Longing for our Gain

“My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” –Philippians1:23

Paul who desired Jesus to be glorified in him in both his life and death led Paul to think about death. Death is a welcomed gain because we will enjoy the fullness of Jesus. That’s why Paul said, “To live is Christ, but to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Yes, Jesus is glorified in my labors here, but I gain much more to die trusting my resurrected Savior’s promise of everlasting life.

To live a long life, the Christian can further serve the local church and proclaim Jesus to the world. For Paul, he knew if he survived his imprisonment, he could see the Philippian church once again face-to-face to teach them for more spiritual growth (Philippians 1:25).

Yet, to die means enjoying Jesus in such depths of joy, peace, and love we have but only foretastes of here. And this gives great meaning to the life we live here. We are to live serving Christ, for to live is Christ. And that means we live life longing to enjoy Him more fully one day.

I invite you to think about longing in your heart as a good thing. It is good to long for better than this world and this life. It is good to long for Jesus. That puts every good thing we enjoy here as well as ever trouble and every tear suffered here into perspective. Eternal perspective.

Every good we enjoy here is not fully enjoyed. Every trouble suffered here is not fully defeating. For standing at the end of our days is our Savior, ready to wipe away our every tear and welcome us into His heaven to enjoy Him fully and forever (Revelation 7:17).

Every trouble and every tear in this life presses our hearts which long to be with Jesus. Such troubles and tears are to be embraced, for they do eternal good to our souls. It is better to be ready to throw off this fallen world and painfully long for heaven than to live an always comfortable life with numbness to the things of God.

Friend, live life with the promised reality of eternity ahead of us. Serve the church, not simply out of a heart for service or to fill a need, but serve the church knowing those you serve will one day be adorned in the splendor of white garments enjoying Jesus with us forever. Evangelize, not simply to see more Christians come or our local churches grow, but knowing the voices that fill the earth with Jesus’ ceaseless praise glorifies our great God and Savior.

Suffer well, not simply to carry on, but knowing each tear we shed here will be fully comforted by one swipe of our Savior’s hand. Each pain and every loss we experience here cannot be compared to the delight of coming glory (Romans 8:18). The coming glory to be revealed, which Paul in Philippians calls “gain.”

Embrace longing in your heart, friend. Yes, even all of creation groans for our redemption (Romans 8:22). Our groaning will one day give way to endless delights in Jesus. So, yes, to die is gain. Our desire, like Paul’s, is to depart and be with Christ. We know by faith that is far better than this life. Let this encourage you to live this life with joy that at the dawn after this long night we will delight ourselves fully in Jesus.

Heavenly Father, forgive us when our longings drain our hearts and we lose eternal perspective. Grant us hearts which embrace our longing, knowing the full gain of delighting in Jesus promised us is ahead of us. Grant us eternal perspective in every earthly good and trouble. Grant us strength to not grow weary, mercy to sing songs of praise for placing longing in our hearts here and the promise of eternal satisfaction to come. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Always Give Thanks for Everything to God

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –Ephesians 5:20

I love Thanksgiving Day. It is a holiday that does not require hype. Decorations are minimal, there are few songs which prepare us for it, and, for me, centers on God to whom we are to give thanks. As we look forward to filling our plates this Thursday with turkey and fixings, let us think about what we are thankful for before our God whose face we feast before.

Paul tells us, give thanks always and for everything to God. Always. There is never a moment in our lives where thanksgiving to God is inappropriate. For everything. We must always be thankful to God for every good and every bad, every comfort and every trouble, every smile and every tear.

CS Lewis once said, “We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country” (Collected Letters Volume2, Page 869).

So, let us give thanks to God for hard things. For the troubles which arise in our relationships to show His mercy and power to reconcile. For the lows in our lives to know true contentment. To find ourselves at the end of our ropes in stress, whether it is work, marriage, parenting, friends, to know our strength comes from the Lord. For anxious times to know His peace and remain constant in prayer.

However, let us also be thankful for the good because it is good, as Lewis encouraged. As the hymn goes,

“Count your blessings, name them one by one; 

Count your blessings, see what God hath done!”

Psalm65:11 says, “You crown the year with Your bounty; Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.” His sovereign providence fills us to abundance.

In a sermon on this Psalm, Spurgeon said, “Let our hearts be warmed; let our spirits remember, meditate, and think upon this goodness of the Lord. Meditation upon this mercy may tend to nourish in you the tenderest feelings of affection, and your souls will be knit to the Father of spirits, who pitieth his children.”

