Bottom line up front: Encouragers in Our Midst (Part II):

What follows are three interrelated and true stories:

First, J. J. is one of my buddies who, when I see him, even from a distance, he smiles that J. smile, and you know he’s going to have a word of kindness at hand. We joke with him that it’s because he spent a career in sales. He knows how to grip-n-grin with the best of them. He just might be able to sell snow to an Eskimo. But when I’m around him, I come away feeling motivated. I nicknamed him BB years ago, for Brother Barnabas, my encourager. Even this last Sunday before the guest speaker taught on missions, J. and I joked and shook hands and embraced, and we both were energized by our time together as we discussed theology, writing, and our families.

Second, D. D. is unique among my encouragers in that he stands out for his intellectual curiosity and biblical discernment. This past Sunday, he asked, “You know, Jon, we talk a lot about Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and others from church eras past. And we laud men like R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur in the 20th and 21st centuries, but who else do you think will be remembered and matter in the long run, people of that caliber?” I praise God for D., a man who perceives the dearth of wise biblical teachers and shepherds in our day and is perceptive enough to ask such searching and important questions. I am continuing to think through his question, even now. He encourages me via his concern for depth and his commitment to Scripture.

From Scripture, I think it impossible to write upon the topic of encouragement without writing of the friendship between David and Jonathan. It was unique in that David’s nemesis was wicked King Saul, Jonathan’s father. Scripture records their friendship this way: “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:1, ESV). Then there’s the famous covenant between the noble Jonathan and the harried David:

12 And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness![a] When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 and do not cut off[b] your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May[c] the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.[d] 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.” (1 Samuel 20:12-23, ESV)

Folks familiar with Scripture will know what the sign was and how things turned out for David due to wicked Saul’s temporary victory. But ultimately, the story is an exploration of the encouragement bolstered by a genuine friend. Jonathan and David were the real deal in a world of fakes and posers. And both men gave and received encouragement from one another and from God, whom they served. The story is of course also a foreshadowing of how the kingdom of darkness is dispelled by the kingdom of light, but that is for another article.

Takeaway/encouragement: Failure is not falling down, but staying down, it has been said. I’ve certainly failed at things over my years, but I hope for myself (and for you) that we don’t fail to appreciate the encouragers in our midst; may their tribe increase.

“Son of encouragement/consolation.” That’s the meaning of Barnabas in Greek. Why does that matter? Well, speaking just for myself, the Baranabases in my life are almost unspeakably precious because they enter my life like beautiful lances of sunlight, lighting matters up physically, viscerally, and existentially. Perhaps an example will illustrate what I mean.

Because of my career in the military, I see my family very little. I am separated from them due to my job, and so I only get a few hours with them each week. I love what I have been blessed to do in the military but this lifestyle is not for the weak; it exacts some tolls from one’s life and his family–especially in terms of long periods of time apart. So, the few hours I get with the people I love most are precious. And over the years, my bride has become more and more precious to me. She has grown so much biblically, intellectually, and spiritually (we both have), that our conversations have taken on new levels of depth and meaning and connection.

Today as we returned from lunch at our favorite local Italian place, I was pulling us into the garage and we were talking about Moses in Exodus 14, and what was happening there. In short, this is the chapter where Moses and the children of Israel are caught “between Migdol and the sea” (Ex 14:2, ESV). The people of Israel are at a crossroads. They will either fail to trust the Lord and return to bondage under wicked Pharaoh in Egypt, or they will trust the Lord and see God deliver them and show them–once again–that he is the Lord, and he is faithful.

Response of a people who underestimate and/or fail to trust God: You can probably guess the majority report. Most failed to trust the Lord. Instead they were quite content to return to a position they knew was traitorous to the truth of the God they professed to trust. This is the response recorded in Scripture:

¹¹ They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Ex 14:11-12, ESV)

Here they are, the words of the man who trusts the Lord:

These words from Moses, the very human but largely faithful shepherd, a man who led and loved his people: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD . . .” (Ex 14:13, ESV).

Did you catch that? Moses trusted the Lord. He knew God would deliver his people. The people’s duties were to trust the Lord rather than the schemes of men, obey God’s servant (Moses) rather than the wicked ways of Pharaoh, Egypt, and the serpentine ways of darkness.

