Accept the Remedy

 

“These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

—John 5:39-40

Neither a child spitting out his or her medicine, nor an old man refusing “any more pills,” do themselves any favors when it comes to their healing. When a remedy exists, it is wise to take advantage of it.

Even in Jesus’ time, He met people who didn’t appear to really want a remedy for their woes. In John 5:1-15, we read the story of Jesus meeting a man at the Pool of Bethesda who had been unable to walk for 38 years. The man was full of excuses why he had not been healed in all that time, even when a common remedy was available. Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” To prove the man’s faith, Jesus told him to stand and walk. At once, through God’s power, the man stood and walked.

Many people, in the death grip of sin, have heard the “cure” for their lost condition. But, they have refused the remedy that Jesus offers to them. The remedy comes through the simple, yet difficult, submission to the truth of the Gospel: confession of sin, repentance (turning from sin), and acknowledging that God has graciously given them the free gift, through Christ’s death for them on the cross, as the payment they could never make for themselves to a righteous God.

If your conscience has burdened you because of your refusal of the “cure” for your condition, recognize this voice as Jesus stepping up to you, as He did to this man at Bethesda and saying: “Do you want to get well?” Then, when He says to you: “Get up, walk with me, and accept my healing!” you will experience your cleansing from sin and peace with God—in effect, a new life. Then, you too will have learned that when a remedy exists, it is wise to take advantage of it.

 

 

Squeezing Out the Sweet Juice

 

“But his [the blessed man’s] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

—Psalm 1:2

Experts say that squeezing two to four oranges yields about eight ounces of juice. Nothing can beat genuine freshly-squeezed orange juice for flavor and sweetness. Yet, most of us would rather buy the “made from concentrate” brands in the supermarket. Why is that? Well, I suppose because of the time and mess involved. At least that’s my excuse.

And, why don’t Christians enjoy the sweet fellowship with God in Jesus Christ more? Probably for a similar reason. It takes time to squeeze out the best flavors from His written Word. Nothing substitutes for meditation on the written Word of God and the truly “sweet truths” we learn through it.

In Scripture, we read that David—named the “man after God’s own heart”—loved meditation. Vividly we see, in Psalm 19, that David meditated on the wonders of the sky, and the wonders of the laws of God. After considering, He prayed, as recorded in verse 14:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

The 17th century Puritan minister, David Clarkson, wrote about the advancement of faith through meditation. He stated that God develops faith in us when we focus our thoughts on His express promises, on Scriptural assertions, on God’s acts through and on behalf of His people, on God’s work through the prayers of His people, and on God’s commandments. Clarkson writes: ¹

Gather the promises and meditate on them. They are meat in this wilderness. Often be mining their treasures. Do not allow these pearls to lie neglected in the field. Treasure them up. Fill your memories with them. A promise treasured will afford comfort in our callings, dungeons, and banishments. Meditate frequently and seriously on them.

Occasionally, we should try paring down our Scripture reading to just a few verses and spend time meditating word by word. Specifically:

• Pen in hand, expand our thoughts about God and record our thoughts on paper.
  
  
• Write a prayer using the words of the verses we have just read.
  
  
• Remember a hymn that connects to the concepts on which we have just meditated.
  
  
• Consider other Scripture passages that bring out the same truths about God, and compare and contrast them.

In other words, squeeze out those “sweet juices.” If we do this, we will develop a connoisseur’s taste and build our faith in the process!

______________________

1  Clarkson, David, quoted in Voices. Richard Rushing, editor. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 174.

 

 

Stepford Christians

 

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

—2 Corinthians 11:13-15

The 1975 movie, The Stepford Wives, has remained in my memory: not only as a very bizarre story, but as an example of how very like the “Men’s Association” our enemy—the prince of this world, Satan—operates.

The story takes place in the affluent, idyllic town of Stepford, Connecticut. A new resident, Joanna, notices how strange all the women seem to appear. They are fawning wives, mindless, and perfect in every way. What she doesn’t realize is that one-by-one, the husbands of the “Men’s Association,” who make it their mission to completely control their wives, have actually murdered their wives and replaced them with perfectly engineered robots. These robots look identical to the wives. And, the robot wifes have absolutely no flaws whatsoever.

These formerly very successful, caring, and professional women, now transformed into robots, think only of pleasing their husbands in every way. Since they are not real, they have given up any resemblance to the actual personhood of each wife they have replaced.

Joanna watched as one of her more “normal” neighbors seemed to go through this metamorphosis. For one thing, her tennis court in the back yard was dug up and replaced with a putting green for her husband. Only when Joanna’s own family becomes victims of the “Men’s Association” does she try to escape in order to protect her own life.

