When Gathering with the Church Seems "Meh"

When we struggle to see the relevance with the week-in and week-out gatherings with the church it helps to remember the big picture. Ephesians 3 provides such perspective. Here's a devotional I wrote for the CBMW Karis blog, where they are currently doing a series on Ephesians:

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Faster and faster, the world seems to be spinning out of control. Talk of cultural revolutions in the West and political instability in the East is in the air. In light of this, questions of the church’s relevance fly at us from the left and the right.

Ephesians chapter 3 answers those questions by throwing back the curtains on a mystery (3:9-10). In eternity past the mind of the Triune God conceived of the script for a grand megadrama. He created the universe to be the cosmic stage for the glory of his Son, and he predestined the church as the leading lady. In this drama, the mystery of the church is like one big “aha moment,” and it reveals God’s wisdom to those who inhabit the spiritual realm. You could say that the church is God’s cosmic booyah.

From the various stipulations of the covenants, sacrifices, feasts, and temple worship, to the priests, judges, kings, and prophets—these “copies” give way to the “true things” (Heb. 9:23-24) and shine one collective spotlight on the eternal Son. God realized his eternal purpose in Christ Jesus—in his Incarnation, sinless life, sacrificial death, triumphant resurrection, ascension back into heaven, the gift of his Spirit, and his continued work on earth through his Body, which includes believing Jews and Gentiles (3:6).

The gospel frees us to know the love of this Christ that surpasses knowledge. This love has a context—the garden of community (3:17-19). God plants us in the body of Christ where we are “filled with all the fullness of God” (this is a phrase that Paul uses to describe spiritual maturity). The context in which we grow to maturity is the garden of the local church. Jesus dwells in the hearts of individuals by faith, and it is together “with all the saints” where we explore all of the geometry of Christ’s love. How wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of Jesus?We were made to help each other discover the answers of these questions. In this garden of community we seek the flourishing of others. Seeds of envy, favoritism, arrogance, racism, and gossip will find no place to cast down their roots when we are all rooted and grounded in love.

Our membership in the church will never expire. The Spirit has descended, indwelling believers and carrying out Jesus’ work. The triumph of Jesus is displayed both to the unseen realm and to the watching eyes of our neighbors as we walk in his ways of cruciform, servant leadership. May the mysterious kingdom of God grow like a garden without borders and gracefully cover the wasteland that our sin has made of this world.

The sovereign Christ who fills all in all through his body the church is at work in the world still. Will we ask him to do far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think?

5 Ways to Set Your Heart on Heaven

In the intro of Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full, I confessed my ongoing struggle to set my mind on things above (Col. 3:2). When Mount Laundry is erupting cotton everywhere while the kids are fighting over the obstacle course they built in the living room and you’ve got company coming over and then you see an email that just makes your heart drop… it’s hard to keep an eternal perspective.

That’s why I’ve adopted this short prayer by Jonathan Edwards as my own heart's cry:

“Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs.”

In his sermon, “Heaven, a World of Love,” Edwards gives five practical applications for how to “set your heart on heaven, that world of love, and press toward that better country.” In the spirit of “gospel meditations for busy moms,” here are the five applications summarized:

1.  Don’t let your heart chase worldly things as your chief good. Worldly things are not your chief good in heaven or here.
2. Think often of heaven and what it is like. Communing with God is our business in heaven, likewise let it be here.
3.  Be content in the sufferings you undergo on your way to heaven. The joy of heaven is certain and worth it.
4.  Think of Christ and all that he is. Both now and forever, Christ is our motivation, example, mediator, interceder, strength, and victory.
5.  Live a life of love toward God and men. Even now, let us live as citizens of heaven, which is a world of love.

For those who have a few more minutes to read, I’ve abridged his points a little bit for length below. And if you’ve got about a half hour, you can read the full text of his sermon HERE.

“First, let not your heart go after the things of this world, as your chief good. Indulge not yourself in the possession of earthly things as though they were to satisfy your soul. This is the reverse of seeking heaven; it is to go in a way contrary to that which leads to the world of love. If you would seek heaven, your affections must be taken off from the pleasures of the world. You must not allow yourself in sensuality, or worldliness, or the pursuit of the enjoyments or honors of the world, or occupy your thoughts or time in heaping up the dust of the earth. You must mortify the desires of vain-glory, and become poor in spirit and lowly in heart.

