A Well Lived Life

When the sun turned down for the day and golden light peaked through the edges of my living room blinds throwing glistening shadows onto dim walls, my eyes assumed the same golden gleam with thoughts of recent hours. The sun grew over walls and furniture—and all the swells of the day—for the hour or so of light’s gold: the dining room table where a candle earlier sped and smoked, the distant corner of the kitchen where orange slices were held and bites were taken alongside grins and chats, and the stairs that withheld against pounded motions of every happening, whether languid and clomping or running late with clipping.

My lips met spiced tea and my mind swelled over those waves of the day, freeing the memories that active minutes compress—enumerating the menagerie of surges and stages. Finally, the thought came as the sun yielded to the downward pull and the last spark was gone before night’s scroll was unrolled—Was this one well lived?

The last light fell, and I had all appreciation for that unique sunset slice of the day—it was like the lightning that flares when a person of mystery speaks revealingly and the rarity only adds to gratitude and wonder, leaving a trace of want for when it will happen again. So, a sunset does not grace the every minute, and with the last light, today’s provoked, Can you be content to mirror many other days after today’s strains?

Now, if one can enter near, a late octo- or nonagenarian might musingly review not a day of life for Christ, but a life. The gray hair of the godly, that crown of splendor and honor (Prov. 16:13), affords its own glow for watching eyes—perhaps the brightest and fiercest sparks of belief and holy desire. Chair close, one hears of minds that have worked and worked, and of hearts’ resolve, and eternity’s splendor in sight from earliest days. One might hear of children and family, and friendships and ministry while witnessing the effects of prayer’s secret dependency. One will certainly hear of Christ, as the godly gray are naturally nearest, anticipatorily, to see His face in all of glory’s bright.

In these, my elders, I’ve seen steps of resolve, commitment to the path that is straight. Steps that haven’t veered back and away or circled, as with a loose, stray connection—but have traveled steadily, with a resolve that started from the dedication of earliest teenage days (Ecclesiastes 12:1). I’ve heard of consistency in studying, of adeptness with mastering one day’s portion of Scripture at a time to accumulate wealth, a considerable responsibility—without having been shirked or shunned, but received as weighty and worthy duty (Prov. 1:7, 2:2; 2 Tim. 2:15). I’ve noticed the freedom and joy, and sole honor for Christ, in the gray-haired whose finances have long reflected the weight of eternity and Scripture’s guiding hand, for whom money has not directed decisions of value, for the path to heaven is highest (Matt. 6:19, 23).

Pure sparks have graced my sight of love for family, care for husbands and wives while in view of a marriage-honoring God (Heb. 13:4), and for the ministry that began in one’s home—how instruction and love of children has not been seen as secondary but as prized with piles of devoted time (Deut. 6:5-9). With the family of God, I’ve seen the peace of relationships that are deemed successes if giving has been sacrificial—where mutuality has been warmly welcomed, but personal fulfillment has not been given the status of being the aim or goal (Phil. 2:3). I have beheld how the deposit of truth has been regarded—the fountain for unity (2 Tim. 1:14; Rom. 16:17-20) and how speaking its core message of the King has served as compassion for those in the dark (Rom. 10:14).

Gazed fixed, I have gleaned themes of wisdom, that when tutors have been sought for the school of saintly life, selectivity and standards have been welcomed by all. For good mentors have been careful to bow and exegete well the holy Word—pointing to those who have been advanced in maturity and dedication—with thoughtfulness to approve by Scripture every influence, faithfully, no matter the cost (1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 1:9-10). Now, when I hunt for their lives of prayer, I scarcely collect in my sight all that’s certainly there—for they are faithful to the Lord’s instruction, to maintain reverent secrecy (Matt. 6:5-6). Yet, in their lives’ humility and given trust, evidence abounds of those who have long ago settled that they can do nothing, would never want to do anything, apart from Him (John 15:5; Phil. 4:11-13).

I’ve traced my hand over a life’s day to follow the sparkling-sun-movement, a sun still graciously lasting by God’s hand to have come this evening after visiting lives of all ages. And as golden hours will double and triple and more in my experience, Lord willing, tomorrow and the next day again, I will have less and less propensity for youthful doubtfulness in the truth that my days are short—just as He has said (Jas. 4:14). My home will travel through sunset again; while I sip that tea and steep in the swells, the lightning spark of want noted in my day-end light—my question—is now seated in Scripture’s witness to imitate those whose whole lives have already been well lived for Him (Heb. 13:7; 2 Thess. 3:9; 1 Cor. 4:16).

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This post was originally published at For The Church.

Early Martyrs’ Witness to Christ’s Worth

In early years of Christianity, many withstood the tests of torturous persecution and martyrdom to the glory of the One whose Name they bore: “Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Peter. 4:16). As I have been learning of the history surrounding these men and women who loved Christ more than life on this earth and reflect upon their voices that echo through the centuries, I am led to honor Christ for His suffering, power, and worth.

Martyrdom as Reality

In classical Christian times (roughly 100 to 600 A.D.), persecution varied according to who was in power of the Roman empire at the time—each emperor having the power to create his own policies and climate for Christians. In summary of what I have been learning, here is an anecdotal sketch from these years when martyrdom was a reality for many:

• Nero, who came into power in 54 was a persecutor of Christians, especially in his nearby vicinity. After receiving blame for a widespread fire, he diverted public attention by blaming the Christians.

• Under Domitian existed scattered persecution across the empire for those who participated in “Jewish practices” [in early years, differentiations between Judaism and Christianity were unclear to authorities].

• Emperor Trajan set the policy that, essentially, Christians ought not be sought out with state money, but also ought not be pardoned if accused before imperial authorities.

• In 161, Marcus Aurelius became emperor and saw fit to persecute the Christians more pointedly—believing them to blame for growing challenges, like natural and military disasters.

• Septimius Severus issued a syncretistic edict in 202 intended for the unification of the empire; worship of various gods was permitted as long as Sol Invictuswas given superior status.

• Decius, in 250, instated an empire-wide edict that governors and magistrates enforce sacrifice to Roman gods and to the emperor, resulting in amplified persecution of Christians who refused.

• Under Diocletian, who became emperor in 303, another edict was formed. This time, all Christian sites of worship, Christian writings, and Christian acts of worship were illegal, prompting a severe period of hostility.

• The emperor Galerius—who began his influence in Christian persecution—ultimately deemed these edicts and acts futile due to Christian steadfastness. Year 311 saw a cessation of persecution, leading soon to vastly altered times under Constantine’s leadership.[1]

Martyrdom as Honor

Amidst these adverse times, the church regarded martyrdom as an honor. They wrote of Peter having “born his testimony” in martyrdom and of Paul, who “won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith”[2] in his.

