by Eric Holter on May 15, 2004
“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it, I shall give thanks to Thee for Thou hast answered me; and Thou hast become my salvation.”
Psalms 118:19-21
The Psalmist cries out to God “open to me the gates of righteousness,” and so my soul cries out to God “me too Lord, open your gates to me.” The Psalmist seeks the gate, and God answering his plea shows him the gate. It is such a marvelous gate that the Psalmist rejoices and gives thanks to God for answering his cry to open the gates for him.
The Psalmist asked, he got an answer, and he thanked the Lord for such an awesome answer! But in these verses the answer itself is obscured to me. Once the Psalmist received his answer, as he sees the gates, he simply exclaims “this” is the gate of the Lord. No sooner than he has declared that “this” is the gate, he goes on to thank the Lord, not specifying what “this” is, leaving me only with an impersonal pronoun to describe this gate for which he stands giving thanks. But I can’t see what he’s pointing at because I’m only reading a transcript. I want to yell stop! Wait! What is the gate? Describe it to me, I want to enter too. But before I get any detail he’s already thanking God for showing him this amazing gate, and I can’t see it. My desire see this gate is obscured by the word “this.”
Obscured, that is, until I read the next verses. “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!” This rejected stone that become a cornerstone is the gate. Jesus the stone rejected by men is the cornerstone. “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep,” John 10:7.
Now the scene is completed, the transcript is played out. The Psalmist cries out to God “Open to me the gate” and God shows him Jesus the cornerstone of salvation. The Psalmist looks at Jesus and says “this is the gate… thou hast become my salvation… the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes!”
O my soul, cry out to God like the Psalmist, “open to me the gates of righteousness” and let Him show you Jesus. Lord you are the gate of righteousness, through you I shall enter; you are my salvation I give thanks to you. Help me to see this vision of Christ my gate, my rock, my salvation and let my spirit say with fullness “it is marvelous in my eyes.” Amen.
by Eric Holter on February 20, 2004
“The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than John is here. The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”
“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came;’ and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:41-45
I think there might be a connection between Jesus’ rebuke, and his illustration of the unclean spirit. In the illustration the man who had the unclean spirit had his life cleaned, swept, and in order. One might think this is a worthy goal for any of us; to have a stable, clean, and well ordered life. But Jesus warns that such a person is in danger and at risk because he is unoccupied. His life is empty even while being balanced, and by all outward appearances – in good shape. However, it is not filled or occupied with anything greater, and so the unclean spirit may return and bring others. The connection I see between this illustration and the previous rebuke has to do with the question “what should the man be filled with, so as not to end up in a worse condition?”
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by Eric Holter on November 25, 2003
Pierced by the Word, John Piper. Chapter 1 “Jesus is the one being for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act.”
The God-centeredness of God, his self exalting purposes and works are clearly and constantly evident in Scripture. That God does all things for the praise of his glory is abundantly clear. Logically, it makes sense that God places infinite value on that which is infinitely valuable, that is Himself. So God is supremely and absolutely self exalting.
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by Eric Holter on November 20, 2003
“Be Thou to me a rock of habitation, to which I may continually come.” Psalm 71:3
Jesus is my rock of habitation. He is my rock – a strong, firm, dependable fortress. This strong fortress is also a place of habitation. He is my dwelling place, a place of comfort, rest, and security. My rock of refuge is never changing, always present, and never moving. Yet I come to it continually. I inhabit my home of rock, yet I also leave it and must frequently return.
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by Eric Holter on November 10, 2003
“Ascribe strength to God;” Psalm 68:34
I love to ascribe strength to God. When I underline various passages in my daily reading of the Word, the verses that ascribe strength to God are frequently marked. Similarly I tend to underline verses that declare my weakness and utter dependence on the strength of my God.
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by Eric Holter on November 1, 2003
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:3-12
To me the beatitudes are not a list of qualifications which determine my acceptance into the kingdom of God. Rather, I consider them as both gifts given to me in Christ, and powerful promises held out to me by Christ.
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