We would all love to be the perfect model of a Christian, not only pleasing to God, but especially pleasing to each other. We study the right “moves” of those Christians that we admire and try very hard to imitate them. We learn to play the game of “church” and strive to never allow our own sinful natures to become too visible. Over time, we come to realize that to openly acknowledge sin, to repent, to ask for genuine forgiveness just takes too much humility. To do that, we would have to admit that we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength.

While it may seem somewhat honorable to overlook the faults in others, to look for the best in each other, and to see our churches as perfect examples of lived-out Christianity, we should never tolerate covering up sin and hiding horrific wrong-doing. Christ did not die for people who pretend to be without fault. He died for sinners and welcomes anyone who truly comes to Him in honest confession.

Like Joanna, the world watches us. Anything in us or in our churches that smacks of being phony is clearly evident to them. Why would they want to join a group of seemingly “perfect” people anyway, especially when they know the sinfulness of their own hearts?

We glorify God the most when we rely on Him for His grace to live our lives according to His desires and when we willingly acknowledge and repent of our sins. We need to embrace the intention to do away with the plastic complexion, the nylon hair, and the mindless play-act!

 

 

Servant Winds

 

“He makes the winds his messengers.”

—Psalm 104:4

The Bible’s use of the image of “wind” fascinates me. Some passages speak of stormy winds, such as those sent to the ship in which Jonah tried escaping God’s call, as recorded in Jonah 1:4. Or, the stormy winds sent while the disciples maneuvered to cross the Sea of Galilee, as recorded in Matthew 14:22-36. Or, the stormy winds sent to Paul and the other prisoners traveling to Rome, as recorded in Acts 27:1-44. In each case, God had specific purposes for such storms.

In some cases throughout the New Testament, the word “wind” refers to the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:1-13, we read the story of the first Pentecost during which “a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” That powerful “storm” filled everyone there with the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, recorded in John 3:1-21, He said:

“…the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So is everyone born of the Spirit.”

God’s people and His Church both need the “wind” of the Holy Spirit to blow within us, to remove the dust that has fallen upon us during the years we sat idle. We need to pray again that the Living Lord Jesus Christ would breathe His wind through us, sending us in new directions, bringing new birth by the Holy Spirit, and making the “wind” His servant to fulfill His purposes in us, through us, and for us.

Like seasoned sailors, we need to watch for the direction of the God-given spiritual winds and set our sails appropriately. We need to meet together and wait in prayer, just as the believers did after Jesus’ ascension, watching for Him and for His promised Holy Spirit.

This well-known hymn expresses the kind of prayer God wants us to pray:¹

O Breath of Life, come sweeping through us,
Revive Your church with life and pow’r,
O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us,
And fit Your church to meet this hour.

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.

______________________

1 Head, Bessie P. O Breath of Life. Public Domain.

 

 

The Art of the Blend

 

“God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

—1 Corinthians 12:18

When we think of the work of an artist who works with oil paint, we often neglect to consider the artistic competence and sensitivity needed to prepare the paint used for the project. A good artist considers the pigments of color and the medium through which to use those colors. He or she also chooses between solvents for the viscosity (thickness) of the paint and for the varnish that will give the appropriate glossiness to the finished work.

Perfumers also study their art by learning about the distinguishing characteristics of fragrances. Because of the keen sense of smell they must possess, the most skilled ones of these people get dubbed “The Noses” by those in that field. Such perfumers know the strengths and power of each fragrance, and they carefully blend only those elements which augment the others.

Similarly, organists exhibit concern about what choices they make in registering the sounds for each piece of music they play. As I listened carefully with my eyes closed, my first organ teacher quizzed me to give the names of each pipe. Is the sound a reed, a flute, a diapason, or a string? Does it match the intended mood the composer of the music requires for this particular piece? Is one stop too sharp to play alongside another because it will cover the sound or blend poorly?

God, the most creative of all artists, looks at His church in much the same way as these other professionals look at the works they produce. He desires to create something beautiful for His world out of the flesh and blood of His people in specific locations. Look around at those in your local church. God has placed, in your church, people of various ages, various races, various abilities, and various limitations.

He has carefully gifted His people with talents, abilities, and with a wide range of life experiences. Children love to gather around old Uncle Pete because of his kind and loving ways. Grandma Pearl gets everyone laughing each time they talk with her. Roy has such knowledge of Scripture that people flock to his class. And, Ruby sings like an angel and brings the Holy Spirit near whenever the congregation hears her voice.

