He is Risen!

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  (Isaiah 60:1)

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

Jesus Died for Our Shame – Maundy Thursday Meditation

Isaiah 53:1-3 – A meditation by Tim Melton, Maundy Thursday, April 6, 2011, at Surfside PCA Church, Myrtle Beach, SC

Download Mp3 Here

The Pain and the Promise of “Further up and further in”

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“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!”

―C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

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A couple of days ago I had a close friend tell me that she missed the joys of her youth.  She missed the joys of “care free” days.  She said flatly, “The world sucks.”

It would be better, I think, if it really did completely suck.  The world, that is.  But the almost cruel truth is that it doesn’t.  In fact, there are so many momentary joys in life – joys that are tremendously wonderful and beautiful and true and good – joys that we take for granted until they are moving past.  And as they pass, they leave behind an overwhelming dark sorrow.  A whispering sort of sorrow that says, “This joy is leaving you and there is nothing you can do.”  We sense that this is happening and desperately we try to grab hold, but to no avail.  Despite our best efforts, these joys slip through our fingers and drift away.  Our soul laments. We long to return to those joys.  To go back to that moment of laughter.  To go back to that fleeting glimpse of mirth.  And this is what fuels our idolatry.  This is what undermines our faith.  The whispering sorrow shows no mercy.  The shadows speak again.  “You will never get this back,” they mock.  “This joy has been your last.”  This seals our grief.  Anger.  Sadness.  Isolation.  Hardness settles in.  We devise a plan to never love again.  We make a decision to close ourselves off.   Shut ourselves down.  Seal ourselves up.   The pain of lost love – lost joy – is greater than to have never loved at all.  We will never hurt this way again.

Yet, for those who follow Christ, there is a different voice.  A gentle voice that whispers “follow me.”  And this is the voice that must prevail.  We have to believe. We have to trust.  We have to hope…that the way to go back is found in the way forward – “further up and further in,” as C.S. Lewis would say.  And so, for those who have been captured by the Gospel.  We take that step into the dark unknown…with nothing but the Gentle Shepherd’s voice that softly calls our name.  “Joy will come, Tim.  Joy will come.  Further up and further in.  Believe and follow me.”

“Benediction”

Benediction (Tim Melton, May 2011)

I will Bless you, I will
We can do this easy,
Or we can do this hard
Either way, I will Bless you, and Keep you, and I will make my face to shine upon you

If you come unto me,
I will wash you and dress you,
I will hug you and kiss you,
I will put a ring on your finger
and I will wrap you in a fine, white Robe of linen,
For I will bless you. I will
I will Bless you, and Keep you, and I will make my face to shine upon you

If you should leave me, I will come after you
and If you try to run from me, I will tackle you
and I will break your legs, so that you are unable to walk

For, I will Bless you, and Keep you, and I will make my face to shine upon you
and If you should try to crawl away from me,
I will break your arms and I’ll wrap my arms around you
And throw you around my neck, and carry you where you have no wish to go
For, I will Bless you, and Keep you, and I will make my face to shine upon you

And if you struggle against my grip of loving grace
I will break your stiff-necked pride and lift your chin to see my face
For I will Bless you
And If you curse me and revile me,
I will overwhelm you with singing
and I will Bless you

If your heart should despise me
I will melt that heart of stone with the Cross, with my grace, with my heavenly tears
I will Bless you, and Keep you, and I will make my face to shine upon you and give you peace

Hear me.  Listen to me.
We can do this easy,
or we can do this hard
But know this truly –

I will Bless you
I will Bless you
I will Bless you, and Keep you, and I will make my face to shine upon you
For you are mine
So,

“May the LORD bless you and keep you,
May He make His face to shine radiantly upon you and be gracious to you
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26

Valley of Vision – “God: The Everything in everything”

God: The Everything in everything
The Valley of Vision, “God The All” – Pg. 4 (my paraphrase)

Listen to the audio by clicking the play button below:
Christ You are My Everything – Valley of Vision, p.4




