Terry Ulm, Shepherd
Terry has the gift of teaching and encourages us each week, around Thursday, with gleanings from his study and time with the Word.
Waiting For A Son
12.20.18
“Then the word of the LORD came to Abram saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4 NIV).
Abram and Sarai were without a son, for she was barren. (Their names will be changed to our more familiar Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17). Since the promise of God recorded in Genesis 12 that he would become a great nation, this Father of the Faithful had waited for a son. But a son was not coming and he was getting on in years. So Sarah gave him her maidservant Hagar, and he had his son Ishmael at 86 years of age. But Ishmael was not the son of God’s promise. Even before he was born Ishmael became a problem for Abraham and Sarah that has remained an issue even to this present time.
Now at age 99 Abraham still waits. “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac” (Genesis 17:19). The record goes on to say that “God did for Sarah what He had promised” and gave her a son. At the age of 100 Abraham had the son of God’s promise, and he named him Isaac just as the Lord had said. But a greater test of his faith was yet to come. The Lord would ask for the son of the long awaited promise. “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2). Sounds a bit like the call to lose all in Genesis 12…go to the mountain I will show you, and sacrifice your son, “your only son Isaac, whom you love” to Me.
Scripture doesn’t tell us of any conversation between the Lord and Abraham.
But I’ll venture to say there probably was one. A long one. The Hebrew writer tells us that Abraham, by faith, “reasoned that the Lord could raise the dead” (11:19). And the Lord spared Isaac. “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the Angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:12).
For centuries Israel waited for the son promised in Isaiah.
“This is how God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son...” We are all so familiar with these words of Jesus concerning Himself. The promise of a long-awaited Son has been fulfilled…in Me. I can’t help but see the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. Both were long-awaited, and long in coming. Both were one, and only sons of the promise. Now that you have not withheld your “only son” from Me, the Lord said to Abraham, I will not withhold my “only Son” from the world.
I do not believe that the Father would have withheld His Son had Abraham refused to offer Isaac. But I do believe He would have searched until He found a man so strong in his faith that he would be willing to do so. But Abraham was that man. Abraham was the type of all who would believe that the Father could defeat death…and has defeated it! Abraham’s offering of his “one and only son” was the foreshadowing of the Father’s love expressed in the offering of His “one and only Son,” and we are blessed, in Him, according to the Promise.
“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…” (Matthew 1:20-21). After Mary gave birth, Joseph named Him Jesus, just as the angel had said.
Jesus.
The world waited for a Son. The Lord delivered. He kept His promise. We wait no longer!
The Garden
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. (In The Garden, Charles A. Miles, 1913).
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
(Genesis 2:8 NIV).
Gardens. What comes to mind when you think of gardens? As I was growing up we always had a garden. We planted green beans and peas, muskmelon and watermelon, carrots and potatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. Oh, and we planted tomatoes. Scads of them. We planted for food. Mom always had flowers. Lots of flowers. Snapdragons and tulips were my favorites. Flowers in the kitchen and on the table were ours to enjoy all summer long. They were also in vases throughout the house. We planted for beauty and pleasure. Gardens are hard work for sure, but well worth the effort for the many benefits that were ours to enjoy. They will never be forgotten.
There was a garden in Eden. In it God put the man He had formed. In it He put some of everything He had created. In it He formed the woman from the flesh and bone of the man. In it God walked in the cool of the day in perfect fellowship with Adam and Eve and their offspring. Eden was overflowing with harmony, beauty, and pleasure. Everything Man needed for the good life was present between the flowing waters of the four rivers that formed its borders. For 130 years (see Genesis 5:3) Man enjoyed that perfect fellowship, that perfect garden. The good life of Eden. Until he, and she, wanted more. Believing the serpent’s lie that God was holding out on them they reached for more. They reached for what they thought was everything, and eating, they lost everything. We lost everything. But most importantly we lost the presence of the Father walking with us in the cool of the day. What a tragedy!
