SUMMARY: Perhaps you think that reading through the seemingly endless lists of names in Scripture is unnecessary. Maybe you think taking the time to utter these names is boring, meaningless, and a colossal waste of your time. But let me ask you this: why do you think God, in his providential oversight of bringing the Bible into existence, saw fit to include so many statistical and genealogical lists? Do you think it was merely for historical purposes? Or were they to build the faith of his people? I would argue for both. Don’t neglect these genealogical praise songs!

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 12:1-2

These are the kings east of the Jordan River who had been killed by the Israelites and whose land was taken. Their territory extended from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon and included all the land east of the Jordan Valley: King Sihon of the Amorites… King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaites….The king of Jericho…The king of Ai, near Bethel…The king of Jerusalem…The king of Hebron…

We have seen it many times already in reading through the Old Testament: endless lists of meaningless names—at least, meaningless to us. But not meaningless to the people of Israel! Every name is a story—a God-story, to be specific—of God’s provision for his people and punishment for his enemies. And every time Moses or Joshua wrote these lists down, they became a kind of checklist of praise for the people of Israel. You might say that these were praise songs for statisticians. God even loves the numbers geek!

We might be tempted to just skip over these names when we come to them in our Bible reading—at least I am. But I would encourage you not to do that. As an act of worship, read the names out loud. Of course, you won’t know how to pronounce half of them, so just make them up. Remind God of what he did for his people. Of course, God doesn’t need reminding, but in reminding him, you are really reminding yourself that the activity of God is rooted in history—it is real; that God is for his people—he is not an uncaring, distant deity; and that God fulfills his promises—which includes empowering his people to overcome their enemies.

I would then encourage you to list out your own victories. Write a “faithlist” of things that God has done for you. Go back into your past and dredge up your God-stories. Write down the things he has done for you lately. Include little provisions and big miracles. Remember what God has done and memorialize it on a list. Then thank God for each one of those answers—out loud. Do it as an act of worship. Remind God of how great he is. Of course, he already knows his own greatness, but you will be building your own faith as you do it.

“Since God is covenantly faithful, the interventions, provisions, and victories that he wrought for his people in the past, he will work into the lives of his people today.” ~Dr. Ray Noah

Perhaps you think that what I am suggesting is unnecessary. Maybe you think it is a colossal waste of your time. But let me ask you this: why do you think God, in his providential oversight of bringing the Bible into written form, saw fit to include so many genealogical and statistical lists? Do you think it was merely for historical purposes? Or are they to build the faith of his people? I would argue for both. They are to remind us that God’s work is not merely a spiritual fable; it is rooted in history. Moreover, what God has done in history is to teach us that he will do again. Since he is a covenantly faithful God, the interventions, provisions, and victories that he wrought for his people in the past, he will work into the lives of his people today.

These statistical and genealogical praise lists are powerful. That is why I would suggest that you come up with your own list from time to time in your journey of faith. There is an old gospel song authored in the late 1800’s by Johnson Oatman that captures what I am calling you to do. When I was growing up, my faith community often sang this song, Count Your Blessings. One of the verses and the chorus went like this:

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.

Truly, God has been good!

“ After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. —PHILIP PULLMAN

Getting Closer to Jesus: A few years ago, responding to the mass shooting in my home state at a community college where nine people were murdered—apparently targeting Christians— Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey encouraged fellow Christians who are serious about their faith to consider getting a gun.

Is it time for believers to arm themselves? After all, Jesus said that increasingly the world will hate us because of our faith in him. Just read John 15:18-25 as well as all of John 16 for that bit of cheery news. Things are going to get rough for believers as the time for the Lord’s return draws close (which, by the way, Christians around the world have known all along. We in America are just discovering, much to our dismay, that this may include us, too!)

