Editor’s Note: Click here to access a free download of the first chapter of 1 Peter: The Grace of Exile by Nate Holdridge. The following is from the back cover:

In a world where the true church finds itself increasingly on the margins, it’s easy to feel discouraged.

But what if this life on the margins is a gift?

In The Grace of Exile, we embark on a journey through 1 Peter, a letter written to exiles, and discover that the life of a religious minority, though filled with hardships, is infused with God’s true grace.

As we navigate the challenges of living in a post-Christian world, this study offers a fresh perspective on what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ. We’ll learn to rejoice in what we have in Christ, even when the world rejects us, and explore biblical strategies for building up our gospel communities.

Whether serving on a university campus, working in a corporate environment, or engaging online, The Grace of Exile will equip you with the wisdom needed to navigate your setting as a follower of Christ.

You’ll be comforted by the life Peter describes, knowing that you don’t have to fight, flee, or conform.

Instead, you’ll discover the exciting possibilities of life on the margins—grace is there! As Peter declares, “I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it” (1 Peter 5:12).

Join us as we shift from maintenance to mission, from settling to sojourning, and from accepted to alien, learning to stand firm in the grace of exile.

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to share the release of my latest book, “Nehemiah: How God Renews His People.” In this exploration of the Nehemiah narrative, we delve into a story that transcends the life of its central human character to reveal a more profound truth about our ever-faithful God. This book is not just about Nehemiah; it’s about God’s unceasing work in renewing His people.

Throughout history, we have seen periods where apathy, disobedience, and defeat have distanced God’s people from their divine purpose. Once intended to be a beacon of God’s light, Israel found itself in such a state. But God initiated a renewal process in His relentless love and mercy. He called upon Nehemiah, setting in motion a transformative journey for an individual and an entire nation.

In “Nehemiah: How God Renews His People,” we will study each pivotal moment of Nehemiah’s journey, drawing parallels to how God works today. This book is a testament to God’s unwavering commitment to revitalize and renew. Whether it is you, your family, or your church seeking rejuvenation, this Nehemiah study offers a guiding light back to the heart of God’s renewing power.

I invite you to join me in this journey of rediscovery as we learn how the lessons from Nehemiah’s time are just as relevant and powerful for us today. Click this link to access a free download of the first chapter:

Nehemiah Book – Chapter 1 — Nate Holdridge

In Christ,
Nate Holdridge

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Paul was in the middle of encouraging the Corinthian church to be generous when he drew their attention to the generosity of Christ. It’s an amazing statement, full of beautiful Christmastime truth. Today, let’s consider three things: the wealth Jesus abandoned, the poverty Jesus embraced, and the reason he made that choice.

The Wealth He Abandoned

First, let’s consider the wealth Christ abandoned. Paul said, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich…” (2 Cor. 8:9). Though he was rich. What riches did Christ possess? How was he rich?

In a word, Christ had glory. Before he went to the cross, he prayed to God, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). Even the wealthiest people in the world should not be permitted to call their situation glory. Glory is a position reserved for God alone—the glory of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Glory is divine. Before Jesus came, as Paul said, “He was in the form of God” (Phil. 2:6). Glory.

In his glory, Christ had incredible and incomprehensible wealth. He had wealth of position—no one was more supreme than him. The Bible calls him “the firstborn over all creation,” meaning there is nothing in any galaxy that is his equal (Col. 1:15). He had wealth of possession—no one owned more than Jesus. The Bible says “all things were created through him and for him,” meaning every single thing belongs to him (Col. 1:16). He also had wealth of power—no one is as powerful as Jesus. The Bible says everything was made “through him “ and that “in him all things hold together,” meaning we would not even exist without the creative and sustaining power of Christ (Col. 1:16-17). And he had wealth of peace—none of us could comprehend the total love, joy, gladness, and peace found within the Triune God.

Position. Possessions. Power. And peace. All of them belonged to Jesus to an infinite and unmeasurable degree. You could combine all the wealth of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates, and it would pale in comparison to the wealth that belonged to Jesus. All the possessions and power and peace found among us are not even a fraction of what Jesus had because he had all of it in infinite quantity. This is what Paul meant when he said Jesus was rich.

The Poverty He Embraced

Second, let’s consider the poverty Christ embraced. Paul said, “yet for your sake he became poor” (2 Cor. 8:9). The word Paul chose could signify abject poverty; Christ embraced a beggarly existence on that first Christmas.

When we consider the poverty of Christ, it is easy to fixate on the impoverished nature of his birth, life, and death. He was not born like the wealthy of his age. And he certainly wasn’t born into the luxury of ours. Instead, he was born among stabled animals in an overcrowded Bethlehem. His first cradle was a borrowed feeding trough. He was wrapped, not in premium linen or a custom Esty sleep sack, but strips of cloth.

And then Jesus’ early years were spent as a refugee in Egypt. Warned by an angelic dream, Joseph likely used the gold, frankincense, and myrrh from the worshipping kings to evade the murderous desires of Herod. Fleeing by night, they remained on the run until Herod’s death.

And then Jesus’ private adult life was one of poverty. He lived in a rocky hillside town called Nazareth. Population? Maybe two hundred, and certainly less than five hundred. It seems he learned Joseph’s trade and became the town carpenter—hardly a wealthy existence.

And when Jesus’ public ministry life began, it leaned heavily on the generosity of others. He said, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but I have nowhere to lay my head” (Mat. 8:20). Poor.

But none of these elements of poverty are Paul’s point. He’s not focused on how poor Jesus was as a human. What he’s focused on is that Jesus became a man. So while we might think he had hardly anything and lived in such poverty, heaven’s vantage point is different. The great sacrifice wasn’t in becoming the poorest of men but in becoming a man in the first place! As Paul said, “He emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men”(Phil 2:7).

The very being who was there at the beginning of all things with Father God, God himself, the One who made all things and in whom life is found, the light of the world, he became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-4, 14). All the way to the point of death. The ultimate poverty.

And all of this was by choice. Paul said, “He became poor.” This indicates choice. He decided to take up humanity. And when he did, he became poor.

Becoming poor—going from wealth to poverty—is harder than knowing only poverty because your past wealth is a constant memory nagging at your current situation. But the most difficult of all is living in poverty while still being abundantly wealthy, choosing not to access the vastness of your riches so you can embrace the pain. No one does that. But Jesus did.

The Reason For His Choice

Lastly, let’s consider the reason for his choice. Why did he decide to do what he did? Paul said, “So that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

Why did Christ do what he did? Why did he abandon his wealth and embrace our poverty? It was all for us so that through his poverty, we might become wealthy.

Paul is alluding to the reason Christ came—his substitutionary death for us. Baby Jesus’ life was on a straight line to the cross. And that death, followed by his resurrection, would unlock a world of blessings for all who trust in him. By believing in Jesus, we become rich.

What wealth becomes ours in Christ? It’s the same wealth he abandoned when he came to us in the first place. Remember that wealth? Position. Possessions. Power. Peace. What do I mean?

We gain the wealth of position—God becomes our Father. He becomes our loving provider and guide and protector and friend. We are placed into Christ, and we become coheirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). The Father sees us as he sees his only begotten Son.

We gain the wealth of possessions—in Christ, we have access to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). And since this world belongs to him, we will one day inherit it when he returns. And, even now, since all things are through him and for him, he has given us all things to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17).

We gain the wealth of power—in the sense that every principality and power was defeated at the cross of Christ, so now we have the resources we need to enter into victory over habits and tendencies that drag us down (Col. 3:13-15). He holds us together and gives us strength. We can overcome.

And we gain the wealth of peace—because of Jesus, we have the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). These elements—the peace of Christ—can rule our hearts today (Col. 3:15).

All these elements—and many more—became ours when Christ came into our lives. And 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us that Jesus abandoned his wealth and embraced our poverty all so we could become rich. He placed us first. He loved us (John 3:16).

Conclusion

Last year, actor William Shatner of Star Trek fame briefly went into space in Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin space shuttle, becoming the oldest living person to ever travel to space. In his book, he recounted the experience, stating that he was overcome with incredible sadness when confronted with the vastness and darkness of space and the warmth and smallness of earth.¹ They call it the “overview effect,” and apparently, it has happened to many astronauts over the years. On earth, we are confined within our borders and can easily dismiss the hardships in other nations or continents, but from space’s vantage point, war, hunger, and poverty become overwhelming.

And if that overview effect can be felt by finite beings, what must it be like for God? He can peer into every human heart. He has witnessed every act of evil. He has seen every abuse and heard every cry.

So what did he do? He denied himself the privileges of divinity, embraced the poverty of humanity, and, through his cross, made the way for us to become rich with him. On the cross, his human body consumed every act of evil, every abuse, and every cry. He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). And as wrath was unleashed on him, he performed the greatest of rescue missions, becoming the poorest so that we might become the richest.

References:

(Proverbs 2:1-5, ESV)

1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

One of my favorite figures in church history is William Tyndale. An Englishman who lived during the tumultuous times of the reformation, he had a strong conviction to get the Bible distributed in English. First, he became a master of languages (Latin, Greek, and Hebrew). Then he painstakingly created his own English translations of the Old and New Testaments. Then he found underground printing presses that would be willing to make copies. And since his activity was illegal at that time, he pressed on in secret. He was arrested and tortured for the work. There were even times a decade of work was destroyed by the authorities or by fire. But, every time, Tyndale got back to work.¹ The word was that important to him.

And, in the last stages of his life—which for him were his late thirties and early forties—when he was in exile, the King of England offered to extend him mercy and allow him to return home. But Tyndale had a long held condition for his homecoming—would the King and Roman Catholic Church permit an English translation of the Bible? Tyndale said he would never write another word or do another thing as long as the Bible was not allowed to circulate in his countrymen’s native tongue. It was his only condition for returning to England. Alas, the King declined, and Tyndale spent the rest of his years in exile until he was finally captured and burned at the stake in 1536.²

I wanted to begin with Tyndale’s story because it is a good one to help frame the importance of personal Bible reading. His story highlights that we should take this privilege seriously. Men and women have spilled much blood, shed many tears, and become drenched in sweat for the treasure of Scripture. So we should not take the marvelous book we hold in our hands for granted. At great cost, it was brought to us—it is the words of eternal life.

The snippet of Proverbs 2 above is one of many Bible passages that exalt the word. From Genesis to Revelation, lives devoted to the word, people who are creatures of the word, are portrayed as lives well lived. And this section of Proverbs affirms that concept. The person who receives and treasures the commandments and wisdom of the Heavenly Father, inclining their ears and hearts to understand its wisdom, will enjoy an abundant and good life (1-3). To value the word as you would the most precious metals or gems, will lead you to a life of knowledge, understanding, soundness, integrity, victory, discretion, and deliverance (4-19). To rejoice over and submit to the word leads you to the paths of life (19-20). You will not be cut off from God’s blessings but will remain and be rooted in them (21-22).

This is typical of the way the Bible encourages us to read the Bible. It does not say, “read it.” Instead, it says, “Devote yourself to it. Discover it. Fuss over it. Celebrate it. Seek it like the most sacred of all treasures. Buy it. Do anything you can to gain knowledge of it. And let it be the master guide over your life. It is the very word of God.” Reading it is good, but God wants us to dive in and swim in it!

