Victor Scott - Jeremiah's Vow

Lent 2021, Day 4 | Psalm 119:13-16

Whether we know it or not, the manner in which we live our lives does have an impact in how others receive what we say to them.

Psalm 119:13-16

¹³With my lips I declare
    all the rules of your mouth*.
¹⁴In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.

* Through these reflections, those phrases that identify God’s word, revelation, or law will be highlighted in the text in the hopes of accentuating the many and varied ways we can visualize what God has given to us for our good.

Reflection

There is a famous phrase attributed to the great St. Francis of Assisi.

“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”
St. Francis of Assisi (attributed)

The problem is, there is no evidence that he actually said this. Well, maybe calling it a problem is a bit much. It would be better to say that this refrain may actually be a summary of his actual thoughts. It is possible that this pithier version was distilled from what St. Francis actually said, namely: “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”

As we learn more of God’s word, we begin to have our thoughts shaped and reshaped by God’s thoughts.

As we spend time with God, we are influenced and directed in ways that actually bring us closer to where God is drawing us.

Whether we know it or not, the manner in which we live our lives does have an impact in how others receive what we say to them. There needs to be a congruency between word and action. However, and this is just as important, we can’t avoid speaking what we know to be true just because are still figuring our how to live in greater consistency!

I find that too often, I don’t speak because of some fear of being seen as a hypocrite. But this happens when what we say is coming from us. When we are the source. But if we are speaking the words of God, it doesn’t matter that I’m saying it or some donkey on the road. The words of God are true even when a notorious liar speaks them. They may be the only true things that person ever says. But that doesn’t make the words any less true.

As we invest time in God’s word, and as we inwardly digest that word in our lives, the greater our assurance of faith with God. And as our we grow in grace we must share what we have learned, even when we haven’t fully implemented what God has said.

Commentary

Verse 13: There is a sense in which we will never fulfill the charge of this verse. But, that is not its intent. By making this declaration, the Psalmist is displaying the nature of what our commitment should be. There is an intentionality to the work of proclaiming the rules of God. But the breadth of this commitment is to declare “all the rules.” We cannot select which rules we like and then discard the rest. If we take up the mantle of heralding the rules of God, we must faithfully declare them all. From the most glorious to the most convicting. To speak one is to become responsible for speaking them all.

Verse 14: The comparison described here is shocking. The gladness that comes from having the security of riches, of having the stability that material wealth can afford is compared to the delighting in God’s testimonies. What God says can comfort and heal and encourage and instruct. To have God’s testimonies is to be protected. We do not have to shun material blessings. But we must not diminish the purpose and power of what God has spoken in the Scriptures.

Verse 15: We have been reminded several times to develop a focused attention on God’s ways. In this verse we are encouraged to meditate. This is another way of describing the spending of time considering what God has given to us. It is the mulling over of the precept we are considering. To use a culinary idea, to meditate is to marinate in the precept we are contemplating. To allow the truth we are engaging to get inside of us, flavoring us with its attributes. As we meditate we are also to once again look upon God’s example. God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), but we must strive to conform out lives to them anyway.

Verse 16: This is a second reference to delight. In this case, the delight is directed at the statutes of God themselves. The reality of how God’s words and commands can bring joy to our lives can be somewhat counterintuitive, but it is possible. In order to achieve it, we have to understand God’s commands as gift rather than a restriction; as a key rather than a lock. The Psalmist continues by offering a statement of conviction: “I will not forget your word.” In order to not forget, something must first be known.

The Complete Lent 2021 Series

Lent 2021, Day 3 | Psalm 119:9-12

The word of God, his commandments and statutes serve as the guiderails of life.

Psalm 119:9-12

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word*.
¹⁰With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
¹¹I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
¹²Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!

Reflection

One of the great fears of the Christian journey is failing to live up to God’s standard of holiness. Well, allow me to comfort you my friends. No one can live up to that standard. There is not a single person who has ever lived who has matched God’s perfect standard; other than Jesus.

This is a wonderfully uncomfortable truth to accept. We are not perfect. And we will never be perfect as we travel on life’s road. What we can do, what we should strive to achieve is a steady progress in our understanding of God’s goodness.

When we live our lives with God and others in fear of failure, we actually rob ourselves of one of the essential comforts of our relationship with God. We are robbing ourselves of experiencing God’s grace. Whether we fully appreciate it or not, the reality is that our constant trying to impress God actually short-circuits our spiritual development.

The word of God, his commandments and statutes serve as the guiderails of life. They are what keep us from veering off into unhealthy directions. What’s more, when we realize this function of God’s word, we may very well stop trying to be God, and simply enjoy being his children. We can trust God’s direction and even God’s boundaries for our lives when we accept and surrender to his tender care. And this care is seen best when we obey his commands more.

Commentary

Verse 9: The second section of Psalm 119 begins with a simple question. This question reflects the often unspoken struggle of God’s people: how can we keep our way pure? In other words, how can we please God with our lives? The answer is simple and puzzling. It is simple in that we are given one task. We are to “guard” our way. This means that there will be assaults against our living in purity. There will be circumstances that would pull us away from where we should be and what we should do. But there is something puzzling about this task. The Psalmist implies that there is an attribute to God’s word that makes guarding our way possible. That characteristic is that God’s word is the codification of God’s wisdom. When God speaks, we should listen. When we listen, we can learn. And if we learn, we can live in a way that is pleasing to God.

