Eyes For You

I was reading a devotion by C.H. Spurgeon and was reminded of the phrase, "I only have eyes for you.". You might have heard some young man say that to the girl he is courting or to his wife.  I have been around a few people in my life who live in such a way with their wives.  My Grandfather exhibited that kind of love with my Grandmother, it was incredible to watch.   What is more telling though than any earthly relationship though is what the Lord does for us His bride.  Spurgen was commenting n a verse in the Song of Solomon, which is a book that many believe is an allegory of the Lord and the church, His Bride.  Song of Solomon 4:7 reads, "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."

The reason it can be said that the bride is altogether beautiful, and there is no flaw is because the Lord is at work in His Bride.  Spurgeon gives reason why . . . 

He views her in Himself, washed in His sin-atoning blood and clothed in His meritorious righteousness, and He considers her to be clothed in comeliness and beauty.  No wonder that such is the case, since it is but His own perfect excellency that He admires; for the holiness, glory, and perfection of His Church are His own glorious garments on the back of His own well-beloved spouse.  She is not simply well proportioned; she is altogether beautiful!she has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but more, she has through her Lord obtained a meritorious righteousness by which an actual beauty is conferred upon her.

You see, the Lord only has eyes for us, His bride.  No matter the flaw of sin, or the deformity we may have, it is covered by his righteousness imputed (conferred upon) to us.  With this in mind, I sense that I should respond more as he sees me, I should look down at the garments of grace and see myself as he sees me.  It should cause celebration, it should transform living, habits, and thoughts, so that the garments are not dirtied by further disobedience and sin.  

As a husband, this picture also makes me think about my call to love Katie as Christ loves the church.  My calling is to have eyes only for her so that she fee altogether lovely; that her glory and satisfaction would be secured by godliness in me as I imitate Jesus and His love for His bride.  When she finds her beauty to be superlative because I have made much of it (not just outward, but her character as much), I trust that she will find greater strength and be assured of her beauty and our love for one another will be evident to all.  So I encourage you, to find yourself with the eyes of the Lord upon you and know His perception of you, and then, live a life that is pleasing to Him for the work He has secured, for you are altogether beautiful and you do have merit and you are priceless to Him.

Across the Bow

I love movies like Master and Commander, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Mutiny on the Bounty.  The impressiveness of the ships holds my attention easily, but even with awe when the battle scenes occur.  One of the things that I have learned watching these movies is the proximity that is required when the battles ensue and I am often reminded of that phrase, "fire a warning shot across the bow."

In my studies of Genesis I believe that we "find a warning shot being fired across the bow" for parents.  In chapter 34 we have the account of Jacob's sons and daughter.  In verse 1 we read, "Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land."  Unfortunately, the next verse expresses a tragic outcome to the visit.  Scripture says, "When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the area, saw her, he took her and violated her."

This situation sheds light on a variety of principle issues that families face everyday.  The first principle is that God's people should make their dwelling where the Lord is, obediently pursuing his plans.  Jacob failed to do this for his family.  Earlier the Lord had instructed Jacob to go to Bethel (the House of God), but Jacob stopped short, settling in the neighborhoods of Succoth and Shechem.  Jacob should have settled where the Lord called him, especially in a location that would have offered the security of God's presence.  Jacob wasn't going to serve effectively in a place God had not called him to.

Settling in the wrong place impacts the family in another way, because there is another principle violated. Evidently Dinah was lonely, needing female companionship.  Who could blame her, she was very likely the only daughter among 11 boys.  She was probably in her early to late teens and thought she was going to be able to handle the world.  However unfortunately, she was allowed to go into the world unchaperoned.

Before we are too quick to jump to any conclusions about Dinah's character let's note a couple of things about Jacob at this point.  As you continue to read this chapter you will notice that Jacob is very indecisive, he is invisible when decisions are enacted, he is concerned about his reputation rather than his daughter's and he abdicates the responsibility of justice.  James Montgomery Boice writes the following in regards to this, "I do not know the source of Jacob's failures (spiritual poverty, weaknesses of character, or something else).  But I do know where the failures of many of today's fathers come from.  They come from being "too busy" or from being afraid that their children will hate them if they establish discipline and set household laws.  If you are a father and have been failing in this area, reverse that failure, whatever your children may think."