And so there CJ and I were, parked in the car in the garage, still speaking about Exodus 14, of being between Migdol and the sea, and the tears came to my eyes, as they often do when I speak with her about such precious truths, and she said, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD.”

And I knew–yet again–that God sent her to me as a Barnabas in my life.

In Part II, I will write about two friends from church who are likewise Barnabases, men who invariably bring light when the spiritual forces of darkness descend like clouds, but for now, I will pause. Hopefully, Part II tomorrow.

Praise God for the Barnabases in our lives. Grace upon grace.

On a recent trip to the Midwest, my affection for moving landscapes led to my stopping the rental car I was driving and pulling off the side of the country road I was on in Indiana, pulling out my old iPhone and taking a few pictures (see below). They do not do justice to the powerful impressions the Midwest made upon me that cold morning.

As l looked out, my years of reading seemed to bubble up amidst the cold. Psalm 8 came to mind:

O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
²     Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵ Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
⁶ You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
⁷ all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹ O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Detractors? I can hear detractors now: “What? Just ice and snow blanketing fields of harvested corn in Indiana?”

Well, yes. But how can one not be moved by even that? How is it not beautiful? What does it say if we don’t pause and appreciate moments and scenes like this?

For as long as I can remember, Ecclesiastes has been a book to which I return again and again. It is probably my favorite of the 66 books of Scripture. There is so much wisdom in Ecclesiastes, I am eager to teach it. (My view is that you don’t really know a subject until you can teach it clearly and accurately.)

Solomon states the theme in his conclusion: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl 12:13-14, ESV).

So, we cannot say that Solomon was unclear. He tells us plainly what the “end of the matter” is–to fear the Lord and to keep his laws. Why? Because God is light and he brings all backroom, closeted, nefarious, and hidden things to light. God exposes. God is the God of transparency. There is no hiding from God. Why? Because God knows all and will reveal all. God delights in openness and transparency.

Questions: But do schemers like the light? Do they want the light of holiness to shine upon their ways? Do they welcome transparency? Or do they instead thrive upon whispers and off-the-grid meetings? The questions answer themselves, do they not?

Encouragement: Ecclesiastes is integral to the Wisdom Literature of Scripture. Its focus is wisdom. And wisdom is inseparable from God and God’s ways. God exposes things to the light. That is why Christians are called to be people of light who expose the darkness.

May God be gracious to raise up and sustain a people of wisdom, courage, and light so that the deeds of darkness might be exposed in the light of his holiness.

For 40 years now I have read Pat Conroy. When my spirit wanes, when the world is too much with me late and soon, when I need to remember the smells of sea, feel the squish of the low country, and imbibe Southernness to remember where my soul’s life hatched, again and again I return to the books of Pat Conroy.

He created characters that rival Dickens’ characters. Pip longed for Estella; Leo longs for Sheba. Dickens had his London and southeastern England; Conroy has his Charleston, Beaufort, and the marsh.

Having spent much time of late in airports, and aboard planes, it has been as refreshing as I could have hoped to again swim in Conroy’s language and drama-filled Southernness, and reconnect with the water, wind, and ways of language. This masterful storyteller moves my soul.

If I remember correctly, South of Broad was Conroy’s last work of fiction. For me, it was truly enjoyable. It covered familiar Conroy themes–abusive church figures, the dangers of ritualism/traditionalism, family secrets, the necessity of beauty, and the perils and joys of following one’s calling.

Bottom line up front: The message of forgiveness and hope is to go to all. Some will believe and some will be saved-all who believe.

Intro: It is probably the most important Christian book of theology ever written. Why? Well, because it is God-breathed. It is of course the New Testament book of Romans, penned by the apostle Paul c. the mid-50s A.D., just a few years after the life, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I appreciate the way one theologian summarized Romans: “The power of the gospel lies in the cross, in the doctrine of justification by faith in a crucified Redeemer.”

Context: A perennial issue that troubles some people is the relationship between divine sovereignty and human freedom. Since God is sovereign in salvation, why should we evangelize? Why labor to be salt and light in a sinful and darkened world, in other words, since God already has planned the past, present, and future of his cosmos? It’s a good question, but the answer is found in Scripture. We don’t have to scratch our heads but only study what the Bible teaches. So again, here’s the question: “Since God is sovereign in salvation, why should we evangelize? Why labor to be salt and light in a sinful and darkened world, in other words, since God already has planned the past, present, and future of his cosmos?”