Two things are very true. We long to walk together and talk together in the Garden, as is evidenced by the hymn above. We want to know we belong to Him and to share joy that cannot be known apart from the Father. The other truth is that He who created longs for those walks and talks with His created ones. His plan before the foundation of the world. His plan in the choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His plan in the anointing of the Shepherd King. His plan in the coming of Messiah, the Only Son, Jesus. His plan in the tearing of the Veil of the Temple. In the Cross. In the Resurrection. In the Called-out Ones. The Father planned all along to restore Eden fellowship on earth in Christ Jesus.
We can choose to walk in the Garden with Him. Or not. It’s up to you. It’s up to me. It’s up to us. We have been given the opportunity to spend the cool of the day in the Father’s presence, through Jesus the Messiah, and His Spirit who lives within us. The Father has done all the work. His grace is ours through Jesus who paved the way for us. The invitation has been pronounced. Come to the Garden. Walk with Me. Talk with Me. Hear My gentle words of belonging. Share in My Joy.
“While the dew is still on the roses…”
Yahweh My Shepherd
Psalm 23. A favorite of many believers and non-believers alike. Its popularity is perhaps due to the comforting messages contained within. We find the promise of a full life. Of nourishment, rest, and truth. The promise of His presence when life is dark and death may be at the door. The promise to give strength when facing our enemies. His promise to be faithful and present with us each and every day. Ponder these words for a season:
Yahweh the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.
He makes me lie down in green pastures of nourishment, he leads me to drink beside quiet waters of rest, he provides time for my soul to catch a refreshing breath. He guides me along the right paths of truth so that his name is praised.
Even though I walk through the darkest of times, perhaps even facing death, I will have no fear of anything, for you are with me at all times; your strength and protection and authority comfort me.
You prepare a table before me that is not isolated from the world or my enemies. You anoint my head with oil to prepare me; an over-abundant supply.
You chase after me with only goodness and your steadfast covenant love every day of my life, and I will return to live in your presence for the length of my days.” (Psalm 23 NIV, ESV, The Message).
Comforting words. Yet there is infinitely more here than comfort. Psalm 23 is the description of a life-style commitment. The choice to make Yahweh God our Shepherd. The Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. A covenant commitment to follow His lead, not an “I’ll seek Him when I need Him” default setting. We go where He leads. We do what he says. We drink from His well. We rest in His presence. We are refreshed and strengthened to go at life again, empowered to live for His praise smack-dab in the middle of a world set in opposition to us. We face trouble, suffering, dark times, even death without fear, because He is ever-present. The Lord is good. His goodness is ours. His steadfast covenant love is ours. He grants the privilege and blessing of living in His presence “for the length of days” when we chose to make Him our Shepherd.
We can choose to make Him our Shepherd, like David. Or not. Life choices made according to our own wills may come with many earthly rewards. But life will be faced alone. Trouble, suffering, dark times and death will be faced alone. Earth’s pleasures carry no lasting value and are passing. There will be no presence of God to heal, comfort, or sustain. Self-choice is the choice to live life alone.
When we choose the Shepherd, we choose life. Real life. Abundant life. Life in His presence. Life that is not lived in a vacuum however, nor without trouble or difficulty, as the Psalm so obviously points out. Life with the Shepherd is having all that we need. Nourishment, rest, and refreshing for our souls. Strength, protection, and His presence through dark times. Preparation for life in a hostile world. Living inside the Shepherds care is Him looking out for our best interests each and every day. When we look at it from David’s perspective it’s foolish to make any other choice. Yet, we struggle with the choice. It is a challenge each day to make Him the Shepherd. But choose we must. Choose this day, each day who will be served.
There can be only one Shepherd, not two. There is only one Lord.
Grace and Truth
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14ff ESV).
