Category: Christian Life

We Need to Talk (Part Two)

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4 NIV).

Let’s talk about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We, Christ’s new covenant people, the church, belong to him. And he belongs to us (John 14:20). We ought to take this truth seriously. More than that, we should rest in it, rejoice in it, and in revel it. The purpose of salvation is to be a people who belong to the Lord. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).

The law that Paul speaks of is the law given on Sinai as God’s covenant with his people. The law or old covenant regulated the life of the people of God from Sinai to the cross. The people of the law covenant had its promise of life (Deuteronomy 28:1-14), but being sinners, they could not keep it. Thus they fell under its curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). The law demanded spiritual fruitfulness, but offered no power to produce fruit. We do not belong to the law covenant. It was given by God and its commands good (Romans 7:12), but it could not produce godly fruit in sinful people. But the resurrected Christ can produce spiritual fruit in his people. He does this by the power of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

This much Christians have said through the years. It is the idea of belonging to Christ that we should have a greater awareness of. Paul uses the illustration of a married woman. At the core of marriage is the concept of the husband and wife belonging to each other. Each hands over to the other their aspirations, their financial independence, their bodies and so forth in order to form a union with each other. As Jesus said, Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together (Matthew 19:6 NLT).

We need to become serious that we are joined to the Lord. Do we share his aspirations (his revealed will for his people)? Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him (2 Corinthians 5:9). Jesus knew the Scriptures, so should we. Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38), and that is our calling (cf. Titus; 1 Peter). Jesus lived a life of love (Galatians 2:20), and our love for others ought to show up in how we talk to each other (Ephesians 4:29-5:2). Jesus completed the work the Father gave him to do (John 17:4), and we need to pursue the task of making disciples and being his witnesses (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

Part of the marital relationship is properly representing your spouse. When my wife and I had just started to get serious in our dating relationship, we agreed not to refer to each other as “the old man” or “the old lady” or other derogatory terms. We speak in words that seek to honor the other before God and people. This means we are also careful in the way we speak of the Lord, whose name is constantly dishonored in our time.

Positively, this means that we show the Lord Jesus’ qualities to a watching world. Consider Colossians 3:12-15. Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful (CSB). Here is how the Lord wants his wife to dress. He wants us to wear godly relational qualities. This starts in our relationships with other believers, and extends to acting in a beneficial manner to all. With the internal squabbles that characterize most local churches and the fruitless quest for political power by many professing believers in our time, the world does not see the above fruit. It hears the defiling speech spoken against in Colossians 3:8. It observes contention, arrogance, impatience, and a mournful lack of gentleness, kindness, and love.

Dear brothers and sisters, we need to face the hard truth. Our words and our contact have not properly represented the Lord Jesus Christ. We desperately need a radical change in our world and life view that restores the supremacy of Christ in our attitudes, words, and behavior. The Lord wants us to relate to him and to others in a much godlier way than we have been.

Grace and peace, David

We Need to Talk (Part One)

Ephesians 5:22-33

This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church (5:32 NIV).

The Biblical passage from which we begin this series is often used to talk about the marital relationship between a husband and a wife. Clearly, it does provide crucial teaching on the sharing of life between the two partners in the marriage covenant. But there is more to these words than the relationship of two humans. Their union is a picture of the greater union of the Lord Jesus Christ and his people. Christ is the husband and the church is his bride. As a man and a woman share life in their marital union, so Christ and his people share life. Marriage is about knowing a person and being known by that same person. Our eternal life with God is about personal knowledge (John 17:3) And knowledge involves communication. So, in this series think of Christ saying to his dearly loved bride, “We need to talk.”

Now on the human side of things, when a man or a woman says to their spouse, “We need to talk,” it is because there is a problem of some kind. Some might be small and others very serious. When one says this phrase, the other might begin to think, “Now what have I done,” and “how can I defend myself?” To ease into this, imagine that a married couple is a party. The husband tells a joke of some sort, that he assumes is simply funny and harmless. But the next thing he knows, his wife comes up to his side and whispers in his ear, “Dear, we need to talk.” Immediately, by her tone, the husband knows he is in trouble! And he is ignorant, and thinking, “Oh no, what did I do or say now?”

In that situation, the husband is probably guilty of some social faux pas. However, we the church are united to the Lord of glory, who is all-wise and never makes mistakes, even when we fail to comprehend his ways. On the other hand, we commit many sins and errors, which require our repentance and faith in his grace to restore our fellowship with him.