Questions and answers: How does Scripture answer this? Here are just some of the many places in Scripture where God answers this question:

• “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16, ESV).
• “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38, ESV).
• “All that the Father gives me will come to me, who ever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37, ESV).
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV).

What do we see in every case here? Several things: 1) The gospel is to go to all, to be proclaimed to all people. That means all races, both genders, rich and poor, young and old; all; 2) Some will reject the truth; this should be obvious to anyone who has shared the gospel; 3) Some will believe and be saved; and 4) God keeps all who are genuine believers; Christ will not ‘lose’ them or ‘cast them out.’

This issue of divine sovereignty and human responsibility is answered in Scripture itself. We need only study Scripture and submit to its authority as the Word of God.

Connection to Spiritual Fitness in the Military: In the Army, we’ve a regulation (AR 165-1) that states: “Moral Leadership Training applies Army values, the enduring social commitments embodied in our nation’s founding documents, applicable legal statutes, military regulations, professional standards and traditions, and related concepts to enhance moral standards and resilience, strengthen character, promote American identity, and empower leaders with credibility” (AR 165-1, Section IV, 9-9).  

Did you catch it? Morality is invariably taught in any system. The writers of our regulations simply term them Army Values. But there they are in black letters: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. And we are commanded to teach them, to inculcate that morality through the ranks.

Encouragement/takeaway: Just as the Christian must submit to the authority of Scripture in all things, the Soldier must abide by his lawful regulation(s). Just as the Soldier is to abide by the regs, the Christian submits to God’s Word. Just as perennial issues are addressed in our Army Regulations (ARs), so are theological issues addressed in Scripture for all who will simply study it carefully.

This evening, it struck me like sunshine on the water. It was Christopher Cross’s “Sailing.” It would not be hyperbolic to write that I have listened to the song and the album on which it is found thousands of times. Both remain among my favorites. The industry of “Yacht Rock” has since sprung up around this ilk. I am okay with that. It is beneficial for the writers, the musicians, the ones with skin in the game. So, sail on.

But here is what put so much wind in my spiritual sails. At once, as if by a zephyr, I was back in Florida, on the boat, sailing–truly–off the coast of Bradenton and Sarasota–watching my dad and stepmom sip drinks from wide-rimmed glasses (my dad had his shirt opened, a white collar and his tanned neck, the beard of a man who had driven from Atlanta to Tampa in a black Buick on I-75, with an aim of impressing–as the other boys and I dived into white-capping waters and sized each other up, boys of adolescence, swimming among dolphins, paddling among ancient creatures, finding our ways, longing for girls whom we could not understand but only pine for, their limbs tanned and alluringly long and brown in Florida’s bay sun, the briny taste upon our red boy lips, swollen with longing for mysteries we had yet to discover and uncover). It was all there–the sun-dappled bay, the longing to matter, the discovering of the beauty and utter mystery of girls who swam nearby, the taste of brine upon one’s tongue, the white vessel as she rocked across from the city and the dolphins sliced like dim sea friends and we boys did our best Christopher Cross tenor voices and sang “Sailing” and “Ride Like the Wind” and thought we had it all figured out.

Cross’ album (this was in the day of LPs) blared. As we resurfaced, I looked to the one I longed to acknowledge me (“See how deep I went, Dad?”) and the silence spoke stronger than the seas, and the taste of brine on my sun-blistered lower lip, and my buddies swimming beside me. The waters lashed, as did my learning.

This evening after PT I returned to my place for a light meal and more time in grading papers and studying. After a sandwich and chips, and after grading the last essay on Faulkner and Joyce, I opened one of my Bibles to complete another read-through of the book of Acts. I was in the last three chapters this evening–twenty-six through twenty-eight.

These are action-packed chapters: Paul witnesses to Agrippa, journeys to Rome, but only after hellish tests on the voyage. He is accused of all manner of things; he offers a magisterial apologetic of the Christian faith; he recounts his own conversion from legalism and unbelief; he endures shipwreck; and he finally arrives in Rome where he again bears witness to the truth of Christianity.

