God in the depths of her sorrow.

So it is with you and I; when we lose our confidence in God’s great love for us in Christ – we can easily begin to imagine our trials are the fruit of God having actually turned against us.

Naomi is not a bad woman, she is a broken one. She is sad, grieving, discouraged, lonely, perhaps perplexed, and hurting.

And I am so grateful that the narrative doesn’t have anyone showing up and saying: “Don’t feel that way!”

This is a condition God well understands.

When Moses was sent back to Egypt to free God’s people from slavery, Exodus 6:9 records

Exodus 6:9 ESV / Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

It is at times like these that the admonition of Jude 20-21 becomes critically important to the Believer.

Jude 20–21 ESV / But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Keep yourself in the love of God beloved. Don’t let go of it. Remind yourself of it. Sing the songs and hymns that reiterate it to your soul. Go back to meditate on the Cross and those great passages that tell you of the love of God over and over and over.

It is all too easy to lose the reality of God’s love for us in times or great trial and suffering. We can easily become Naomi ourselves.

Observation 2: – In times of deep sorrow, it is hard to see the blessing God has placed even in the closest proximity to us.
1. Ruth. Naomi discounts how lovingly devoted Ruth is to her. Ruth’s devotion doesn’t seem to impact her. In fact, she seems to treat it more like an unwelcome complication. That will change.
2. Reversal of the famine. She has gone home because the famine is ended. God is blessing, but she is blind to it even though she knows it.
3. A welcoming community. vs. 19 says the whole town was stirred at seeing them return. The women especially seemed to rally to Naomi and took notice of the toll the years had taken on her.
There is sympathy and love and concern, but she can neither feel it, nor take comfort from it.

Don’t be surprised if at times your brother or sister in Christ is overwhelmed by grief and confusion at. It is natural. God isn’t hindered by that at all, but how we can be.

Observation 3: – We do not know the end of the story while still in the midst of it.

Times of great trial and stress are not times to draw great theological conclusions – especially about the future.

And when going through great suffering, especially prolonged suffering, we can easily conclude as I already mentioned, that God is somehow or for some reason out to get us – or that this is all there is. This is the only way I will ever feel. Nothing will ever change and this is just my permanent lot.

And while that may be true to certain extent in the short term, it is never the full story for those in Christ.

And it is why Scripture calls us to weigh our present sufferings against the eternal weight of glory that will yet be ours. Scripture never tells us to ignore our sorrows or pretend like they are not there nor as serious as they really are.

What it DOES do is ask us to “compare” them to what God has promised so that they do not overwhelm us.

Romans 8:18 ESV / For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Observation 4: – Even at our worst, the glory of the Gospel can have an impact on others.

Isn’t God amazing? I am so grateful for this – that the power of salvation is in the Gospel and not in me.

Irrespective of Naomi’s bitterness and what some might consider a poor witness, something about her still attracts Ruth, and she will not abandon her only conduit to whatever that is.

This is how we witness the Spirit at work. At work in very brittle “jars of clay”. (2 Cor. 4:7)

Naomi was bitter, but she also wanted to go home. Back to God’s people and God’s place. There was something to her roots that Ruth was struck by even when her sister-in-law was not.

It reminds you of Job who had come to the place where he completely despaired of either relief or restoration during his lifetime – but who nonetheless could utter: Job 19:25-27

Job 19:25–27 ESV / For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Sometimes, the hope of the resurrection is the only hope we have left. And that is an astounding testimony to those around us, though it may seem lame to us.

Observation 5: – 2 people can be exposed to the very same spiritual truths, go through the same experiences, and yet one continues on while the other does not.

As in Jesus’ parable of the soils, some manifest something of the impact of the truth on them, but eventually, they stop “going.”

So it is with Orpah and Ruth. Both married into the same family.

Both observed the same lifestyle and faith in that family.

One is intrigued by it, drawn to it and will not stop until she partakes of it.

The other seems to share the same mind – but at last returns to her home, her family, the familiar.

