A House of Prayer for All People

Readings for today: Isaiah 56-58, 1 Thessalonians 3

One of my favorite worship experiences took place in South Chicago when I was in college. We were in La Villita or “Little Village” which is a predominantly Mexican-American enclave, working at a church there. We painted and helped restore the old building they were meeting in. We led youth group for the teenagers and afterschool programs for the younger kids. We built relationships with former gang members from the Latin Kings and Two Sixes. It was an eye-opening experience for a group of relatively wealthy white college students from Boulder, CO. The week kicked off with a worship service and it just so happened that on the particular week we had arrived, the pastor had arranged to do a pulpit swap with a black church in North Lawndale which is a predominantly African-American community a few blocks north of La Villita. The service started with the black choir processing in singing and dancing. Once they got to the front, the Latino worship band began playing praise songs in Spanish. The praise leader then offered a bi-lingual prayer on behalf of the entire community and introduced the preacher. He preached in true African-American style. “Start low. Go slow. Rise higher. Strike fire. Sit down in a storm!” Brilliant in oration. Passionate in delivery. Deep in biblical/theological reflection. It was awesome. So awesome, in fact, that about midway through his sermon, the interpreter sat down. He was no longer needed. It was clear to him and to everyone else in the room that even though the preacher was speaking English, everyone was hearing him in their own heart language. It was like Pentecost. The Holy Spirit became the interpreter. My mouth was hanging wide open. It was a taste of heaven.

I thought back to that experience when I read these words from Isaiah today, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.” (Isaiah 56:6-8) I am so thankful for these words because I am - by the Bible’s definition - a foreigner. A Gentile. Someone not chosen. I was born apart from God. I am not of the biological lineage of Abraham. I am not a child of the covenant. I know nothing of the significance of circumcision or the Passover or the Promised Land. The Exodus story is not my story. The Old Testament doesn’t represent my history. And yet, God has adopted me as His own child. God has grafted me into His covenant. God has made His story my story and for that I am forever grateful.

Do you ever wonder what heaven will look and feel like? What languages we’ll speak? What the worship experience will be like? Do you ever wonder about the people who will be there gathered with you around God’s throne? Isaiah gives us the answer. “God’s house will be a prayer for all peoples.” It will include Jews and Gentiles. It will include those of African, Asian, Latino, European, and Indigenous descent. Every family. Every tribe. Every clan. Every nation will be represented around God’s throne. They will speak a multitude of languages. They will come from a myriad of cultural backgrounds. They will have had a variety of life experiences. This has been God’s plan from the beginning. To gather that which has been scattered. To restore that which has been lost. To tear down every dividing wall of hostility that sets us apart.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 59-61, 1 Thessalonians 4

Invitation

Readings for today: Isaiah 50-55, 1 Thessalonians 2

I still remember receiving the invitation to attend Princeton Theological Seminary. I was frankly shocked. After all, I was not an impressive candidate for admission. I had flunked out of college and even though I re-applied and finished my degree, my cumulative GPA was not good at all. I had only been a Christian for a few years so my ability to articulate my faith in the essay section of the application was weak at best. My interview didn’t go all that well either as I lacked self-confidence. To this day, I am not sure why Princeton felt led to extend an offer to me to become a student but I will be forever grateful that they did. I loved my time there. I loved the friendships I forged. I loved the atmosphere of academic freedom and learning from some of the most brilliant minds in the world.

One of the greatest blessings for me personally was getting to know Dr. Tom Gillespie. Dr. Gillespie served both as President of the seminary and a New Testament professor. I took two classes from him and got to know him pretty well. He and I would walk to and from class in the basement of Miller Chapel or Stuart Hall and talk about life and ministry. He was a wise mentor who pastored me well. One of my favorite memories of him was when he would lead communion during chapel each week. He always gave the invitation to the Lord’s Table from Isaiah 55:1-3.

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant…”

As amazing as the invitation to attend Princeton was for me, it pales in comparison to the invitation the Lord gives us to feast at His Table. At the Table of the Lord, God provides the richest of fare. His own body and blood, freely given to all who would seek Him. The food He provides sustains us through the challenges of this life. The drink He provides quenches every possible thirst. The bread and the cup are signs and symbols of the eternal covenant God has secured for us by offering up His very life. And every time we share in this meal, we remember and proclaim the Lord’s saving death until He comes again.

Every time I read this passage, I am brought to my knees. The words of an old hymn immediately come to mind, “Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, wouldst die for me?” I am not worthy. There was nothing commendable about my life that would attract God’s attention. Nothing admirable about the way I was living that would draw God’s gaze. Nothing holy about my life that would earn God’s favor or demand His respect. I was lost. I was lonely. I was headed for a life of addiction. A life of pain and suffering. A life of disappointment and defeat. Then I met God. And He invited me in to dine with Him and His family. He set me a place at His Table. He quenched my soul’s thirst and satisfied my soul’s hunger and I have never been the same. Friends, His invitation is open to all who would seek Him. His grace is free to all who would believe in Him. Listen diligently to His voice! Incline your ear and come to Him! Hear and believe that your soul may live!

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 56-58, 1 Thessalonians 3

Raising Expectations

Readings for today: Isaiah 48-49, 1 Thessalonians 1

What did you expect when you first came to faith in Jesus Christ? Some expect all their problems to go away. Some expect all their suffering will end. Some have no expectations that anything will change other than their eternal destiny. Some expect to see miracles of healing and provision in their life. Some expect to receive a new circle of friendships. Some expect to live with an intimate sense of God’s abiding presence. Others expect the church to become their family. What are your expectations? Have they been met? Have they been fulfilled? If you’re like most Christians, I expect you’ve been disappointed along the way or felt let down at times in your journey of faith.

One of the real problems in the American church is we expect so little. We expect so little from God. We expect God to bless all our plans. We expect God to sprinkle fairy dust on all our problems. We expect God to indulge our sin. We expect God to be “on-call” when we have an emergency. But God is much greater than we can ever imagine. He is far wiser and far more powerful and far more loving that we can possibly fathom. Just think what would happen if God said “yes” to all our prayers? Wouldn’t our lives turn into an absolute disaster? Haven’t you ever prayed for something only to find out later it wouldn’t have been good for you? Thankfully, God is a good Father. He knows what’s best for us. We can trust Him.

We expect so little from the church. We expect the church to be a safe place for us but we’re unwilling to help make it safe for others. We expect the church to meet our needs but rarely raise a hand to help out. We expect the church to produce programming that makes us or our children feel good but then jump ship the moment another church down provides something more attractive or exciting. We expect the church to be family but we are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary in our own lives to build the deep relationships required. Deep down, we all know what’s required. We know becoming a family requires something from each and every member. The church will only be as strong as the shared commitment and sacrifice of the people who call her home.

And that brings me to my last point this morning, we expect so little from ourselves. We do not humble ourselves before God and seek to follow His ways. We do not plant ourselves deep in His Word and in prayer. We do not pursue holiness and righteousness. We do not offer forgiveness and grace nor are we willing to do the hard work of reconciliation with those we’ve wounded or who’ve wounded us. Admittedly, these are broad stereotypes. I recognize there are many who do all these things and more but in my twenty plus years of pastoral experience they are more the exception rather than the rule. It is any wonder then that the church in America experiences so little of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?

Listen to how Paul describes the early believers in Thessaloniki…“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that God has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:4-7‬) The early church held great expectations. They expected God to work miracles on their behalf for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom on earth. They expected much from each other as they built diverse worshipping communities across racial, cultural, and generational barriers. They expected much from themselves as they pursued lives of personal holiness before the Lord. And God added to their number daily those being saved. God used them to conquer an empire not through violence or the exercise of political power but through self-sacrificing love. The men and women of the early church laid down their lives for the sake of the gospel. For the sake of their church family. For the sake of one another and their example has inspired millions through the ages to do the same.

