Jared Longshore's Blog, page 34

In the Presence of Our Enemies

God prepares tables for his children in the presence of their enemies. We can sympathize with someone who is caught off guard by this. That phrase from David’s psalm certainly has a ring to it. But it is quite a line when you really take it in. What human would truly opt for dinner in the presence of his enemies over dinner far far away from his enemies?

Nevertheless, God makes better meals that we do. And He knows what He’s doing with the context of this meal. Our Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper and sat down to eat and drink with his disciples when He was literally surrounded by enemies who not only wanted to kill Him, but would do so in only a few hours. 

He was not terrified by His adversaries. He was not terrified by adversity either. He wasn’t too anxious to eat.  We have been. And this is just another testimony to the fact that we are not Jesus. 

But, we belong to this Jesus. And this Christ belongs to us. He is always giving Himself to us, strengthening us even in this life so that we find more and more of His Spirit at work in our lives. 

As you come to this table, your own crosses await you just like Christ’s did Him. And you must come to eat and drink. But this is not merely a matter of a Father telling you that you must sit through a boring meal and finish your food. You sit at table with joy Himself. He has prepared this table for you in the presence of your enemies. And He gives you His very self here. He smiles at you saying, “Yes, we will rise to go to adversity. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

The post In the Presence of Our Enemies appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Postmillennialism for Such a Time as This

Introduction

It would not be surprising for someone to look around at the present state of things and ask the cheery Postmillennialist, “Oh, so you think things are getting better, do you?” Many things could be said in reply. But the chief response would be, “Yes, there are giants in the land. They are very big. Too big to miss.” We are with David selecting stones by faith. We are with Esther going before the king given the bad news that Haman wants to destroy us. 

You can find us alongside Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, not bowing to false gods, knowing we will soon take a fire bath; the Son of God will be with us in the flames. We are with Israel in Egypt right up against the Red Sea before it moves out of the way—”And Moses said unto the people, Fear yet not, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus 14:13). Why are we cheerful, confident, and laboring in a time like this? Well, the battle belongs to the LORD and we have seen this story before.

Summary of the Text – Psalm 110

David says that the LORD said to his Lord, “Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (v. 1). Jesus cites this verse when tying the Pharisees up in knots, establishing that he is David’s Lord who will soon ascend to heaven and sit down at the right hand of the LORD. He will remain there until all of his enemies are placed beneath His feet (v. 1). 

Even so, while seated there, the LORD will send the rod of his strength out of Zion. He will rule on earth from heaven (v. 2). This can be accomplished because this seated Christ will have people on earth who offer themselves freely in the day of His power (v. 3). The earthly reign of Christ through His people is not something up for grabs for the LORD has sworn that Christ is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (v. 4). Kings will be struck through by Him, kings over the whole wide earth (v. 5-6). He will not break off His pursuit of the fleeing enemy. He will drink from the brook by the way and rise up to advance His reign (v. 7).

The Millennium

Generally speaking, there are three views of the “thousand years” John speaks of in Revelation 20:1-6. Premillennialism teaches that Christ will return to earth and then comes an unprecedented “thousand years” of blessing for the church. Amillennialism teaches that Revelation 20 speaks to the spiritual or heavenly reign of Christ now resulting in the parallel growth of good and evil. Postmillennialism teaches that the millennium is a present reality for Christians now, as Christ reigns on earth from heaven; and Christ will return at the end of the millennium once the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.

The rule and reign of Christ announced in Psalm 110 is something we are in the midst of. Kings are falling all around us. We offer ourselves freely in the day of his power. And when the conquest of Christ has reached the ends of the earth, He will stand up from His throne, and return bodily. 

Heaven and Earth

How you conceive of the interplay between heaven and earth is more important than it may first appear. Christ our Head is seated in heaven and we are his body on earth. Christ is our Great High Priest in heaven, in the true tent. And we are a kingdom of priests, as was promised in the Mosaic Covenant, who announce good news on earth saying, “Be reconciled to God.”

The Amillennialist position can be charged with leaving Christ’s reign up in heaven and neglecting the kingdom of God coming on earth. When Postmillennialism goes wrong, it could begin to neglect heaven in the attempt to see the kingdom come on earth. The goal is to live in the flesh by faith. As the old phrase puts it, we must be in the world but not of the world; we must be in the world and of the heaven. Our prayer is not, “Thy kingdom come in heaven as it is on earth.” It is, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,” and that prayer is addressed to our Father in heaven. 

Dominion

Postmillennialism highlights the need for Christians to do Christianity and not merely think it. It has a special place for blisters and callouses. One temptation we want to avoid is living in the cloud, where all of our music, documents, and text messages are stored. As Christ approached his Calvary—Tomb—Mount of Olives Exodus, He prayed to the Father saying, “Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee” (John 17:11). He went on, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world” (John 17:15). 