This is how it is with the Gospel. The very same Gospel which draws one, does not draw the other. The same sun which nourishes one plant, withers another. The same rain which drowns one, feeds another.

Only the work of the Spirit in the heart of one makes that one-in-the-same seed of Gospel sprout deep and lasting roots.

Observation: 6 – The nature of a true commitment to Christ.

Ruth 1:16–17 ESV / But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

Where you go, I will go

Where you lodge, I will lodge

Your people, shall be my people

You God, shall be my God

Where you die, I will die

May God curse me if I mean any less than this

There is something powerfully parallel to the nature of true conversion in Ruth’s declaration to Naomi. In fact, it is a model for what it means to be joined to Christ in a saving way. Let’s unpack these vows Ruth makes.
1. Where you go I will go: One cannot help but recall Jesus’ call to His disciples: “Follow me.”
But it was not just for them – following Christ is the very essence, a foundation stone of true Christianity: John 10:27

John 10:27 ESV / My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

There is no better definition of a Christian than this – they follow Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:6

1 John 2:6 ESV / whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Christians are those who follow Christ – who walk as He walked. A walk well detailed for us in Scripture and characterized by statements such as:

Eph. 5:2 – Walk in love

Eph. 5:8 – Walk as children of light

Eph. 5:15 – Walk, not as unwise, but as wise

Gal. 5:16 – Walk by The Spirit

2 Cor. 5:7 – Walk by faith, not by sight

Following Christ as He walked – always pleasing the Father.

Where you go, I will go.

Where you go, I will go

Where you lodge, I will lodge

Your people, shall be my people

You God, shall be my God

Where you die, I will die

May God curse me if I mean any less than this

2 – Where you lodge, I will lodge: And where does Christ lodge? Where does He make His home? but in His Church.

No man can claim to follow Christ and to be with Him if they are not where He is most manifest – in The Church.

The Christian finds his or her home in the Church and is never quite at home apart from her. Those who separate themselves from the Body of Believers are those who want to own Christ – but not to lodge where He lodges. They find this house not to their liking. And like Orpah, they choose instead to live back where they used to live – with the familiar. But alas, not with Christ. They want Christ on their terms, not His.

Ephesians 2:22 ESV / In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Where you go, I will go

Where you lodge, I will lodge

Your people, shall be my people

You God, shall be my God

Where you die, I will die

May God curse me if I mean any less than this

3 – Your people, shall be my people: When one is joined to Christ, we are necessarily joined to His people. We cannot have Him WITHOUT also embracing His people.

The true Christian owns the Body of Christ as his or her own – as broken, mixed up, messed up, and still sin-stained as we are.

Christ did not just die for individuals as individuals, but to make us His family. And we must receive all of His to BE His.

4 – Your God, shall be my God: For Ruth this meant a willingness to give up a certain measure of her culture, her background, and certainly part of her identity.

Moabites were known for their devotion to Chemosh “the destroyer.” But Ruth repudiates her old god. She rejects her idol. She does not intend to go with Naomi and bring her old life and old devotion with her – no, she is going to do exactly what Paul says the Thessalonians did and why he had such faith in their conversion: “how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Th 1:9–10.

Christians give up their former gods, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead – Jesus.

5 – Where you die, I will die: This is no temporary change – this is a commitment to make her new home – her permanent home.

Ruth makes no plans to return once Naomi passes. She is determined to live and die in this new place as her very own. And for her it is a point of no return.

The true Christian is one who has said: There is no going back. I’ve committed to a course, to follow Jesus, to dwell where He dwells, to make His people my people, to serve His Father as my Father and to die where He does as well: To die to sin and self at the Cross in and with Him.

6 – May God curse me if I mean any less than this: Lastly, she binds herself to a solemn oath that all this is to be the case.

Many of the ancient Rabbis consider Ruth’s words here her formal act of becoming a proselyte – a full convert to Judaism and a part of the Jewish people.

It is what the Believer does today when we enter into the waters of Baptism. We take on the fullness of this same commitment.

