“On the Sabbath they rested, according to the commandment.”

This verse is so ordinary, so mundane. It could be found anywhere in scripture. It could be applied to any of our lives.

But on this resurrection morning, during a pandemic, when life fees so extraordinarily unusual, I read it in the middle of the passion story. Ordinary in the middle of super extraordinary. (Luke 23:56b) These women went to see where Jesus had been laid. They had just watched him die a gruesome, horrible death. They watched him be forsaken by God, rejected by friends, betrayed by his enemies and tortured by those in control. They went and saw where he was laid. There was so much to be done and, at the same time, nothing to do. In our striving we do what we think can. (They went to prepare spices and ointments – what do I do?) But in the face of death, there is nothing we can do. We are powerless.

What did these women do next?

“On the Sabbath they rested, according to the commandment.” They obeyed the commandment. Just a few days before all of these events, they were celebrating the high holy day of Passover with those they most cherished all together. And in the midst of the celebration the disciples had heard Jesus teach that “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15

And so, they did what they always did. They rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

And while they rested in ordinary obedience and thereby showed their love to God, what was God doing?

He was preparing to do the most extraordinary act of love. He was about to turn the world upside down. He was getting ready to defeat that last enemy – Death.

And so, when we struggle with the chaos and despair of situations that are beyond our control, and when we are relegated to ordinary obedience in the mundane, we can remember the promise that comes on the third day.

“For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” 1 Cor. 15:25-26

God is working. God is moving. He is King.

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

“Comparisons are odious.” I thought my dad had made this saying up. Turns out, his dad used to to say it. Then I found out that it dates at least back to Shakespeare when I read Dogberry the foolish character who speaks nonsense in Much Ado About Nothing say, “comparisons are odorous.”

But why? Why are they odious? The word stems from the Latin root that means hateful. So what is so harmful about comparisons? They are part of life. It’s by comparing that we make decisions. Is this apple better or that one? Are the reviews of this restaurant more favorable or that restaurant? Will this political candidate forward my position better or the other? With the vast number of decisions we make each day (the unsourced number that floats around the internet is 35,000!) we have to have parameters to come t0 the conclusions that we do. Comparison is a key element in making those decisions.

So where is the bad part of comparing? When we compare others to ourselves we place ourselves in one of two dangerous positions. We either put ourselves in the prideful position of being better than others, or we take on the self deprecating  pride of thinking that others are better than we are and we can never measure up. We look and look and scroll and look some more at others and use them as the measuring tool to see if we are ok with ourselves.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a nineteenth century Scottish preacher is quoted to have said, “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely.” Christ alone is the One to whom we should compare ourselves. We must recognize that He is perfect and when we are in Christ, the Lord looks on us and smiles, “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We can lay aside to need to measure up to the Insta feeds of the most polished. We can put down the over inflated ego that comes from the self satisfied smugness of feelings of accomplishments. We can “Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in His beams. Feel His all-seeing eye settled on you in love. (and) Repose in His almighty arms.” (Robert Murray M’Cheyne)

On one of our trips we were walking though a night market in Hong Kong. Among the scarves, and shoes and fake designer watches, I found a booth that had a kitchen magnet which read, “Comparisons are odious. 比較是可惡的.” It made me realize that, while, no, my dad didn’t make up that saying, it is a wise one. It transcends time and touches hearts around the world. We shouldn’t value or devalue another human being, including ourselves, because we see them as better or not. We should continue our gaze on the One that is infinitely better.

See, I have given Jericho into your hand. (Joshua 6:2) Um… what I see is a city shut up inside and outside, none going in and none going out. How does that communicate a victory? Isn’t that the way with God? He uses impossible circumstances in our lives so that He alone gets the victory. He does indeed give Joshua and the Israelites the city of Jericho, but in a new and very unusual way. (Maybe that’s why they weren’t to speak. God knew they would grumble about it.)

This advent I am struck by the impossible situations at Christmas time too: A teenage unwed mother, a barren woman, an unbelieving priest, a crazy angry king, and wisemen from the East following a star. But our omni-wise God has made all these elements into a beautiful story. One that we cherish every year because it fills our hearts with hope.

We hope because He shows us the length to which He will go to redeem His people.

We hope because He can make beautiful things out of messy situations.

We hope because He is able to tumble the walls of Jericho and provide for that unwed mother.

We hope because that barren woman and her mute, unbelieving priest of a husband hold a baby and name him John.

We hope because He proves to that unbelieving priest that He is able.

We hope because all the power of the raging crazy king is nullified before our omnipotent King of Kings.

And we hope because, just maybe, like those wisemen from the East, those who are unlikely to come and worship at the feet of this little Hebrew baby will bow the knee and proclaim Him King.

A lifeline… A promise… A remembering of who God is. Sometimes when the busy chaos of our lives seems overwhelming, it’s good to have scripture verses to cling to. The following are some of the ones that the Lord has used to sustain me in recent months.

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 

A reminder that all things are moving toward the glory of God.

Psalm 29:10-11 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

A reminder that God is still in control and to quote C.H. Spurgeon: “Our interests in the most stormy of times are safe in His hands.”

