Jared Longshore's Blog, page 23

Like Noah

When Peter spoke of Noah and his family in the days of the flood, he said that “eight souls were saved by water.” He added that New Covenant baptism is the like figure to God’s deliverance of Noah by water. We, like Noah, are saved by water. Noah and his family were delivered from a world in rebellion. And baptism signifies and seals this very deliverance for Christians today. God’s covenant promises are always received by faith. And this is our confidence. This salvation, according to Peter, is “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God (1 Peter 3:21-22).

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Like the Knotted Robe of a Galilean

Since we live in the new covenant era, Peter says we must gird up the loins of our minds. “Gird up your loins” refers to tucking a long robe into the belt in order to be ready for physical activity. But this phrase is not applied to clothing by Peter, but to the mind. So take a moment of honest self-examination: How are the loins of your mind?

You can go wrong in at least two ways. On the one hand, your mind could be hanging loose like some unfurled Israelite brick-layer on the third hour of a 30-minute lunch break. This error means your mind is undisciplined and unsteady. You’d rather go get a tooth pulled than have to face off in one of those Bible sword drill contests. And when the world, the flesh, and the devil run a three-man blitz on you, your mind lacks the training to stay in the pocket, make your reads, and complete the pass.

On the other hand, there is the error of having the loins of your mind wound up like the knotted robe of a Galilean who just finished break dancing in a tornado. You have not hit the mark simply because your mind churns from one anxiety to the next. The goal is a girded mind, not one wound so tight it cuts off circulation to the frontal lobe.

The solution to both of these errors is meditation upon God’s Word. You can possess a sober mind that is ready for the next fiery trial. But there is no other way than this: Hear the Word, Believe the Word, Obey the Word.

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Without Nook or Cranny

I’m afraid there’s no niche in the world for people that won’t be either Pagan or Christian.

C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

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You Will Have to Find Someone Else to Pity

This table is a reminder that there is something greater than this earthly life. Here we are reminded of what the prophet Isaiah says, “It pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). Take that in honestly. The I AM saw fit to bruise the Son, to put the son to grief. If there is nothing greater than this life beneath the firmament, then that text is entirely unreasonable, unfathomable, and wretched. But there is more than life beneath the canopy that is stretched out above our heads.

It pleased the LORD to bruise the Son because the Son’s soul was made an offering for sin. When Jesus’ body was broken, more was going on than the physical. His soul, unlike ours, was perfect, righteous, and suitable to the altar. It was a pleasing sacrifice to the LORD and in that sacrifice, wonders were realized.

Through the breaking of that bread and the pouring out of that wine, Christ Himself saw His seed (Isaiah 53:10). If this world were the end of the matter, then Christ’s death would mean that He would never see His seed. But, in truth, it was Christ’s death that guaranteed He would see His seed.

Through that bread broken and poured-out wine, Christ prolonged His days and the days of His people (Isaiah 53:10). If this life is all there is, then that cannot be. Christ’s days were shortened not lengthened. But, what do you know, there are days on the other side of the grave.

Through that bread offering on Calvary and in those burst wineskins, the pleasure of the LORD prospered. The LORD’s pleasure was that Christ would justify you, so that you could attend the wedding feast that will carry on world without end. And this He has done.

So if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But, come to find out, it is not only in this life that we have hope in Christ, so you will have to find someone else to pity. Come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Seed to Soil: Bill Frank Cooper

My grandfather was one of the most steadfast and immovable men I’ve known. So my thoughts have gone to a passage of Scripture that speaks to those qualities. The text is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. These are the words of God:

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

My grandfather (1932-2024) was born in deep Alabama in a shotgun house, so named because its simple and tiny rectangular layout was such that you could stand in the front door and fire a shotgun out of the back door without hitting any walls. He was the youngest of six children, birthed in the cool of a November evening by his mother after she had been working in the fields all day. That mother, who was born in 1905, would have each child say his or her prayers at night one my one, “As I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” And then each child would say good night to each sibling by name. That mother would also bake them biscuits in that shotgun shack in the sweltering Alabama summer. In the cold winters, she would take bricks from the fire, wrap them in a towel and put them at the foot of the children’s beds to keep their feet warm. My grandfather laughed as he recalled his mother’s policy for settling conflict among the children. If a skirmish of sorts arose, she would require them to hug and kiss each other, a point that grandaddy remembered was not well-received by certain members of the family. My grandfather would go on to join the military and jump out of perfectly operational airplanes as a paratrooper.

He married a woman who has done him no lack of good. She set her heart to serve the Lord and she set her hands to work in a manner that is downright intimidating to most modern women. They look in awe at Joann Cooper, marveling at feminine glory and wifely skill that modern men would give their right arm to obtain. Scripture speaks to the sanctifying influence a wife can have on a husband. And by God’s grace Joann did this for Bill, she won him through good works and obedience. She won him without a word. Bill and Joann raised a family. Bill provided for his household. And in later life often had his arms full of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He was a steady man who loved with an old school love, the kind that valued sacrifice over sentimentalism and competency over personality. In that he is a model for us all.