The third principle that failed to register for Jacob is to remember that the world is wicked.  You might want to argue with me at this point, but I would simply remind you of this truth.  We fail to recognize that the evil of "good" people might be even worse - worse because we fail to recognize it as evil and we deny that it is evil.  We become much like the frog in the kettle, when placed in when the water is cool it will stay all the while when the water is turned to boiling and it will die.  Let us not allow our children to be brought up with this kind of environment, instead let us alert them to the dangers of the world.

Finally, the religious practices of Jacob's sons was not one of devotion to relationship with the Lord, but one of mere practical purposes.  You see they abused their neighbors in Shechem by misusing the religious practices of their day.  Sometimes we need to be cautious with those who claim to be of God because they can abuse those around them by false understanding and practices.  This means that we need to be people who study the Word with care and discuss it with our children so that they possess the truth themselves and will not be abusive as they live out their faith.

I hope that this is a warning shot to all of us who are parenting so that we are committed to, courageous for, careful in, contrasting the world and communicative about our faith with the Lord Jesus so that our children will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

More Than Gold

I received an encouraging comment this week from a friend in our church. They referenced the passion I had while communicating a specific point of the message this week. In particular it was the remarks Job made regarding meeting his redeemer (Job 19:25). In thanking them for the encouragement I realized something that I hadn't consciously considered before. My response to their email was this, "I hope that what Job must have felt at that statement was captured a bit. It is one of the most remarkable declarations in Scripture!"

Now I know there is not much in that statement that is very profound, but as I typed it out I began to realize that oftentimes I approach the reading of Scripture without attempting to understand the lives, emotions, and soul impact of the moments that the writers and/or characters must have been experiencing. For Job, the depth of his conviction and his zeal for the LORD in the midst of failing health, friends who condemned, and a contentious wife, must have driven him to be extremely clear. They demanded this clarification, a bold statement, no more than a mere statement, it is a definitive declaration for his commitment to God. It is bold in many ways, theologically (which is where I always focused first), emotionally, relationally, rationally, and philosophically. I really get the sense that it consumed all of Job's being in that moment.

There is a song by a band named the Swift titled, More Than Gold, that captures what I am trying to express, maybe it will help you too. Here are the lyrics.

I heard Your word.
I crossed over to the holy side and saw what You can do.
But now I'm feeling like I could just die.
Seems it takes so long to get it right.

(Chorus)
More than gold, I love Your word. It speaks to me.
More than gold, I love Your word.
More than gold. I want to sing.
You know I do, but I can't sit still and just be in awe of You.

It seems like my fire always dies.
Why does it take so long to get it right?

(Chorus)

Let me draw near to You, then You draw near to me.
I need Your word more than gold.
Because I consider Your word, I hate everything that is without You.
(Chorus)


Surely Job, must have this same thought in mind, that if he had all of his possessions and all of his children but was without the person of God, his kinsman Redeemer, he would have been empty. Thus this unprecedented expression burst forth declaring his alignment, his allegiance, his answer, and his assurance. I hope that this is an encouraging example of how we can read the Word of God and be transformed as it speaks to us in a powerful way because it is alive and active and sharper than a double-edged sword. May the Lord bless you in the reading of His Word!

Reading With Your Children - More Than Reading

At Christmas time last year Katie and I gave two books to our oldest children (Rebecca and Christian). They are the first two of four in the Wingfeather Saga, a series written by Andrew Peterson. I actually had the privilege of meeting Andrew several years ago when I was doing youth minister in East Tennessee. He is an incredible musician and I was excited to learn about these books from Jonathan Taylor Martin of Mosaic.