I do not, however, want you to expect rapturous joy during every moment of your Bible reading life. I fear I have lost many of you already because you have tried in vain to engage the Bible and you feel it has not worked. Perhaps you have concluded the flaw is in the Bible—too stiff, too long, too winding, too far removed from modern life. Perhaps you have concluded the flaw is in you—too distractible, too undisciplined, too unknowledgeable, or too busy.

I cannot paint an overly rosy picture of my Bible reading, but it has been a foundational element of my life. Nor will I, in an attempt to be relatable, act as if it is always a laborious experience. It is not. In general, though my Bible reading is difficult and slow-moving at times, I have found great solace, comfort, guidance, and instruction in it.

What follows are eight suggestions that come out of my own life and experience, all given with the hope of helping you read the word.

1. By Listening

I want to begin by saying that the title of this article is not a good one. I do not really want you to know how to read the Bible. When I read a book, I am alone. When I read a book, I can silence it any time I would like. When I read a book, I initiate. But the Bible is not a mere book—it communicates the very heart of God. It is God’s way of communicating with us. When reading the Bible, I am not alone, because God is alive, aware, and paying attention to whether I hear him or not. When reading the Bible, I am not able to silence it because God has spoken through it (and is speaking through it) whether or not I open my eyes and ears to it. And when I read the Bible, I am not the initiator because God made the first move.³ His word is his way of engaging us.

And many people would rather read than listen. Imagine a husband, mindlessly scrolling through sports scores, political news, and social media feeds, all while his wife tries to share her heart with him. For him to put down his phone and listen to this woman with whom he shares his bed would be far more emotionally demanding than to continue logging his phone time. This is why many Christians prefer to merely read the word rather than listen to God in the word. So, when you approach the Bible, approach it as God’s voice, his heart in print form, communicating with us.

Try to learn something about God every day. The Bible will give you direction and guidance in life, but it is not about you. It is about God and his plan to redeem a broken world. With that in mind, see what each day teaches you about him. The blood of Christ gains us access to God, and the word he has given us helps us learn of him.

2. With Humility

Any approach to the word requires humility. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). If we come to the word with a sense of spiritual need, then we will find a way into the things of the kingdom.
What I mean is that we must approach the Bible with an open heart about anything the Lord might need to address in us. If we open the word with a feeling that there are two or three overt and obvious sins we battle against, but in every other area we are set, then we will not hear God speaking to us about the more subversive sins that are disrupting our lives. It takes humility to hear God about sins like anger, jealousy, sloth, racism, pride, fear, arrogance, etc.

Without humility, a poverty of spirit before God, a sense that God has all the spiritual wealth and that we must receive it from him, we will often read the word as a way to see ourselves as the good people and others as the bad people. But this would be an incorrect reading of Scripture—all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And even after we are justified in Christ, we must go to him with open hands to hear anything he might need to say to us.

3. Consider it the “Real World”

Sometimes, after another Sunday gathering filled with worship to God and hearing from God, we might quip, “Well, now it’s time to go back to the real world.” What I want to say here is that the world as God sees it, the truth as God lays it out, reality as spoken by God through prophets and apostles, is the real world.

Our normal way of seeing the world is actually the phony world. Behind this world of economics and politics and physical desires is the true, spiritual dimension. God is there, along with principalities and powers, and when you enter into the world of the Bible you enter into the real world. You are getting a peak behind the curtain. What makes us do what we do? The Bible will tell you. What satisfies a human heart? The Bible will tell you. What makes the nations rage? The Bible will tell you.

4. With Patience

Do not be too discouraged with the hard days. Look, if you are anticipating a Bible reading life that feels as easy as watching Netflix, let me burst that bubble. The Bible is not a Harry Potter series. It takes some thought, study, and prayer to navigate. Dry moments will come. At times, you will not understand what you are reading. In a sense, this is a test of the human heart. Do you want to know God? Stick with it, ask questions, dig, and find him.

Commit to a reasonable amount of reading each day. Reading the Bible through in one year is a noble venture, but many people find that tough sledding. My preference is to read the Bible through. A few times through it has taken me less than a year, but mostly it takes me a year or year and a half. What I am trying to say is, pace yourself in a way you can keep up. It would be better to read the Bible in three years than never to read it at all. For starters, a plan like the F260 Bible Reading Plan, available on the YouVersion Bible App, could get the ball rolling.

5. With Discipline

Set a non-negotiable portion of your day aside. For me, the first part of my day, a firstfruits sacrifice if you will, is the right part of the day to set myself apart to hear from God. Some people’s work schedules legitimately prohibit this, while other people’s work schedules fictionally prohibit this. Either way, find a portion of the day which works for you, a time you know you can generally count on for Bible reading.

Have a way to record thoughts and questions and prayers. Nothing fancy is required here. I have used pieces of paper, journals, and Evernote. You might want to write a long and flowy diatribe about God. I do not recommend it during Bible reading. Brief bullet points and sentences will likely cut it. Remember, this is a time to get his word in, not your words out.

Have a group for accountability. Especially when you first start, or when you walk away from Bible reading, a group can be of great help. When the group has a reading plan, you will more often stick with the reading plan. I have watched my middle-school-aged daughter stick with her Bible reading because she knows her discipleship group is going to talk about those passages the following week. Some sort of group like this can serve as a stimulant to staying in the word.

6. With Trust

Trust that God knows what you need better than you do. While we often think we know what we need to hear about, God often has a different agenda. He sees the end from the beginning, and in his omniscient state, he knows what is of vital importance. So you might approach the word thinking, for instance, that you need guidance navigating a human relationship. God, however, might want you to hear more about, as an example, the atonement. But as the truth of God’s words gets inside you, wisdom and discernment for relationships will be on the rise.

7. With Your Mind

Think about what the passage says and means before you think about what it means for you. We often jump straight into application, but your best insights and applications will flow from first thinking about what it said and meant to the first hearers of the passage. For example, we do not like the idea of being lukewarm believers, but what did that mean to the church in Laodicea? This is where some background material, commentary, or a decent study Bible could be helpful. Often, however, one will not need additional study aides to ask the question: what does this mean? What would the original readers think?

Ask questions about the passage. What does this passage tell me about God? Is there anything in this passage I need to obey? Has God made a promise or vow in this passage, one that I should believe for my life today? Are there any attitudes or perspectives in this passage that I must put on? What do I learn of Christ and his redemptive plan from this passage? Are there any prayers in the passage I can pray today? Are there any admirable habits in the passage I must ask the Holy Spirit to help me grow into? What do I see of Christlike character in this passage? How might the Spirit want to grow me into that image?

Read a short introduction to each book of the Bible you start. The Bible is one book, yes, but it is unique in that forty authors communicated its one cohesive message in sixty-six books over a period of 2,000 years. Because of this, it is good to read some background material for each new book of the Bible you read. Even the brief introductions found in most study bibles are enough to get you going. If you would like something a little more robust, I would recommend Talk Thru The Bible by Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa.

Have one trusty Study Bible or commentary resource for reference. I think it is a good idea to have a good study Bible or commentary nearby. I do not think you should read it every day, but sometimes you will come across a Bible passage which needs some help to understand. Study Bibles will often suffice at answering your initial questions about a given Bible passage, and a light commentary will often take things a little bit further.

8. Through the Cross

See the word through the lens of Jesus Christ. Where in the passage do you see Jesus? Who in the passage reminds you of Christ? What problem in the passage did Jesus come to solve? How are the promises or predictions of this passage fulfilled in Jesus?

Resist the temptation to read the Bible as if it is a book all about you. It is not. The Bible is designed to communicate who God is to this world and His plan to redeem that world. Everything in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, points to Christ (Revelation 19:10). If we only see the Gospel in the Crucifixion accounts, then we are not reading the Bible intelligently. See “Jesus vs. Sin” in “David vs. Goliath.” See how the Spirit of Christ rebuilds a human life when reading the rebuilding project led by Nehemiah. See Jesus’s willingness to reconcile with men who betrayed him in the life of Joseph, a man who was willing to reconcile with brothers who betrayed him and left him for dead. Search for the Gospel in every portion of scripture you read.

Conclusion

Get started. Step out. Start reading. Get moving. A long journey requires a first step. With the knowledge that it will not always be an easy task, step out into a life of Bible reading. I think you will find the results immensely rewarding, and your growth as a Christian and person will accelerate as you get into God’s word.

In the Old Testament Law, God said that new Israelite kings needed to inaugurate their reign with the Scripture. He said:

18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”

(Deuteronomy 17:18–20, ESV)

We, too, need the word. Let us emulate these kings of old and turn evermore to the pages of Scripture. God has spoken. Let us hear him.

References:

It was the late nineties, cassette tapes were still a thing. Each semester, each of us would spend our hard-earned cash to buy a box of cassettes that contained through-the-Bible teachings by Pastor Chuck. Each week, one of our Calvary Chapel Bible College (CCBC) assignments was to listen to six or seven of those teachings, taking notes along the way.

Chuck, of course, was notorious for his deliberate cadence, complete with long pauses that made you wonder if it was time to flip the tape to side B. Because of his slow pace and the many hours it took to complete this assignment, lots of us toyed with ways of speeding up the man. Some students chose the deluxe option, purchasing variable speed tape players that enabled them to retain Chuck’s baritone pitch. Others went the more frugal route and used the high-speed dubbing option on a dual deck to put Chuck on chipmunk mode. Intelligible? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.

Well, it’s an unwritten rule in Bible college settings that some people must appear to be more holy than others, and one big mark of holiness in my era was to refuse to speed Chuck up. If you were a single-speeder, you were right up there with Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, or the Apostle Paul. If you must know, I was not in this holy elite but only admired them from the base of the mountain. On the outskirts of the Tabernacle, I peered in from time to time at these ultra-spiritual pillars of consecration, wondering if I would ever have the chops to take up my cross, die to myself, and listen on single speed.

This question was put to me afresh one beautiful Saturday morning in the middle of a sunny spring semester. I had just worked a graveyard shift and was about three hours into sleep when a neighboring student began blasting their Chuck tapes at an ungodly volume. Immediately, I lost all sense of admiration for every single-speeder on campus and began judging this self-righteous Pharisee for their need to let us all know how holy they were. There I was, in my innocence, trying to sleep, but they had to let the whole world know of their resolve and conviction. They should have been content to refuse to let their left hand know what their right hand was doing, but instead, they needed to let the whole student body know that single speed was the only true path to holiness.

I was livid, and after trying to power through it and fall back asleep, the astounding volume threw me out of my bed and to the back window of my dormitory. “Turn Chuck down!” I shouted. I’m not a quiet guy, and it was not a quiet plea. I knew it would do the trick, and I went back to bed.

But the minutes ticked by, and there was no discernible change in the volume. I lay there shocked, in total disbelief that someone would so forcefully throw their conviction in my face. I thought of the Judaizers in Paul’s day—this must’ve been how Paul felt.

So I opened the window again and announced my plea. “Turn Chuck down!” Again, nothing. Two or three more times, I attempted to break through the sound barrier to penetrate the Pharisaical heart of my fellow student—”Turn Chuck down!”

But nothing changed. Finally, defeated, I decided to begin my day, but I couldn’t get any decent Bible reading done in an environment like that. There was too much noise from outside the room and inside my flesh. I had to get out of there, so I packed my bag and headed to the library.