Paul’s last words in Acts are words that Isaiah penned in the 700s B.C. They are the exact same words Jesus quoted in the gospels.

In other words, Scripture is one coherent story; it’s all connected.

Here are verses 25-31 of Acts 28, the last chapter:

²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”^[f]

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[g] and welcomed all who came to him, ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:25-31, ESV)

Reflection: The more I read Scripture, the more I come away convinced of its origin being God. It truly is God-breathed. No sinner would have revealed us men to be as flawed as we are; we would have glossed over our sins or rationalized them. We would have made ourselves the heroes rather than the foolish rebels against the holy we are unless regenerated by God.

But God revealed these 66 books to us to teach us who we are, but more importantly, who God is. As Schaeffer wrote decades ago now, God is there and is not silent. He has spoken. God the Son has come. He has been crucified, buried, and resurrected. And his church continues to endure, just as promised.

Bottom line up front: In a world of lies, wisdom is to trust the character of holy God.

Context: Psalm 56 is one of those poetic psalms in Scripture that pierces the heart due to its brutal honesty. In it, David cries out to God from a posture of lamentation over the wickedness surrounding him, but he does so with an even greater trust in the God who rules even the storms and demons:

Text:

1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
² my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
³ When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

⁵ All day long they injure my cause;^[b]
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶ They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.
⁷ For their crime will they escape?
    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;^[c]
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that^[d] God is for me.
¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹ in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

¹² I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
¹³ For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Encouragement/takeaway: All of Scripture is to be read and studied Christologically. That is, how is Psalm 56 to be understood in the light of Jesus Christ and his work of redeeming particular sinners? In short, David was a type and shadow of the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. David was persecuted, but Christ was murdered. David was maligned, but Christ was crucified. David was lied about, but Christ was betrayed for a few pieces of silver and kissed on the cheek by a false brother. David was a fallen and sinful man; Christ was and is the only truly holy man who died for his people. It is wise to trust in the character of the holy Christ, who is truth incarnate, and is the savior of all who come to him in repentance and faith.

Introduction: Whose church?

Context: They are among the most well-known words of Christ. Which words? Well, the ones about the true church being Christ’s. It belongs to him. Why? Because all members of the true church are born into it via God alone. No one appoints himself or herself into Christ’s church. Will we listen to what the text of Scripture actually says? Here’s what I mean …

Text:

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20, ESV)

Teaching: It is so interesting how Jesus taught here. He poses questions to people who purport to be genuine followers, genuine Christians. In common parlance, we might say that Jesus asked his guys, “What’s the word on the street about me?” And the guys told him. “Well, some say you’re Elijah, Jeremiah, or another of the Old Testament prophets.” But then Jesus got eyeball to eyeball with his lead apostle, Peter. “But you, Peter; what about you? What do you say? I’m talking to you now.” And Peter had one of his greatest moments of theological education: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16, ESV). And will you notice what Jesus pronounced upon Peter’s accurate confession? Blessing. Divine favor. Why? Because Peter’s accurate theology about Jesus being the Christ of God was not a Petrine accomplishment; it was 100% from God. Jesus told him such: “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17, ESV). God brought Peter into salvation, not Peter. 100% God alone.

Encouragement: Very often when you step back and look at the macro church on the universal level, and when we look at our local congregations to which many of us belong and serve, it can be disheartening at times. We see staggeringly shallow teachings; we see juvenile leaders who purport to lead but who themselves are depthless and out only for their own name and fame; we see a church that apes the world rather than confronts the world with truth and grace.

We could go on and on. But will we listen to what Jesus told Peter? It’s Jesus’ church; it’s not ours. All of us who are true believers are in the true and invisible God-purchased, blood-bought church because of God’s work alone. It’s not something we accomplished via some silly decision where we purport to steer God’s sovereignty. That would mean God is dependent and his creatures are sovereign, which is utter nonsense.

God told Peter here that flesh and blood (i.e., human effort/will/decision) had absolutely zero to do with it. Peter was saved because God saved him, not because Peter somehow granted God permission; that is hubristic thinking of the worst sort. Peter was born from above, and the church Peter would serve was and is Christ’s church, not Peter’s. Peter, like the rest of us blood-bought sinners, was just a worker for the glory of the gospel.