Meditation 16: On The Way!

Jesus told His disciples: "There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:2-4) (NLT).

There is room for each and every one of us in our Father's house.  He offers each of us a place, a purpose, and a position of eternal significance in His Kingdom! “Come one, come all,” He calls.

The only thing required of us is to do what all of us naturally and instinctively do when we travel somewhere: Follow the prepared way -- the predesigned route -- to our destination.  Today, most of us use MapQuest, a Garmin, or some other GPS device to guide us to our destination.  Jesus is the divine equivalent of the predesigned road systems that enable us to reach our travel destinations.  And He also is the spiritual analog of the GPS devices that guide us to those destinations! 

In John 14:6 (NLT), Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."  In other words, Jesus is The Way to our final terminus.  He is the divine road that leads to Heaven -- there is no other path, there is no other way!  Pretty straightforward!  And His travel directions are equally elementary: “Follow Me,” He says. “Follow The Way!” (Cf. Matthew 9:9; John 14:6). 

The roadway to heaven is a person, Jesus Christ, not a constellation of rules, regulations, and rituals.  Our directions simply are to place our faith in the Way, Jesus, and follow it/Him all the way to our final destination, our heavenly abode.  That God has designed such a simple path (and such simple directions) to His heavenly Kingdom is yet another testament to His unfathomable love for us.

I am on The Way! I am headed Home and looking for some more travel companions.  I know my Heavenly Father will have a radiant residence for me and for anyone else I bring along with me.  Anyone interested in joining me on this glorious journey? . . . Anyone?

Meditation 15: To Be or Not to Be?

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” (Luke 5:10).

Jesus had vision for His disciples.  As a pastor, I get really excited when the Lord gives me insight into how He is working in someone’s life, and who He is shaping that person to become. It is exhilarating to catch a glimpse of the wonderful things my Heavenly Father has in store for someone I love.  Today, however, when I read this passage of Scripture, I was reminded of the sobering and profound responsibility that comes with this tremendous privilege.

After His Heavenly Father gave Jesus this insight into what Simon would do, Jesus dedicated the rest of His earthly ministry to transitioning Simon from being a fisherman to becoming a Fisher of Men. He spent three years teaching and modeling for Simon what it meant to be a Fisher of Men, and releasing him to apply what he was learning. (Cf. Mark 6:7). If that is where Jesus had stopped, I think I (and most other pastors) would find discipling and shepherding challenging but manageable.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, however, record that Jesus also gave His life so that Simon could become a Fisher of Men, so that he could become Peter -- the rock upon which Jesus would build His church. (See Matthew 16:18).  Jesus gave all that He had, even pouring out His own life, so that Simon could become Peter, a Fisher of Men.

The implications for my own life and ministry are clear!  When the Lord grants me the privilege of receiving spiritual insight into who He has made (and is shaping) someone to be, that privilege is granted with an attendant responsibility: personal sacrifice. Like Jesus, more is required of me than teaching or modeling the things of the Kingdom.  I also must be willing to sacrifice all that I am in Christ so that someone else can become all that God has purposed for him or her to be in Christ! I must be willing not to be (to die) so that another might become! 

To be or not to be! That is indeed the fundamental question for anyone who serves as a shepherd for the Most High!

Meditation 14: God’s Word Will Never Fail

The stories of Zechariah and Mary teach us the importance of faith.  Zechariah doubted God’s word when Gabriel promised him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would conceive and give birth to a son. They had prayed for years that God would give them a child. Yet, in that glorious moment when God told Zechariah that his prayers would be answered, Zechariah succumbed to doubt and asked Gabriel how he could be “sure” of God’s promise. (Luke 1:18).  One would think that if God’s word were not evidence enough, certainly the means by which it was delivered should have sufficed. How could Zechariah doubt a promise of God that was declared to him by an angelic messenger who stood “in the presence of God”? (Luke 1:19).  

We often think that if we had a supernatural encounter with the Lord, it would be easier for us to believe in Him or to believe a promise He has made to us.  Zechariah’s story, however, proves otherwise!  Scripture says that he was “righteous in the sight of God.” (Luke 1:9).  But even an angelic encounter was not enough to overcome Zechariah’s doubt -- a doubt that likely had grown like a weed in his soul each day his prayers had gone unanswered, and slowly had begun to strangle his faith.  