It would be amiss to speak of Truth and not of Grace. For Christ-followers Jesus balances perfectly in His “dwelt among us body” Grace and Truth. John says that the law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Not that the law isn’t truth, for Jesus said, “Your word is Truth.” The law takes its form in commandments. Grace and Truth as embodied through Jesus is life lived out in the flesh. Life as it was intended to be from the beginning.
“Charis” is the Greek word translated “Grace.” Its primary meaning conveys good-will, loving-kindness, and favor; it is often translated as grace or gift. Loving-kindness pictures the Old Covenant term HESED, the Covenant term through which Yahweh God promises to perpetually love and care for His people. By this promise He gives His Grace anew through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant. A Covenant established by the blood sacrifice of His Only Son Jesus. This Covenant reveals the Righteousness of God, apart from the law, given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. In other words, HIS Righteousness, to all who believe! Through it we are justified freely by His Grace (See Romans 3:21ff). By Grace we are saved. By Grace we are redeemed. By Grace we are justified. By Grace we are free. In Christ we are surrounded by Grace (grace upon grace). That’s God’s good-will. God’s loving-kindness. God’s favor. God’s Covenant in Christ Jesus.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV).
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:5-10 NIV).
There are two key words in these passages…live and walk. Truth is a way of life, not a list of do’s and don’ts. There is absolute Truth. But absolute Truth is not measured by a check-list. We do not live before God through our own efforts. In fact, we are incapable of living life without sin; save through the medium of Grace. We live by Grace through Faith. Truth is how we walk through life. Life-changing Truth. Truth is living as Jesus did. To act justly…to love mercy…and to walk humbly with our God. Obedient? Absolutely! Continuing to fall short? Without a doubt! Justified freely? By Grace. We do not walk in the Truth to earn a place at the Lord’s Table. This place is ours only through Grace. We walk increasingly in the Truth as we are daily learning to love Him, love our neighbor, and love one another as Jesus loved. This is the absolute Truth. This is absolute, amazing Grace.
Living by Faith. Surrounded by Grace. Walking in Truth, as Jesus walked.
Windshields and Rearview Mirrors
I have never given it much thought. The difference in size between the windshield and the rearview mirror. The rearview gives a good view of what lies behind, and is very important for driving safely. We must look there from time to time to make sure that changes we are about to make will be without unwanted mishaps, or that something isn’t coming up behind us which could put us in danger. The windshield, though, gives us a complete view of the world in front of us. It is the more important of the two for it gives us the view of the road on which we have chosen to travel.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could . . . Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Taken from the poem by Robert Frost.
Life is a journey that all humankind must take. It cannot be avoided. We cannot stay at home on the back porch and refuse to participate. The journey is unavoidable. It is the natural, God-created, course of life. We will be involved in it. We will face the decision to choose our path. Right or left? There are only two. And, as one traveler, we can only choose one. We will grow in accordance with the road that we choose. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV).
“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” This is the choice of Christ-followers. It is narrow. It is the one less traveled by. It is the difficult road. It is the road that leads to life. The only road to life. Few find it. It is the road of losing self and gaining life in Christ. The apostle PauI says it like this, “…I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 2:8). Losing everything about himself so that he might be free to know Christ, and travel on the path to life. It is a daily process of growth often filled with failures, which must be placed in the past as we journey forward.
“There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past. God’s grace is greater than your sin. What you did was not good. But your God is good.”
Taken from “Anxious for Nothing” by Max Lucado, page 45.
God is good! God is at work in us through Jesus the Christ. God is growing us up in Him. The road less traveled is about what lies ahead, not behind. It is about the windshield view of life, not the life we see in the rearview mirror. The Philippian writer puts it this way, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal…” God’s grace is greater than our sin and He can handle the stuff in the rearview mirror. All of it! Beyond adequately!
Let us keep choosing the road less traveled. Let us keep forgetting what lies behind by trusting a good God. Let us keep pressing on toward the goal of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us continue to give God the freedom to grow us up. Let us see His world through the windshield view! It will make all the difference!
