The Sap of the Maple

 

“The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly and are filled with sap.”

—Psalm 104:16 Amp.

I love that in the months of February and March a great trasformation takes place. The ground lies frozen beneath a blanket of snow and all the trees look like dead stalks. I can remember my childhood on a maple syrup-producing farm. Yes, before the robin sings his first song, before pussy willows pop their soft fuzzy shoots, or before the ice-hardened streams flow freely, we can find new life within the maple tree.

The maple tree, in order to produce the sweet sap, must teem with new life. Through its hidden roots, it must draw up from the moisture in the ground the glorious liquid that becomes its sap.

In a similar way, a Christian should bring forth new fruit and new living nourishment for the benefit of himself or herself and others. This fresh life is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit, Who brings the divine ability to give off the many effects of that new life. The root system of a Christian reaches deep down in God-breathed experiences, deep down to the Water of Life, the Lord Jesus, and deep down into the written Word of God that feeds spiritual nourishment to him or her.

The result of tapping into one of these mature maple trees and allowing a hot fire to boil away the extra liquid can be tasted in the remaining syrup and the many products made from the syrup, such as maple cream and maple sugar candy.

Mature Christians, with the living graces of Christ flowing into them, through them, and from them, produce sweet refreshments for others, as well. In Scripture, Galatians 5:22-23 refers to these sweet refreshments as the “Fruit of the Spirit.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon had this to say: ¹

As the sap manifests itself in producing the foliage and fruit of the tree, so with a truly healthy Christian, his grace is externally manifested in his walk and conversation.

Let us continually feed on the Water of Life so that we provide Christ’s sweetness to everyone we meet.

______________________

1 Spurgeon, Charles H. Morning and Evening. Public Domain. Devotional entry for October 24th.

2 The photo above was taken of a portion of the mural painted by Charlene B. Willink Kidder for the UPMC Chautauqua WCA Hospital Emergency Department’s Waiting Room in Jamestown, NY.

 

 

Tools of the Trade

 

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

—Philippians 3:10

Dr. Helen Roseveare, a missionary physician and iterant speaker of the mid-20th century, has written in her book, Digging Ditches,¹ about the three tools that she believes serious followers of Christ need to use. She suggests Jesus used a yoke, a towel, and a cup to symbolize the work of Christ’s ministry, and our own.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us with these words:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

To most of us, this heavy, clumsy object looks more like a mechanism of torture than something that will give us rest. In reading about yokes, I have learned that cattle wearing yokes spend a long time getting used to the idea of working alongside another cow, or even a farmhand.

From the Scripture verse above, it appears as though Jesus, too, wants us to spend time with Him, in order that we may learn how to conform more easily to the pressure of “wearing” this way of life. Quietly giving ourselves to Him enables us to submit fully to Christ and allows Him to share more than half the load, as He directs us in His pathway.

We read about Dr. Roseveare’s second tool of the trade in John 13 during the Last Supper. Jesus took a towel to use in washing His disciples’ feet. He took the opportunity to teach His disciples about serving. In John 13:14, Jesus said:

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

This second tool serves a most practical need. Dirty, smelly feet needed cleaning before a person reclines to begin eating a meal. Jesus saw the need and got to it. He never thought about this as below His dignity as the Son of God. Nor, did Jesus see this task as demeaning in any way. He put the towel around His waist, got down on His knees, and served the men in attendance by carefully, lovingly, and thoroughly washing their feet.

Jesus wants us also to serve without counting the cost. He looks for servants who see a job that needs doing and who will get to work doing it.

The third tool suggests true suffering as Christ did. During the last meal, He “took the cup.” After He gave thanks, Jesus explained to His friends that the cup represented the blood of the covenant given for them. They must have assumed this cup indicated fellowship with Him. “How wonderful!” they must have thought to themselves. Yet, as recorded in Mark 14:36, a few hours later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:

Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

This cup Jesus took did not represent fellowship. Instead, it represented the terrifying cup of suffering, as He bore our sins in our place on the cross. Yet, Dr. Roseveare explains in her book, these “cups” are one and the same.

The Apostle Paul obviously understood this truth when he wrote of desiring the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings (see Philippians 3:10). In this statement, we find the true heart of the gospel for others—to feel as Christ feels for the lost in our world and to suffer with them and for their sake.

How do we respond to the use of these tools? Have we taken them up? Or, have we set them aside and allowed them to rust or rot while we go about our selfish way?

We should all take a look at our hearts and compare them to Jesus’ examples for us. May He teach us to use the tools He grants us, that we may become united in fellowship with Him.

______________________

1 Roseveare, Helen. Digging Ditches. Ross-shire, Scotland UK: Christian Focus Publications, 2005. Amazon Kindle eBook location 1870-1901.

 

 

Pouting and the Pandemic

 

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

—Romans 1:21

A year ago almost to the day, America went into this long COVID-19 Pandemic. It has bewildered even the most astute among us. Christians and non-believers alike have been amazed that a virus like this could cause such havoc. Christians at least can ask: “What is God’s purpose in all of this?”

Many parents, when they are dealing with a bratty child who wants nothing more than his or her own way, will punish that child by sending the child to his or her room. Could it be that God has been punishing us because we have strayed so far from His will? If so, God certainly has sent us into our rooms this year. Has His purpose been achieved? Have we learned anything?

In reading through Romans 1:18-32, we find no better a comparative description of American society than this one. Get a look at this list of possible offenses:

degraded sex lies shameful lusts unnatural, indecent perversion greed envy murder strife deceit malice gossip

slander God-hating insolent arrogance boasting disobedience to parents senselessness faithlessness heartlessness ruthlessness

We have done just what Satan tempted Adam and Eve to do—to be like gods without God, self-knowing good and evil.