For our constant benefit, the Lord Jesus talks to his church through the living Word of God. We don’t need to find a time to talk with him in a busy schedule, which can be difficult for married couples in the busyness of our fast-paced lives. His words are always available, and we can always talk with him (prayer).

This series does not directly speak to the issue of reading the Bible and prayer. A discussion about the latter usually turns into a guilt trip (hardly anyone prays like we all know we should), an excessive concentration on the physical and financial needs of others (who prays for spiritual matters?), or a mystical quest (there are many forms of mysticism in prayer that have little or no connection with the Bible). Dare I even mention attempting to get “Bible believing” Christians involved in reading the Bible regularly? I think it would be easier to encourage believers to wade waist deep through a horrifically smelling swamp for a year than to read the Bible daily for three months! We have a serious problem with distraction or disinterest or disillusionment when it comes to reading God’s word in a consistent manner. Do you think I’m joking? All right… Read First Thessalonians every day for a month. The Spirit might use it to change your life.

Instead, I want to think with you about teachings of the Scriptures that the Lord wants us to pay attention to, as he talks with his dearly loved bride, the church. Christ says to us, “We need to talk;” that is, we need to listen to him about our relationship with him, our worship, our fears, our pride, our lack of passion, our brotherly love, and our need for wisdom. May God our Father give us hearts to listen and grace to change!

Grace and peace, David

Why Christ Came (Part Two)

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God’” (Hebrews 10:5-7 NIV).

Our second text makes known why the Messiah came in relation to the story of God’s glory. God chose to work out his plan through a series of covenants. There are five covenants clearly identified in the Holy Writings, and they are usually linked to major characters in God’s plan. So we speak of covenants associated with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Christ. The covenant with Abraham is called the holy covenant (Luke 1:72) or the promise (Galatians 3). The covenant with Moses is called the law or the old covenant in many places; it is also called the first   covenant (Hebrews 8:7; 9:1). It is important to keep this last designation in mind in order to understand Hebrews ten properly. The covenant of which Christ is the substance (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8) is usually called the new covenant, though in Hebrews it is also called the better or the second covenant (8:7 CSB, ESV, NLT). Now let’s focus on this second reason for Christ’s first coming.

The Messiah said, I have come to do your will, my God. Now surely he always pleased God the Father. When you read the Gospel of John carefully, you learn that all his works and words were exactly what the Father desired. When he did signs and wonders, each one was the will of the Father. When he spoke, he spoke what the Father told him to speak. How he acted was to reveal the Father to us (John 1:18). If we read this text through the lens of systematic or practical theology, we will think that this phrase is speaking of our Lord’s general obedience to the Father, and how he is our pattern to do the same. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with either systematic or practical theology, but we must not allow them to interfere with a proper understanding of any Biblical text. What is the will of God that Christ came to do?

First, in the above verses, notice the contrasts between sacrifice and offering with the body God prepared for the Messiah, and between offerings that could not please God and doing God’s will. Weren’t sacrifices and offerings established by God (see especially Leviticus) and so his will? Yes, they were! But they could not please God in the sense of being able to take away sin and cleanse the consciences of those who sinned. The Messiah had to come to provide a better sacrifice for sins, the offering of himself.

Second, notice what the writer of Hebrews said about the old covenant. The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship (10:1 NIV). It was a shadow and its sacrifices can never… make perfect those who draw near to worship. Now a shadow is good for the purpose for which God made shadows. They show us that something of substance is nearby. But that does not make the shadow better than the substance. And when we have the substance, we no longer need the shadow. For example, my shadow might show my wife that I am walking toward her. So she is alert to my presence. But I don’t want her to kiss my shadow; I want her to kiss me!

There are too many Christians in our time that are in love with the shadows of the law covenant. Such shadows proclaimed that the Lord was near his old covenant people. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12 NIV). But now that Christ, who is the better covenant, has come and accomplished redemption, we no longer need the shadows of the law, because Christ is now in us.

Third, Christ came to fulfill the law, set it aside because it was fulfilled, and to establish the new covenant. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrew 10:9-10 NIV). Notice what the Spirit caused to be written. He sets aside the first to establish the second. The first is the law or old covenant and the second is the new or better covenant. We are no longer under the law, written on stone tablets and given to Israel on Sinai. We are in Christ, and the Spirit of Christ who lives in us is our leader in following Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Grace and peace, David

Be Thankful (Part Two)

Colossians 3:15-17

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (NIV).