Verse 10: We see here, the link between intentional devotion and a focused life. The Psalmist makes it clear that we ought to fill our hearts completely with the labor of seeking after God. To seek is to pursue. To commit ourselves to find what we are searching for. In the Christian journey we should avoid taking a passive posture toward God. While God’s presence is everywhere, his focus is drawn to our yearning for him. When we seek, he draws near. But our seeking is to be directed by his commandments. As we heed them and obey them we are kept on track. Our course through life is safeguarded by God’s word. Why? Because God’s word will always return to God and will never be empty. Look at what God said through the Prophet Isaiah, “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 ESV).

Verse 11: Continuing with the theme of the heart, the Psalmist declares that the word of God can be “stored up.” We do not often think about the fact that the word is not a limited resource. It is bountiful and rich. We can return to it over and over and draw from it new strength. The reservoir of God’s word never runs dry. But why should we store up God’s word? These resources are what we use to fight against sin in our lives. When we have God’s word in our heart, we eliminate the room for sin to get in. This is not a formula. It is a process. The more of God’s word that is in us, the less room exists for anything else.

Verse 12: The Psalmist take a moment to worship and honor God. We must bless the Lord. Not with some physical gift. God has not need for anything material. When we bless God we are acting and living with the correct knowledge of who and what God is. To do anything less is to not bless the Lord. Interestingly, it is in the context of worship that the Psalmist petitions the Lord to instruct them in God’s statutes. Our desire to learn should not be seen as separated from our worship of God. The greater our worship, the more our capacity to be taught increases. It may seem paradoxical, but that does not negate the implication of this relationship between worship and instruction.

The Complete Lent 2021 Series

Lent 2021, Day 2 | Psalm 119:5-8

The life of faith is mired with possibilities. It can feel at times that there are too many options for how God may want us to go.

Psalm 119:5-8

⁵Oh that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping your statutes*!
⁶Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
⁷I will praise you with an upright heart,
    when I learn your righteous rules.
⁸I will keep your statutes;
    do not utterly forsake me!

Reflection

The life of faith is mired with possibilities. It can feel at times that there are too many options for how God may want us to go. The uncomfortable irony is that there are not as many “options” as we may think.

God is only interested in one thing, that we would live a life that is consistent with his character. In our search to live this out, we find that there are so many ways of expressing that singular reality. Each opportunity as unique as our imaginations can create.

What I have found out in the last few years is that by increasing my focus on becoming more like God, I am able to have a wider impact. Not because I am trying to, but because I am available to. The closer I grow in my relationship with God, the easier it is to hear what he wants of me. The clearer I see the world the way he does.

All of this begins with a commitment to keep our “eyes fixed on all [his] commandments.”

Commentary

Verse 5: The first section of Psalm 119 concludes with a cry for strength in daily obedience. The idea of being “steadfast” points to a firmness of conviction. It carries the implication of resolution and of not being swayed or deterred. The Psalmist calls upon the Lord to fortify them because the tendency will be to not remain steadfast. The precepts of the Lord are contrary to the current of the world around us, therefore it requires an increased commitment to persist in our obedience as God rightly deserves to receive.

Verse 6: How does the Psalmist characterize the effect of remaining steadfast in God’s precepts? We see the answer here in verse 6. When we are steadfast, we are not then “put to shame.” This is not about embarrassment or fear. To be put to shame points more to living according to a lie. To being exposed as frauds and charlatans. The strength of our conviction to obey God’s word, the greater our confidence in God himself. This is an odd relationship. But only when we do not consider God’s commands to be perfect. For God to expect complete obedience, we must believe in the complete and total goodness of God. That he will not call us to an action that will purposely lead us to evil or ruin.

Verse 7: The greater our commitment to learn and apply what God has instructed, the greater its impact on our hearts. We become more like God because we are conforming ourselves to his character. This will inevitably lead to praise. To worship. When we know God better, by living as he lives, we grow in our ability to draw near to him.

Verse 8: The closing verse of the first section is a plea. The Psalmist offers a promise to “keep your statutes”. They then ask for God to remain faithful to them. The sentiment is quite passionate. “Do not utterly forsake me!” (Emphasis added). It is not necessarily that the Psalmist fears being cast off from God, but rather that there is a recognition that in keeping the Lord’s statutes there is a corresponding promise by God to be attentive to their plight.

The Complete Lent 2021 Series

Lent 2021, Day 1 | Psalm 119:1-4

The life of the believer in Jesus will be marked by one important choice: will I strive to live according to the will of God as contained in the word of God.

Psalm 119:1-4

¹Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord*!
²Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
³who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
⁴You have commanded your precepts
    to be kept diligently.

Reflection

The life of the believer in Jesus will be marked by one important choice: will I strive to live according to the will of God as contained in the word of God.

This may feel like an oversimplification. And it might be. But the benefit of thinking about our journey in these terms is that is clarifies what the goal is. Whether we are comfortable with it yet or not, we must live in such a way that when we stand before our Lord and Savior we hear him say, “Well done.”

One of the great realizations of my life in Christ was discovering that what God commands are the training wheels faith. They are not the end of faith. They are the beginning. What God calls us to do is what trains us to go deeper into who he is and what he has called us to do in the world.

The more I think on this, the more profound the realization. And the more clear the task.

Commentary

Verse 1: There is a link between the integrity of our lives and the state of blessedness we experience. But what is it that bridges these two realities? The inference from the text is that is the commitment to our obedience to “the law of the Lord.” This phrase is a shorthand for God’s revelation. For that which God has spoken. To be blessed and to be seen as blameless and to walk in the law of the Lord are not disconnected ideas. They are, in fact, the way we know we are moving in the same direction as God.