We need to repent of America’s sins, and also repent of the sins of the American church. Every day, we see on television and on the Internet humanity’s attempt to remake all things into an unrecognizable image—even nature and biology.

Remember, when God planted His created order in the Garden of Eden and set up the natural rules of the universe He called it “good” and the creation of mankind He called “very good.” We play “god” when we throw out the created order and natural laws and try to substitute our own understanding of nature and creation.

I think in this Pandemic, it is quite possible that God is calling His church back to Himself. We need to bow to His Lordship, to His will, and to His written Word. We need to spend time before Him, not merely asking for His blessing—which He has given us again and again—but we need to ask Him for His forgiveness and His mercy.

Our society loves to play the victim, to empower one group and to cast blame on another. We need to get back to the first step down into cultural sin mentioned in Romans 1:21. We need to glorify God and return our thanks to Him as Creator and Lord of all.

O Lord, deliver us from this pouting! Have we learned anything by staying in our rooms alone? Has our Heavenly Parent’s purpose been fulfilled? Or, do we still have a pout on our faces?

We need a new Breath of God by His Holy Spirit to sweep over us and bring new life on His people. I like the way Bessie Head put it in her hymn:

Oh, Breath of Life ¹

O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
revive Your church with life and power.
O Breath of life, come, cleanse, renew us,
and fit Your church to meet this hour.

O Breath of love, come breathe within us,
renewing thought and will and heart;
Come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us,
revive Your church in every part.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
till humbly we confess our need;
Then in Your tenderness remake us,
revive, restore, for this we plead.

Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating
while harvest fields are vast and ripe?
Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting,
equip Your church to spread the light.

______________________

1 Head, Bessie. “O Breath of Life, Come Sweeping Through Us.” Hymn in the Public Domain.

 

 

Watching or Sleeping?

 

“Are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

—Mark 14:37-38

As the time of His crucifixion drew near, Jesus knew the terror ahead for Himself. He needed His closest friends to stand with Him. He needed them to watch over Him and pray with Him for the strength only God could give.

Yet, the disciples, while they had heard Jesus speak of the danger coming, never really took it to heart. They never comprehended the suffering that Jesus would have to endure, as He gave His life on the cruel Roman cross of torture.

Yes, Peter made bold promises about his loyalty to Jesus. But, when it really came time to show up and stand firmly at Jesus’ side, Peter failed.

Over and over in the verses of Scripture, Jesus has warned us, too, of the days to come. These days will not be days of ease, but of trouble. He has said that bad times will come upon the world before He returns to earth for the second time.

As Christians, we largely follow the direction of the culture in which we live. We watch awhile and feign interest and devotion. But then, like the rest of the society in which we live, we sleep, rather than standing guard over our lives, warning others, and preparing for Christ’s appearance.

In a Lenten Devotional, Biola University Emeritus Professor of Art, Barry Krammes, shares the likeness of the Western Church to a cruise ship where professionals entertain and meet our every desire, rather than a battleship engaged in prayer and spiritual warfare. He writes: ¹

These days I often feel like a drowsy disciple, or a virgin without any oil, sleepwalking through thick fog—trying to make sense of what’s happening around me. Yet, in moments of clarity I realize that now is the time to wake up and put my house in order. Hebrews 12:1-2 admonishes us:

“Stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith.”

When Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days at the beginning of his ministry, He engaged in spiritual warfare. When He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane near the end of His life, He also engaged in spiritual warfare.

In like manner, Jesus has given us the task of preparing ourselves for the days ahead by engaging our minds and hearts and churches in the warfare battle against evil in our world. He has made it clear that He does not want us sleeping.

If Jesus returned to earth today, would he find us watching, praying, then moving out onto the field of spiritual battle? Or, would he find us asleep and unaware of the dangers, like His twelve disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane?

______________________

1 Krammes, Barry. The Lent Project—Online Devotional: “The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak.” La Mirada, California: Biola University, Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts, February 27, 2021.

 

 

Running on Empty

 

About Asher he said: “…your strength will equal your days.”

—Deuteronomy 33:25

We had made the long trip from Hartford, Connecticut, to Portland, Oregon, for a conference. Having an afternoon free, we decided to take a carload of friends with us in the rental car the 80 miles out to the coast to see the Pacific Ocean. We had a beautiful trip, waded in the ocean, grabbed some lunch, and headed back toward Portland.

Little did we realize that the route we chose went directly through miles and miles of forests with no houses, or towns, or people, except the occasional logging truck. This happened before the days of hand-held cell phones. And, in that wilderness, the installed car phone had no reception either.

Not understanding the distance we had to travel, we soon notice we were low on fuel—really low. We prayed that over the next hill we’d see civilization and a service station. The minutes ticked away. Nothing came into view.

As the fuel gauge reached that awesome and foreboding red-colored “E,” we finally crested a hill and saw in the distance the very oasis we had looked for—a service station! Coasting in on fumes, we purchased fuel and were soon on the road again toward our destination.

I would suppose that many people during these days of the COVID-19 Pandemic are also running on empty. We didn’t realize when we started just how far the trip would be. We had not understood all the desolate places we would be forced to travel through with no end in sight.

I confess that in my own prayers, I have begged God for the gift He gave the tribe of Asher through Moses: a strength to equal my days. As this period stretches us more and more, we need to experience the never-ending strength of God.

Thank the Lord for the promises of the Scriptures. We read in Psalm 84:5-7:

Blessed are those who strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca [a place of drought], they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength.

If those of us who know the Lord are moving through life feeling empty, just imagine how those must feel who have no such Source of strength in their lives. Let us pray—not only that the Lord will give us this persevering power to live—but that we will testify to the witness of that strength before a watching world.