December 27, 2000
The Message Of Christmas
The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year. The music, the family gatherings, the smell of fresh Frazer fir and Balsam trees, and the fond memories of blessings, all add to the wonder of the season. We would all agree thath the true meaning of Christmas has been lost to many in the trappings and excesses of a commercially driven society. So, it is important for Christians to take the opportunity of the season to proclaim the real message of Christmas.
GOD IS WITH US
The foundational theological truth of Christmas is that God came to us. This is referred to as the incarnation. The term comes from a Latin word meaning "to clothe in flesh," and it expresses the truth of John 1:1-4. The eternal Word became flesh and lived among us. This is what really happened in that stable in Bethlehem. What love we see displayed as God sent His Son to this rebellious and ungrateful planet! The angel said to Mary, in fulfillment of prophecy, that His name shall be called Emmanuel, which means "God with us" (Isaiah 7:15, Matthew 1:23).
GOD'S TIMING IS ALWAYS RIGHT
Galatians 4:4 tells us that God sent forth His Son, in the fullness of time. Perhaps, if we had been in charge of our Savior's entrance into the world, we would have planned it much differently. (Before sin had corrupted so many or maybe later when satellite technology would have even allowed us to broadcast the entire event.) But God knew when the world would be ready culturally, politically, and spiritually for the spread of the Gospel message. So it is in life. God responds to our prayers when He knows the time is right in accordance with His plann and what is best for us.
GOD'S METHODS MOST OFTEN DIFFER FROM OUR EXPECTATIONS
He was born in a stable, laid in a manger, dressed in swaddling clothes, announced to shepherds in a field, in the middle of the night. That is not exactly how you'd expect the God of creation to send His only Son to us. There was no advance team, no fanfare, no parades, no news media, no maternity ward, not even a midwife. I think God delights to do His will in ways which confound our logic. He has deliberately chosen the foolish things to shame the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:27). Most of us can point to episodes in our own lives when God worked His will in a way we didn't expect.
GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES
THe message of Christmas is that there is hope. Christmas began as a flicker of hope to two lonely, scared people in a garden thousands of years ago. To this couple God promised a seed who would come to bruise Satan's head (Genesis 3:15). As time passed, the promise grew clearer. Isaiah was told a child would be given Who would be the mighty God (9:6) and to Micah was revealed the location (5:2). Of this hamlet, Phillip Brooks wrote, "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."
May the message of Chrismas awake in your heart again this season and lead you to echo that angelic choir in giving "glory to God in the Highest."
Leo Galletta
Network Operations Manager,
Bible Broadcasting Network
www.bbnradio.org
Copyright 2000, BBN
December 20, 2000
Encouraging Word For The Week
Pastor Steven L. Kelly
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
This past Saturday afternoon, I was coming to the church building to turn all the heaters on in preparation for our Sunday services. As I drove past the front of the church, I saw that the manger scene had been toppled over by the strong winds we had experienced all day. The star had impacted the sidewalk strong enough to bust several bulbs and the pole that holds up the star was bent at its base.
Fortunately, one of our men happened to be at the building when I arrived and he helped me take everything down until it could be repaired. We moved the figures -- Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus -- into the storage area in the back of the church and the star was taken away to be repaired. The stable was left outside with the intention of us coming back early this week to put everything back in place.
Well, today we did that very thing. Monk, Diane, and myself put everything back where it had been, and hopefully it will be back in working order to shine tonight. In the process, extra braces were put into place to help ensure that it stays in place even in the strongest of winds.
I share this because I learned a very important lesson from this experience. You see, today has been a very cold day. The wind is once again gusting at a significant rate. In fact, I had gotten so cold that I went home and pulled out the winter parka that I had used in Iowa several years ago. Standing out in the weather in the shade is not an appealing place to be. Inside, the church was much warmer and a lot more comfortable. Fixing the manger scene today did not thrill me. I would have preferred to have waited until it warmed up or the wind died down or we reached the Summer.
As I thought about this, I realized that this situation parallels the ministry of the church throughout the year. It is much easier to run through the church motions inside of our 70-degree buildings with our padded seats than it is to face a cold world that might reject us. It is easier to fulfill my weekly church obligations than it is to be a lighted display in a world that will often times seek to blow me over with its' frigid winds of discouragement. It is easier to leave an empty stable outside the church and store Jesus in a room than it is to fix what is broken and try again to shine. It is easier to do nothing under all circumstances than it is to make a difference.
Think about this. It would have been easier for Jesus to have kept his throne next to his Father than it was "to become flesh and dwell among us". There was nothing but worship and honor in the corridors of heaven, yet to choose earth was going to bring reproach and pain. If the choice had been ease, then the option would have been to do nothing. But, since the motive was love, the manger of Bethlehem was the only decision he could make.
Today, the same was true. The manger was the only decision I could make. Love requires me to pay the price so that the world can see a lit up Jesus. This holds true whether he is seen in a metal figure with attached lights or if it is him shining through the words of my lips or the convictions of my heart.
Here is a thought to ponder as I go -- "Is your manger scene in need of repair?"
Have a wonderful Christmas and let your light shine,
Bro. Steve
December 13, 2000
Is Christmas Christian?
Hank Hanegraaff
President, Christian Research Newsletter
Imagine what it would have been like to be a resident of the city of Jerusalem some 700 years before the birth of the Messiah. No doubt you would have been terrified by the imminent threat of destruction posed by the mighty Assyrian army that was mobilizing against your city.
Yet, just when things looked bleakest, a man named Isaiah made an outrageous prophecy. Not the sort of prophecy we hear from modern-day soothsayers -- a prophecy like, "a beautiful woman will come into your life" -- but a meticulously detailed prophecy that literally put his prophetic credentials on the line.
Isaiah not only predicted that the city would be saved, but in painstaking detail he predicted events through which God would cause Sennacherib, the invading Assyrian king, to return from whence he came. Astonishingly, Isaiah's prophecy came to pass with total precision.
No doubt you would have been impressed and delighted with Isaiah and his prediction. It would not have taken long, however, before your support would have turned to skepticism. You see, the same Isaiah who predicted that Jerusalem would miraculously be spared from the Assyrians went on to prophesy that she would miserably succumb to the Babylonians.
And your skepticism would soon turn to cynicism the day you heard about Isaiah's most preposterous pronouncement of all. To your utter astonishment, Isaiah claimed that a virgin (of all things) would one day give birth to a son, and went on to refer to this son as "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6).
Today, one no longer need wonder whether Isaiah lost his marbles some 27 centuries ago. History bears eloquent testimony to the fact that Isaiah's prophecies have been fulfilled with painstaking accuracy. Not only did Jerusalem fall to the Babylonians precisely as predicted, but Jesus Christ -- Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, cloaked Himself in human flesh and came to live among us (John 1:1, 14, 18).
It would be difficult indeed for any open-minded skeptic to seriously consider the prophecies concerning Christ without being convinced of His deity. Yet, there are many people today who have serious concerns regarding the "manner" in which we celebrate Christ's birth.
Each year around this time, letters flood in to CRI offices containing various questions about Christmas that range in topic from the practice of exchanging gifts to the possible connection between Christmas and the pagan holidays of Rome. So let's take a few moments to consider some of the more commonly asked questions about Christmas.
*First, are Christmas trees a form of idolatry? Interestingly, this question arises out of a pronouncement made by the prophet Jeremiah: "This is what the LORD says...the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it will not totter" (Jeremiah 10:2-4).
While at first blush this may seem to be referring to our custom of decorating Christmas trees, a closer examination of Jeremiah 10 reveals that God is in reality condemning the creation of permanent wooden idols carved from the trees of the forest. In the very next verse (vs. 5) God ridicules these idols because they cannot walk or talk.
Historically the practice of decorating Christmas trees originated in Germany some two thousand years after Jeremiah made his pronouncement. It was the result of combining two distinctly different Christian symbols.
The first was a "Paradise tree." It was decorated with apples to symbolize the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The second was a triangular shelf that contained Christmas figurines and was adorned by the star representing the one followed by the Magi. By the 16th century, these two Christian symbols had been merged into the modern-day Christmas tree.
Not only are Christmas trees spiritually symbolic, but they represent a wonderful witnessing opportunity as well. In fact, the next time a nonbelieving neighbor brings home a Christmas tree, you might want to ask him or her if they know where the practice of decorating Christmas trees originated. Who knows! The Holy Spirit may well allow you to enjoy one of the greatest Christmas gifts of all -- the gift of seeing someone you care about receive everlasting life.
*Another common question involves Santa Claus. Is Santa a hopelessly pagan concoction, or can Santa be saved? What few people seem to be aware of is that Santa is Christian rather than pagan in origin. As a matter of fact, Santa Claus is an Anglicized form of the Dutch name, Sinter Klaas. Sinter Klaas in turn represents a Christian bishop of the fourth century named "Saint Nicholas." According to tradition, Saint Nick was not only kind and generous towards children but he apparently attended the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, where he supported the biblical doctrine of the Trinity.