But when Jesus predicted this rise in hostility—and even violence—against his people, did he anticipate that they would arm themselves to the teeth to push back against the persecution? Did he foresee the Second Amendment would be our Constitutional right, and therefore we should use every legal means to defend ourselves as American Christians? For the Christian, does the Second Amendment trump the Second Commandment (Matthew 22:37)…or does the call to lay down our lives override the right to take up arms? Is this an either/or conundrum, or can the believer in Jesus grasp the one without letting go of the other (Ecclesiastes 7:18)?

Seriously, these are questions American Christians need to grapple with. Now I say “American” because for Christians in other countries, these options aren’t even in the realm of possibility—which is probably both a blessing and a curse. In our nation, as citizens, we have constitutional rights, and as Christians, we have Kingdom values. Most of the time, these rights and values peacefully coexist, but at times, the earthly and the heavenly kingdoms are in conflict. Sometimes, what may be constitutionally legal may not be eternally bless-able. At those times, to be both a good citizen and a good Christian, the believer must be willing to do the hard work of “thinking Christianly” about such matters. That is, the follower of Jesus must be completely open to the original meaning and full intent of God’s Word, allowing Scripture to impose its unfettered rule over everything in the believer’s life.

Having said that, I think it is fairly clear here that Jesus wasn’t thinking his followers would lock and load in the face of opposition and hostility. In fact, he says as much: “Put away your AK-47, Peter. Do you think for a minute I’m not going to drink this cup of suffering the Father has assigned to me for the redemption of the world?” Later in the chapter (John 18:36) as Jesus is standing at trial before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, he said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

So, back to the issue at hand in our modern American culture: Should a Christian take up arms to defend themselves against the coming hostility? I will leave that to you to come up with your own answer—but I would ask you to allow what Jesus says here in John 18 to inform your opinion. Do the hard work of thinking Christianly about this matter. And at some point, as believers, we all need to remember that we have been called as citizens of another Kingdom to surrender our human rights—just as our leader did—for his eternal cause.

Yes, as citizens of the United States, we have the right to bear arms. But as citizens of God’s Kingdom, our calling it to lay down our lives!

Take the Next Step: Your assignment this week is to think Christianly about your right to bear arms. Theologian Walter Wink offered this thought: “Jesus did not advocate non-violence merely as a technique for outwitting the enemy, but as a just means of opposing the enemy in such a way as to hold open the possibility of the enemy’s becoming just as well. Both sides must win. We are summoned to pray for our enemies’ transformation, and to respond to ill-treatment with a love that not only is godly but also, I am convinced, can only be found in God.” Agree or disagree with him, how will you balance the Second Amendment with the Great Commandment?

Getting Closer to Jesus: I hate to be blindsided, and I am sure you do, too. Nobody likes to be caught off guard by bad news or troubling circumstances. The shock and surprise of such experiences make these difficulties doubly devastating.

That’s why Jesus gives us a divine heads-up in John 16. Standing at both ends of this chapter, like bookends, Jesus gave his followers an FYI on some of the challenges they would certainly face. In verse 1, he says, “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.” Then again at the end of the chapter in verse 33, he reminds them of this insider information so that when bad things happen, they won’t be unsettled.

Just what insider information did Jesus provide? Simply that your faith is going to get you into a fair amount of trouble in this life. People are not going to like you because you follow Jesus. You will be persecuted not only for the stand you personally take on moral issues, but just for the position your Christianity represents. In fact, some people will even hate you with a murderous zeal disguised as religious passion simply because of the Christian life you live:

Indeed the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service. (John 16:2, LB)

Without even trying, your lifestyle of faith will bring others under such conviction that they will find it intolerable and want to do away with you. Things may get a bit rough, so be ready for it, Jesus says.

The good news, however, is that you will never have to face these difficulties alone. The fact is, through Christ:

• You will overcome each challenge victoriously, even the most extreme challenge of staring into the abyss of martyrdom.
• You will overcome because you know what is coming. (John 16:1,4, 33)
• You will be victorious because Jesus has already been victorious under these same pressures. (John 16:33)
• You will be able to face these situations with courage and grace because of the presence of the Divine Helper, the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7)
• You will win in the hour of trial because the Sovereign Father who loves you (John 16:27) will hear and answer your every prayer. (John 16:23-24)

Knowing ahead of time what is coming, and knowing that your victory has been secured already, you can go about your day, and come what may—trouble, hardship, disappointment, failure, persecution, hatred, even death—you can live in the wonderful reality of what Christ promised: “In Me, you will have peace!”