What are your expectations as a Christian? What do you expect from yourself? Are you intentionally growing a deep, intimate relationship with Christ? Are you seeking to faithfully walk in His ways? To live a life of holiness and righteousness before Him? What do you expect from your church family? How are you helping to build her up? How are you helping people get connected with each other? How are you plugging in and serving and giving and helping your local church thrive? What do you expect from God? Does He exist to serve you and your needs or do you exist to serve Him and His Kingdom? God has great expectations for His people. He had made us in His image. Redeemed us through the death of His own Son. And He now sends us out into the world to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Words Matter

Readings for today: Isaiah 45-47, Colossians 3:18-4:18

How do you engage the world around you? What words do you use when you speak? When you tweet? When you post on Facebook or Instagram? When you comment? When you send email? How do the people around you experience you? How do they receive you? What would they say about you if asked? Are you known as a kind person? A gentle person? A positive person? If someone were to record you today as you went about your life, what would they discover? What kind of wake do you leave? Do you build others up or tear them down? Are you quick to speak and slow to listen? Do you find yourself getting easily riled up? Going on the attack? Taking things personally and getting defensive? Lashing out in anger and frustration?

When I was growing up, we would tell ourselves this lie - “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Of course this isn’t true. Words matter. Words have power. Words can be used to encourage and words can be used to discourage. Words can be used to lift the spirits of those who are down and bring down the spirits of those who are feeling good. The Apostle Paul recognizes the power of words which is why he encourages his Colossian friends with this verse - “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians‬ ‭4:6‬)

Convicting, isn’t it? Especially if you are the kind of person who binges on cable news or scrolls endlessly through your twitter feed. As a pastor, I purposefully try to enter these spaces. I purposefully try to engage in a healthy, positive way on social media. I follow people from all across the political and theological and social spectrum. I try to stay up on the news of the day by browsing several different platforms. I have to tell you it isn’t easy. My heart gets beat up along the way. My soul takes a pounding from all the anger and hate and vitriol that is out there, We don’t seem to know how to talk to each other anymore. We apply litmus tests to each other based on the company we keep. I think of the blowback television personality Ellen DeGeneres received a few years back after being “caught” watching a football game with former President George W. Bush. People from her own tribe questioned her “liberal credibility” because she ate popcorn at a sporting event next to someone from the other side of the political aisle. I think of the blowback a pastoral colleague received recently for meeting with someone from a different theological tribe than our own. Rumors. Gossip. Innuendo. Christians bearing false witness about this man because he dared to meet with someone outside our stream. It’s getting out of hand. And real people are suffering real consequences as a result. Jobs are being lost. Livelihoods destroyed. Businesses are being shut down. All because we can’t seem to follow Paul’s advice. To speak with grace. To season our words with salt so that we might preserve and add flavor to our conversations. To treat everyone with the dignity and worth they deserve as people made in the image of God.

Why is this so hard for us? I believe it has to do with fear. We fear what we don’t understand. We fear those who are different. We fear change and uncertainty and our world is full of that right now. Not only do we find ourselves in the midst of massive cultural upheaval but the pace at which it’s happening is scary. One day vaping is considered a safe alternative to cigarettes. The next day we are performing funerals for young people who are dying from it. One day we affirm surgical transitions for young people still struggling through puberty and the next some of those same people are asking for de-transitioning surgeries to return to their biological gender. One day we legalize marijuana and the next we are finding out the negative impacts on the adolescent brain. Our “ready, fire, aim” approach is not working. Our inability to sit down and reason together is costing us dearly. Our unwillingness to hear the other side or listen to different opinions or consider alternative evidence is harmful and abusive.

So what can we do? Each of us is given a sphere of influence. For some of us it is our home. Our family. Our circle of friends. For others it is the team we lead at work or the business we run. For others it is our congregation. For still others it is the constituency we serve. Whatever authority God has given you, use it to build up. Whatever power God has given you, use it for the good of those around you. Whatever influence God has given you, use it to bless others even if they don’t agree or belong to your tribe. Speak words of grace. Words of life. Words of hope into those around you. For this is what God has done for us. Remember, none of us agreed with God. None of us stood on His side. None of us came from His tribe. Still He came to us. Still He laid down His life for us. Still He loved us so much He gave His only Begotten Son. So believe in Him. Speak in His name. Allow His Spirit to sanctify your words today.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 48-49, 1 Thessalonians 1

Serving the Servant

Readings for today: Isaiah 41-42, Colossians 1:1-2:5

I remember when it hit me. I was driving on the Garden State Parkway from a weekend in Boston where my wife and I celebrated an anniversary. We were relatively poor. Living on public assistance. I was a full-time grad student at Princeton. Kristi was a part-time curriculum coordinator for an afterschool program in a local school district. We had an 18 month old and one on the way. Life was not easy but we loved each other and we were pursuing the dreams God laid on our hearts. Kristi had fallen asleep as we drove. Incubating another human being was taking it’s toll on her. ;-) So it was just me, the Lord, and the open road. As I reflected on our life together, the Lord spoke very clearly to me. He said, “I want you to give the rest of your life in service to others, starting with the woman in the seat next to you. Don’t worry about your needs. Don’t focus on your wants or desires. I will take care of you. I will provide all you need. Your job is to serve just as My Son served.” It’s been over twenty years since that conversation and I have no regrets. I’ve tried to embrace that call as best I can and the Lord has blessed my life beyond measure.

When we read a passage like the one from Isaiah 42 this morning, it’s tempting to read it as exclusively applying to Jesus. While we rightly see the life of Jesus reflected in this ancient prophecy, it’s important to think about how it might apply to our lives as well. After all, are we not called to be servants of the Servant? Are we not called to align our lives with His life? Live our lives in such a way that we reflect His glory? Imagine how different the world would be if Christians would seek to give their lives away in the same way Jesus gave His life away? What would happen if we gave our lives in service to God’s justice in the world? What if we pursued humility rather than pride? Meekness rather than strength? Gentleness rather than power? What if we understood the church to be a “covenant for the people” and a “light to the nations?” What if we sacrificed time and talent and treasure to open the eyes of the blind, set free the oppressed, and rehabilitated those in prison? Would we not experience God’s glory? After all, He’s very clear. He will give His glory to no other. He will not share Himself with those who refuse to walk in His way.

I think the Apostle Paul hits on some of the same notes in his letter to the Colossian church. Listen to how he puts it, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians‬ ‭1:9-12‬) Filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. Bearing fruit in every good work. Increasing in the knowledge of God. Strengthened by His power. Never ceasing to give thanks. It’s a beautiful picture of a life lived for the glory of Christ. A life lived in service to Christ. It’s a life every Christian should aspire to live.

So where does one begin? What’s the first step? I think it begins with what the Lord shared with me as I drove back to our small apartment in Princeton. It begins with a resolution to serve. To give our lives - like Jesus - as a ransom for many. I’m not talking about adding to the saving work Jesus accomplished on the cross. That was a once for all kind of event that will never be repeated. No, what I’m talking about is dying to self each and every day. Picking up our cross. Bearing the sufferings of others. Bearing the injustices of others. Bearing the pain and heartaches of others. Bearing the burdens of others. This is how we fulfill the law of Christ. This is how we manifest the love of Christ. This is how we live a life of service to Christ.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 43-44, Colossians 2:6-3:17

Promise-Keeper

Readings for today: Isaiah 38-40, Phil. 4

I love the promises listed in Philippians 4. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (4:7) “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (4:13) “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (4:19) They are some of the most beloved in all of Scripture. People memorize them. Post them in special places all over their homes or workplaces. Some even tattoo them on their bodies. But as we read through the passages assigned for today, it struck me that none of the promises listed in Scripture would be worth anything if God were not truly God. The juxtaposition of Isaiah 40 with it’s glorious vision of God and the very ordinary, very practical promises listed in Philippians 4 for provision, protection, and peace hit me hard. Too often, I tend to focus on my needs, my wants, my desires and can feel overwhelmed. I focus on the challenges and difficulties of my own life and can feel anxious or afraid. I look at what’s happening in my community, my country, or the world around me and I lose hope of things ever getting better. It’s just too much for me to handle. But then I read a passage like Isaiah 40 and I am reminded of the greatness and glory and majesty and splendor of God. Nothing is beyond Him. Nothing is too hard for Him. Nothing is too big for Him. Nothing overwhelms Him. Yes, I grow faint and get tired. My wisdom and understanding fails. Not so with God! He never wears down and His knowledge is unsearchable! His power immeasurable! His love unconditional! His faithfulness extends to all generations!