While it is likely true that Saint Nick gave toys to tots, it's obviously pure mythology that he presently lives at the North Pole in a toy factory, knows if we've been bad or good, and flies around in a sled pulled by reindeer.
In truth, Santa is not essential to Christmas -- but he does represent an excellent opportunity for sharing Christ with your kids. Why not ask them this Christmas if they know who Santa really was. Perhaps not only Santa can be saved but so will one or more of your loved ones.
*Still another common question CRI receives around Christmas time involves the practice of giving gifts. Jehovah's Witnesses in particular are quick to assert that this practice not only leads to commercialism, but can be tied to the pagan practice of astrology as well. As they put it, the word "Magi" in the original Greek refers to "astrologers." History reveals, however, that the Magi were not singularly stargazers but were schooled in the arts and sciences of their day as well. Thus, the translation "wise men" makes a great deal more sense than the transliteration, "astrologers."
It is also important to note what Scripture clearly says about the Magi. Namely, the "wise men" were led by God. Both the star that led them to Christ (Matthew 2:9) and the dream through which they outwitted Herod (vs. 12) were used by God to guide and direct them.
(The Jehovah's Witnesses are quick to point out that the wise men gave gifts to Christ, not to one another. But that misses the point entirely. Obviously our risen, reigning Redeemer doesn't need a thing. However, when we give to one another, Christ considers that as good as giving unto Him (Matthew 25:37-40). Perhaps your ability to sensitively and effectively dispel the Watchtower's mythology with regard to gift-giving will open a door for you to discuss the deity of Christ with them as well. And perhaps as a result of your discussion, the Jehovah's Witness may receive the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jehovah's Witnesses can be reached, you know, and the Holy Spirit can use you as a part of the process.)
*A final question we are asked each year has to do with whether or not the celebration of Christmas is rooted in a pagan tradition. Some people have made much of the claim that December 25 was supposedly the date of a pagan festival commemorating the birthday of a false deity. This, however, does not in and of itself make the celebration of Christmas pagan.
The real question that must be addressed is, What was the church's intent in choosing December 25 for the celebration of Christmas in the first place? The answer may surprise you! The early church chose this date to point to the triumph that Christ's birth represented over the pagan traditions of the Roman empire. In other words, the church was not endorsing a pagan ceremony, but establishing a rival celebration. Today the world has all but forgotten the pagan gods of Rome. But at least a billion people on planet Earth celebrate the Christ of Christmas.
Now more than ever it is incumbent for believers to be ready to give answers to questions concerning Christmas. For, indeed, the true meaning of Christmas has become lost in our culture. Multitudes tragically reinterpret the meaning of Christmas as merely "good will toward men."
Of course, not to appreciate the human longing for love and happiness would be a dreadful mistake. However, Christians should help nonbelievers recognize that the true meaning of Christmas lies elsewhere. When the angels announcing Christ's birth sang of "good will toward men" (Luke 2:14), they were not singing about men showing good will toward men, but God showing good will toward men. He did this through the singular act of sending His Son to us as the Savior of the world.
By becoming a human being, dying on the cross for our sins, and rising from the dead, Jesus Christ overcame sin, death, and the grave. In short, Jesus was born to overcome the very things that -- left unchecked -- would destroy the human spirit of love, life, and liberty. Jesus was born to give us the greatest gift of all -- the gift of salvation.
This year you can be an instrument of God's grace by sharing with people around you the Good News of the greatest gift of all -- a gift that truly keeps on giving.
This article originally appeared in the Christian Research Newsletter,Volume 6: Number 5, 1993
Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
December 6, 2000
Encouraging Word For The Week
Pastor Steve Kelly
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
Yesterday, as I went through the day's mail at my house, there was something unusual in the stack. I received not one, not two, not even three, but four different advertisements from JC Penney about various sales and offers.
One of these was for a free "bear in a bag" with my next catalog or Internet order. Another offers a $10 off gift certificate on my next purchase of $10 or more. The next one is promoting "One Huge Sale" this coming weekend. Finally, the last is a 12-page book with some featured products and three coupons offering up to 25% off through Christmas.
Your response to this might be, "So what, it's Christmas. They are just trying to get you into their store." If that is what you thought, then you are exactly right. They are reaching out so that I will come in.
In addition, not only are they sending me ads that display their wares, but in each case they promoted the benefit that I would receive if I would respond. I will either get some things free or at a greatly reduced rate.
Upon receiving this, I couldn't help but think about evangelism. In essence, JC Penney is seeking to make me a committed customer to their products. Evangelism is the effort of God's people to cause others to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. Evangelism leads to Discipleship. This is the process by which I grow in my relationship with the Lord and become not only grounded in my faith, but also start touching the lives of others. As a rule, the deeper I am with Christ, the more effective I will be in reaching out and touching the lives of others.
Several years ago, Tammilee and I became possessors of a JC Penney card. In some ways, you could compare this to our conversion experience. Since then, they have spent a lot of money on mail outs to my residence in order to keep me interested. In other words, they have sought to disciple me.
My purpose today is to encourage us to be Christians who have a greater fire for Jesus than JC Penney has for money. I'm certain this giant retailer wants my cash. Do those in our community understand that God wants their soul and that our church really cares about their eternal home? Do our efforts after someone comes to Christ communicate that spiritual growth is a necessity?
Between now and Christmas, each time you get an advertisement from any store, I want you to ask yourself, "What am I doing to bring people to Jesus and help them grow?" As a result, I hope that all of us will become better advertisements for the Kingdom of God.
Have a great week,
Bro. Steve
November 29, 2000
Trembling Before The Cross
Pastor James M. Renihan
Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies at Westminster Seminary in California
Reformed Baptist Church of North San Diego County
Escondido, CA
Professor John Murray once wrote that the fear of God is the soul of godliness, and surely he was right. Though often neglected, it is one of the central concepts in all of Scripture. God's people fear Him, because they know Him as He has revealed Himself. Thomas Manton said, "This must be the note of God's servants, because it is the great principle that both hinders us from sin and quickens us to duty. The fear of God is one of the fundamental and essential graces which belong to a Christian" (Works, 6:409).
Manton hints at the two major characteristics of the fear of God when he says that it "hinders us from sin and quickens us to duty." On the one hand, there is a sense of terror in standing before a holy God. Isaiah, in his great vision of the Lord seated in the temple, falls to pieces as his own sin is laid bare before God's burning holiness. Though one of God's own people, he knew the potential of the power of God when released against sin. He experienced what was expressed by the writer to the Hebrews, who reminds us that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But on the other hand, the fear of God is evidenced in a profound love and reverence for God's person. God is attractive to those who follow Him. His people want Him, and long for the sense of His presence and majesty. They are glad to bow down before Him and adore His glorious sovereignty. For them, their greatest joy is to be found in exalting their Lord.
Many illustrations of this double sense of the fear of God might be proposed. Let us consider one of them, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we meditate on the cross, with all of the fullness of New Testament understanding--as instructed Christian disciples--certain facts grip our minds. Here is the Son of God, holy and undefiled, pure and righteous in every way. He is the one of whom the Father had said "This is my beloved Son, hear Him; I have glorified His name, and will glorify it again." And there is the Father--the initiator of the Son's errand--in character exactly like His Son--holy, undefiled, pure and righteous.
The Son is mocked and scorned, beaten and tormented by wicked men, and the Father will not intervene. The Son goes to Calvary and receives in his body the ultimate torture, crucifixion. Not only does the Father refuse to aid His Son, but He infinitely increases the Son's agony by opening the floodgates of His wrath and sends them upon His Son relentlessly. The heavens are blackened, the earth heaves with a quake, and still Christ endures the fierceness of the fury of almighty God. God is angry with sin, and this is how He punishes it, by pouring out His anger on His own dear Son. How can anyone fail to fear his judgments? He is a terrible God. Christ fell into His hands, and found no mercy. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
Yet a New Testament disciple cannot stop there. He recognizes not only the fierceness of the wrath of God, so powerful that he shields his eyes from the horror and desires to flee, but his understanding of the Gospel causes further meditation. The agony of Christ is punishment for sin, but not His sin, rather it is the believer's sin. The blood shed is a propitiation, a covering, that turns away the wrath of God and satisfies the demands of divine justice. It is the greatest display of love ever accomplished. My sins--deserving all of that punishment in my body--are forgiven through Christ's agony. This is how God removes sin. How can anyone fail to fear such a merciful and loving God?
Apart from the eye of faith, all that one sees at the Cross is as Isaiah describes: "He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him" (Isaiah 53:2-3). But the believer looks more closely and says, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).
The cross of Calvary well illustrates the double nature of the fear of God. It demonstrates the fury of the wrath of God. As we consider the anger poured out on the Son of God--holy, undefiled, pure, beloved--dying in indescribable agony, we catch a glimpse of the awesome anger of God. Who is this God that He would do such an awefull and awful thing? He is to be feared, if He would punish sin in such a way.