As John Newton was making his way to glory he said, “I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon.” That day will come for us all. But while we remain in the land of the dying, we must die well. While in this body, we use it, spend it, lose it for Christ and His kingdom. 

The Melchizedekian Priest

The only way to spend and be spent for Christ is to come to Christ. We want to fill the earth and subdue it, pressing the crown rights of King Jesus into the four corners of the earth. And the only way to get there is to look by faith to one spot, the place where the Priest offered Himself as the sacrifice. 

The post Postmillennialism for Such a Time as This appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

An Open Letter to Moscow on Christian Flags in June

Some of the Moscow citizenry are bound to both notice and question the appearance of a few Christian flags around town in June. I had the privilege of moving to town in November 2021. So I am still fairly new to this little northern Idaho hamlet. I have been struck by the charm of this town. While at the same time, I have noticed the fairly widespread presence of—what shall we call them—signs of the left. Not a few Moscovites appear to fly their ethics and politics on the front lawn.

Additionally, there has been a fair amount of vitriol that has come the way of Christians even in my short time here. Christ Church offices and New Saint Andrews College, to name a few, have been decorated by the spittle (and sometimes urine) of the troubled passerby. It has really been something to see—we have video footage from the security cameras. Then there was the time some disgruntled people blasted a horrendous noise through a speaker while we were singing Christmas carols in friendship square.

Several of our congregants have their businesses “blacklisted” by people who can’t seem to get through the day without getting their knickers in a knot. Then there has been more than one petty legal maneuver against stand up Christian citizens here in Moscow that has garnered national attention.

These shenanigans roll on while the Christians around here go on with normal Christian living. The town appears to be undergoing something of a revival with businesses and restaurants popping up downtown, with Christians at the helm of this renewal. One of my favorite examples of the silliness around here was some unfriendly fellow saying online how great the beer is out one of the downtown establishments. He added that it was a shame because he could not frequent this establishment since it is owned and operated by a Kirker.

Now, these local events are a small picture of the increasing difficulties in our nation. June has been designated PRIDE month and Target is teaching the little boys the advantages of cutting off their testicles. I really do hate writing sentences like that. I hope that future generations who look back on these days will pardon me. Let it be known that I am merely a weather man accurately reporting on the climate. I would not write about groomers training boys to cut their testicles off if there were not Target groomers doing so. But, alas, how can one point out the storm that is upon us without pointing out the storm that is upon us? 

It is easy to grow accustomed to the most vile practices such that you lose your grip on just how troubled the waters are. We all like to think that we would have done the right thing had we lived under the Third Reich. But that sentiment must be measured by how we are comporting ourselves under our modern day human rights offenses, particularly the murder of the most vulnerable among us: the preborn in the womb.

In God’s kind providence—He always writes the best stories—He overturned the wicked Roe Supreme Court decision on the very month our nation has determined to puff our chest and tout our PRIDE. You do not have to be the hyper-spiritual type to see that something heavenly is at work in our earthly affairs. Tucker Carlson recently noted that he is a mere Episcopalian, what he called something like the least serious faith tradition, and even he thinks something otherworldly is at work and now would be a good time for us all to pray.

So some of the Christians around town have hoisted up a Christian flag in celebration of Roe’s overturn. Ours flies right next to an American flag. It is something of an age-old sentiment: “God bless America.” This month, as we remember Dobbs, we celebrate that murder of innocent children is no longer protected by Roe. The flag is a testimony to our gratitude for the Triune God who treats us better than we deserve.

I anticipate that there will be different responses to the Christian flags around town. A small group of people will likely be downright hostile. Their lack of tolerance in the name of tolerance may be put on display. On the other end of the spectrum would be those who honk in support, or roll down the window to shout something like “‘Merica!” while wondering to themselves where they can obtain one of these Christian flags.

Then, I suspect there is a large swath of people who are a bit unsure about the whole thing, ranging from not caring much to quite worried about all of the competing flags and signs which seem to crop up unceasingly these days. This middle group has reasonable questions so I’d like to head some of them off here.

In the first instance, it is hard to be upset with those flying a Christian flag for one month out of the year when so many fly their LGBTQ and BLM flags every month of the year. Answering twelve months of symbolic perversion with one month symbolizing the good news that a Nazarene laid down His life to save the world is, by any objective standard, quite mild. We’re coming in around Mother Teresa levels if you step back and think it through.

But must we escalate the situation? Well, the Christian flags are not an attempt to escalate our tensions. But the question is warranted given that such an escalation is a reasonable result of flying the Christian flag in June. The fact that such a result could come from such a mild and reasonable action, (not to mention the very fact that you have to ask the question), is itself that troublesome smell coming from beneath the hood telling you how bad things are.