Bishop of the church at Antioch, Ignatius, was sentenced to death in 107. He was sent to Rome for trial, and on the way—in one of seven letters—he wrote to the church at Rome,

Only pray that I may have power within and without, so that I may not only say it but also desire it [martyrdom]; that I may not only be called a Christian, but also be found one […] Yet if I shall suffer, then am I a freed-man of Jesus Christ, and I shall rise free in Him […] The farthest bounds of the universe shall profit me nothing, neither the kingdoms of this world. It is good for me to die for Jesus rather than to reign over the farthest bounds of the earth. Him I seek, who died on our behalf; Him I desire, who rose again [for our sake].”[3]

Early Christians wrote of the martyrs of their own times,

For who could fail to admire their nobleness and patient endurance and loyalty to the Master? seeing that when they were so torn by lashes that the mechanism of their flesh was visible even as far as the inward veins and arteries, they endured patiently, so that the very bystanders had pity and wept.[4]

One young believer, Germanicus, was advised to deny Christ when facing death to preserve his youth. But he only indicated to authorities his desire to even more quickly “obtain a release from their unrighteous and lawless life.”[5]

Bishop Polycarp of the church at Smyrna was also asked to recant multiple times. Once he replied in faithfulness: “Fourscore and six years have I been His servant, and He hath done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” And another time he replied with eternal truth: “Thou threatenest that fire which burneth for a season and after a little while is quenched: for thou art ignorant of the fire of the future judgment and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly.”[6] The saints at the time wanted to emulate his example, “seeing that it was after the patter of the Gospel of Christ.”[7]

Martyrdom for Christ’s Glory

When reading these martyrs’ accounts, I think of the temptation to become man-focused. No doubt, these believers’ willingness to die in faithfulness to the Lord is an example to me. At the same time, according to 1 Peter 4:12-14, the glory resting over these faithful men and women belongs to God:

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

With that in mind, one record has particularly stayed with me because of how it held me back from a man-exalting perspective on martyrdom—the Apostle Peter’s:

…after being scourged, he [the Apostle Peter] was crucified with his head downwards. It is related that he himself chose this painful posture because he did not think he was worthy to suffer in the same manner as the Lord.[8]

Peter didn’t consider that he ought to experience his martyrdom in the same form as Christ—his humility and love for the Lord Himself is evident in his request. His eyes were on Christ, with honor, thinking of how awfully the Lord had it and not wanting to remotely resemble the crucifixion.

In light of the example of many persecuted believers who knew their Lord was worth their lives and thinking of the Apostle Peter who did not consider himself worthy of his martyrdom in view of Christ—taking a step back, I am presently processing what in my life is properly called suffering. I don’t suffer nearly as I think I do. While martyrs expected the slaying fires of this earth to be cold to them,[9] I recently prayed that I might—please, please—never grow cold to God. I have also been asking for far too little.

Finally, I take tremendous comfort in the Lord’s sacrifice for me, possible because He walked this earth as the God-Man—fully able to relate to my circumstances. At the same time, Peter’s love for the Person Jesus Christ exemplifies that my difficulties are still not reason for me to relativize the cross to my experience—but to all the more live in view of the Lord Himself who hung on the cross and bore the wrath of God.

I am fully God’s through the cross—such is the complete grace of Christ to receive. Yet, I am unworthy to be His, who motivated the faithfulness of His servants to earthly death. I worship, “Lord, you are the worthy, yours is the power, and yours was the suffering.”

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[1]Sources consulted: Alister E. McGrath, Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), and Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation(New York: HarperCollins, 2010).

[2]“The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, accessed August 15, 2017, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/lightfoot/fathers.ii.i.html.

[3]“The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, accessed August 15, 2017, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/lightfoot/fathers.ii.vi.html.

[4]“The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, accessed August 15, 2017, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/lightfoot/fathers.ii.xi.html.

[5]Ibid.

[6]Ibid.

[7]Ibid.

[8]John Foxe, Foxe’s Christian Martyrs of the World(Philadelphia: Charles Foster Publishing Co.), 33.

[9]“[The persecuted] found the fire of their inhuman torturers cold: for they set before their eyes the escape from the eternal fire which is never quenched; while with the eyes of their heart they gazed upon the good things which are reserved for those that endure patiently, things which neither ear hath heard nor eye hath seen, neither have they entered into the heart of man, but were shown by the Lord to them.” See “The Martyrdom of Polycarp.”

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This post was originally published at God Centered Life.

The Honor of Biblical Submission

The God like us—stunning. Descending from majesty. Grappling with the confines of flesh, with skin and hands. Hearing others’ voices through two ears and having blood pump through a heart roughly the same size as mine. He knew the onslaught of grief, with all looming darkness, at Gethsemane. And he endured punishment for sin after sin—the number seems endless from my perspective, though he must have known each one. He was seen, known, heard, and touched.

I have come to know him through his being the Lamb; so the nearness of God inhabits an exclusive warmth of truth within me. I can find myself stunned that God came, and he came to be flesh. He came to be obedient flesh. He came submitting at Calvary, being subject in the garden.

Women Seeking Nobility

Any one Sunday morning, I’m greeted outside by a fellow human whose sins were paid for at the cross. Opening the door to foyer and sanctuary, I see many more of the same men and women—and there is no Greek or Jew, male or female (Galatians 3:28). Yet, as a woman, I also walk through that door differently from men, and with a distinct privilege in how I show honor to others and the Lord.

I walk amidst sanctuary, nursery, foyer, Sunday school classrooms with a role that runs parallel to Christ’s in a specific way. We can be Scripturally assured that any man might nobly aspire to be an elder (1 Timothy 3:1-2). Yet, church eldership and church-derived authority over men are not noble aspirations for a woman (2:12).

Where does this leave women? I have not yet found myself disproven in the thought that practical advice not fully grounded in biblical theology will, at best, be one-sided and incomplete. How well-meaning the advice—“Women, when you think about submission in the church, think about all you can do, like women’s ministry, children’s ministry, etc. That’s leading more than half of the church!”

Yet, that’s not enough.

When Women Are Robbed

Jesus’ submission to the Father—in a life of obedience, in the garden, and on the cross—we praise him for this.

We women are robbed by our hearts if we succumb to feeling any defeat or deflation about submitting, or if we regard God’s truth as less than ideal. For devaluing a woman’s submission inadvertently devalues the work of Christ that women, in principle, reflect.

But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)

Reflecting the Lord is as noble as I could imagine—“and the head of Christ is God.” His unmatched beauty in submitting to the Father when incarnate, securing the way of salvation is somehow by grace similar in principle to my role of submission, whether in marriage or church. The nobility of living by this exceeds the practical advice I wrote of above—this is the “more” we need to know.

Adorned in Uniqueness and Equity

Noble Sarah beautified herself, being subject to her husband.

For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands. (1 Peter 3:5)

What did she know of Christ? She knew of God’s order in creation; yet, the fraction of what she held dear in terms of knowledge of the Messiah means this adornment could not be any less accessible to the holy women of today.

The question to you, sister in Christ—Do you esteem womanly submission?—is best preceded by the question, Do you treasure that Christ submitted? In that light, how can we not perceive the immense privilege here? Defining what submission entails and what it looks like—and what it doesn’t—is beyond the scope of this article. But the right adornment is well to be sought.

So if you, sister, have been asked by God—by virtue of your submission—to relinquish a desire along the natural course of your adult life in marriage and church, this has been your honor. And where we have yet to receive this experience as an honor, it’s not too late to start adorning ourselves accordingly.

Submission in View of Christ

We can live in view of Christ’s cross and unparalleled expense, for he has been gracious to first take us into his view—though we are but dust. We may live our submission in view of him, who—despite any possible circumstance of ours—has always sacrificed the more. This way, we will innately come to treasure him in our hearts and actions.

Before the cross, there is no male or female—all are equally called to the feet of the King and raised to unfading inheritance with him. Further, who could say that the Father is honored above the Son—is there any lack of equity in their honor? Of course not. Thus, it is in equity we women are adorned with the unique role of submission—the humble honor of female Christian submission matching the humble honor of male Christian servant-leadership.

Both men and women, uniquely and together, have the equal joy and privilege of showcasing the riches of our incomparably sacrificial God by showing one another biblically-described forms of honor. For our God-given honor in roles pours itself out in honoring one another: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10b).

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This post was originally published at Unlocking the Bible.