Second, you must, in your meditations and holy exercises, be much engaged in conversing with heavenly persons, and objects, and enjoyments. You cannot constantly be seeking heaven, without having your thoughts much there. Turn, then, the stream of your thoughts and affections towards that world of love, and towards the God of love that dwells there, and toward the saints and angels that are at Christ’s right hand. Let your thoughts, also, be much on the objects and enjoyments of the world of love. Commune much with God and Christ in prayer, and think often of all that is in heaven, of the friends who are there, and the praises and worship there, and of all that will make up the blessedness of that world of love. “Let your conversation be in heaven.”

Third, be content to pass through all difficulties in the way to heaven. Though the path is before you, and you may walk in it if you desire, yet it is a way that is ascending, and filled with many difficulties and obstacles. That glorious city of light and love is, as it were, on the top of a high hill or mountain, and there is no way to it but by upward and arduous steps. But though the ascent be difficult, and the way full of trials, still it is worth your while to meet them all for the sake of coming and dwelling in such a glorious city at last. Be willing, then, to undergo the labor, and meet the toil, and overcome the difficulty. What is it all in comparison with the sweet rest that is at your journey’s end? …

Fourth, in all your way let your eye be fixed on Jesus, who has gone to heaven as your forerunner. Look to him. Behold his glory in heaven, that a sight of it may stir you up the more earnestly to desire to be there. Look to him in his example. Consider how, by patient continuance in well-doing, and by patient endurance of great suffering, he went before you to heaven. Look to him as your mediator, and trust in the atonement which he has made, entering into the holiest of all in the upper temple. Look to him as your intercessor, who forever pleads for you before the throne of God. Look to him as your strength, that by his Spirit he may enable you to press on, and overcome every difficulty of the way. Trust in his promises of heaven to those that love and follow him, which he has confirmed by entering into heaven as the head, and representative, and Savior of his people. And, 

Fifth, if you would be in the way to the world of love, see that you live a life of love — of love to God, and love to men. All of us hope to have part in the world of love hereafter, and therefore we should cherish the spirit of love, and live a life of holy love here on earth. … Happy, thrice happy those, who shall thus be found faithful to the end, and then shall be welcomed to the joy of their Lord! There ‘they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them to living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.’”

How do you do it all?

How do you do it all?

Ask any woman this question and you will likely hear a variety of responses. My practical answer today would involve disciplined routines, Curious George, and dark roast coffee. Not a day goes by when I don't need a nice, tall glass of perspective on the circumstances that give rise to this question.

This summer three of us collaborated on the ERLC blog to briefly answer: How do women do it all?

Megan Hill insightfully pulled back a few layers of our assumptions as she asked: Are we wrong about what "all" is?

I began talking about "Whose do we think we are?", circled the runway with thoughts about grass looking greener for other sheep, and suggested that we need to ask an additional question.

Aimee Byrd wasted no words and landed the plane with "Loving the simplicity of faithfulness."

So, how do women do it all? You can read our answers on the ERLC blog. 

A Ridiculous-Sounding Affirmation for Those Fainting on the Inside and Out

A woman sent me this question in an email the other day:

“I love God’s Word! I want to spend more time reading and studying, but it’s so hard because I feel like I need to stick toothpicks in my eyelids just to keep my eyes open because I’m so worn out raising my young kids. What do I do? HELP!”

I can certainly empathize with her – how about you?

There’s no doubt this woman is not alone in her feelings or experience. I’m pretty sure this question has been asked by our brothers and sisters all over the world - from all times - in all their various languages - and in all their diverse contexts. We’re exhausted and we’re hungry for God’s Word. Pass the toothpicks, please. (I'll take a latte and a bag of M&Ms to go with my toothpicks.)

This blog post is not a list of top ten practical suggestions-- just one ridiculous-sounding affirmation and a description of what our calling, pursuing, feeding, and preserving triune God does to help our weary, Word-hungry souls.

First, the ridiculous-sounding affirmation: What a tender place the Lord has you in! To have that feeling of longing for his Word and to have that be your big question emerge in the midst of those circumstances is a precious gift. We’re not Word-hungry on our own; it’s evidence of the Spirit’s work when our heart is inclined to his testimonies (Ps. 119:12). And what a blessing it is to your young children that they see your appetite for God’s Word being played out in front of their watching eyes. Where does Mommy want to run to (or limp) when she’s starved for spiritual nourishment? God’s Word is so treasured that time spent meditating on it is hunted down instead of brushed off. It’s an assuring and tender grace of God to feel that even in your bone-weary physical fatigue you feel just as deeply that your soul longs and even faints for fellowship with God.