June 28, 2018
Everything We Need
Packing for an extended trip can be difficult. Like three weeks in Florida. The right apparel for the beach. Proper attire for going out to eat, attending an event, or meeting with friends. The comfortable stuff for lounging around in the evening. Clothes fitting for warm and chilly weather. It is January after all! Tooth paste, tooth brush, shampoo, shaving stuff, and deodorant. Don’t forget to stuff a bag with movies that you don’t get time to watch at home. Pack snacks and drinks for the long drive. Credit card for gas and unexpected expenses. Oh, and cash! Plenty of cash! When all is packed and in the car, there is one last, “Did we forget anything?” and, “Do we have everything we need?”
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV, underline mine)
Perhaps packing for an extended trip is not the most important “everything we need” question we should ask ourselves. The central focus of life is not an extended trip, to Florida or anywhere else. It is not what we do for a living. It is not our families, immediate or extended. It is not the church. The most important item for my agenda today is not mowing the lawn. The central focus, the most important agenda item for today, is a godly life. It is the central focus for every day. From this central focus life takes root and all else flows from it.
Peter tells us that the God of Grace and Peace has given us everything we need for a godly life. Everything we need to participate in the divine nature (think on that for a season). Everything we need to escape the corruption in the world. This central focus empowers us to be godly men and women in the midst of a corrupt world. To be a strong family when families all around us are falling apart. To be a person of Christ-like integrity in the workplace, giving honor and respect to our superiors, and treating peers and subordinates in the way we want to be treated. Being the presence of Christ in the world instead of the church enclosed behind stained-glass windows. Being those who love God, neighbor, and one another as Christ loved us. Being those who “take care of widows and orphans in their distress and keep ourselves unspotted from the world.” Peter adds:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Everything we need for a godly life. But we don’t get there without participation. We must set out on a life-long journey. An extended trip of growing, of “making every effort to add” in “increasing measure” to our faith. From goodness to love, and everything in between. Then we will be effective and productive in the knowledge of our Lord. In our families. In our marketplaces and workplaces. As the “presence of Christ” in the world. We will have everything we need.
June 7, 2018
12.20.18
“Then the word of the LORD came to Abram saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4 NIV).
Abram and Sarai were without a son, for she was barren. (Their names will be changed to our more familiar Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17). Since the promise of God recorded in Genesis 12 that he would become a great nation, this Father of the Faithful had waited for a son. But a son was not coming and he was getting on in years. So Sarah gave him her maidservant Hagar, and he had his son Ishmael at 86 years of age. But Ishmael was not the son of God’s promise. Even before he was born Ishmael became a problem for Abraham and Sarah that has remained an issue even to this present time.
Now at age 99 Abraham still waits. “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac” (Genesis 17:19). The record goes on to say that “God did for Sarah what He had promised” and gave her a son. At the age of 100 Abraham had the son of God’s promise, and he named him Isaac just as the Lord had said. But a greater test of his faith was yet to come. The Lord would ask for the son of the long awaited promise. “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2). Sounds a bit like the call to lose all in Genesis 12…go to the mountain I will show you, and sacrifice your son, “your only son Isaac, whom you love” to Me.
Scripture doesn’t tell us of any conversation between the Lord and Abraham.
But I’ll venture to say there probably was one. A long one. The Hebrew writer tells us that Abraham, by faith, “reasoned that the Lord could raise the dead” (11:19). And the Lord spared Isaac. “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the Angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:12).
For centuries Israel waited for the son promised in Isaiah.
“This is how God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son...” We are all so familiar with these words of Jesus concerning Himself. The promise of a long-awaited Son has been fulfilled…in Me. I can’t help but see the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. Both were long-awaited, and long in coming. Both were one, and only sons of the promise. Now that you have not withheld your “only son” from Me, the Lord said to Abraham, I will not withhold my “only Son” from the world.