O God whose conquers Everything,
There is no comfort in anything,
apart from the enjoyment I find in You,
and being engaged in serving You;

You are Everything in everything,
and all my pleasures are pleasures,
only as you make them so – no less, no more
In every way, I wish to be pleased with Your will,
no matter what it is, or ever should, or ever more will be

If You call me to decide for myself in any anything
I pray to refer to You in everything,
for You are wise and cannot sin or err,
as I am always prone to do
So may everything that belongs to me,
fully belong instead to You – My Everything in everything
Christ, You are my Everything

I rejoice to think that everything is at Your disposal,
and it is my delight to leave everything in Your hands
Then my prayers of lament turn to Holy praise,
and I adore and bless Your Holy Name – Christ, in everything You are my Everything

What shall I give You for all Your bounty?
I am bewildered in Your presence, not knowing what to do;
I long to give You something back, but I have nothing in my hands to bring,
I can only rejoice and sing that in Everything, You take care of everything
No one in heaven or earth can share this Honor;
Of myself, I can’t do anything to glorify Your blessed Name,
Yet, through Your grace in everything,
I cheerfully surrender my body, my soul, my very life to You

I know You are the Author and Finisher of my faith,
that the whole work of redemption is Yours, and Yours alone,
that every good work or thought that’s found in me
is the sole result of Your power and grace,
that Your sole motive in working in me
Is to will and to work for Your good pleasure,
So I might see Your glorious Face – in everything, My Everything,
Christ, you are my Everything

O God, it is amazing that men boast so loud
about our human power and love,
when, if You did but hold back Your grace for one moment,
we would raging devils be, defiling and destroying everything we see
This You taught me through bitter pain,
That without Your mercy, satanic darkness, reigns in me

So, guard me from myself O Christ.
And save me from my wretchedness,
So that in Your glorious righteousness,
You might be my Everything in everything,
O Christ, You are my Everything

Valley of Vision – “The Mover”

Adapted from “The Mover”
The Valley of Vision – Pg. 8 (my paraphrase)

O Supreme Moving Cause,
Spirit of God who orders the Heavens, and counts each Wave
Shepherd of my soul

May I always be subordinate to You…

Be dependent upon You
Be found in the path where You walk,
Be where Your Spirit moves
Be more and more sensible to Your Love.
Be afraid of estrangement from You

You do not move men like stones,

But You endow them with life,
Not to enable them to move without You,
But to be in Submission to the First Mover, the Giver of Life

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference

Between my receivings and my deservings,
Between the bounty I am now in and my past gracelessness,
Between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but You?
For I was no more ready to receive Christ than were others;
I could not have begun to love You, had you not first loved me,
Or been willing, unless You had first made me so.
O that such a crown, should fit the head of such a sinner!
Such high advancement, for such an unfruitful person!
Such joys, for so vile a rebel

Infinite Wisdom cast the design of my salvation into the mold of Your purchase and freedom
Let “Wrath Deserved” be written on the door of hell,
But may “The Free Gift of Grace” be engraved on the gate of heaven.

I know that my sufferings are the result of my sinning and of living in a sinful world,
Yet both will cease in heaven;

Grant me to attain Your Rest and be done with sailing against the gale,
May the breezes of Your mercy blow me toward the lighthouse of Your Word.
May Your love draw me nearer to Yourself,
Wean me from sin,
mortify me to this world,

Secure me by Your grace as I sail across this stormy sea
and at last may Your gentle breath, deliver me safe home into the harbor of Thy Love.

An Easter Meditation – John 2:13-19

You Will Tear It Down, But I Will Raise it Up Again
(I wrote this meditation on John 2:13-19 for Surfside PCA’s
Maundy Thursday Service this past week)

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
You will tear it down, but I will raise it up again.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here!
How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
…Then the Jews demanded of him,
“What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

How do we understand these words of Jesus?  What does He mean,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

“You will tear it down, but I will raise it up again.”