And it follows Jesus’ own admonition to those who said they wanted to claim to be His in His day:

Luke 14:25–28 ESV / Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s famous little book “The Cost of Discipleship” had nothing on Ruth’s declaration here.

And here it is before us for our consideration today.

If you are not a Christian here today, I want you to know that this is what is being asked of you should you respond to the Gospel and to trust in Christ for your salvation.

He demands no less of you than what you read here in Ruth’s vows. Less than this is not Christianity – like Orpah’s genuine but temporary allegiance that does not prove to be saving in the end.

We do not want you to come to Christ under false pretenses. This is not some mere decision like choosing one item among many off of the religion menu. It is an all or nothing proposition.

And Believer, perhaps you’ve lost sight of these things and need to reconfirm them this morning. Maybe you’ve found yourself traveling back toward Moab from time to time. Thinking you can be His all by yourself, without the need for the Church or fellowship with His people.

Perhaps some other god of self, the culture, ease, pleasure, family, work, accomplishment or some other false idol has caught your eye once more.

I pray you will seek His face today and reaffirm your relationship in the fullness of what it really means.
Margin notes: What’s in a word?

July 12th, 2019

Acts 14:21–23 (ESV) — 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

This text is a snippet from the ministry of Barnabas and Paul. And you will notice in vs. 22 how in returning to cities where they had preached Christ previously, they strengthened “the souls of the disciples, encouraging them.” That word “encouraging” appears more in the book of Acts than it does in any other NT book. It is central to missionary endeavors of the early Chuch. But more, it indicates a perpetual and crying need within the Church – encouragement. A topic that is going to appear in nearly every NT letter.

Now in our text, this encouragement took on a very decided focus: Persevering in the faith in the face of tribulations which are certain to occur in the lives of Believers.

The truth is, we all face a host of tribulations of different species. Sickness and disease. Broken marriages and families. Battles with sin. Misunderstanding by those both in and outside the body of Christ. An anti-Christ culture. Personal failings. Economic uncertainty. War. Civil unrest. Personal spiritual apathy. Strained relationships. Loneliness. Feelings of inadequacy. Loss of meaning. Political turmoil. On and on. All which can contribute to distraction, discouragement, division, depression and despondency. And all of which point to why as Believers, we too need to be committed to the ministry of encouragement.

May I encourage you today to say a word to some brother or sister in the Lord to keep in the battle, to keep seeking the face of God, to remain steadfast in prayer, to get back into the Word, to offer up thanksgiving for blessings and to remind ourselves of the goodness of God’s grace in bringing into the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, the promise of His return and the glory of the resurrection? Oh how we need one another to “lift up the drooping hands and strengthen the weak knees” (Heb. 12:12) of our brothers and sisters.

It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God. But His Word is true, His promises certain, His indwelling Spirit available to rely upon and His people around us.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 (ESV) — 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Margin notes: She has done what she could

July 11th, 2019

Mark 14:8 (ESV) — 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.

Last evening as Ben Zwickl led us through a study of this portion of Mark, challenging us to consider what may make our own hearts dull at times – I was struck by the simplicity and power of this verse and its account.

Mary (if indeed that’s who it was) does what is misunderstood by some, scorned and questioned by others, and appreciated only by Jesus. But she did, what SHE could.

Two things stick out here:

a. She broke the flask which contained the costly perfumed oil with which she anointed Jesus for His burial. Her warm and not dull heart didn’t just uncork the vessel and dab a bit on Jesus, she “wasted” it all on Him. Oh that I had such a heart to lavishly waste all I have for Him. But she held nothing back. Breaking the flask meant there was no going back, no withholding and no thought of anything other than that this is what she had at hand, and that it was fitting to pour it all out on the Redeemer of her soul.

b. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought, it was what SHE could do. Nothing more, nothing less. Bishop Lightfoot notes that Rabbins thought it was unseemly for a man to be anointed with aromatic oils. It was foppish and indecent. Culturally unacceptable and done only by someone who was boorish and gauche. And Jesus not only endured it, He praised her for it. He made her extravagant, though outwardly awkward act of adoration an example to be celebrated perpetually.