Now, the front door of my dorm led to a large concrete porch that overlooked a beautiful grassy hill. When I opened that door to leave my room, I was a bit surprised to find that porch and hill filled with people. Hundreds of my fellow students sprawled all over the hillside, attentive and alert. And I was even more surprised to see, at the bottom of the hill, at a small pulpit, Pastor Chuck Smith teaching his Saturday morning book of Acts class!

Avoiding eye contact, I put my head down and mouthed the words, “Turn Chuck down!” I hoped against hope that no one had heard me. But again, I’m not a quiet guy.

This joyful and embarrassing memory aside, like so many others, I thank God often for the exposure to the Word of God that I found through Pastor Chuck. His steady exposition, on tape and in person, gave me a firm foundation and a model to emulate. And now, many years later, I celebrate the grace of God and the knowledge of Scripture that poured through that man to my heart. I praise God for his life and ministry and pray that the work God began in him will find its faithful completion in so many of us who received it.

To whom much is given, much is required. And through Chuck Smith, single speed or otherwise, many of us were given a ton.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “toxic masculinity.” I think I understand—and even, to a degree, can sympathize with—the phrase. Terrible men have and do troll the earth. In their wake are hurt women, broken families, confused generations, and warring nations. They damage everything and everyone around them. Like nuclear waste, they’re toxic.

In many minds, however, the words have been reversed. For some, masculinity itself is what is toxic. And this negative view of manhood has created a general void in our society, one where boys have no good vision for how to be men, and many less than savory manhood-models have rushed to center stage, only worsening the problem. But the masculinity the Bible describes is like a tonic that brings healing to families, churches, and societies—tonic masculinity.

In Titus 2, Paul instructed a young pastor about how to exhort the people in his church. Paul’s instructions aim at the only four quadrants that exist in an adult congregation. Older men. Older women. Younger women. And younger men. Though we all go through a process of shifting from young to old, everyone falls into one of those categories. Today, we’ll consider the first category:

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. (Titus 2:2)

Paul starts with the older men for a reason—they can be an incredible blessing to the church.

The Bible is filled with examples of older men who blessed God’s people. Caleb and Joshua trusted God and led Israel into victorious battles in their old age. Noah built the ark to save his household and humanity all the way into his latter years. Abraham and the patriarchs did some of their finest work as old men. John wrote Revelation in his eighties or nineties. And Paul himself served Christ well all the way to his death as a relatively old man.

But who is this older man Paul tells Titus about? “Older” and “younger” are such relative terms. When I was twenty, I thought forty-five was ancient. Now I’m not so sure. And when it comes to the Bible, we’ve got a pretty wide range to work with. Jesus died at age thirty-three. Methuselah at 969. Who is the older man?

The term Paul used is the same one he used to describe himself to Philemon, and he was probably about sixty when he wrote that letter (Phil. 9). And John the Baptist’s dad used this term to describe himself, objecting that men his age didn’t have children. But the term was not unique to the Bible—it was used in other ancient Greek literature besides the Bible. For instance, Philo and Hippocrates used the word to describe the so-called sixth stage of life, identifying it as age fifty to fifty-six. Taken together, it seems reasonable to say this is a stage we enter around our mid-fifties or early sixties.

But the older men are not only mentioned first because they’re meant to be a blessing to everyone else—pillars on which the rest of the church leans—but because an others-centered and mature life is a life of blessing. In other words, if we live the way Paul says, we’ll bless, but we’ll also be blessed. To lose one’s life is to find it.

So what does Paul say about the older man whose masculinity is a tonic for his generation?

Sober-Minded

First, tonic masculinity is sober-minded (2). Other translations call this temperance or sobriety.

We take this first to mean that older men in the church should be physically sober men. There’s a temptation that comes in the last third of life. Much of the heavy lifting’s been done—the career is built, the home is secured, the income is solid, and the kids are raised. On top of all this is the temptation to be discouraged about life, no longer optimistic about the future.

The Christ-following man knows he still has work to do—it isn’t time to kick back and drink up. He might enjoy a glass of wine, but he won’t allow glasses of wine to fog his mind. He’s going to stay frosty, mentally sharp for the very real battle he’s still engaged in.

And this physical sobriety is emblematic of the way of his whole life. Everything about the older man of God is sober. He’s learned what is and isn’t godly. He’s learned what is and isn’t healthy. He’s learned the destructive nature of the passing pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:25). He’s weighed the cost of self-indulgence and determined that the price is too high. The payout isn’t worth it.

So the godly older man avoids excess and extravagance. He won’t let himself become deluded or intoxicated by anything in life. He’s still serious about God, God’s kingdom, and the potency of the Gospel. He knows he’s got to, like Caleb and Joshua and Moses, fight for holiness until the day of his death. His church attendance doesn’t slip into a sporadic affiliation with a local congregation but instead develops into deeper involvement with God’s people. He might be done raising his biological sons and daughters, but now he uses his time to raise God’s sons and daughters.

This sobermindedness doesn’t mean this man is no fun to be around—quite the opposite. But he doesn’t allow himself to become distracted with things that don’t matter. He stays focused on God. He meditates on the Word. He loves serving other people.

David’s life serves as a cautionary tale about the price of losing a sober mind. In his middle years, after becoming Israel’s king, he began to drift from the mission God gave him. He wasn’t sober-minded. And he fell. The Bible says:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel…But David remained at Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1, ESV)

Because he didn’t go out to war, because he stopped sober-mindedly pressing into God’s battlefield, he found himself with free time in the Jerusalem palace. It was then that he observed a beautiful young (and married) woman bathing on another rooftop. He called for and slept with her, and she became pregnant. This led David to cover up his sin by placing her husband on the front lines alone—left to die—the ultimate betrayal of his brother in arms. But this sin could’ve been averted had David stayed engaged.

And, especially in our older years, we must press in because we likely have more time on our hands than ever before. We must engage in the war by mentoring, serving, working, and growing.

When running a long endurance race, the second half requires special attention. In his book on how to train for a marathon, legendary coach Hal Higdon said, “Focus hardest when it counts most. If you find it difficult to concentrate during the full twenty-six miles of a marathon, save your focus for the miles when you need it the most—the second half.”¹

His exhortation to runners is a better exhortation to us as humans. Focus at all times, but especially knuckle down in that second half of your race. Don’t slip. Be sober-minded.

It was sober-mindedness that enabled Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem and revive God’s people. It was sober-mindedness that enabled Luke to research and write Luke and Acts. It was sober-mindedness that enabled Aquila to have a great marriage, produce a business that blessed the church, and disciple Apollos into maturity. Sober-minded men get it done.

Jesus, of course, was sober-minded. This doesn’t mean he was hard to be around. His accusers said he was a winebibber—they thought he was a party animal. He wasn’t, but he had so much joy they thought he was. But he was also beautifully sober-minded. He refused a mind-numbing concoction on the cross, choosing instead to suffer the full brunt of the crucifixion’s pain. He refused to bow down to Satan as a quick way to gain the kingdoms of this world but chose instead to do the hard work of redemption. He never lost focus. He never got distracted. He pressed in. So should we.

Dignified (2:2)

Second, tonic masculinity is dignified (2). Other translations render this word as worthy of respect, venerable, sensible, and serious.

The godly older man is substantive. He’s the right kind of serious. Not gloomy, dour, and self-consumed, but real, unnerved, and focused. He’s worthy of respect from others. And he treats others well. He’s not too comfortable, casual, or loose with the opposite sex. He doesn’t talk down to the young. And he stays out of the gutter because he has honor.

His life is not frivolous, trivial, or superficial. He’s not vulgar. He takes immorality seriously. He craves holiness. He’s dignified, impressive, and worthy of respect.

Older men like this have learned so much about the Lord, themselves, and life. They know God is faithful, so they don’t panic and fret like they did when they were younger. They know God is good, so they trust that he’ll somehow repurpose every trial for good. They know God is love, so they’re secure in their relationship with him as sons of God. They know God is holy, so they avoid anything that would pain his heart while pursuing ever-expanding levels of personal holiness.

This man finds the phrase in Psalm 1 that the blessed man will bear fruit in his season and craves that season (Ps. 1:3). He abides in Christ every single day, not as a way to earn God’s favor or as a paranoid lucky charm before God, but because he’s learned that those who abide in Christ bear much fruit (John 15). So he abides in Christ.

His heroes aren’t actors who live in luxury or leaders who have great power. He isn’t distracted by shiny objects or beautiful women or thrones of power. His heroes aren’t The Godfather, Tony Stark, or John Wick.

Instead, he resonates with men like the Apostle John, a man whom it’s said had to be carried up to the pulpit in his old age just to tell the people to love each other. He admires men like John Wesley, who, after his 86th birthday, expressed remorse that he was no longer able to read and write about Scripture for fifteen hours a day and was now sleeping in all the way to 5:30 in the morning!

His heroes keep their marriage vows, serve their wives through illness, and lay down their lives for others. He’s drawn to men like Joseph, whose branches ran over the wall so that others could partake of his fruit (Gen. 49:22).

The dignified older man doesn’t have a feeling of immortality or invincibility. He’s seen too much. He’s buried people he loves. He’s seen terrible things—wayward children, church splits, unwanted illnesses, surprising divorces, failed businesses. He’s seen betrayal, death, and decay. He’s seen presidents and their promises come and go. Life has sobered him, so he’s decided to spend his well. He no longer believes human effort and plans can produce the utopia we long for, but he’s not hopeless. His eyes are on God and his kingdom. He believes the Gospel. He longs for Christ’s return. And he’s dignified about it.

The dignified man looks into the Word and loves the dignified way Jesus led his life. He was ever focused on the cross—his face set like a rock to get to Jerusalem so he could die there (Isaiah 50:7). And when he spoke, people said no one spoke like him—he had an incomparable confidence, clarity, and authority. His life and words had weight. Father-focused and people-oriented, he lived a life that counted. Dignified.

Self-Controlled

Third, tonic masculinity is self-controlled (2). Other translations render this word as sensible, using good judgment, prudent, and wise. They have gained self-mastery—not perfectly, but generally.

This self-control is the key term in Paul’s exhortations to everyone on the grid. When he described pastors, he said they should be self-controlled (Tit. 1:8). When he described godly older women, godly younger women, and godly young men, he wanted all of them to learn to be self-controlled.

But what is self-control? Here’s one definition: “Obedience has to do with actions, but self-control has to do with emotions and how we deal with them. Do our emotions control us, or do we control our emotions?”² It’s a decent definition—and it came from a book about parenting! Toddlers need it, but so do older men. We must all learn self-mastery, self-rule, and self-discipline.

The word Paul used derives from a combination of the word for save and the word for mind. The mind has been saved, so life is filtered through a new grid. The godly man knows who he is in Christ. He’s saved, new, redeemed, born again, a new creature, filled with the Spirit, under the New Covenant, and able to live in the resurrection power of Christ. He’s been saved from the old, unregenerate, deathly life far from God under the law, lived in his own strength. He’s saved; as he abides in Jesus, he can be self-controlled.

And what a weapon at this man’s disposal! Self-control is powerful. Dallas Willard described it this way:

“Self-control is the steady capacity to direct yourself to accomplish what you have chosen or decided to do and be, even though you “don’t feel like it.” Self-control means that you, with steady hand, do what you don’t want to do when that is needed and do not do what you want to do when that is needed.” — Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart

This man has ample self-control. He’s a calm and measured man, even in the face of disappointment or discouragement. He treats men and women, young and old with total respect. He spends his money with wisdom. He uses his experience and position to raise up, develop, and bless others. He always makes himself the last.