We offer thanksgiving as part of our new way of life (3:15). Our union with Christ in his death and resurrection has ended the rule of sin in our lives (cf. Colossians 3:1-4). The practices of the old way of life are contrary to a life of thanksgiving (cf. Colossians 3:5; cf. Romans 1:18-29; 2 Timothy 3:2). For this reason, we are to end the remaining actions of the old way of life. Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5 CSB; cf. Romans 8:13).

Our union with Christ begins the development of a new way of life. We become thankful to God our Savior. Thankfulness disables self-pity. How can you throw a pity party for yourself when you are a thankful person? Consider what we might call the self-pity sequence: Envy leads to self-pity that causes anger that leads deeper into bitterness that in turn causes depression. But thankfulness to God promotes humility and contentment. Every good gift is from God. Therefore, I should not expect to be treated as superior (1 Corinthians 4:7). Every good gift is from God. Therefore, I should be satisfied with his good gifts. I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself (Philippians 4:11 CSB).

We also become thankful to others:

  • We recognize our mutual interdependence. We let each other know in a glad and encouraging way that we need each other.
  • We express appreciation. This makes us observe what Christ is doing in and through others, and then to verbalize our approval and enjoyment of such actions.
  • We encourage others in good works (cf. Hebrews 10:25).

We also offer thanksgiving as partners in worship (3:16). The word of Christ should govern our worship together. The word of Christ is both from him and concerns him. He is the source and the substance of God’s revelation or message to us. This word is to live richly in our hearts. How does this happen? It richly lives in us when we listen attentively to it (Matthew 13:9), hide it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), handle it correctly (2 Timothy 2:15), and hold it out to others (Philippians 2:16).

We must seriously understand that thanksgiving is to be a corporate experience. The whole local assembly is to share in the richly living word of Christ together. Church is not a place that you go to, but it is people in Christ that you partner with for the word of Christ.

When the word of Christ has its proper place in a local church, it transforms the worship of the gathering of believers. The word that is sung in worship becomes a means of teaching and admonishing one another (cf. Colossians 1:28). We join the vertical and the horizontal aspects of worship. Then worship is not an individual matter, but a sweet sharing of life in Christ. Then our songs of praise join together as songs of gratitude for how God has given us grace together in the body of Christ. How is your experience of corporate thanksgiving to God in Christ? How would you rate what happens in your local gathering? Will you join with others to increase the overflowing gratitude that our Lord and Savior deserves?

Grace and peace, David

Be Thankful (Part One)

Colossians 3:15-17

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (NIV).

What are some blessings that you highly value? Now what are some characteristics that you highly value in other people? God highly values thankfulness. Yet I do not think that we take this positive quality of godliness very seriously. Read through the letter to the Colossians carefully and see the emphasis on being thankful. Thanksgiving should be part of our lives everyday. We should deliberately build it into what we are. One of the signs of a heart alienated from God is a lack of thankfulness to the Lord God. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:21 NIV).

We offer thanksgiving through Jesus Christ (3:17). This is part of our larger life view. In everything we are to be Christ-focused. This approach honors the Triune God, because God designed this as the way to come to him and to honor him. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world (Romans 1:8 ESV, my emphasis). An examination of the New Testament references to thanksgiving reveals an emphasis on the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus. This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15-16 CSB; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 8:9; 9:15; Philippians 1:3-6; Colossians 1:3-4; etc.)

Since Adam disobeyed God and ruined our race, God is building a new humanity in Jesus Christ, in whom we are restored to God’s purpose for us. When we are giving thanks through Jesus our Lord, we are functioning according to God’s will and as a byproduct, we feel right. We are in alignment with God’s intention for our humanness.

When we offer our thanks through Christ, we honor him as the mediator between God and mankind. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV). When we offer a sacrifice of praise through Jesus our great High Priest (cf. Hebrews 4:14), we display and develop humility before the living God. We are confessing our absolute need of Christ to consecrate everything to God concerning us, including our praise.

However, we do not want to think of this mechanically or ritually but personally. Offering thanks through Jesus recognizes our personal participation with him in worship. As new covenant priests (cf. 1 Peter 2:5), we join with him to glorify the Father. By faith we should have a lively sense of approaching the throne of grace with him as our leader.