In response to Zechariah’s doubt, God silenced him, rendering him mute until John’s birth.  At first blush, this might seem like a pretty harsh form of discipline.  But God was doing more than disciplining Zechariah, He was protecting him.  Silencing Zechariah for the next nine months shielded him from further dishonoring God with his lips by continuing to question the reliability and veracity of His promise.  Even after Elizabeth conceived, it is possible that Zechariah continued to struggle with doubt, wondering if his aged wife could carry the child full-term. 

In short, Zechariah’s discipline was a reflection of God’s love and mercy! It also teaches us, however, that when God makes a promise to us, He wants us to speak and respond in faith, not in doubt, as Mary did.  When Gabriel visited Mary, she did not question if God would do what He had promised; she simply asked how He would. It was a question born of a reverent curiosity and a holy wonder (“How will this be[?]”), Luke 1:34). In many ways, God’s promise to Mary was harder to believe than His promise to Zechariah.  At least God’s promise to Zechariah had precedent in Scripture (e.g., Abraham and Sarah).  Never before, however, had a virgin conceived, much less given birth to the Son of God!

Mary’s response to God’s promise was three-fold. First, she believed it. Second, she received and embraced it -- she submitted her will to the Lord’s, aligning her heart to desire for herself what God desired for her.  And, finally, she worshipped the Lord and gave thanks to Him for His promise, an outward sign and overflow of her inward work of believing:

 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” . . .

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” (Luke 1:38, 46-48. See also John 6:29).

When Zechariah’s son was born, he followed Mary’s example. He believed and embraced God’s promise, and worshipped Him for it: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel . . ..” (Luke 1:64, 68).  The difference, however, is that Zechariah believed God after the fact, while Mary believed Him even before the promise was fulfilled. Her faith expressed itself in a “confidence” of what she hoped for, and in an “assurance” of what she did not see. (Hebrews 11:1).

May we respond as Mary did, when the Lord makes a promise to us: May we believe His word; may we receive and embrace His word; and may we thank and praise Him for His word. 

God fulfilled the seemingly impossible promises He made to Zechariah and Mary, and He will do the same for you and me. “For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37). Between the declaration of the promise and its fulfillment, however, we must together do the hard work of believing and declaring that which is not as though it were!

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would encourage us, reminding us of the promises You have made to us and that not a single word You have spoken to us will ever fail.  May Your promises no longer overwhelm us with a bitter disappointment and cynicism that is fueled by doubt.  Instead, may Your promises fill us with a joyous anticipation, an unshakeable hope, and an unwavering assurance that is sustained by our faith in You. Amen.

Meditation 13: Does God Really Care?

Yesterday, I learned that a college classmate of mine, Melissa Ketunuti, was brutally murdered in her home. Melissa and I were not close friends in college, but our social circles sometimes overlapped. So, we spent time together on occasion, whether at college parties or during meals at our college cafeteria. She was a brilliant, beautiful, and incredibly warm-hearted person.

When I learned of her death, I was sitting in my parked minivan, feeding my three-month-old his late afternoon bottle, listening to my three-year old son playing in the back seat, and waiting to pick up my daughter at her bus stop. For a moment, as I sat in the car with two of my four beautiful children, the news of Melissa’s tragic death was inconceivable.  But as I imagined what her final moments on this earth may have been like, and her family’s tremendous grief, the reality that she indeed was gone pierced through my self-protective denial.  As I sat in my car, praying for her and her family, I returned to questions I have asked God countless times, in the midst of tragedy and suffering: Why? Why, Lord, do you allow death to stalk and claim the life of every living thing? Why, Heavenly Father, do you allow such rampant evil in this world? 

How could God, who is Himself the fullness of all that is holy and good, allow a beautiful person like Melissa to suffer such a brutal and senseless death?  Of course, as a minister, I knew all the theological answers to those questions. But those answers offered little comfort, because the questions I was asking were not academic, they were personal -- deeply personal. I was not a student catechizing his teacher on an esoteric subject. I was a child crying out to my Heavenly Father, demanding an explanation that would make sense of an incomprehensible tragedy. 

