Presence

 

But when the time came for the kindness and love of God our Savior to appear, then he saved us—not because we were good enough to be saved but because of his kindness and pity—by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit…

—Titus 3:4-5 TLB

I remember it so clearly. As a college student, I was so blown away by the kindness of my uncle and aunt, who drove from Delaware to Houghton, New York, in order to attend my senior piano recital. They had already shaped my life in so many ways. My focus on music certainly came from their influence. In those days, it seemed to me like a very long way to drive, and a huge sacrifice of time. I remember the impact of their visit more than any other kindness on that night. To me, their presence meant deep love and caring. It revealed their sensibility and kindness.

I suppose Jesus could have stayed in heaven, sent new messages to new prophets, provided a new means of sacrifice for sins with the creation of new animals, or some other sacred rites, in order to satisfy the holiness of His Father and bring salvation to mankind. Instead, Jesus willingly came the very long way from Heaven. In so doing, He expressed to us His enormous love and unfailing kindness in a way that we could see, feel, hear, and experience, especially because we knew how unworthy we are to receive His mercy, grace, and love.

Certainly, my uncle and aunt could have attended a far superior piano concert in Washington D.C., or in Philadelphia—both cities much closer to their home in Delaware. Instead, they chose to come to a run-of-the-mill student senior recital, knowing the importance of the event to me.

Somehow, God’s coming to earth through His precious one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, lets us know that in His eyes we have inestimable value. God values us enough to sacrifice His Son to provide us a way to salvation. God obviously wanted to give us a living demonstration of His eternal love. He knew that through His Son, God’s presence would express His love like no other means could possibly express it.

Jesus’ very name means “presence.” To Joseph, the angel came in a kind and surprising visit to calm his fears and explain the strange happenings about to transpire. Matthew 1:23, re-quoting Isaiah 7:14, tells us the angel spoke these words:

“The virgin will be with child and will birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, ‘God with us.’”

Not only did Jesus come to us that first Christmas, but He still lives and loves and shows His kindness to us through His living presence in our lives by means of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. In this year of lonely, toned-down celebration because of the pandemic restrictions, let us rejoice again. Yes, let us rejoice that not only did Jesus care enough to come that first Christmas, but He continues to show His love and caring in that He lives for us, prays for us, and brings His presence beside us in all sorts of ways we may never have expected.

Indeed, let us rejoice as we continue to await the kindness and love of our Savior this Christmas. He will give us His divine presence in new ways for our messed up, dark, and lonely world this Christmas Season of 2020.

 

 

Who is the Fairest?

 

He must increase, but I must decrease.

—John 3:30

We all can likely recall the wicked queen in the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, when she stands before a magic mirror and asks the question, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” hoping for the answer, “You, O Queen, are fairer than Snow White.”

This kind of jealousy has plagued the human race far before this Snow White story—published by Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm and his brother, Wilhelm Carl Grimm—ever appeared in print. In fact, the first murder in the Bible concerns two brothers vying over which of their sacrifices should receive the most favor from God (please see Genesis 4).

We find this temptation to murder, even if only hidden in the hearts of men and women, throughout history. When Saul served as king of Israel and heard the crowds shouting that “Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands,” Saul set in motion the murderous plots to rid the world of this rival (please see 1 Samuel 18).

In the Christmas story, the Magi had followed the star they had seen in the sky. They had come to Jerusalem seeking the new King of Israel. Thinking that the present king might know the whereabouts of this future ruler, they stopped in the city to visit Herod and ask for a specific route.

I like the way that Angela Hunt, in her The Nativity Story, portrays the encounter between the Magi and the evil King Herod. Of course, we can’t know exactly the conversation and further discussions of the men from the East. But, Hunt’s description gives us a mental picture of the encounters. This comes from the story after their visit to the Christ Child. ¹

Melchior stroked his beard and considered Herod’s marble city. Perhaps God was warning him through the stars, or perhaps this conjunction [of stars] meant nothing. But an uneasiness moved at the core of his being, and he hadn’t liked the look of cunning he’d glimpsed in Herod’s eye.

Last night he’d seen that same look in a dream he had while dozing next to some talkative shepherd… “The one they call Herod the Great has murdered two sons and a wife,” Melchior said, picking up his reins. “I do not think he’d hesitate to kill an innocent child of Bethlehem, do you?”

Neither Gaspar nor Balthazar answered, but neither did they protest when Melchior turned his camel away from Herod’s city. They would take the road from Bethlehem to Jericho, heading east without returning to Jerusalem.

As it turned out, murderous Herod, after learning the biblical prophecy of a child, probably under two years old, had all the babies that age murdered in Bethlehem. Fortunately, as directed by God, Joseph, Mary, and the young child Jesus, had escaped to Egypt.

This sin of murderous jealousy, this wanting to be rid of our enemies, comes at us in so many tempting ways, even some that sound practically reasonable to us in our minds. Why not try to get rid of that school principal who constantly gives us a hard time? Why not get rid of my boss, in order to explain why I should get that achievement award above others? Why not exaggerate the troubles I’ve had from this or that person, so that I can look better in the eyes of my friends?

The Bible also has plenty of men and women who, because of their supernatural life of grace through Christ, have taken the route of humility, obedience, and submission to unfair suffering. John the Baptist, whom Jesus called the greatest man to ever live, came introducing our Lord. John the Baptist lived humbly and prepared the people for the Greater One, Jesus. John the Baptist spoke the words, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

During this Christmas season, let us contrast these two men and their reaction to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords: Herod on one hand—jealous, unhappy, murderous—and John the Baptist on the other hand—humble, obedient and submissive. How would our Lord have us live in our time, so that others see Him above our selfishness?

______________________

1 Hunt, Angela. The Nativity Story. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006. Pp.177-178.

 

 

Revealed

 

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.

—Isaiah 40:5

The verb “reveal” comes from the Latin word revelar meaning “to unveil.” It also means “to uncover” or “to make something that has been hidden known,” and also “to make a display of something.”

Certainly, God revealed Himself in a more understandable manner through the coming of the Babe in Bethlehem. Indicative of the blackness of the spiritual world, because of the silence of God’s prophets for 400 years, the nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ came in the dark of night.

According to Luke 2, the shepherds—a rag-tag bunch of smelly animal herders—were the first to hear the announcement of the birth. On a dark hillside, it was revealed to them that a Savior had been born who would save them and save all mankind.

To accompany this revelation, the glory of the Lord came and shone from the heavens, accompanied by a enormous host of angels. God was revealing Himself to the world in a way that He had never done before.

We read in Daniel 2:28 that:

…there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.

Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, God revealed Himself to His people. In Jesus’ final hours, before He gave His life to pay the penalty for the sins of the world, in a prayer to His Father, Jesus told God that He had brought Him glory by completing His work and by revealing God to those to whom He was given.