70 Prompts for Praising God

A list of praise-worthy truths—to You, God:

1. The world changes, but the Christian hope stays the same (Heb. 13:8).

2. You are present to protect us—guiding us straight through this life to eternal joy (Ps. 16:11).

3. Even before we fell, You had plans to lift us up in Christ (1 Pet. 1:20; Eph. 2:6).

4. The sweat of blood, the cross, the bitter cup—You bore sin for us (Lk. 22:14; Matt. 20:22; 1 Pet. 2:24).

5. Christ is not a shadow, but the true sacrifice (Heb. 10:1-18).

6. As friends, Christ has let us in on future plans (Jn. 15:15).

7. Death tears apart our bodies and souls, but You’ll put them together again; we know because of Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20).

8. We will share in His inheritance as glorified sons and daughters (Rom. 8:17).

9. Satan will be destroyed with a breath (2 Thess. 2:8).

10. Death itself is going to meet an irrevocable end; You have appointed the day (Rev. 20:14).

11. You have fulfilled prophecy before and You surely will again (Acts 3:18).

12. We reach the ends of ourselves and our insights, but your Word never stops pouring riches (Ps. 19:10).

13. The Bible is true, so we are right to trust it all (2 Timothy 3:16).

14. Your Word is like nourishing food to us (Matt. 4:4).

15. When we stand upon Your Word, we stand upon what is forever and cannot be broken (1 Peter 1:25; John 10:35).

16. You are bigger than our hearts; we do not have to be led by our feelings (1 Jn. 3:20).

17. We struggle with motives, but You never do. Your plans are always pure (Ps. 18:30).

18. With You, each day is new. Your forgiveness helps us to forget what’s best forgotten (Lam. 3:22-23).

19. You will love us for eternity (Ps. 100:5).

20. Loving You is possible; we were created for this (Phil. 2:13).

21. One day, we will be sinless like You (Rev. 21:27).

22. No discipline we receive from You is condemnation; our condemnation is no more (Rom. 8:1).

23. The discipline we do receive is good; You are good (Prov. 3:12).

24. We can never run far enough to be away from You, and You do not despise a contrite heart that repents (Ps. 139:8; Ps. 51:17).

25. You are patient with us and slow to anger (Ps. 145:8).

26. Even after every failure on this earth, in eternity, you’ll simply welcome us to enjoy (1 Thess. 5:9); You welcome us now (Lk. 7:48).

27. We can resist temptation and find ourselves loving You more (1 Cor. 10:13).

28. We never wake to a single day when You are not our Advocate before the Father (1 John 2:1).

29. While we require an ever-expanding view of You, You knowingly and simply see all we think, feel, and do (Ps. 33:13).

30. By fearing You, we can hate what is evil and align our hearts with Yours (Prov. 8:13).

31. Your path is straight; we’ll never be misled (Prov. 3:6).

32. In Christ, obedience is joy (Lk. 11:28).

33. The boundaries You give us are just right—pleasant, freeing, and sweet (Ps. 16:6).

34. You made us; You chose to create. You give us life and hold us together (Gen. 1:27; Col. 1:17).

35. You are perfectly wise and just, even amidst vast complexities (Job 38-41).

36. You are everlasting while this world and our lives are but a breath (Isa. 40:28; Ps. 39:5).

37. We have kings, but You are King—with all power and authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

38. You are Head of Your church. You direct each one of us (Col. 1:18).

39. No longer does a human priesthood intermediate; we are all a priesthood with access to Your throne through the God-Man, Christ (1 Pet. 2:5).

40. You give us membership in the church, the church You love (Eph. 5:32).

41. We, Your people, are one (Romans 12:5).

42. Our brothers and sisters have faith that proclaims how good You are (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 1:8).

43. You have granted us the high, worthy calling to contend for Your truth, given once for all (Jude 1:3).

44. You give Your children different gifts; yet, You show no favoritism (1 Pet. 4:10; Acts 10:34).

45. Our brothers’ and sisters’ gifts shine brightly for You (1 Cor. 12:4-5).

46. Even if poor, Your children are rich (Rev. 2:9).

47. The redeemed praise You together, with a single voice (Romans 15:6).

48. You are faithful and able to establish the work we do for You, according to Your will (Ps. 90:17).

49. We can be successful in Your eyes through faithfulness to keeping Your Word (Ecc. 12:13).

50. You are our treasure, our great delight (Ps. 43:3).

51. The Messiah, first promised in Genesis, has come (Gen. 3:14-15); the Spirit He promised does indwell (Jn. 14:15-31). We live in a precious time of history (1 Pet. 1:12).

52. Your good news truly changes lives (Jn. 1:12).

53. You know our needs; each need gives our hearts a deeper capacity for You (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

54. In each one of our breaths and steps—whether taken in joyous celebration or amidst troubling sorrow—You hem us in behind and before (Ps. 139:5).

55. Prayer matters; we are invited it, to You (Lk. 11:1-4)

56. When we know You are near, even if we cannot feel You experientially, we cannot be lonely (Ps. 16:8).

57. We do not mourn as those without hope on this earth (1 Thess. 4:13).  

58. The depths of Your glory that we will experience in the future will incomparably outweigh the depths of our present sorrows (2 Cor. 4:17); Your glory is wonderful.

59. You understand (Heb. 4:15).

60. Today’s perseverance and endurance—even if no one else sees them—are remembered by You (Rev. 2-3).

61. We are weak, but You are strong (Ps. 147:5).

62. We worship the same God as Abraham, Esther, Deborah, David, Moses, Paul, and John.

63. Nothing stretches or reaches beyond You; we cannot take a step outside of Your sovereignty (Ps. 115:3).

64. All people will bow; Your glory will be fully seen (Phil. 2:10; Rev. 1:7).

65. You give us permission to crave Your quick coming (Rev. 22:21).

66. When we delight in You and want You, You never fail to give us what we want (Ps. 37:4).

67. You are going to dwell with us on a new earth; You Yourself will be with us and be our God (Rev. 21:3).

68. Your Kingdom will know no end (Lk. 1:33).

69. You take no pleasure in the deaths of those who die without repenting (1 Tim. 2:4; Ezek. 18:23).

70. Those who do not know You still have the opportunity to repent and believe (2 Pet. 3:9).

“My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your glory all day long.” Ps. 71:8

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This post was originally published at For The Church.

Nourished by Christ in the Wilderness

About four years ago, I experienced my first full-blown panic attack. Those experiences accumulated, and I grew to have increasing difficulty with leaving my home. I remember willfully dumping myself into the passenger seat to be driven to my parents’ nearby home—only to feel an urgent pull two minutes later for the car to be turned around. I remember my husband and I taking our trotting dog for a walk, yards from our home, and I was unable to carry a simple conversation because of the mental pain. By God’s grace, I was directed to a health cause for this anxiety. 

Yet, in my months without answers, I experienced the temptation to dwell exclusively upon the question, Will my life now always be like this? Yet, it was because I had peace with God through Christ that I did not despair—and I could see beyond it.

Hunger and Thirst in the Wilderness

David writes of his vision on God in Psalm 63. It is a Psalm from the wilderness—David describes his setting as a waterless, vapid, weary place. 

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (v. 1)

And Scripture speaks of different categories of wildernesses.

We can see John the Baptist in the wilderness before the beginning of his ministry of proclaiming the coming of Christ (Luke 1:80). He was in a place of knowing that God had issued a calling upon his life, while, for years, he was not at a time of fulfilling that calling—he was waiting. 

A wilderness might also be a place of temptation where evil moves—consider Jesus being brought into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). Christ knows what it is to feel the pressures of being sinned against or to face relentless lies. 

The Wilderness of the Soul

Scripture also speaks of another kind of wilderness; John the Baptist proclaimed it (Matthew 3:3), and this is when the Christian faith starts to get especially personal. Scripture says that without Christ, there is a wilderness within us. As our state without Christ is described further by John the Baptist, we see that it is the kind of wilderness we cannot pull ourselves from, and that time alone will not rectify. 