Peaceful trials—that’s what Christ has promised you.

Take the Next Step: You and I do not know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow. And we know Who holds our lives in his hands. So why don’t you join me in thanking God ahead of time for His peace that will guard our hearts and ease our minds tomorrow, no matter what circumstances tomorrow may bring.

There is hardly a better investment in this life than recruiting, mentoring, and releasing leaders into the service of that over which God has given you authority. God’s blessing on a thing is never an excuse to settle for that—it is never the end. The blessing is only the beginning for more blessing, which always requires a realignment of the way we administrate God’s favor. God blessed Israel—that was good—but a release of even more blessing required Moses to release leadership to others to help administer it—that was better. Is there someone in your sphere of influence you can train for leadership? Do it—it’s a worthy investment of time, energy and resources.

The Journey// Focus: Exodus 18:13-17

Getting Closer to Jesus:The story in Exodus 18 provides us with some helpful insights into why we should raise up leaders and how to do so, whether in our home, business, church, or any other arena of life where God has given us influence.

First, the why: In the work of God’s Kingdom, good is often the enemy of the best. You will notice in Exodus 18:9 that “Jethro was delighted to hear of all the good things God had done for Israel.” Israel had witnessed the mighty hand of God — divine protection, outstanding miracles, and supernatural progress. But they had settled for something less than God’s best. As the story continues, Jethro watched Moses wearing himself out administering the blessings, so he said Exodus 18:17, “What you are doing is not good.”

God’s blessing on a thing is never an excuse to settle for that—it is never the end. The blessing is only the beginning for more blessing, which always requires a realignment of the way we administrate God’s favor. God blessed Israel—that was good—but a release of even more blessing required Moses to release leadership to others to help administer it—that was better.

So Jethro showed Moses how he was to recruit leaders to take on ministry—which would release Moses to even greater productiveness. Here are six laws of leadership recruitment that worked for Moses and will work for you:

The first law of leadership recruitment is SELECTING. Exodus 18:21 calls Moses to “select capable people—they fear God, are trustworthy and hate dishonest gain.” Your assignment as a leader is to continually watch for people with leadership potential. How do you identify those capabilities? Jethro says they are to, 1) have a deep reverence—they have the fear of the Lord, 2) have proven themselves dependable in smaller matters—they are trustworthy, and 3) have pure motives—they hate dishonesty.

The second law of leadership recruitment is EQUIPPING. In Exodus 18:20, we see that there must be an ongoing, systematic program to train all people in the principles of Godly leadership. Not everyone will become a leader, but everyone can benefit from the principles of leadership. That’s because they all will have roles of influence somewhere: home, business, and community. Training all the people in your sphere of influence will expand the leadership pool from which you recruit.

The third law of leadership recruitment is MENTORING. In the last part of Exodus 18:20, Jethro said, “Show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.” Basically, your responsibility is to reproduce yourself in the lives of others. If you’re not doing that, you are not a leader—or a very effective one. However, good leaders demonstrate by their lives and actions a positive pattern for others to follow. That implies you have an intentional plan for mentoring, rather than just hoping others will pay attention to what you’re doing.

The fourth law of leadership is EMPOWERING. In the last part of Exodus 18:21, Jethro instructs Moses to appoint them as “officials.” In other words, don’t just give them a title and a responsibility, give them authority to lead.

The fifth law of leadership recruitment is ACCOUNTABILITY. In Exodus 18:22, Jethro says that with responsibility and authority, there must also be accountability: “Have them bring the difficult cases to you.” There is to be a system where the new leader circles back to the chief leader, whose discernment will always be needed. So they will have to be accountable to you, and you will have to continually monitor their ministry progress and effectiveness.