The revelation of God’s means of salvation had come to Jesus’ followers through His preaching and teaching ministry, and through the use of the Old Testament Scriptures, many of which He openly displayed as never before.

It certainly stands to reason that the last Book of the Bible—the Book of Revelation—is named for the opening of our eyes to the future. To most of us, the mysteries of God’s plan do not stand out clearly, but are revealed as if behind a veil.

Yet, we have enough light to know that this same Jesus still has more to reveal to His people. We know from God’s written Word that Jesus will come back for His people, and will reveal Himself fully to us in a New Heaven and a New Earth.

During this Season of Advent, let us open our hearts, our minds, and our eyes to see all that our Lord wishes to reveal to us now. May we spend time in His presence, looking at the promises of His written Word and seeking Him.

Let us also pray that He would use us to help reveal His glory to the dark world around us. We can pray this verse from an Advent hymn: ¹

Redeemer, come!
     I open wide my heart to Thee:
     here, Lord, abide!
Let me Thy inner presence feel:
     Thy grace and love in us reveal.

______________________

1 Weissel, Georg. “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates.” Hymn in the Public Domain.

 

 

What if...?

 

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

—Matthew 1:20

Fears come to all of us. For this reason, Joseph and Mary certainly must have had tremendous apprehension after both of them had visitations from the angel of the Lord. They no doubt felt, in the depths of their spirits, one of the most common thoughts that we have as humans: “What if…?”

Joseph must have considered:

• “What if my reputation is ruined
  
  
• “What if I can no longer make a living in this town to support my wife and child?”
  
  
• “What if I am the only one to help Mary deliver her baby?”
  
  

Teen-age Mary must have questioned many things and wondered:

• “What if my parents don’t believe the word the angel gave to me?”
  
  
• “What if the baby comes while we are on the way to Bethlehem?”
  
  
• “What if there is no place where we can stay when we get there?”
  
  
• “What if robbers overpower us and take all we have?”
  
  
• “What if I have trouble in childbirth?”
  
  

Vaneetha Risner, in her book, The Scars That Have Shaped Me, develops this theme in one of the chapters. She reminds us: ¹

People in the Bible were unsettled by what-if questions, too. When he was told to lead the Israelites, Moses asked God, “What if they don’t believe me?” Abraham’s servant asked about Isaac’s future wife, “What if the young woman refuses to come with me?” Joseph’s brothers asked, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us?”

In the development of her book chapter, Risner wonders if instead of asking: “What if…?” we should declare: “Even if…” because we can be assured God will be there with us. As a positive example of this, she uses the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were not guaranteed deliverance from the fiery furnace.

Faced with imminent death, just before King Nebuchadnezzar sentence them to be placed into the fiery furnace, these three men replied to the King, as recorded in Daniel 3:17-18:

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it… But even if he does not, we want you to know… that we will not serve your gods.”

Risner sums up their change of thinking with these words: ²

Even if. Those two simple words can take the fear out of life. Replacing “what if” with “even if” in our mental vocabulary is one of the most liberating exchanges we can ever make. We trade our irrational fears of an uncertain future for the loving assurance of an unchanging God. We see that even if the very worst happens, God will carry us. He will still be good. And he will never leave us.

Job came to a similar conclusion. In Job 13:15, the Patriarch states about God:

“Though [even if] he slay me, yet will I hope in him;”

We get a hint that the virgin Mary must have had this mindset, too. Though she didn’t share the words “What if…?” or “Even if…,” she did express her faith by speaking to the angel these words recorded in Luke 1:38:

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

As we live through frightening days and we ponder scary thoughts, we hear within our minds, these words:

Let us decide to trust in the God who will keep us even if our worst case scenarios happen.

May we stretch our faith in His power and love by holding very tightly to His mercy and grace. Amen.

______________________

1 Risner, Vaneetha Rendall. The Scars that Have Shaped Me. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Desiring God, 2016. Pp. 115-116.

2 Ibid. p. 118.

 

 

Everlasting Abba

 

And he will be called… Everlasting Father.

—Isaiah 9:6

God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

—Galatians 4:6

What’s in a name? In the Bible, names take on a specific meaning for the individual. A person’s name offered a unique label for the person to whom it was given. This is much more true for the names given by God for Himself. The lovely name, “Abba,” holds a special place in Scripture as one of the very few Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic terms that scholars have not translated for us into English.

In 21st century Israel, the appellation “Abba” still holds much the same place as it did in ancient usage. This directly relates in the same way as the word “Daddy” does in our current American milieu. Little ones in ancient times also related to their fathers in this familiar way.

However, in New Testament times when referring to their fathers, the term “Abba” was used by adults equally as much as the term was used by children. In the spiritual world, the term “Abba” contained the sense of God as the Holy One, Revealer of Mysteries, Creator, and more, yet one who had a relationship with a devoted, obedient son or daughter. Thus, “Abba” became a more grown-up term of deep respect and honor with the affection of a personal relationship added into the meaning.

In her book, The Scars That Have Shaped Me, Vaneetha Rendall Risner¹ writes a chapter titled: “How to Pray When Life Falls Apart.” In this chapter, she looks at Jesus in His most agonizing moments and the way He teaches us to pray in our worst dilemmas. She quotes the verse from Mark 14:36:

“‘Abba,’ Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Here Jesus used the most intimate of familiar names for His Heavenly Father and called Him “Abba.” In this one word, Jesus testified, not only of His love for the Father, but of the love the Father had for Him.

When we come to God in prayer during our times of greatest anguish and pain, using the name, “Abba” for our Father reminds us of the relationship we have with Him as His dearly loved children. During these times of difficulty and distress, we need that relationship the most.

In many cases, fear accompanies the days when we experience trouble. In Romans 8:15, the Apostle Paul reminds Christians of an important fact:

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.”

In our pain, we must go to God. If we hold an intimate relationship with Him, we have every right to call Him “Abba.” Remember, that even Jesus, in His fear and agony, needed His “Abba,” too.

______________________

1 Risner, Vaneetha Rendall, The Scars That Have Shaped Me. Minneapolis: Desiring God, 2016. Pp.57-58.

 

 

Built for Thanksgiving

 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

—Psalm 100:4

In downtown Dallas, Texas, we can see a beautiful area named Thanksgiving Square. It has an interesting history:

Researchers and spiritual leaders discovered a long history of “giving and living thanks” in Dallas. Thanksgiving—gratitude in action—was recognized as a human universal, present in cultures and faith traditions around the world. The Thanks-Giving Foundation was chartered to create a public space in the heart of the city dedicated in gratitude to God and to the “most ancient and enduring of American traditions.”

Forming the first public-private venture in the city’s history, the Thanks-Giving Foundation worked with the City of Dallas to acquire land in 1968. Construction began in 1973. Designated as one of the region’s American Revolution Bicentennial Projects, the Chapel of Thanksgiving and the Bell Tower were dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. President Gerald Ford recognized Thanks-Giving Square as a “major national shrine.” The remainder of the grounds opened in 1977, two hundred years after General George Washington proclaimed the first national Day of Thanksgiving on request of the Continental Congress.