The cross also demonstrates the love of God. As we consider the action of the Father in sending His Son to bear the penalty of His people's sins, and of the Son freely accepting the blows of His beloved Father, we catch a glimpse of the mercy, compassion and love of God. Who is this God, that He would do such an awefull and awful thing, for me? He is to be profoundly feared, if He would punish my sins in such a way. The old spiritual had it right:
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Sometimes, it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
November 22, 2000
Encouraging Word For The Week
Pastor Steve Kelly
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
In two days I will be with my wife's family to share in the celebration of Thanksgiving. Like many of you, we will do two things in abundance on this day -- eat and speak.
Isn't it interesting that food is at the center of most of our Thanksgiving gatherings. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, gathering around a dinner table has been a symbol of unity, friendship, and love for centuries.
Because of our focus upon food on Thanksgiving day, I thought it would be important this week to look at those who will not have the feast that most of us will enjoy on Thursday. As you look at the bounty before you this week, I want you to consider the following facts.
According to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the follow facts are true about hunger around our world. (Source: Poster -- "One Hundred Shocking Facts About Hunger")
--If the world's hungry were to line up, single file, in front of your door, the line would continue out of sight, over the continent and ocean, around the world, circling the globe 25 times.
--One of every five deaths in the world is from hunger.
--Every morning, 40,000 people (30,000 of them children) awaken to die of hunger.
--Worldwide, 12 million children die of starvation each year before they reach the age of five.
--Sixteen percent of the world's children are malnourished.
--Out of ten children in the world today, three load their plates with large portions of food and throw away what they don't want; two get just enough to meet their basic requirements; and three fill up on bread and rice. Two will die, one from dysentery and the other from pneumonia, which they are too weak to ward off.
Is this encouraging? Yes and No. Certainly the statistics make our hearts hurt for the faces behind the numbers. It makes us feel helpless. At the same time, it encourages us to be thankful for what we have. Since much of our understanding of gratitude comes from comparing what we have with others, this just heightens the fact that Americans are immensely blessed. Also, this challenges us to take our blessings and bless others.
This Thanksgiving, let's commit to do two things. First, let's make it a day to recognize the blessings of our lives and their source. Secondly, let's consider how we can be more generous with what we have been blessed with.
Isn't it interesting that Thanksgiving precedes the most giving season of the year? Why? It is the recognition of God's blessings in my life that compels me to share my life and possession with others.
Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving,
Bro. Steve
November 15, 2000
Prayer
Dale Thompson
Dale Thompson is the vocalist and frontman for the Christian metal band Bride.
Allow me to share with you for a brief moment about something vitally important. It is about our prayer lives. Many people get into a routine of prayer and a ritual. Almost superstitiously they pray the same prayer every day or night. As our lives change and we grow in the Lord our prayer life should also adjust. We need to make adjustments in order to pray for those things, which are current. The fact that we have a God who loves us enough to listen is a blessing that many take for granted. A God that controls all things still has time for each of us individually. He is able to do this because He is God. Why does God listen? It is because He has to? He promised us in His word that whatever we ask believing He will do. Plus, Jesus our mediator is always there reminding God about the blood of Calvary.
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Prayer brings about answers. It guards our hearts against the fiery darts of the devil and it brings us peace of mind releasing us from trouble. Prayer is the start of accomplishment. We will be unable to accomplish a task or construct without the proper supervision and the proper instructions. When we are perplexed about what to do or confused in our decision making, prayer can accomplish and complete the task. God will and does answer prayers.
Why do our prayers sometimes go unanswered? Matthew 6 gives us the answer. It is because sometimes we pray to be heard, or to hear ourselves pray. Sometimes we pray for things that will harm us or bring a separation from God and us. God can see the future and He will not give you something which will be destructive. Sometimes people pray without ever believing that God will answer. The Bible also says that we must forgive others if our prayers are to be heard. Praying out of a clean and pure heart without doubt always brings about results. In Psalm 62:8 it speaks of pouring out your heart before Him. Empty the contents for Him to see. Do not try to hide anything from God. He can see all. Honesty when you pray brings answers. Psalm 139:23-24 reminds us, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Don't be afraid to let God in to search your heart.
In Christ Jesus,
Dale Thompson
http://www.bridepub.com
November 8, 2000
Encouraging Word For The Week
Pastor Steve Kelly
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
A few hours ago I exercised a tremendous freedom -- I cast my vote for the presidential election of the United States of America. I don't know how it made you feel, but I felt a great sense of satisfaction in being able to participate in this wonderful process.
In considering today's "Word", I thought I would share something to stir your heart on this election day. The following story comes from a "fact sheet" that is published by Focus on the Family entitled "Pastor to Pastor". I hope you appreciate it as much as I do.
The words to the "Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States, were written by Francis Scott Key, a deeply religious attorney. He had boarded a British warship during the War of 1812 to negotiate the release of an American prisoner. He was barred from leaving the ship because the British were preparing to attack Fort McHenry, which protected Baltimore. He watched the rocket assault from the enemy deck.
At dawn, Key saw the American flag still flying over the fort: the assault had failed. Gratitude to God welled up within him, and it was that sentiment which inspired his famous lyrics. Key's lyric -- besides being a paean of praise -- was a prayer of thanksgiving to God for having saved the City of Baltimore from the damage the British had wreaked on Washington only three weeks earlier.
Most Americans know by heart the first stanza of the national anthem, but it is the last stanza that expresses Key's belief that it was God who protected Baltimore:
"O! Thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation;
Blessed with victory and peace, may the heaven rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust!"
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
Thankful to God to call myself an American,
Bro. Steve
November 1, 2000
An Argument for Learning
Jim Elliff
North Point Baptist Church, Kansas City, Missouri
Wise men store up knowledge...Proverbs 10:14a
One of the immense edifices on the skyline of Christian history over the last hundred years was the eminent leader, Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899-1981). He is noteworthy not only because he was a great preacher and the pastor of Westminster Chapel of London, but also because of his zest for learning. Having begun as a physician of exceptional quality, he carried over into his Christianity and ministry this unceasing hunger to know more. From a delightful little book entitled Martyn Lloyd Jones, The Man and His Books I found this humorous cameo of Lloyd Jones as a indefatigable learner, given by his daughter as a portion of a public address:
I remember staying in Wales. I was again fairly young, it was the mid 1930's, on that lovely sandy beach in Borth. It was a boiling hot day. (I know we always tend to think it was like this when we were children, but this really was a boiling hot day.) I was gamboling about in a bathing costume, and digging and paddling and all the rest of it. Everybody else was on the beach, in the amount of undress that was allowed in the mid-1930's. We were all hot, and there we all were in this glorious sunshine sunbathing, as I said, and playing. In front of a rock, over to one corner of the beach, was my father, fully clothed, in a gray suit with a hat upon his head, his usual hat, shoes, socks, waistcoat, the whole thing, sitting bolt upright, leaning against the rock and reading...(1)
I identify. Not that I have the acumen of a Lloyd-Jones, and certainly not because I like to wear a waistcoat and hat, but because I have the hunger to know, to think, to acquire substantial understanding of the nature of God and the way He works in his universe and with man. In fact, I find it a bit frustrating not to make better advances. Time is much too fugitive, my schedule too uncooperative, and my mind too sluggish, for making all the progress I would like.
Perusing the half-price books at the antique mall one day, I remarked that I loved books and could not pass them by, etc., and that television seemed to steal so much from people. You know the line of thinking. The kind woman who was sitting close by was candid in saying that she just could not get along without television and that she watched it incessantly. I said, not to be impressive, but to emphasize a great loss experienced by the Western world, that we had chosen to get rid of our television ten years ago, and that it was, for us, an extremely wise decision.
"Why? Was it because of the quality of the programs?" she asked. "Yes, that certainly," I returned, "but perhaps as much because of the great loss of time. When there is so much to know that is important and television relates so little of it, while demanding more and more precious time, it causes concern. We miss some things," I said, "but we gain far more." This, of course, is my evaluation because I think there is much worth knowing about God and man, and there is little time to learn it. Understandably, for a non-believer, that particular pursuit does not generate near enough interest or energy to cause him to get up and "flip the switch."
This encouragement toward learning is not to say an endless chain of degrees has superior value, per se. It goes without saying that "PhD's do not a doctor make." While in the Muir woods near San Francisco, feeling small among the giant redwoods, my wife and I happened to enter into a lengthy walk and discussion with a retired professor of rhetoric from a California university. The discussion ranged from its beginning place, rhetoric, to his liberal views on education, his philosophy of religion including his nominal Quakerism (actually nothing-ism), his desire to remove all negative labels (which he was not successful at doing, as you will see), the virtues of the ACLU with whom he collaborated, etc., etc. Unfortunately, his lofty degrees only made him wise in his foolishness, for he started with wrong premises and arrived at tragic conclusions.
"There is one kind of Christian I hate, " he exclaimed, forgetting his prohibition on labels, "--the 'born-again type.'" (I thought, "What other kind is there?") "I don't perceive you are one of them." He misjudged, of course, but he was willing not to rule me out immediately because I listened and reasoned with him without being reactionary. I didn't compromise my convictions, but rather stated them as much as his verbosity would allow; I did not react by throwing back clich�s and getting huffy. He was an able thinker, but his beginning statements led him logically, and yet hopelessly, toward a metaphysical cliff.