The sixth law of leadership recruitment is SANITY. In Exodus 18:23, Jethro says to Moses, “If you do this, you will be able to stand the strain of leadership and all the people will be satisfied.” Leadership should never drive you crazy, stress you beyond your ability to cope, or destroy your personal life. Leadership is meant to be a joy. And your leadership is meant to produce deep satisfaction in the lives of those you lead. The presence of unrelenting stress in the leader’s life and dissatisfaction among the people is a clear indication that these godly principles of leadership development have been ignored.

Then Jethro gave the best reason of all to put these principles to use when he said to Moses and, by extension, to you and me, in Exodus 18:23, “And so God commands.”

There is hardly a better investment than in recruiting, mentoring, and releasing leaders into the service of that over which God has given you authority.

[/callout]

“ Leaders are great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Success without a successor is failure. A worker’s main responsibility is doing the work himself. A leader’s main responsibility is developing others to do the work. — JOHN MAXWELL

Take the Next Step: Is there someone in your sphere of influence you can train for leadership? Do it—it’s a worthy investment of time, energy, and resources.

Getting Closer to Jesus: Why do some people seem to get more insider information about God than others?

I’m not talking about those who claim to have special revelation, but within seconds of being with them, you realize they only have half of that equation—for sure, they are “special”, but they have zero revelation! No, the kind of people I am speaking of have greater insight into Scripture, get more profound insights out of their daily devotions, display a special connection to the Holy Spirit and day by day seem to grow more profoundly, deeply connected with God than the average believer.

Does God love them more than others? No, but for a select few of these types, it may be that God has sovereignly selected them to reveal himself more clearly for the purpose of ministering to others the deeper things of the Lord. Is it because they are spiritually smarter than the rest of us? Probably not. Do they have more faith than you and me? I doubt it.

So, what is it? My sense is that, except in special cases where God has uniquely marked certain individuals for a greater download of divine information, those with deeper revelation have simply and consistently exercised their faith more than the rest of us. The exercise of their faith has been met with greater revelation. It is as St. Augustine said: “Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” The surest way to a greater faith—which, remember, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, according to Hebrews 11:1—which leads to a closer relationship with God and greater revelation of who God is, is to exercise the faith that we have.

That seems to be Jesus’s answer to Judas, who asked the Lord, “why don’t you just go ahead and prove yourself to the whole world? Wouldn’t that make things a lot easier for you?” It almost seems as if Jesus sidesteps that question when he begins to talk about love and obedience: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23). But what Jesus is getting at is that deeper revelation comes by way of our receptivity, and receptivity is conditioned by our love, and our love is displayed by our obedience to Jesus’ commands, and our obedience comes from the exercise of our faith. If we don’t exercise faith, revelation would be wasted. Thomas Aquinas, a brilliant church leader in the thirteenth century, made this profound observation: “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” So why would God waste revelation on someone who has been unwilling to exercise faith?

But when we exercise faith, our faith grows. As our faith grows, greater love flows from us toward God. And as love flourishes, obedience becomes our willing offering of response to God. It is our growing faith, flowing love, and willing obedience that acts as our invitation for God to make his home in us. And when God talks up residence in our lives, deeper insight, special revelation and spiritual familiarity will come to characterize our relationship with God.

“ Faith fills a man with love for the beauty of its truth, with faith in the truth of its beauty. — FRANCES, DE SALES

Take the Next Step : Do you desire a greater revelation of God? Are you willing to exercise your faith? Are you ready to love God more? Are you committed to obey him with greater readiness? Think about the following challenge from Martin Luther: “What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the workflow.”

Getting Closer to Jesus: Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette wrote, “As the centuries pass, the evidence is accumulating that, measured by His effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet.”