How He accepts what we do on the basis of what WE can do, at that moment with our resources. God isn’t looking for what we can’t do – don’t be paralyzed by that – but dearly receives what we CAN do, however unseemly or misunderstood that might be perceived by others.

Let the heart warmed by His love and grace pour out naturally in response, without fear that some others will look down. Offer what you can to Him. He will receive it. And proper worship will be done.

Father, grant me Mary’s lavish impulse.
Margin notes: God is angry everyday day

July 10th, 2019

Psalm 7:11 (ESV) — 11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

One of the principles of sound Biblical interpretation is not to take every statement as an absolute, just as it sits. Often, other passages bring additional light so as to give a fuller, richer view of the larger truth. One thinks for instance of Paul’s citation that none seek after God, not even one. In and of itself, that is true. But we must also account for the fact that the Spirit is moving among men to generate a desire to seek God. So in the natural, left to themselves, no one seeks God. That is an absolute – as far as it goes. But we must not neglect the reality that the Spirit IS working and drawing and creating such a desire in some. So in that sense, some do indeed seek the Lord. You get the point.

The same is true in this short passage. Yes, God feels indignation every day. He is angry with the sinner every day. But that isn’t all He feels or is. I am reminded that while Ps. 7:11 is true, this, from Rober Murray McCheyne is also true: “Learn, 1. That he is a striving Spirit.—O! let those of you that are living in sin, learn what a loving Spirit is now striving with you. Some of you, who are living in sin, think that God is nothing but an angry God; therefore you do not turn to him. True, “he is angry with the wicked every day;” still he is striving with the wicked every day. He sends the Holy Spirit to strive with you. Oh! what a loving Spirit he is, that does not at once turn you into hell, but pleads and strives, saying: “Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die?”

Oh what a great, angry and yet striving God He is!
Margin notes: Spirit-filled speech

July 9th, 2019

Acts 4:8 (ESV) — 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders…

Spirit-filled speech. What is it? What does it sound like? I don’t know about you but when I hear that term my mind most often runs right to Acts 2 and the Day of Pentecost. In other words “speaking in tongues.” And there is no doubt that is one great example. Though what is often overlooked in that passage is that we know the content of what was spoken that day – and it wasn’t mysterious at all. The people that day said: “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Ac 2:11.

But what about in this passage in Acts. 4? Note these 4 things quickly:

1 – Peter revealed no new truth. There was no special revelation. Just as in Acts 2, extant information was in play.

2 – His message was not received with a great response. Just the opposite. Being Spirit empowered did not mean it would be well received or massively impactful in the positive way we might imagine.

3 – Vs. 11 shows how Peter applied an OT passage to Christ. He used the exegesis of Scripture as his means, citing Ps. 118. He did not shy away from using the Scripture as His authority. Amazingly – and in contradistinction to some today – he did not feel the need to untether Gospel preaching from the Old Testament.

4 – Vs. 12-13 shows that it was Peter’s unapologetic boldness to declare the truth about Christ which characterized his speech. This is what the Spirit does. He gives us unapologetic boldness to declare Jesus, the resurrection and His exclusivity. And it is this continued boldness that they all pray for again in vs. 29. This is the concern of the early Church – and in our day, it is all the more needed.

We do not need wild predictions or some new, deep revealed truths: We need to declare the cross of Jesus as the exclusive means to be reconciled to God with unapologetic boldness and uncompromising clarity in the face of any and all opposition and contrary to cultural correctness.

And so in Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

This is what it means to speak in the power of the Spirit.
Margin notes: What you don’t know CAN hurt you!

July 8th, 2019

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” Jn 16:4–7.

There is an old Americanism which goes: “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms says it came from this idea: “If you don’t know about a problem or a misdeed, you will not be able to make yourself unhappy by worrying about it.” It’s a pretty short-sighted concept however, and our text shows how in a very poignant way.