The self-controlled man knows that he needs Christ’s power to help him, so he spends time in the word and prayer with Jesus each day. The self-controlled man knows that frayed nerves and fatigue war against his resolve, so he fights to eat and sleep well. The self-controlled man knows that even God rested from his work, so he uses times of Sabbath as a way to protect him from sin-inducing busyness. The self-controlled man knows there’ll be times when he’ll feel weak against temptation, so he develops and leverages godly friendships to help him stand. The self-controlled man knows that he’ll lose some battles with the flesh, so he practices honesty with all the right people as a way to cast disinfecting light on the bacteria of sin.

To illustrate self-control, let’s consider two men. First, think about Joseph. As a teenager, he was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, ending up in Egypt. A man named Potiphar purchased this young man, and Joseph served well. Potiphar’s house prospered so much that he ceased involving himself in any of the details of household management. He entrusted everything to Joseph. Except for his wife, that is, but she didn’t like that arrangement and threw herself at Joseph. He feared God and respected his master, so he always resisted her until one day, she caught him alone, begging him to lie with her. But Joseph wriggled free from his garment and ran from the house. He then suffered false accusations from this woman, but at least his integrity was intact. He was self-controlled. He fled sexual immorality.

Now, consider Solomon. He began well, but as he prospered as Israel’s king and aged as a man, he wandered from the Lord. Foreign women stole his heart. Soon, he amassed a harem beyond the fantasies of any ancient king. And, as his heart drifted, so did his life. He was controlled. Self-control was a distant memory. He sank into despair and powerlessness, coming under God’s disciplinary hand. And, as he sank into the slough of despond, he took Israel with him. The man who should’ve been a blessing to all of God’s people had become their Achille’s heel, all because, as he grew older, he grew less self-controlled. His passions enslaved him.

The self-controlled man looks at Jesus and sees how he always did that which pleased the Father. When he was reviled, he ruled his spirit and did not revile in return. When beaten, he mastered himself and submitted to the cross.

Sound

Finally and fourthly, tonic masculinity is sound in the areas of faith, love, and steadfastness (2). To be sound is to be healthy, true, strong, whole, or well-grounded. And the three categories Paul thought older men should be sound in are repeated throughout the entire New Testament—faith, love, and hope. The only change in this list is that—for an older man—hope has turned into the action of steadfastness or endurance. Because he has become totally sound in hope, he endures.

The idea here is that the older godly man has fully entered into and embraced the pillar attributes of Christianity. He’s strong in the faith—meaning he understands and is mature in the truth of the Bible. Their doctrinal convictions are not strange but sound. He’s also strong in love, meaning he’s adopted a lifestyle that’s completely others-centered. He’s not spending his time completely on himself, but he wants to go to his grave loving other people. And he’s strong in steadfastness, meaning he’s not thrown in the towel but is pressing, with hope, into what God’s doing here on earth. When he prays, “your kingdom come, your will be done,” he believes and toils for that kingdom. He doesn’t sit alone in his living room, watching cable news, bemoaning everyone and everything, waiting for the day Christ comes. Instead, he works hard to bring Christ to people right where they are, believing wholeheartedly in the power of the Gospel for salvation to all who believe (Rom 1:16).

* * *

I’d like to conclude by sharing my heart about the type of man Paul describes, men who are sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness (Titus 2:2). Especially if you are a man in your late fifties and beyond, and you’re clear-minded about the Lord, serious about the right things, have gained self-mastery, are solid about the faith, love people well, and are working steadfastly to make disciples, we all thank you. You’re a pillar for us to lean on. You’re a vision for us to acquire. And you’re a blessing to our church and community. You’re the version of masculinity our world needs right now.

References

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. 1 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! (Psalm 8, ESV)

The person this psalm describes is flourishing. It depicts a whole person—they’re humble yet strong; they feel infinitesimal compared to the cosmos yet significant to God; and with self-mastery, they serve and tend to the creation God gave them dominion over.

If you saw this person today, you’d say they were “on fire” or “on the top of their game” or were “crushing” or “slaying it.” This is the mother handling all of life’s complexities with grace and dignity. This is the student navigating a massive course load and completing their objectives. This is the small-business owner who’s serving their employees and customers well, creating a healthy culture in their workplace. This is the retiree whose schedule and life impact the next generation more than ever.

The person described here has dominion over their environment, which is the very thing God intended when he made us (Genesis 1:26-27). He made man and woman to fill the earth and subdue it, exercising dominion over it. So this person is living a whole human experience.

And the bookends of the psalm tell us the secret of how this wholeness came to be. In the first and also the final line of the song, David said, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (1, 9).

Don’t let the way he addresses God pass you by: “O Lord, our Lord” (1, 9). The first Lord is God’s personal name, Yahweh or Jehovah. Later translators and worshippers didn’t want to say his name out loud or write it completely, but David had no such reservations. He knew God personally. The second “Lord” comes from the word Adonai, and it stresses God’s position as master and sovereign. David is saying that he both knew God personally but respected God’s position over his life.

And notice how he rejoiced over the majesty of God’s name in all the earth (1, 9). To say God’s name is majesticdoesn’t mean he thought God’s name sounded interesting—“I just love the name ‘Yahweh.’ So creative! In the Bible, your name was your reputation, your character, you. So David was saying that he loved God’s nature. He loved thinking about and celebrating who God is.

So what we have here is a man who is enraptured with God. By beginning and ending the psalm with the same statement, we learn that the life detailed within it—the life of strength, meaning, and dominion—is a result of the worshipper’s strong connection to God.

Dallas Willard once wrote:

“The ideal of the spiritual life in the Christian understanding is one where all of the essential parts of the human self are effectively organized around God, as they are restored and sustained by him. (It is) the human self fully integrated under God.”

— Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ by Dallas Willard ¹

That’s what we’re discovering here in Psalm 8—a person totally organized around God, integrated under God.

But what are the results of this integration? What happens when we love God this way and organize ourselves around him?

Result 1: Strength

The first result is strength. David said, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger” (2). Even babies and infants receive God’s strength to face the forces of opposition against God (2). Even crawlers can stand against everything and everyone out of alignment with God. Even the weakest is given strength.

This is the way of God. When you lower yourself under him, when you know him personally, set him as the Lord of your life, and celebrate his nature, you receive strength.

And it’s the way of Jesus to infuse the weak with strength. When he came to the earth, he reached out to the sick, the outcast, the tormented and despairing, and those with the greatest levels of societal shame.

In one instance of such care, after healing the blind and disabled in the temple precincts, little children began crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The religious leaders were upset that Jesus would allow them to praise him in that way, and Jesus used this psalm to explain what was happening: “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”” (Matthew 21:16, ESV).

It was a fascinating quotation because it put the religious leaders in the position of the foes and enemies this song talks about. They didn’t receive God’s strength because they wouldn’t worship the One in their midst. But the children did. They were enamored, engrossed with Jesus. And this means that, even in their weakness, they were strong.

This is the way of Christ—the weaker you are and admit to being, the more strength you receive.

My father once told me a story about his high school wrestling career. During one match, he had to go up against the state champion in his weight class. Knowing that he had no chance, my dad’s coach told him to do everything he could to not get pinned. He would still lose the match, though not by as much, and therefore the overall team score wouldn’t be as impacted by his loss. In the first period, my dad held his own by doing nothing, sort of lying limp. But in the second period, feeling he was doing pretty well, he tried a move. The next thing he knew, he was pinned. His opponent was waiting for him to think he was strong.

God doesn’t bless human arrogance—thinking we are strong—but a childlike recognition and enunciation of his name. So if you want to flourish, if you want to be a whole person, if you want to enjoy God’s original design for humanity, become as much like a baby or a child as you can.

I don’t mean infantile or childish—immature. I do mean that we ought to develop a childlike—even infant-like—dependence on our Lord. Babies are totally dependent creatures. They can’t meet even their most basic needs. And when we see ourselves in this way, dependent on God for the needs of our body and soul, we’re made strong. But if we don’t see ourselves this way, we’re in danger of removing ourselves from the place God’s power flows.

Result 2: Meaning

The second result of life organized around God is that we find meaning in life. David said, “When I look at 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, and the son of man that you care for him?” (3-4).

It’s not hard to imagine young David tending his father’s sheep in the wilderness reaches of Bethlehem, staring up at the unpolluted night sky. He spent so much of his time counting sheep during the day; maybe he fell asleep by counting stars. And the grandeur of all he saw gave him a sense of insignificance at first—“I am so small in comparison!”—but he was then filled with awe that God cared for him. Looking up to the stars, David remembered that God was mindful of him and cared for him (4).

We might feel that David had an advantage over us because all that time in the wild surely filled him with these insights. But it wasn’t that David’s time in nature inevitably made him a worshipper—billions of people have looked at the stars without submitting to God. But because David already knew God, when he felt his insignificance in the darkness, he was reminded of God’s unbelievable care for him.

And we do have an advantage over David. We might live in cities that sometimes obscure the glories of the natural world, but we’re a more scientifically advanced people than during David’s day. We know the staggering distance and size of the sun, moon, and stars—and so much more. And with each successive discovery, we seem to learn of our relative smallness in this ever-expanding universe (Isaiah 42:5, 44:24, 45:12; Jeremiah 10:12, 51:5).

But, for the person properly aligned with God, organized around God, this smallness reminds them of his care. Some call this the “paradox of man,” that though we are like a speck of dust within this vast universe, God has bestowed dignity and importance upon us. He cares for us.

In Wendell Berry’s book Jayber Crow, the main character described his love interest’s look by saying, “the brief, laughing look that she had given me made me feel extraordinarily seen, as if after that I might be visible in the dark.” ²

This is what the psalm describes, that even though we’re but a dot in the expanse of God’s creation, we’re extraordinarily seen by God, visible in the dark to his loving eyes. Though we’re conscious of our relative insignificance, he’s the one who diffuses us with significance and meaning.

Result 3: Dominion

The final result of this life organized around God is dominion. David said, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,” going on to list various animals of land and sea (5-8).

All this recalls the creation account of Genesis. On the sixth day, God said he made men and women in his image to:

“’…have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”

(Genesis 1:26–27, ESV)

So God made us to exert dominion over our surroundings, not as tyrants, but as servants. We were made to tend and cultivate the earth for our benefit, not as abusers but as stewards. In a sense, he put us in charge. We were meant to lead and cultivate the earth from raw material to beautify society.

We’re God’s special creation. It’s a position, David said, of glory and honor (5). But note how the psalm states it: we are a little lower than the heavenly beings while also being above the animal kingdom—they are under our feet (5-6).

And life in proper alignment with God gets this right. It doesn’t seek to advance itself above God, nor does it lower itself to a life of animalistic impulse. Instead, it’s conscious of its place beneath heaven but above the rest of creation.

In Luke 15, Jesus told the story of two sons. One took his inheritance early and lived wildly until he was so broken by life that he found himself lower than the pigs he was hired to feed. He returned home with the hope that his father would let him be a household servant. When the father ran to receive him and threw him a great feast, the older brother was disgusted and challenged his father.

Both were out of alignment with their true position. The first lowered himself to be like the animals. The second exalted himself above the father. The first lived by his animalistic desires. The second thought himself a god.

But when we’re in proper worship and love for God, we regain our proper position. We aren’t like the animals. Nor are we more intelligent than God. We’re in the middle—below him and above creation.