Unfortunately our kids didn't decide to jump into the books and even after some encouragement to read them. One of them actually began reading the first book and started complaining about the character development with great frustration. I waited to see if the book would be given a chance only to find it back on the shelf where it had sat for a few months. At that point I got my dander up a little bit and decided I was going to read the series and see if I could build a little encouragement and momentum.

Jonathan was absolutely correct in his recommendation and I was thrilled to be reading the series. I quickly finished the first two only to wait on the release of the third (yes now I am waiting on the fourth too, with eager anticipation). As great as the books are, what I noticed was very interesting as I began to drop comments about my enjoyment of Andrew's writing and the story line. Christian began to ask me questions and was amazed that I had finished them so quickly.

He had been dragging his feet to complete the reading I had assigned for the summer (Treasure Island), so I didn't anticipate the response when he picked up the first book and started into it. After about 2 days, maybe 8 chapters in he was coming to me and reporting on his progress in the story and started asking questions about the future of specific characters and trying to make guesses in the outcome of particular circumstances. Never did I give away anything in the story line, but I would drop some hint to cause him to think or just return his question with a raised eyebrow (at least raised to the best of my ability) which would drive him mad with intrigue at the future events for the characters.

He has almost finished the third book in the 4 weeks (Treasure Island took him about 8), and we had an incredible discussion about the characters, their flaws, their likenesses to real people. We discussed the hints of redemption that Andrew brings out through the story and enjoyed a great conversation about the benefits of this in our own lives. It brought a great spiritual lesson home to me.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." My son, Christian, caught the excitement of reading the books after I modeled excitement before him. He started understanding the symbolism and deeper matters of the books when we talked together. This made me realize that the manner in which our children will grasp the Gospel (Good News of Jesus Christ and all that it entails) is for us, as parents, to engage in a walk with Jesus which models the significance of the Gospel. As we are transformed by our friendship with Jesus, by our prayer life with the Father, and by the empowering of the Holy Spirit, our children will see this and most likely model Christ because of the value He holds for us. One day they will possess their own faith, but for now, I sure want to set Christ before them as I imitate Him. That doesn't happen merely by reading a book, but it happens by embracing them in relationship as Christ has embraced us.

So What About Love?!?

It has been a long time since my last blog and I can't seem to get this topic of Love off of my mind. It has been resonating with me for several weeks and God has me circling the issue during these weeks. I want to share a brief outlook on 1 Corinthians 13, but don't think it will be a typical approach and so tune out.

A few weeks ago while at Student Life Camp, the Lord addressed me about a specific attitude that was becoming a source of contention between me and Him. Obviously I was the one who was having the problem and needed the correction. On Monday night 1 Corinthians was read and the Lord subtly said to me, "This is where you are struggling and need to correct a matter in your heart." I was immediately shocked and began taking inventory of some things that I was dealing with.

What struck me is found in verse 7, which describes 4 things that Love does in relationships. First let's look at love bearing all things. The word bears (ESV), can mean to "cover" and when it is used without an object it means to endure. However, because endure occurs later, that is an unlikely interpretation of Paul's intent. Most likely that intent emphasizes the importance of keeping silent about unfavorable matters. That means that when a matter may prove embarrassing or someone is belittled by their actions, our actions should not accentuate and bring notice to it. When the action may prove to be harmful or be habitual sin that indicates hardening should we engage in some manner of public notice to bring amends, providing forgiveness and reconciliation.

I am sure that you have observed someone become exacerbated as their mistake was announced by the bullhorn of someone with little discretion. There was most likely damage done in relationships, hindrance in sanctification, and ultimately harm done to the individual and possibly in a corporate setting as well (either family, church, group, club, etc.).

Then Paul says that love believes all things. allow me to quickly state that this belief is grounded in the context of the truth, mentioned in verse 6. It doesn't afford a license to believe whatever you want, like Oregon was the best football team in 2011, despite their loss to Auburn in the National Championship game. Believing all things means that the one who loves is apt to make the best of things. I must confess that often there are events that have tainted my faith in people and my first inclination is to assume the worst and reluctantly think the best might ever happen. The part that makes this difficult is the candor that is required in relationships. I can only say that the proverbs remind us that the wounds of a friend can be trusted and enemies will multiply kisses. We need to be able to speak with candor, but it must be done gently and with the motivation of love, this biblical love.