His was also the most polarizing life ever lived. Now, in our day, perhaps in his day too, to be polarizing is neither an endearing trait nor a winning strategy to get you to the top. But Jesus didn’t care; his mission was to save souls (Mark 10:45), which required him to unflinchingly preach the truth, prove his ministry by mighty miracles that often collided with the established rules of religion, confront, and ultimately die as the only sacrifice that could redeem fallen humanity to set them right with Father God.

To that end, Jesus pulled no punches. And you either loved him or hated him. That was the case here in John 12:37-50. Some people heard his teaching and discerned a level of grace, truth, love, and spiritual authority they had never witnessed in human teachers before. In Jesus, this was the Messiah they had been waiting for. Others heard his teaching and saw his miracles and believed he was the Messiah, but because they were more concerned with maintaining their standing among the Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus, they kept it a secret. And then, of course, there were those who hated him so much they were willing to do anything to kill him off—despite the outstanding miracles they had seen with their own eyes.

Love him or hate him, Jesus forces that choice upon you. As C. . Lewis said,

[With Jesus] you must make a choice. Either He was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman, or something worse. You can shut Him up as a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.

And yet while people are still curious about Jesus in our day, far too many are still trying to ride the fence about a man who did his best not to give us that option. I have heard people say, “Oh, Jesus, yeah…he’s a great prophet…he is a marvelous teacher…he’s really something. The guy turns water into wine, feeds thousands with a few loaves and fishes, and cures sick people. Man, this guy is incredible.”

Untold thousands of people, the rich and famous as well as the poor and unknown, wear the cross as their jewelry of choice, the symbol that identifies them more than any other. Athletes, politicians, movie stars, and rock and roll icons whose lives are incongruent with his teachings invoke his name with not a second thought about who he claimed to be. I’ve talked to young men dressed in starched white shirts and ties at my front door who come in his name yet deny his deity. I see raunchy entertainers spew filth in one breath and claim Jesus as a good buddy in the next breath. I have good friends and close family members who acknowledge the historical Jesus yet ignore his teachings and demands. I have witnessed to people who claim to believe in him as a great moral teacher, worthy of deep respect and honor, but certainly not worthy of his Lordship over their lives.

It is amazing what we have done with Jesus! Dorothy Sayers, a brilliant writer and Christian thinker, once mournfully remarked, “[We have] very efficiently [clipped] the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Him as a household pet fitting for pale curates and pious old ladies.” That he is not, by his own claims:

• To know Jesus was to know God. John 8:19 says, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’”
• To see Jesus was to see God. In John 12:45, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
• To believe Jesus was to believe God. In John 12:44, Jesus taught, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.”
• To receive Jesus was to receive God. Mark 9:37 says, “Whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
• To hate Jesus was to hate God. John 15:23 says, “He who hates me hates my Father as well.”
• To honor Jesus was to honor God. John 5:22-33, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”

When you consider these claims that Jesus made about himself, you have to eliminate most of the nice-sounding, politically correct things people say they believe about him. In other words, he cannot be just a good teacher, just a great moral leader, just a respected prophet, just a great figure of history. There is no “just” with Jesus. It is true, he is the most polarizing figure ever—and he wants it that way. You either love him, hopefully, or hate him. There is no middle ground.

Jesus cannot be declawed, nor can he be tamed, or even be contained! No matter how people may try, he is still the Lion of Judah! As Josh McDowell wrote, the evidence of his life and teachings demands a verdict: He is either Lord of all…or he is not Lord at all!

Take the Next Step : Is Jesus Lord of all your life? If he is, then affirm that before him in prayer and before the people with whom you will interact today. If he is not, then bow before him now and surrender your life to him as your Lord and Savior.

Getting Closer to Jesus: Thanks to Adam and Eve’s original sin, the unlimited promises of God, as well as the unrestricted potential of mankind, were forever changed—and not to the good. What God had in mind for human beings on Planet Earth was irreparably damaged, if not forever forfeited, as the corruption of sin took root and infected the DNA of all humanity. Sin knocked us off course on the journey of unending favor with no hope of a course correction.