At the east end of Thanks-Giving Square stands the interfaith Chapel of Thanksgiving, a curving white structure symbolizing the ancient spiral of life and suggesting the infinite upward reach of the human spirit. A 100-foot-long bridge crosses the Great Fountain to arrive at the Chapel, which serves as a gathering place and a spiritual center for the daily life of the city. ¹

While we rejoice in the beauty of the architecture and the exquisite design of mosaics, stained glass, engraving, and graphic art of such a structure, we recognize that God looks at each of us and searches for the exquisite beauty of what He has made in us through the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. He planned and fashioned our bodies as temples of His Spirit. He asks us, through the lips of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

He reminds us that our lives were built for the purpose of worshiping Him. In Romans 12:1 we read these words of the Apostle Paul:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

God looks for the work of His artistry in us. He looks for His sparkling glory in our countenances. He looks for the jewels of His carving. He looks for the engraving of His written Word on our hearts. He looks for the music of our praise. And, He looks for the ringing tones of His joy over us.

When we live our lives devoted to Him, giving ourselves to service and to continual thanksgiving, He uses us as a beautiful monument of His workmanship. Let us enjoy this time of national Thanksgiving by lifting our hearts and hands in gratitude to God for all that He has done in and through us. Let us thank Him for bringing us this far by faith. And, let us thank Him for His promises to love and keep us to the end. Hallelujah!

______________________

1 from the website of the Thanks-Giving Foundation, Dallas, TX

 

 

Meditate

 

May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

—Psalm 104:34

When we counsel fellow believers to spend time each day reading Scripture, we often use the additional encouragement to “meditate” on God’s written Word. Have you ever wondered what we mean by the word “meditate”?

The dictionary defines the word “meditate” as follows:

…think deeply or carefully about something; focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes, or as a method of relaxation.

So, when we encourage a fellow believer to spend time each day reading, studying, and meditating on God’s written Word, we intend to encourage that one to not only read very carefully and study intently the Scriptural text, we also seek to motivate that one to think deeply about what God desires to communicate with us through the text He has inspired the various biblical writers to share with us.

The Puritan writer, George Swinnock, has written often about the subject of what it means to “meditate.” For example, drawing from just one passage in the somewhat exhaustive five volume collection of Swinnock’s writings, we find this helpful passage: ¹

Meditation prepares the heart for prayer. Meditate on your sins and hunt them out of their lurking holes; this helps in our confession. Meditate on your needs, for God is fully able to supply them. Consider what you need—pardoning, mercy, strength for victory, power against sin—that you may entreat God to give them to you. Meditate upon His mercies to you from birth. Look at the dangers you have been delivered from, the journeys you have been protected in, the seasonable help He has sent you, the suitable support He has afforded you in distress, the counsel He has given you in doubts, and the comforts He has provided you in sorrow and darkness. These are present with you by meditation.

Every breath in your life is a gift of mercy. Do not forget the former favours bestowed on you and your family. An empty perfume bottle still smells when the perfume is gone. Then meditate upon your present mercies. How many do you enjoy—your house, family, body, and soul, are all fully of blessings! Think of them particularly. Spread them out like jewels to you view. Meditate on how freely they are bestowed, on their fullness and greatness.

But O, your soul’s mercies—the image of God, the blood of Christ, eternal life, and seasons of grace! Your whole life is a bundle of mercies. These stir us up to bless the Giver.

Then meditate on God to whom we pray. O how we are ashamed of our drops when we stand by this ocean! Meditate on His mercy and goodness. These like Moses’ strokes will fetch water our of a rock.

God delights to be sought and found. He delights to see men joyful in the house of prayer. God will not send you away sad. When you have by meditation put the wood in order upon the altar, you may by prayers set fire to it and offer up a sacrifice of sweet smelling savour.

As we move through the days ahead, let us determine to set aside time to read, study, and meditate on God’s precious written Word. As we allow the words of our God to wash over our beings, we will arise from our time with Him with minds and hearts refreshed and renewed.

______________________

1 Swinnock, George. Works of George Swinnock. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1992. Volume 1, Pp. 111-117.

 

 

Re-formation

 

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

—Jeremiah 18:4

Please look carefully at the photograph that begins this blog post. Notice the strength, skill, delicacy, and purposefulness that flows from the hands of the potter.

The potter must feel free when creating this art to know that if the pot comes out wrong, the potter can re-form it by simply adding a little water and starting over. However, the time to reshape and change the final look of the object does have a limit. Once the pot’s clay hardens, re-forming the pot becomes almost impossible.

The Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah used the image of the potter and the clay that God gave the potter from the ground as a narrative to warn the nation of Israel about the danger prescribed by their hardened and rebellious hearts. The Lord literally cried out to His people to allow Him to re-form them as He pleased, in order to make them a nation He could use for His glory.

If you use your English dictionary to look up the meaning of the word “reform,” you will find descriptive words like:

“…to amend or improve by removal of faults; to put an end to an evil by enforcing or introducing a better course of action; to form again.”

How does a potter take a clay object and re-form it? First, and most importantly, the clay must remain soft and pliable. To correct the flaws in a piece of pottery, the potter can rub out the mistakes. The potter can even change the object for a use other than the use the potter first intended. This formation takes place within the potter’s hands. But, to truly form clay into something wholly worthwhile, it most often takes an artistic and a creative touch by someone who takes special care.

If the clay pot hardens before the process has finished, the potter can no longer re-form it. Instead the potter has to break it into pieces and begin again with a new slab of workable clay.

Similarly, the Prophet Jeremiah knew the hardness of the hearts of the people. In Chapter 19 of the book that bears Jeremiah’s name, the Lord tells him to use as an illustration a new clay jar. God instructs Jeremiah to break it into pieces while the people watch. And then, warn them that He will smash the nation of Israel in such a way that it can’t be repaired.

As followers of Jesus, God serves the role of our Potter. We become the clay in His creative and artistic hand. If we allow Him to hold us lovingly in His hands and to mold us into whatever shape He desires, God can more readily use us for His divine purposes.

But, in contrast, if we allow our hearts to harden and if we turn away from the Potter, He can only use us if He first breaks us. How much more easily the course of our lives will go, if we willingly allow the re-forming process by our Potter, the Great Artist.

I am reminded of the words to the hymn, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord” by Adelaide Pollard. ¹

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

As you consider these thoughts I’ve shared, I invite you to please pray this prayer with me:

Heavenly Potter, please mold us into the people You wish us to become. Re-form those of us who have pliable hearts and make us into useful vessels. Re-form our gifts and our energies for Your glory. Re-form our churches, our desires, and our plans. Help us to allow You the freedom to form us anew, according to Your good purpose and grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

______________________

1 Pollard, Adelaide. “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.” A hymn in the Public Domain.

 

 

The Sharpest Knife

 

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

—Hebrews 4:12

Do you have a favorite kitchen knife? I do. Whenever I want to make quick work of cutting through meat, or bread, or pie, or just about anything, I go to the same knife. I must always keep it sharpened for the next job I require of it.