Verse 2: What does it mean to “keep his testimonies”? To treasure. To esteem. To protect because of what it means to you. Does this define our disposition for what God has said about himself? What others have said about him? Too often we make the mistake of thinking that “knowing” is the same as “keeping.” It is not. The former speaks to a mere familiarity. The latter, a deep and abiding intimacy. And this is a key to making sense of why we ought to keep his testimonies. In our pursuit of him, we do it with out “whole heart.” With the totality of who we are. We are not merely trying to find God. We are trying to connect with God. To be known by God in the deepest of ways.

Verse 3: The pursuit and the treasuring manifests itself in a life that embodies the essence and character of God. We “do no wrong.” We are able to discern what we ought to do, for that is most pleasing to God. And, in our pleasing God, we are deeply fulfilled. Satisfied in our innermost being. As we discover what God requires of us, we can see the manner of our living is changed. It is transformed. So much so that we being to walk like he walks. We are more than just copying his actions. Our apprehension of what it means to be with God and to be like God has matured. It is growing clearer in our understanding. We become living examples of his grace.

Verse 4: The kind of life that is blessed and has internalized the truths of the law of the Lord is a disciplined life. I find that we take exception far to quickly with God’s commands. Why should we not listen to the one voice that has our best interests at heart and who knows the end from the beginning? Why do be buck so strongly that instruction? Is it because we fail to accept that in our own limitations we will fail more often than we can admit? The apostle John tells us that the commands of God are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). And yet we feel as those we are being overwhelmed by what has requested. We must confront this tendency. We have been commanded to be diligent in our keeping of God’s precepts. That requires discipline and trust in God to do with confidence.

THe Complete Lent 2021 Series

Lent 2021 Series

One of the great reasons I have remained encouraged is because I genuinely believe that God is sovereign. I believe that God has not let go of the steering wheel.

Lent Has Arrived

Tomorrow will be the first day of the season of Lent. During this season in the Church calendar, is is particularly a good time to take a step back and look at our lives. Where are we going? Is it where we want to go?

This kind of reflecting is one we should practice often. But, it is not always easy to do. If we are not careful, it could become a time of discouragement rather than growth.

One of the great reasons I have remained encouraged is because I genuinely believe that God is sovereign. I believe that God has not let go of the steering wheel.

Now, while some would take this idea of sovereignty to mean God controls every individual facet of the world, we do not need to believe that to trust God’s goodness. The miracle of God’s oversight over the whole of creation is something we should rejoice in.

We don’t have to understand it all. We don’t even have to agree with what or how God is doing things. But, we do need to trust God. This can seem so difficult to do. At least at first.

I have often asked myself why? Why do I struggle to trust God in and through the varied circumstances of life?

I think it has to do with our fear, or at the very least, our reluctance to live a surrendered life to God.

Our desire to maintain control over what we can’t control is more damaging than we know. And what are we trying to control, you may be asking? We are trying to control outcomes. But that is not for us to decide. We must live our lives the best we can. With the information we have available to us.

We don’t know how any individual choice will turn out. But we can decide how we will respond regardless of the outcome.

Our attitude, to a degree not often considered, determines how well we live.

A Season of Reflection

The season of Lent is a penitential time in the Church’s calendar. What this means is that during this season, we seek to refocus our lives. We strive to identify those attitudes and habits that are getting in the way of our spiritual growth.

One of the great challenges of the Christian journey is reflection. For those us who did not grow up in a liturgical church, the ebb and flow of the Church Calendar can seem strange. And yet, as the years have passed, I find this steady rhythm comforting.

There have been so many events and situations that have happened in the last year. I think a time of intentional reflection is warranted. Maybe its needed now more than ever.

For the people of God

In the last two years, I have become immersed in the study of the Book of Common Prayer tradition. And while there are other traditions in the Christian family, this particular form has been both encouraging and challenging. I have been encouraged by the simple pattern of prayer that I am offered as I pray the Daily Office. I have been encouraged by the thought that there are millions of other Christians praying in similar, if not identical ways. I have been encouraged by the effect it has had on and in my life.

But have also been challenged. As we read the scriptures, either corporately when we gather for worship or individually in private devotion, there is a short call-and-response we participate in. The leader reads the scriptures appointed and says to the congregation, “The Word of the Lord.” The people then respond, “Thanks be to God.”

What has been so challenging about this short exchange is that it reminds me that the word of God has been heard. That when I hear the Scriptures read aloud, or when I read them during my times of prayer, God is doing something through those words that is specifically for me. As a child of God, I am being blessed by those words that God spoke and preserved in the collected Scriptures.

What a wonderful gift!

The Word on the Way

It’s with this in mind that I want to draw our attention to the focus of this Lenten Series.

We will be working through and exploring the longest Psalm in the song book of the Bible, the Book of Psalms: Psalm `119.

Not only is it the longest Psalm, it has a particular focus on the way the Word of God is to operate in the life of those who seek, serve, and submit to God.

My hope and prayer is that as we consider what the Psalmist wrote, we will see through it like a lens. And as we peer through the images and illustrations they offered to us, we will understand more deeply what God is calling us to.

That the Word of God is what we need not just at the rest stops of life, but as we live and as we continue to walk in the way of the Lord.

May our love for God lead us to a deeper commitment and more faithful obedience to his Word.