Our thanksgiving is more than what benefits God gives. Our thanksgiving is highest for God’s presence with us. Spurgeon said, “the sense that Jesus Christ is with his people drowns every note of sorrow, and every heart is tuned to loudest notes of thankfulness.”

When your plate is filled this coming Thursday and you find yourself thinking about what you are thankful for, remember to give thanks always and for everything to God. Yes, for the troubles that drove you to cry out to God for mercy as well as praise for the good He has done. And above all, our hearts are always thankful for everything as Jesus Christ is with us forever.

A Nourished, Fruitful Tree

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” –Psalm 1:3

The Psalmist pictures a tree with roots digging in on the banks beside a stream flowing fresh water. We are invited into this scene to consider the tree and the resulting fruits and leaves. The Psalm goes from start to finish rather than to think of results and ponder why this tree is so vibrant.

First, the tree is planted. The tree takes root into nourished soil for growth and life and bearing good fruit. Second, the tree is nourished because its roots drink water from the flowing stream. And here, we consider Psalm 42 and the deer panting for streams of flowing water. The Psalmist uses this illustration for personal longing for God! As the deer pants for streams of living water, so my soul pants for the living God!

So, this tree nourished by the stream is like a blessed person who meditates on God’s Word day and night (Psalm 1:1-2). We long for the living water of God’s Word, drink deeply day and night, and are blessed and delight in what we drink!

Lastly, consider the tree’s fruits in season and leaves. Spurgeon says the Christian is an evergreen who bears fruit. Drinking deeply the streams of living water, the tree is nourished to have hearty leaves and bears sweet fruits at all times.

Now, what about difficult times? Can a Christian still be so greatly nourished that the leaves remain strong and the fruit “prospers” or matures to sweet delight like an early October apple? Yes, if our meditation on the Word of God is day and night like a tree’s roots always nourished by a healthy flowing creek.

God’s Law is His wise instruction, which is the entire Bible. We are here invited to meditate like a tree drinks water from a stream. Yes, study the Word of God. But don’t just study what He says. Don’t just read through Scripture quickly. Meditate on the words as truth. Sweet truth that works upon our hearts to practice what we have learned.

The Christian’s meditation is on the Word of God, as opposed to eastern religious meditation which teaches to empty our minds to be in touch with nature or the energy that flows through us. We are to fill our minds with God’s Word to find sweet, sweet delight in our God who delights in us.

The reward for our meditation on God’s Word is delight. How can what God says become a delight in the depths of our souls simply by meditating all the time like a tree drinking nourishing, flowing water from a stream?

In God’s Word I read of God’s uncompromisingly perfect holiness and justice, as well as His wrath for rebels. I also read of God’s love sending His Son Jesus to take the wrath I deserve, pardoning me. Deeper, being adopted in Jesus given the right to be called a child of God (John 1:12-13).

Only in Jesus can you delight in the Law of God. The Father delights in us because He delights in His Son. This means, when difficult times come, I am not malnourished. No, my blessedness is from His Word and the rich promises of His supply and mercy for me even in hard seasons.

The wicked are malnourished. They are like chaff, that fragile, papery cover on top of grain. A simple wind will blow them away. Jesus warned us, ““Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up” (Matthew 15:13).

The person nourished day and night on God’s living Word is blessed according to the beginning of this Psalm, but the wicked are cursed not to be able to stand God’s judgment (Psalm 1:5). Those nourished on God’s Word live while the wicked perish (Psalm 1:6).

A famine of the Word of God the prophet Amos warned of would be most awful. This hardens a wicked heart which God gives over to their sin described in Romans 1. A people without the Word of God wither and perish into chaos, injustice, and are left without real hope from the revelation of our God who saves sinners.

Friend, will you feast or famine? I urge you, feast upon the Word of God. Join us Sundays at 9:30am and 11am to feast upon the nourishing waters of God’s Word. Join us for Bible Study Wednesdays at 6:30pm. Join a discipleship group. Feast upon the Word of God and enjoy the reward of delight, even in difficult times, for our Savior nourishes us, blesses us, and promises us a living hope.

Heavenly Father, stir our hearts to pant for Your Word like a deer pants for streams of flowing water. Give us longing to meet with You in Your Word, meditating on it day and night. Show us in Your Word, O Lord, our need of mercy and Your supply in Christ. We praise You for the Bible, for the nourishing words we delight in, and the comforts, peace, joy, and hope we find in Your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It's Only Death

“With a loud voice they were saying, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” –Revelation 5:12

Jesus Christ is the righteous servant of Isaiah’s prophecy who came to be rejected and despised, and we “esteemed Him not” or did not value Him, Yet, He was pierced for our transgressions and not His own. He was oppressed and afflicted. Yet, it was the will of the Lord to crush Him. So, the heavens sing, “worthy is the Lamb,” who received the promised blessings of Isaiah 53:12.