Until Jesus came! Jesus came to get us back on track: to set us right with God and reestablish within us and among us the Kingdom life—that which was intended to be ours before the fall of man. But this gracious offer of a course correction would have to be done his way, not ours.

Easier said than done! Sin had thoroughly altered our relationship with God—no longer did we intrinsically trust him, immediately obey his commands, and innately step out to do things his way. No longer would we naturally, courageously, and joyfully follow the Shepherd’s voice. You see, our sinful flesh had entered the picture and stood as a constant heckler to the voice of God, even as Jesus called us back to the path of Divine favor and unleashed potential.

And the persistent stubbornness of our sin nature, aided by the unholy trinity—the world, the flesh, and the devil—caused us to balk at the gracious invitation to be set right with God. Instead of naturally seeing Christ’s call for what it was—an unmerited opportunity for never-ending, ever-increasing restoration—we now saw as an illogical and dangerous blind leap into the abyss. Such was the blindness caused by that unholy trinity. The logic of God we now consider upside down.

Yet the fact remains, what Jesus said and what he called to do is really a rightsizing of the logic of God, now corrupted in our minds by sin. In God’s universe, to recapture the promises and potential of his original intent, we must die to the old to experience rebirth into the restored. If we hold on to the corrupted life, we now know in the flawed system in which we live, we will kill any chance of that divine life being infused with untainted, indestructible Kingdom life. The old way—the sin-tainted flesh—must die, and get put into the ground, to spring forth as the reborn sprig of Kingdom life. The old selfish nature must be transformed, so that it gives to that which God desires to give. It must serve to surge into Kingdom greatness. It must learn to step into the thin air of risky faith for the bridge of blessing to be built under it. It must lose, as the flesh defines winning and losing to win, as God defines winning and losing.

It doesn’t make sense when we look at it through the shortsightedness of our sinful humanity. But when our focus is corrected through the vision of unquestioning trust and complete confidence in Jesus, the path to the Kingdom life once again become clear and straight—and what appears illogical to the fallen world now only seems logical. We can see clearly now, and suddenly the fog of sin opens the pathway to the indescribable beauty of life restored in Christ.

And we wonder, what took us so long to trust the only One who truly knows the way.

Take the Next Step : Here is a prayer to counteract the human logic that keeps us from experiencing the Kingdom life Jesus wants to restore to us: Lord, you were the servant of all. You came not to be served, but to serve and to give your life away to ransom mankind. You died so that I could live. Help me to take on that selfless, Kingdom-focused mindset. May I be so deeply and profoundly touched by you that, like you, this becomes the essence of my fundamental being.

Getting Closer to Jesus: In one of my favorite books, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey writes,

Grace means there’s nothing we can do to make God love us more—no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there’s nothing we can do to make God love us less—no amount of racism, pride, pornography, adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.

That’s why I love this story of the adulterous woman’s life-transforming encounter with Jesus; it just exudes grace! And it reminds me of how God looks right into what Lewis Smedes called this, “glob of unworthiness that is me and offers to accept me, own me, hold me, affirm me, and never let go of me even if he’s not too impressed with what he has on his hands.”

A glob of unworthiness—that’s me…you, too! And that’s God—loving us, without limit—because of his incredibly great grace! King David, who knew a lot about personal failure and unworthiness, wrote in Psalm 103:8-14,

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love…he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we’re formed, he remembers that we’re dust.

That theology of unconditional love, undeserved mercy, and unlimited grace is what’s fleshed out here in this story in John 8. And it’s not only the message Jesus wrote with his finger as he stooped to scribble in the dirt, but he also wrote it with his blood as it dripped to the dirt from the cross. Grace is his life-message! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! It’s the one thing that’ll touch your core need today; it’s the only thing that’ll transform our lost world.

In 1988, a concert was held in London’s Wembley Stadium, and throughout the day, bands blasted the crowd high on booze and drugs with their ear-splitting music. But for some reason, the promoters scheduled an opera singer as the closing act, Jessye Norman. At the finale, she walked out with no band or singers —unknown to the crowd, which was shouting for more Guns ‘n Roses. Jessye began to sing, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me!” And remarkably, 70,000 fans got quiet.