There are No Winners

The events that transpired and the responses of many people, both within my circle and in the general population, left me with a sense of foreboding. There is something wrong in this nation.

Introduction

I went to bed last night with a heavy heart. The events that transpired and the responses of many people, both within my circle and in the general population, left me with a sense of foreboding. There is something wrong in this nation. This feeling reached a high intensity yesterday, leaving me fatigued. But in my spirit I don’t believe we have crested the hill yet. I pray I am wrong. But again, as a student of Scripture and human nature I fear I am not. I believe there is worse yet to come.

In order to contextualize my thoughts I need say a few things first. About 11 years ago I had a conversation with a dear friend. We were journeying in a process of discipleship and he asked me a question. One that I “knew” the answer to, but I had never been asked out loud. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but it had to do with what I believed God had called and commissioned me to do with my life in the body of Christ. When me met one week later I shared the answer with him. I believe that I am called to serve the Church. Not to a church. But to the whole of the body of Christ. But even as I serve a local congregation, my eyes are keenly vigilant to the greater purposes of God for those who have called upon the name of Jesus in faith.

I can honestly say, I have not always understood or appreciated what that calling means. Today I feel I have a better grasp on what I means for me. But I will proceed cautiously.

Our Current Situation

I have not felt the weight of this purpose as strongly as I have in the last 12 months. And in the last 24 hours the magnitude of it has only increased. I am fighting back tears as I write this. My heart breaks for the Church. She has been scandalized and ridiculed from without and within. She has been taken advantage of for personal gain and used as a toy by some who have been called to lead her and be her. The damage has been extensive. The trail of the carnage left in the wake of these acts of malfeasance has become incalculable. The harm has been catastrophic for those who have had to endure this abuse. And the few left willing to pick up the pieces are struggling under the weight of it all.

For the better part of twenty years I have found and grounded my sense of identity in ministry in the life of the Prophet Jeremiah. A man who’s example scares me as much as it inspires me. What I was not wise enough to see as a younger man, and what I have come to realize as I have become older, is that we often pray for peace when discipline is about to be handed down. Jeremiah understood this better than most.

The problem with this is, as I learned as a child, most often it is too late to stay the hand of discipline when it is coming down on you. And as my siblings learned, discipline will fall on all of us regardless of the level of culpability.

The Pieces of a Broken Nation

What we saw in the reports coming out of Washington, D. C., and what I am seeing from a smaller circle of friends on social media is what I believe to be an unfortunate misunderstanding of what is happening. Too many in the Church seem to believe what we see happening is political. That what has happened is the breakdown of the political processes of this nation. So the accusations from every side are being thrown around. Blame is being assigned, but no responsibility is being claimed. Those who support the President are calling out the hypocrisy of those who don’t. And those who support the President-elect are acting like they have been vindicated against the other side. Do you see the problem? It’s taken me some time to see it too.

There are Christians on both sides of this divide. There are Christians throwing arrows at each other about who supported who, and what that says about the “other.” We have reduced righteousness to political affiliation. And do you know who is right? The devil.

The Sin of This Current Moment Revealed

I am going to say this as simply as I can. I don’t care who you voted for. And I don’t care why you did it. We were wrong in doing it. Not because it was a sin to participate in the civic process. And not because one candidate was better than the other. We were wrong because of the result.

We were wrong because of the chaos it has created. And we are wrong in the rationalizations and justifications and smug retorts that are being thrown around. We have sinned against each other by standing in judgment over one another. There are too many Christians today who think that God is on their side of this political disaster. He’s not. And he never has been. And to say otherwise is to reveal our idolatry.

A political victory is not the grounds for calls to repent. Or for admonitions for reconciliation.

This is why making public political statements has been forbidden in our local congregation since its founding. And it has been the practice of our Pastor for over 40 years of ministry. It breeds division. And it fosters pride. They do not lead to forgiveness or grace. Politics is about victory over an enemy. And if we view other Christians as enemies, we have forsaken the unity of the Spirit. We have become agents of division, all in the name of being proven right.

The church has been infiltrated and the battle line has been drawn within the four walls of our congregations! We have been encouraged to turn against each other over something that changes every 2 or 4 years. We have lost sight of the ultimate aim of the Church. Which has caused us to lose perspective of one another.

The Gospel is Our Only Hope

What is frustrating to the point of being maddening to those of us who see this festering problem, is we are made to feel like we are going crazy. Well, I’m not crazy.

Holding onto the Gospel as the only hope for humanity is not crazy.

Believing that Jesus is the only way to peace with God and neighbor is not crazy.

Struggling and fighting to live a life that is pleasing to God and satisfying to me is not crazy.

Serving those whom God has led me to cross paths with is not crazy.

What is crazy is thinking that any system—political or otherwise—in this world will accomplish anything remotely resembling heaven is not only foolishness bound up in madness, but it is bound to fail. Not because our efforts are not many, but because our strength is not sufficient to the task. Our good intentions are always tainted when not surrendered to the wisdom of God.

This has been the clever façade placed before us by the spiritual agents at work against us. Like a cat trying to catch the laser dot, we have been distracted by the superficial and the temporary.

“This is the most important election of our lifetime.” That’s what we have been told we are supposed to be focusing on. That’s like saying this is the most important breath of air you will take. There’s no end to this kind of histrionic thinking. And now we are seeing how this strategy has not done anything to advance the work of the kingdom of Christ. In fact, it has worked against the purposes of God.