With all the violence, murder, and suffering in this world, it may seem rather puzzling that I do not bring these cries to our Creator more often. But I discerned something yesterday that I previously had not consciously recognized.  I realized that throughout my life, I have had an unspoken, subconscious pact with death and tragedy: I will pretend they do not exist and will live my life in willful denial of their existence, so long as they pretend I do not exist and their shadows do not darken my sunny skies. It is, admittedly, a selfish and naive artificial construct, a fabricated detente.  But it has been my way of insulating myself from the grief that I fear would consume me if I truly took the time to absorb and contemplate the tremendous agony and suffering so many people face every day.  Invariably, however, death and tragedy break our little “pact.”  And, as I was yesterday, I am once again compelled to grapple with the cruel and recondite contrast between the reality that I live in a broken and suffering world, and my faith in a good, perfect, just, and loving God who created it. 

I know God is aware of every single detail of every single event of every person’s life on this planet. Indeed, Jesus Himself said that our Heavenly Father even knows the number of hairs on our heads: “[T]he very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Luke 12:7) (NIV).  And, as the Apostle Paul wrote, God knows that His “creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together[.]” (Romans 8:22) (NASB).

And so, last night, I returned to asking God those vexing questions I previously managed to suppress, until death and tragedy found Melissa. 

. . . But God was silent!  And in that silence, as I reflected on how much I hate suffering, death and evil, I was filled with an intoxicating, self-righteous and prideful indignation at the thought that perhaps God does not hate those things as much as I do.  It was in that moment that God finally answered my questions.  But He answered with a few of His own: 

Niki, do you hate death so much that you would be willing to sacrifice your own life to end death for everyone else? Do you hate evil so much that you would be willing to suffer the guilt and consequence of every sin that has ever been (or ever will be) committed, in order to save humanity and redeem creation?  Would you be willing to suffer the agony of crucifixion?

With those gentle, convicting questions, the Lord gave me the personal answers I had sought in my prayers: He hates sin and death so much that He died on our behalf, taking upon Himself the guilt and consequence of every sin and evil that has ever been committed or ever will be, including Melissa’s tragic murder. (Cf. Isaiah 53:4-6; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  He hates murder far more than I ever will. And having been murdered Himself, He understands its pain, agony, and ugliness far more than I ever could. 

I mourn Melissa’s tragic death.  She will be missed greatly by all who knew her, and by every life she touched and blessed with her kindness, compassion, and warmth.  But I take comfort in the knowledge that God is good, that He remains sovereign over the affairs of Man, and that He grieves with all of us who knew her.  And I find hope in my faith that our Heavenly Father does indeed hear creation’s “groans,” including yours and mine, and is actively in the process of “making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) (NASB).

Meditation 12: Your Opus

"[M]y dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

(1 Corinthians 15:58) (NIV).

Following Jesus Christ is not for the faint of heart! It is the highest calling, to be sure. But it also is the most challenging, largely because when we make the decision to dedicate our lives to advancing God's Kingdom and serving our fellow man, we choose to live by spiritual laws and principles that are completely antithetical to the mores of man. What is normative in God's economy often is foreign to this world. Hence, the Apostle Peter's description of believers as foreigners in this world. Or, as St. Augustine might have said, "We are citizens of the transcendent City of God, who strive to walk in faith according to its patterns and principles. But we also live and reside in the immanent City of Man, and are subject to its laws and realities." It is a veritable struggle, which is why Paul encourages us to "persevere" (1 Tim. 4:16), to finish the "race" (1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 5:7), and to "stand firm" (1 Cor. 15:58).

One of the most intractable and distressful recurring challenges with which I struggle is doubting that my life of faith is yielding any fruit. I know the laws that govern God's economy are different from those that govern the world's. I know, for example, that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that starts out so small it is easily missed and practically invisible. If, however, we sow that seed in our lives -- if we choose to live as citizens of that glorious Kingdom -- it will, in time, grow until it not only becomes visible to the natural eye but also begins to receive multitudes of immigrants who seek the shelter, security, and salvation that lie within its gates alone. (Cf. Luke 13:17-19).

I understand all of that. And I believe it! But the realities of the "City" in which I reside often reflect a different picture. Once I have "sown" a Kingdom seed, I have no idea what is happening beneath the surface. Have I watered it enough? Is it growing? Is it still alive, or am I just spinning my proverbial wheels? My labors for God's Kingdom, my efforts and sacrifices for Him and for the flock I serve, often do not appear as though they will yield a mustard tree, much less a harvest of any kind. Recently, I crossed my five-year mark as a church planting pastor. And those questions began to assail me with a feral force that drove me once again to wonder if my labor was in vain. In the midst of that struggle, I happened to watch a movie I had not seen in about 15 years but is one of my favorites, Mr. Holland's Opus.