Now, David, in his wilderness, said, I thirst, I hunger. And we might similarly say, My soul aches.Yet, David adds two sweet words—for you. In every kind of wilderness, he hungered for the Lord. 

The first verse of the Psalm speaks to why he can say these things. First, he says, God; he confesses that God is God, whether or not he and those around him acknowledge it. God.

He goes on to say, You are my God. Now, that is an entirely separate statement—he wanted God to be God of his life and have that exclusive role. And because God was invited to be God of his life, he had formed this habit of praising God in his most barren times. 

In fact, he says that doing so was his rich, hearty, meaty, satisfying meal.

The Everyday, Eternal Bread of Life

Jesus says he is the Bread of Life, and that in him, we will never hunger. As Jesus teaches this truth, the theme of wilderness continues. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they received manna from heaven—yet, Jesus says, They died(John 6:49). Jesus is saying that the kind of food he comes to give us is in a completely different category.

He comes to us in our direst and deadliest of wildernesses—the one of our souls. He says his food fills us entirely with life even there. So, surely, he can fill us in every other kind of wilderness. 

Strikingly here, Jesus speaks about eternal, spiritual, significant realities—life, the living Father, the resurrection, being alive forever—but in terms of the everyday, basic human reality of eating a piece of bread. 

Jesus expresses what he is to us as the Son of God, telling us, Eat my flesh, drink my blood.This is what he invites us to do! How much more applicable to our everyday lives could this be? 

Three Truths About Christ’s Meal to Nourish You

Here are three truths about Christ’s meal to nourish your soul today: 

1. This is not a meal of ourselves.

This is a hopeful reality. If you feel, like I did with anxiety, that you are in a depleted, weary, empty, starving space, don’t despair. This is an honest human place to be. You weren’t made to be or produce your own food. Before God, we are like children—we receive the meal; we take and eat what is provided. 

2. This is a resurrection meal.

Perhaps you have difficulty connecting with these truths because you cannot see them; they seem abstract. But Jesus says his food and drink are real because they will allow us to live on the last day. And on the last day, we will not need to wait longingly any more; there will be no more lies, temptations, or evil pressures or pain; and there will be no more sorrow of the sin of our souls. Our hearts will be completely clean and cleared—and we will be freed of the wilderness. The food Christ gives is real, for it is the food we need—and the only food we can possibly eat—to allow us to live on that last day, and live forever. 

3. Christ is the food. 

He did not send someone or something else; he came himself to be flesh—to sacrifice his body and pour out his blood to give us peace with God. This is God getting very personal with us. 

With this kind of food in mind, read Psalm 63:3-7:

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

This is a Christian meal for us today: the daily bread of the surpassing truths of Christ—which is just as personal a help to us as Christ intended—and the rich, satisfying meal of harvesting those truths in our souls to praise him in the wilderness.

Speak Scripture into Suffering

When my first daughter went to be with the Lord, one friend wrote to me, “There are no words.” There are no words to describe, quantify, or eliminate the pain of child loss—it was a depletion of my person in nearly every possible manner.

There are no words for the kinds of suffering we can endure on this earth. Yet, experiencing that kind of depletion is not a reason to despair with hopelessness, for it can give way to great rejoicing. Through it, the abundance and sufficiency of Scripture become unmistakable. There are divinely-inspired words—that can never be depleted—to speak into intense suffering.

God Speaks through His Word

Many who have not personally experienced intense suffering feel depleted of words the minute they hear about someone else’s deep pain. Perhaps that is you. You feel you cannot relate well to others’ agony. Perhaps you have heard the wide-spread advice that the best approach to someone who is suffering is to be present and only listen. Or, perhaps you have only had occasion to read or learn about what not to say when someone is suffering, so you are at a loss for exactly how to act or be. God’s Word is an abundant, sufficient help for you too.

In The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom was familiar with her own suffering and that of others. She recounts that women with her in a Nazi prison camp would encircle her and her sister, pressing in closely and attentively, as they read the Word of God (thanks to a Bible God miraculously provided). Precisely during this level of suffering, they desperately needed and wanted the Word. The God speaking there—through those pages—was their only hope. This remarkable account shows the Word bringing hope and light to a dark and, from an earthly perspective, hopeless circumstance.

So as a Church, as disciplers, as teachers, as leaders, as friends, as one who is suffering intensely—right where you find yourself—let’s do well at speaking Scripture into suffering. In order to do so, we will need to learn the Word itself, not just verses we pluck from the book, but the meaning of passages and, then, the application of passages to our overall theology and the way we view the world. Then, we need to become good listeners. I have learned that there is no substitute for these—learning the Word and listening—and that when they are done well, I have much more to offer someone who is suffering in addition to myself.

Applying Scripture to the Aches of Suffering

Think about your life and heart. What often results in your own spiritual growth? You have an ache. And you bring it to the Lord and his Word. Whether through an article, a conversation with someone else, a lecture, a small group meeting, a sermon, a book, reading the Bible in the quietness of your home, you have a realization about that ache. That is, you learn what the Bible speaks into that ache. When you do, you grow. You are made more whole with the truth of his Word. One experience like this after another, after another is what carried me through grief.

So, if you have a suffering friend, listen for the ache when he or she speaks. If you cannot identify it or if you do not yet know how the Bible speaks into it, then be satisfied with being a good listener—after all, you would only be speaking for the benefit of your friend. Make no assumptions, for a response of biblical perspective to the ache they feel might not be the words you think they need to hear.

If you can indeed identify another’s ache and can grow to interpret and apply the Bible well to the aches you begin to hear around you, then trust that the Word of God is your sufficient and most compassionate resource to share with someone who is suffering.

SCRIPTURE FOR THE ACHE OF SUFFERING’S PRESENCE

When suffering is new, resonate with the ache. A sorrowful reaction to suffering is biblical.

• When everything in life now feels meaningless, remember that there is reason for this feeling—the world is not as it should be (Ecclesiastes).

• When the experience of grief is life-consuming, remember how consuming David’s grief was over his baby’s impending death (2 Samuel 12:15-17).

• When suffering makes you feel lonely, read the Psalms to know you are truly not alone.

• When you feel angry with the woeful way of the world, think of Jesus’ troubled, even angered, response to death because of death’s impact upon those grieving the loss of Lazarus (John 11:33).

• When this life feels full of anguish, think of Jesus’ anguish in the garden of Gethsemane. The burden he felt when anticipating the cross demonstrates the miserable state of the world (Luke 22:44).

• When suffering makes you feel ostracized, take heart that you are in good company when suffering (1 Peter 4:12).

• When suffering makes you feel misunderstood, look to the account of Job and the mistaken assumptions of his friends (Job 4-31) or to the gospel accounts to see how constantly Jesus was unappreciated, misunderstood, unrecognized for who he is. People are flawed.

SCRIPTURE FOR THE ACHE OF SUFFERING’S PURPOSE

Listen for the aches longing for light, hope, comfort, or purpose amidst suffering.

• When friends and family members do not meet all of your needs, be encouraged that the comfort we receive—even when given through others—is comfort ultimately from God (2 Corinthians 1:4).

• When you see debilitating sickness or death overcoming your body or the body of someone you love, remember that we believers will one day have resurrected, glorified, and redeemed bodies just like his heavenly one (1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15:42).

• When the force of emotion is strong and your words won’t suffice to express your heart, take comfort that the Holy Spirit himself intercedes for you (Romans 8:26).

• When you feel forgotten in your suffering, remember that God memorializes every tear that falls from your eye (Psalm 56:8), just as he knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7).