Christ

The man or woman who is properly aligned to God, who has organized themself around God, has everything they need to become a whole person. They are living in their proper place, both body and spirit alive and functioning as God has designed.

It’s here some introspection is required. Who is the man or woman in total self-control? Who operates with continued humble strength, purposeful significance, and gentle dominion?

The book of Hebrews even pointed this conundrum out. Speaking of us, it says:

“’You made him (humanity) for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.’ Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”

(Hebrews 2:7-8, ESV)

What this passage tells us is that even though God gave us dominion over his creation, right now it sure doesn’t look like it. Though we were made for humble strength, purposeful significance, and gentle dominion, we don’t have the dominion God made us to have.

The creation wars against us. Other people make decisions, commit sins, and neglect responsibilities that hurt us. Our lives, schedules, and circumstances often overrun us, and we experience anything but dominion. Even our own bodies rebel against us.

Though our psalm today might echo God’s intention for humanity in Genesis 1, we know the catastrophe of Genesis 3. Through sin, we lost our dominion. None of us lives completely in the realm this psalm portrays.

Except for Jesus. He referred to himself often with the same title this psalm gives us—the Son of Man (4). This is where the Hebrews passage helps us. It continues:

“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

(Hebrews 2:7–9, ESV)

This means Christ came and fulfilled humanity’s destiny. He regained dominion. And anyone who trusts in him enters into his new version of humanity—and is, therefore, able to progressively regain the dominion that we lost. It’s through Jesus we become whole, more human than ever before. In him, our out-of-control and untamable species can regain the self-control and dominion we were meant to have.

In the classic book The Little Prince, a boy from another planet comes to visit the earth. While here, he meets various animals and people, and one of them is a fox. Having never seen a fox, the Little Prince asked him about his life.

“‘My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens and men hunt me. All chickens are alike and all men are alike. So I get a little bored. But if you tame me, my life will be full of sunshine. I shall recognize the sound of a step different from all others. The other steps send me hurrying underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like the sound of music. And look yonder! Do you see the cornfields? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. Those cornfields don’t remind me of anything. And I find that rather sad! But you have hair the color of gold. So it will be marvelous when you have tamed me! Wheat, which is also golden, will remind me of you. And I shall love the sound of the wind in the wheat…’ The fox became silent and gazed for a long time at the little prince. ‘I beg of you… tame me!’” — The Little Prince ⁴

The fox is like us in our natural state—untamed and without purpose or passion or meaning. We need Christ to tame us, to diffuse our lives with significance and meaning. We need him to enter our lives and transform us from within.

Only Jesus can lead us into the wholeness we crave. Only he can reproduce the gentle dominion we were made to experience. Only he can make us thrive. Only he can tame us.

References

In this article, I want to consider twenty practices that will help you serve Jesus for a long time in one place. I began serving on staff at Calvary Monterey in 1999 and became the lead pastor in 2008, and these practices have helped me stick with the work so far. Of course, among our Calvary Chapel family there are many who have served many decades in the same location—I have gleaned plenty from their example. So, in no particular order of importance, here are twenty practices that might help you serve Jesus in one place for many years.

01. Reading

When the Apostle Paul was nearing death, he knew it. Still, he told Timothy, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). About to die, Paul wanted his jacket, but also his books, and especially the Scriptures. He would study the word until his body was poured out as a drink offering to God. If it worked for him, if an intellectual powerhouse such as Paul still wanted to study near the end of his life, then reading will bless you. I know it has edified me greatly. Counsel, instruction, plans, theology, Scripture, church strategy, relationships—all have sharpened and improved in my life because of books. If you want to last a long time, read.

02. Relationships

Key relationships have helped me up to this point. My marriage has been an island refuge. My children have refreshed me and made life exciting. My friends have laughed and cried with me. All these relationships have nourished and sustained me, often easing the serious nature of ministry life. The stakes are so high when serving Jesus, so laughing at yourself with your friends is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22). I call these people my Discouragement Abatement Team.

03. Resist Comparison

In a story from Jesus, the early-morning laborers complained that the late-day laborers received the same wage (Matthew 20:12). Comparing themselves to others took all the joy from their paycheck moment. Rather than celebrate a full day’s work and its accompanying wages, they soured on the success of others and the grace of the master. I think servants of Christ have ample opportunities to compare themselves to other servants of Christ. But we should not go there. What is the point? Instead, we ought to rejoice for how God uses others and put our heads down to do his work in our neck of the woods. We cannot run someone else’s race, but the one “set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). We must resist comparison.

04. Grace Refreshments

Saul was a terrible king for Israel. One day, in a moment of divinely inspired courage, his son Jonathan launched out into battle against the Philistine oppressors. God was with him, and the nation rallied around him. Saul, caught up in the moment, vowed that no one would eat anything until the battle was won. When Jonathan heard it, he ridiculed his father’s folly and ate some honeycomb. When he did, his eyes became bright. He declared, “How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great” (1 Samuel 14:30). I’ve always thought Saul’s edict a great picture of legalism in the church—
don’t touch this, don’t taste that, don’t enjoy those. Look, if it’s forbidden in Scripture, don’t. But if it’s not, maybe it’s honeycomb that can help keep you fresh for the war.

05. Exercise

Ministry life is often sedentary. On top of this, Christians are really good at “breaking bread.” Plus, we need time to unwind from the pressures and stresses of church work. For all this, there is exercise. Not as valuable as godliness—prayer, Bible study, fellowship, etc.—it still has some value (1 Timothy 4:8). I hope to serve Jesus for as long as he tarries, but I know good stewardship of my physical strength and endurance will help me toward that goal. Many things about my health are out of my control. But many things are within the realm of my responsibility. So I exercise regularly.

06. Daily Walk

This should be at the top of the list, but your personal walk with Christ will keep you going, man. He is so faithful to encourage, uplift, instruct, direct, energize, forgive, embolden, and generally drop grace on his servants. Run to him. Get under the spout where the grace comes out. Enjoy him in worship.

Spend time with him in prayer. Learn about him in the Scripture. Walk with him every day of your life.

07. Time Alone

There’s a brief episode from Paul’s ministry I’ve always appreciated. He and his team were traveling. Everyone else got on a ship heading to Assos. There, they would collect Paul, who intended to travel by himself to Assos via a land route (Acts 20:13-14). I mean, I can understand why he’d had enough of boats by that time. But it refreshes me that he wanted to spend some time alone. I’m sure he redeemed the time. Jesus, of course, modeled this time alone before time with the disciples and masses. A healthy Christian life requires times of solitude, so spend some time alone and watch God do his thing.

08. Let Things Get Messy

The Proverbs say, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” (Proverbs 14:4). You can have a clean and orderly manger, but it’ll cost you sparse crops. Do you want abundant crops? Do you want lots of fruit in ministry? Become willing to put up with some mess when needed, reminding yourself that fruit is on the other side.

09. Say No

If you want a short run serving Jesus, say yes to everything. You’ll never keep up. Burnout cometh. Instead, decline invitations, say no to opportunities, and resist the temptation to do it all. There will be a thousand things Christ tells you to say ‘yes’ to, but a million you must say ‘no’ to. You just can’t get his mission accomplished while pleasing everyone. You must say no (2 Corinthians 1:17-18).

10. Don’t Chase Numbers

I want to reach as many as possible. I want to make as many disciples as possible. But the constant pursuit of numbers has a maddening (and shortening) effect on God’s servants. If God’s servants instead focus on quality over quantity, the quantity will often come. Plus, our eyes often deceive us, meaning we might think we’re seeing fruit with large numbers, but God might be seeing something else entirely. Make disciples. Do what you do well. Entrust the results into God’s hands. Let him add to the church (Acts 2:47).

11. Forgiveness

To serve anywhere for long, forgiveness will have to be a key component. First, you will need the forgiveness of others. You are bound to hurt, offend, and blunder your way through much of ministry life. Some of your sins will be intentional, some of them unintentional, but when you realize it, you should seek forgiveness. Second, you will need to forgive others. The church is made up of saints, but on this side of the great and final resurrection of the dead, we don’t always act like it. Every once in a while, someone will seek your forgiveness, but most of the time, you will have to, moment-by-moment, instant-by-instant, forgive your debtors, even when they don’t know their debt. Finally, you need to resist condemnation towards yourself (Romans 8:1). I don’t want to write “forgive yourself” because I think it’s a statement loaded with theological errors, but I’m sure you get the idea. Ministry to others is filled with embarrassing moments, but even though I am embarrassed by many parts of my ministry past, I know I have to press forward (Philippians 3:13-14).

12. A Loose Grip

You cannot possibly make it long, especially in one place, if you think the church belongs to you. It is Christ’s bride. The church is his body. He is its head. Because it belongs to him, we can have a loose grip. Though ministers of the gospel have a responsibility to their local church and congregation, the truth that the church belongs to Jesus should set the minister free. Many times, I have been strengthened for a decision, encouraged through a failure, or emboldened in faith by the knowledge that the church doesn’t belong to me. Jesus has his plans for his bride, and I need to roll with him.

13. Be Ready To Learn From New Leaders/People

When you stay in one place for a while, old leaders inevitably depart, and new leaders replace them. Though sometimes I wish I could serve with the same team for fifty years, this would be an unhealthy reality. So, as your team matures, shapes, and changes over the years, learn from these new members. Hear their perspective. Listen to their voices. When I was younger, many on my team were older than me, and I needed their voices. I still do, but as I have aged, my team has become younger, and I need to resist the tendency to ignore those with less experience. God put them in my life and our church for a reason, so it is good for me to listen.

14. Take Breaks

Serving Jesus might sound glamorous to the uninitiated, but ministry life, especially the work-for-a-church-full-time kind, is highly repetitive. Sundays always come. Sins always rise up. Decisions are non-stop. Study and counsel and prayer and meetings are all needed all the time. So taking breaks has been incredibly important for me. First, my energy is rebuilt when away from my responsibilities. Second, I have to stop studying long enough for my brain to reset. Third, when away from the church, I gain perspective from God. Fourth, my family is my most important ministry, so time away allows me to refocus on them. Fifth, God rested on the seventh day, and even a break one day each week will do wonders for your life and sanity. Take breaks.

15. Get People Connected to Each Other

Too many ministries rally and rely upon one leader. I realized early on that the priesthood of the believers meant people needed to be connected to one another. We are meant to, in a sense, “pastor” one another. Pastors encourage and edify and counsel and rebuke, but they can’t do it for everyone at all times. We need each other. So it has been incredibly helpful to design our ministries to connect believers to other believers, to get people connected to each other (Acts 2:42).

16. Be Steady

Jacob described Reuben as “unstable as water” (Genesis 49:4). The phrase has always stuck with me, and my heart’s desire has been to be as steady as I can. If you jump from new doctrine to new doctrine, from theological emphasis to theological emphasis, or program to program, people will grow frustrated with your leadership. Steady leaders might be a bit boring at times, but boring is better than being unstable any day. When people know what to expect from you, they have an easier time joining with you for years to come.

17. Aim To See Christ Formed in Everyone You Serve

I’ve known many servants of Christ who tired of their situation and ministry because it lost its challenge. I’m sure there are times this is a Spirit-inspired sense, but I’m sure there are also times this is a short-sighted perspective. I’ve found that a desire to see “Christ formed” in everyone I serve means I always have a challenge in front of me (Galatians 4:19). We all have areas yet to be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. We can all grow further into Christ’s image. So, for me, focusing on seeing Christ formed in those I serve helps me feel challenged in the work.