I do not believe that the Father would have withheld His Son had Abraham refused to offer Isaac. But I do believe He would have searched until He found a man so strong in his faith that he would be willing to do so. But Abraham was that man. Abraham was the type of all who would believe that the Father could defeat death…and has defeated it! Abraham’s offering of his “one and only son” was the foreshadowing of the Father’s love expressed in the offering of His “one and only Son,” and we are blessed, in Him, according to the Promise.
“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…” (Matthew 1:20-21). After Mary gave birth, Joseph named Him Jesus, just as the angel had said.
Jesus.
The world waited for a Son. The Lord delivered. He kept His promise. We wait no longer!
The Garden
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. (In The Garden, Charles A. Miles, 1913).
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
(Genesis 2:8 NIV).
Gardens. What comes to mind when you think of gardens? As I was growing up we always had a garden. We planted green beans and peas, muskmelon and watermelon, carrots and potatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. Oh, and we planted tomatoes. Scads of them. We planted for food. Mom always had flowers. Lots of flowers. Snapdragons and tulips were my favorites. Flowers in the kitchen and on the table were ours to enjoy all summer long. They were also in vases throughout the house. We planted for beauty and pleasure. Gardens are hard work for sure, but well worth the effort for the many benefits that were ours to enjoy. They will never be forgotten.
There was a garden in Eden. In it God put the man He had formed. In it He put some of everything He had created. In it He formed the woman from the flesh and bone of the man. In it God walked in the cool of the day in perfect fellowship with Adam and Eve and their offspring. Eden was overflowing with harmony, beauty, and pleasure. Everything Man needed for the good life was present between the flowing waters of the four rivers that formed its borders. For 130 years (see Genesis 5:3) Man enjoyed that perfect fellowship, that perfect garden. The good life of Eden. Until he, and she, wanted more. Believing the serpent’s lie that God was holding out on them they reached for more. They reached for what they thought was everything, and eating, they lost everything. We lost everything. But most importantly we lost the presence of the Father walking with us in the cool of the day. What a tragedy!
Two things are very true. We long to walk together and talk together in the Garden, as is evidenced by the hymn above. We want to know we belong to Him and to share joy that cannot be known apart from the Father. The other truth is that He who created longs for those walks and talks with His created ones. His plan before the foundation of the world. His plan in the choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His plan in the anointing of the Shepherd King. His plan in the coming of Messiah, the Only Son, Jesus. His plan in the tearing of the Veil of the Temple. In the Cross. In the Resurrection. In the Called-out Ones. The Father planned all along to restore Eden fellowship on earth in Christ Jesus.
We can choose to walk in the Garden with Him. Or not. It’s up to you. It’s up to me. It’s up to us. We have been given the opportunity to spend the cool of the day in the Father’s presence, through Jesus the Messiah, and His Spirit who lives within us. The Father has done all the work. His grace is ours through Jesus who paved the way for us. The invitation has been pronounced. Come to the Garden. Walk with Me. Talk with Me. Hear My gentle words of belonging. Share in My Joy.
“While the dew is still on the roses…”
Yahweh My Shepherd
Psalm 23. A favorite of many believers and non-believers alike. Its popularity is perhaps due to the comforting messages contained within. We find the promise of a full life. Of nourishment, rest, and truth. The promise of His presence when life is dark and death may be at the door. The promise to give strength when facing our enemies. His promise to be faithful and present with us each and every day. Ponder these words for a season:
Yahweh the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.
He makes me lie down in green pastures of nourishment, he leads me to drink beside quiet waters of rest, he provides time for my soul to catch a refreshing breath. He guides me along the right paths of truth so that his name is praised.
Even though I walk through the darkest of times, perhaps even facing death, I will have no fear of anything, for you are with me at all times; your strength and protection and authority comfort me.
You prepare a table before me that is not isolated from the world or my enemies. You anoint my head with oil to prepare me; an over-abundant supply.
You chase after me with only goodness and your steadfast covenant love every day of my life, and I will return to live in your presence for the length of my days.” (Psalm 23 NIV, ESV, The Message).