Take a moment and re-read the wonderful words from Isaiah and let yourself rest in the glory of your God! “A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah‬ ‭40:3-5, 9-31‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 41-42, Colossians 1:1-2:5

The Mind of Christ

Readings for today: Isaiah 34-37, Phil. 2-3

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus...” (Phil. 2:5) Sadly, this is largely missing from the American church today. Could you imagine what would happen if the people of God who profess to believe in the authority of the Word of God simply put these words from Philippians 2 into practice? If we truly did nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit? If we truly counted others more significant than ourselves? If we truly grasped the mind of Christ that is already ours through faith in Jesus? 

If we are honest, most of what we do is for selfish purposes. Self-protection. Self-provision. Selfish ambition. We do not believe others are more significant than ourselves because we are swimming in a culture that is addicted to self-promotion. Why is social media so popular? Because we can share our highlight reel with the world. We can be the hero of our own story. We can be center of attention. Why is social media so depressing? Because of the competition it invites as we scroll through our feeds and compare ourselves to our friends. Even those who trade in “authenticity” do so in a curated way. Meaning that even as they share their struggles and frustrations and brokenness, it is done in such a way as to draw attention to themselves. 

Paul calls us to a different way. The way of Christ. And this way requires humility. It requires us to check all our selfish desires at the door. The pattern Christ sets for us is very specific and very concrete. Christ did not consider his status as God something to be held onto. Christ willingly relinquished all His divine authority and rights and prerogatives. Christ emptied Himself of His divine glory and power in order to become a human being. There is no greater example of humility than the infinite God of the universe limiting Himself by taking on finite human flesh. And not just any flesh but the flesh of a servant. And there is no greater act of humility than this same God becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. The humilitation of Jesus stands in direct contrast to the prideful self-absorption of our culture. And it is something all who claim to follow Jesus must embrace. 

Paul embraced the way of Jesus. This letter comes at the end of Paul’s life. He’s in prison in Rome awaiting his trial and probable execution. As he reflects back on all he has experienced, what is his great desire? Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else. 

• “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” 

• “Whatever gain I had, I count as loss for the sake of Christ.”

• “I count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.” 

• “I have no righteousness to call my own but only that which comes through faith in Christ.”

• All my strivings cease as I “press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

• I want to know nothing else but “Christ and the power of His resurrection.” 

Does this mean we should abandon everything and live as hermits in the wilderness? No. Some have actually made this attempt but even there pride found them. Even alone in the wilderness, they could not escape themselves. The only answer is to intentionally and relentlessly set your mind and heart on Christ. Through daily prayer and meditation on Scripture. Weekly corporate worship with your church family. Active participation in some kind of small group where you can share openly, honestly, and vulnerably and be held accountable for your spiritual growth. Finding a place to serve Christ through the local church. These are the means of grace God uses to shape our hearts and minds over a lifetime. 

The mind of Christ is not abstract, friends. It doesn’t magically appear. It takes concrete form as we walk in relationship with one another and with God. Humility is something that must be practiced because the inertia of our lives is always towards self. Our hearts are inwardly inclined. We navel gaze as a general rule. Imitating Christ requires us to die to self on a regular basis. Crucify the sinful desires of our flesh. Empty ourselves of all our foolish pride, ambition, and conceit. Only as we believe the Jesus Truth and follow the Jesus Way will we obtain the Jesus Life. 

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 38-40, Phil. 4

The Impact of Righteousness

Readings for today: Isaiah 31-33, Philippians 1

Our world is a mess. On this point just about everyone agrees. Our world is full of pain and suffering. Violence and oppression. Abuse and anger. Hatred and deceit. It’s hard to hold onto hope. It’s hard to see any way out. It seems like the harder we work, the worse things get. The more we strive, the less we achieve. Every action results in an equal and opposite reaction with diminishing returns. Each generation is convinced they have the answer only to watch their plans turn to dust just like the plans of those who came before them. What’s the problem? Why is it so hard to make progress? Why do we find Eden so elusive?

There are many answers out there, of course. Many people out there who claim to know the truth. But humanity has consistently failed to complete this project. Their strength gives out. Their wisdom is not up to the task. No matter how many technological advances we make or how hard we try to socially engineer our environment or how often we attempt to correct Mother Nature; we ultimately fall short. Our best laid plans go to waste. Our condition worsened by unforeseen and unintended consequences. This is as true in the church as it is in the world today. We have all forgotten God.

This is why I loved the words from Isaiah this morning. “The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.” (Isaiah‬ ‭32:17‬) Of all the things I strive for in my life, I have to admit righteousness is not always at the top of the list. I strive for success. I strive for significance. I strive for influence. I strive to make a difference in the world. These are not sinful strivings per se but they are not what the Lord has required of me. He wants me to pursue righteousness. He wants my church to pursue righteousness. He wants my community to pursue righteousness. He wants my nation to pursue righteousness. And when we do, He promises us peace. Quietness. The restoration of trust. It’s a beautiful vision of God’s Kingdom come to earth. And it is a byproduct of seeking Him. “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.” (Isaiah‬ ‭33:5-6‬) We do not know the pathway to peace. We do not know the road to righteousness. We do not know the way to salvation. We are lost. Blind wanderers in a world that is not our home. Only God can direct us. Only God can set our feet on the narrow way that leads to a life of blessing and honor and shalom. So we must go to Him. We must seek Him. We must pursue God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And once we find Him - and the great news of the gospel is He delights in being found! - we will find what our hearts so long for. We will find righteousness, justice, stability, peace for these are the gifts that come from being in His presence.

You say, “Okay, preacher. I got it. Seek God with all my heart. But what about my life? What about those I love? What about the world in which I live? Aren’t I to seek the good of those around me as well?” Absolutely. “He who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.” (Isaiah‬ ‭32:8‬) God has placed a noble heart inside you. As such, you will find yourself longing to make a difference. You will find yourself longing to be part of God’s mission. You will find yourself longing to spread the good news of His Kingdom. The call to seek God is not a call to inactivity. It is not a call to complacency. It is not a call to passivity. It is a call to action. Righteous action. The kind of action that can only come as we stay in step with the Holy Spirit and walk with Jesus through all of life. Flip over to our reading from Philippians. Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes it, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain…Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…” (Philippians‬ ‭1:21, 27‬) Clearly Paul is calling for righteous action. He is calling for those who have been made “noble” through the gospel of Jesus Christ to strive for the faith of the gospel and live in a manner worthy of the gospel so that the world will stand up and take notice.