Carrie and Fred have owned a successful business for many years and they freely give of the wealth God has provided them. They love to see God’s church blessed through their giving. Beverly doesn’t have money or abilities to teach, but when she gets in the kitchen, she blesses the entire congregation through the foods that she so lovingly prepares.

God also places His people in churches where they need growth and maturity—perhaps even through learning to get along with others who see things in opposite ways from them. He is creating a beautiful body of work for His glory. We should stand in awe of His workmanship.

Look at those in your church as instruments in God’s hands, as gifts to you and others, and see yourself in a way that makes you happy to share with others the qualities that God has given you. Stand back and look at the picture God is painting in your congregation. Take time to smell the aroma of His blessing. Pause, in a quiet moment, to hear the music of His joy in your midst.

Praise the Artist of Heaven today for the magnificently creative way He has blended the people in your church into a powerful force for His Kingdom!

 

 

Handiwork

 

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

—Psalm 19:1 KJV

I so much appreciate “handiwork.” From her youth onward, my grandmother had the reputation as a particularly fine seamstress. I own a dress she made for a toddler with the tiniest handmade button holes. Today, I admire her talent more than a hundred years after she first produced this amazing dress.

My nephew has a business carving and painting all kinds of colorful wooden lures for salt water anglers. No one would doubt his talented handiwork. He has become someone who now has a national reputation as a fine craftsman.

My late sister painted large murals, crafted thousands of words of pen and ink calligraphy, and, with a dainty hand in the tradition of our grandmother, sewed many pillows and articles of clothing decorated with buttons and ribbons.

Considering those individuals to whom God has given uniue talent, in the Early Church a disciple of Jesus, a woman named Dorcas, became sick and died. Acts 9:39 records this sentence:

All the widows stood around him [Peter], crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

This passage of Scripture demonstrates to me that, just as everywhere and at all times God reveals His handiwork through the marvelous creation of our universe, He has also created humankind in His image with the same abilities to create amazing items for themselves. Creation, and all kinds of art, did not just happen for the utilitarian needs of humans. God gave humans this ability, so that they could create beauty.

Just as God looked at His creation and exclaimed that what He had made was good (Genesis 1), He has allowed us the joy of creating, too. Besides that, He enables us to feel enjoyment in the handiwork of others. In so doing, we derive pleasure and can offer praise in the revelation of Himself that we see in human creativity.

Psalm 8 tells us that God has set His glory above the heavens. God reveals His inherent glory. A few verses later, the Psalmist writes that God has crowned man with glory. Our glory derives from His glory. Every creature shows the glory of the Creator in some way. The more we know this great Creator-God, the more beautiful and glorious we become, as His image bearers.

Let us thank God today for the ways in which His glory, His creative beauty, and His magnificent design, shows forth in our lives and in the lives of those we know. All of this handiwork should prompt us to offer our praise and worship to such a breathtakingly glorious God.

 

 

Perspective

 

“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.”

—Isaiah 40:22

You may remember the 1989 movie, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” in which a scientist father accidently shrinks his two teen-age children and two of their friends. This poses all kinds of dangerous threats to these teens, as they battle to stay away from danger while their father searches for them.

Sometimes our perspective gets out of whack, just as things did in this movie. We see problems that loom nearby in such a way that we dwarf God by allowing Him to fall away into the background. In such a case, we need an adjustment to our perspective.

Many of the Psalms reveal the way in which saints of the past had to deal with their perspective. Some Psalms begin with tales of woes too large with which the Psalmists can cope. However, once they get a different view of God, the enormity of their problems contract to a much more manageable size.

In Psalm 73, Asaph, the musician, begins his Psalm remembering how he had nearly slipped away because he was looking at the prosperity and the seeming good luck of the wicked. He says he felt oppressed until he entered God’s sanctuary and got a different perspective. He ends this Psalm praising God’s goodness and sharing his gratitude for the riches of God’s grace.

Psalm 73:25-26 give us a glimpse of Asaph’s change in perspective:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Many times the Psalmists have to remind themselves of the greatness of God. They do this by talking directly to themselves through the words they write in their Psalms. This same kind of reminder can stir us, as well. We can see God’s proper perspective: in our church services, or after a prolonged period of time spent in reading His written Word. When this happens, we will be able to see the extent of our woes in a much clearer way. We can shrink them down to size and allow God to show us His power and wisdom that rule over us.

I like the way that Paul explains the process of moving from despair to faith by means of gaining a whole new perspective, as recorded in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

It’s important for us to remember that a proper perspective can change everything!