Comforting words. Yet there is infinitely more here than comfort. Psalm 23 is the description of a life-style commitment. The choice to make Yahweh God our Shepherd. The Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. A covenant commitment to follow His lead, not an “I’ll seek Him when I need Him” default setting. We go where He leads. We do what he says. We drink from His well. We rest in His presence. We are refreshed and strengthened to go at life again, empowered to live for His praise smack-dab in the middle of a world set in opposition to us. We face trouble, suffering, dark times, even death without fear, because He is ever-present. The Lord is good. His goodness is ours. His steadfast covenant love is ours. He grants the privilege and blessing of living in His presence “for the length of days” when we chose to make Him our Shepherd.
We can choose to make Him our Shepherd, like David. Or not. Life choices made according to our own wills may come with many earthly rewards. But life will be faced alone. Trouble, suffering, dark times and death will be faced alone. Earth’s pleasures carry no lasting value and are passing. There will be no presence of God to heal, comfort, or sustain. Self-choice is the choice to live life alone.
When we choose the Shepherd, we choose life. Real life. Abundant life. Life in His presence. Life that is not lived in a vacuum however, nor without trouble or difficulty, as the Psalm so obviously points out. Life with the Shepherd is having all that we need. Nourishment, rest, and refreshing for our souls. Strength, protection, and His presence through dark times. Preparation for life in a hostile world. Living inside the Shepherds care is Him looking out for our best interests each and every day. When we look at it from David’s perspective it’s foolish to make any other choice. Yet, we struggle with the choice. It is a challenge each day to make Him the Shepherd. But choose we must. Choose this day, each day who will be served.
There can be only one Shepherd, not two. There is only one Lord.
Grace and Truth
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14ff ESV).
It would be amiss to speak of Truth and not of Grace. For Christ-followers Jesus balances perfectly in His “dwelt among us body” Grace and Truth. John says that the law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Not that the law isn’t truth, for Jesus said, “Your word is Truth.” The law takes its form in commandments. Grace and Truth as embodied through Jesus is life lived out in the flesh. Life as it was intended to be from the beginning.
“Charis” is the Greek word translated “Grace.” Its primary meaning conveys good-will, loving-kindness, and favor; it is often translated as grace or gift. Loving-kindness pictures the Old Covenant term HESED, the Covenant term through which Yahweh God promises to perpetually love and care for His people. By this promise He gives His Grace anew through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant. A Covenant established by the blood sacrifice of His Only Son Jesus. This Covenant reveals the Righteousness of God, apart from the law, given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. In other words, HIS Righteousness, to all who believe! Through it we are justified freely by His Grace (See Romans 3:21ff). By Grace we are saved. By Grace we are redeemed. By Grace we are justified. By Grace we are free. In Christ we are surrounded by Grace (grace upon grace). That’s God’s good-will. God’s loving-kindness. God’s favor. God’s Covenant in Christ Jesus.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV).
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:5-10 NIV).
There are two key words in these passages…live and walk. Truth is a way of life, not a list of do’s and don’ts. There is absolute Truth. But absolute Truth is not measured by a check-list. We do not live before God through our own efforts. In fact, we are incapable of living life without sin; save through the medium of Grace. We live by Grace through Faith. Truth is how we walk through life. Life-changing Truth. Truth is living as Jesus did. To act justly…to love mercy…and to walk humbly with our God. Obedient? Absolutely! Continuing to fall short? Without a doubt! Justified freely? By Grace. We do not walk in the Truth to earn a place at the Lord’s Table. This place is ours only through Grace. We walk increasingly in the Truth as we are daily learning to love Him, love our neighbor, and love one another as Jesus loved. This is the absolute Truth. This is absolute, amazing Grace.
Living by Faith. Surrounded by Grace. Walking in Truth, as Jesus walked.