If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it.* It is the story of a talented musician, Glenn Holland, whose great dream is to compose a musical masterpiece, an opus that will touch and inspire his generation, and that will make him famous! Shortly after getting married, however, he realizes that he will not be able to support a family by working full-time on his opus, while doing an occasional gig at a bar. So, he decides to become a high-school music teacher, thinking that it will provide him with a stable salary and with plenty of time after school and during the summer to work on his opus.

It does not take more than a few days for Mr. Holland to realize, however, that teaching will consume most of his life. At first, he is resentful of this unforeseen reality, particularly because the school's music band is absolutely terrible. But in time, Mr. Holland develops a passion for teaching. He not only finds great joy in helping his students improve as musicians, but also in using the medium of music to develop their character and to help them on their individual journeys of self discovery. On the side, he continues to work on his opus whenever he can (although it becomes even more difficult to do so after he and his wife give birth to a deaf child).

The movie follows Mr. Holland's life over the course of 30 years. Toward the end of the movie, after pouring into the lives of thousands of students, most of whom he never heard from again, Mr. Holland is informed that budget cuts have compelled the principal to close down the school's music program. Mr. Holland appeals the decision to the school board, on which one of his former students sits. But his passionate philippic proves unsuccessful, and his appeal is denied.

On the last day of the school year, Mr. Holland quietly collects his belongings in his now empty classroom, the solitude and significance of the moment clearly weighing heavy on his shoulders. In his mind, his whole life has been a waste. He has completed an opus that no one has ever heard. And after decades of pouring his life and love into so many young minds and hearts, he is being dumped (rather unceremoniously) by the school district. He thought he would reap a harvest one day, that there would come a time when he would see and enjoy the fruit of his many years of labor. But it appears that he has sown in vain, and that the fields of his dreams and greatest efforts remain fallow.

As he prepares to leave his classroom, Mr. Holland is joined by his wife and son. While they walk down the deserted school halls, you can almost hear Mr. Holland's thoughts: "This is how little my life's work has meant? This is how little it has produced?" . . . And that is when Mr. Holland hears a lot of noise coming from the school auditorium. Curious, he decides to poke his head into the auditorium to determine the reason for the raucous. As he walks in, he is greeted by a room packed with current and former students, as well as faculty and family, all of whom are there to thank him and to celebrate his life as a teacher, mentor, and musician.

Mr. Holland is led to the front row, and one of his former students -- now a state governor -- steps to the podium. What she shares is one of the most moving and compelling living eulogies I have ever heard. And as she speaks, Mr. Holland begins to weep:

"Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life, on a lot of lives I know. . . . And yet I get the feeling he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich -- probably both. But Mr. Holland isn’t rich and he isn’t famous -- at least not outside our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. And he would be wrong! Because I think he’s achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you, [Mr. Holland]! There is not a life in this room that you have not touched. And each one of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. And we are the music of your life!" (emphasis added).

As the audience cheers, Mr. Holland is invited to join her on stage where she, and a large group of his former students, prepare for him to direct them one last time as they present to the public, for the first time ever, Mr. Holland's opus!

What a profound insight that former student offered Mr. Holland! His dreams had not been wasted, and his labor had not been in vain. He simply had failed to realize that he had achieved something far greater than a musical masterpiece -- Mr. Holland's life was his opus! And all the students he had taught, mentored, and (dare I say) discipled over the years were the "melodies and the notes" that together formed a mellifluous symphony far more beautiful than the one he had composed on paper.

And that is what the Apostle Paul is trying to communicate to each of us. The message is as simple as it is true: Your life is your opus! Every day, the things we do in the name of Jesus Christ are musical notes that are being strung together to form an opus, a magnum opus that God Himself is composing through each of us. Every once in a while, we may have the opportunity to hear a small portion of the grand symphony He is composing. But we will not experience it in its fullness until, like Mr. Holland, our work is completed . . . until we have finished our race.