• When suffering severs a relationship, remember the ultimate relationship forsaking willingly endured within the Godhead for you (Matthew 27:46). God understands.

• When you do not feel the compassion of others, remember that Jesus’ suffering (Is 53) and overcoming-power makes him a High Priest who relates to us and causes us to overcome with power too (Hebrews 4:14-16)—giving grace for the present and the promise of heaven.

• When death or the fear of death seems to conquer you, remember that he has ultimately defeated death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

• When you feel distant from God, dwell upon the truth that he has given a love that no suffering, pain, or heartache can pull away from you (Romans 8:38-39).

• When suffering makes you feel unmoored, haphazardly walking through life while wondering when you will finally be free from earthly concerns, remember that you are truly and solidly anchored through Christ to the world to come (Hebrews 6:19).

• When suffering makes life feel slow, remember that by God’s definition—in view of the eternal state—this suffering is light and momentary (2 Corinthians 4:17).

• When you need to be reminded of the treasures that can come alongside of suffering, learn why Jesus said that it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting (Ecclesiastes 7:2), or why Peter said that faith refined through suffering is gold (1 Peter 1:7). God’s glory can be evident in your faithfulness, giving you purpose and joy.

SCRIPTURE FOR THE ACHE OF SUFFERING’S PAIN

Listen for the ache of being stuck when suffering.

• When you experience unending bitterness toward God, look to the story of Jeremiah, who also felt bitterness at his intense suffering. Hear how patient and sure were the words of exhortation and restoration that God spoke to him (Jeremiah 15:18-21).

• When others avoid you or when you are tempted to always avoid others who do not fully understand, think of how you might give someone opportunity to enter into your mourning or suffering with you. Then, take heart that when you can share their joy, it truly becomes your own (Romans 12:15).

• When you can think of no reason to not blame God for the suffering that has come into your life, look to Genesis 3; the original sin of Adam and Eve is what broke the world. God is One in whom there is no darkness (1 John 1:5), who created the world good (Genesis 1:31), who cannot tempt with evil (James 1:13), and so, cannot be convicted of wickedness, malice, or evil.

• When you simply cannot understand your suffering within God’s sovereign plan, rest content that his ways are beyond yours (Romans 11:33; Matthew 18:2).

• When suffering makes you stuck in a cycle of looking only inward, remember that you have gifts that can be employed for others’ good and God’s glory (1 Peter 4:10).

• When you, Christian, are having difficulty being grateful for what you do have, remember the wrath from which you have been saved (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).

• When escape from suffering has become your focus, remember that Jesus Christ, and his good pleasure, is your reward (Matthew 25:23).

• When you are tempted to blame yourself for circumstances beyond your control, remember that God has purposed all of the events in your life and the lives of those you love—including birth and death, and every circumstance in between (Psalm 139:16)—just as he planned from the beginning of creation that Jesus would die for us (1 Peter 1:20). Remember his sacrificial love as reason to move forward, and move forward in devotion to him.

• When you question if your suffering has any meaning or purpose, trust in the sovereignty of God to bring his purposes to fruition through the circumstances of your life, all of which are a part of his plan (Genesis 50:20; Job 42:2).

• When you question what miracle of goodness God can bring from your suffering, meditate on Romans 5:3-5 and trust that suffering can teach you, give you a depth of knowledge of God like never before, and bring encouragement when the genuineness of your faith becomes evident (1 Peter 1:17).

This list is far from exhaustive. What would you add?

Listen for the Ache

Whatever the circumstance, listen for the underlying yearning or longing. Let’s keep learning how to carefully apply Scripture to all of the aches we experience. The process of teaching and discipleship is God’s to faithfully lead. And our aches are often the impetus and route God uses for our growth in order to increasingly display his glory through changed and faithful lives. The kind of lives that display his glory like this are grown from his Word.

While it’s not ours to invent or assume others’ aches, it is ours to listen well, to acknowledge back to the sufferer what we hear, and trust that for every need of the heart, God has spoken abundantly and sufficiently in his Word. You can learn skillful application of his Word to human aches and be empowered to give others more than yourself—you can speak his Word. Take heart that this is your source of compassion for the sufferer and this is your source of comfort when suffering, for putting his salve of truth skillfully into our aches is always our good.

If or when a circumstance of suffering comes into your life that cannot be described in words, remember, he speaks.

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This post was originally published at Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

Comfort from the Uncomfortable Verses in Psalms

The scene in my life is familiar. Something weighs on my heart: a fear, a temptation, or a thought-battle. Seeking comfort, I naturally go to the Psalms.

I want to be on the path that is straight and narrow; Psalm 5 is my pick for prayer against temptation today. This Psalm readjusts my thinking about my position in this world, the heartache I’ve avoided by giving my life to Christ, and who I am before him.

My heart resonates with David’s prayers:

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament… (v. 1)

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness… (v. 4)

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down… (v. 7)

But then, I come to this:

Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. (v. 10)

I either skim past it or take a moment to wonder how it could possibly mesh with what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43 about loving our enemies. It’s uncomfortable.

Remember God’s Old Covenant

Since there seems to be no solution, I usually choose the former—let’s move on?

Wait.

This is a Psalm of David. David was the king chosen by God, the king after God’s own heart. Well, did God’s heart change from the Old Testament to the New Testament regarding how we approach our enemies?

No, not at all.

David was to serve God and do his part to uphold the covenant between God and Israel. That included a unique mission given to Israel that isn’t given to us: Israel was to continue to carve out the Promised Land by warring against the people groups that possessed it.

What? Aren’t we at an even worse place than where we started?

No, remember one of those first verses: “For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness.” Israel was given the special mission to war against nations who were committed to their wicked ways (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). God is just to judge evil whenever, in his infinite wisdom, he deems it right.

By choosing this mission for the nation of Israel, God sought to prevent the increased evil of Israel’s own disobedience—the disobedience that would threaten their ability to fulfill the conditional aspects of their blessed covenants with God (Exodus 19:5-6; 2 Samuel 7). God was being gracious to Israel with this mission.

Let’s return to the verse that gives some discomfort:

Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

David is praying that God would cause to crumble what brought wickedness into the nation of Israel; David prayed in alignment with the specific covenant mission God gave him.[1]

Align Your Prayers with God’s New Covenant

Do you and I have this kind of mission of war today? No, of course not. We don’t have a nation to battle at God’s command; but, like David, we do have a covenant with God. We have a covenant that we participate in through Jesus Christ—a covenant through his blood, binding our hearts to his (Jeremiah 31).

Like David, we can think about what’s present in our daily lives that threatens to lead our hearts away from the depths and joys of this covenant.

I have evil pressing against me from every side. There are lies. There are half-truths posing as truths. There are vanities. There are whispers that tempt me to question the good work God has done in my life. These all threaten my heart; they pose to lead me astray.

With a new perspective on David’s prayer, I return to the reason I first went to the Psalms. Something weighs on my heart: a fear, a temptation, or a thought-battle. Seeking comfort, I naturally go to the Psalms—but now I go through the way of our new covenant. I enter into David’s prayer again:

When I read,

Make them bear their guilt (v. 10),

I pray,

God, bring every evil in my life to light so that I can see it.

When I read,

O God; let them fall by their own counsels (v. 10),

I pray,

God, show every evil in my life for what it is: a path to destruction. 

When I read,

Because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. (v. 10)

I pray,

God, let me hate everything that you hate. Cast it all aside. Defeat it in my life and in the lives of those around me as it is already truly defeated at the Cross.

Rejoice in God’s Promises

The conclusion of Psalm 5 means even more to me now.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield. (vv. 11-12)

He is our refuge and protection from the temptations, lies, and whispers that threaten our hearts. As David was praying for what threatened his old covenant, so we can equally pray his words against everything that threatens the depths of our joy and participation in our new covenant with God through Jesus Christ.