And next, to address the matter of help. I don’t have a  top ten list of helpful suggestions or a packet of toothpicks today, but a description of the ready and willing help we are given by the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit:

"SO-CALLED INTERRUPTIONS

When we feel that our environment must be “just so” in order to have fellowship with God, any wild-card elements inherit the name “Interruption.” A toddler’s plea for help with a game is an interruption. The children’s early bed­time is an interruption. The baby who refuses to settle down is an interruption.

What if God wants to fellowship with us right where we are—even in the commotion of ordinary life? Most assuredly, he does. Consider how the triune God is working to ensure that you behold his glory throughout your days and nights.

Your heavenly Father is sovereign over all things. A sparrow drops its feather on the ground, escaping the clutches of a curious little boy. A car battery dies in the parking lot after a play date at the same moment your overtired children reach their limit. A pacifier falls out of a baby’s mouth just before the baby nods off to sleep. Nothing—nothing happens without the sovereign Lord’s ordaining it. He is trustworthy and praiseworthy in every moment in every circumstance.

The eternal Son of God is Immanuel—God with us. Jesus fulfilled God’s holy law, was crucified in our place, rose victorious from the dead, and is reigning at the Father’s right hand. Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against sin and purchased us from the slavery of sin. By faith we receive Jesus’s perfect righteousness, and he creates in us new hearts that are prone to love him. Even when you don’t feel this is true about yourself, a daughter of the King, it is. Even when you imagine that your life is hell and you have forgotten that you’ve been transferred into the king­dom of God’s marvelous light, you’re still his forever. You can be sure that nothing will separate you from God’s love for you in Christ Jesus your Lord—“neither death nor life” (Rom. 8:38).

The Holy Spirit of God indwells the heart of believers and writes God’s law on their heart. When we meditate on God’s Word, the Spirit delights to confirm in our heart that God is who he says he is. The Spirit graciously awakens us to the affliction of our sin, and he enlivens in us an affec­tion for God’s holiness. When we put our hand to the plow (or rather, the scrub brush), the Spirit enlivens us to work as unto the Lord. The Spirit helps us in our weakness and ignorance, praying for us as we don’t know what to pray for. The Holy Spirit is like the neuron that travels from our taste buds to our brain with the message that dark-chocolate-covered orange slices are exquisite. When we taste things such as providence or our union with Christ, it’s the Spirit who tells ours heart that the Lord is good."

Adapted from Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full (Crossway 2014).

Share the Comfort You've Been Given

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction,
so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Cor. 1:3-4

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We’ve all gone through things that lead others to seek us out for the wisdom of experience and sympathetic support.

Today I had the privilege of encouraging a woman who never expected that her family would see the challenges they are facing. She and her husband have two young children and they work in a nearby country, serving among least-reached people. This week her husband suffered terrible burns in an accident. By God’s grace, he’s going to be okay.

While I haven’t faced her exact set of circumstances before, I can relate to several things. When I heard her story I couldn’t help but remember that I’ve tasted those tears—sitting in hospital waiting rooms hopeful for a good report from my husband’s numerous arm surgeries. Making hard decisions. Pressing on in caring for my helpless babies in the middle of it all. Wondering what the future—tonight, tomorrow, years from now—is going to look like for our family. Learning practical things to help us creatively adjust to life with physical disabilities. And walking by faith.

Sometimes we hear about someone’s suffering and we can only imagine what that person must be going through. From the perspective of someone who has received great comfort from others, let me encourage you that it strengthens the heart to hear from someone that they are trying to imagine. Lonely feelings multiply at the thought that those around you can’t (or won’t) imagine.

Even though the affliction of others may be worlds apart from what you’ve gone through, the source of our real and abiding comfort is one and the same. It is God who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.

Jesus not only imagined our suffering, but he entered into it. There is no sympathy like the Lord's, and the comfort he gives is so great that it multiplies.

Yummy versus Yucky - on sharing soul food with friends

If you have young children in your home, no doubt you have to teach them what to eat and what not to eat.

Crackers = good. Crayons = bad. Bananas = good. The sticky fuzz that is stuck to the bottom of the broom = bad.

And if you live in my home, then you believe that under no circumstances can raisins = good. If the grapes are frozen, however, that is a different story.

When it comes to food for our soul, we're still a lot like little kids. Our pickyness needs to be trained to savor the right food. We need to be reminded to feast on God's word which he has given to nourish us. We need to be reminded to avoid the spiritual junk food that rots, festers into cavities, and ultimately fails to satisfy.

Over at the Desiring God blog today I've written about an occasion when my friend Melanie served up a helping of soul food for me when I was dangerously close to becoming content with the equivalent of broom fuzz. Read about "Soul Food for Mom" here.