We are Fighting the Wrong War

As Christians we are not in a battle with flesh and blood. Flesh and blood is the vehicle for spiritual warfare. The war that matters is fought in the prayer closet and in our own heart. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV). And there are many strongholds in each and every congregation in this nation.

But, on the surface we are seeing the breaking down of a nation that no longer believes all its citizens are equal. And you can interpret that in anyway you want. Because there will be some kernel of truth to it regardless of your perspective.

What we are witnessing, in real time, is the disintegration of the social bonds that at one time held us together. And again, define that as you want, and you will probably be “correct” to some degree or another.

However, as a follower of Christ, I feel compelled to point out that what is happening in this nation, and has been happening for several decades, is not new. It is not recent. (Which is another convenient lie we believe and/or promote to justify our actions.) It is the the culmination of where we have been headed for some time. And the question we must ask is why?

Regardless of your understanding of the founding of this nation, what made America prosper was the presence of the Church. Everywhere the Church is, God is. It’s a promise. We are mobile temples of the Holy Spirit. And as long as we are abiding in Christ he is abiding in us. But there has been a drift in the Church in America over the last century. It has been steadily gaining speed. That drift has borne full bloom in our day. It is the substitution of our trust in God for a trust in government. And our move away from God leads to sins and eventually discipline.

The physical prosperity of the nation has eroded as the spiritual foundations of the Church have shifted. It is a pattern that is as old as the book of Genesis. They have been shifting for a while, and now the spiritual disaster is primed for release.

We Have Failed to Discern the Times

Societies are always in motion. Nations are always in conflict with other nations who’s interests may or may not be aligned with each other. The difference has been that much of that discourse happened in the halls of national power and in the offices of officials who did not clue the citizenry into the machinations of governing. That is no longer the case.

Technology and social media and the growing political divides have exacerbated and amplified what used to be remote and foreign to us. But now, it’s in our face and on our screens in an unrelenting stream.

I started by referencing the Prophet Jeremiah. And I want to bring my thoughts full circle. Jeremiah’s ministry has been described as a failure. He did not change the mind of a single person that we know of. As a matter of fact, he even tried to quit being a prophet. But God would not accept his resignation.

Jeremiah was disheartened by the fact no one seemed to care about what God had said. The people ignored God and his prophet. They disobeyed God’s law and did as they pleased. Then, when the warnings were not heeded, God judged the descendants of Abraham and they were shocked. And that judgment came at the hands of their enemies.

Here’s what I have realized. Was the nation of Israel and Judah 100% evil and wicked? Fighting against God? No. I don’t think that is a reasonable assumption. But there was enough intentional sin and enough indifference to sin that the entire nation was held to account.

We Must Correct Course as the Church

It does not matter what side you feel an affinity to, the judgment of God will fall on all. If one side is the problem, the whole will suffer. If the other side is the problem, the whole will suffer. There are no winners when spiritual discipline is meted out.

This is one of the reasons, as Christians we should not be aligning ourselves with the systems of the world. They do not belong to us. And we do not belong to them. We have to see that they do not promote nor can they secure the ends for which we have been called into Christ’s service. Regardless of the promises made. The apostle Paul said as much in his encouragement to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:4). But for some reason we can’t seem to figure this out as the Church. It’s as if we keep trying to convince God, and ourselves, that we can serve two masters. We cannot. And Jesus said as much.

The breakdown of societal norms and political discourse is downstream from the spiritual decay of a nation. As a matter of fact, it is the warning bell of divine discipline. This is not a new pattern. It has been the way societies have fallen since the beginning of time. From Babel to Israel to Rome, from the British Empire to the United States of America. All nations will fall because all nations who reject God must. Only one kingdom will be standing at the end.

So what should the church do? Allow me to offer three actions for your consideration.

First, if you are a Christian, I implore you to stop using political language and political ideology as the paradigm of conversation. Trust in the words of God to convey what you believe should be. We must reject the new, the novel, and even the ancient for the eternal. When we don’t we are tacitly confessing a lack of faith in God’s word to be enough.

Second, refrain from publicly endorsing and celebrating political parties, candidates, and policies that are not in line with God’s character. And especially stop anything that causes animosity among and between followers of Christ. The only party we should champion is the Church, the only candidate is Jesus, the only policy is the Gospel. Any and every thing else will work to foster divisiveness—in your congregation and in your heart. Being “right” is not worth the soul of your neighbor.

Third, the Church, from leaders to the nursery, must do what it was commissioned to do from the first, it must seek the kingdom of God above all other aims, intentionally rejecting any supposed suitors; it must disciple the nations beginning in our own homes, and it must surrender any and every claim it feels entitled to in the earthly realm. Those treasures are not worthy of our ultimate sacrifice or our deepest allegiance. The cost is too high and the reward too cheap.

2021 Bible Reading Plan

As the new year begins, I have made a decision to commit to praying the Daily Office using A Book of Prayer and Order (2020) [“BPO”]. This is a newly edited prayer book based on The Book of Common Prayer (1928).

After discovering this amazing resource and spending almost two years studying and researching, I put together the BPO edition for our church.

Having a plan for reading the Bible is vital. It can provide focus and direction. With this in mind, I have recreated the Lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer in an easy to use calendar file. If you use Google Calendar or are an iOS aficionado, you can use the files provided below.

There are two files. One with the Morning Lessons, and one with the Evening Lessons. This way you can decide if you want to read in the morning or evening or both. The lessons are different in each file, but are designed to work together. They are set for 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.