You do not live in the nation you used to live in back when Barack Obama thought marriage was only fitting for one man and one woman. The times really have changed and pointing out that they have done so is most necessary. Some folks have decided to do so by flying Christian flags in June.

I admit there is something quite childlike in the whole thing. And this is something that distinguishes the Christian flag flyers from the leftist flag flyers. They are far more serious and shrill. I say childlike as my household, at least, is hoisting the flag with something of a Narnian chuckle. Lewis described these Narnians well in his book The Horse and His Boy, and his description paints a picture of the spirit in which Christian flags are hoisted in June—

“Instead of being grave and mysterious like most Calormenes, they walked with a swing and let their arms and shoulders go free, and chatted and laughed. One was whistling. You could see that they were ready to be friends with anyone who was friendly, and didn’t give a fig for anyone who wasn’t. Shasta thought he had never seen anything so lovely in his life.”

The Christian flag is no sacrament. A man can fly one if he’d like or not, of course. The whole flag flying endeavor nearly borders on a joke. We Christians are serious about many things. But the flag flying does not fall in the sacred category. We’re taking a month to celebrate the overturn of Roe and say, “Yes, we of course do notice all of the rainbow flags out front. We have a flag, too. 

But don’t mistake our cheerful and whimsical flag flying as a cagey or disgruntled attempt at a local culture war. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are Word, water, bread, and wine. Our sword is a book that contains a message of genuine liberty, not the faux liberty of the rainbow revolution. That message is: Christ Jesus came to save sinners. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall never perish, but have eternal life.

June belongs to this holy, gracious, and Triune God just like every other month. This month, if you happen to see that old, plain and simple, Vacation Bible School Christian flag waving in the breeze, then hear—

“The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

The post An Open Letter to Moscow on Christian Flags in June appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Suffocating Leadership

You don’t have to live too long in life to find yourself under the leadership of a Mr. Micromanager. David said that the one who ruled in the fear of the Lord dawned on others like the morning light. But the leader who does not fear God dawns on other like the influenza, and everyone finds it difficult to breath. Jesus called this Gentile leadership and warned his followers not to lead like them, lording it over those under their care.

God designed a hierarchical world so nearly every one of you find yourself both under leadership and, at the same time, leading others. This leadership can be challenging, even if you’re not a tyrant. It doesn’t take much for your good aspirations to see the true, good, and beautiful formed in those under your leadership turn to into a spirit of legalistic dictatorship in which nobody is ever good enough. An organization characterized by this spirit is like an overheated engine soon to lock up due to lack of oil.

It is striking that when our Lord determined to advance His kingdom on earth, He departed earth bodily. He would not stay with his apostles to be looking over their shoulder constantly, correcting them every time they split an infinitive in their preaching. Rather, He poured out His Spirit upon them, empowering them to live and preach with authority. The whole thing is quite shockingly free, “Don’t even think about what you’re going to say when they drag you before the authorities. The Holy Spirit will speak through you in that hour” (Mark 13:11).

Learn from this to trust the Spirit in the lives of those you lead. My point is not to forbid teaching and correction. Neither is it to abdicate the leadership assignment you’ve been given. But it is to remind you that fearing God, praying, and trusting God to bring the growth are the hallmarks of leaders that fan into flame God’s gift, rather than throw a wet blanket on it.

The post Suffocating Leadership appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

One Bread and One Spirit

We have gathered around one table to partake of one bread, and this is a symbol of our unity. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Paul adds to all of this that there is one Spirit. You are, no doubt, individuals. Each of you have particular body with a particular soul. But you all do not have a diversity of Holy Spirits in you. You all have the same One Spirit living in you. He is not a mere force, but a being. He can be grieved. He comforts you. He convicts you. He produces His fruit in you. 

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. And similarly, He is the guarantee of our future unity. We have not yet attained this perfect unity. There are still many fractures in the bride of Christ. You still have relationships with other saints that are bumped and bruised. Even so, consider what our future holds given the One who already dwells within us. He will heal all of our diseases. He will mend us together into perfect unity. As you come to this table, no matter your past or present conflicts, rejoice that the Spirit is in that business. 

While you should not run ahead of the Spirit and attempt to mend a particular fracture on your own, you should walk in the Spirit, being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Trust God for it. He has already given you the down payment. We really are one in the Spirit. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Himself, and He is a stream of living water that brings healing to all wounds. So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

The post One Bread and One Spirit appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Why Stand Ye Gazing Up Into Heaven?

It would have been glorious to stand with the apostles on the Mount of Olives and behold our Lord’s ascension. As wonderful as the moment must have been, the apostles did eventually lose sight of Him. Then, two men in white apparel asked them, “Why are you standing here gazing up into heaven?”

It’s as if you can almost hear a faun or some other Narnian creature approaching the Pevensie children, just after they lost sight of Aslan, “Yes, yes, quite a sight that was. But no sense in standing around here looking at the sky. Better be getting on with it.”