The writer of Hebrews states that God’s word, even sharper than a scalpel, penetrates and divides the very inner workings of our body and soul. Have you ever experienced that kind of inner surgery?

I remember a few times in my life when sin clearly came into focus through the written Word of God, or from faithful preaching of that written Word. I particularly remember the actual physical reaction I experienced, knowing that I had to confess my sin, or take some other bold step that God was asking me to take. This painful process changed me and brought healing to me.

In our study of the Bible, we can see the difference the word from God made in the life of the nation of Israel. In the time of King Josiah, the king determined to purify the land and the temple and set to repairing it. In the process, one of the priests found the Book of the Law and read it to the king. Beginning in 2 Chronicles 34:19, we read these words:

When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders… “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book”…

[This is what the Lord says:]… “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you,” declares the Lord.

Scripture tells another story of the cutting power of the word of God. All the people that had returned to Jerusalem after the exile had assembled and Ezra the scribe brought out the Book of the Law. Beginning in Nehemiah 8:5 we read the following words:

Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up… [the Levites] read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

We see here some of the sharp, effective results that God’s word had in the hearts of His people. Do we still hear God’s word that way when we read and study our Bibles?

I have a feeling that in our culture, so plentiful in podcasts and TED talks and conferences with inspiring speakers, God’s favorite knife may have gotten lost in some “drawer.” Maybe God is calling us back to the sacred Book, to the pure written Word of the Lord.

Let us pray that in this day of so many voices, we begin to hear again the word that cuts to the quick, that changes lives, that excises that which only God can see. Oh, Lord, help us to find that powerful “knife” that accomplishes the work that only You can do through Your word!

 

 

Sleeping in Church

 

“Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God… If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief.”

—Revelation 3:2, 3

I can remember my father and other farmers who sometimes fell asleep during church services. Most people excused such behavior because these men had arisen at 5:00 a.m. and spent hours milking cows and doing other necessary chores before they rushed in, changed their clothes, and headed out the doors of their homes on the Lord’s Day.

How do you think our God reacts to see His people not only sleeping in church, but unconsciously living each day in a kind of “sleep walk”? What might God have to say to those “sleep walkers”?

The Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and warned seven prominent churches of deadly habits that would keep God from using them. Most of those churches were pretty useless for the purposes He had created them. In the case of the church in Sardis, He stated that they had a wonderful reputation of wakefulness, of life, and of vigor.

However, like the farmers in my illustration, the Sardis Christians had fallen asleep and displayed only dead works. They were seemingly asleep to what God wanted to do with them. They needed a reawakening.

This letter from John should have stirred them back to their call to effectiveness. John called them to strengthen what remained of their glorious past and to stop slipping ever closer to a deadly sleep.

I like what the Puritan, William Gurnall, wrote about this condition:¹

The Christian is seldom worsted by his enemy unless he is negligent in his spiritual business and the enemy is upon him before he is thoroughly awake to draw his sword. The saint’s sleeping time is Satan’s tempting time…

Sampson was asleep, and Delilah cut his locks. Saul was asleep, and his spear was taken from his side. Noah was asleep, and his graceless son had opportunity to discover his father’s nakedness. Eutychus was asleep, and he fell from the third loft.

The Christian asleep in security may soon be surprised and lose much of his spiritual strength…

Sleep creeps upon the soul as it does on the body. Take heed that you do not indulge yourself in a lazy distemper, but stir up yourself to action, and stand up.

We get so comfortable that sleep comes easily. Yet, the “thief” is upon us. We need the wakeful, vigilant pose of Christians ready to act on behalf of the Savior in this world. God help us all!

Lord, Your church appears asleep, or at best, very drowsy. We have allowed our eyelids to get heavy, rather than standing tall to move at Your command.

Send us watchmen to warn us. Sound “Reveille” and reawaken Your church. Alert us to dangers that have intruded into our bed chambers and wait to kill us in our sleep.

Stir us up. As You awoke our churches in times past, come again and reawaken Your people for Your glory, through the power of Christ our Lord. Amen.

______________________

1 Gurnall, William (author) and Richard Rushing (editor). Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Reading. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 358.

 

 

Evaporating

 

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

—James 4:14

I used to teach the following folk round to my third and fourth graders:

Man’s life’s a vapor full of woes.
He cuts a caper, down he goes.
Down he, down he, down he, down he,
Down he goes.

                —Anonymous

Of course, along with the music, I also had to teach some vocabulary—words that they probably had not heard. I always wondered how many of them had ever been faced with the proposition of their own deaths, and how many people that I knew actually gave it much thought.

As I have moved into retirement, I acknowledge that the prospect of death is far too real. The very idea of death fills the minds of most people with a least a little bit of horrible apprehension. The unknown nature of death tends to do that.

As Christians, I would imagine that we have far less apprehension than our non-Christian peers. We know what Jesus has said in His written Word about the fact that He has gone to prepare a place for us. (John 14:2). We also know from His “High Priestly Prayer” that He wants us to live with Him in His glory. (John 17:24). If we have a strong desire to see our Lord in the afterlife, we have a much more healthy view of physical death, especially as it draws near.

I would also imagine that both non-Christians and Christians alike have the same desires to make the most of our lives in the later years. Knowing that the days evaporate before our eyes, we want to do and continue to become that which will count.

Non-Christian people may desire to spend more time with family, or travel, or put their minds to learning new things, or experience completing the items on their “bucket lists.”

However, Christians, beyond all such similar desires, have the foremost desire to allow God to use them and to sanctify them fully, in order to prepare them to live forever in His presence. This gives us a far different set of priorities.

During this COVID-19 pandemic have you felt, like I do, that “time is a-wasting”? We know what we would like to do for God and His church, but we feel that our hands seem tied at every turn.

Let me offer some ideas for ways in which we can still make the most of the days we spend during the pandemic. Though God never tells us how long a particular trial will last—and He certainly has not let us know about the length of this pandemic—He has given us specific ways that He expects us to serve Him. For example:

• How can we find a better time in which to pray for others than during this crisis?
  
  
• The written Word of God speaks to us about praying for those in authority, both civically and spiritually.
  
  
• The written Word of God speaks to us about loving others and giving generously.
  
  
• The written Word of God tells us to study God’s written Word, to meditate and encourage others with that Word.
  
  
• The written Word of God speaks often of sharing our faith with the next generation.
  
  
• The written Word of God also urges us to remember the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the widows, and the orphans.
  
  

Many of these activities may not appeal to our natural sense of accomplishment. But, in God’s eyes, these living acts of sharing God’s grace may hold a much more important place than we would normally give to them in our lives.