If you want a physical copy of the prayer book, I still have some from our first printing. They are $40 plus S&H.

If you have any questions or want a copy, send me a message through our contact us page.

2021 Daily Office MP-EP Download

I Still Miss Him

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my brother-in-law Jacob’s death. He died a young man in the prime of his life.

I jumped on Facebook for a moment and saw a memorial posted about him. I was caught off guard. The emotions it stirred up came like a flood. I was surprised by that. I don’t really know why it surprised me, but it did.

The awful reality of losing someone we care about, especially when they are young, is the lingering feeling of all that was missed.

I remember Jacob’s sense of humor, his deep passion for ministry, his love for his family. All the things that point to a life, but are not the totality of it. They are merely the outlines we use to give form to our memories. But he was more than that.

As the years pass by, the greater my appreciation for the promise of God we share. That some day I will see him again. That some day the surprise of his death will be gone because I will see him. And we will rejoice together.

When I think about Jacob, it is a mix of mourning and sadness, anger and frustration, joy and peace. It can be so confusing. And yet, each of them crash over me like random waves on the shore.

It caught me off guard, the memory of Jacob’s passing. It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years. But in a way I am glad it did. It reminded me that I still miss him. And I pray I always will, until I don’t have to anymore.

A Warning to The Church in America

It is with a deep sense of foreboding that I reflect on the world in which I find myself and speak this word of warning to my brothers and sisters in Christ.

As with every previous generation, we are living in the times that future generations will talk about. They will look back on us and judge the depth of our ignorance and the shallowness of our wisdom. They will discuss with gasps of astonishment at how little we considered the consequences of our actions or the ramifications of our inaction.

There is one significant difference between us and generations past. A difference which I have felt pressing on me like a crushing weight. In this time, like few before, we can train our minds on the present situation. We have the tools and near instantaneous access to consider how to proceed. We can look at what is transpiring around us and seek the Lord BEFORE it is too late to turn back. The precipice is drawing ever closer, but there may still be time to reverse course.

It is with a deep sense of foreboding that I reflect on the world in which I find myself and speak this word of warning to my brothers and sisters in Christ.

The world into which we were born has been in moral and societal decline for the better part of a century. The decadences we have indulged and the vices we have tolerated have yielded the bitter fruit of division and loathing. The real isolation of a global pandemic has exposed the anemic and fraying sinews of our civic bonds. The polarizing rhetoric in our current political climate has eroded the cohesion of our national peace. The fervent and insatiable need to be right, to prove others wrong, and to revel in ones own moral superiority has undermined many, if not all, of the opportunities for reconciliation.

If you think I am exaggerating, or being overly dramatic, or unnecessarily pessimistic you would be wrong. I say these things, not because I have seen into the future. No, I have looked into the annuls of our shared past and seen the cyclical nature of human affairs. The great and wise king of Jerusalem, Solomon the son of David, rightly remarked that there is nothing new under the sun. Everything old becomes new again. And everything old fades into memory. The cycle resets and repeats.

What’s more troubling, and equally as predictive, is the history of our predecessors in the faith. The people of Israel served as the custodians of the mysteries of God until the revelation of the eternal Logos. In Jesus the fullness of what was hidden in the Old Testament broke forth into time. And these special people ought to cause us to stop and consider the cycle we are repeating.

The book of Judges serves as a perpetual witness to our personal and national capacity to be fools.

We turn to God only when the turbulence of national unrest has reached its zenith. But not before.
We cry out to the Savior of our souls when we have reached the end of our own brilliance. But not before.
We fight the battles and attend worship services and serve those downtrodden when we can feel the excellence of our charity. But not before.

We feign virtue and frolic in trivialities. We forsake those in greatest need by comparing ourselves to others. We serve no one but ourselves, sacrifice nothing but what is expendable, and then wonder why we feel empty and unfulfilled.

These are the hallmarks of a people who have a form of godliness, but deny its power. These are the characteristics of a people who have not fully turned their hearts to God. Instead, we have offered to God sacrifices he has not asked for. Only to be surprised when the blessings we expected are not granted. Why? Because we have begun to treat the True God as one would a god made with hands. We dishonor what we do not properly revere. And then we bristle with disdain when the farce has been exposed.

The world is being turned upside down and the Church rejoices like a thrill-seeker on a carnival ride. We have let go of the wheel, but rather than entrusting it to Jesus we have turned it over to those who neither know God nor seek to please him. Hedonism is too generous a term for this generation. Debauchery and wickedness, may be closer to the truth. We wallow in the muck and mire of our own depravity as a nation and rejoice in its warmth. But when the consequences of our laxity comes to deliver we are aghast at the prize we have earned.

The year 2020 will go down in history as the year when all pretense was exposed. At least for those willing to look and see it. Now, as the year draws to a close, another revelation. Another moment of clarity has been exposed. And this one cannot be covered up. It can be ignored. It can even be dismissed. But it can never be denied. The sordid alliance between the world and wolves in sheep’s clothing is being brought into the open.

“Where is it?”, you may be asking. Well, it can be difficult to see sometimes. However, when you see it, it’s hard to unsee it. In our time it has manifested itself in the always turbulent political process. The diagnosis is grave. But the great physician is still willing to administer the balm of salvation.

I will pick just one of several examples of the trajectory we are on that has become most apparent in the last few weeks.

There appear to be more “Christian” apologists for political candidates, parties, and movements than there are ardent and obedient disciples of Jesus Christ.