Numbers 23:32b Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.

An odd verse to give comfort I suppose, but the context is telling. The infamous Baalam has just struck his poor donkey who then rebuked him. This verse is God’s response. What it tells me is that God is able to use whatever means he sees fit to lead, guide and discipline me and those He loves. Kinda like Gandalf says to the Balrog in the Mines of Moria, “You shall not pass.” The evil that we allow in our lives is on a leash. God will only permit what is necessary to shape us into the image of His Son.

Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

It is good to recognize that even though we struggle with contentment with our things and our relationships and our circumstances, one day, we will be satisfied with all that the Lord gives to us.

Jude 24-25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.

It is so good to remember that it all has a purpose, that it’s not ultimately up to us, and that one day, like a Bride joyfully presented to her Bridegroom, we will be blameless, glorious and beautiful.

What are some scriptures that you cling to?

Genesis Chapter 19, where we find the infamous Sodom and Gomorrah. But here we also see a story of grace and ingratitude.

Lot had already been physically grabbed by two angels to save him from the mob of men from Sodom who were threatening him. These men were struck with blindness so they couldn’t find the door. Lot rushes out to try to convince his sons-in-law to flee the city with him before judgement comes. They decline, thinking he is jesting. So with urgency, the angels implore Lot to gather his wife and daughters and flee the city. And this is where we find this text- but he lingered. Why? Did he mourn over the city? Did he long for his sons-in-law to come with him? Did he regret the need to leave his comfortable place? Did he doubt that God was going to destroy the city? But he lingered.

How often do I linger over sin? Do I settle in and get comfortable with it? In the face of commands from Scripture, and even physical evidence of the folly of continuing to dwell there, I stay, contemplating the different choices as if they were valid options.

Then the angels seized him and his wife and daughters and pulled them to safety outside the city, “the Lord being merciful.” Again, why? Why did the Lord show him mercy? He certainly didn’t seem to want it. He wanted to remain in Sodom. The answer is just a few verses later:

“So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19:29‬

God spared Lot for the sake of Abraham. And I, too, am saved for the sake of another. God, in his justice, should condemn me to the same punishment for my sin as he punished Sodom and Gomorrah, and so many others that we see in the Old Testament. But for the sake of another, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, he has saved me, despite my lingering in my sin. He has plucked me up and set me on solid ground.

Lord, like Lot, I am fearful and sometimes unwilling. I long for the comfortable and the familiar. But, Father, with your strength and by your Spirit, may I joyfully obey and unlike Lot, may I not be driven by comfort or fear, but rather walk in your commands without hesitation. Cause me to hate sin rather than dwell with it.

A few dear friends of mine and I have studied the Bible together long distance for a few years now. We do it over a virtual meeting platform. It’s pretty cool what technology can do these days. But I digress. We are going through the book of Psalms. It’s going to take us years. Recently we studied Psalm 19. It was so familiar. At first I spent very little of my study time in it. Yes, I know, it’s about the skies and the scriptures. The heavens declare… the word is like honey.  But the day before we were to meet, I decided that I really should put some time and effort into it. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide my studies. Because the word is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, I prayed that God would show me something fresh in something so familiar.

Psalm 19 starts with the skies and quickly moves to the sun. It comes out of its tent like a bridegroom. I know of another Son who is a bridegroom. But let’s hold that thought for a moment. The sun also is like a strong man running his course with joy. So like Jesus “who for the joy set before him, endured the cross.” (Heb. 12: 2)

So I move on to the second portion of the psalm and see the Word of the Lord. I was  just thinking about the Son and the Bridegroom. Jesus Christ is also the Word made flesh, isn’t he? Oh precious Lord, he is Pure reviving the soul and sure, making wise the simple. He is more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold.

I go back to verse six which speaks of nothing being hidden from the sun’s light. Isn’t that true of the Word also.. even dividing the soul and the spirit. After a paralytic is let down before Jesus and Jesus declares him to be forgiven of his sins, some “scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” (Matthew 9:3-5) Like the light of the sun, nothing is hidden from the Lord.

But why? The psalmist, David, ends the song with a prayer that God would keep him from hidden faults and presumptuous sin. And that is exactly what Jesus came to do. The precious Bridegroom is making his bride spotless.

In John 17, when He prays to the Father, Jesus says, sanctify them in your truth, your word is truth. The word sanctifies; the word makes us holy; the Bridegroom will present us faultless before the throne so that “the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts will be acceptable in your sight.”

He is preparing his Bride, the church, so that on that day, there will be nothing to break that fellowship. Nothing to come between. Our joy will be complete. In the midst of this fallen, broken world, it is what I long for: complete joy and unbroken fellowship.

And so the Lord met me in that study time. He showed me Himself when I was focused on me. I remember what Robert Murray McCheyne said, “for every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.” Oh Father, help me look to Christ!

Psalm 19 isn’t about just the skies and the scriptures after all. It’s about the Creator of the Skies and the Word made flesh. It’s about the Bridegroom preparing His church. It is about Jesus. And isn’t that true of all of the Bible?

Photo by Abigail Gallagher