No longer do I feel uncomfortable with these verses in the Psalms. But, all the more, the Psalms give the comfort I first sought, for I have even more promises to claim and even more of God’s heart to see. We are on the side of Christ—the One victorious over all temptations; he is a shield against them.

As we come to him through the Psalms because we face whispers and lies that might lead us astray, he covers us with his favor and his protection. Let all who take refuge in him rejoice.

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[1]Waltke, Bruce. “Psalm 2-3: How To Pray In Christ.” Legacy Recordings. C.S. Lewis Institute. Web (http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/node/1032). 03 Jan. 2015. 

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This post was originally published at Unlocking the Bible.

5 Perspectives for Enduring Panic Attacks

Panic attacks—they are crippling. Your mind spins, your pulse is out-of-control fast, the world fades, and you feel like you are sinking into it. If this is happening to you—I am so very sorry.

I understand that you have likely spent significant time praying and yearning for a remedy. I understand that you cannot envision your life like this—tomorrow or years ahead. And I understand that when you hear the words “worry,” “fear,” or “anxious” from others applied to your brand of panic and anxiety, you often cannot relate to what is said next. I understand that you would stop the panic attacks if you could, that they cannot be resisted like sin can be resisted. And I understand that you have trouble feeling normal.

Yet, this is your normalcy even now. Your goal today is as it has ever been—to be faithful to your God by being a keeper of his Word, and to endure with him, in his presence, until the day he sovereignly brings you relief, whether now or in eternity. Until then, endure well by remembering his Word to you.

Here are five perspectives to help endure panic attacks well.

1. A day with panic is not a bad day.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. (Psalm 73:26, 28)

If you cannot do everything today that you did yesterday, lament this before the Lord. And then move forward. Even more, move forward as the Psalms do—to praise.

There is much you can do today. You can praise and honor the Lord God. He is with you. So this day is very precious. If you had a panic attack today and all you can comprehend is recovering, then recover to his glory. Recover in his presence. Ask how you can worship your way through recovery, acknowledging in your heart and to those around you his good works. Or, if you can comprehend doing more, though still not as much as you would like to do, then lament that too. Lament what you cannot do this day, and move forward to praise in what you can do.

There is much joy to find—even if you wish the day could feel different. No day is a throw-away day when you can still praise God in what you think, love, speak, and do. This day may not be your ideal. But this is a beautiful day. This is a good day. Enjoy it as a gift. And every day is new and independent of the last; start anew each day.

2. The resolution is not up to you.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path. (Psalm 142:3a)

You do not know the plans God has for your life. Believing that a good day is only one in which you are cured of panic attacks and anxiety is just as unwise and untrue as determining for yourself that panic attacks and anxiety will be with you for the rest of your days. You simply do not know. You do not know what change or progress God might bring.

But when the foundation of your life is God’s sovereignty, you do not need to know. He has a plan. As you continue to be faithful to his Word and ways, he will enable you to fulfill his plan for your life regardless of whether panic attacks and anxiety come along or not.

He is gracious, loving, caring, generous, infinitely thoughtful, and gentle with you. He knows how you feel, truly. Christian, he knows your heart, he sees every longing to honor him still—and that you wonder how this will be possible. Trust his sovereignty; don’t make plans for three or thirty years from now that you do not have enough information to make. Don’t spend your thoughts on what you do not know. Instead, ask God for ways to honor him—ask that you might fulfill every good purpose he has for you. He knows your path—even on the days when you cannot think too deeply, and even concerning the aspects of the future outside of your present comprehension.

3. God protects you.

Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:24)

Panic attacks and anxiety impact your life in legitimate, practical ways. I understand the barriers before you to overcome—that the grocery store, or the place where you experienced your first panic attack, or that flight to a vacation you want to enjoy, feel out of reach. I understand that taking a step too soon can be unwise, bringing an experience of panic that will then require even more from you as you move forward. Most of all, I understand that what is simple for another person is, for you, completely courageous.

So pray for wisdom to know simply the next stepof faithfulness. Don’t concern yourself so much with an end goal, and don’t forget that your anxiety about that next step is often worse than the experience itself. You do not know how you’ll feel then, but you can trust now. Take just that next step and don’t categorically disqualify yourself from any experience in the future. Be patient with your progress.

God is already protecting you. So be wise and prayerful without believing the lie that you are sovereign over your own protection. God leads your progress and your life. On this earth, God will act to protect you as he sees fit; no matter what happens, he will protect you straight into eternity. And he knows your heart and your mind already—and perfectly. So be courageous, prayerful, wise, and patient, even as you have already been.

4. Use this opportunity to examine your life.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

When panic attacks and anxiety come, all of life’s concerns and discontents are magnified. Your internal processing is intensified. What comes to mind? This is an opportunity. Use this time to identify what is presently most concerning to your heart in order to grow in holiness and loving obedience before the Lord. The cares of this world are passing away—to which ones do we cling? What sins are we cherishing that we can confess and turn from? What weights can we lay off and entrust to him?

While there is opportunity for self-examination, let it also reach its natural end. This is not to say that there is an end to sin in this life. But this period of life and the reflection it allows can be directed in prayer to the God who leads you on according to his everlastingly good ways. During times of panic and anxiety, we tend to fixate ourselves on finding a cure. The temptation here will be to use opportunities for increased righteousness as a way to be cured, or even to bargain for a cure, instead of as a way to purely honor God.

Your reason to grow in holiness is not for the purpose of ridding yourself of suffering, but simply for the purpose of growing closer to the heart of Christ in what you think, love, say, and do. Once you have confessed your sin and repented, trust in Christ’s forgiveness and move forward from it with him.

5. Peace can dwell even in the midst of panic.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

You will find ways to grow and be stretched in loving obedience to God in the particulars of your panic attacks and anxiety. Through self-examination and receiving God’s forgiveness, and through perspective and holiness in this trial, you will find a renewed experience of peace. Your experience of peace is possible because of the genuine and unalterable peace that you have been given with your God.

Be at peace with how you choose to live amidst panic attacks and anxiety. Feel also your firm, already-accomplished peace with God in Christ. You have this; it cannot leave.

Now, you can have this rest—salvific peace with God and experiential peace in your heart and mind—while still going on to experience a panic attack outside of your control. Peace can dwell within that experience, saying, God, my peace is you, and I live in peace before you, though still this panic comes over me. Please do not be discouraged in your faith, as if a panic attack disqualifies you from knowing peace. Endure now and take heart—press on and know confidently that you have the crown of life waiting for you (James 1:12).

God’s presence with you enables you to endure panic attacks well. He is solid, like an unbreakable rod in the center of who you are that connects you to him. Cling to him. Remind yourself, continually if needed, the perspectives he teaches. They will always be there for you; his Word never fails and you have access to him always. Look to him, “to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).

As you do, whether or not your panic attacks and anxiety are removed, so much will be added to you.

Parents and Children Motivated by the Gospel

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Exodus 20:12)

God had miraculously brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt at the time when Israel received the Ten Commandments. God was setting them apart as a nation unto himself, a nation from which would one day come the Christ.

These commandments were later written on physical tablets by God. Yet, after receiving these tablets from God, Moses witnessed the same Israelites—who were not long before miraculously rescued by God—worship a golden calf fashioned by their own hands. According to Exodus 32:19, at that moment Moses “threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.”

Later, after wandering—both physically and spiritually—God brought the Israelites to the land that he promised them—a promise that traced back generations, first given to Abraham (Genesis 12:1). God was faithful to his promises; his people would have an abundant place to call home.