Let us remain faithful, doing those tasks nearby, searching and praying for ways in which the Lord would use us in these days. And, let us fervently pray that the Church will rise from this time of forced sleep with an energy that spurns us onward toward a much greater usefulness and power in the days to come.

 

 

The King's Table

 

He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love.

—Song of Songs 2:4

During these days, we hear a lot about a peaceful “transition of power” within our own country. We also observe the destruction that happens in third-world countries when one party stages a coup to overturn an election and forecefully place their party’s chosen government in power.

As we study the Bible, we read of hundreds of transitions of kings, judges, and empires. Never was there a more unusual turnover than when King David began his rule in Jerusalem.

You may recall the stories of King Saul, David’s predecessor, who in jealous rages attempted to kill David on various occasions. Yet David, already anointed by God to serve as king, returned grace for hatred. David did this even though he had several opportunities to retaliate.

After Saul’s death and going against God’s will, Saul’s loyal army crowned his son, Ish-bosheth, king. David struggled against this opposition until God eventually gave him victory.

As newly crowned king over all of Israel, David asked this question, as recorded in 2 Samuel 9:1:

“Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”¹

When he was told about King Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth, crippled in both feet, David called him to come. Then, David said to him, as recorded in 2 Samuel 9:7:

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

This picture of grace should reinforce for all of us the way in which God treats us for His Son’s sake. We also have been invited to sit at His table all the rest of our lives.

When we consider God’s grace to us, we should worship Him, rejoice in His portion and in His riches that He has given us. And, we should vow to give ourselves in fealty to Him by living in grace toward others, just as He has given His grace to us.

The Puritan, George Swinnock, wrote:²

The believing soul feasts like Mephibosheth at David’s table continually. In his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore… His love is infinitely better than life itself. Exalt him in your heart as your chiefest good, and he will make the gift of himself to you. Here is God, there is the world; here bread, and there husks; here substance, there a shadow; here a paradise, there an apple; here is fulness, there is emptiness; here a fountain, there a broken cistern; here are all things, there is nothing; here is heaven, there is hell; here eternity of pleasure, there eternity of sorrow and pain. Now, is not this an infinite reason to choose God for your portion?

Today, let us meditate on the way God’s abundant grace allows Him to look at us. Though He may see us clearly as unlovely and poor, nevertheless He lavishly bestows us with His presence and His riches. May His kindness demonstrate to us the way in which He would have us show kindness to others.

______________________

1 Jonathan was King Saul’s son and David’s dearest friend.

2 Swinnock, George (author) and Richard Rushing (editor). Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Reading. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 270.

 

 

Carrying His Glory

 

God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

—Romans 5:5

Can you imagine how Mary must have felt as she carried the baby she knew was the Son of God? What an awesome responsibility! What an awesome privilege! How carefully she must have cared for herself. With an eye to her Heavenly Father, how carefully she must have lived. How she must have constantly prayed and given herself daily to God’s loving care.

Of course, God hasn’t given us that very special kind of glory to carry within us. But, if we know Him and have experienced the incarnation of His presence in our lives, He has given us the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit within us. Do we consider often enough how this fact should impact the way we live?

As we carry His glory within us, do we consider how we take care of ourselves spiritually? Do we live with an eye to our Father, purposefully determining to walk in His ways and honor Him with our living? Do we pray, asking God to enable us to understand His work in the world and how we fit into His plan? Do we consider that carrying His glory is a high privilege, one that is above all others?

I like the way that the Apostle Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 4:7, and I appreciate the way that Eugene Peterson places the biblical text into our modern vernacular in The Message.¹

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that.

Does that give you a sense of privilege and joy? It should. God has chosen us to carry His glory and His message to this world—a world that is very much in need of Him. Let us not put this glorious light under a bushel and hide it. Let us wear the glory of God proudly and humbly. Amen!

______________________

1 Peterson, Eugene. The Message. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2002.

 

 

Bridging the Gaps of Life

 

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”

—Psalm 68:19

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

—Galatians 6:2

Did you ever stop to think what your life would be like without bridges? People who live near rivers, or even swamp land, would have a nearly impossible time getting to work or reaching common shopping areas without bridges. We can all be grateful for the continual burdens that bridges carry to allow us ease in our daily lives.

Have you ever become a bridge for another person? As such, you became that one’s help in crossing one of life’s gaps, or in traversing a tough spot in life, or in helping someone to move on to the other side of a difficulty.

In considering the subject of bridges, I can’t help but think of the Simon and Garfunkel lyrics from the 1960’s: ¹

When you’re weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I’ll dry them all (all)
I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Certainly, if people who likely lack an eye to pleasing our Savior can think that way about their friends, how much more should we act as willing bridges for those who need us to help carry them over the gaps to wholeness? After all, we have the example of a God who bears us through this life, and of a Savior who bridged the gap on the cross for our sins.

Sometimes, it even becomes necessary to act as an old-fashioned covered bridge for others: protecting them from the fierce winds of adversity, or from the cruel and bitter sting of sin and shame. Such people need the hospitality and healing of a safe and guarded way to bridge the gap. And, God calls us, from time to time, to offer this solace to His hurting children.

Jesus told us in John 15:13:

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

The next time we drive over an expansive bridge, or stop to view a covered bridge, we should remind ourselves that, just as we sometimes need bridges to arrive at our next destination, so Christ may have need for each one of us to become a bridge to help span the gap for someone else on his or her journey through life!

______________________

1 Simon, Paul. “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”, ©1969. All Rights Reserved. These lyrics remain the sole property of the copyright owners. Included here under the “Nonprofit Educational Use Provision” of Section 107 of the U. S. Copyright Act of 1976.

 

 

The Bride Awaits

 

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen,1 bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

—Revelation 19:6-9

Recently I received a thank-you note from a young bride for whose wedding I played the organ. She commented that everyone kept saying what a dramatic entrance she had made at the wedding. Truthfully, I did nothing out of the ordinary for her. I always prepare the bridal processional with a fanfare and with loud flourishes.

Yet, her note has me thinking about the great Wedding Supper of the Lamb mentioned in Revelation 19:6-9, from which I quoted at the beginning of this blog post.

Many times in Scripture, the Bride is regarded as the Body of Christ—the Church—prepared for her groom, Christ Himself. Such a fuss over the bride! It would seem that with Christ as the groom, the focus should be on Him. Yet here, Scripture says that she has made herself ready in fine linen, bright and clean. Nothing is spoken here about the Groom.

Psalm 45 is a wedding song. In verse 15, the bride is described as wearing gold and embroidered garments. She and her companions are:

“…led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king.”

The Prophet Isaiah refers to the Bride in Isaiah 62:5:

“As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

Something of the symbolism of Christ and His church seems to have become lost in modern wedding ceremonies. In fact, like in the wedding ceremony I referred to earlier, there was neither any prayer nor mention of Christ. No wonder this young bride was a bit surprised at her role in the wedding drama.

