"mighty man of valor"

In Hebrews 11, the author includes Gideon as a man of faith. This has always left me confused.

When God shows up, Gideon blames God for Israel's suffering and oppression. He retells Israel's history of redemption, then accuses God of forsaken His people. Gideon fails to understand Israel's repeated failure to uphold the covenant. He disregards Israel's idolatry and unfaithfulness. Instead, he blames God.

On repeated occasions, Gideon makes God "prove" himself. He asks for a sign that it is really God who is speaking with him. Later, he wants God to wet a fleece with the morning dew, and then keep it dry the next morning. And after being given every affirmation, Gideon still needs to hear his enemies' fear before he is willing to fight against them.

Every single time faith was demanded of Gideon, he seemed to shrink back. His faith rarely seemed very faith-like.

So how does he get included in Hebrews 11?

I am still not completely sure, but what I started noticing was the amazing compassion of God towards Gideon. God demonstrated the heart of a loving Father towards His weak and feeble son.

After being accused of abandoning His people, God tells Gideon "But I will be with you." After being asked for a sign, God sends fire from a rock to consume Gideon's gift. God meets each of Gideon's proposals with the fleece without saying a word.

And the dream followed by its interpretation?

Gideon never asked for this. "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp...And you shall hear what they say, and afterwards your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp" (Judges 7:9-11).

God saw Gideon's weak faith and strengthened it. He gave His servant exactly what he needed exactly when he needed it. God was not angry, critical, or condescending. He poured out His love and compassion upon Gideon. He was not obliged to do it. He willingly and freely gave it.

Therefore, Gideon's faith was strengthened. And he did exactly what God called and equipped him to do.

I am not sure if I can find greater encouragement than that. I am Gideon. My faith is childish more than it is child-like. Yet God continually pours out His grace to me. He calls me to come and ask, but even when I don't He shows Himself the most faithful of fathers.

a perfect ending

The spring semester ended May 22nd. Three days later, I married my best friend. 

Not too shabby!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

the Beatitudes

Recently I have been digesting the Beatitudes. They are familiar to most who have been in the church for any given period of time. Even someone unfamiliar with the Bible has probably heard one of these at some point in their lives. People have quoted them for a variety of purposes.

These words are significant for a number of reasons. In the context, they set the stage for Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of God. Christ came to bring the Kingdom and preached its arrival (Mark 1:15). The Sermon on the Mount depicts what life in the Kingdom looks like. It is the King teaching about the elements of His Kingdom. It reveals far more than outward compliance, but a heart that faithfully follows, obeys, and serves the King.

The Beatitudes begin the King's message. They outline what the blessed, fortunate, even happy life looks like under the reign of the King. It is a life opposite of what the kingdoms of this earth deem valuable and securing blessing.

Each Beatitude is packed full of good stuff. It would not do justice to breeze past them quickly. I am setting out to reflect and meditate on these twelves verses here. I will not necessarily hit them each day (hopefully by the end of the month of April), but I do aim to address each one on its own.

And as the Passion Week approaches, my prayer is that these Beatitudes will turn me from myself to the King who freely gives these blessings to those resting in His finished work on the bloodied cross, empty tomb, and glorious ascension.

health and wealth?

What kind of assurance does faith provide? Sadly, many believe faith assures prosperity in this life. John Calvin, in agreement with Scripture, emphasizes an entirely different understanding of assurance.

...Scripture establishes this as the sum of our salvation, that he [God] has abolished all enmities and received us into grace...

...For faith does not certainly promise itself either length of years or honor or riches in this life, since the Lord willed that none of these things be appointed to us. But it is content with this certainty: that, however many things fails us that have to do with the maintenance of this life, God will never fail. Rather, the chief assurance of faith rests in the expectation of the life to come, which has been placed beyond doubt through the Word of God. Yet whatever earthly miseries and calamities await those whom God has embraced in his love, these cannot hinder his benevolence from being their full happiness...

...In short, if all things flow unto us according to our wish, but we are uncertain of God's love or hatred, our happiness will be accursed and therefore miserable. But if in fatherly fashion God's countenance beams upon us, even our miseries will be blessed. For they will be turned into aids to salvation.

~from Calvin's Institutes, Book Three, chapter II, section 28 (emphasis mine)

serving size

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." ~Lamentations 3:24

When applied to food, a portion is defined as that which is "enough." A portion provides the necessary nutrients as well as sustenance for the individual. A portion is enough to meet the present need.

The same goes in the mind of the author of Lamentations. The Lord is his hope. The Lord satisfies. The Lord sustains. The Lord is enough.

I agree wholeheartedly with the inspired author of this text. However, I wrestle with the real-life application.

There are so many things within and outside of myself promising satisfaction. They tell me I will have "enough" should I simply get my hands on this or that. Many of them are even good things, gifts from the hand of God. But they are not and never will be enough.

Thus far in my semester, a great deal of emphasis in two of my classes has been on the believer's union in Christ. On the one hand this concept is complex, but it is also simplistic. In Christ I find everything I need.

Living out my union with Christ is what "the Lord is my portion" looks like. It means living as an adopted son of God. It means walking in freedom from the reign of sin over me. It means resting in the hope of what is to come. It means living a life of holiness through the Spirit within me. It means of all these and more.

The Lord is my portion. And the more I rest and walk in my union in Christ, I will find him to be more than enough for all my needs.

love and intimacy

I took up the challenge of reading The Song of Solomon. Throughout history folks have held different opinions regarding how to study this particular text with some even avoiding it completely. I decided to read it because I am a firm believer in teaching the full counsel of God given to us in the canon of Scripture. Or to put it more simply, I am convinced that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Without getting too much into the theories of interpretation, a first reading of the book centers upon the relationship between a husband and a wife. There are many practical applications to be found when reading this particular text.

Because of what Paul says about marriage reflecting the relationship between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5), a second reading informs and strengthens the Church's relationship with her husband.

The book itself is filled with expressions of intimacy. The husband and wife share a deep desire for one another.

Draw me after you (1:4)
Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful (1:15)
Let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely (2:14)
My beloved is mine, and I am his (2:16)
I sought him whom my soul loves...I will seek him whom my soul loves...when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go. (3:1,2,4)
You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride (4:9)
This is my beloved and this is my friend (5:16)

While I hope this intimacy becomes a mark of the relationship between my soon-to-be-wife and I, I desire more to have it mark the relationship between me and great lover of my soul, between the Church and her Groom.

I want to draw after, delight in, see and hear, seek after, and be captivated by the One who died and rose again to bring me life. I want to hold onto Him and not let go. And I pray the same for the Church as a whole. May our love for our Husband trump all other affections and desires. May it flow from us into a world starving for the true love poured out on us. 

working out

Because I started lifting weights again...

...And I've encountered just about every stereotype in this video at one point or another in my gym crossings.