Yet, Jesus is the worthy Lamb who was slain. Past tense. He is alive now, having resurrected from the dead! Jesus who tells John He is the living One. “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18).

Jesus alone has power and authority over death. And the Lamb who was slain is alive forevermore. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that the dead will put on imperishable and the mortal will put on immortality, fulfilling the saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?” (I Corinthians15:54-55).

Death has lost its stinger in defeat. Sin and the law were defeated by Jesus Christ the righteous who gives us the victory. Jesus gives us the victory received by faith.

In other words, to the Christian, it’s only death. "All death can do to the believer is deliver him to Jesus,” said the recently deceased John MacArthur. For the believer, there is no more sin to be forgiven, emptying death of all its power. MacArthur continued, “Satan is a toothless lion, and death is a stingless bee."

Death is a topic to think about because death approaches all of us. A topic to think about when death snatches another away from us. As I write this, I just heard the news Voddie Baucham has passed away. Yet, this reminds me of a quote from one of his sermons:

“You are going to hear a rumor one day that Voddie Baucham is no more. Don't you believe it! Because though I die, I will rise with Christ. It will not be the end of me because Christ is raised and I too will be raised with Christ.”

This on the heels of the news of Charlie Kirk’s murder. Why would a family man risk his well-being and his life to speak of the sins of sexual immorality and false religions, the need for repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ, in a vulnerable place on a stage in the most hostile territories, the American university campus? It’s only death.

The Gospel writers recount a time a synagogue ruler named Jairus had a daughter on her deathbed. Jairus labored to get to Jesus to bring Him in time, only to be delayed along the way. In that delay, someone from Jairus’ home told the father the news: your daughter is dead, don’t bother the Teacher any further.

Jesus went anyway saying, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” Upon arrival to the house, Jesus questions why all the commotion and weeping? Then our Savior adds, “The child is not dead but sleeping.” It was at this the crowd once weeping the child’s death now laughs. How ridiculous!

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those indeed perishing, but to us being saved it is the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18). What a joy that Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead!

There is much laughter at this message of the cross of Jesus in our world. Christians are viewed as silly for believing God’s judgment, and worse, Christians are viewed as most wicked among humanity for proclaiming this message of Jesus to repent and believe lest you perish.

Yet, for those of us being saved, we rejoice in the resurrected Lord and our living hope found in our faith in Him.

The early church apologists spent much time and ink defending Christians from hatred and social alienation from the Roman world. They contended that Christian beliefs and morality are superior to worldly philosophies and ideas. A worldly reader may chuckle like the laughing mourners in Jairus’ daughter’s room, but it is a mockery from a hardened heart refusing to even investigate whether these things are so. They “suppress the truth” by their unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).

I delight in true hope in Jesus. As I ponder death, I trust Jesus has rendered death stingless and powerless. It’s only death. For I am confident I will be in that glorious number singing His eternal praises. This hope renders all troubles in this life as “light and momentary,” and cannot be compared to the “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” that is ahead.

As Puritan Thomas Adams said, “We spend our years with sighing; it is a valley of tears; but death is the funeral of all our sorrows.”

Reader, listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice, the mighty voice of Jesus who was dead and is now alive forevermore. He invites you to trust in Him and live, to fear death and condemnation no more. May the Holy Spirit draw you to Jesus as weak and poor, to see His strength and the riches of His grace to save sinners.

Heavenly Father, teach us to number our days, to fear our mortality, to trust in Jesus whom You raised from the dead. Grant Your people wisdom and boldness in the face of a mocking world and troubles and death, which Christ has diminished to stingless and powerless, giving us everlasting life received by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How the Church is Not Like a BBQ Restaurant

“His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” –Ephesians 3:10

I just read on social media a barbecue restaurant in Hamilton is closing. When I first moved to Hamilton, another barbecue restaurant occupied the same space before closing. Who knows what might move into this space next? The ebbs and flows of businesses and restaurants moves with the appetites and wallets of the people who live in our community.