To do this, we ought to prepare our hearts for worship. You might have to rush to get to the gathering of God’s people, because we live in a world where our best plans for getting ourselves and our family ready go astray. But there should be no rush in the inner persons of our hearts. “Oh no, now what am I doing?” Be calm; God knows what happens in your life, and your brothers and sisters in Christ need to accept that, too. Let’s have some holy deliberation in the way we live, and not act like we’re in some sort of panic or agitation.

Grace and peace, David

Seeking God Successfully (Part Seven)

Psalm 27:8

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (ESV).

Seeking God testifies that our joy is found outside of ourselves. We seek something when we realize that we do not have sufficient resources in us. A thirsty person will get up and look for a glass of cold water. A hungry person will raid the refrigerator, because he or she knows that food is to be found there. In the same way our hearts reach out for God when we are convinced that he has what we need spiritually and eternally. This kind of conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 CSB; cf. John 15:26; Romans 8:15).

On the other hand, when God seeks us, he is not seeking to supply some deficiency in himself, because he is fully satisfied. And human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need (Acts 17:25 NLT; cf. Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 11:36;). Instead, God seeks us (Luke 19:10) in order to meet our need. God, wanting to share the immensity of his love, reaches out to us that we may drink at his fountain and be utterly satisfied. So he tells us that all his fullness is to be found in Christ and that he gives this fullness to us in Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority (Colossians 2:9-10 NIV). So then, we should realize that our Father in heaven really wants us to approach him in faith and through Christ by the Holy Spirit draw all that we need to satisfy our thirsty souls (John 4:10-14; 6:34-35; 7:37-39; 10:9-10; 16:24; Philippians 3:1).

Believers must be seekers. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob (Psalm 24:6 ESV). In heaven we will possess all things fully, and God will live with us in a way that is the completion of our present experience (Revelation 21:3-5). But now we are caught in the tension or pull between what we have by grace in Christ and what we still long for—to live directly in God’s presence.

By the presence of God, the Scriptures mean something richer than the omnipresence of God. Truly God is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Amos 9:2-5; Acts 17:26-28), and he is fully present and active in the fullness of his divine power. But by the presence of God, the Bible means God being with his people to bless and help and encourage and make his love known to us. We have this presence through the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit. As J.I. Packer points out in Keep in Step with the Spirit (p. 49), the Holy Spirit makes known to us the presence of Christ with us so that three events keep happening:

  • Personal fellowship with Jesus – the Lord draws near to us to share our lives with us. God is not a passive spectator but an active participant in our struggles.
  • Personal transformation of character into Jesus’ likeness – the Lord works in us to make us more and more like him, and we produce the fruit of the Spirit.
  • The Spirit-given certainty of being loved, redeemed and adopted through Christ into the Father’s family – the Lord lets us know that we belong to him and that he will never turn his back on us.

Let us draw near to God. He offers much to his children who rely on him. He promises himself, the awesome God over all!

Grace and peace, David

Seeking God Successfully (Part Six)

Psalm 27:8

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (ESV).

What are some situations in which God calls us to seek his face?

  • We must seek him in the day of trouble. Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me (Psalm 50:15 CSB).
  • We must seek him when we can find no light. Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God (Isaiah 50:10 NIV).
  • We must seek him when we lack contentment. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV).
  • We must seek him in the perplexity of life’s decisions. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB).
  • We must seek him when our sins are like scarlet. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18 NIV).
  • We must seek him during suffering. So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good (1 Peter 4:19 NIV).
  • We must seek him when everyone deserts us. At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth (2 Timothy 4:16-17 CSB).
  • We must seek him at the time of death. The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen (2 Timothy 4:18 CSB).

“Therefore let us learn by the example of this blessed man, that when he had but a hint from God, ‘Seek ye my face,’ he answers, ‘Thy face, Lord, will I seek’” (Sibbes, p. 123). Just a hint from our Father in heaven equals a loving, royal welcome to his dearly loved children. Faith will see God’s light in the darkest room; it senses the feeblest light sneaking through some crack in the wall. It is like the servants of Ben-Hadad, who seized upon a hint of favor from Ahab (cf. 1 Kings 20:29-34). In a similar way, when we communicate with the Lord, we may remind him of his promises to us.

