by Eric Holter on February 5, 2007
Exodus Chapters 32 and 33
I try to maintain twin objectives in my day-to-day spiritual life. They run parallel to each other, like train tracks. If one or the other is lacking, bent, or damaged, my spiritual life tends to derail. One track is the daily mortification of sin, and the other is actively pursuing the glory of God in Christ. Seeing and knowing God is the positive and ultimate goal, but killing sin is the necessary and often more tangible exercise I engage in. Killing sin does not equal seeing God, nor does success in battle automatically result in a view of the glory of God. But, failure to mortify sin is certainly an effective preventor of seeing and delighting in God’s glory.
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by Eric Holter on October 5, 2006
“The sons of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’”
Exodus 16:3
It seems impossible that Israel would grumble so soon after seeing such a wonder as the parting of the Red Sea and the wholesale destruction of Pharaoh and the army of Egypt. Within three verses in the text (three days in real time for the Israelites) they go from the heights of praise singing and dancing, to grumbling against Moses for water. And then again, they grumbled about food, and then for water again. As an outside observer reading the story it’s easy to criticize Israel, but guess what? I do the same thing almost every day. Such is the blindness of unbelief. It will not be satisfied with the past works of God. It will not trust in the future works of God. At the moment of need it grumbles and complains rather than trusting in God.
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by Eric Holter on June 5, 2006
They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?”
Genesis 44:7-8
Joseph’s brothers protested against the accusation of theft. They were indignant, even offended, that such men as themselves would be accused. They appealed to their character and their righteousness against the charge, “far be it from your servants,” “how then could we steal.” Their protest against the specific charge was genuine since they had been set up by Joseph. Yet when the silver cup was discovered they tore their clothes and fell down. They confessed before Joseph “God has found out the iniquity of your servants.”
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by Eric Holter on September 10, 2005
“When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”
Luke 7:29-30
The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance, so one could interpret this passage “the people acknowledged God’s justice for they had repented, but the Pharisees rejected God’s purpose for themselves because they had not repented.” Looking to God from a position of repentance causes us to delight in Him and acknowledge His justice. Whereas engaging Him from a position of pride, without repentance, only makes us like the Pharisee, perplexed, suspicious and arrogant, as we ultimately reject God’s purposes, His forgiveness, and His salvation.
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by Eric Holter on June 5, 2005
“When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.’”
Luke 2:48
For three agonizing days Joseph and Mary searched for their precious Son. There have been a few times and places where I have lost track of one of my children. Those few anxious minutes felt like hours as the sickening feeling of anxiety welled up in my gut. How much more painful to lose track of a child for three days? Life need not deliver such extreme forms of distress in order to provoke my anxiety; its small doses produce dread and anxiety easily enough. My inner turmoil is a reflexive consequence of such circumstances.
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by Eric Holter on February 5, 2005
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
Romans 2:4
One of my motivations for putting pen to paper when I meditate on the Word of God is to save myself from thinking lightly about the riches of God. My joy in reading and pondering God’s Word fades quickly when I don’t write down my observations. If I move too quickly over the Word I’ll think lightly of them. But if I slow down and let them sink in, they gain weight. Writing out my thoughts slows me down – it requires me to think more deeply about the words. Not only has the discipline of writing caused me to give more weight to the Word, but it also helps me to handle the Word in a more fitting way, in a manner that reflects the treasure chest of glory that it truly is.
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by Eric Holter on January 15, 2005
“…You will all fall away, because it is written…”
Mark 14:27
Jesus states, “You will all fall away, because it is written….” Peter strenuously objects, as do all the disciples. Nevertheless, as it is written so shall it come to pass. As much as Peter does not like it – and at the moment when he hears it he cannot conceive of it – he will, with all certainty, deny his Lord. It is impossible for it not to happen. It is written – it is in print, the ink has dried. Peter’s refusals and denials do not change the fact. It was ordained by God and recorded in His word. “I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”
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by Eric Holter on July 5, 2004
“Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more.”
“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Zephaniah 3:14-15, 17
At, first, when I read verses like these in Zephaniah, verses that extol me to shout with joy, or to rejoice and exalt with all my heart, at first my heart rises with the possibility of such an astounding and consuming joy in God. Quickly following this spark, however, sadness often comes because my heart, in fact, is not like this. Such exuberance of joy and gladness displayed in such active expressions as shouting for joy are not typical of my emotional currents. Yet the occasion that calls for such joyful, glad celebration has been more completely delivered to me than it had been for those to whom these verses were originally written. They originally promised a physical deliverance from armies of oppressors. I have been given a greater deliverance; I have been delivered from sin. All God’s judgments have been thoroughly taken away from me. He has utterly defeated my enemies. Why shouldn’t my heart rejoice and shout joyfully since I have received, in full, these promises?
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by Eric Holter on May 5, 2004
“I called out of my distress to the LORD,
And He answered me.
I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
For You had cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current engulfed me.
All Your breakers and billows passed over me.
So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your Holy Temple.’ “
Jonah 2:2-4
Listen carefully my soul. What do you say when God, in his inscrutable ways, casts you into the deep? What happens in your heart when you feel expelled from the Lord’s presence? Whether you are engulfed as the result of your own sin, fleeing from the Lord like Jonah, or whether your trial is for no apparent cause, such as Joseph’s experience in prison, listen carefully to what your heart says in that day. O that you would say “Nevertheless I will look again toward thy Holy Temple!” Trials, whether self-inflicted from sinning, or purely from your heavenly Father’s perfect design for your holiness and purity, will come. Such times of affliction are appointed to you. What will you say when you are in such distress? Will you look toward the one who afflicts you, the one who casts you into the deep, and cry out to Him for help? Will you set your face steadfast toward His Holy Temple? Will you remember the Lord and look to Him to bring you up from the depths?
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by Eric Holter on January 5, 2004
The Mortification of Sin, John Owen. Chapter 4. point number 1
“The use of means for the obtaining of a peace is ours; the bestowing of it is God’s prerogative.”
John own writes this sentence in the context of waiting on God to restore peace to us, after we’ve repented of a particular sin. His advice is that we do not jump too quickly from confession to restoration. Yes it is blessedly true that we have been fully forgiven even from the time of Christ’s death on the cross. Yet God is the one with whom we are seeking peace, when we turn from our hostile activity of sinning, and so is God who must bestow it. Forgiveness and restoration are ours by possession; they have, in fact, been given to us in their entirety through Christ’s death, once for all. Yet its application, such that we are fully healed and relationally restored to God happens incrementally. God is faithful and dependable. We need not fear his rejection, but we must wait for Him to touch us, and move by his Holy Spirit, thus bring us deep and experiential peace. We must use all the means God has ordained – repentance, confession, restitution, and repudiation, among others, yet God is the one who will decide when it is best for us to obtain what we seek by them, in this case, peace with God.
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