Oh yes, people spend the money and time to assure that the dreaming young girls expend on that perfect setting, perfect flowers, perfect decorations, perfect food and drink, and perfect bridal dress does still exist. But, the real meaning of such a wedding dress, and all the related wedding accoutrements, seems to have been lost.

Not long ago, I read of the Greek Orthodox wedding tradition that calls for the use of crowns. One of the elements of the service involves the “crowning.” During this portion of the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom receive crowns united by a ribbon. This represents their union in Christ. The priest says aloud, “Crown them with Glory and Honor.”

The crowns also symbolize the heavenly crowns we will receive when we enter paradise. The crowns serve as a reminder that marriage involves “dying to self” in the same way that we die to self so that Christ can live in us.

After the marriage ceremony, the crowns are typically displayed in a glass case mounted above the couple’s bed. This serves as a constant reminder of the holy state of marriage.

The Apostle Paul also speaks of the symbolism found in marriage. In his letter to the Christians gathered at Ephesus, Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25-28:

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”

Yes, Christ has chosen to put the emphasis on the Bride. He chose her, bought her with His own blood, brought her to a relationship with Himself, and waits to present her to the Heavenly Hosts and all creation.

I wonder what the music will sound like when we are presented to Him in the Heavenly Kingdom? Will it be a dramatic processional? I would imagine it will!

God is preparing to meet us. Have we prepared to meet Him?

______________________

1 Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.

 

 

Outflanking the Enemy

 

	“Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
	—2 Timothy 2:3

Most Christians don’t often consider the spiritual battle waged against them. Yes, they would say that Satan exists and prompts evil in the world. But, when it comes to understanding the ceaseless battle he wages against their lives, they usually don’t see it.

Here’s how Joni Eareckson Tada explains it:

The King’s most trusted officer turns renegade and gathers a powerful army around him to lead a rebellion. Through treachery and deceit, the rebel leader usurps the authority of the King and sets up his own rival government, enslaving the citizens of the kingdom. In order to free the captives, the King sends His own Son into the heart of enemy territory with a battle plan more shocking than anyone could imagine. ¹

Not only does the “rebel leader”—Satan—want to tempt us to sin, he also works hard to defeat us in our Christian walk and in our work on behalf of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Satan endeavors to discourage us and tempt us to turn back. He generally does everything he can to disrupt our lives in any way that he can. When we pray in Jesus’ name against the weapons Satan uses, we can successfully upset his battle plan—we can outflank his attack on us.

Jesus took on this enemy at the cross. As Colossians 2:15 tells us:

“…having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

And with the overcoming power that Jesus gives to us, we can fight against the war that Satan will continue to instigate until Jesus comes back.

God has not left us alone to live defeated lives. Instead, He has armed His people with the weapons we need: prayer and His Word. Here’s how 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 puts it:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

When we pray in Jesus’ name, we join with Him in defeating the powers and authorities of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil. He already disarmed them on the cross. But, when we pray, we appropriate that power into our own lives.

When we see evil around us and feel it coming at us from every side, we have Christ and His power as our strong defense. He gives us the opportunity to outflank the enemy and win the skirmishes. And one day, our Captain—Christ Jesus—will return to end the battle completely.

Praise His name!

______________________

1 Tada, Joni Eareckson. Diamonds in the Dust. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2010. Devotional for April 9th.

 

 

Teamwork

 

I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.

—Exodus 31:6-11

You’ve probably heard this definition of a camel: “A camel is a horse built by a committee!” In some sense, that can aptly describe the way some churches function. However, from the beginning, God had plans to use many people—with different personalities, different skill sets, different talents and abilities, different perspectives, and different passions—to do His work within His Church. We all have intensely different roles, even as we retain our individuality.

In reading the account of the 1936 American Olympic crew team, I came across this quote:¹

Even as rowers must subsume their often fierce sense of independence and self-reliance, at the same time they must hold true to their individuality, their unique capabilities as oarsmen or oarswomen or, for that matter, as human beings.

Just as His chosen people, whom God called together to use their gifts for the building of the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle) in the wilderness, He has called us and our fellow church members to work together for the building up of His Kingdom. He must have realized how difficult we would find that intention. The more individual our gifts, the harder time we have in setting aside our selfish impulses and obediently offering those gifts up to Him for the benefit of all.

The Olympic crew learned this as they practiced and rowed together.²

But the demands of rowing are such that every man or woman in a racing shell depends on his or her crewmates to perform almost flawlessly with each and every pull of the oar. The movements of each rower are so intimately intertwined, so precisely synchronized with the movements of all the others, that any one rower’s mistake or subpar performance can throw off the tempo of the stroke, the balance of the boat, and ultimately the success of the whole crew.

In rowing, as well as in giving our service to the church, we soon learn that pride, jealousy, selfishness, self-righteousness, and a host of other negative qualities simply must have no place. To have the success that our Captain desires, we must put aside our selfishness for the greater good—the good of showing forth the glory of God in our teamwork.

This concept in the New Testament uses the illustrations of a building “fit together” and of a body with various functions working together. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, the Apostle Paul writes about this, as follows:

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of languages, and to still another the interpretation of languages. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

We see here that God hasn’t gifted us for our own benefit. He gave gifts to us for the good and benefit of the whole church.

Soon, the impact on our lives of this COVID-19 Pandemic will undoubtedly end. We must ask ourselves these questions:

• Have we prepared ourselves to go back to serve God in our churches with others who might have strong opinions different from ours, with immature believers who have outrageous ideas, and with possibilities galore of misunderstandings and slights?
  
  
• Have we given ourselves so completely to God that we can obediently give our gifts to Him for His disposal?
  
  
• Are we willing, if God so desires, to have Him put us on a shelf for a time, where we will not be able to exercise our best gifts?

Let us prepare ourselves in prayer and in sincere humility solely for the purposes God has planned for us. And, let us open our eyes to see new ways He wishes to use the unique gifts He has given us.

______________________

1 Brown, Daniel James. The Boys in the Boat. New York: Penguin Books, 2013. p. 179.

2 Ibid. p. 89.

 

 

Wishy Washy

 

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

—1 Kings 18:20

The Prophet Elijah had the right idea. He was bold and was always prepared to speak God’s word and do God’s business.

In this story found in 1 Kings 18, from which we quote the verse at the beginning of this blog post, we read how Elijah came to the God-fearing Obadiah, servant of the evil King Ahab and Ahab’s wife Jezebel. Both Obadiah and Elijah knew that Ahab intended to kill the Lord’s prophets, in order to set up the thousand or more prophets of Baal over the people of Israel. Elijah came prepared to challenge Ahab, through Obadiah and through the test that would lead all the people to testify, “The Lord, He is God!” Elijah exemplified strength in the face of a weak and wishy-washy nation.