Christians ought to be the world's brightest thinkers. We should be best, not because we have the degrees ("Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth." 1 Corinthians 1:26), but because we start at the right place. We may or may not have the biggest hat size or be able to collect the most data, but we certainly ought to arrive at better conclusions. David said, "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation."(Psalm 119:99) Starting with the Word of God, we simply have more insight into all else that can be learned.
Why Learn?
We should develop the attitude that life is far better if we use our minds actively to whatever degree we are able, and that slothfulness of mind is an unfortunate misuse of the uniqueness God gave men. Consider these reasons for continuing our education through developing a learning posture to life:
1. Learning is exercise with a purpose.
Constant accessing of new thoughts by reading and conversing cogently keeps our mind exercised for gaining and retaining the more significant biblical knowledge. The sheer joy with which we approach learning helps. I have a friend who never stops thinking. He adds to his study an occasional mystery and works through difficult riddles with friends because they prepare him for understanding the mysteries and riddles of the Word of God. More often than not I find him thinking through some issue in the Bible, attempting to unlock an enigma. He works his mind.
It is well known that the Puritans, as an illustration, were devoted to learning the logic of Peter Ramus (2) which formed their approach to scripture analysis by successive dichotomies. Ramus was a French humanist converted to Protestantism in 1561 and later killed in the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day (3). There would be those who debate whether logic is useful in correct interpretation of Scripture in our day, yet I must side with those who use it for the glory of God without letting their philosophical tendencies overwhelm their exegesis. This is a day of many inconsistencies among Evangelicals. How many of these inconsistencies would be thrown down with the most basic rules of logic. After all, hermeneutics must be logical.
2. Learning in a broad spectrum of categories better prepares us for evangelism.
My wife and I read through one of the seminal New Age books over a couple of evenings, for instance--not a book about the New Age from a Christian perspective, but an important book in the movement's own judgment. This reading paid big dividends when we encountered the confusion of our bed-and-breakfast hostess one evening. Three hours of conversation cleared her thinking a great deal. I believe she was freed from some dangerous views and brought to think more soberly about "the only true God." It goes without saying that the study of the Word is that which filters and interprets all other information.
I might add to this that the very learning process which intelligent conversation with others brings to you can be evangelism itself. This is one of my most basic approaches. As I ask genuine questions, probing deeper and deeper into the other person's philosophy throughout the dialogue, I am simultaneously uncovering the deficiency of their belief system leaving the door open for the truth. Often my sincere interest in their beliefs evokes genuine questions from them as to my own philosophy. Ingenuiness can be easily detected; we must want to know what they are saying.
3. All learning teaches us something about God.
A case can be made for the Christian laying the preponderance of his study on the subject of God. Paul said that we are to be "growing in the knowledge of God"(Colossians 1:10). The ocean of knowledge of God is in the Bible itself, yet their are other streams to fish which reveal much about Him. Since all things were made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16), we can expect all things to tell us something of Him, however hidden.
In a certain sense then, knowledge in any field speaks of God as magnificent and excellent in all He has done to man, for man, with man, and against man. Whatever we learn will tell us something about God either by thesis or antithesis. We draw a necessary line on reading what is designed as morally impure and destructive (because of the biblical injunction not to be polluted by our association with it-Romans 8:6), yet even to know the raggedness of man, for instance, speaks volumes about God--whom He loves, rebukes, warns, tolerates, damns, and just how He does it. If God's glory is the manifesting of the excellent nature of God, then it is true that "the whole earth is full of His glory."
4. Knowledge, though able to defeat us through pride, can, in fact, humble us.
"Knowledge puffs up..."(1 Corinthians 8:1). We are constantly reminded that any field of knowledge, even the spiritual, can leave a man proud. I have known many proud biblicists. Yet there is another man who is humbled by what he learns. I suppose that the difference is in his purpose for learning--does he seeks to know God through what he learns, or to be known as one who knows about God. With the proper desire, how could we contemplate the vastness of the universe, for instance, and fail to say, "What is man that thou art mindful of Him." (Psalm 8:4) Why, God has created at least one star that we are aware of which has a diameter of twice the distance from the earth to the sun!
5. Learning tends to keep us from boredom, making us interested and therefore interesting.
Amusement ("a", not, "muse," thinking; the practice of not thinking), on the other hand, dulls us and creates an insatiable appetite for more. A man or woman who is interested in what he or she is seeing or hearing or reading, and approaches all things as opportunities to learn, enjoys life far more than the person who believes life is principally for the purpose of relaxing and making the mind idle and empty. I once heard an active eighty-year-old Christian leader in our church ride a group of senior adults pretty hard by saying something like, "If you would get up in the morning and read the Word of God and find out what's in the news and read some good books, and talk seriously to somebody, you wouldn't be so bored all the time." All of us had a difficult time keeping up with this lady. The result is that the learner is the most interesting of people, and this, again, is a great benefit in presenting the gospel.
6. Most importantly, pursuing knowledge of God and His creation, and all things excellent, is obedience.
We are commanded to love the Lord with all our mind, and to meditate on what is true. "Think on these things..."(See Philippians 4:8)
Useful Rules in the Learning Process
Five guidelines are necessary: First, learn for the exaltation of God. In other words, do not learn to make a show of erudition, but for more noble reasons. Learn in order to boast in the God who has made magnificent items and ideas to be explored--such order, such immensity, such force, such complexity, such detail, such beauty.
Secondly, learn "Christianly." By this I mean to say that we must acknowledge God in all things sensed and reflected upon. Grind that new thought through the teeth of Scripture; let the enzymes of sound doctrine dissolve and digest it. This places the Bible first in our learning and the bringing together of Scripture in categories which answer the questions and posit the extensions (theology) as next in our pursuits. Who can judge life without sound criteria for judgment? The noble theologian Turretin considered his Elenctic Theology the best biblical work he could offer: "Let other books, then, be commended for their novelty. I do not want this statement to justify mine." (4) Something of this spirit should pervade our learning.
Third, value the standard old works over the new. Now I write this as an author, so I could never bring myself to say we should avoid all new works. But something destructive has happened in our day. Today an author writes on subjects he knows nothing of--he finds a subject people wish to hear about, gathers a bit of material, mixes in a catchy outline and a striking title, and he has a best seller. Not all old books are worth your time, but at least most older authors wrote having some sense of their subject being a driving passion. There are many fine older works, numbers reprinted, readily available.
You will read so few books in your lifetime, you cannot afford to waste your time on contentless froth. "It is a good rule, after reading a new book not to allow yourself another new till you have read an old one in between" said C.S. Lewis (5). And go to the original sources. "The simplest student" he says, "will be able to understand, if not all, yet a very great deal of what Plato said; but hardly anyone can understand some modern books on Platonism. It has always therefore been one of my main endeavors as a teacher to persuade the young that first-hand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than second-hand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire."(6)
Fourth, despise an idle mind. Paul said to be "careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15) An hour wasted is never to be retrieved. Play hard when needed, but do not learn to enjoy mental emptiness. The idle brain feels a great deal of pain in thinking at first, but has all the potential to make progress if it is exercised. Take a book with you when you may have to spend time waiting, ask questions that lead to more significant discussions while eating dinner, pose a problem to solve when you are driving to work, or chew on a passage of Scripture while bathing (like the early church father Chrysostym, by the way). It is commonly known that a blind person has an improved use of his other senses tending to help overcome the disability. Why? Because of use alone. His nose is no better than yours, nor his ears. But he has used them more carefully, paying attention, focusing the mental powers. This illustrates what concentration can do for a person. The practice of scriptural meditation is a great help in developing that concentration.
Finally, do not let the gaining of knowledge of any kind, not even biblical knowledge, usurp the principle aim of knowing God. Here is a subtle trap. I cannot make too much of this. I have fallen into this snare many times myself. Knowledge proper can be a substitute for intimacy. If one could love without knowledge and love were pitted against knowledge, then never learn another thing for the sake of your love for God. Adam and Eve, you remember, were the first to desire knowledge over intimacy with God. Rather, "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me..." (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
As I look around this room lined with books, I cannot help but feel a bit embarrassed how little I have learned so far when so much is available to me. My embarrassment is aggravated when I think of an acquaintance of Dr. Don Whitney's on a mission trip to Kenya. Perhaps this story will be an eloquent argument for learning:
...I met a schoolteacher in his early thirties named Bernard. He lived in the back of a store that was one of four buildings in the Kilema community. He walked several miles even further into the bush country each day to the mud-brick elementary school where he taught. He returned home to his "cube," an eight-foot-by eight-foot-by eight-foot room where he lived with his wife and infant son. A twin bed was against the back wall with a sheet hanging from the ceiling to separate the "bedroom" from the rest of the cube. Only a small table with one chair occupied the front half. What interested me most was what he had on the cement walls. On every wall were several pages from long-outdated magazines or pictures from old calendars. He explained that they were all he had to read. Though he'd been a Christian for many years, he was too poor even to own a Bible. The only books that ever came into his hands were a few secondhand books the teachers used at the school.