It’s a stirring vision. Can you imagine a world where the church is known for righteousness? A righteousness born not of rules or regulations or winning the culture war but of love and peace and joy and grace? Can you imagine what might happen if the church laid aside her pursuit of political power or social platform? Can you imagine what would happen if the church would lay aside her addiction to personal wealth and cultural privilege? Can you imagine what would happen if the church would engage in a life of humble service, mutual submission, and radical sacrifice for the sake of others? Would it not change things? Thankfully, you can see this happening all over the world today. So many churches in so many places bearing witness to the power of the gospel. And each day presents an opportunity for us to link arms with them as well. Will we make mistakes? Of course. Will we fail and fall? Absolutely. Will we say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing at times? Sure. But thankfully our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. And like the Apostle Paul, I am confident “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Readings for tomorrow: None

Spiritual Battle

Readings for today: Isaiah 29-30, Ephesians 6

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-12‬)

I am blessed to walk among giants. Men and women who make amazing sacrifices in the face of incredible adversity, persecution, and hardship. I think of a young couple I know who serve the poorest of the poor in the streets of La Paz, Bolivia. Every day they work with a community of people who wear masks to hide the shame of their existence. Their work is costly. It takes a toll. And yet they continue to faithfully serve. I think of a South Korean Pastor I know who risks his life to save North Korean refugees. He is known as the “Asian Schindler” and has been involved in running an Underground Railroad from North Korea through China to Southeast Asia in order to repatriate North Korean refugees into South Korean society. It is a ministry fraught with danger. There is a price on his head in North Korea. He has spent many months in a Chinese prison. Still he continues to faithfully serve. I think of another young man I know who serves in Central Asia. He works in countries where it is illegal to preach Christ. Illegal to share your faith. Illegal even to practice your faith on some level. He has to change his name when he is abroad. He cannot share the name of the country where he works. It’s hard. It’s a struggle. And yet he continues to faithfully serve. I think of a pastor I know who serves a small church nearby. It’s a church that used to be much bigger. The pews and the offering plates were full. But now the sanctuary is mostly empty on Sundays. Each month is a struggle to make ends meet. The community around the church has changed dramatically which only increases the challenge of it all. Still the pastor faithfully serves. Though each of these dear friends serves Christ in radically different contexts, they are all engaged in the same spiritual war. They all recognize we aren’t fighting flesh and blood. Our earthly context doesn’t matter. No, the war we are fighting is ultimately spiritual. Our enemy is greater than any human adversary we may face. And that’s why we need to put on the full armor of God if we are to prevail.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he doesn’t exist. You and I live in a culture that largely ignores the spiritual realm. We ignore the spiritual forces of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly places. We pretend these things don’t exist. We arrogantly assume we are beyond such things. We believe such things are for the superstitious. The primitive. The ignorant. But the Bible clearly acknowledges the spiritual realm. The Bible clearly declares that there is a great enemy of our souls and he is actively seeking to rob, kill, and destroy. And we must take him seriously.

Every day is a spiritual battle. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed, we are actively being attacked and influenced by our enemy. He wants to discourage us. He wants to sideline us. He wants to tempt us to compromise our deeply held convictions. More than anything else, he wants us to live selfish lives. Lives wrapped around our own well-being. Lives focused on getting as much as we can for as long as we can to make life as comfortable as possible. Frankly, he wants us to pursue the American Dream rather than God’s dream and when we do, we suffer. The world suffers. And the enemy gains a foothold.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Resist the temptation to live for yourself. Resist the temptation to live a life of achievement and accumulation. Resist the temptation to hoard God’s blessings. Instead, put on the whole armor of God. Resist the devil that he may flee. Engage the battle. Wrestle with the spiritual forces of evil. Don’t give in! Don’t sell yourself so cheaply! Don’t compromise with the enemy! Don’t give him an inch in your life! Live for Christ. Dedicate your whole life to Christ. Seek Christ with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. As you do, God will do great things through you for His Kingdom.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 31-33, Philippians 1

A New Day

Readings for today: Isaiah 27-28, Ephesians 5

“In that day...”

• The Lord will punish and slay Leviathan

• The Lord will plant His vineyard

• Israel will blossom and bear fruit

• The Lord will gather all His people from where they have been exiled back home to Jerusalem

• The Lord will be a crown of glory to His people

• The Lord will restore justice to the land

These are just a few of the promises gleaned from the reading today. God acting on behalf of His people. God bringing mercy out of judgment. Peace out of conflict. Honor out of shame. God not passing over the iniquity of His people or allowing sin and shame to pass but instead purifying His people through righteous judgment and holy discipline that He might restore them once again.  

The heart of the reading for me today is Isaiah 28:15-18. Here God confronts His people with a powerful Word. “Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter..." I think about our own culture. The covenant we too have made with death. Abortion on demand. Suicide. Euthanasia. I think about the lies we believe. Our seeming inability to sift through what’s true and false. Our tendency to naively accept whatever fits our ideological worldview rather than pursue honesty and transparency. I grieve our propensity towards violence. School shootings. Racially-motivated hate crimes. Sexual abuse. I grieve our morbid fascination with self-destruction. Legalization of marijuana and other harmful substances. Addiction to opioids and other pain-killers. All in an attempt to numb our pain. I grieve the fact that we continue to seek refuge in the lies we tell ourselves and in the falsehoods we cling to at all costs. If I were not a Christian, I would despair. 

But then I read these words, “Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.' And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter. Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand...” Once again, I am overwhelmed. God does what I cannot do. God does what we cannot do. God does what no government or business or church or non-profit agency - no matter how pure and righteous their motives - can do! He annulls the covenant we made with death! He sets aside our agreement with Sheol! He lays a foundation in Zion. A sure foundation built on tested and precious stone on which we can build our lives! He doesn’t ask us to rescue ourselves. He doesn’t ask us to clean up our act. He doesn’t expect us to find a way out of the mess we’ve made. He simply steps in. He restores justice. He restores righteousness. He sweeps away all the lies and falsehoods. He destroys death. He robs the grave. And He grants His people new life...abundant life...in Him!

Will we still sin? Yes. Are we still a rebellious people? Absolutely. Will we still run from God? Crawl off the altar? Try to build our lives on shifting sand? All that and more. But thankfully God is patient with us. “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” (Isaiah‬ ‭30:18‬) And because God is faithful, we can be sure a day is coming when...

• We will weep no more

• We will see Him face to face

• We will know His ways and walk in them

• We will tear down every idol in our lives

• Our brokenness will be bound and our wounds healed

• We will sing a new song in the night

• We will keep the holy feast

• We will witness the victory of the Lord our God

Friends, that day is coming and is already here! In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the new day has dawned! God has laid His cornerstone! God has set His foundation in Zion! God has annulled our covenant with death! God has set aside our agreement with the grave! God has given us the victory! All we have to do is trust. Believe. Have faith. Place our lives in His hands. He will never let us down.  

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 29-30, Ephesians 6

The Honor of God

Readings for today: Isaiah 24-26, Ephesians 4

As I seek to understand more about the Scriptures, I find myself reading and researching about honor/shame cultures. It helps me not only understand the world of the Bible but also the world of places like Africa where I often minister. Consider this passage I ran across recently in a book titled, Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures, by Jayson Georges. “The world equates humility with shame and pride with honor. But God inverts this social matrix. Pride ultimately produces shame, and humility is the counterintuitive path to genuine honor.” It resonates, does it not? All of us have probably experienced this on a personal level at some point in our lives. 