18. Crave Personal Growth

Speaking of a challenge, I don’t think you can make it long in one place without a strong desire for personal growth. When it comes to Nate Holdridge, the Spirit has a big job in front of him. And when I’m convinced I want personal transformation, when I want to be transformed into Christ’s image, every ministry situation or endeavor becomes a chance for the Spirit to take me from glory to glory, to conform me to be more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

19. Trust the Gospel’s Power

When servants of Christ lose their trust in the gospel as the power of God for salvation, ministry life devolves into a strange mixture of human endeavor, hopeless routines, and defeat. You will not make it long if you believe the people you serve or people in your community are beyond the power of the gospel. Once you lose hope, your energy wanes, and you are not long for that community. Instead, perpetually say with Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

20. Love

Paul said he was controlled—propelled, compelled, or driven—by the love of Christ. His love for Christ, Christ’s love for him, and Christ’s love for his world thrust Paul forward and into service for his world. And, if love is absent, the servant of Christ won’t make it far. We must open ourselves to the Spirit’s intervention and influence. He must produce this glorious fruit in us (Galatians 5:22). We need his help in order to love as we ought.

 

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed (1 Peter 5:1, ESV)

Ministers can learn a lot from Peter. When he wrote this letter, he had already suffered much for Jesus. He had endured imprisonments, rejection, and brutality at the hands of the authorities. But his previous pains could not eliminate the certainty of his future pains. He knew he would suffer and eventually die for Jesus because Jesus had told him so (John 21:18-19). And because Peter knew what he was heading into, he had developed a specific mentality.

It is that mentality that Peter shares with us in this passage. In this closing portion of his letter, Peter’s exhorted a church on the margins. Just as Peter knew what he was going to endure, he had a Holy Spirit informed sense of what they and their pastors were about to endure, so in these verses, he took time to direct their pastors .

But what can we learn from Peter’s exhortations to these pastors? And why should this matter?

One reason is that the role of pastor is one of great importance to the well-being of the church, and the well-being of God’s people. Through solid teaching, servant-leadership, and a healthy example, good pastors can aid their congregation in a myriad of ways. They can impact their spiritual, emotional, and even physical health. They can calm, encourage, and correct them. They can help every relationship they are in. They can strengthen them for their life pursuits. They can talk them out of grave error and life-altering sins. They can help you draw close to God. And they can stand out as an example to follow. Choosing the path of pastoral ministry is an important and weighty decision.

For instance, consider the consequences if pastors were to focus on entertainment rather than discipleship. What do you think would result? Or, what would happen if we, as pastors, repeatedly lead our congregations into theological error? Or, think of the impact of serving as a pastor who is motivated by the fear of man rather than the fear of God? As current or aspiring pastors, reflecting on Peter’s exhortations can provide valuable guidance and self reflection for our ministry and service to God’s people.

It helps us answer the question: what is a pastor supposed to be?

1. They Are Shepherds (5:1-2)

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you … (1 Peter 5:2, ESV)

First, we learn pastors are meant to be shepherds. I would like to eradicate the term of its sappy sentimentalism. In the Old and New Testaments, shepherds were used as metaphors for good spiritual leadership. Moses and David were shepherds of Israel who laid down their lives for the sheep in order to confront the powers of darkness. Isaiah and Ezekiel rebuked bad shepherds who did things for unrighteous gain and would not say hard things the people did not want to hear.

Remember the context in which Peter is writing: these churches were at the beginning stages of marginalization for the gospel’s sake. Peter saw swells of hostility rolling in and predicted that a tsunami was coming. And since the pastors were the visible figureheads and leaders of these churches, Peter assumed these men were in jeopardy. War was coming.

And, as I said earlier, Peter could relate to the combative nature of the role these men were in. He had fought for the gospel outside and inside the church, oftentimes suffering in the process.

But he could also relate because he had seen Jesus endure the war of all wars. He called himself a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker of the glory that is going to be revealed (v. 1). It is true. Peter had watched while the tide of popular opinion turned against Jesus. He watched Jesus become alienated from his own family members. He saw the Jewish leaders and Roman officials reject Jesus. He knew about the plots against Jesus, the arrest of Jesus, and the beatings Jesus endured. He was there in the distress of the garden of Gethsemane. And he was privy to the pain and agony of the cross. He knew Jesus was the original self-jeopardizing Shepherd (5:4). And Peter knew that any suffering he endured for Jesus meant he had suffered like Jesus.

So what did Peter want these pastors to do? He wanted them to shepherd. What did he want them to become? Self-jeopardizing shepherds. He said, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (v. 2).

But what does that mean? In the Bible, spiritual leaders were meant to shepherd in two main ways: through tending and feeding God’s people. Those were the two exhortations Jesus gave Peter (John 2:15-17). To tend means to care, lead, guide, and protect. It can be exhausting work, and no man does this perfectly. To feed means bringing the nutritive resource of God’s word to his people in a variety of ways. It is also tiring work, and the job of tending and feeding is never done.

2. They Must Be Willing (5:2-3)

… exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly … (1 Peter 5:2, ESV)

The second attribute of pastors, according to Peter, is that they are willing to work and willing to do the work. In this brief section, Peter went for the heart of a pastor’s motivation. John Calvin said Peter was pointing out three vices pastors might succumb to—laziness, greed, and lust for power. Peter tells us there is no room for any of these three.

First, Peter said a pastor must exercise oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have him (v. 2). I have known men who did not want to do the work but “felt called” to the work, so they thought they had to pastor. But Peter said pastors should not do it by compulsion, but willingly (v. 2). They should want to be pastors.

He also said pastors should not pastor “for shameful gain, but eagerly” (1 Peter 5:2). This was not Peter’s way of saying pastors should never be paid. Some are not. Some are. Paul said things like “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching … the laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim. 5:17-18). Peter is not picking on salaried pastors but on those who do it for shameful gain (v. 3). We can easily observe exorbitant forms of this in modern prosperity preachers or some “celebrity pastors.” Instead, Peter said, pastors should be eager to do the work.

Now, please think about the implications. Pastors should want to do the work. Continually. Peter used the words willingly and eagerly. But a desire, a will, is not something that one acquires early on and never has to revisit. No, a pastor must perpetually cultivate his heart and health so that he stokes his will within to crave the work.

Many pastors are immensely discouraged. Many have burdens placed on them they could not possibly bear. Some of them have allowed expectations of them to run out of control. And most are exposed to the more unsavory effects of sin and the problematic portions of the church family on a regular basis. And when the church is marginalized or exiled, fears can compound, and a pastor can feel he has a target on his back. So he (and the church) should work hard to establish boundaries and rhythms that allow his soul to be nourished and re-nourished by God. He must open his spirit to God’s Spirit so that God can reignite the will within.

3. They Must Be Examples (5:3)

… not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:3, ESV)

But beyond the heart motivation of a pastor is his method of leadership. Peter said they must be examples to the church. Many of us know the Bible teaches us to imitate God. In the Old and New Testaments, God is the standard. We are made in his image to bear his image. He tells us to be holy as he is holy. As Paul said, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1). We also know we are to model our lives after God the Son. John said, “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6).

But even though we are called to imitate God and walk as Jesus walked, pastors are to live as examples to the flock (v. 3). Rather than domineer over the church—or “lord it over” the church—God’s leaders are called to lead by example. The apostle Paul embraced this mentality when he said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). He also told Timothy and Titus to live exemplary lives (1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7-8).

This calling is even evident in the New Testament lists describing what a pastor must be; they are light on talents and heavy on character because that character should be an example for the whole church (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). As the writer of Hebrews said, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7).

But the context of Peter’s words makes it sound as if this methodology—being an example—was in jeopardy. It sounds good to us for pastors to lead by example, but in those days, a pastor could lead through domination, partly because they had a significant amount of authority. And this can be done today.

Many Christians, of course, have stories of painful interactions with church leadership. I know I do. And I am sure I am part of those stories for many others, even unknowingly. But the general trend of a pastor’s life and ministry should be towards humble service rather than running roughshod over God’s people.

Unfortunately, some of the most charismatic and confident church leaders also struggle with this methodology. But Jesus stands out as our constant source of wisdom and our pattern to follow. He did not domineer but patiently served his people while exemplifying the life he wanted them to follow.

As ministers of the gospel, it is essential to examine our own character. Reflect on our way of life, our emphases, and our passions. Consider what drives us.

Are we intent on building our own kingdom, or are we serving God’s kingdom? Are we concerned with our own popularity, or do we drive forward to the fame of Christ? Can we celebrate the wins of others, or do we always have to be at the forefront?

Do we love our family? Do we manage our lives well? Are we self-controlled and disciplined? Do we speak gently to individuals? Do we fear God? Do we love his word? Do we take our own sanctification seriously?

Or, do we neglect our family? Are our lives chaotic and impossibly overwhelmed? Are we angry and inflammatory when we speak? Do we have few boundaries? Do we lack self-control? Are we loose with our words? Do we cross lines and disobey God?

Again, no one is perfect, but as pastors or those aspiring to the call of pastoral ministry, we should strive to live exemplary lives. This is especially important in chaotic times, seasons when the church is exiled.

4. They Are Motivated by Their Lord (5:4)

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:4, ESV)

Finally, Peter says good pastors will be motivated by the return of the ultimate pastor, the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ (Ezek. 34:11-16; John 10:11-14; Heb. 13:20). But they are also motivated by what Jesus will give them: the unfading crown of glory (v. 4). It is true that every believer will receive a crown of righteousness or life, but the passages that suggest as much might be using “crown” as a metaphor for the heavenly life (2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; Rev. 2:10, 3:11). But the crown Peter mentions here is different from the crown all believers will receive.

The crowns (stephanos) used in Peter’s day were given to winners of athletic contests or Roman generals who were valiant in battle. But many of those crowns were made of perishable materials, wreaths that would wither over time. But Peter said the crown pastors achieve are unfading (v. 4). A good pastor will be motivated by the reward coming from his Lord. He will look forward to hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord” (Matt. 25:21).

And this motivation will make him impervious to the sudden shifts that can come upon the exiled church. When his motivation is what Jesus thinks of him, a pastor will have reservoirs of strength that enable him to handle criticism, navigate waves of trials, and endure pressures from outside and inside the church. With Christ’s reward as his motivation, a pastor will say whatever he has to say, even if his audience does not like it or even if it lands him in prison.

We must strive to be men who care much about what Christ thinks of them and think less about what people think of them. It seems there is something powerful about becoming the kinds of pastors Peter described.

Peter’s next sentence exhorted the young to be subject to the elders and everyone else to practice humility (1 Pet. 5:5). In other words, if we, as pastors, are good shepherds, are willing to do the work, are good examples, and look to Jesus’ reward, we will be effective leaders. Our congregations are imperfect; we certainly are too. Together, with humility, we can accomplish much.

With Easter right around the corner we want to use this episode as an opportunity to bring you a special Easter message from Pastor Nate! Nate takes us through Mark 16 which is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ! We hope you enjoy this special Easter message!