So as he holds his son to get him to go to sleep he reads the words on the magazines for the umpteenth time. While he eats at his table or lays on his bed, he looks at the pictures of far-off people and places and wonders what they are like. As I stood in that concrete cube, looking at a couple of dozen faded pictures and yellowing pages, I realized that before me stood a wise man. Bernard understands that knowledge really is like a rare treasure. Though it is more scarce than gold, he had stored up all he could. That's the attitude all who are wise will have, for "wise men store up knowledge."
..."The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out." (7)
(1) Addresses delivered by his daughter and son-in-law, Fredrick and Elizabeth Catherwood, Evangelical Press of Wales, 1982, p.
(2) See Essays on Puritans and Puritanism, Leon Howard, edited by James Barbour and Thomas Quirk, University of New Mexico Press, for a full treatment of this.
(3) Douglas, J.D., general editor, The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, Zondervan, 1978, p. 824.
(4) Turretin, Francis, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Presb. and Reformed, copyright 1992 by James T. Dennison, Jr., p. xlii.
(5) C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock, Eerdmans, p. 202.
(6) ibid., p. 200.
(7) Whitney, Donald S., Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, NavPress, p. 215.
Scripture reference: Proverbs 18:15.
October 25, 2000
A Bright Future For Some
Pastor Les Walthers
Grace Reformed Baptist Church
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
"And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed." (Romans 13:11) These words which have to do with the return of Christ, were written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome. They were appropriate then, and they are appropriate for Christians in our own day. In the final days of 1999, there were many who feared that the world would end at the arrival of the year 2000. It was reported in the news that one man sold his home worth a half million dollars and moved out into the wilderness to build a bunker in order to survive the inevitable catastrophic events. Many stockpiled supplies and purchased guns in order to prepare for the worst. The year 2000 came and the world didn�t end, which all goes to prove that we do not know the time when the world will end.
Christ instructs His followers not to predict the end of the world based on the escalation of catastrophic events such as wars, famines and earthquakes, "And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. (Matthew 24: 6-9) Although Christ warns of terrible times and dreadful events, He insists that these are not the main things Christians should focus on, and they are not the main sign that the end is getting near.
What then is the main sign that the end is near? Christ tells us, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." (Matthew 24:14) That is the main sign. That is the only thing the Lord is really waiting for., the spread of the gospel to every corner of the world. The more the gospel spreads, the closer we are to the return of Christ. The timing of the Lord�s return does not depend on any crisis (Y2K or otherwise). The timing depends on God�s patience and His eternal plan to save more souls from every tribe, language and every nation.
We can be sure the time of Christ�s return is nearer than ever, not because 2,000 years have passed since His first coming, but because throughout those two millennia, the gospel has been preached. Those who know Him, look forward to His return. For them, the best is yet to come. On one occasion, He told His followers, "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
October 18, 2000
A Searching Question
Pastor Les Walthers
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Rocky Mount, NC
On one occasion, Christ asked the Apostle Peter a very penetrating question. "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" Supreme love for God is not optional. We are commanded to love Him supremely. In answer to the question, "Which is the great commandment of the Law," Christ responded, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment." Simply stated, the duty that is set forth in this command is that we love God.
Multitudes break this commandment. There are many who hate God. There are atheists and infidels who blaspheme God. There are those who rail at the very being of God . In their conscience they know there is a God, yet with their lips they blasphemously deny His existence. They say that there is no God, because they wish there were none. In spite of their bitter and blasphemous denials, they are commanded by God to love Him supremely. There are others who do not openly and verbally deny the existence of God, but they do so practically because they disregard God. They live their life without any regard for God or the things of God. They are willing to reverence the powers that be, but the One who ordained those powers is passed by and forgotten. They wake up in the morning without a prayer. They go through the week's business and never acknowledge God. They often speak of "good luck," but they never speak of the providence of God and never acknowledge that God is sovereign in the affairs of men. They are void of any love for God.
How much are we to love God? We are to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, which means we are to love Him supremely. Note the use of the word "all." , "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. The word "heart" as used in the Bible refers to the center of one's personal life. It is the spring of all desires, motives and moral choices. This means that our desires, motives and moral choices must reflect our supreme love for God. We are to love God with all our soul. Our soul is that which causes us to be eternal beings. The eternal destiny of our souls is ultimately the destiny of our bodies. To love God with all our soul means that we must be willing to die rather than to deny God. Finally, we are to love God with all our all our mind. Many intellectually believe in the existence of God but they do not love God. They believe that God exists, but at the same time they wish that He did not exist.
There are many reasons why people do not love God supremely. Describing the last days, the Apostle Paul wrote, "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God."
October 11, 2000
Encouraging Word For The Week
Pastor Steve Kelly
First Baptist Church, Doyline, Louisiana.
As I write, I have just returned from a three-day conference in Memphis, TN called Legacy 2000. It was sponsored by the North American Mission Board and Bellevue Baptist Church. It was a wonderful experience.
While there, I heard the following true story that challenged me to watch my life more closely because I know others are watching it too.
Recently, a pastor in Phoenix, Arizona was having a hectic day. It was around 2-3 in the afternoon and he had several things still to accomplish before his day was over. He had to stop at the local mall and purchase some things. His daughter needed to be picked up from school, and he still had church meetings and visits to make that evening. He was running at a blurry pace.
As he arrived at the mall, he noticed that one of the music stores had a sale on selected CD's, 2 for $9.99. As busy as he was, there were a couple of CD's that he wanted to buy and at that price he couldn't pass it up. So, he found what he needed, waiting in a long line for more than 10 minutes to check out, made his other purchases and made it back to the car with just enough time to pick up his daughter.
As he tossed his bag with the CD's on the seat, the receipt came out of the bag. Immediately, his eyes locked on the sales slip and he noticed that instead of being charged $9.99 for the two CD's, he was only charged $1.99.
He thought, "I don't have time for this." But, because he knew it was the right thing to do, he went back to the store and got back in line with the same sales clerk. Because of the long lines at the checkout, he had to wait another 10-15 minutes.
When he reached the clerk, he told her, "Mam, I was in here earlier and you accidently charged me $1.99 for these CD's instead of $9.99." She replied, "It was no accident. I intended to charge you that price."
At this point she explained her motivation. She said, "My life has really been in a shambles and I needed to find some solutions. I hadn't been to church in many years, but I recently saw an advertisement in a newspaper about a church in the area that caught my attention and this past Sunday I decided to try it out. The pastor spoke on this topic of personal integrity. You were that pastor. I charged you what I did to see if what you preached on Sunday really counted on Monday."
At this point, she began to weep. The manager of the store had seen and heard what unfolded and because he was a Christian, he invited the pastor to take the lady into another room to speak further with her. As a result, she came to know Jesus Christ that day. Why? Because a man practiced what he preached.
As I heard this story, it struck me that people are watching me even when I don't know it. In fact, what I do with my faith will often determine what they do with theirs. It is not what we do on Sunday's that proves our faith, but the application of it that is seen the rest of the week. As this story clearly communicates -- LIVING FOR JESUS IS A CHOICE.
With this in mind, what are you choosing? Remember, your footsteps are the road map that lead people to Jesus. What a responsibility. What a privilege.
Looking up,
Bro. Steve
October 4, 2000
Doing What Jesus Did
Fern Horst
"Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28)
What Would Jesus Do? We have many reasons to reminded of this question these days as we see the initials WWJD on everything from bracelets to T-shirts to Bible covers to refrigerator magnets. Someone recently posted on the Purposeful Singleness Discussion Board that he thinks the reminder should be "DWJD" (Do What Jesus Did) instead.
I tend to agree. By using the question "What would Jesus do?" to determine our actions, we may be in danger of acting out what we think Jesus would do rather than what He actually did. Our human perspective of Jesus and what He would do in our day is often sadly flawed by the influence of many of the world's values which He would never own. One of those values that seems to have crept into my own thinking, and that of many Christians, is the idea that when I choose a church, a spouse, a career, or even a friend, that I should make sure that my "needs" are going to be met. If after making my decision I think they aren't, then I have the right to move on and find something different. Seems reasonable enough, doesn't it?
But wait a minute. If I'm going to be committed to DWJD (doing what Jesus did), I won't make my decisions by that criteria. I'll take a look back at the accounts of Jesus' life in the Bible and take special note that "the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
This changes a significant criteria by which I make the major and the not so major decisions in my life. If I am going to do what Jesus did, I will also be a servant and a minister to others as He was. When I choose a church, it should be a place where I can serve. My choice of a career or a job should be one that allows me to serve others. And my decision whether to marry or who I marry should be qualified by the criteria of whether I can serve better with this person or alone.
Before we think that Jesus ignored His own needs, though, we'd better take a second look at the Gospels. He definitely took steps to get His needs for refreshment and refueling met, but not through relationships with people. The Gospels say that, particularly after times of ministering to the multitudes, "he went up into a mountain apart to pray" (Matthew 14:23). If we are going to DWJD, we'll be sure to take the same steps in the midst of our lives of serving and ministering.