To my fellow pastors and laborers in the faith: Our God is true to His Word! We do not labor in vain. Today, we sow with faith; tomorrow we will reap with joy! One day, I look forward to hearing the magnificent opus our Heavenly Father is composing through each of you. I know that mine will be one of the many lives you have touched, one of the many notes in your sublime symphony!

One day, all of us who follow Jesus Christ will experience a reward that will far surpass Mr. Holland's. We will see and reap the harvest our faith has sown; we will hear and dance to the magnificent opus our hope has composed.

Your life is your opus!

. . . . . . Shhh!!!

. . . . . . Can you hear it?

* Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen the movie and intend to do so, you may want to stop reading this post until you have.

Meditation 11: "Bonhoeffer," by Eric Metaxas: A Book Recommendation for the New Year

In case you are looking for a good read, I commend for your consideration Eric Metaxas's "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy." It is a masterfully written biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. At 542 pages, it borders on a tome, but is still only half as long as the 1000+ page definitive biography written by Bonhoeffer's closest friend, Eberhard Bethge. The book is at once gripping and exhausting! Metaxas gives us a wonderfully comprehensive (albeit distilled) portrait and narrative of Bonhoeffer's character, life, and theology. Interestingly, throughout the book, Metaxas also draws special attention to Bonhoeffer's prophetic instincts and intuition which I think you'll find are particularly prescient.

Until I read the book, I had little appreciation for the incredibly complex moral and ecclesial questions with which Bonhoeffer was confronted. Some of these questions were thrust upon him by the exigencies of historical circumstance, others by his indefatigable pursuit to discover and live out the will of God as it applied to the corrupted church and culture in which he lived. Metaxas does a fabulous job of drawing the reader into Bonhoeffer's heart and mind as he wrestled with the ecclesial conflicts that led him to advocate establishing the Confessing Church, and as he grappled with the grave moral dilemmas that eventually compelled him to become a spy and co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate Hitler!

One of the many important lessons I take from Bonhoeffer's life is that he believed it was the call -- indeed, the duty -- of the Church not to compromise with Evil, but rather to confront it with moral clarity, unbending will, and relentless resolve. As Bonhoeffer's erstwhile pupil and closest friend, Bethge, put it, Bonhoeffer opened the eyes of the Church to the truth that at some point we must go beyond confession (that is, beyond sermonizing on or calling out the Evil of our day) to resistance (that is, to action). There comes a time when we must move beyond resisting Evil by way of confession to confessing Evil by way of resistance!

I'm sure many of us have gleaned wonderful wisdom and inspiration from some of Bonhoeffer's well known writings. But as Metaxas so ably demonstrates through this biography, there also is much wisdom and inspiration to be reaped from his life!

I end with a brief excerpt of some of Bonhoeffer's provocative insights on the state of the Western Church:

[T]he most grandiose of all human attempts to advance toward the divine [is] by way of the church. Christianity conceals within itself a germ hostile to the church. It is far too easy for us to base our claims to God on our own Christian religiosity and our church commitment, and in so doing utterly to misunderstand and distort the Christian idea.” . . . The restoration of the church must surely depend on a new kind of monasticism, which has nothing in common with the old but a life of uncompromising discipleship, following Christ according to the Sermon on the mount. I believe the time has come to gather people together and do this. (Bonhoeffer, pp. 84, 260).

The time has come, indeed!

Any takers?

Meditation 10: On Hebrews 6:10

For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. (Hebrews 6:10) (NLT).

This passage of Scripture provides wonderful insight into the character of God, profound instruction about one of the many ways in which we demonstrate our love for Him, and great encouragement concerning the service we perform in His Name.

First of all, Paul reminds us of our Lord's matchless mercy and boundless grace: He does not forget our faithfulness, but remembers our sins no more! Our Heavenly Father blots out our transgressions, consigning to oblivion even our darkest of sins, but remembers and rewards even the smallest act of kindness we show His children: "I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. . . . Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward." (Isaiah 43:25 (NLT); Mark 9:41 (NIV)).

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul provides a comprehensive definition of love, in terms of its fundamental nature -- viz., love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy, etc. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). In Hebrews 6:10, however, Paul gives us a very helpful and practical example of how to love God -- by caring for our fellow believers. Put differently, we love God by loving each other! Every act of kindness we show another believer is an act of kindness to the Lord! Every act of service we perform for another believer is an act of service to the Lord! When we demonstrate our love for each other, we demonstrate our love for the Lord.