The level of passion and panic, frustration and fear, vitriol and vindictiveness on display has exposed that the idolatry of our nation still manifests itself and is embodied in the gods we can see with our physical eyes. What does that mean? It means that the eyes of our hearts are not only closed for too many in the church, but they have also been willfully stapled shut and are blind to the malevolence being enacted in plain sight.

The lack of self-awareness we have on display reveals that we have decided to continue eating the deadly fruit of Eden and it has consumed the minds of those claiming to be aligned with the One and True God. The fruit of Eden is the choice we make to assume the role of God in our lives. We have chosen to bear the responsibility of knowing good and evil for ourselves, rejecting the guardianship of God in the process. But we often learn too late the damage of that exchange.

In a more expanded way, we have chosen to live according to the false wisdom of men rather than the eternal wisdom of God. We have flexed our atrophied moral muscles and have put ourselves in opposition to the grandeur of God’s mighty power. What we seemingly fail to comprehend is that we are not what we imagine ourselves to be. We think we can drink the poison of worldly wisdom and vain philosophy and become like God. We have become so convinced of our own righteousness we stand over others as God. What’s worse, we conduct ourselves with an impunity that riles up the wrath of God against his wayward people.

In the Scriptures, over and over again, God calls his people to himself. He beckons them to live under the shadow of his protection. God declares his desire to pour out the immeasurable riches of his grace upon us. And what does he ask for? He asks for our love and obedience. He calls us to live in conformity to his law. But rather than accept these terms, we turn to our own way. We declare our emancipation from God’s superintendence. But that act of rebellion cannot go unpunished because it cannot be ignored.

You don’t get to do both. We don’t get to sit on the throne of our hearts and expect God to come and save the day when it all goes to hell. For every stone we lay on the altar of God with spiritual sounding words and altruistic actions of “faith”, we remove them when we entangle ourselves in the affairs of this world’s systems. Salt water and fresh water can’t come from the same mouth. Life and death can’t be uttered by the same tongue. And our allegiances can’t be masked by simply claiming to be impartial. No one is unbiased. And yet we perpetrate the farce so we don’t have to face the truth. We are not God, but have been pretending for too long to be able to rise into the very place of God.

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. (Isaiah 14:13-20 KJV)

How have we gotten here? What has happened to us that we have drifted so far off course?

We have confused faithful biblical conduct with social engagement. We have contorted civic responsibility into political activism. We have challenged the placing of the old boundary stones but have not stopped long enough to ask why they were put there in the first place. All the while we have not stopped to realize and consider that we are not citizens of this world. That our primary and singular focus should be the proclamation of the Gospel.

When we participate in political tribalism, we are abdicating our true power. The power that can actually bring about the transformation our souls long for.

How do you know you are yielding to the seduction of becoming a political tribalist? When your side can do no wrong, and the other side can do no right. When you will defend your side’s every action without question and call into doubt every motive of your opposition without consideration.

The irony in all this is that when you read that last paragraph you probably had names and examples in mind. And that is the problem.

I want to implore you to repent of that inclination to label and malign those with whom you disagree. If your perception of another person, who is an image-bearer of God, is that they are evil or irredeemable, you must repent. No one can stand in mortal judgment of another. There is not a single person in this world who has the right or the authority to condemn another human soul.

If you feel that you must stand in judgment. You are wrong.

If you feel that they deserve to be condemned. You are wrong.

If you feel that they are unworthy of grace and forgiveness and charity, you are most definitely wrong. For you and I all stood condemned and yet God withdrew his hand from us!

God has used unbelievers and the enemies of his people to accomplish his purposes. But that is God’s prerogative. We have no place in trying to figure out what God is doing. Our call is to submission to what we know. And what is that?

That there are lost souls in need of hearing about the glorious salvation of the Cross.
There are hurting hearts in desperate need of a kind and loving touch.
There are hungry people who must be feed the life giving bread of life.
There are thirsty people who can be satisfied by the cool waters from the wellspring of eternal life.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we must heed the prompting of the Spirit of God and reject the spirit of the age. To throw our hands up is to surrender where victory has already been won. We cannot do this. We must not do this.

If the last few weeks have revealed anything, it is this: The light of Jesus has been hidden under the bushel of political perfervidity. We must let our light shine once again. We must do all we can to let what God has shone in our hearts to shine in the world once again (cf. 2 Cor. 4:6).

Lord help us. For if your people continue down this road, we will come to the end of our days, to late to realize we have chosen the wide path.

Maranatha!

A Partisan Church: The Effect of Politics on the Gospel of Grace

We can no longer escape the obvious fact that the world has changed. And that it has not been for the better.

The World Has Changed

It’s getting to the point where it is hard to ignore the volume of political speech on social media. I don’t know if you have noticed it. We may have been there for quite some time. We may have just hoped it would trend back in the other direction.

We can no longer escape the obvious fact that the world has changed. And that it has not been for the better. The drift away from faith in God has become more pronounced. More than I have ever seen it in my lifetime. When I look at the world I sense the fraying of edges of our shared experiences. They seem to be fewer and farther between.

The passions of so many are being constantly inflamed, and not in a healthy way. The rhetoric of so called thought leaders is getting evermore hostile, with the stakes being raised everyday. The opinions of an ever growing percentage of the population is solidifying in ways that defy reasonable discourse. Where is all of this leading us? We are beginning to see the first signs of what led to the Tower of Babel. We have started to believe that we are a species on ascendancy. But we are merely laying the foundation of our own destruction.