What’s true for us as individuals is also true for our families, communities, tribes, even nations. Think about what we read yesterday about Tyre and Sidon. Two of the great commercial trading centers in the ancient near east. What was their sin? Pride. Tyre saw itself as “the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth...” (Isaiah‬ ‭23:8‬) Sidon enjoyed tremendous wealth and privilege. “And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.”(Isaiah‬ ‭23:3‬) In their pursuit of worldly honor and riches and power, they forgot the Lord. They dishonored God. And they paid the price. “Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken...” (Isaiah‬ ‭23:1, 4‬) 

But it’s not just Tyre and Sidon who make this mistake. Isaiah points out that the whole earth has forgotten God. The whole earth pursues wealth and power and honor and glory apart from God. The whole earth seeks to exalt itself rather than humble themselves before their Creator. Therefore, the Lord will bring His righteous judgment. No one shall escape. “Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the Lord has spoken this word.” (Isaiah‬ ‭24:1-3‬) And why does the Lord speak such a harsh word? Why does the Lord render such a harsh judgment? Because the Lord is jealous for the glory of His Name. He is jealous for His own honor. He will not rest until the whole earth sings His praises. “They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One.” (Isaiah‬ ‭24:14-16‬)

Human beings were made for one glorious purpose...to bring honor to their Creator. To enjoy God and to worship Him forever. To praise God for all eternity. This is the great work we were designed for. This is the great work we were made for. And it is to our abiding shame that we neglect this great task and forget our God. It is to our great shame that we “exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!” (Romans‬ ‭1:25‬) We pursue worldly honor and worldly wealth and worldly power to our own destruction. Because we have turned away from God and gone our own way, He has “given us up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. We become filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. We are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” (Romans‬ ‭1:28-31‬) And God simply will not allow such evil to stand. So He brings judgment. He lays low the proud. He shames the arrogant. He dishonors the honored among all the earth. “The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth.” (Isaiah‬ ‭23:9‬)

This is why we must consider carefully the priorities of our lives. Why do we do the things we do? What drives us? What gives us purpose and fulfillment? Are we truly seeking to honor God in all we say and do? Or are we trying to steal a bit of that honor for ourselves? Are we truly seeking to glorify God in our homes, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work? Or these just means we are using to justify our own ends? Prayerfully consider these things, friends! Be honest with yourself! Get real! And then humble yourself before God lest you fall under His judgment.  

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 27-28, Ephesians 5

The Unsearchable Riches of Christ

Readings for today: Isaiah 21-23, Ephesians 3

One of the most common stumbling blocks to faith is the exclusivity of Christ. Why would God provide only one way to heaven? And why a 1st century Jewish peasant named Jesus? And what happens to all those around the world and throughout history who never get the chance to hear His name? Surely if God desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of His truth, He would provide as many pathways as possible? All these questions make sense to me. They are questions I’ve wrestled deeply with myself. But as I dug down, I found myself grappling with an even deeper question. Why would God choose to save us at all? Why would a perfectly holy, righteous, and just God choose to save an imperfect, unholy, and unrighteous people? Why not wipe us out and start the whole project over? This question brought me face to face with the mystery of God’s grace. The mystery of God’s love. The mystery of Christ which Paul talks about in today’s reading out of Ephesians 3.

“This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel…” It’s tough to overstate how challenging this idea would be to Jewish believers. For generations they had been taught that the Gentiles were beyond the pale. Beyond salvation. Beyond the reach of God’s love. For generations they had been taught that they were God’s chosen people. They were God’s treasured possession. They, among all the nations of the earth, enjoyed God’s favor. They wholeheartedly embraced the exclusive nature of their relationship with God and rejected any idea of the universality of His grace. In fact, this was -at least in part - why their leaders had Jesus crucified. They simply couldn’t get their minds and hearts around Jesus eating with sinners. Dining with prostitutes. Hanging out with Samaritans and other Gentiles along the way.

Paul was a product of his culture. In fact, if you know anything about his life, he was the standard-bearer for the exclusivity of the Jewish faith. So zealous was he for the faith of his ancestors, he persecuted the early church. Dragging followers of Christ from their homes. Throwing them in prison. Even rejoicing in their deaths. But then he met the Risen Christ on the road outside of Damascus and everything changed. He came face to face with the unsearchable riches of Christ. He went eyeball to eyeball with the Lord in all His glory. The grace and love of God that surpasses all human wisdom and knowledge and understanding utterly and completely transformed him from the inside out. Listen to how he describes it…

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians‬ ‭3:6, 8-10, 15-21‬)

So back to my original questions. If you were to ask Paul why God only provided one way to heaven, I think he’d give you a strange look. After all, the mystery he was called to preach was that God had provided a way for everyone to get in. Jew and Gentile alike. No one was left out. If you were to ask Paul why God chose to reveal Himself in this way through a 1st century Jewish peasant named Jesus, I think he’d walk you through all the prophecies of the Old Testament so you could see how this was the fulfillment of God’s plan from the beginning. If you were to ask Paul what happens to all those throughout the world and throughout history who never get the chance to hear the name of Jesus, I think you’d see his eyes light up and passion fill his voice as he shared with you the urgency of his mission! The mission to proclaim the good news of the gospel! I think he’d go on to tell you it’s why he dedicated his life to planting churches all over the known world so that the gospel could go to the ends of the earth. And I think he’d encourage you to trust the goodness of God. Trust that while Christ can use us as His messengers, He’s certainly not bound to us. People come to faith all the time through dreams and visions. I’ve seen it myself.

Most of all, I think Paul would be confused by our line of questioning. He would wonder why we kept focusing on the exclusivity of Christ when the reality is the opposite. Christ represents the universality of God’s saving grace. Jew and Gentile. Male and female. Slave and free. Rich and poor. Black and white and brown. Gay, bi, and straight. Republican and Democrat. Progressive and conservative. You name it. In Christ, we see the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love. A love that breaks down every barrier. A love that crosses every boundary. A love that knows no bounds and has no end. When we embrace Christ, we become rooted and grounded in this love ourselves and bearers of this message of good news to the world.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 24-26, Ephesians 4

The Sovereignty of God

Readings for today: Isaiah 16-20, Ephesians 1-2

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1) 

I think of this verse every time I read through the prophets. On the one hand, God is bringing His righteous judgment against a people who have forgotten Him. A people who have earned their fate by bringing shame upon themselves and their communities and their nations through their actions. Cush shall be cut off. Egypt shall fall. Babylon will be destroyed. The desert tribes of the Kedar scattered. Not even God’s chosen people will be spared as Jerusalem is laid low. At the same time, there are signs of future hope. In a stunning display of grace and mercy, God reaches out to the enemies of His people and draws them close. “And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them...In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance." (Isaiah‬ ‭19:21, 23-25‬) There truly is a time for everything under heaven!

One of the keys to understanding and interpreting the prophetic texts is to try to place yourself in Isaiah’s shoes. He is the court prophet. A godly politician. A man who is familiar with world events. He speaks to kings and princes and the rulers of his day. He knows the intricate plans they’ve laid. He knows the complex challenges they face. He knows the struggles and hardships and burdens that come along with leading a nation at a time when one is surrounded by far more powerful neighbors to the north (Assyria), to the east (Babylon), and to the south (Egypt). Israel has always sat at the crossroads of the Middle East. They have served as a highway for invading armies for centuries. And yet, as Isaiah prayerfully ponders all these things, the Holy Spirit opens His eyes. He takes a step back and surveys the ever-shifting political landscape from God’s perspective. He begins to see how God is at work orchestrating the course of human events. Sovereignly directing the rise and fall of empires. Bringing all things together in order to accomplish His divine plan. 

Now think about our own context. The rise of social media makes us all “court prophets” of a sort. All of us are given total access (seemingly) to the best laid plans of our political leaders. As we watch certain events unfold, we are confronted with the complex challenges of a globally connected world. If Twitter is to be believed, the world is either coming to an end or its best days are ahead. Depending on one’s political affiliations, we are in for the best of times or the worst of times. Depending on one’s personal convictions and religious/social leanings, our politicians represent the anti-Christ or are being used by God to righteously bring about His will. Would that we would follow Isaiah’s example! Take a step back! Prayerfully ponder what over what we are seeing and ask the Holy Spirit for divine wisdom to interpret the signs. God is at work, friends! He is still on His throne! He is orchestrating the course of human events. He is sovereignly directing the rise and fall of human empires. He is bringing all things together in order to accomplish His divine plan. As Christians we should know better than to place our trust in kings or princes or presidents or prime ministers. We should know better than to place our trust in the uncertainty of a free market economy. We should know better than to believe our nation is somehow exempt from the volatility of human history. We should know better than to place our hopes in the next worldwide summit or peace treaty or trade agreement. Instead, we should place our confidence in God alone. Under God, every challenge becomes an opportunity to grow in faith. Every crushing disappointment an opportunity to learn more about the sufficiency of grace. Every victory and success an opportunity to praise God and to give thanks. 