On the brink of entering into this land, God re-states the Ten Commandments within a series of instructions to the nation. The promises associated with obedience to these commandments are abundant: possession of a land from the hand of God that is “a land flowing with milk and honey,” (Deuteronomy 11:9) and “a land for which God cares” (Deuteronomy 11:12).

Parents Motivated by God’s Greatness

When speaking to the Israelites about the rewards of obedience, as well as about the consequences of disobedience, God says, “I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the Lord your God—his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 11:2).

Notably, when talking about the benefits of obedience and the consequences of disobedience, God is speaking to fathers—not sons.

Giving children what they want and what makes them happy can come oh-so-easily to the heart of a parent; yet, the better goal—the way God steers our hearts as parents—is through the reminder that there are eternal blessings with loving the Lord and real warnings that accompany unbelief.  Each day, we as parents are a witness to our children in words and actions of the abundance we have in Christ and the truth he is.

Not many verses prior to reminding the Israelites about rewards and consequences is the Shema, which are focal verses in the Old Testament. Shema literally means “hear.” Israel, be attentive to this!

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to you sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Christian, hear this. Love the Lord! Be diligent in teaching those who come after you about him! We are a witness to our children of the abundance of Christ because we have seen great things—greater things than Israel.

We have not seen God part the Red Sea. We have not seen God send manna from heaven. We have not seen God part the river Jordan so that we can take possession of a promised land. But what we have participated in is even greater.

After all, which is easier—for God to part the Red Sea, or for him to say that our sins are forgiven (Matthew 9:5)? What we have to tell our children is what the Israelites longed to know (1 Peter 1:10-11). The risen Christ washes our sins away, and he is our bread of life from heaven through whom we never go hungry.

Our parenting is motivated by the greatness of our God in Christ.

Children Honoring God by Honoring Our Parents

God designed that parents would tell their children about him and how to please him: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12). The Israelites were to honor their parents because their possession of the land was conditional:

Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. (Deuteronomy 11:16-17).

In God’s design, honoring our parents would be equivalent to honoring him and his ways; honoring their parents as Israelites would be equivalent to enjoying the blessings of the promised land. Ideally, when we honor our parents, it is equivalent to honoring what God has taught.

When Fathers and Sons Are Calf-Worshippers

But, sometimes, we as people are calf-worshippers. Sometimes, we have not been made a priority by our parents in our past. Or sometimes, we are fatherless or motherless. Or sometimes, children do not honor their parents who are godly. Or sometimes, children resent the gospel. Or sometimes, we don’t give the best examples to follow. Or sometimes, we don’t see our children for the priorities they are. And sometimes, though we try and pray, we do not get parenting right.

How do we move forward when God’s commandments are effectively shattered—as Moses symbolized when he shattered those tablets?

We remember this: Who gives our abundance, but Christ? “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12, emphasis mine).

He always gives. He gives our deliverance. He gives our forgiveness. He gives us teachings that help us know how to honor him. He gives us care. He fulfills his promises. He rescues us from our sin. He gives us hearts that love him. He gives us Christ. Even when Christ’s abundance imperfectly comes through our natural parents—or does not come at all—the Lord our God gives us perfect abundance. And because of his greatness in our lives, we see our role in the lives of our children as great because of the God we tell them about.

When life does not unfold according to the design of God, we ask him to rewrite his ways into our lives so that we can do what is unnatural for us. We can honor our fathers and mothers, noting the significance of who they are to us as children, by extending compassion regardless of their actions. We can continue to bear witness to our children about the abundance of Christ through our words and actions, regardless of their responses. We can accept God’s grace and mercy in order to again seek to make God great in our children’s eyes, regardless of yesterday’s parenting failures.

We continue to care because, as Pastor Colin taught, “that’s what God is like.” We think about how God gives, and we can give—continually seeking and asking that he rewrite what’s been shattered.

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This post was originally published at Unlocking the Bible.

3 Benefits of the Law for Those Under Grace

As Christians, we champion grace. Rightly so. We read, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14), responding with an emphatic, Amen! The law is a great burden, one that you and I could not fulfill. Praise God that we are under his grace! Our salvation rests upon this.

In the New Testament (NT), the Old Testament (OT) law is described as something that “proved to be death” to us (Romans 7:10), “came to increase trespass” (Romans 5:20), and held us “captive” and “imprisoned” (Galatians 3:23).

So, in addition to being life-long advocates of the grace we have been given in Christ, we read these verses about the law and perhaps find ample reason to dismiss it. If the law proved to be death, came to increase trespass, and held us captive, are we not given reason to believe that Christianity in the NT has advanced in an alternate direction—away from the law of the OT?

However, we also have to contend with NT expressions. For example, in Matthew 5:17, Christ teaches that he is indeed not progressing away from the law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” If that is not enough to convince you that Christ did not intend for us to abandon the law, I submit to you Romans 3:31: “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

An important question we may have is of the correct interpretation of the OT law in the NT age—for example, how exactly does all of Leviticus apply to us today? My purpose here is to write about our attitude toward the law, not to answer our questions of interpretation. My hope is that we will be motivated to learn more about interpretation after reading of the benefits of that work.

So, if according to NT teachings, we are not moving away from the law—if God indeed did not push some proverbial re-set button with Christ, nullifying it for us—then we are left with this question: What benefit does the law possibly have for those under grace?

We See Our Need More Clearly

The law serves to inform us of and increase our awareness of our sin.

We need to be taught and instructed, then taught and instructed again. Do you not feel that too? We need definitions and designations about right and wrong—teachings to visit and revisit. We are indeed “prone to wander.” So, God gave the law as a concrete, definitive designation—reflective of his righteous and holy character—about how to honor him in this life he has given. How goodthat we have this gift!

Following the law out of a motivation of love for the Lord and his character is an incredibly life-giving way to live. Think of an area of sin over which you have gained freedom. How much more abundant is life on the other side of every sin! Being freed of sin is not merely the absence of that sinful behavior. Being freed of sin is deeper communion with God and lasting joy from faithfulness to him. That is why Paul could say that law promised life.

The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. (Romans 7:10)

Yet, the law also proved to be death to those with a sinful nature. The law did not keep sinners from sinning. The law is holy, righteous, and good. But mankind has a propensity toward sin. Commandments plus the sin-nature do not function well together at all.

For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. (Romans 7:11-12)

Perhaps you too have heard this oft-cited example:

If you draw “do not write here” on the chalkboard and leave the piece of chalk right underneath, our nature produces in us a desire to defy—to write on that chalkboard. So, whereas the law itself is a good provision for which to be thankful, mankind’s sinful nature becomes revealed clearly for what it is.

Christians can relate as Paul pinpoints the condition of our hearts: “For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19). Later he speaks of himself: “Wretched man that I am” (Romans 7:24)!

Wretched are we! The law is necessary for us. It is not to be neglected because through it we see ourselves more clearly, as Romans 4:15 teaches: “Where there is no law there is no transgression.” Our awareness of our sin is increased. It points us to the true source of our salvation, Christ: “From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

We Praise Christ as One Who Fulfilled the Law

According to our great need that the law clearly demonstrated, God did something incredibly gracious. He sent Jesus Christ, who could be perfect in righteousness according to the ways of God. He made a way for us to trust him and be credited his righteousness—leading to eternal life.

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21).

Through the necessary awareness of sin that God gave us through the law, he is able to demonstrate his further grace in Christ. In stark contrast to the capabilities of mere man stands Christ. The more we understand of the law, the more we see his capability and magnificence to fulfill it. Praise him! Grace could only come to us because Christ did not minimize one measure of the law, but instead met it in full.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

When Jesus taught that a person’s righteousness must surpass the scribes and Pharisees, that would have been shocking to his audience, who viewed the scribes and Pharisees as the spiritual elite. Ultimately, when he said that righteousness must exceed the Pharisees,’ he was speaking of himself, who alone could do this perfectly.