By the second verse, “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved”, they were putty; by the third verse, they were digging into their memories to sing along, “and grace will lead me home”. As she sang, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun; We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun,” a transcendent reverence had enveloped the stadium.

What on earth wields that kind of power over a beleaguered psalmist, or an adulterous woman, or a stadium full of drug-addled rock-n-rollers? Grace!

Now don’t miss the point of this story: The adulterous woman reminds us that every sinner has a future, but every saint has a past. We’re all born broken, and we become whole only by the mending of grace, God’s glue. And no matter how bad, how unworthy, how disqualified you think you are, you are not beyond the renewing reach of God’s grace. That’s why prostitutes, publicans, and other sinners responded to Jesus so readily—still do. They knew their sin; that’s why forgiveness was so appealing.

And no matter how good, worthy, and qualified you think you are, apart from grace, there’s no good in you. In fact, on your best day, apart from grace, Isaiah said your righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) That’s why, as C.S. Lewis said, “[Adulterous women] are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; [it’s] the proud …the self-righteous [that] are in that danger.”

So, wherever you fall on the continuum—from super-saint to seedy sinner—just remember: every saint has a past, but every sinner has a future. And grace is there waiting for you! Grace! It’s only by grace that the brokenness we’re born with and live with is mended.

“ To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. — C.S. LEWIS)

Take the Next Step Take a moment today to simply and gratefully reflect on God’s grace—if that is humanly possible.

PREVIEW: Our God is worthy of praise! At all times, in each place, and through every means, the highest and best use of the breath of life with which God gifted us is that we would in turn offer praise with it to the great and glorious One, the Creator and Sustainer of all. Praise the Lord! That is not only the message of this final psalm, but it is really the underlying call to all 150 of them. From the beginning to the end of this amazing songbook for the human race, different psalmists have taken us by the hand and walked us through the whole gamut of life’s circumstances. They have masterfully drawn us into the cornucopia of emotions that attend those human experiences, and they have reminded us that through all of our ups and downs, victories and defeats, good times and bad times, joys and sorrows, the one thing that remains constant is God’s worthiness to be worshipped. So, go ahead and give God now what he will ultimately receive from all creation—praise!

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 150:6

Our God is worthy of praise! At all times, in each place, and through every means, the highest and best use of the breath of life with which God gifted us is that we would in turn offer praise with it to the great and glorious One, the Creator and Sustainer of all. Praise the Lord!

That is not only the message of this final psalm, but it is really the underlying call to all 150 of them. From the beginning to the end of this amazing songbook for the human race, different psalmists have taken us by the hand and walked us through the whole gamut of life’s circumstances. They have masterfully drawn us into the cornucopia of emotions that attend those human experiences, and they have reminded us that through all of our ups and downs, victories and defeats, good times and bad times, joys and sorrows, the one thing that remains constant is God’s worthiness to be worshipped.

No matter what, God is ceaseless in his power and surpassingly great: “Praise him for his mighty works, praise his unequaled greatness!” (Psalm 150:2)

No matter what, God is loving and faithful: “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.” (Psalm 25:10)

No matter what, God is good and kind: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)

No matter what, God is just and fair: “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.” (Psalm 103:6)

No matter what, God is with you and for you: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4)

No matter what, if you are God’s and God is yours, you are going to be just fine: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

John Newton, author is Amazing Grace, wrote, “The Lord himself is our Keeper. Nothing befalls us but what is adjusted by His wisdom and love. He will, in one way or another, sweeten every bitter cup, and ere long He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.” Psalm 30:11 declares of God, “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.”

That is why under every circumstance and with every breath, we can praise the Lord.

No matter what things may look like, no matter what man may say, no matter what Satan may throw at you, no matter what you may feel, God is still God, he is always victorious, his will shall be done on earth, his purposes for you shall be fulfilled, and he is therefore always worthy of your praise. So, go ahead and give God now what he will ultimately receive from all creation—praise!

