A Life Worthy

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Most Christian churches take communion on a regular basis.  If you have been part of a church for many years, you can probably recite Paul’s words from memory

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread…”

How many times have you eaten the bread…or cracker, and sipped the wine…or juice?  What does it all mean?

The first communion took place during the Passover, a reminder of the Old Covenant.  The Passover celebrated the night that God supernaturally broke the power of the Egyptians over the Hebrews.  He established a covenant with them, promising that he would be Israel’s God, and they would be his people.

Always.

For the most part, people in today’s world deal with each other through contracts.  A contract is a business relationship between partners.  Each side has obligations to and expectations of the other.  If these obligations and expectations are not met, the contract is broken, and the terms become invalid.  The people who were wronged by the violation of the contract can seek justice through an impartial third party, the court.

A covenant is more like family.  I give my children rules to follow, but those rules are for their benefit as much as, or more than, for mine.  If they violate those rules I will discipline them, but they will not cease to be my children.  My covenant with my children to love and support them as their father remains, even if, from time to time, they don’t live up to their end of the bargain.

Which they don’t.

Because they’re children.

Jesus brought his disciples, and all of us, a new covenant.  This covenant was not based in rules, but in relationship—in the person of Jesus himself.

Think about the relationships in your life.  Do they feel more like covenants, or contracts?  What about your relationship with God?  Do you feel like you are under the grace of his covenant, or like you are bound to a contract which you cannot possibly fulfill?

You are a child of the covenant, Beloved.  He makes the promise.  He paid the price.  All you need do is accept the grace that he offers.

Walk in that grace today.

The Monday before Easter

The Cleansing of the Temple

…for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me (Psalm 69:9).

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;

For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7b).

“Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which still bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?  Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?  But I have been watching!” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 7:9-11).

Jesus entered the city and went up to the temple.  It was Passover, the biggest holiday of the Jewish year, so the joint was really jumping.  Many people had come from a long way away to be part of the celebration.  Rather than transport all the animals you would need for the various sacrifices, it was normal and acceptable to buy what you needed when you got to Jerusalem.  The customary practice was for vendors to set up shop at a convenient place near the temple.

What Jesus saw when he arrived was dramatically different. The vendors had their booths and tables set up in the temple itself.  They were operating in an area called the Outer Court, the only place in the temple where non-Jews could come to worship God.  There they were, selling animals and changing foreign currency into local currency, and just generally carrying on noisy business, all while people were trying to worship.

Jesus was furious.  He knocked over the tables and chased the vendors out of there.  John even says that Jesus made a whip and used it to drive the blasphemers away.  He yelled at them, saying, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers!’”

This is not the meek and mild Jesus we think of from Sunday School flannel boards.

He is not holding a lamb on his shoulders.

He does not have little kids crawling all over him.

He is not happy.

This is the Messiah, the Lion of Judah.  This is a man of righteous integrity, protecting the purity of his father’s house.

Do the insults of those who insult God fall on you?  There are a lot of people out there who mock Jesus, and this is a prime season for them to do it in.  Does that bother you, Beloved?  What are you doing about it?  Do you stand for Christ in your daily world?  Look, I’m not calling you to grab a whip and chase the heathen out of town—but if you do, please send me pictures and I’ll post them.

There is no sitting for Christ.  You stand, or you fall.

Stand for him today, Beloved.

…those he justified, he also glorified… (Romans 8:30c).

Glorify: to cause to be or treat as being more splendid, excellent, etc., than would normally be considered.

I love that definition.

Paul tells us that God, having predestined, called, and justified us, now glorifies us.  He treats us as more than we are; he gives us more excellence than we deserve.

You may not feel particularly glorified on this Friday morning, but it’s a done deal.

You were predestined to be his.

You are called to love him.

You have been justified so that you can have fellowship with him.

As you love and serve him, you bring him glory, and he graciously lets some of that glory slop back onto you.

Revel in that fact today.  Drink it in.  Know that you are his, and he is yours, and he delights in you.

Now and always.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

And those he predestined, he also called… (Romans 8:30a).

You have a purpose, Beloved.

Oh, yes you do.

You have been called by the Lord of the Universe, who knew you before the world began.  You have been called to love him and to let him love you, to serve him and let him care for you, to trust him and let him lead you, to glorify him and let him fill you with his Holy Spirit.  You have been called to be his servant, his friend, his brother or sister, his child, his bride, his beloved.

You want something more specific?  Seriously?

How’s about we get a handle on the above list, generic though it may be, before we ask for more?  Hmmmm?

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

This verse has got to be one of the most often quoted, frequently discussed lines in Scripture—and with good reason.  Few other passages can provide the comfort, the peace, the faith in God’s plan that this one can.

If we believe it.

The problem is we’ve heard it so many times that it begins to sound almost trite.  What say we freshen it up with a little independent application?  Look in your own life for the proof of this passage.  Remember the time, or times, or times upon times, that God has taken disaster and used it for your good.  I particularly remember a job nightmare from several years ago.  I thought it might end my career; instead, it brought me to a better position that has been a blessing many times over.  What are your stories?  Remember them today to strengthen your faith and restore your confidence in God’s plan.  Share them, and perhaps you will strengthen a brother or sister who desperately needs it.

Gird your loins, Beloved—it’s Monday.  Who knows what God has in mind for today?