I love the life of David. There is nothing like it. I have enjoyed decades of musings over the man after God’s own heart in books, music, and movies to ignite my holy imagination. Apart from Jesus, no one is featured more prominently in the Scriptures than David. Like so many, one of the reasons I value the life of David so much is because we discover how to be a person after God’s heart when we fall flat on our face in sin and failure.
John the baptizer's life was remarkable even from before he was conceived in the womb. Prophesied by Gabriel, and cousin to Jesus, this man had remarkable clarity on the purposes of God. Jesus Himself called John's life "great"—but he still died alone in a prison, ending with his head cut off. How do we square this up, and remain unoffended?
The Lord invites us in and washes us clean. All too quickly our pride tells us we know better and we set out on our own. But He is relentless in His love, pursuit, and commitment to us, even when we have forgotten our commitment to Him. “Grace Abounding” is a beautiful exploration through these truths. Read this stunning poem by Andrew Cowart, first published in our PILGRIM VOL. III 2020 Field Journal.
In our carnal nature, we see the gardener’s efforts as less powerful or impactful than the efforts of a soldier. But then we look at our Jesus, sleeping in the boat on a sea full of storms, perfectly at peace. His peace might even offend those of us who’ve been spinning our wheels. His own people did not recognize Him as Messiah, because they wanted Him to come as a warrior, but He came as a servant. The strongest human to ever walk the planet waged war in very different ways than we expected Him to.
One of the many paradoxes of following Jesus is that we gain access to eternal life, yet we are also subject to trials and tribulations as He conforms us into His image. Why does Jesus do this to His people? How do we walk this road, yet keep our hearts tender and unoffended? “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”
He does not relent, continuing to insist upon our full fervency and entire devotion, irrespective of what unfolds in our lives. To demand less would not be love. This is not His being unreasonable. No, it’s simply His being unwilling to deny us our full inheritance and His full inheritance in us. We were made for wholehearted love, and He refuses to relent in establishing that in us.
In an era of “love growing cold,” it is easy to feel discouraged, isolated, and fatigued. But consider that in the heavens there is not only a great cloud of witnesses but Jesus Himself watching and cheering on His bride as she lives out her earthly journey. We are not alone, and we will be victorious—if we don’t give up.
The Gospel without justice is empty. Justice without the Gospel is desolate. For all have sinned and fall short, all are needy of His righteous judgement and His scandalous grace. God invites us into the duality of this grand, epic, messy story in which He breaks down all our boxes. He is not bound by the limitations of this world’s rules, and so neither are we.
Two proclamations will increase and spread across the nations of the earth: (1) false prophecy and (2) the Good News of the Kingdom. This is important. The message of the Kingdom is good news. What good news of what Kingdom will bring comfort to us in that great and terrible Day? And what is this “end” He speaks of?
The pharmaceutical industry is a temporary institution. We only need healthcare for as long as we are stuck with fallible frames, and those days are numbered. This night of sickness, decay, and death in the Exile will soon be over. The greater Joshua will come, and resurrect His beloved ones. We will work with Him to restore the world to Eden again, but this time with more than just one man and just one woman. Jesus has an inheritance to fill the nations, the New Jerusalem, and the dinner table at the Wedding Feast. In the meantime, we get to help Him crowd it out as much as possible.
Many of us know what it’s like to be placed under some type of authority we don’t agree with. Be it a president, boss, director, any kind of superior— there’s no sugarcoating how difficult it is to sit under bad leadership. As followers of Jesus, we can have a different approach to this issue than that of the world; because we have hope in a King far more powerful than earthly leaders. Scripture has some fairly surprising instruction—and examples— for us when we’re in these situations.
Amos says, “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets.” God is looking to partner with people to bring to fruition the fullness of His kingdom and His purposes. That is why there is almost always a prophetic witness somewhere somehow. The torch of the testimony of the glory of God and His saving plan for His people passes through history and is never lost.
In any hour, God only has a limited number of people that will respond to Him in obedience. That fact may startle you! We would like to think that we would all do what God asks of us, but on the ground, in real time, that is not actually the case. Utter obedience to God has always been a relatively rare commodity. Thank God that will not always be the case, but in this era it is.