I also know of a few churches which closed. The world would say this is all the same thing. Much like a business or a restaurant, churches close and make way for something new. Perhaps an apartment complex or a restaurant. A mindset not surprisingly worldly. Yet, this is not the reality of Christ’s church.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not merely another product like barbecue. Jesus is preeminent, majestic, eternally ruling as King. As Colossians 1 says, Jesus is firstborn of all creation, highest in rank and rule, sovereign over visible and invisible authorities having created all things. And the members of one body the church has Jesus Christ the supreme as its Head (Colossians 1:18). Jesus demands and will have every knee bow before Him (Philippians 2:9-11).

And where does Jesus display His supremacy and glory for all the earth and heavenly realms? His church. Christ who is our peace tore down the wall of hostility in His torn flesh reconciles those who believe in Him to God, making peace and leading His new creation (Ephesians 2:14-16).

When Paul wrote to Corinth, he said that specific local church was “called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 1:2). If you could look at our planet from above, look down with wonder and think about the multitude of local displays of Christ in places all around the world! Each local church is important.

And the day is coming we gather in that eternal gathering to sing a new song to the worthy Lamb who was slain, saving His people, completing His new creation and our full sanctification, ruling with full authority (Revelation 5:9-14). This power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing belonging to Christ is the manifold wisdom of God on display in the local church, being made known to the world and to rulers and authorities in heavenly places.

Dear saints of Allison Avenue, our gathering and faithfulness is important, for we display the glorious Christ. We exist to know Him and make Him known. We come to know Him by the teaching and preaching of His Word. We make Him known by proclaiming Him to our community.

This joyful labor to know Him and make Him known welcomes each of our investment in the local church. To be there, to serve, to study the precious Lamp to our Feet together, and to proclaim the riches of His glorious grace to one another and to the world.

Heavenly Father, remind us of Your glory and power invested in Your Word and Your manifold wisdom displayed in Your household, the church, the pillar and buttress of the truth. Grant us strength to follow our Lord Jesus faithfully, proclaiming Your excellent goodness in the church and to those around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who is God?

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” – II Corinthians 4:6

Who is God? This is a most valuable question. Not what the unbeliever asks, which is, “which religion best suits me,” or, “which version of God am I most comfortable with?” The quest for truth is found in the question, “Who is God,” asks truthfully, no matter how I feel about Him or what I expect or want Him to be like, who is God really?

The important task for the Christian is to know God. And Paul says we know God and His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. And this knowledge is a gift chosen by God to give freely to us. He has shone this knowledge in our hearts. The very God who spoke light from darkness, created all things by the power of His Word, has spoken this light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

God is to be known, adored, and worshiped. We study His Word, we gather and worship with a healthy local church which teaches truth, and we grow in love for the God who tells us truth in His Word and we grow in love for one another by the rich truths we discover and are changed by in His Word.

What about the unbelievers around us? They do not know God. “We preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord,” Paul said in the previous verse. Your unbelieving neighbor needs to know Jesus Christ is Lord. He is sovereign, wise, and rightfully demands worship. We proclaim Jesus as Lord.

We preach Christ crucified. A rich truth called “good news.” He is God in the flesh come to us. He is the atoning sacrifice for sinners to be reconciled to a holy God forever. We preach Christ as Lord, meaning He is promised in the Old Testament, and has fulfilled every promise of God. We preach Christ as Lord as an encounter with those we proclaim to. It’s a confrontation.

Such a confrontation is a preaching of repentance. To turn from wickedness and worshiping anything but God toward the truth worship of God. Such glory shines in the hearts of God’s people who see His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. He is risen from the dead, with full authority in heaven and on earth.

To those who believe upon Jesus we proclaim as Lord, Christ Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Such a confrontation from the risen Christ breaks down the wall of hostility of our flesh breaking God’s laws. Jesus kills our hostility in dying for us, reconciling us to God, making peace with the God we offended with our sin.

Paul knows what it was like to be confronted with Jesus Christ the Lord. He was blinded by the glory of the resurrected Jesus. This man honored in Jerusalem with papers from temple leaders justifying his persecution now humbled by Jesus. In Galatians, Paul said his conversion came by Jesus’ revealing Himself, not by any human teaching (Galatians 1:11). This encounter with Jesus which blinded and humbled Paul was a calling “by His grace” (1:15). God was pleased to reveal Jesus to Paul to set him apart for preaching Christ as Lord to the Gentiles (1:16).

Christian, God has called you by His grace. Remember your sinfulness. Rejoice in His saving grace that His wrath for your sin was on Jesus and His cross, and Jesus’ righteousness is now yours received by faith alone. God has saved you to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord to others.