 To understand, we have go back to that ancient Garden, the Garden of Paradise, the very home of God, where the Lord dwelt together with Adam and Eve in peace and harmony.  This is the setting of our original design. This was our home.  Our Temple and God’s Temple. God dwelling with man.  Indeed, all the world was a temple of the Holy Spirit.  All the world was the Holy Place.  All the world was where man reclined himself in the arms of God.  And so we rested safe in Him, delighting in His Love, resting in His Grace, until that fate filled moment.  That moment when the Serpent of old cast doubt in our hearts…and we ate of that forbidden knowledge.  We swallowed darkness.  We kissed the mouth of shame.  And thus we were cast from the bosom of our God, cast away from the Garden, cast away from the Temple, the dwelling place of God. But in Genesis 3:15 is the whisper…”

“You will tear it down, but I will raise it up again.”

And all men after dwelt on the face of the earth in pain, in darkness, and in death.  But then, the Lord appeared to Abraham and a promise came.  A promise of the Garden, A Land, A People.  God would dwell with man once more.  God would not leave us forsaken.  He would not leave us without hope.  Then with the Prophet Moses, the promise grew.  A people specially chosen to dwell with Christ.  A nation of blessed ones received the Garden once more.  And so, coming down from Holy Mountain Sinai, inside these people, inside their mobile city, inside their makeshift camp, inside a tent, deep inside…the Word of God rested within a tiny box.  Here was a tiny swatch of the Garden, a footprint of paradise, here was the Tabernacle. God dwelt with men once more.

“You will tear it down, but I will raise it up again.”

Yet, the Garden had no home.  No permanent place to rest.  So King Solomon, son of David, gave a stationary home to the Garden.  Still a swatch.  Still a patch.  Only a fingerprint of Eden. Only a fingernail of Glory. Yet, this tabernacle of wood and cloth came to rest upon a land of promise, and a cornerstone was laid in Zion, upon the Holy Hill of God.  Glory.  Glory.  Glory.  Bedecked with jewels and gold, this Holy structure blazed in the noon-day sun.  God dwelled among men.  The Temple was established.  The City set on a Hill.  The City of God.  The Garden now stood still and men poured forth from all four corners of the world to get a glimpse of the Holy Wall, around the City, around the Holy Place, around the Holy of Holies, the Word of God kept safe within a tiny box, the Ark of the Covenant, where a tiny patch of Eden housed the Glory of God.

“You will tear it down, but I will raise it up again.”

But just like before, the garden could not last.  The Kings of Israel and Judah sinned against God just like their Grandparents before them.  They bit the fruit of forbidden knowledge.  They swallowed darkness.  They kissed the mouth of shame.  In 786 B.C. the glory of God departed.  Walls: burned.  The Temple: torched.  The tiny box containing the Word of God was torn from the fingers of men.  And just like Adam and Eve before them, the people were cast out of the Garden in Shame, led away in tears.  Led away in chains.

“You have torn it down, but I will raise it up again.”

70 years later a second temple was built again by Zerubbabel.  This time.  No beauty.  No glory.  Just a shell really.  The tiny box of Eden was gone.  Without the Word of God inside the Ark of the Covenant, the temple was as hollow as old woman’s womb.  Like a barren wife, the people of God laid down and wept.  They wept for the Garden.  They wept for the Glory.  The wept for the Word.  They wept, longing to be held once again in the bosom of their God. But a promise came through the Prophet Haggai.  “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? It seems like nothing to you. But now be strong.  Be strong, for I am with you. I will keep my promise.  My Spirit remains among you.  I will take care of you.  I am with you. Do not fear.  The Desired One of all nations will come to you I will fill this house with His Glory. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the one before it.”

“You have torn it down, but I will raise it up again.”