The people of Israel knew that they belonged to God. Down through the generations they had been taught that God had chosen them out of all the people on earth. Some Israelites even intended to worship only God. But sadly, too often good intentions go awry, causing those who think they will never fall to bitterly fail.

Peter intended to follow Jesus, said he would give his life for his Master. But, when it came to the test, Peter denied Jesus. You can read the story of Peter’s denials “before the rooster crowed” in Matthew 26:69-75.

In the Book of Romans, the powerful Apostle Paul admits to this wishy-washy attitude at work in him. We read in Romans 7:21-23:

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

I love the way Puritan writer Stephen Charnock puts it:¹

In the fall, man was wounded in his head and heart; the wound in the head made him unstable in the truth, and that in his heart, unsteadfast in his affections… We waver between God and Baal. While we are resolving, we look back at Sodom… Our resolutions are like letters written on water. With John we love Christ today, and as Judas tomorrow we betray him… How hard it is to make our thoughts and affections keep their stand! Place them on a good object, and they will be flying from it like a bird from branch to branch.

Like the Apostle Paul, we can thank God and fully rest our unstable nature on God’s unchangeable grace. He knows our weakness. And, when we acknowledge it like Peter did, we can know His forgiveness and His empowering boldness in the face of our inadequacy.

Like Elijah, we can know God’s power to strengthen us before incredible odds. We have hope because we have Christ! Let us bow in our weakness before our Lord Almighty and pray with words of hymn-writer Robert Robinson:²

O, to grace how great a debtor
    daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,
    bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
    prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
    seal it for Thy courts above.

______________________

1 Charnock, Stephen (author) and Richard Rushing, editor. Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Reading – Volume 2. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2016. p. 278.

2 Robinson, Robert. “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Public Domain. Stanza three.

 

 

Disinfectant

 

You are the salt of the earth.

—Matthew 5:13a

What flies off the pharmacy and supermarket shelves faster than any other product during this pandemic? Based on panicked reports earlier in the year, we might be tempted to say paper products. But, I believe disinfectant products have probably gone faster and remain the most sought after necessities. We all want to use something that will kill 99 percent of all germs and other pathogens, thus effectively protecting us from this dreaded COVID-19 coronavirus.

Thousands of years ago in Bible times, people used salt to kill impurities and stamp out the effects of lingering poisons, particularly on food. As stated in the verse at the beginning of this blog post, Jesus used salt to illustrate the role of Christians in an ungodly culture.

We know from Scripture that every human being carries the stain of original sin into the world, inherited from Adam and passed down to us from our parents. To allow that sin to fully germinate would mean that the total depravity of human society would remain unabated. Only the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross can cleanse and purify us from our sins and transform us into a people acceptable to the holiness of God. This grants to us two important roles in life.

First of all, in Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”—found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7—He tells us that we believers in Christ and in His sacrifice have a function in this world of permeating and disinfecting the culture from total ruin. Reading from Rev. Dr. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones on this subject, he writes:¹

What does being the “salt of the earth” imply? It clearly implies rottenness in the earth; it implies a tendency to pollution and to becoming foul and offensive… It is fallen, sinful and bad. Its tendency is to evil and to wars. It is like meat which has a tendency to putrefy and to become polluted. It is like something which can only be kept wholesome by means of a preservative or antiseptic… The world, left to itself, is something that tends to fester. There are these germs of evil, these microbes, these infective agents and organisms in the very body of humanity, and unless checked, they cause disease.

Secondly, Christians, like salt, also possess other functions. Similar to a pleasant-smelling disinfectant in the air, and a savory shake of salt on food, God expects us to emit His winsomeness wherever we go. Also, as citizens of a particular country, we can indirectly affect the culture through our work, through our loving and caring for our neighbors, and through innumerable other ways.

Yet, in the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus didn’t stop after merely telling us how He expects us to fulfill our God-given role. In the remainder of verse 13, He also shares His concern, as follows:

“But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Would a manufacturing company that produces a disinfectant proudly put out a product that no longer had the qualities for which it was created? If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could no longer verify that the manufacturer’s liquid would kill germs, would they allow it to advertise its benefits against this COVID-19 coronavirus?

Likewise, Jesus is concerned that His people potently serve Him as a deterrent to sin in this wicked world. If we, as His followers, look like white crystals of spiritual salt, but have no power to benefit society, we miss the mark in serving Christ. God truly expects those of us who faithfully follow His precious Son, Jesus, to serve as a disinfectant against the soul-damaging ravages of sin in our world.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones continued:²

May God give us grace to examine ourselves in the light of this simple proposition… Let the individual Christian be certain that this essential quality of saltness is in him (of her), that because he (or she) is what he (or she) is, he (or she) is a check, a control, an antiseptic in society preserving it from unspeakable foulness, preserving it perhaps, from a return to a dark age… Is not our whole generation going down visibly? It is you and I and others like us, Christian people, who alone can prevent that. God give us grace to do so. God stir up the gift within us, and make us such that we shall indeed be like the Son of God Himself and influence all who come into contact with us.

______________________

1 Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co./Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1971. Pp. 151-158.

2 Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Ibid. Pp. 151-158.

 

 

Staying in Affliction

 

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage.

—Jeremiah 29:4-6

The godly people of Israel, who had been carried off with those who had rebelled against God’s Kingdom, must have wondered what God meant for them in Babylon. They may have prayed and searched for years for their nation to give up its idols and return to the God of their history. But still, most of the people refused to obey. God carried out against them what He had promised, by way of a punishing exile to an ungodly nation far away from their homeland.

Yet, God knew His people who had remained faithful to Him. He sent His beloved prophet, Jeremiah, to them by way of a letter. In it, as recorded in Jeremiah 29: 4-7, God told them to build, and plant and settle down. Then He had Jeremiah write these words of instruction:

Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

This seemed like a strange piece of guidance. Can you hear them questioning God’s wisdom? He was asking them to live in this strange land as a blessing to the inhabitants there. Perhaps this did sound impossibly difficult at first. But then God, speaking through Jeremiah, added this in verses 10-14.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Perhaps you are feeling that this COVID-19 Pandemic and the “captivity” you feel by staying at home rather than doing and going will never end. Yet, if we look at this time through the window of God’s dealings with Israel and His promise to His dearly loved people, we see that He will bring it all to an end in His time. He promises good to His people and He will never fail them.

It is very possible that the COVID-19 Pandemic is the least of your trials. Perhaps your own “exile” into another foreign situation weighs on you day after day.

No matter what our individual circumstances, may the admonitions of Jeremiah, and the promises God sends give us peace and purpose. May He assure us that He will cause “increase” and “prosperity” to come into our lives, and that He sees the end from the beginning far better than we could ever possibly see.

Let us all sincerely take heart. And, let us settle down and determine to do good in whatever circumstance He has placed us, as we await His blessing.