Know Him. Adore and worship Him. Proclaim Him. He who is known by the power of His Word, the power of Him who called light to shine out of darkness shines light into the hearts of His people to know Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God.

If you do not know God, you can know God. Look to Jesus. Look to the fullness of His glory and power and majesty. In the fullness of His glory there is grace upon grace; grace overflowing for sinners. You, sinner, must be made new. "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). And you will find the Lord in the only Son sent by the Father, the glorious crucified and resurrection Christ.

Heavenly Father, teach us. Create in us a heart which strives to know You in Your Word. Stir in us a response to knowing You a heart struck with awe and filled with rejoicing to know Christ. Awaken a desire in us to proclaim Christ as Lord, Christ and Him crucified, to those who have not heard. Grant us wisdom and strength to obey You and be glorified in Your good works in us. In Jesus’ name we ask for mercy. Amen.

Big Thoughts of our Big God

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” –Romans 11:33a

Life brings new challenges, new things to overcome, new difficulties to climb, new achievements to strive for. And as life goes on, the road we have walked can take its toll on our minds. Not only for the labors on the road behind, but the struggles in the here and now as well as the unknown in the open path that lay before us.

Such a life requires deep thoughts. Sometimes, we fall into the pit with a sign reading, “overthinking.” Our minds become cluttered and overwhelmed trying to juggle our lives.

If you ever visit Mammoth Cave, there is a tour where visitors can see Symmes Pit. Named for Captain John Cleves Symmes, a man who theorized that our earth is actually hollow (side note, Symmes spent the last years of his life in Hamilton, Ohio, where he is buried and his Hollow Earth Theory is enshrined in a park on the East Side). The pit seems bottomless, which is why guides referred to this pit in honor of Symmes and his theory of a hollow earth.

We know now, of course, that the earth is not hollow. Though the pit is very deep, there is a bottom. We think in human terms of depths. We think our earth is very big. Our solar system, our galaxy is very big. Incomprehensibly big. And yet, they can be searched and measured.

God’s thoughts cannot be searched and measured. His thoughts, Paul says, deep. God’s thoughts are “very deep,” sings the Psalmist (Psalm 92:5). How deep is “very deep?”

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Even in our deepest thoughts, our minds pale in comparison to God’s thoughts which are higher than the heavens. Our ways can challenge us, but God’s ways are far greater. And He is never exhausted, confused, baffled, or overwhelmed. God never overthinks. So deep are God’s thoughts we cannot begin our search much less find the end of them. Yet, in those great depths are “riches,” Paul says. Those riches are knowledge and wisdom.

God’s thoughts are true. Truly real. Not the thoughts of humanity, or society, or culture which are shallow and so quickly changed. God’s thoughts are truly real. Paul begins with that shout of joy, “Oh!” Like the Psalmist, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them” (Psalm139:17)! God’s thoughts are vastly deep, unsearchable, and yet precious to the worshiper of God.

So, dear overwhelmed, overthinking, baffled, weary Christian, think about how precious are the depths of our Creator’s thinking. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out” (Isaiah 40:28).

The depths of the unsearchable mysteries of God’s thoughts are rich, yet the fullness of such riches are in Christ Jesus our Lord (Colossians 2:2-3). And He promises to give rest to the weary and heavy laden, yet in giving us rest does not make our Lord tired or weary.

Your mind tires and fails. At the end of yourself, quitting tempts you. Turn to the Lord. His thoughts are unsearchably deep, and His mercy and love are also described as “rich” (Ephesians 2:4). Oh, the depths of the riches! And we ask like the prophet Micah. Who is like our God who forgives? He may get angry, but not forever. He delights in showing us mercy (Micah 7:14).

Think about the depths of wisdom and love to send Jesus Christ to die for you, to be risen from the grave to bless your weary, failing mind and heart with hope. A living hope alive in Christ!

Let us end this devotion with the Psalmist’s request of the Lord. “Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm139:23). What will God do with the heavy burden of my anxious thoughts? What will He think? Oh, the riches of the depths of His wisdom we find a God who delights in mercy.

Hear this invitation: “cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you” (IPeter 5:7). Oh, such deep wisdom and such deep compassion! Run to the Lord for the joy of His rest for our failed, wearied minds. Rest your mind on big thoughts about our big God.

Heavenly Father, we come to You with burdened minds. We overthink in our smallness, grant us big thoughts of Your unsearchable vastness. By Your inexhaustible mercies, grant Your servants peace as well as strength for the journey of life. All glory be to our great Father who loves His children. Blessed be the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, the name we pray. Amen.