There is nothing like our Lord’s ascension into heaven to set a man living right on earth. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “the secret things belong to God and the things revealed belong to us and our children.” Why are you standing here saints, trying to peer into the secret things? You know where Christ is. He revealed that much to you. Get on with living accordingly. 

Apply this principle all the way through. Why are you standing here, peering into your fickle emotions considering whether you’re a Christian or not? He has already revealed that you are by placing His triune name on your heads. Better be getting on with obedience. Your children? He has already revealed that His Word and Spirit will not depart from them. Better be getting on with raising them in the Lord. Your remaining sin? He has already revealed it is doomed. Better be getting on with killing it. Will God’s promises really manifest themselves down here? Friend, the virgin’s belly has already swollen with the Promised One. Why are you standing around gazing at the sky with silly questions? Enough of that. It’s time to be getting on with it.

The post Why Stand Ye Gazing Up Into Heaven? appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

A Meal with God

After Moses took blood and sprinkled the altar, the book of the covenant, and the people at Mount Sinai, he went up the mountain with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:9). There, on that mountain, they saw God, and they ate and drank. The covenant had been cut. The sacrifices offered. And a meal with God followed.

The same is true for us today. Here we are on Mount Zion. Through worship, we have offered ourselves to God as living sacrifices. He has announced His covenant promises to us. And now we sit down to a meal with Him as Moses did many years ago.

As you eat and drink, do so by faith. That “by faith” means that you lay hold of everything God has revealed. Is this meal just like any other? No. Paul had strong words for the Corinthians who were selfishly coming to this table, neglecting each other in the process. His rebuke was, “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?” They sinned by considering the church of God a little, insignificant thing. They had grown to treat this table as if it were just another Tuesday night spaghetti dinner on paper plates.

Learn from their mistake. Steady yourselves. Prepare yourselves. You have come to eat and drink with God. God gives us many signs in creation. The trees remind us of Christ’s cross. The dove reminds us of the Holy Spirit. But this table does more than remind us. This table is a sacrament through which we, by faith, commune with the living God. Come, renewing your love to Him. Come, renewing your love for one another. Come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

The post A Meal with God appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

Do Christian Nations Need Christian Rulers?

The post Do Christian Nations Need Christian Rulers? appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

The Sin of Trying to Save Your Life

It is natural for a man to want to save his life. And it is no sin to try to do so. But it is a sin to try to save your life in the wrong way. Not only is it a sin to go about trying to save your life in the wrong way, but you will also find out in the end that your attempt has been unsuccessful. Trying to save your life, you will end up having lost it. When Jesus was headed toward the cross, He told his disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 9:35). 

We must renounce any and all attempts to preserve our lives apart from the cross. Your life will not be saved by scheduling more “me time” into your calendar. You will not preserve yourself by an abundance of riches, or hedging all of your bets, or following what the world would call reasonable plans. Far from it.

Life is found through Calvary. Strength is found through weakness. Glory through humility. The preservation of your life is found through dying, and only through dying. 

So lay your life down for Christ and His gospel. Do not avoid your responsibilities. Do not pass the buck to the next guy in line. Train your children. Show hospitality to the saints. Forgive one another. Confess your sin to one another. Love your wives. Respect your husbands. Honor your parents. Pray for those who persecute you. Work with your hands so that you have something to give to the poor. And if it seems that the performance of any more good works like these may just leave you knocking at death’s door, then praise the Lord. Because that is where your life is found.

The post The Sin of Trying to Save Your Life appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.

He Has Shown Us The Way

When our Lord offered Himself up on the cross, He did so once for all. We do not need the continual offering of bulls and goats as Israel did, for the Lamb of God Himself has come. So we reject the teaching by some that this meal involves Christ being offered up as a sacrifice to the Father. Even so, this meal is a commemoration of that once for all sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. We remember here what Christ has done for us.

As you come to this table, recall that you do not have faith in an idea. You have faith in a man, a Godman. He was like you in every way. He sweat. He sorrowed. Nails hurt Him. Thorns caused Him pain. It took true manhood to face Golgotha. Many men may have undergone crucifixion in this world. But none of these men laid down their lives willingly on that Roman device of torture. He could have come down from the cross. He chose not to.

Then there is the cup of God’s wrath and all of the guilt, the heavy weight of shame that has driven many men to despair of life itself. Christ took all of that for His people. His righteous shoulders bore up that weight of gloom, wickedness, and suffering. 

We commemorate His glorious work now with bread and wine. Through His death, death itself suffered a deathblow. As we remember, resolve to die with Christ. You have already been crucified with Him. Go on laying down your life for one another as He did. Come proclaim His death, and as you do, proclaim what the disciple Thomas once did, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

The post He Has Shown Us The Way appeared first on REFORMATION & REVIVAL.