Follow Pastor Nate:

Website: nateholdridge.com

Instagram: @nateholdridge

Church: calvary.com

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. (Nehemiah 8:2–3, ESV)

Because Calvary Chapel methodology has focused on the simple teaching of the Word, Nehemiah 8 has long been a favorite in Calvary Chapel circles. It is a significant chapter, not just for our ministry philosophy, but in the story of Nehemiah. As much as Nehemiah is the central character, the book of Nehemiah is about God—another instance of God working hard to renew his people. And, after the fifty-two days of rapid repair of the walls and gates of God’s city, it was time for God to work on his people. He knew renewal could not come without the Word, so he laid it upon Nehemiah’s heart to lead the people into the study of Scripture.

Nehemiah knew the renewal he hoped for required more than rebuilt walls—the people had to become a Bible-centered people. For this, a scribe-priest named Ezra is introduced (Neh. 8:1). If all we had was Nehemiah 8, we might assume Ezra only recently emerged, but the book of Ezra tells us that he’d arrived fourteen years earlier (Ezra 7). And, to the best of his abilities, he’d taught the people the Bible, saying hard things the people needed to hear (Ezra 9:1-4, 10:2, 10).

Ezra might have been responsible for much of Nehemiah’s success. His teachings likely readied the people for a leader like Nehemiah to arrive. And Nehemiah seems to have prepared the people for more of Ezra’s work—along with the walls and gates, Nehemiah built a wooden platform for Ezra for the purpose of declaring the Bible (Neh. 8:4). Through Ezra’s work, we see a vivid example of how God renews his people with his Word.

They Exalted the Word (Nehemiah 8:1-8)

First, they exalted the Word, meaning they had a high respect and desire for whatever God said. What do I mean? And how can we exalt it today?

Recognize Its Authority

Notice how they recognized the authority of God’s Word by, over and over again, referring to it as Law. They told Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses (Neh. 8:1). They considered that law what the Lord had commanded(Neh. 8:1). So Ezra brought “the Law” (Neh. 8:2), and their ears were attentive to the Book of the Law (Neh. 8:3). Other priests mixed into the crowd to help the people understand the Law (Neh. 8:7). And they called it “the book, the Law of God” (Neh. 8:8).

But the authority of the Bible is also seen in the way they treated the book. There was the platform they built to elevate it above them—this wasn’t only an aid to the audio-visual presentation, but a way to demonstrate their subservience to whatever God said (Neh. 8:4). This is reinforced with the statement, “Ezra was above all the people” (Neh. 8:5). And when Ezra opened the book, all the people stood (Neh. 8:5). As Ezra read and others explained, the people lifted up their hands, bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Neh. 8:6). And—on top of all this—the reading lasted around six hours, from early morning until midday (Neh. 8:3). That’s two Lord Of The Rings movies—ultimate reverence for the Word.

The people had an attitude of total respect for the Bible that day. And if we want to experience God’s best—his renewal—in our lives, we must have the utmost respect for his words. The book is beautiful and worthy of its authoritative position over us. The truth is that God is the only one suited to be the master of our lives. Everyone and everything else is flawed, imperfect, and lacking the best motives—this includes us. God is the better master.

Understand It

But beyond recognizing its authority, we should also notice how hard they worked to understand the Word. The only people there that day were men and women and all who could understand what they heard (Neh. 8:2). The wooden platform was meant to make the work intelligible—everyone wanted to hear Ezra read. And a team joined Ezra and helped the people understand the Law (Neh. 8:7). The people remained in their places while these teachers came to explain the Bible to them (Neh. 8:7). They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading (Neh. 8:8).

And since understanding was the goal, the people were radically and substantially changed. This is seen in the way the Word impacted their bodies. In the sixth verse, the people answered with their mouths, lifted up their hands, bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground (Neh. 8:6). But their feet and mouths and hands and faces were moved because they first understood with their ears. Before anything else, their ears were attentive to the Book (Neh. 8:3).

This passage certainly presents a strong case for Biblical exposition—teaching the Bible in a way where it is clearly presented to God’s people—but this passage also presents a strong case for personal Bible study. We live in a strange time—in the English-speaking world, the Bible is widely circulated in various helpful translations, study guides and helps abound, and personal Bible study is commended by every denomination and strain of Christianity, but learning the contents of the Bible is a largely neglected discipline.

Theologian J.I. Packer attributed this to a few causes, the first two being liberal theology telling us the Bible should not be followed and biblical criticism telling us the Bible cannot be trusted. But he presents an interesting third reason people do not discipline themselves to learn the Word anymore:

Our culture tells us that apart from technical professional stuff, only a smattering of knowledge about anything is needed to see us through, so that it would be rather naive for a Christian to spend much time learning details of any sort about Christianity. But the truth is that as the desire to learn what God has revealed in Scripture, so that we may serve him by response to his Word, is Spirit-given and enlivening, so a lack of willingness to do so is Spirit-quenching and deadening.¹

They Had Joy because of the Word (Nehemiah 8:9-12)

So the first way God renewed his people with his Word had to do with their attitude: they esteemed the Word. The second way had to do with their response—they needed to have joy because of the Word. Let me explain what I mean.

Context

After interacting with the Bible for six hours, the people began to mourn and weep as they heard the words of the Law (Neh. 8:9). And this was not brought on by a dramatic presentation but the simple exposition of the Bible. It seems they were grieved by the gap between what the Word said they should be and what they were (Neh. 8:11). As we saw in 2 Timothy 3:16, the Word is profitable for correction— and the people stood corrected for their sins, so they wept.

But Nehemiah and Ezra and the Levites knew that, on this occasion, the people should not mourn or weep (Neh. 8:9). They knew that day was holy to the Lord (9). Why?

First, that time of the calendar year was the Feast of Trumpets, meaning it was meant to be a time of celebration. Though they had disobeyed him for many years, God was ready to reinstate them into joyful encounters with him at Jerusalem’s temple. At the temple, they could sacrifice, and as they read the Law, they would’ve discovered their need for sacrifices.

And second, God was giving them another opportunity to repent, turn, and walk with him afresh. He had brought them back from their Babylonian captivity for a reason, and they should’ve celebrated and rejoiced that God was working to mature them. He would not divorce himself from them but instead was wooing them back into a love relationship with himself. They were a historically imperfect people, but God had made a way for them to be forgiven!

The Joy of Grace

It was because of all this that Nehemiah made a brief speech (Neh. 8:9-10). He said, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

This was a timely word—the people could have easily been crushed. Of Jesus, Matthew said, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking flax he will not quench” (Matthew 12:20). Nehemiah lived out Christ’s nature here—he would not let a bruised and smoldering people be broken or extinguished.

But what did Nehemiah mean when he said, “The joy of the Lord is your strength”? (Neh. 8:10). This was not a flippant statement, a Hallmark card or cat poster sentiment. Nehemiah wasn’t delivering an empty platitude.

Instead, he told them to be strong in the joy of God’s gracious work in their lives. They had read the book. They had come face to face with their imperfections. But God had not eliminated them. He was reviving and drawing them. They should’ve had joy that God was working in and on their lives. God’s grace toward them should have given them a joyful strength.

Some people have the grace of joy and are naturally happy, but Nehemiah was referring to the joy of grace—the ecstatic gladness that though we continually fall short, God’s grace means he is still at work in us. And that knowledge of his grace should bring us intense joy. As long as you are alive and the gospel is true, his grace is sufficient for you. Repent, turn to him in obedience, and have joy that he is still shaping your life as the potter shapes the clay (Is. 64:8).

He is at work! Don’t allow your sense of conviction to outweigh the knowledge God is working in you. Don’t allow the knowledge of your sin to outweigh the experience of Christ as your Savior. Instead, let the conviction and sin turn into the strength of joy that God is working to reform and reshape and renew you. Be glad that he still has a plan for you if you will submit yourself to it! He is not done with you!

Where would we be if the great heroes of Christianity had not allowed the sorrow of their sin turn into joy that God was not done with them? If the joy of the Lord had not become Peter’s strength, he would have quit forever after he had denied Jesus. Even Christ’s restorative work could not have turned him. If the joy of the Lord had not become Paul’s strength, he would have forever thought himself disqualified because he’d partaken in the murder of Christians. Even the bright light on the road to Damascus would not have turned him. But we praise God that these men allowed sorrow to turn into the joy of God’s work in their lives.

They Obeyed the Word (Nehemiah 8:13-18)

So the people were renewed as they exalted the Word and walked in the joyous knowledge that God was working in them. But there was another step: obedience to the Word.

Feast of Tabernacles

The text tells us it happened on the second day (Neh. 8:13). This is often when the best of God’s revelation comes, by the way. Come back. Study again. Go deeper. When you do, God reveals himself.

So it was on that second day that the leaders of each family came to Ezra again to study the words of the Law (Neh. 8:13). These men were beginning to take their responsibilities seriously. They knew they had to prepare the next generation, and they would not leave that work to only the mothers.

As they read Leviticus, they learned about The Feast Of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34-44). A major facet of that feast was that the people should dwell in tents (or booths) on their flat rooftops while they celebrated (Neh. 8:14-16). That seven-day campout was meant to commemorate Israel’s long campout in the wilderness after God freed them from Egypt. When they read it in the Word, they did what the Word said. They went out to the hills around Jerusalem and cut down branches of olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make their tents (Neh. 8:15).

The Sequence

These men did all this because they found it written in the Bible (Neh. 8:15). It had been a long time since they’d practiced this part of the feast, and much longer since the original exodus. There was nothing “normal” about this campout for them, but they saw it in the Bible and decided to do it.

The sequence of this chapter is beautiful. First, because of Ezra and the other teachers, they intellectually understood the Word. Second, they emotionally responded to the Word with mourning (and then joy). And third and lastly, they volitionally responded to the Word—they obeyed!

And what resulted? Nehemiah said there was very great rejoicing (Neh. 8:17). This rejoicing is the result of obedience. We might think that governing our own lives is a sure-fire path towards happiness. If that were true, we would expect our society to be one of the most joyful and satisfied.

The mantra (or dogma) of our day is to be yourself and live your truth. But rather than find generations of fulfilled people, we find heightened anxiety, abuse, depression, and anger. The dirty little secret is that our culture’s view of how the world works doesn’t work.

Contrary to popular belief, it is submission to God that brings true joy. Casting off the shackles of God has not led to the peace and happiness many imagined. But God patiently waits—extending the offer of forgiveness and a path back to him through the death of his Son.

My hope is that this episode in Nehemiah becomes more than an inspiring story of a people who grew to love the Bible. My hope is for this passage to become a template for your everyday life. And I pray that template will be your daily story—praise, prayer, fellowship, sacrifice, hearing from God’s Word, and obedience.

After all, even our church gatherings are meant to be a template for every other day of your week. We gather ourselves together. We sing and pray to God. We declare God’s goodness to each other as we do. We give ourselves (and our finances) to God. Then we open his book with a desire to hear from him. Then we receive his grace, sometimes in the form of communion, and depart to obey what we read. This is what every day ought to look like—it is a marvelous template to follow.

The sequence of this chapter is the path Christ himself walked. Within the Trinity, the Son understood his mission and embraced it, incarnating and becoming one of us. And, as Jesus grew from a boy to a man, he increased in wisdom and stature. He grew in his understanding of his mission.

With that intellectual understanding came an emotional response, culminating in the agony of the garden of Gethsemane where the pressure of the moment produced anxious prayers and blood-like sweat.