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 21-23, Ephesians 3

The Danger of Self-Promotion

Readings for today: Isaiah 13-15, Galatians 6

There may not be anything more dangerous to our mental health than self-promotion. Recently, Facebook completed an internal study of the impact of Instagram especially on teenage girls. The results were not good. 1 in 5 girls reported Instagram makes them feel worse about themselves. 32.4% of them reported Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies specifically. Significant percentages reported increased rates of anxiety and depression as well. This squares with an earlier finding in Britain that measured the impact of mental health across all social media platforms. All of them reported similar increases in rates of anxiety, depression, and even physical illness. The greater the usage, the greater the impact. So here’s the big question…why? What is it about social media that drives us to despair? Social media is literally designed to create a self-reinforcing feedback loop. It activates the brain’s “reward” center by releasing dopamine with every “like” or “follow” or engagement. As such, it becomes addictive and like all addictions, you rapidly reach the point of diminishing returns. Simply put, you find yourself craving more and needing more to get the same dopamine effect. The results of the study show that - consciously or subconsciously - people are using social media to boost their self-esteem. Polish their self-image. Promote themselves and their accomplishments. They do this to create a greater sense of belonging in their social circle. When their posts receive a lot of attention, the pleasure centers in their brain fire up. Dopamine is released. They feel great. When their posts go unnoticed or are seemingly ignored, the pleasure centers of their brains remain dormant. Dopamine is not released. And just like any addict, when they are denied what they crave, they grow anxious and depressed.

This is not a new problem. Human beings have been struggling with this issue from the beginning. There is something innate within us that craves attention. We long to be recognized. Long to be loved and admired and respected. Call it pride. Call it arrogance. Call it the “idol of Self.” It is rooted deep within our sinful nature and it is impossible to resist. We see a great example of it from our reading today in Isaiah. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people.” (Isaiah‬ ‭14:12-20‬)

Traditionally, we believe this passage has a double-meaning. In human terms, it refers to the Babylonian king. The man who set himself up as ruler of the world. The man who believed himself to be greater than any human or god. He set up images of himself. He demanded to be worshipped. He clearly attempted to claim a position that was not his own. In spiritual terms, we also see this as a reference to Satan. Lucifer. The devil. An angel who once lived with God in glory but fell through pride and arrogance as he sought to usurp God’s throne. Regardless of what interpretive stance you hold - and it is possible to believe both - they end with the same result. Those who exalt themselves are brought low. Those who promote themselves are cast down. Those who seek to raise themselves through pride and arrogance to a lofty status end up falling on their faces. They become the subject of derision. They are quickly cast aside and forgotten.

We see it in our own world all the time. How many celebrities rise and fall? How many social influencers come and go? How many politicians get their fifteen minutes of fame? Those with any kind of staying power often have to resort to greater and greater acts of self-promotion in order to remain relevant. They become attention-seekers in order not to be forgotten. It’s shameless and often borders on the absurd. By the way, I see the same thing happening with pastors. The pursuit of platform and performance and self-promotion over faithfulness and a long obedience in the same direction. It’s why so many fall into sin. It’s why so many fall into temptation. They are driven to create content. Driven to create a buzz. Driven by their success to create greater success. All defined by numbers reached. Butts in the seats. Online views. Books published. Conferences invited to. You name it. They become an industry unto themselves. But such fame is fleeting. Such attention is not good for the soul. The pressure to perform is too much which is why so many crater at the end.

So what’s the answer? I think the Apostle Paul sums it up well, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians‬ ‭6:14‬) The only Person we should be platforming is Jesus. His is the only name under heaven by which we might be saved and therefore His is the only Name we should be promoting to the world. A famous saint once said, “Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” That sounds about right to me. At the end of the day…if my life is to count for anything…may it be because I pointed people beyond myself to Jesus.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Christian Freedom

Readings for today: Isaiah 10-12, Galatians 5

Galatians is the manifesto for Christian freedom. The freedom we have in Christ. The freedom Christ won for us on the cross. Without Jesus, we are enslaved. Enslaved to our sinful desires. Enslaved to our corrupt thoughts and feelings. Enslaved to the ways of this world. Enslaved by the enemy of this world. It’s why when we look at the world around us, we see such pain. It’s why human beings are often so hurtful. So abusive. So evil. It’s why man’s inhumanity to man often knows no boundaries. Paul knew this. He had experienced this. Before Christ set him free, he was enslaved to his own passions and desires. He persecuted the church. Celebrated their pain and suffering. Rejoiced in their deaths. He relentlessly pursued them. Chased them down. Drug them from their homes and families. He was the chief of sinners. But then Christ came into his life and he was set free. So this freedom of which he speaks is not an abstract concept for him. It is something he experienced deeply, viscerally, and powerfully.

It’s why he’s so concerned for his Galatian friends. He is in anguish over what is happening to them. Having been set free by Christ, they are submitting themselves again to the yoke of slavery. Having begun so well in the Spirit, they are again seeking to ground their identity in something other than Jesus. Having been saved by grace through the gift of faith, they are now turning to their own work for justification. How often do we make the same mistake as Christians?

So how can we guard our hearts and minds from falling into this trap? Paul lays it out for us in the readings for today. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) A great verse to memorize and meditate on. A great verse to remind yourself of when you start to feel the pull of temptation. A great verse to cling to when you feel trapped or defeated or depressed or anxious or afraid. You have been set free! Christ has accomplished all you need! Simply stand in this freedom. Rest in this freedom. Trust this freedom and do not return to the old ways of slavery.

“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13) Our world doesn’t understand true freedom. The freedom it offers is an unfettered freedom. A freedom without boundaries. A freedom without restraint. A freedom centered ultimately on the gratification of our own selfish desires. This is not Christian freedom, friends! It is a lie from the pit of hell! It is the path back into slavery! Christian freedom results in service to God and to one another. Christian freedom means offering our lives back to God and to His people. It is a freedom constrained by love. A freedom bounded by grace. A freedom fettered by faith in the Son of God who gave Himself up for us. This is the freedom we were called to in Christ. 

And we gain this freedom as we walk by the Spirit.  “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) As we surrender our lives to the Spirit and His sanctifying work, we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. We will stand firm and resist the yoke of slavery. We will refuse to go back to the old ways of living. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians‬ ‭5:25‬)‬‬ As we keep in step with Spirit - through daily prayer and Bible study and weekly worship with God’s people - we will find our lives being transformed. Our awareness of the depth and the breadth of the freedom we have in Christ will grow. Our experience of God’s presence will deepen. Our desire to love and serve both God and His people will increase. This is what Paul hopes and prays for his Galatian friends and it is my prayer for all of us as well. 