Windshields and Rearview Mirrors
I have never given it much thought. The difference in size between the windshield and the rearview mirror. The rearview gives a good view of what lies behind, and is very important for driving safely. We must look there from time to time to make sure that changes we are about to make will be without unwanted mishaps, or that something isn’t coming up behind us which could put us in danger. The windshield, though, gives us a complete view of the world in front of us. It is the more important of the two for it gives us the view of the road on which we have chosen to travel.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could . . . Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Taken from the poem by Robert Frost.
Life is a journey that all humankind must take. It cannot be avoided. We cannot stay at home on the back porch and refuse to participate. The journey is unavoidable. It is the natural, God-created, course of life. We will be involved in it. We will face the decision to choose our path. Right or left? There are only two. And, as one traveler, we can only choose one. We will grow in accordance with the road that we choose. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV).
“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” This is the choice of Christ-followers. It is narrow. It is the one less traveled by. It is the difficult road. It is the road that leads to life. The only road to life. Few find it. It is the road of losing self and gaining life in Christ. The apostle PauI says it like this, “…I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 2:8). Losing everything about himself so that he might be free to know Christ, and travel on the path to life. It is a daily process of growth often filled with failures, which must be placed in the past as we journey forward.
“There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Your future matters more than your past. God’s grace is greater than your sin. What you did was not good. But your God is good.”
Taken from “Anxious for Nothing” by Max Lucado, page 45.
God is good! God is at work in us through Jesus the Christ. God is growing us up in Him. The road less traveled is about what lies ahead, not behind. It is about the windshield view of life, not the life we see in the rearview mirror. The Philippian writer puts it this way, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal…” God’s grace is greater than our sin and He can handle the stuff in the rearview mirror. All of it! Beyond adequately!
Let us keep choosing the road less traveled. Let us keep forgetting what lies behind by trusting a good God. Let us keep pressing on toward the goal of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us continue to give God the freedom to grow us up. Let us see His world through the windshield view! It will make all the difference!
June 28, 2018
Everything We Need
Packing for an extended trip can be difficult. Like three weeks in Florida. The right apparel for the beach. Proper attire for going out to eat, attending an event, or meeting with friends. The comfortable stuff for lounging around in the evening. Clothes fitting for warm and chilly weather. It is January after all! Tooth paste, tooth brush, shampoo, shaving stuff, and deodorant. Don’t forget to stuff a bag with movies that you don’t get time to watch at home. Pack snacks and drinks for the long drive. Credit card for gas and unexpected expenses. Oh, and cash! Plenty of cash! When all is packed and in the car, there is one last, “Did we forget anything?” and, “Do we have everything we need?”
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV, underline mine)
Perhaps packing for an extended trip is not the most important “everything we need” question we should ask ourselves. The central focus of life is not an extended trip, to Florida or anywhere else. It is not what we do for a living. It is not our families, immediate or extended. It is not the church. The most important item for my agenda today is not mowing the lawn. The central focus, the most important agenda item for today, is a godly life. It is the central focus for every day. From this central focus life takes root and all else flows from it.
Peter tells us that the God of Grace and Peace has given us everything we need for a godly life. Everything we need to participate in the divine nature (think on that for a season). Everything we need to escape the corruption in the world. This central focus empowers us to be godly men and women in the midst of a corrupt world. To be a strong family when families all around us are falling apart. To be a person of Christ-like integrity in the workplace, giving honor and respect to our superiors, and treating peers and subordinates in the way we want to be treated. Being the presence of Christ in the world instead of the church enclosed behind stained-glass windows. Being those who love God, neighbor, and one another as Christ loved us. Being those who “take care of widows and orphans in their distress and keep ourselves unspotted from the world.” Peter adds:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Everything we need for a godly life. But we don’t get there without participation. We must set out on a life-long journey. An extended trip of growing, of “making every effort to add” in “increasing measure” to our faith. From goodness to love, and everything in between. Then we will be effective and productive in the knowledge of our Lord. In our families. In our marketplaces and workplaces. As the “presence of Christ” in the world. We will have everything we need.
June 7, 2018