Let everything that has breath—that means you—let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Yes, praise the Lord!

PREVIEW: Why do we keep coming back to sad songs time after time, generation after generation, millennium after millennium—and will continue to do so until sadness is banned from the created realm at the end of time? Because they work! You see, as we listen to them, the musician skillfully pulls from us the very same raw-edged emotions of pain, loss, and disappointment contained in the song, and somehow magically, mysteriously, inextricably, we become a part of it. Strangely, a sad song done well makes us even sadder—and we love it. So, here’s the deal: You’ve got pain, too—more than your fair share of sorrow, and disappointment. If you don’t, just wait a day or two, and you will. So you turn your sorrow into a song. And, if nothing else, sing your own sad song to the Lord. You never know, someone may discover your lament someday, and your sad tune may become famous. It wouldn’t be the first time. By the way, that is to best way to turn your regret into something redemptive!

MY JOURNEY OF WORSHIP // Psalm 88:1-3

What we used to call Country and Western music—now it’s just called “Country”—isn’t the only musical genre to suffer an overabundance of sad songs. The truth is, all types of music have their fair share of lament. It may not be obvious at first, but the inspiration for so many of the songs we love has its origin in a broken heart, a dashed hope, or a shattered dream.

The reason we keep coming back to sad songs time after time, generation after generation, millennium after millennium—and will continue to do so until sadness is banned from the created realm at the end of time—is because they work. As we listen to them, the musician skillfully pulls from us the very same raw-edged emotions of pain, loss, and disappointment contained in the song, and somehow magically, mysteriously, inextricably, we become a part of it. Strangely, a sad song done well makes us even sadder—and we love it.

That’s what the psalm is doing here. The composer is sad, and he has written a song about it that pulls us into the raw, jagged edge of his pain:

• He despaired of death—perhaps from outside forces, or maybe from the inner pain of his heartbroken life. (“For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near,” Psalm 88:3)
• He felt abandoned by his closest friends, and all alone in the world. (“You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. … You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend,” Psalm 88:8,18).
• He was simply worn out with sorrow (“My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy.,” Psalm 88:9)
• He was deeply disappointed with God for it. (“My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy,” Psalm 88:13-14)
• He had suffered lifelong devastation—with no relief in sight, and he was at the point of surrendering to the likelihood that his would always be a hard and sad life. (“I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors,” Psalm 88:15) .

We know that this man, named Heman, by the way, was a very wise man (1 Chronicles 25:6)—among the wisest of the wise. Yet all of his wisdom, talent (he was also a singer-songwriter according to 1 Chronicles 15:19), and position in the king’s court didn’t prevent nor alleviate the pain that saturated his world. But Heman was wise enough not just to sit around and stew in his sad juices. Perhaps what made him so wise and talented was that he did something as therapeutic as anything else on earth to counteract his sadness: He wrote songs.

Heman put his experiences and emotions into words, and those words were set to music, memorialized in the psalter of the human race, the Book of Psalms. Maybe his pain never went away—we just don’t know—but I’m quite confident that he felt a whole lot better knowing that others would be inspired and find strength for their own painful journey through his music.

You’ve got pain, too—more than your fair share of sorrow, and disappointment. If you don’t, just wait a day or two, and you will. So why don’t you give it a shot? Turn your pain into a song. Sometimes you wrestle with the sobering sense that your sadness over a matter may just be your lot in life. Perhaps it never will go away—I hope not—but that may be your reality. Go ahead and put your experience into words. Then turn your words into a tune. And if nothing else, sing your own sad song to the Lord.

You never know, someone may discover your lament someday, and your sad tune may become famous. It wouldn’t be the first time.

By the way, that is to best way to turn your regret into something redemptive!

“ Pain, if patiently endured, and sanctified to us, is a great purifier of our corrupted nature. — GEORGE WHITEFIELD