Then one night, underneath a Shepherd’s Star, the garden of Eden returned.  Inside a cursed city.  Inside a stable.  Inside a barn.  Lying in a manger.  Wrapped in swaddling clothes.  The Word of God, not in a box, but made one with a little boy.  The Word made flesh dwelt among us.  The tabernacle of God inside a baby’s chest.  The Garden of the Lord resting in a young girls’ arms.  And so He grew, the Word of God, and fulfilled Haggai’s promise.  As the very Glory of God, breezed into the temple and said “This is my Father’s House.  This house belongs to me.” And further he went.  Into the Holy Place, and behind the curtain, into the Holy of Holies.
The Word of God made Flesh said this is my Home.
And so the religious leaders demanded of him,
“What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”

And they did. They tore the temple down.

They ripped him down.  Down.  Down.  Down. They reviled him.  They dismantled him.
They insulted him. They cursed Him.
They tore that Temple of Flesh and Blood down to the ground.
They Spit on the House of God.
They mocked and jeered the Word of God made flesh.
They stripped Him down in Shame.
They Defiled the Holy Garden.
In Bloody Sorrow, they ripped that Temple down.
And like an angry barren wife, the people of God laid down and wept.
They wept for the Garden.
They wept for the Glory.
The wept for the Word.
They wept…
But not for long.  Not long at all.

Because they did what He said they would do.
But He also did what He said He would do.

For three days later, never more to fall,
Glory came back to the World,
The Garden raised up from the ground,
Sin and Death and Shame were Slain.
The Stone rolled away.  The Curse was Cursed.
All the world became The Holy Place.
And all God’s People became an everlasting Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Because, now and forevermore, yes – Jesus tore it down.

But praise and glory to the living God, Jesus raised it up again.

The Only Shamegiver became the Only Shamebearer

Yesterday I preached on the issue of Shame.  I used three particular passages.  In Genesis 3 we see where Shame entered the world and how humans were cast out of the Garden to live a life of shame and disgrace.  In Leviticus 16 we see where Shame is dealt with in regard to the Scapegoat, who is cast out into the wilderness, just like Adam and Eve.  Yet, this scapegoat is not enough for us.  In Isaiah 53 we see Jesus who became the Divine Scapegoat.  He was cast out that we may be brought in.  The Only Legitimate ShameGiver became the Only legitimate ShameBearer.

During the sermon, my daughter, Callie, drew the picture to the left that emphasizes in big letters “SHAME.”  Then above the word SHAME is the phrase “He Will Give…” and underneath is the phrase “He Will Bear…”  I thought it was pretty cool.

Shame: I Kings 19:9

In continuing my meditations on Shame, I drew this picture after reading I Kings 19:9.  Shame drives us into a cave of darkness.  Our vision is distorted.  Our wounds are open.  We withdraw from community.  Like Adam and Eve, we hide ourselves from the Lord.  In this verse, we find the prophet Elijah, full of shame and fear, running from God, hiding in a cave.  All his confidence has evaporated.  His faith has dried up.  Someone must draw him out.  He is paralyzed.  He cannot save himself.  In the darkness, Christ kneels beside him and quietly and whispers, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

“There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
– 1 Kings 19:9

Our Sin: As great as the Himalayas / God’s Grace: As big as the Universe

When we consider our sin, we should always contemplate its immensity.  Our sin is great. Devastating. Overwhelming.  In fact, our sin was so great that, in order to overcome it’s power, it took God Himself, coming in the form of a man, to die upon a Cross.  Yet, that work of Christ, is not marginally greater than our sin.  The Cross is infinitely greater.  In order to get a sense of this, I encourage to watch the following video.  Imagine our sin as the Himalayas.  The massive Himalayan mountain system is the planet’s highest and largest.  It is the home to the world’s two highest peaks – Mount Everest and K2.  Yet, what are the Himalayas compared to the universe?

In the same fashion, what is our sin, compared to the glorious riches of God’s mercy.