The third quality of love is that it hopes all things. This means wishing the best for all men, not seeking vengeance, nor wishing ill or harm. Instead hoping for all things has an eternal perspective and presents an eternal power that they will be offer reconciliation to Jesus and peace among people. This is truly the reward of love.

The final quality that love exemplifies is its ability to endure all things. This means that love holds fast, sustaining injury and ill usage. As a parent this really spoke to me for loving our children often means we have been injured emotionally by their disobedience, our advise misused, our preparations and efforts discarded in their selfishness. In the midst of those moments we may not always appropriately express the love we possess for them, nonetheless the love remains and it is extensive.

In ministry (or the church) these matters can really be overlooked and only maintained as the status quo. I would hope that we, as Jesus' followers, would love like he loved us. I recently taught on the meaning of servanthood. In Galatians 5:13-14 Paul tells us to serve one another through love. He then repeats the command of Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself. Genuine biblical servanthood will exhibit the love of Christ to one another because we are His slaves, obedient to Him (Romans 6), producing an incredible fellowship among believers, which is attractive to those not knowing Jesus.

Mutual Respect Affords Peace and Potential

In Genesis 21 we discover an interesting encounter between Abraham and Abimelech. Hopefully you recall the earlier meeting between these two in Genesis 20. Abraham had left the area of Mamre and gone to the territory of Negeb, where Abimelech, the king of Gerar lived. Abraham, fearing the heathen king and his people once again presented Sarah, his wife to be his sister. God punished Abimelech during this time for he had taken Sarah to be his wife, However, Abimelech had not consummated the marriage and when the Lord issued a warning Abimelech repented and restored Sarah to Abraham.

So in Genesis 21 when the two have an encounter over a stolen well, there is a potentially volatile situation these men are facing. As followers of Jesus we can learn some valuable lessons as we also relate to people who do not fear the Lord and hold different values from us. We should intentionally engage in relationships with a short-term goal for peace and a long-term goal for the glory of God and the transformation of lives by Him.

First note that these two men possessed a mutual respect for one another. If you read Genesis 21:22-24, you will see that Abimelech acknowledges Abraham's faith in God and approaches him based on that faith. Abraham senses that respect and he responds accordingly. This is especially interesting when we consider the predicament that Abraham placed Abimelech in when he lied about Sarah in their first encounter. Abimelech obviously gained respect for Abraham and the God that he served, despite Abraham's lack of faith and compromise. Evidently despite Abraham's struggle he also gave enough evidence of his faith and the power of God to impact Abimelech. I am sure that people today witness the struggles followers of Jesus experience. One challenge is for us to express the might of our God in a way through our lives that we build respect amongst men.

How we build this respect when we also struggle is key. First it is built through the establishment of peace. Too many times people, especially Christians, want to establish hard and fast boundaries that often times offend. Abraham could have done this very thing with Abimelech. He could have attacked Abimelech for a number of reasons, his lack of leadership, allowance of rebellion, and potential flattery. Instead Abraham takes Abimelech's offer and fortifies it by his declaration to the Lord and further commitment by the covenant he initiates.

I wouldn't always suggest going into a serious agreement with an unbeliever, but this obviously affords a distinct opportunity for the influence of Godliness in Abimelech's life. Abraham seizes the opportunity and openness of Abimelech to engage in the covenant. Can you imagine the further explanation and reasoning Abraham had opportunity to give as they participated together in this ceremony of commitment. He would have had the privilege of sharing the moment that he experienced the covenant with God. He would have discussed the justice that was required to maintain the peace. He could have talked of the child of promise found in Isaac and the future of hope.

I believe that in our culture today there is a greater need to model this type of behavior to gain influence. I am convinced that it will be far more effective than becoming separatists or constantly protesting the ills of the world. Remember, Jesus was accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners. And when approached about it he said that he "came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13)."