Jesus is about to be crucified, though the Disciples haven’t fully grasped it yet. And in discussing it, Jesus opens up something for them they really didn’t expect. It is subtle but powerful. And it comes by way of shifting their focus, shifting their emphasis. He points out to them that they are sad because He said He is going away, but none of them went any deeper than that information to ask Him why or where He was going. In fact, far more important than the fact that He IS going away, is WHERE He is going. But they are all wrapped up only in that He has said He is going, and that makes them sad.

And what of this sadness? It’s a sadness borne of not knowing the glory which He is about to re-enter. They are only thinking about themselves, not Him. So they are sad He is going, but they haven’t given the slightest thought about what that will mean for Him! It is a sadness stemming from a failure to understand the nature of His reassuming the His throne.

Secondly, it was a sadness which had no category for the blessing of the Spirit which He would send from there. Sadness because they did not know that His going to the Cross would propitiate the Father, and make the way for their sins to be forgiven and to be justified before God the Father. He was about to embark upon a three-legged journey. The Cross, the Grave and the Throne. But no one asked: “Where are you going Master?” If they had, how different would their responses have been? He could have said something like this:

1. I am going to the Cross where I will bear the wrath of the Father against the sin of mankind so that all who believe in me may have forgiveness of sins.

2. I am going to the grave, where in death, the final penalty of sin is paid in full.

3. I am going to my Father, (17) to reclaim my throne, send the Spirit, and intercede for you.

Instead, they were merely sad. And I wonder how many times I am sad or worried or confused needlessly, because I have failed to understand the bigger picture from God’s point of view. Oh how we need to understand His plans and purposes in His Word.

As the old hymn writer said: “Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear.” If they had asked Jesus where He was going, they would have had some sadness at the loss of Him – but what joy at the realization of what was about to be accomplished. Father, help us understand from YOUR point of view.
Margin notes: Water into wine

July 3rd, 2019

John 2:1–11 (ESV) — 1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

This is perhaps one of the most recognizable of all Biblical passages. It is used ubiquitously at weddings, and as a symbol of how Jesus was both attentive to the everyday needs of a moment, as well as the Lord of glory in performing the actual miracle. Verse 11 says this was the first of His signs. And that in it He made His glory known. But what exactly was it a sign of? I think the answer lies in seeing this account as the exposition of a verse back in chapter 1: John 1:16–17 (ESV) — 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

In other words, Jesus had not come to bolster or fix the corrupted Mosaic economy. He didn’t come to repair the Judaism of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He came to usher in the New Covenant, not to patch up the old one. He didn’t make more wine out of the existing wine, but created it anew. In Jesus, we have grace – New Covenant grace – atop of or superseding – the grace of the Law. The figure is not hard to discern.

As the master of the feast noted to the bridegroom, “you have kept the good wine until now.” Yes, under the Mosaic economy the blessing of God was made known to and poured out upon His people. But He was keeping the best until last. The Law and the prophets were never intended to be an end in themselves, but only a foretaste of the “good wine” to come. The “best” wine, the New Covenant could only come through the miraculous work of the incarnate Son of God – Jesus Christ. As perfect and holy and good as the Law of Moses was, it could not save. O, it surely did its appointed work in its time – but it was not the fullness to come. That, would have to wait the incarnation. Not until Jesus would come to spill His own blood on our behalf – not until His personal, incarnate intervention could we have the riches, the fullness that best of the grace God had to give. All of His blessings are good – but not all of them are the fullness. That comes in the One in whom dwells all of the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Beloved, never settle for rules, regulations, laws and religion – even given by God Himself as sufficient. Even the divinely given Law was not the end. Look only to the crucified Lamb of God. Only in Him is the wine which never runs out – which is sufficient for our every need – in an overabundance of grace. Only in Him is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant promises. Only in Jesus is that salvation which is merely tasted in the Old. Now the New has come. And only by the miracle of grace wrought at the hand of Jesus is the salvation we long for fulfilled. He, is the fullness of God. The fullness of our salvation. The best wine had come at last. Never go back. When you are tempted to, remind yourself, the old wine has run out. And only Jesus can meet the need.