Psalm 8 – O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Shame: My Constant Companion

I had some great time with Christ reading in the Psalms this morning, especially Psalm 25 which says:

….To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
………in you I trust, O my God.
……Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
…….No one whose hope is in you
………will ever be put to shame,

…….Guard my life and rescue me;
…….do not let me be put to shame,
…………for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
……because my hope, LORD, is in you.

………….(Psalm 25:1-3, 20-21)

I am coming to realize that one of my most besetting sins is my sense of shame.  It has been my constant companion since my childhood.  It hides in my heart like a dark stowaway, like a hidden wayfarer, whispering lies that confound my faith in Christ.  In double-minded doubt,  I depart from Christ and continually employ my gifts as a way to compensate for my shame.  Just like my first parents – I reach for the nearest fig leaf to cover myself in vain.  But gifts are not enough.  Indeed, nothing is enough.  Fig leaves fall apart in even the smallest storm.  A gentle brush of wind is enough to disrobe me.  Yet, though the wind of shame is greater than my feeble, fig-leaf vestments, thanks be to God, it is not greater than the Cross of My Redeemer.  Jesus died to cover my shame.  He has given me His name.  His righteousness robe cannot be removed.  In Him, the darkness cannot find me; for the cross of Christ will always hide me.  I know theses truths inside my head, but how quickly my heart forgets.

Lord, help us who rest in you to repent of the shame that undermines our faith.
Help us to put our trust in you.
Help us to place our hope in you.  Guide our lives and rescue us.
Do not let us be put to open shame…
for we hide ourselves in you.

Jesus Died for Me

“Christ as our propitiation is a precious thought because it means that the wrath of God that we deserved was removed. Christ absorbed it, and took it away. He became the curse for us and took away the judgment of God. God was propitiated by God.”
- John Piper in his sermon, “The Greatest Thing in the World”

Jesus died for me. What a thought. When I meditate upon that thought, I scarce can take it in. It is almost too terrible, too wonderful, too scandalous. In the scriptures, there are two kinds of death described – physical and spiritual. Certainly, when we say that – “Jesus died for me” – we are not simply saying that Christ died a physical death in our place, for we all, like everyone who has lived before us, will die a physical death.  Don’t misunderstand me.  The physical death of Christ was certainly necessary, for our propitiation, but it was not enough.

Trying to go back to what I think I know

Our College Bible Fellowship finished up our study on the life of Peter this past Sunday morning.  The passage we have been looking at was from John 21:1-19.  There are several things in this passage that speak deeply to me. In this post, I would like to share just a few things in particular.

Trying to go back to what I think I know

” 1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”

Do I Believe in Jesus?

I teach a college aged Bible Study on Sunday Mornings.  Over the past several months we have been going through 1 John and as we walked through the book one thing seemed to emerge right out of the pages and dance before our very eyes…Jesus is Grace.  When John speaks of Loving one Another – he is not talking about a love that can be separated from the Love of Christ.  When John speaks of holiness he is not talking about a holiness that exists apart from the Holiness of Christ.  When John says “Do not Sin”  he is not talking about behavior modification, he is talking about the idolatry that leads us away from Christ.  Christ is our Grace.  There is no Grace apart from Him.  John culminates this idea in 1 John 3:23 – “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

The First Command?  “Believe in Jesus!”  There is no other way to please God.  Believe in the name of Christ!  This is our righteousness.  This is our Grace!  And this gives us Grace upon Grace to obey the Second Command…to Love one another as He has commanded us.

Isn’t it strange that the Apostle should feel the need to command us to Believe?  I think most of us assume that we believe.  We think that that should be the easy part.  But it isn’t.  In fact, there could not be anything more difficult for us.  ”Believing in Jesus” really is the command that is impossible without Grace.  We need Jesus, so that we might believe in Jesus.  Everything else in the Christian life dances forever around this central truth.  Whenever we move away from believing in Jesus, we move toward idolatry.  And when we move away from Jesus, we move away from love, away from forgiving, away from grace.  This is why John ends his letter with this abrupt warning…”Little Children, keep yourselves free from idols.”