So today, might you consider the opportunities that you possess to build relationships with those in need of Jesus. How is it that you can present situations for peace and secure opportunities for justice and righteousness to influence, not in condemnation or judgment through conflict, but in the mark of merciful peace and mutual respect for people created in the image of God?

Nehemiah's Adversaries

I often visit the book of Nehemiah when considering matters of leadership. This Old Testament account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem provides great insight into what leadership requires, the necessity of clear vision, the accomplishment of the vision and the investment and requirements on people employed in the work of God. As I have revisited the book in light of our church life I asked a question that took a bit of research and growing understanding of the context of Nehemiah. My question is this, why did Sanballat, Tobiah and the Arabs who came against Nehemiah when he began building the wall, not do so before reconstruction began? I think I found the answer.

Nehemiah was the cupbearer for Artaxerxes the King of Persia. The historical context is that Nehemiah was returning to Jerusalem when the land was under the rule of Persian Empire. This was after the rule of the Assyrians and Babylonians, which as you may recall were under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar. The Persian Empire was the largest of these empires historically, ruling as far north east as modern Turkey (even into portions of Greece), as far south as Northern Egypt, and as far west as Iran, encompassing Iraq as well.

Sanballat was a Samaritan, a mixed people group of northern Israelites and foreign nationalities. The people of Tobiah were known as Ammonites. These were the descendants of Lot’s incestuous relationship with his youngest daughter. So I believe the reason they weren’t attacking Jerusalem was because they were simply content with her state of destruction. As long as the walls of the city lay in disrepair, it was a victory to them. They were conquered people just as the Jews were, but their status was improved by the shear ruin of Jerusalem. We know that the Samaritans were a people group of mixed nationality, and their religious views were very similar to the Israelites (for a good understanding of this you can read John 4:1-45 to understand Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well). Historically the Ammonites sought to gain strength over the Israelites. Though their worship was vastly different (they worshiped Molech), they were intent on overpowering the Israelites to possess the best portions of land. It is no surprise that they would join forces with Sanballat and others to oppress the Jews.

Read the Scripture found in Nehemiah 4 and notice the attitude of these critics of the Israelites. “Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”” (Nehemiah 4:1–3 ESV)

Later in the same chapter of Nehemiah we discover how Nehemiah's plan to have every work employed with spear and trowels thwarted the enemies. “When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.”
(Nehemiah 4:15–23 ESV)

Why is this significant for us today? I believe that if we are going to accomplish the purposes of God in the life of Coopertown Community Church, doing our part in God's Kingdom work, we too are going to face similar persecution. We are going to face enemies who are going to attempt to undermine the work of the Lord in His church. They will do whatever is in their power to deter the work of His Kingdom. I would venture to say that the enemies are not going to be formidable foes, like the mighty Persian Dynasty. Rather the enemies will appear to be similar to us in a lot of ways (possessing some of the same religious views and claiming some of the same heritage), yet they will critical of our work, elevating their own purposes. They may possibly promote some of the same values and goals as we have, but it will only be on the surface.

Here is my great concern, as long as we are in a state of complacency, contentment, or ease, we will find our efforts unopposed. However, when we move in line with God’s plan we must anticipate opposition and we must be prepared to labor with one hand at the task and ready with weapons of war in the other.

Therefore, it is appropriate for us to put on the full armor of God to stand firm in these situations. It is neccessary to put our hands to the work engaging in all that the Lord has in store for us in the year 2011. The things that we have celebrated, God's working in our past, and the matters we have proposed for tomorrow, cannot, and will not be sustained if we fail to commit to service together in prayer, in work, in rest, and in the efforts of Christ's Kingdom. My friends and family, may we follow the example of commitment found in the life of the Israelites as they grew in obedience to the Word of God with committed lives to the LORD. By doing this may it be said of us, "the work had been accomplished with the help of our God." (Nehemiah 6:16b)