What did the psalmist do? Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope (Psalm 119:49 ESV). How did Nehemiah use this principle when he was distressed about the condition of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:8-9)?

When we talk with the Lord in this way, we are communicating “on the same wavelength” with God. In whatever ways the Lord speaks to us through the Scriptures, we should allow the truth of his word work in our hearts and respond appropriately to him. By this I mean, if we read of his love for us, we should tell him of our love for him. When we hear of his joy in his people, we should rejoice in the Lord. As he tells us who he is, we ought to be willing to disclose who we are to him. If our hearts are moved with the way he commits himself, should not we express our commitment to him? When he tells us to find comfort in his strength, we ought to draw near to him and rest in his almighty power.

Grace and peace, David

Seeking God Successfully (Part Five)

Psalm 27:8

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (ESV).

So then, we should through faith obey God’s command to seek his face. God’s pattern for our behavior is always to follow his will, trusting him to supply what is need to walk in the way he directs us to walk in.

Now, it’s your turn. Answer the following questions after reading both passages to learn more about seeking the Lord through faith according to his word. What promise did the Lord give to Joshua prior to the conquest of the Promised Land (Joshua 1:1-9)? How is this promise like the one given to the church (Matthew 28:18-20)?

“So though David said, ‘I will seek thy face,’ yet there was a spiritual virtue that enabled him. God must find us before we can seek him. He must not only give the command to seek his face, but together with the command, there goes a work of the Spirit to the children of God, that enableth them to seek him” (Sibbes, Works, Vol. 6, p. 119).

Consider Christ’s commands to the paralyzed man (Mark 2:11-12) and to Lazarus (John 11:43-44). Christ commanded both what they were unable to perform, but with the commands came to them with the ability to obey. We might wonder how weak creatures could seek the face of the Almighty, Eternal God, who is beyond our comprehension. But with the call to draw near to God comes the power of the Holy Spirit to approach the Father through the Son.

What kind of obedience through faith should we give to the command to seek God’s face?

  • We should give an immediate obedience . To seek fellowship with our Father is not something that we should put off. Don’t be like the child who calls, “I’m coming dad,” while he or she continues to play with the toys.
  • We should give a cheerful obedience. For example, Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7 CSB). God is always to be approached joyfully. Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100:2 ESV). This was the kind of attitude that Isaiah had when he heard God’s call (Isaiah 6:8). It was the kind of response that the apostles manifested after they experienced the pain they would suffer from obedience (Acts 5:41-42). “God would have things in the church done by such people” (Sibbes, p. 120).
  • We should obey sincerely; that is, we should be seeking God himself and not merely benefits from him. God sees through all hypocrisy. Though he wants to supply our needs and commands us to pray accordingly, the Lord first wants us to fellowship with him. Let us not mix these things up in our attitudes. It is far too easy for all our communication with the Lord to degenerate into sessions in which we only ask for stuff! Would you like to talk with a child who had that kind of attitude?
  • We should seek God perpetually. Resolve on seeking him now; determine to keep on seeking him daily. Our lives are made up of far too many false starts. We fizzle out like a sparkler that a child plays with. Think of something that you really like to do. How do you persevere in doing that action? You seize every opportunity! Seek God in that manner.
  • Our obedience must conform to the command. We only conform when we seek God’s face, regardless of our circumstances. Above all else God wants us to be devoted to seeking him, though we may not see how we will find him.

So then, we seek God successfully when we seek him in Jesus Christ through faith, and as James wrote, this faith produces actions consistent with who God is. “There is no good received by religion if we be not earnest for it. Religion is not a matter to be dallied in” (Sibbes, Works, Vol. 6, p. 304).

Grace and peace, David

Seeking God Successfully (Part Four)

Psalm 27:8

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (ESV).

Let us look more closely at this. God speaks to us and we may speak to him, but how we speak to God flows from our heart’s direction: “My heart says….” As our minds think about the truthfulness and preciousness of God’s word to us, and our emotions join in with proper corresponding attitudes, then our wills issue correct orders to our whole being. These responses will vary according to the various parts of the word of God to us. For example, reading Psalm 8 should produce a different response than reading Psalm 51.  Reading Lamentations 2 should stir something different in us than when we read Romans 8. This will occur if our whole heart is directing our response to God. If we find the same responses to varied passages, we have a fairly strong reason to believe that they are canned responses, like the “canned laughter” in TV sitcoms. Or perhaps we are just being highly selective listeners. An example is the programmed responses to established rituals from various churches, including from those churches that claim to lack ritual.