(c)Purposeful Singleness 2000
September 27, 2000
Praying Always With All Prayer
Bryan Wheeler, Pastor
Cornerstone Bible Church, Miami Florida
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." - Ephesians 6:18
Prayer is one of the principle means of grace which God has established for the comfort and benefit of every true believer. Whatever else you do or may not do, you must pray, because prayer is the ordained means by which God dispenses His intended blessings to His people. Some professing Christians pray only when they are "supposed to," (i.e., in church, at meals, bedtime, etc.). Others pray only when they are desperate. But when their sense of desperation subsides, they lose all desire and appetite for prayer. This should never be! The people of God should always pray. This requires that we cultivate a readiness of mind and heart so that we are always prepared to seek the face of God. It is one of our most cherished privileges to be able speak to our heavenly Father on all occasions and in every circumstance without having to make an appointment or wait our turn. God's will is that you PRAY ALWAYS.
Praying in the Spirit means that we are to pray with spiritual understanding and affections. This is only possible when the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our understanding and lights the fire of our affections, so that we can pray as we ought to pray. It is the Holy Spirit who awakens us to our need, and then intercedes for us to secure the will of God with reference to our need. The Holy Spirit also enables believers to exercise the graces of humility, faith, love and hope, so that our prayers will be more than just fleshly whinings.
Not only are we to pray "always with all prayer in the Spirit", but we must continue in prayer "with all perseverance." Perseverance implies opposition. The world, your flesh, and the devil, oppose your prayers and constantly conspire to try to make you give up praying. But remember, God honors persevering faith, and if God is for us, who or what can be against us?
You and I must to pray with the conviction that God loves to give good gifts to His children, and with the confident expectation that He will surely give us what is best, when it is best. Prayer is the exercise of faith. So if you have quit praying, it is because you have already quit believing. You must not only pray for yourself, but for "ALL THE SAINTS." One of the best ways that you can demonstrate your love for others is to faithfully pray for them. You should regularly pray for all the people of God, because they belong to God by adoption, they belong to Christ by redemption, and because we are all members one of another. Pray for the unity, purity and prosperity of all those who love and fear the Lord. God forbid that you should sin against the Lord in not praying for all His dear children (1 Samuel 12:23).
September 20, 2000
What Have You To Do With Me?
Bill Self, Pastor
Johns Creek Baptist Church
Alpharetta, GA
Mark 5:1-20
It was quite by accident that my family discovered Bruges, a delightful village in Belgium that still retains the flavor of the 14th century. We were lost, hungry, and somewhat confused, bouncing along in our rented Volkswagon when suddenly we passed a restaurant that looked inviting. After a most delightful meal, the owner suggested that we take time to visit the Venice of Belgium, Bruges.
Much to our delight, we discovered that the owner had been right about the charm and beauty, but the real surprise was the museum of the 14th century Flemish art. Here for the first time we experienced art in its natural setting. These delightful impressions of Biblical scenes were painted on oak and had retained their color through the centuries. The distinguishing characteristic of Flemish art, though, is that it is the first painting in Europe to tell an entire story on one canvas (or piece of oak). Many Biblical stories were presented with all of their movement and flow. The one which caught my imagination was the story of Jesus healing the demoniac of Gadara.
This painting contained actually three pictures of Jesus: one, when the demoniac meets him; another, when the demoniac was healed; and the other, when the citizens requested that he leave their area. In the background were the dead swine, and standing around Jesus, you could see the confused disciples.
The artist was correct in understanding Mark's gospel as a picture approach to presenting Jesus, for this earliest gospel was written to give portraits of Jesus to the Gentile Christians in Rome, and it is a succession of scenes from the life of Jesus most likely coming from Peter's preaching through Mark's pen and now to our ear.
The story actually has its prelude in the preceding chapter as the disciple band crosses the lake to Gentile territory in search of rest from their labors, only to be caught in a storm on the lake. Jesus stills the storm. Mark now turns to show us that Jesus can deal not only with the natural evil (the storm) but with the evil that infects man as well. Mark wishes to use these miracle stories as proof of Jesus' Messiahship. This type of proof was effective among the Gentiles.
You recall that when Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake and set foot in Gadara, He was met immediately by a raving demon-possessed man who had been chained by the local community and left to generally inhabit the area of the tombs. When the man saw Jesus, he was immediately tormented by His presence and cried out: "What have I to do with you?" and then turned and worshipped Jesus, and Jesus cast the demons out of him. These demons, after having identified themselves as being Legion, meaning "many," are driven into a herd of swine grazing nearby and this stampedes them over a cliff into the lake. The swine-herds, realizing that they had failed in their responsibility and were accountable to the owners of these swine, run to the nearby village, inform the people of what has happened. The villagers come and, after surveying the economic damage, ask Jesus to leave. The healed demoniac requests permission to go with Jesus and the disciples, but Jesus leaves him as a witness in the Gentile community.
With a wide brush, Mark gives us one great canvas with three distinct pictures of Jesus.
Incidentally, if you want to miss the real import of the story, then get tangled up with the incident of the demons and the pigs; but if you want to see what Mark is trying to tell us, look at these pictures.
I. JESUS, THE TORMENTOR. Immediately the story opens with Jesus being met by the demoniac, a man believed to be possessed of demons, and chained in the tombs outside the city. The language of the text implies that the chains and fetters have been worn thin by constant abuse and that this man's rage had made him a man to be feared and avoided. The community had dealt with him by using physical restraint and isolation, and the condition of the man testifies to the failure of this method of care. In twenty centuries we have not improved our ability to help disturbed people. We still constrain and isolate. Upon seeing Jesus, he cries out: "What have I to do with thee? Don't torture me." Had others ridiculed him--used him as the butt of harsh jokes? Was he the object of cruel pranks perpetrated by the local "red necks?" Whatever the case, he was tormented by the sight of Jesus, a foreigner, and wanted to receive no pain--physical or emotional--from Him.
Another way to miss the point of the story is to dismiss the outcry of this man as the ravings of a demented man with whom you have nothing in common. Embrace the happy fiction that most human beings delight to bask in the presence of perfect Goodness if you wish. The only trouble is that you then find the resistance to Christianity down through the centuries quite unaccountable.
The plain fact is that Christ is a kind of plague to the human race. There is something in all of us that cries out at times: "What a relief it would be if I could just go ahead and live without having that Figure rise before my vision! Why can't He leave me along?" We are tormented partly because His presence makes us fully aware of our misery and bondage and partly because it threatens to take away from us those ills and obsessions that we cling to as our very selves. The outcasts of our society feel our judgment on them when in love they receive custodial care and feel it as torture. Operating here is the Jewish belief that health and prosperity accompany those whom God loves. This man is shaken and tormented by Goodness, for he receives it as judgment upon himself. By this kind of treatment God and society have said that he is unworthy.
This living dead man is no different than my friend who told me that he did not attend church because he felt unworthy
--Or the typical young person who feels ceremoniously unclean in church because he has broken one or all of the commandments.
--Let's not forget the college student who thought that his doubting made him unacceptable to God, the church, or the minister.
--Or the tired businessman who knows that he lives from Monday to Saturday by one set of rules and is tormented on Sunday by the judgment of Christ and the burden of his demons.
The cures of his culture had resulted in chains and tombs--restriction--isolation. He was more restricted and isolated because of it and rather than offer help, they drove him further into his dilemma.
Jesus exposes this man, and this is the root of the torment; for to be exposed for what we are--limited, chained, driven men--is torment. But as the Gadarenes had exposes him to hatred and ridicule, Jesus exposes him to love.
This is what drove him to his knees. He had never experienced exposure and love. Exposure and hatred is common to us all. It drives us to imprison ourselves behind our silly and transparent defenses, but exposure and love is torment and health.
We live in fear of having our masks ripped off--our veneers peeled back--and most of our lives are built around keeping the defenses in good order. We can deal with the chains and tombs, but exposure and love are too much for us--more than we can comprehend.
There are families who are tormented, chained, and live on "Tomb Street" because they refuse to open to the other. Parents lock out the child until he is driven to desperate measures to gain admission to the other's life. Husband and wife lock each other out rather than to risk love. The demoniac and the torment of his exposure waited for the liberating word. It came. It is made most vivid when Jesus is pictured in the middle of the canvas as the Liberator.
II. JESUS, THE LIBERATOR. When Christ enters into the struggle with this man for his sanity, he identifies with him in his pain. The cure is not easily obtained. Marks' Greek, poor but adequate, shows us the struggle of Jesus to set him free. Jesus identifies the demons and speaks the liberating word. This man is free--free of him demons--free of himself--free to be himself.