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 13-15, Galatians 6

Layers of Meaning

Readings for today: Isaiah 7-9, Galatians 4

The prophetic books are difficult to interpret. There are often many different layers of meaning. They serve as a great reminder that while the Bible was written for us, it was not written to us. The people who heard Isaiah speak interpreted things quite differently than we do today. They recognized Isaiah was addressing current events happening all around them in their world and it is only later that they would come to recognize he was also speaking prophetically about what would happen in the future as well. Take Isaiah 7:14 for example, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This is one of the great Messianic texts Matthew picks up in his gospel but it also has immediate implications for King Ahaz. Ahaz is staring down the barrel of a great invasion. His worst enemies, Syrian and Ephraim, have joined forces to conquer his kingdom. Ahaz and his people are rightly afraid. Isaiah 7:2 even says their hearts “shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.” In the midst of their fear, God sends Isaiah with a word of comfort. A word of hope. A word of victory. “And say to him, 'Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah...thus says the Lord God: "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” (Isaiah‬ ‭7:4, 7-9‬) But Ahaz does not accept the Word of the Lord. He cannot believe it. Ahaz has spent his entire life worshipping other gods so it shouldn’t surprise us when he doesn’t recognize Yahweh’s voice. So God takes it one step further. Not only does He give Ahaz a word of promise but also a tangible sign to hold onto so he knows these things will come to pass. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!" (Isaiah‬ ‭7:14-17‬) Some scholars suggest this is Isaiah’s son who appears in the next chapter. Others suggest it is the name given to a baby born in the king’s household, an event unrecorded in the Bible. Whichever it is, the point is that God will bring to pass His will for both Syria and Samaria as the Assyrian Empire rises up, spills its banks, and floods through both regions. This is the immediate meaning of the prophecy. 

But there is an eschatological meaning as well. As mentioned above, Matthew picks up this text and applies it to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The ultimate sign of comfort. The ultimate sign of hope. The ultimate sign of God’s victory on behalf of His people. Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin and enters this world to bring eternal life through His death and resurrection. Because of Christ, we do not need to be afraid. We will not fall before our enemies. We are not left to the mercy of our circumstances. We are no longer enslaved to sin. We are set free. By His great love and mercy and grace. Like Ahaz, we hear these words, “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint...” (Isaiah‬ ‭7:4‬) And we are reminded again to place our trust in God. 

I’ve been studying the Scriptures for over two decades now. I read through the Bible every year. I study it in-depth both personally and for my profession. I have spent countless hours meditating and praying over these texts and here is what I’ve discovered. Not only does Scripture have an immediate meaning for those like Ahaz who are hearing it for the first time. And not only does it often have a secondary meaning as it relates to Jesus Christ or future world events. But it also takes on a third meaning. A personal application in my own life. When I read these stories and place myself in Ahaz’s shoes and try to imagine his fear and trepidation; I realize God is speaking to my life as well. My circumstances. My struggles. My fears. How often have I stood face to face with my own enemies? My heart shaking like a tree before the wind? How often has God brought me a word of comfort, hope, and promise in those moments? How many times have I graciously been given a sign? How many times as I have waited on the Lord have I seen Him come through? Deliver the victory? My job is simply to wait. To hold onto faith. To trust. To surrender. To let Him do the work. When I do, I can look back and see the hand of God as He sovereignly directs all things according to His will in my life for my good and for His glory. 

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 10-12, Galatians 5

A Prophetic Call

Readings for today: Isaiah 4-6, Galatians 3

“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” (Isaiah‬ ‭1:1‬)

The book of Isaiah begins with a political statement. Everything he says from this point forward (66 chapters!) must be viewed through a distinctly political lens. Uzziah. Jotham. Ahaz. Hezekiah. You may know their stories. You can find them in the histories of the Kings and Chronicles. We know Uzziah reigned for over fifty years and for the most part remained faithful to God. However, at the end of his life he grew proud and brazenly entered the Temple to offer sacrifices. We know his son, Jotham, reigned for sixteen years and also remained faithful to the Lord but failed to address the nation’s ongoing idolatry on the high places. We know Ahaz reigned for sixteen years and was an evil, faithless king. The entire kingdom suffered under his rule. We know Hezekiah returned to the ways of the Lord, experienced the miracle of healing, but also grew prideful and set his descendents up for disaster when he shows off his riches to the envoys of Babylon. 

Isaiah presumably witnesses all of this. He sees it all go past. He lives it. His prophetic career begins at some point during the glory days under King Uzziah and ends at some point during the reign of King Hezekiah. Through it all, he watches his nation shift its allegiance from Yahweh to other gods. He watches his nation descend into cultural chaos as they abandon true worship and true righteousness. He watches the leaders of his nation attempt to reform and revitalize the country. He sees the ups and downs of their efforts. The successes and failures. I often ask myself what sustains Isaiah? How is he able to find the strength to persevere throughout his life and ministry? The answer, of course, comes in chapter six…

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.” (Isaiah‬ ‭6:1-13‬)

Isaiah has what’s known as an “epiphany.” He comes face to face with the glory of God. In the midst of his deep grief over the death of his beloved king, he receives a vision that will set the course for the rest of his life. It is honest. It is real. It is raw. No holds barred. God essentially tells Isaiah that by answering this call, he will experience a lifetime of futility. A lifetime of failure. He will speak words the people will not hear. He will see things they cannot understand. He is called to the prophetic ministry. Not so much a ministry future-telling as much as a ministry of confrontation. Confrontation not birthed out of anger or frustration but out of hope. Hope for repentance. Hope for a return to the Lord where the people can find grace and healing and mercy. Listen to some of things he says over these first few chapters…

• “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah‬ ‭1:16-18‬)

• “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah‬ ‭2:2-3‬)  

• “In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.” (Isaiah‬ ‭4:2-6‬)

One can easily recognize the parallels to our own time. How many of us lament the state of our nation? How many of us lament the moral drift of our culture? How many of us lament the pain and suffering and sin and degredation we see all around us? We lament the lack of prayer in our schools. The absence of the Ten Commandments in public spaces. The encroaching secularism that threatens to push our faith to the margins. And yet, are we willing to prophetically confront the deeper questions of why prayer doesn’t seem to fill our homes? Why the Ten Commandments aren’t posted and followed in our churches? How we have marginalized our faith by refusing to share Christ with our neighbors, friends, and co-workers? Are we not as guilty as the people Isaiah was speaking to? And are we willing to hear his words as the Word of the Lord to us? Are we willing to repent and return and re-commit ourselves to God’s ways?

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 7-9, Galatians 4

On Earth as it is in Heaven

Readings for today: Isaiah 2-3, Galatians 2

We live in a fallen world. A world full of pain and suffering. A world full of anxiety and fear. A world full of tragedy and heartbreak. Humanity is a fallen creature. Driven by passions it cannot control. Enslaved by desires it cannot constrain. We are our own worst enemies. Over the years, I’ve had lots of conversations with people from all different walks of life. All different backgrounds and culture. Because I am a pastor, they often ask me questions about the meaning of life. Why things are the way they are? Why the world is the way that it is? Why is humanity seemingly so hell-bent on self-destruction? The Bible has an answer. A diagnosis. It’s not an easy one to hear. It’s called sin. Human beings - made in God’s own image and given dominion over all He has made - wanted to play god, wanted to be their own gods, and the results have been horrifying. We’ve made a huge mess of things. We can’t get out of our own way. No matter how hard we try. No matter how many plans we put together. No matter how much we strive and toil and struggle and fight. We tend to relapse into the same evil behaviors. Violence. Greed. Selfishness. Outrage. Hate. This is the fruit of a corrupt nature. We are rotten to the core. And if you doubt the veracity of this statement, go spend time in the slums of our world. Stand at the mass graves of the victims of genocide. Listen closely to the overheated rhetoric of politicians across the world and across the political spectrum. We are as helpless as we are hopeless.

Thankfully, God knows we are poor and powerless. He knows we are weak and feeble and desperately anxious and afraid. So He makes a way where there is no way. He lifts high the deep valleys. He lays low the tall mountains. He makes smooth the rough places and straightens the winding roads. He tears down every dividing wall of hostility and eliminates every barrier that keeps us from His presence. His promise is sure. Our future secure. His vision for this world will come to pass. Listen to how the prophet Isaiah describes it, “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah‬ ‭2:2-5‬)

It’s beautiful, is it not? A world full of peace. A world full of righteousness and justice. A world full of grace and mercy. A world where there is no need for self-promotion, self-protection, or self-preservation for God is the inexhaustible source for all we need. And He is more than enough. It’s a world where the nations seek God. The nations serve God. The nations obey God. A world where God’s name is lifted up. God’s house is the center of all of life. And the worship of God becomes humanity’s highest end once again. All things are made new. All things are restored. All things are full of light and life and love. This is God’s vision for His world. God’s vision for humanity. God’s vision for our future.