The passage from the apostle Paul says that stability is an otherworldly virtue. Which is to say, it is a distinctly Christian virtue. It is often called fortitude. And we could use a few doses of that virtue right about now. But the text says therefore be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. The point is that you cannot get the immovable piece apart from what comes before, namely, the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable. That truth is what makes a man immovable.

But what about pagan strength? Genghis Kahn knew how to ride a horse long and hard. Alexander the Great could swing a sword and knew nothing of the Christianity I speak of and he knew nothing of the morality that marked my grandfather. But that is simply to say there will always be knockoffs of the genuine article. It is not denial of real dollar bills to say there are counterfeit bills.

In another place, Paul says that if in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most to be pitied. I can think of no man less interested in your pity than my grandfather. I dare say if you came to him offering a bowl of pity, he would kindly thank you for stopping by and politely tell you that you would have to find someone else to pity. Where does that attitude come from? It comes from knowing that it is not only in this life that we have hope in Christ. If this brief life on earth really is all that there is, then indeed, bring on the pity. Bill Cooper is gone and that is the end of the story. But, in fact, there are days on the other side of the grave. There is hope in Christ for this life, and there is hope in Christ for the life to come. It is in that faith which says, “Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O grave, is your victory?” it is in that faith of our father, grandfather, and great grandfather, that we will find fortitude, resilience, and unflinching kindness.

It is in that faith that we commend him body and soul into the loving arms of our Savior.

As we await the day when we see our brother Bill again, we commit his body to the ground out of which we were formed. As he shares in the life of our resurrected Lord, we commit his spirit to the care of our Father in heaven. Knowing that the grave is but a rich soil out of which he will rise again, we commit grieving family and friends to the care of the body of Christ. And we commit ourselves to follow our Shepherd, who leads us through the valley of the shadow of death into the glorious life after death.

Bill Cooper recounts early years in Alabama.

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Noah’s Baptism

It is fair to say that when exchanging baptism stories in the world to come, Noah’s will take the cake. Not many will be able to say they were baptized in a world-wide flood. Noah’s baptism was a sign of judgment upon the wicked and salvation of the righteous. It was a testimony to the truthfulness of God’s promises, who swore that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. What was true of Noah’s baptism is true of every baptism. Here God says, “My Word will come to pass. My salvation will arrive. Trust my Word. Every one of my promises are yes and amen, in Him.”

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Like a Molded Blueberry

Jesus said that the Father has life in Himself. He added that the Father has given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26). And you must see what a grave mistake it would be to say, “And, yes, the Father has also granted me to have life in myself. Amen and amen.” No, no amen to that. The Father has not granted you to have life in yourself. He has granted you to have life. But that life is found in Him. It is His liveliness that is your life.

The great temptation that lurks in the marshlands, that temptation that would suck you down and snuff out your life, is the temptation to live apart from God. It is the temptation to go about your coaching, teaching, summering, purchasing, cooking, exercising, and all of your other ings in the same exact way unbelievers do. This can be tricky. Unbelievers coach, and teach, and summer, and purchase. You are doing the same activities, after all. But you must do them as what you are, which is one who has been brought into the life of the fully-alive Trinity.

If you attempt to go about your living severed from Him, you will have as much sweetness and flavor as one of those molded blueberries at the bottom of the container you forgot was in the back of the refridgerator. God has brought you into the bond of His covenant, and in that covenant He has given you life, a big wide world, an array of gifts and good works to enjoy. So resolve to never live outside of that bond of the covenant. The life you live, you live by faith. The life you enjoy is the life of the Trinity, which never grows old or stale.

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A Rose Petal Down the Grand Canyon

An author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a man who drops a rose petal down the Grand Canyon of Arizona and listens for the echo.

P. G. Wodehouse, Cocktail Time

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Joy Through Bread and Wine

What Ezra and Nehemiah told the inhabitants of Jerusalem many years ago holds true for us today: the joy of the LORD is our strength. Those outside of the kingdom of God simply cannot access this joy. Paul tells us in Romans 14:17 that joy in the Holy Ghost is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has a particular border. You are either in it or not in it, and the only way to obtain the joy of the LORD is to reside within its territory. This kingdom is not stagnant of course, so its borders constanly increase. Even so, you must be brought within if you would truly access joy.

You are members of the kingdom of God and thus you come to this kingdom table. You have every right to the joy of the Spirit for Christ has purchased that joy for you at the cross. At this meal, you hear Christ say, “This is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for you. And where is joy found other than in that body and in that blood?” 

The kingdom of God is not stagnant, and neither is the joy of the LORD found within it. The LORD’s joy is infinite and abundantly supplied to you through this bread and wine. Any attempt you make to obtain joy apart from the Christ who serves you here, is doomed to fail. And the reverse is equally true. If you come to the Lord at this table, asking to be strengthened by more of His joy, then you will find the fulfillment of Christ’s words when He said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Not a Coin Toss

Scripture is clear throughout that salvation involves life from the dead. Dry bones must live. Sleepers must awake and have the light of Christ shine upon them. That new life is not a coin toss. It is not a 50/50 chance. It is not a matter of percentages at all. That new life is a covenant promise from God to us, made sure in the blood of Christ. It is a covenant promise received by faith and signed and sealed in baptism. The water points to burial and resurrection to new life. God is the one has appointed the sign. He is the One who speaks. Believe Him.

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