But that emotional response of sorrow turned to strong joy to do the Father’s will—he obeyed! He did what the God-head had decided.

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References

¹ J. I. Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom from the Book of Nehemiah (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1995).

My first Easter as pastor of Calvary Monterey, I preached from John 20, and someone put some flowers in front of the pulpit—and that was as elaborate as it got back then. Nowadays, the run-up to Easter is tons of work, and the week itself is jam-packed with activity. Our Good Friday services have developed into a significant part of our church calendar, and Easter Sunday is our largest gathering of the year. Over the years, I have learned a lot about myself and how I best work through such a busy and blessed time, so here is some advice I would give to other pastors.

1. Keep Your Message Simple

It is tempting to think your Easter message has to be the most powerful message you have ever delivered. You might also feel you need to be creative or especially engaging on that day. You might find yourself frustrated with finding your unique “angle” or “take” on the resurrection, one that will surprise or delight your hearers. But all these temptations and feelings ought to be resisted, for it never gets old to hear the straightforward message of Christ’s death, burial, and victorious resurrection. There are plenty of texts from which we can boldly declare Christ’s victory and the power of the empty tomb. Let us clearly and passionately tell everyone in attendance how amazing Christ is for conquering sin and death. No flashiness required.

2. Fight for Margin

The lead-up to Easter has a lot of additional pressures and responsibilities attached to it. For me, beyond the preparation of the Good Friday and Easter Sunday messages, there are a million little responsibilities I need to take care of that week. Some of them are for the church, while others are for my family. For instance, for years our family has hosted a Sunday afternoon Easter party at our home, sometimes with around fifty people in attendance. You can imagine the work connected to hosting that many people. Moreover, on top of all the responsibilities of the week, throw in that I have been known to change my Easter message on Saturday night, and the week quickly becomes a monster. Knowing this, I try to strip my calendar of absolutely everything that does not need to be there that week. Margin and calendar flexibility are my friends the week running up to Easter.

3. Be Yourself

I am a pastor-teacher, and though I strive to do the work of an evangelist, I have never felt myself to be a little Billy Graham. But when Easter rolls around, I can feel pressure to become something that I am not. Inevitably, this leads to feelings of inadequacy. I have even wondered if I should ask other people to teach instead of me on Easter. But Easter is a time of great joy and rejoicing, and the people of the church would like to hear from their pastor on that great day. I have learned to be myself on that day, teaching and preaching as I usually would, with a special focus on the resurrection of Christ.

4. Don’t Trip, Evangelize

One thing I have never gotten comfortable with on Easter is the fact that the church will swell in size on that particular day. As I consider the swell, I know it is due to a few factors. For one, most of the regular church will attend on Easter, as people work hard to rearrange their calendar to get to church on that day. So, a higher percentage of our church will be there. Secondly, they will sometimes invite others to attend services with them. Sometimes those folks know the Lord, and often they do not. Thirdly, there are bound to be people who have decided to attend church once or twice a year, and Easter is one of the days they visit. Finally, there will be some who do not know the Lord but who have seen a flyer or an invite and actually come!

The pastor in me wants to rejoice with the flock over the resurrection. The teacher in me wants to instruct the casual attendee on the importance of regular church engagement. The evangelist in me wants to share the gospel. And the prophetic part of me wants to rebuke those who have known better than to attend church once a year.

However, I work hard to get past negative feelings that come from myself, not the Lord, so that I can joyfully and passionately talk about my Lord and his victory to everyone who is there on that day.

5. Make It Special

Do not feel bad about making something special out of Easter Sunday. We know the Lord is risen 24/7/365, but it is a joy to remember and declare his resurrection in a special way on that day. We do not need to make an idol of it or kill ourselves trying to go beyond our abilities, but it is okay to put our best foot forward on that day. Some churches will want to (or need to) host a large family-style service at an alternative venue. Others will want to make their services look and feel like a typical Sunday but with appropriate decorations, food, music, hospitality, and message. We have done both at our church, and I think either is a win for various reasons. Just don’t be the guy who continues his exposition of Ecclesiastes on Easter Sunday. Give the people the resurrection of Christ!

6. Schedule Recovery Time

Easter week is tiring for me. I will typically have to spend a good deal of my free time prepping messages from my house, and then the actual weekend is a bunch of work as well. For that reason, I try to pencil in a little bit of additional recovery time. With multiple services on a regular Sunday, I need a little recovery time anyhow, but the week after Easter weekend, my body’s recovery will be exactly one day behind (i.e., on Tuesday I will feel like I usually do on Monday). My spirit and soul will also need some recovery, as much giving for the Lord needs to be replaced with receiving from the Lord. I need to remember this annually. On Monday morning, for instance, after sleeping in as long as possible, I enjoy listening to another pastor’s Easter message so that I can personally drink in the joy of the resurrection.

7. Prepare for Changes

Since the Good Friday and Easter messages are different, I often do not know in advance exactly which Bible texts I will teach. And, it is not uncommon for me to think I have locked onto a passage, only to find another later on that I would rather share. I feel as wishy-washy as Charlie Brown on Easter week sometimes. One Easter, I changed my entire text and message during the opening worship time. This is so different from my normal week of preparation because, as an expositor, I am always preaching and teaching the next passage in whatever book of the Bible our church happens to be studying.

Because Easter week is so different, I have made a couple of helpful decisions to aid my preparation. For one, since I routinely preach the cross of Christ, I have decided to retell the passion week of Christ during our Good Friday services. It is one of my favorite church services of the year, and the message is very different from what I usually do. I work hard to memorize the harmony of every event (from Tuesday night, when Mary broke her alabaster flask, through the Friday burial) and then retell the story in my own words. This decision has been both a blessing to the church (because we love to hear about what Jesus did for us) and myself (because, though it takes work to prepare for, at least I know what I will be teaching when I head into the week). Secondly, I give myself some study prep time for the Easter message on the trail. In other words, I like to schedule some time to hike in the woods so that I can talk to God about the Easter message.

8. Breathe, Bro

It is easy, especially when you are first starting out in pastoral work, to get overly amped during the Easter message. After all, the band is rocking, the people are singing, and the house is full! But slow your roll. Calmly tell the people of Christ, and allow the goodness of the message to be the thing that stokes the fires of your heart. As you speak, unlocking the truths of the resurrection for the church, you will naturally become more impassioned and fiery. However, it will not be because of the crowds but the cross that you are fired up.

9. Lead Well

Leading up to Easter, in various ways for various churches, you will be required to lead well. Preparations for some churches must be made a year out (example: renting a large auditorium). Other arrangements will happen the week of. But whatever the state of the church you are part of, serve them well by leading well. In advance, point whatever team you have towards strong Easter services. Your voice and guidance will help them gain balance when it becomes too big of a deal. Your insights will help them think through who will be there on that day. Your encouragement will go a long way in their creativity and planning. Lead!

10. Rejoice!

Remember, Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. He rose from the dead and brought you life! We ought to rejoice over this every day of our lives, but Easter week is a great opportunity to take some time to recall this joyful truth. Celebrate Jesus. Do not neglect your personal joy for what he has done on this week. “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble” (Psalm 107:2 ESV).

On this season of Mission & Methods, hosts Nick Cady and Brian Brodersen are interviewing some of the members of the CGN Executive Team, so that you can get to know who they are and what they are passionate about.

Nate Holdridge is the Pastor of Calvary Monterey, in Monterey, California. He is the author of several books, including his recent book: Whole-Hearted Work, which you can find on his website: nateholdridge.com. Nate is a pastor’s kid, and in this episode, Nate talks about what it was like growing up in a church planting family, and what he learned through that about how Pastors can help their children to grow up in a way that helps them love the church and follow Jesus.

Nate is also a member of the Pastoral Care and Coaching Team for CGN, and so we talk about the importance of pastoral care and sabbaticals, and how to access those resources through Calvary Global Network.

We’d love to hear your feedback on these episodes. Email us at cgn@44.229.177.13

In this episode, Aaron is joined by guest Nate Holdridge to discuss the anonymity of pastoral work. While pastoral work may seem like a public job in this age of celebrity pastors, Nate argues that embracing the anonymous aspects of this work is a better path, and essential for the pastor’s soul.

Using Paul’s image of the farmer and the field, Nate highlights that the pastor, like a farmer, is a mere worker employed by God. The only one in the equation that matters is God, who gives the growth. This means that good pastoral work has a tinge of anonymity, where pastors do work that is often unseen and are there for the service of the field. They cannot produce fruit on their own.

Throughout the episode, Aaron and Nate discuss various topics, including the comparison game that can steal a pastor’s joy, and the importance of faithfulness. They also delve into the idea that growth of depth is more valuable than numerical growth, and that workaholism can be harmful to the pastor’s soul.

The pressure that millennial pastors feel to live up to the older generations, and the pitfalls of pastors building a social media platform for themselves, are also explored. Nate shares his views on why pastors should consider the anonymous aspects of their work as a healthy antidote to the temptations and pressures that come with the public nature of pastoral work.

We believe this episode will encourage pastors who are working hard but feeling unseen. No matter the size of your church or the length of your time in ministry, pastoral work is often challenging and can feel lonely. It is easy to get caught up in the comparison game, social media pressure, and the drive for numerical growth. However, we hope that this episode speaks to your heart and reminds you that it is the Lord who brings the harvest. May you be reminded that no matter how unseen your work may feel, it is essential and valued in the eyes of God.

—

Nate Holdridge has served as senior pastor of Calvary Monterey on California’s central coast since 2008. Calvary’s vision is to see Jesus Famous. Nate teaches and writes with that aim at nateholdridge.com.

Nate also leads the Jesus Famous Podcast, conducting interviews and discussions that help keep Jesus first. He has also written The No-Nonsense Biblical Man, Dear New Dad, Whole-Hearted Work, (un)Reasonable Faith, and more. Nate also serves as a member of the Executive Team of Calvary Global Network.

Do you have difficulty reading the Bible? Do you often struggle about where to start when you do read the Bible? In this episode, Nate has a round table discussion with Geoff Buck, Jeanine Staton, and Anne Jensen about methods and aids on how to read the Bible. Nate and the group discuss 12 Tips to help you read the Bible.

Follow Pastor Nate:

Website: nateholdridge.com

Instagram: @nateholdridge

Church: calvary.com

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Praying the Bible – by Donald Whitney
https://amzn.to/3wQdHHF

Praying God’s Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds by Beth Moore

https://amzn.to/3Jy3PKh

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

https://amzn.to/3l78Y1J

Lectures in Systematic Theology by Henry Thiessen

https://amzn.to/3l9Knti

Systematic Theology, Second Edition: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem

https://amzn.to/3DCafnH

The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life by A.W. Tozer

https://amzn.to/3Ylvbr7

Fix Your Eyes: How Our Study of God Shapes Our Worship of Him by Amy Gannett

https://amzn.to/3jlAnN3

Wayne Grudem Systemic Theology Lectures
https://www.waynegrudem.com/category/audio/systematic-theology

Blue Letter Bible
https://www.blueletterbible.org

Calvary Monterey Life Groups
https://www.calvary.com/lifegroups

Calvary Monterey Growth Groups
https://www.calvary.com/growthgroups

Audio Bible Apps:

Slugs and Bugs Sing the Bible
https://amzn.to/3l8jxkY

Dwell Audio Bible
https://bit.ly/3DC2ePA

YouVersion Bible App
https://www.youversion.com