We Love the Law with Hearts of Flesh

Whereas Christ already had the law in his heart, we have to have it written into ours (Hebrews 8:10).[1] Ezekiel 11:19 foreshadowed what we experience through new life in Christ: “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.” The words above from Matthew 5 are followed by Christ’s teaching that hate is murder and lust is adultery. So, the law has not been demolished, but revealed to be all about one’s heart. Those who have hearts of flesh by faith through grace can love the law and have the law written there to stay.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:21-26)

God’s requirement of holiness for mankind has never changed from the beginning of time. But we changed; we sinned. Justly, God continued to require his “end of the deal,” that his righteous requirements be truly fulfilled. Grace, that is, being out from under the law of the OT, means that now, we are under the Christ who perfectly fulfilled the law—the one who gives the Holy Spirit to help us obey the law from the heart. Our faith in this Christ produces the desire to know the law of the Lord—to know his righteous ways and to see every possible fulfillment of his righteous ways in our hearts.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)

Grace leads us right back to the law through a different perspective. We can say, “Wretched I am,” “I am forgiven by grace through faith in Christ,” and “I long that God’s righteous requirements be fulfilled in me,” all in one breath.

His grace will always bring us to love the law that Christ embodied. When under grace, Christians are not only free from the law and from the sin that the law increased for those with sinful natures. More, we are freed to the law.

Through grace in Christ, we are freed to return to the law with the knowledge that the burden of it is not ours, but that the grace of finding the freedom of righteousness out of love for him is. How good to have such a God whose justice never sacrifices the righteousness that is our freedom, and whose fulfillment of the law enables us to pursue that righteousness while already having complete peace with him. What a Savior!

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

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[1] Pink, A. W. The Sovereignty of God. (Blacksburg, Virginia: Wilder Publications, 2008), 151.

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This post was originally published at Unlocking the Bible.

A Good Relationship with the Future

On moving day, I mostly reclined, having been barred from packing heavy items, lifting boxes or furniture, and reaching to hang pictures or put items in tall cabinets. This was a benefit of making the move late in the third trimester of pregnancy. Watching, I thought to myself, This is it—this is my future. 

But those words were starting to have less and less of their desired affect on me, and I knew it.

After all, we had lived in three different homes within two years, and I had said the same thing to myself about each one. From my sitting perch, I was directing the placement of pieces of furniture, rugs, plates, and pictures. I could direct the future as well as my very pregnant self could have, say, lifted the piano into the foyer. But that did not keep me from making claims on permanency, despite every move doing more to dampen my attempts at accomplishing it.

I had left behind visions for a lasting home. I could not think too much about those past homes, with their failed hopes of staying, without cringing. The start of a new one had me wondering if its claims toward permanency would eventually fade, too.

Fearfully Grasping an Uncertain Future

Daniel in the Bible knew something about a lack of permanency after being exiled from his home country at a fairly young age, when it was conquered by the king of Babylon. Daniel’s relationship with the future was on display when the king, Nebuchadnezzar, wanted the “wise men” of Babylon to interpret a dream that was especially troubling to him (Daniel 2:1-16).

This was a standard request in that day, especially for a culture that believed their gods spoke through dreams.1But this young king had a unique request: that these men first tell him, supernaturally, the dream itself. If they could not speak of this secret knowledge, he would kill them all. By “kill them all,” he did not mean only those who had been given an opportunity to speak with him—he meant allthe wise men of Babylon. This included God’s faithful servant, Daniel.

Of course, the men could not do as the king requested, failing to interpret his dream. Daniel was not included in this initial group.

The young king may have desired to prove himself tough enough for the job, or to prove his men loyal. Yet, he was likely troubled because he feared for his uncertain future, as implied in his dream. In Nebuchadnezzar’s worldview, a troubling dream meant fearing for his security. He took this as reason to set aside all prudence with the sole purpose of understanding its meaning. To him, his health, wealth, and kingdom—all that secured his future—was subject to the untethered whims and impulses of the gods.

So, right as the blood was about to be shed and the guards made their way to Daniel, he asked a question to understand:

Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. (Daniel 2:14)

Nebuchadnezzar serves as a good foil for Daniel. After all, Daniel was confronted with his own dire circumstance because of the king. What did Daniel do when the guards came to him with the order to kill? He asked a question. Then, he made a request for time.

Because of his careful efforts, he was given the opportunity to demonstrate that his God had control over all things—past, present, and future. The first actions he took when facing his impending death were deliberate, calm, prudent, and discerning. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, his priority was not to do whatever was necessary to secure the status of his future in this world. He took the matter carefully into account, including his standing with the king that allowed him to make the request for time, along with the king’s unwieldy temper that required his calm planning. Daniel faithfully based his actions upon those calculations. When he was about to be killed, he demonstrated a good relationship with his future—whatever his future on earth might be.

Prudently Evaluating a God-Ordained Future

Sitting in my home months after our move, and looking around at the furniture and hangings on the wall, I have the impression of what I want. We are settled into every corner of this place. My nine-month-old baby is playing with her things, which means picking up each toy for a brief examination and then tossing it behind her—one toy after the other. That is the message I have had for my things; they have all been tossed around over the past months, moved in and out, in and out. Perhaps this is actually a message they tell about my claims on staying. Either way, they speak far more to me about uncertainty than about being settled.

Perhaps this was one benefit for Daniel of having been exiled: not believing his permanency to be dependent upon his location. I want a good relationship with my future, too—to resemble Daniel’s calm in uncertainty, as opposed to Nebuchadnezzar’s recklessness. Daniel knew both that the future was to be wisely evaluated and, simultaneously, that it was not his to determine.

Daniel’s perspective about the future allowed him to use prudence in three ways:

• Daniel used prudence to plan:“The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving” (Proverbs 14:8).

• Daniel used prudence in being cautious:“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 27:12).

• Daniel used prudence to weigh and discern:“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps” (Proverbs 14:15).

Daniel, however, could only be planning, cautious, and discerning because of the God of providence. Of any foil in this story, the gods of Nebuchadnezzar best juxtapose the one true God. These non-existent gods could not reveal Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, nor did they inspire in Nebuchadnezzar any calm or care. But the one true God is sovereign and all-knowing, inspiring prudence and praise. When God reveals the dream, Daniel worships:

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might…

…he reveals deep and hidden things;

he knows what is in the darkness,

and the light dwells with him.

To you, O God of my fathers,

I give thanks and praise,

for you have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what we asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter. (Daniel 2:20, 22-23)

Our furniture, rugs, plates, and pictures fit so well in this home, but the question of staying is for God alone to answer. Were I to answer it, I would be like the imprudent Nebuchadnezzar, looking to the gods on their perches for understanding. I would be the false gods, too, reacting to my future through untethered whims and impulses.

Rather, Daniel’s God is our God. He has worked all things together for our salvation by providentially arranging the workings of the world to accomplish it:

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:22-23)

Furthermore, he has providentially called us to himself for all eternity:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

If the transience of life feels counter to the solid circumstances you desire, remember that the gospel secures an eternal future with all permanency and staying-power. This permanency is ours as solidly as Christ defeated sin and death; ours as surely as he is in the heavenly places now; and ours as permanently as Christ’s victory is everlasting. Fittingly, “prudence” is an alteration of the word “providence.” For the praiseworthy providence of God demonstrated in the gospel is the prudent person’s most important calculation of all.

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1. Rhodes, Ron.  40 Days Through Daniel. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2016.

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This post was originally published at Unlocking the Bible.