 

 

Too Close to See

 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

—Isaiah 55:8-9

We arrived very late to the movie theater and peered into the main room and found it crowded with hardly an empty seat. At last, in the dark, we stumbled on two seats together in the very front row. This newest blockbuster of a movie, Superman, portrayed a hero who was bigger than life—but no one saw him any bigger than we did! We were sitting so close that it became overwhelming. We could not see the whole screen at one time without turning our heads.

Sometimes, looking at fine works of art reminds me of that experience. If we stand too close, we may see a rich color, but we don’t see the full mosaic until we step back—way back.

Living through this COVID-19 Pandemic seems a bit like standing too close to a mosaic picture. We live every day and we begin to think that we see a beautiful color in life we’ve never observed before: maybe more time to spend with family, or more time to spend on a new hobby, or more time to pray, or more time to observe a new beauty in nature. But in these confusing days, even when we resort to doing all we can—and even when we see some promising signs that it might actually become resolved—we have no idea of the whole picture.

What if God is preparing for us a beautiful mosaic door through which He wants us to walk when this is over? We may see it as a glorious wall, but not realize it will open and present to us a new aspect of His will for our lives, or a new chapter in the life of the Church in this world. His thoughts are higher than ours. And, His thoughts always take in the whole picture.

When Ruth gave birth to her son Obed, did she have any idea that this beautiful gift to her and Boaz would become the grandfather of King David in the line of Christ, the Messiah? Of course not. God never shared that secret with her. From her vantage point, she only saw a small part of the whole story that God would unfold.

We never know what God plans. Even so, He wants for us to remain vigilant and faithful to Him, taking one day at a time until we make it through the long days of waiting for this COVID-19 Pandemic to be over.

We need to praise Him for the new doors He has already arranged to open for us. We need to thank Him for the new vistas He will allow us to eventually see. We need to determinedly trust Him to provide the very best for us, even though we don’t yet see the full picture.

 

 

Rattling Bones

 

The Lord set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones… And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

—Ezekiel 37:1,7

Talk about bizarre! Perhaps, by the time Ezekiel had the vision of the valley of dry bones, he had experienced the Lord’s visions enough times to not completely freak out. Here he sat, among the exiles from Israel in Babylon, with a message from God and the hand of the Lord upon him. The Jews had been captive there for more than thirty years and, according to God’s timeline given to other prophets, they had forty more years left in their captivity.

The people around Ezekiel appeared as those dry bones—lifeless and ignorant of the God who was ordering their nation’s woes. Yet here, in the most forsaken place, God was giving Ezekiel a message of hope using this strange vision.

Ezekiel, the obedient prophet, did as God commanded. In response to the vision, Ezekiel preached to these dry, lifeless bones. Surprisingly, he heard the sound of the rattling skeletons and saw them come together and reconnect with flesh surrounding them.

Next, God commanded Ezekiel to preach to the wind and ask for breath to come again and revive those dead bones. In obedience, Ezekiel did as God asked. As he watched, Ezekiel saw a huge army of people and he heard them confessing that they were dry and without hope. God responded by bringing a message of hope to all of them, by promising that, with His Spirit upon them, they would live and go back to their own land!

What hope this must have brought the prophet and, as he recounted his vision, to the people! God had not forgotten them. In fact, He acted in their behalf to restore them to life.

Sometimes, when we look at our country in the midst of this pandemic and with the political and cultural unrest all around us, it must feel like we lie in a valley full of dry bones. Can God cause us to live again? What must we do to see that happen? Like Israel, we need to confess that we lie dead without hope and without obedience to the living God.

But, not only does our culture look dry, dead, and useless. Oftentimes, we also look at our churches and see that they carry on without the “life” of the Holy Spirit moving them and giving them health and strength to serve God. We ask, “Can these bones live again?” Once again, can we stand like a mighty army and with renewed energy serve Him? In Robert Coleman’s book on revival from the 1960’s, he writes:¹

Yet there is hope. Dry bones can live again. In other days of crises when catastrophe has threatened, men have turned unto the Lord and found in him deliverance and strength. In fact, our greatest spiritual awakenings have come during the darkest periods of church history. Perhaps again the peril of the age may bring us to our senses.

The church uses the term “revival” as “the return of something to its true nature and purpose.” Certainly, dry bones need to form skeletons, and skeletons need not only flesh and blood, but life breathed in, as God did when He created Adam. From Coleman again:²

In the Old Testament, the word revival comes from a root meaning “to live,” which originally conveyed the idea of “breathing,” inasmuch as breath is the expression of life in all animate beings.

Hence, the word to the prophet in Ezekiel 37:5 refers to this kind of reviving power:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”

Let us listen for the rattling of the bones. As it did at Pentecost, let us pray to see the wind of the Holy Spirit come into our own dry existence, into the life of our churches, and into our lifeless culture. Then, may the Holy Spirit’s power within us and our churches accomplish all that God wants to accomplish, to the glory of His Holy Name!

______________________

1 Coleman, Robert E. Dry Bones Can Live Again. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1969. Pp. 7-8.

2 Ibid. Pp. 11-12.

 

 

Scraps and Second Chances

 

This is what the Lord says, “If you repent, I will restore you, that you may serve me.”

—Jeremiah 15:19

I love the way old things can become new and useful again—like scrap quilts, for example. I admire the artistry and creativity put into sewing a beautiful quilt out of scraps of material that individually are hardly large enough to be used for anything else.

Suddenly the old collection of dress fabrics, or Father’s ties, or Mother’s aprons takes on a whole new life and usefulness with years more of service. You might say that those scraps have become redeemed from the stash.

Think of God as our Redeemer, our Savior, the One who makes new that which was old.

In Jeremiah 31:31, He promised a new covenant with the House of Israel. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul reminds us that:

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

Likewise, God has promised a New Heaven and a New Earth, saying in Revelation 21:5:

“I am making everything new.”

Throughout the Bible, we read stories of saints who have become redeemed from their past sins to serve God again.

• Think of Moses, whom God called at age 80 to lead God’s people through the wilderness and who had murdered a fellow Israelite (see Exodus 2-3).
  
  
• Or, think of David, the promised king guilty of adultery and murder, whom God cleansed of his sin and continued to use as king (see 2 Samuel 11-12).
  
  
• Or, consider Jonah, whom God called on a special errand to Nineveh and who rebelliously took off in the opposite direction, yet received a second call (see Jonah 1).
  
  
• Or, think of Peter, the leader of the New Testament Church and one of the Twelve, who denied the Lord Jesus, not once but three times, but whom Jesus reinstated after considering Peter’s repentant heart (see John 21:15-19).

We each may know people in our own lives to whom God has given a second chance. Most often, these people, knowing the mercy and forgiveness of God, go on to serve Him with even more vigor than before. They have a testimony of God’s redeeming grace—His ability to rescue, repair, renew, and repurpose.

Perhaps you, too, have offended against God’s holy will, have disobeyed, or have disregarded Him. He waits to redeem your life and restore you, too. Please take note of Psalm 103:1-5:

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems you life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.