I love that last line. Verse five. “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” To put it another way, “Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray this prayer with great regularity. Some traditions even pray it every Sunday. It’s the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray and it reflects His heart for our world. Jesus wants His people to walk in the light of the Lord. To live as heavenly creatures in this earthly realm. To be a community of life in a culture of death. He wants us to embody our future in the present. He wants us to live as if we were already there in those “latter days.” We are to give people a foretaste of heaven. A glimpse of God’s Kingdom. In our worship. In our fellowship. In our relationships with each other and in our service to the lost and least of these in our world.

What does this practically mean for our day to day? It means we allow no human divisions or distinctions to separate us from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Not politics. Not ethnicity. Not economics. It means we practice forgiveness and pursue reconciliation when we’ve been hurt or wounded. It means the strong lay down their lives for the weak. The powerful seek to serve the powerless. Those in authority exercise it with grace and mercy and compassion. It means we cling to the truth and reject all lies. It means we refuse to let the ends justify the means, especially when those means require ungodly compromise. It means we humble ourselves continually under God’s mighty hand, trusting Him to lift us up in His time and according to His will. And these are just the outskirts of His ways.

Friends, each day presents a new opportunity for God’s mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness is great! Today can be the day of salvation! Today is yet another chance for the Kingdom in your life and in your world! Hear the Word of the Lord! Walk in the light of the Lord! Surrender yourself to His purposes! Let Him use you for His glory!

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 4-6, Galatians 3

Death-Defying Love

Readings for today: Song of Solomon 4-8, 2 Corinthians 13, Galatians 1, Isaiah 1

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.” (Song of Solomon‬ ‭8:6-7‬)

I will admit I am partial to these verses. My wife inscribed them on my wedding ring. We’ve been together over twenty-five years now and the words ring more true than ever. Life has not been a fairy tale. We’ve had to weather some storms like all couples do. The loss of a child. The failure of a ministry. The dangerously premature birth of our twins. The battles with our children as they grew older. Facing our own demons as they revealed themselves over the years. It’s been a journey. And there have been moments when I wasn’t sure we’d make it through. In fact, I almost lost my marriage many years ago due to my neglect and workaholism. So we’ve definitely had our ups and downs. Our peaks and valleys. But the biggest lesson we’ve learned is that God’s love never fails.

You may or may not believe that last statement. I remember talking to a friend several years ago who challenged me on this point. She pointed to her divorce as an example of the failure of love. She pointed to the estrangement of her children as an example of love letting her down. She gave me example after example from her own life of the many times she had been disappointed by love. Betrayed by love. Abandoned by love. It was heartbreaking. After listening, I asked her about the love of Jesus. She broke down and wept. Though she had so many negative experiences with human love, she found herself still holding on to the love of God. As we talked further, she slowly but surely was able to recognize how God’s love had sustained her through all the “floods” and “fires” of her life.

In my last devotional on Saturday, I pointed out that the Song of Solomon is not simply a human love poem. Traditionally it has been interpreted by many as describing the love God has for His people. I know this was a new thought for many. Perhaps it even made your reading a little awkward or uncomfortable. Hopefully today it becomes more clear. It is God who sets us as a seal on His heart. It is God who sets us as a seal on His arm. It is God’s love that is as strong as death. His love that is as fierce as the grave. When the devil offered Jesus the entire world in exchange for love, Jesus utterly despised him. God’s love is eternal. Steadfast. Loyal. True. It is the one sure thing in this uncertain world in which we live. 

Ponder the love of God today, friends. A love that will not let you go. A love that will relentlessly pursue you until the day you die. A love that was demonstrated on the Cross. A love that defeated the grave. A love that lives even now eternal in the heavens. A love that is being poured out continually by the Holy Spirit onto God’s people so they will share it with the world. This love is available to us! This love never runs dry! Trusting in this love will save your marriage! It will transform your family! It will deepen your friendships! It will change everything if you let it. If you will simply let go and let Christ reign and rule in your heart. Rest in His love, friends. Let God quiet you with His love. May you walk today in His love and may you experience the blessing that comes from abiding in His love. 

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 2-3, Galatians 2

Intimacy with God

Readings for today: Song of Solomon 1-3, 2 Corinthians 12

The Song of Solomon is one of the most difficult and least understood books in all of Scripture. It’s one we tend to avoid in our sex-saturated culture. The language is far too intimate. The imagery too graphic. We don’t want to picture it much less reflect on how the Spirit might speak to us through it. So we flip through the pages as fast as we can to get to the end so we can avoid any embarrassment.  

But what is this book about? The love of a man for a woman? The love of God for His church? Perhaps both? Are we comfortable thinking about our relationship with God in sexual terms? Or is that a bridge too far? It certainly was for many of the ancient rabbi’s. They put a content warning on this book, restricting it to those who were 30 and over. Then again, the ancient church often read this text as they approached the Lord’s Table. They recognized the deep intimacy God desires to have with us and they affirmed such love by tying this book to the most sacred act of worship. I firmly believe the Bible is inviting us to approach God in the most intimate of ways. The language of the Song is meant to arouse. Meant to touch the deepest places of our hearts. Meant to draw us into intimate embrace with the Father.

Our inability to embrace this book reveals how deep our corruption runs. We are so confused when it comes to human sexuality. We buy the lie that it’s all about our personal pleasure. We depersonalize it through pornography, casual hook ups, and apps like Tinder. We see sex as dirty yet secretly gratifying. Something to be enjoyed yet something to be feared. Our culture boasts of sexual freedom but then seems shocked when such freedom leads to broken relationships, unplanned pregnancy, STD’s, abuse, and violence. We want all the pleasure sex brings but none of the responsibility. If there’s anything the #MeToo movement has taught us, it’s that our sexual appetites are insatiable. Our lusts are impossible to satisfy. Sexuality without restraint is destructive and traumatic.  

And yet, sex is God’s creation. Sexuality is something He instilled within each of us. We are created as sexual beings and when the Bible talks about “knowing” another person, it often uses the most sexually intimate of terms. The same is true for “knowing” God. God designed sex to be the ultimate experience of “knowing.” A way for us to express our deepest affections. Our deepest emotions. Our deepest vulnerabilities. All within the safety of the covenant bonds of marriage between a man and a woman. All within the safety of the covenant bond we share with Jesus.  

So is it possible to see the Song of Solomon as a prayer? As a way to express the deepest desires of our hearts to God? As a way for us to ask for deeper intimacy with Him? Or does our broken human experience of sexuality warp our thinking? Corrupt how we understand this most powerful and primal of drives? Does it poison this well and thus prevent us from fully grasping the depth of relationship God desires to have with us? The Song of Solomon is an invitation. An invitation from God to deeper intimacy. If you find yourself struggling to embrace Him, prayerfully meditate on this book. If you find yourself battling inner demons or shame from your past, let the words of this book assure you and heal you as you read about God’s great love for you. If you’ve never submitted your sexuality to God or never even connected the gift of sex with God, let these words gently convict you and re-shape your thinking.

Friends, there’s a reason Christ calls the church His “bride.” There’s a reason God so often refers to Himself in the Old Testament as a “husband” and Israel as his “wife.” Marriage is the place where a man and a woman become “one flesh” before the Lord and it is designed to point beyond itself to something even greater...the “oneness” God desires to have with His people for all eternity.

Readings for tomorrow: Song of Solomon 4-8, 2 Corinthians 13, Galatians 1, Isaiah 1