Finally, Paul encourages us to persevere in serving God, by caring for one another, because God will not forget a single act of love and service we perform in His Name. He is a just God who rewards the hard work we do for Him and the care we show His children. Not a single sacrifice of love for the Lord and His saints is done in vain! One day, our faith, love, and hard work will be rewarded with an inheritance that far exceeds anything our minds can conceive. And this hope serves "as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." (Hebrews 6:19).

Meditation 9: A Tale of Two Appetites

"All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied." (Ecclesiastes 6:7).

In this passage of Scripture, Solomon personifies our flesh -- our carnal nature -- by describing it as a "mouth," and observing that Man spends all of his days and expends all of his energy seeking to fill his "mouth." The problem, however, is that our "mouth" (that is, our flesh) will never be satisfied. It is like a bottomless pit, an open grave that cannot be filled.

Solomon had personal experience with this unfortunate truth. In the second chapter of Ecclesiastes, he says that he tested himself with pleasure to see what was good, but found that this endeavor "proved to be meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 2:1). He writes that:

I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. . . . I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. . . .

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:3-5, 8, 10-11).

Solomon spent his life seeking to satiate his carnal appetites, denying himself nothing. But in the end, he found it was a wasted and meaningless pursuit! He possessed great wisdom, but the appetite of his "mouth" controlled him and caused him to live as a fool. The many addictions with which people struggle in the West reflect a brokenness like Solomon's. Our addictions to money, power, gambling, drugs, pornography, physical beauty, and food all reflect our own futile (and foolish) attempts to satiate an appetite that will never be satisfied. Our existential angst -- the overwhelming sense that "everything [is] meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:11) -- is the inevitable fruit of our efforts to fill a void that will always remain empty. And that is why, for example, "[w]hoever loves money never has enough" and "whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income." (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Like Solomon, I struggle with my own fleshly cravings, chief among them is a desire to be accepted, respected, and powerful. Fortunately, Paul's Epistle to the Romans explains a simple and effective way for me to overcome those carnal cravings:

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6).

In other words, the most effective way to combat the appetite of my "mouth" is not to fill it, but rather to starve it. And I do that by feeding my spiritual hunger for the Lord, rather than my fleshly appetite for sin. The more I feed my flesh, the greater its cravings become. The less I feed it, however, the less I am controlled by its ravenous appetite and the more I am directed by my hunger for the things of God. And in those things I find unparalleled fulfillment, joy, and peace!

Jesus promises us that if we pursue our spiritual hunger and thirst for Him, if we are driven by our appetite for Him, we will be filled to overflowing and we will live "rich and satisfying" lives:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ... My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life." (John 6:35;10:10) (NLT).

Purpose, peace, and fulfillment in our lives is just one meal away. It simply depends on which appetite, which "mouth," we choose to feed!

Meditation 8: Do the Work!

Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you!

(1 Chronicles 28:20).

These were some of David's last words to his son, Solomon, who was a young man at the time, and was overwhelmed by the challenges before him. He was faced with the task of governing a large nation, a people who were "as numerous as the dust of the earth." (2 Chronicles 1:9). More importantly, he was charged with the responsibility of building a temple, a dwelling place for the Most High. His father had prepared all the plans for the temple, but the Lord chose Solomon to build it. It was both a glorious honor and a formidable undertaking. Solomon (understandably) was terrified and overwhelmed.

Apparently, David noticed his son's fear. So, he reminded Solomon that God would empower and equip him to do all that was required of him, and that the Lord would neither fail nor forsake him. David was sympathetic to the reality that Solomon had been charged by God to carry out an intimidating task. But that was not an excuse for him to cower in discouragement, or to govern in fear. Hence, David's admonition that Solomon be "strong and courageous, and do the work." God had given David the plans for the temple, it now was Solomon's privilege and responsibility to build what the Lord had designed.

You and I face an assignment that parallels Solomon's, but is superior in its scope and more glorious in its grandeur. Like Solomon, we have been charged with building a temple for our Lord. The difference is that the temple we are building is one made of flesh, not of stone. It is a temple comprised of people, not of bricks! The temple we are building is the body of Christ, the Church. We are called to build for the Lord a people on whom His glory will rest, and in whom His Spirit will dwell. (Matthew 28:18-20).