Years ago while an undergraduate, I was attending a seminar conducted by a forgotten scholar who visited our campus. In the midst of the discussion one of the fledgling ministers seated in the group looked at this distinguished scholar and asked him a most impertinent question: "Sir, are you saved?" Immediately the scholar turned to the young man and said: "Saved from what?" There was a deep silence. Then he looked at all of us and said: "What are we saved from?" With this the seminar was dismissed and we went back to our dormitory rooms somewhat confused at the evasive answer given by the visiting scholar. Throughout the night the torment of that question raged in my mind. "Saved from what?" "Saved from what?" Deep into the night it began to unfold. As a young minister, I had preached about being saved from sin or evil. Somehow these answers did not satisfy. And then it came into focus. Jesus saves us from ourselves. Liberation that does not take this into account is immature.
The liberating word from Christ neither drives us back into ourselves, chaining us in the tombs with provincialism and archaic mind-sets, nor does it fetter us with "Mickey Mouse" morality, hoping to protect us from the light of truth. Rather, liberation strips these chains from our ankles and wrists, drives the demons out, and makes us free to understand what Augustine meant when he said: "Love God and do as you please."
I'm having some difficulty describing liberation, for most of us do not have ears with which to hear or eyes with which to see. To hear the liberating word is a shattering experience, for it's something totally new. It would be like a deaf person hearing a symphony for the first time, or a blind man having the bandages removed form his eyes so that he could see men.
I have stood in that sacred place when the liberating word has been spoken. The liberating word is when one hears for the first time that in the midst of his exposure and the torment of this embarrassment, he is worthy of being loved.
"Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, O Lamb of God, I come."
Recently, I was on a college campus participating in a Religious Emphasis Week. In the first discussion late at night in the dormitory, the students voiced their superficial desire to be free. And then when they surveyed the awesome possibilities of freedom, they were caught between running back to the safety of mother's womb or experiencing the torment of exposure for the joys of liberation.
If Mark has anything to say, it is that Christ enters into the struggle with us. Note that it is not instantaneous--to liberate us from the tyranny of our own bondage, he must drive out the demons and rip off the shackles. This is struggle and we must face it.
III. JESUS, THE DISTURBER. Jesus is often pictured as the Lamb of God, suitable for little children and old ladies. A noted advertising executive has made him the hero of the Madison Avenue world. These and other accommodations of the portrait of Jesus to our own needs are always being paraded before us, but there is one portrait of Jesus that we do not like.
When the swine-herds who were acting as custodians of the community's wealth informed the people that they were now bankrupt, these good men--shopkeepers, carpenters and family people--rushed out to see what had happened, for this catastrophe was a severe disaster for the people. Immediately upon assessing the damage, they were disturbed. It is interesting that their attitudes were brought into play here, for they saw the dead swine and not the healed man. They were aware of the presence of Christ, not the power of his liberating Word. They valued pigs more than people. And this is what the "youth cult" has taught us. For all of its hypocrisy and limitations, our young people have called our traditional values into questions and have exposed us--warts and all. With a loud cry they have sensed that we love things and use people.
I have heard farmers talk about "hands" working in the field--not about people--and I have heard businessmen talk about units of labor and not people. Our reverence for the gadget, the chrome chariot, the building, and our total disregard for human beings as individuals and as a society causes me to see us grieving over the swine that have been driven into the water, and ignoring the demoniac who has been made free at last.
The people of Gadara would have received Jesus gladly if he had come and simply legitimatized their own existence. If he had consented to become the incarnation of the higher values of their society--religion and morality--rather than the incarnation of the Word of God, which shakes our world like an earthquake and was beginning to shake the foundations of this little village, they would have honored Him. This struggle is not new to Jesus, for the tempter tried to make him captive immediately after His baptism: "Bow down to me and I'll give you all these things." The Holy Roman Empire tried to make Christ their captive, and the struggle went on for centuries until He stepped free. Calvin, in the name of freedom, tried to imprison him in his system in Geneva, but He would not be locked in one provincial city. We have tried to make Christ the Captive of the American way of life or of our own Southern provincialism, but He will not be accountable to us. The struggle to manipulate the Christ into becoming our captive or pet lamb so that His powers may serve us conceals the disturbing character of his nature. He will not be a captive of our institutions.
The judgment upon the church today is as severe as it was upon Judaism of the first century. As individuals, churches, and society, our confrontation with Jesus strips us of our illusions about the rightness of our confidence in what we have established.
But we forget that Jesus disturbed with love. He did not hate the citizens of Gadara; He loved them and sought to heal them, for they too needed to be liberated from the demon of their own contentment. The tragedy was that they thought that their little society was large enough to contain Christ.
My own walk with the Christ has convinced me of the pain at hearing His Word. He calls all my values into question daily. He is a constant disturbing presence. I personally rage at His Goodness and wish that He would leave me alone, but Mark tells us that His disturbing presence is His loving hand moving us to freedom.
September 13, 2000
What You Can Do About Loneliness
Gary J. Oliver
God can use the pain of loneliness to move you into a deeper relationship with Himself and others, as an opportunity to learn, grow, deepen, develop and mature. What Satan has designed for evil, God can use for good. We can become more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). But where do we start?
First, seek fellowship with God. Thank Him and praise Him for His person, His promises and His lovingkindness. That's what David did in Psalm 142. Pour out your heart to Him in prayer. Share your concerns, hurts, fears, frustrations and discouragements. Christ has promised to be with us always, "even until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). In addition, He is our great high priest who understands us and can sympathize with us (Hebrews 4:15). We are told to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (v. 17).
Second, notice what you are telling yourself about your loneliness. On a sheet of paper, complete the phrase "I am lonely because . . ." ten times. Are you blaming yourself, God, other people, fate or circumstances? These may be excuses to keep you from trusting God and risking growth. On the back of that paper, write ten specific promises from God's Word regarding His love and His plans and provisions for you.
Third, develop some creative options. What are the possibilities? Thank God that you don't have to suffer from chronic loneliness. Take another sheet of paper and complete the phrase "With God's help I can. . ." ten times. What haven't you tried? What have you tried that you can try again? Talk to others who have overcome loneliness and find out what worked for them.
Learn from the Apostle Paul. When he was in prison, he didn't just sit around feeling bad. He took the initiative. He wrote letters to his friends: asked them to visit him: shared his emotions, joys and sorrows with the Lord and with his friends. He looked for ways to minister to and encourage others.
Look around you. What concerns and needs do you see? Don't just think of people you know. Consider people at church or in your community whom you may have heard about but have never met. What skills, interests or resources has God given you? What can you do to reach out and help others? Even little acts of kindness and little deeds of love are no longer little when God is in them.
Most lonely people have inadequate communication skills, which make reaching out even more threatening. A valuable fourth step for lonely people is to work on increasing your communication skills. John Powell, in his book 'Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?' lists five levels of communication.
Level 1: Circle Conversation. Small talk is safe because there is no real sharing of ourselves.
Level 2: Reporting the Facts About Others. This is also fairly safe for lonely people. There is little risk involved in reporting the ideas of other people. Approximately 90 percent of the communication of those who suffer from chronic loneliness takes place at Level 1 or Level 2.
Level 3: Sharing My Ideas and Judgments. Here we begin to take some risk. As I tell you some of my opinions, I will be watching you carefully to see your reaction. If you respond favorably, then we can probably go to the next level. If not, then I will play it safe and stay at Level 1 or 2.
Level 4: Sharing My Feelings. When we share our feelings, we tell another person a lot about us. Because of the fear of rejection and failure, sharing feelings can be risky. But it provides a unique opportunity for growth. If we don't take the risk and share, we are guaranteed failure.
Level 5: Peak Communication. This involves complete commitment and trust. We know we are safe, so there is no need to held back. Powell compares Level 5 communication to two musical instruments playing in perfect harmony.
Now it's time to take action. Sitting around feeling bad and waiting for something to happen is not what the Bible means when it talks about "redeeming the time." Don't ignore your feelings, but do take your eyes off yourself and your problems and focus on specific things you can do. If you have followed my suggestions so far, then you already have a number of options. Make a list of the ideas you came up with and put them in order, starting with the easiest and least threatening task first. Start the change process by taking some small and safe steps.
Since our patterns of thinking and responding have taken years to develop, they won't change overnight. In fact, an overnight transformation is probably only a surface or cosmetic change. Meaningful change involves a series of small steps and takes time. The process is usually simple, but it is rarely easy.
Also remember that, although you often feel alone, you are not alone. God designed us to be in relationship. One of the many effects of the Fall was the creation of a barrier between God and man and between man and other men. One of the results of the cross was to provide a basis for restoring our relationship with God and with one another. We don't all have to become extroverts, but we all need some companionship and a few close friends. What God has promised, He will accomplish--if, with His help, we are willing to set aside our fears, trust Him, and by faith take some new steps.
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August 30, 2000
Sometimes Love
David Bradley
My wife and I are pre-marital counsellors. (sp?) We meet with engaged couples to teach them communication skills that will get their relationship through difficult times. No relationship is without it's problems and unless someone knows how to face those problems, they can tear a relationship apart.
One such problem has come up in private messages with no less than 3 people from the Cross Exam mailing list (after you sent out my testimony about the problems I faced with temptations and with my health last year), and has also been a problem in my own marriage. I have to believe that for the 3 who have actually written to me about problems of this sort, that there are others who have remained silent but for whom this is also an issue.