What should be happening is that the whole heart should listen attentively, and then the mind, emotions and will should jointly frame an appropriate response, as we see that happened to David in the rest of this verse. But to use another example first, think of Psalm 34:8. Here we hear a call to Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him (NIV). What can you learn about framing an appropriate response to the Lord from this verse?

God expects us to apply the word and direct our whole being to seek him. This is necessary when the word of God exposes our true character to us. As we learn from the Bible our sinfulness, we may become discouraged from seeking the face of the Holy God. But it is at such points that we must by faith act upon the Scriptures and believe that God will receive us for Christ’s sake (cf. Hebrews 10:19-22). For example, what application and direction should we receive from Romans 15:7? What should we receive from Isaiah 40:28-31?

We must grasp that God truly wants us to seek him. Using the word of God with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, we are to venture on God’s call to the soul and by faith approach the Lord. God speaks to us through the Scriptures in order that we might fellowship with him. The way is already established in Christ; now we may simply by faith draw near to God.

However, too many use the word improperly. We allow other matters to distract us. For example, when we hear the word preached or taught, we care more for the way the message is presented than for the content of the message. What are some mistakes people make when they listen to the Scriptures?

  • They desire to hear ideas cleverly presented.
  • They wish to increase speculations about doubtful matters.
  • They are eager to hear what agrees with their church tradition.
  • They like easy answers that ignores life’s complexities.
  • They want to hear moving stories.
  • They want to receive memorable phrases.
  • They like to hear what will make them feel good rather than change.

What direction does Christ give us? Listen to two challenges from the Lord Jesus. And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and more will be added to you. For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:24-25 CSB, my emphasis). Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him (Luke 8:18 CSB, my emphasis). Both the what and the how of our listening matter.

Thinking of how we hear, a lack of concern about our sin and a failure to repent will interfere with seeking God. Christ tells us that those who are poor in spirit, and who mourn (over sin) will be blessed by God (Matthew 5:3-4). But the Lord promises nothing to those who are unrepentant and refuse to listen to the word of God (Deuteronomy 29:19-20; Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:9). These truths also must be applied to our hearts!

Grace and peace, David

Seeking God Successfully (Part Three)

Psalm 27:8

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (ESV).

Our response to the Lord’s invitation starts from the heart—our inner person, the seat of personality. It starts from our mind, emotions and will responding jointly to God’s gracious call. God wants our hearts above all. Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life (Proverbs 4:23 NET). But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over (Romans 6:17 CSB). Though outward obedience to God is good, it means nothing unless the heart is also seeking God. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (Matthew 15:7-9 NIV). Here are some characteristics of true spirituality, as we seek God from the heart. It is:

  • Focused on Christ
  • Rooted in redeeming grace
  • Flowing out to love to God and people
  • Living by faith
  • Expressing joy and hope
  • Growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord

We cannot explore these matters now. But we must also understand that true spirituality comes from the heart. It is not something that happens because of external pressure. Some people are “fine” spiritually as long as someone else is applying pressure on them. Friendship can have many positive benefits. There is a proper place for this in true spirituality. See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:12-13 NIV). And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25 CSB). However, there is something terribly wrong if the motivating power to seek God is outside one’s heart rather than inside it. Such a religion would show the lack of a new heart and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who motivates us according to Christ and the gospel. So then, our response starts from the heart, not as the efficient cause, which is Christ, but as the place where seeking God begins. God speaks to our heart and our hearts reply to him.

The response communicates with God: My heart says to you…. “David saw God in all his commandments” (Sibbes). He did not bring God’s communication down to the level of bare “book talk”. Instead, he saw the word as it truly is, as God speaking to us now in written form. The Scripture often declares, This is what the Lord says…. In other words we must lay hold of God’s continuing communication with us through the words, and this means that we must respond to God personally when we hear his voice in the Scriptures. “God and Father, you are speaking to me, and I would speak with you.” So then, we should take the opportunity the Bible presents to us when we read it to respond to God’s communication to us by communicating with him, the living God! This is what some mean by praying the Scriptures back to the Lord. Read a passage, and then use it as the framework of your communication to God.

Grace and peace, David