Like Solomon's, ours is both a glorious call and an awesome responsibility. The temple the Lord has empowered and commissioned you and me to build is the greatest wonder in all of God's creative order. It is the awesome power and matchless majesty of the Lord revealed by His Church, in whom His Spirit and glory dwell. May we "be strong and courageous, and do the work."

Soli Deo Gloria!

Meditation 7: On Becoming a Faithful Priest (1 Samuel 2)

Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phineas, served under him as priests of the Most High God. They held a privileged position in God’s Kingdom. But they dishonored the Lord, and used their priestly office to indulge their carnal cravings. We are told, for example, that they gorged themselves on the best parts of the meat offerings the Israelites sacrificed to the Lord, thereby treating His offerings “with contempt.” (I Samuel 2:12-17).

In addition, Hophni and Phineas regularly had sex with the women who served God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. (I Samuel 2:22). These men, who were charged with the awesome responsibility of leading the Israelites down paths of purity and righteousness, were defiling the sheep they were called to shepherd, dishonoring the Lord’s offerings, and desecrating the Tent of Meeting by fornicating with (and rendering unclean) the women who served at its entrance. And because of their brazen rebellion toward God, He eventually put them to death. (1 Samuel 2:25).

Hophni and Phineas chose to feed their fleshly cravings. And those cravings ultimately consumed them, ruining their ministry, destroying their earthly lives, and resulting in the pronouncement of generational judgment upon their families. (1 Samuel 2:30-33).

As I thought about their appalling behavior, and about how that behavior resulted in the defilement of the Lord’s offerings, of His people, and of His Tent of Meeting, I said to myself: “Well, they deserved the judgment they received!” And then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me that so do I!

Like Eli’s sons, I am now a priest of the Most High. The Bible says that those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are members of a “royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9). And the Apostle Paul adds that we are now the temples of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19). In other words, each of us who are members of God’s royal priesthood are now the locus of the Lord’s presence. Every believer is now the functional equivalent of the Tent of Meeting, where the presence of the Lord once dwelt. His Holy Spirit no longer resides in a temple made of cloth or clay, but in a temple made of flesh.

In short, I am now the Lord’s Tent of Meeting, which means that my hands, my tongue, my ears, and my eyes are the new entrance -- the new door -- to the Lord’s sanctuary. Whatever I do with my hands, whatever I speak with my tongue, whatever I choose to listen to with my ears and wherever I focus my eyes (those windows to my soul) happens in the immediate presence of God, where His glory dwells.

As I meditate on this amazing truth, I am both horrified and humbled! I am horrified at the realization that my behavior is no less abhorrent to God than that of Hophni and Phineas. Like them, I often choose to indulge my flesh, rather than feed my spirit. In so doing, I defile my Father’s house, His temple. At the same time, however, I am humbled at the knowledge that God’s grace is unconditionally available to me, because the blood of Jesus washes away the sacrilegious acts I commit at the entrance to (and even within) the Lord’s Tent of Meeting.

But I do not want to follow in Hophni’s and Phineas’ footsteps. I long to be a priest who honors the Lord by how I conduct myself at the entrance to, and within, His Tent of Meeting. I strive to be a man who hungers after, and desperately pursues, his Lord. I aspire to become a child whose spirit is nourished by every word that comes from His Father, and who overcomes the ravenous appetite of his fleshly nature. My hope and prayer is that the Lord one day will say of me what He said of Samuel -- that I am a “faithful priest, who [does] according to what is in [His] heart and mind,” and that He “will firmly establish [my] house, and [I] will minister before [His] anointed one always.” (1 Samuel 2:35).

Prayer: Father, help me to faithfully fulfill the responsibilities of the priestly office you have given me, by shepherding Your people well and bringing glory to Your Name. Forgive me for the ways in which I have dishonored You and Your new Tent of Meeting. Help me to pursue the things of the Kingdom and to focus on satiating my spiritual appetite with every word that proceeds from Your mouth, rather than the cries of my flesh. Help me to be a faithful priest in Your royal priesthood. And, by Your grace, please grant me the unmerited privilege of ministering before Your Anointed One always. I pray this on my behalf, and on behalf of all my brothers and sisters who are members of Your royal priesthood. Amen!