We're in the world, and we're singing

I've written on the holy stubbornness of corporate singing over at the Desiring God blog. Perhaps the best reason to read "Our Holy, Stubborn Song" is this: It is probably the only place on the Internet where you can read a quote from Buddy the Elf and CS Lewis in the same blog post.

Terrible as an army with banners, we’re a singing people on our way to the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14).

God's steady grip of grace

For one main reason, hands are a particularly big deal to me. And when I read about hands in Scripture they really stick out.

It all started while I was pregnant with our first child and we were graduating from seminary. That last semester was bananas—between me and my husband we had five part-time jobs and full courseloads. I had an expanding waistline and a corresponding, expanding vocabulary: Braxton-Hicks, efface, bulb syringe. It was during that time when my husband started having nerve pain in his hands and arms. The electric pain started in his fingers on one hand. Everyday tasks started to become difficult or impossible. He had to dictate his master's thesis to me as I typed for him. By the time our six-pound baby girl was born the month before we graduated, my husband had pain up to both of his elbows. He held our snugly newborn for a few weeks until she grew too heavy to cradle in his arms. Some years and surgeries later, the pain is still there. 

With that brief backstory about hands, I hope you’ll see why this passage in the Book of Ruth means so much to me and find encouragement from it as well. 

God’s Hand

In chapter one we meet Naomi, who becomes bereft of her husband and two sons while living in a country they were never supposed to live in. Naomi’s devastation is not one of mere loneliness but one of livelihood. She has nothing left, and to top it all off there is a famine in the land. Then Naomi hears that God has visited his people and given them food (1:6). Naomi put one foot in front of the other in the midst of her grief and set out for Bethlehem. Her two Moabite daughters-in-law wanted to go with her, but she urged them to stay with their families and get on with their lives. The ladies protested, but Naomi was adamant:

“No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me” (1:13b).

It is a gross understatement to say that it is a frightening thought that God’s hand is against you. What mind could bear such dreadful horror? But even though this is Naomi’s perspective, she keeps walking… to Bethlehem (the “house of bread”)… hoping for food from God’s hand. The dynamic character of Naomi is astonishing. But what gets me every time is what occurs immediately after Naomi bitterly declares, “the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 

“Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her” (1:14, emphasis mine).

While Naomi believed that God’s hand was against her, he was holding her in his grip of grace through Ruth. If you know the story then you remember that because of Ruth, Naomi is rescued. Read the rest of that story again, and see how Ruth’s hands held on tight to Naomi and worked tirelessly to provide for her in barley fields. Marvel at how Ruth’s hand was given in marriage to Boaz, and then laid a grandson in Naomi's lap. That grandson lined up to take his place in the lineage of David, a shepherd-king from Bethlehem. David, of course, is the ancestor of the greatest Shepherd-King to come from Bethlehem. God’s hand was clearly doing more than what Naomi ever imagined. 

Even in Pain We Can Treasure Christ

Jesus stretched out his own hand to touch a leper and healed him (Luke 5:13). Jesus told a man to stretch out his withered hand and he healed him (Luke 6:10). The One who fashions us in our mother’s womb (Job 31:15) can certainly heal my husband’s hands. And we do pray for healing.

But because of the cross we understand that our biggest need is not a pain-free, disability-less life. If the Author of Life allowed himself to be executed on a cross to bear away our sin, then sin must be a far more deadly problem than we can comprehend. Our biggest need is to be reconciled to God, but because of our sin we justly deserve God's wrath. With our sin problem resolved on the cross, we are restored to fellowship with God through faith in his Son. Death is not the end of the story for Naomi, or Jesus, or for us. Death did not keep the Author of Life—he burst out of the grave three days later never to die again. Healing for our earthly bodies is certain as we, too, can look forward to a resurrection like his (Rom. 6:5).

As those who suffer pain and loss, and bear with our loved ones who suffer, we think of ourselves as having our hands full of trouble. Every day we have reminders that we have been given more than we can handle. But because of grace, being "given more than you can handle" can be a tremendously encouraging thought as we see that it is God himself who will carry us through it all.

Jesus is trustworthy. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand (John 3:35). The hands that were stretched out on the cross for you are the all-powerful, sovereign hands that are restoring the fractured cosmos to the praise of his glory. Even in pain, you can trust the handiwork of our Shepherd-King, who tends his flock and gathers the lambs in his arms, gently leading those that are with young (Isa. 40:11). He will take you by the hand and keep you (Isa. 42:6).