The Spiritually Blind Are Driving Now

Jesus looked at the wise and the educated of his day and chided them, calling out their hypocrisy. Jesus exposed the duplicity of claiming earthly wisdom as a cover for not having true divine insight. He listened to their bombastic claims and marveled at the the shallowness of their purported knowledge.

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:1-4 ESV, emphasis added)

The same is true today. Too many claiming the name of Christ behave and speak as if they know what is “really” happening around them and in the world at large. But they fail to discern that only God superintends the affairs of men. Just ask Abraham or Jacob or King David or the Apostle Peter if they knew what God was “really” doing? No they didn’t and God was walking with them, talking to them, and they still didn’t understand. They still couldn’t see.

The Church Has Been Enthralled By Another Lover

If that were not bad enough. What is most disheartening is that this trend has taken root in the Church as well. We have begun to measure the “goodness” or “vileness” of a person by what hashtags they do or do not confess and promote. The pithy slogans of divergent factions have begun to affect how the church engages the important questions of justice and reconciliation (to name just a couple).

The modified and augmented versions of these beautiful concepts have shifted the focus from God’s character onto the unbridled sentiments of human imagination. We have substituted the grace of an impartial God for the vengeance of an impassioned politico. Seeming to always question the motives of the former and accepting as pure those of the latter. The people of Israel made this mistake too. They preferred the onions and bricks of their former masters to the milk and honey of the one true God. The pain we know has become better to us than the peace we do not. This is the trap. One that has been sprung on us over and over again.

We are hoping to fashion a new world in our own image. An image we forget the moment we move away from the mirror. We just cannot seem to see that this is a project that has never worked and never will. We are trying to create life with borrowed clay.

The Truth Gets More Painful…the Longer We Wait

Now, I’m not saying that there are not problems that need to be addressed. There certainly are. What I am saying is that any and every attempt made from a terrestrial framework will fail. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually. It will come to a disastrous conclusion. We have an avalanche of historical reference points demonstrating the results of human political and societal ingenuity. They have marked the landscape of history with the bones and graves of the countless nameless dead.

And this is the problem and outworking of Adam and Eve’s sin. They thought that because physical death did not meet them at the moment of sin and disobedience, that somehow they had outwitted God. That they had outmaneuvered the omniscient Creator. This is the great folly of sin. Punishment delayed is not punishment denied. The day of reckoning will come.

No dear friends, you have not outsmarted God. I have not.

The unfortunate trajectory of a politicized Church is an impotent and neutered “gospel”. That is to say, there is no gospel at all. And the fact that the Gospel shall endure is not because of any strength in us. No, it is by God’s good grace that the Church will not die, even if it finds its numbers contracted for a time.

I cannot sustain the Church. Only God can do that.

I cannot grow the Church. Only God can do that.

I cannot improve the Church. Only God can do that.

We must stop behaving as if we are not contributing to the decline. The problem plaguing the Church is not what we are being told by the mouthpieces of our culture. The loudest voices are not the most correct. They are merely drowning out the still small voice of God.

The problem the world is facing, the church is facing, is in fact not something new. It is the only problem that has hampered the human race from the moment of creation. We like to think we are like God. That we can eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and suffer no consequences.

It May Be Too Early To Agree, but it’s Not Too Early to Tell

Am I overstating the situation? I don’t think so. I may only be saying it too early. There are still too many who want to give this old approach a new try. Always with the same refrain: “Our predecessors just did it wrong. But we have learned from their mistakes.”

No, we have not learned. The well-intentioned goals of broken people mean nothing when built upon the faulty foundation of human will. The human being simply does not have the moral engine required to move the sin-soaked-souls of men one molecule in the direction of righteousness.

Yes, I am speaking too soon. There are not enough ready to hear what I am saying. Too many have vested too much of themselves into their “side”. A side that stands in opposition to the character and will of God. I may be speaking too soon, but I am not getting the result or effect wrong.

As a Christian, it is important to not lend our allegiance, whether actively or passively, to anything that clouds our witness. Anything that blurs the work of Christ is not worthy of our overt or tacit approval. It does not matter how well-intentioned the cause, the cost is too great.

The current cultural climate has highlighted several important realities. Realities that have been dismissed but cannot be denied any longer. I will simply list them without much commentary.

Political speech is always partisan. No one who is political can be objective. That is a convenient lie we tell ourselves to assuage our consciences, but it is grounded in self-righteousness, not true holiness. Our politics are more transparently visible than we think. And some are too comfortable with that.
Professional political pundits are not as good at what they do as they think. (See #1 above). What makes us think we can do it any better? We are far worse at it than we may wish to believe.
We risk more of our witness than we can calculate when we enter into an arena in which we have no reason to be. (See #4 below).
The truth of God supersedes the politics of our current national affiliation. If we claim to be Christians, we must remember we are not citizens of this world but of the kingdom of God. This means that we should not speak politically, but prophetically. (And if you can’t tell the difference refrain from doing it until you can. And if you think you can, you are probably wrong.)
This one is directed specifically at pastors. You can be a pundit or a pastor, not both. Thinking you can be is part of the problem. If your punditry is more important to you than your prophecy, it may be time for a change of vocation. Punditry is a seductive harlot and she ravages all who entertain her advances.

A partisan church is not the church of Jesus Christ. We must accept this to our shame and to our peril if we do not.

I offer this prayer in conclusion.

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
# 27, For the Peace of the World
A Book of Prayer and Order (2020), pg. 408