This is the problem of a relationship becoming one of "I no longer care".
Since Anne and I believe so strongly in marriage, something that we tell the couples we meet with is that we have a stake in their marriage. We care. We are there for them even after the marriage, although we aren't marriage counsellors, we are pre-marital counsellors.
All too often I hear a message from one partner that, he has stopped trying, or she won't make an effort anymore. I've heard this from the three people on the cross exam list who contacted me as well. It's often very difficult. Marriage isn't a 50/50 deal. It's a 100/100 deal. As human beings we all have our up periods and our down periods. A marriage needs 100% all the time. If I give 50% and my partner gives 50%, then when I'm down, the marriage is only getting her 50% and when she's down the marriage is only getting my 50%. That's not enough to keep some marriages together. There must be 100%. If both partners are giving 100%, then there's enough strength there for both of them when one is down. Likewise, the more they work at their marriage, the stronger it becomes when they face difficulties.
But what happens when I'm so far down that I can't give anymore and my partner also goes through a down cycle?
Well, that's when you have to make the decision to keep that marriage together no matter what. You are bonded together until death do you part. Your marriage vows state that NO MAN is to separate what God has joined. That's not something to be tossed aside when it isn't convenient. However, I do also believe that some relationships are dangerous, or become dangerous, and while NO MAN is to separate what God has joined, that doesn't mean that sometimes God might not separate it. However, when it comes time to face the "I'm so far down and can't give anymore, but my partner is also down and can't give" situation, there IS a way out. And that is to give despite your inability to give. OK, right now I know that people are saying, "yep, David has finally cracked up. He's talking in circles now." But I'm not. Follow along with me for a minute.
There comes a point when you are so exhausted over praying and not perceiving an answer to those prayers that you feel you need to stop praying, that it won't work and it's useless to continue. Yet you pray anyways. When you can no longer pray you ask the Holy Spirit to intercede and give you the words you need to pray, and through that intervention you continue to pray. Well, I'm going to be just crazy enough to suggest that when you can no longer give to a relationship, whether through exhaustion from giving so much and getting nothing in return, or whether it's because your own personal problems have become so great that you can't possibly give to someone else, that there IS still a way to give, and that's to ask God to help you continue to give. He will give you what you need to get through any situation.
The end times are indeed very near. As the end gets closer, Satan panics. He knows inside that he can't win, but he refuses to accept that and continues to grab desperately at those of us here in the world that he can latch onto and drag down into the pit. One of the best places for him to sow his discontent is in marriages. Without stable marriages and stable families it is harder for God's love to be seen in the world and more and more people turn away from God as a result.
What started this all for me a week and a half ago was I grabbed a CD on the way out the door to listen to on my train ride to work. However, that CD wasn't in the case. What had happened was I had 5 discs in my changer at home, and I wanted to listen to this CD, so I had taken one of the discs out of the changer and put this one in it. However that other disc's case wasn't nearby, so I put it in the case for the one I wanted to listen to temporarily. That was a few months ago. It's still there and the CD that should be there is in the player at home. So I grabbed this case thinking I'd have this CD and I have the other one instead. Well, praise the Lord it's an absolutely great disc and one particular song kept jumping out at me. I played it over and over and over and as I listened to the words God put it in my heart to share this with people on the list because the message needs to be heard, especially by those whose relationships are hurting at the moment. He kept telling me simply "share it." "Share it."
So here goes:
Sometimes Love
By Chris Rice
Is our world spinning backwards
What has brought about this change
Can't you see that people aren't the same
I wish I were dreamin'
And could wake up from my sleep
And find us all the way we used to be
'Cause the love that used to be is dyin'
Is anybody even tryin'
And I don't know how, I don't know why
But somethin' in my soul is crying' (listen)
Sometimes LOVE has to drive a nail into its own hand
Sometimes LOVE has to drive a nail into its own hand
One pair of hands broke some bread and washed some feet
Opened eyes and soother an angry sea
(they) Belong to a man who could see our deepest need
And showed us love the way it has to be
'Cause he knew the price that love requires
And he laid down his own desires
He stretched out his hands to save his friends
And said no other love is higher (so listen to me now, singin')
Sometimes LOVE has to drive a nail into its own hand
Sometimes LOVE has to drive a nail into its own hand
Love can change us, love can make a way
Only Jesus' love can change us, love can make a way
Sometimes LOVE has to drive a nail into its own hand
Sometimes LOVE has to drive a nail into its own hand
I wish I were dreamin'
And could wake up from my sleep
And find us all the way we used to be.
Praise the Lord!
Sincerely,
Dave Bradley
August 23, 2000
Common Tools and Uncommon Tasks
B. Clayton Bell, Pastor
Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX
Exodus 4:1-17
Interpreting dreams is tricky business. I'm not a psychologist, so I won't pretend to offer you an expert's analysis of certain dreams that I have had. Sometimes those dreams would leave such a vivid impression, that they haunted me for days. I used to think that those dreams were peculiar to me, and I found them embarrassing. But as I grew older, I found everybody has them. Let's see if any of them are familiar to you.
You are out for a walk in the countryside, and suddenly you meet a wild animal. You turn to run, and discover that instead of wearing sneakers you are wearing heavy work boots, and the only thing that saves you from being mauled by the monster of the wild, just as he is ready to pounce on you, is that you wake up in a cold sweat.
You are getting ready for your final exam. It covers a subject with which you have had difficulty all year, and you have to do well to pass the course. But now, sitting at your desk waiting for the teacher to pass out the test questions, you can't even remember the name of the course. And here she comes with a smirk of sadistic glee. Then you wake up.
You have been invited to a state dinner at the White House. You are the envy of all your neighbors. You pack your bags, get on the plane, arrive in Washington, and head for the White House. As you look at the other guests standing in the receiving line, all of them are dressed in gorgeous formal attire. Just then you pass a full length mirror and look at yourself . . . and you are as naked as a jay-bird.
You've been sitting on the bench all season, wanting a chance to play. Finally the big moment comes, the coach calls your name, you jump to your feet and head for third base . . . only to realize you didn't even bring your glove to the game . . . and you are wearing the tuxedo you forgot at the White House.
Sunday is here. I get into the pulpit to preach again . . . only I can't find my notes. In fact, I don't even remember preparing a sermon. (And if you say, "Yeah, I remember that Sunday," I'll recommend your excommunication.)
There is a common thread that runs through all of these dreams . . . the feeling of inadequacy and the corresponding fear of failure.
I love the old comic strip depicting Lucy, Charlie Brown and Linus lying in a field, looking up at the bright white clouds in an azure blue sky. Lucy asks Linus, "Linus, what do you see?"
Linus replies, "That cloud looks like a profile of Beethoven. Those clouds look like an outline of the blue Azores. And those clouds remind me of Saul of Tarsus holding the cloak of Stephen as he was being stoned."
Then Lucy turns to Charlie Brown and asks, "And Charlie Brown, what do you see?"
And Charlie Brown says, "I was going to say I saw a ducky and a doggy . . . but I've changed my mind."
Feelings of inadequacy and fear of failure haunt us all. We are aware that people have expectations of us . . . God has expectations of us . . . and we have expectations of our own, and we don't want to fail by any standard of measurement However we measure success, we all need to have some sense that we have succeeded. And if we don't think we can succeed in a task, we usually decline it. That is why this passage of Scripture can be so helpful to us today. This is the story of a man who felt terribly inadequate.
Moses was born of Jewish parents who were enslaved in Egypt along with all the other Hebrews. His parents names were Amram and Jochabed. Pharaoh had given the order that all male babies of the Hebrews were to be killed. So Moses' mother put him in a little basket, waterproofed it with tar, and floated him in the Nile river close to where Pharaoh's daughter want for her daily swim. Pharaoh's daughter discovered the little baby among the bullrushes, and raised him as her own in the palace.
We are not told when or how Moses learned of his kinship to the Hebrews. But one day he saw a Hebrew being mistreated by an Egyptian, and in defense of the Hebrew he struck the Egyptian and killed him. Then he had to flee to the wilderness of Midian in order to escape Egyptian justice. There he married the daughter of Jethro. He had children, and for the next 40 years he was a shepherd in the wilderness of Sinai.
One day, when he was 80 years of age, he sees a bush that suddenly bursts into flame, continues to burn and is not consumed. So he approached the bush to see what caused this strange phenomenon. And out of the bush comes the voice of God saying, "Moses, take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground."
So Moses took off his sandals and knelt before God Who was speaking from that burning bush. And God said: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob...I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey -- So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites out of Egypt."
And Moses responded, Not me, God. You've fingered the wrong man.
But God persisted. And still Moses objected; Lord, who do you think I am? I don't have any credibility with those Hebrews. If I go and announce that I am their deliverer, why should they believe me? Lord, you've chosen the wrong man. Get somebody else!
Then God did something to convince Moses.
Moses, what do you have in your hand?
A shepherd's staff.
Throw it on the ground!
And when Moses threw it on the ground, it turned into a snake, and he ran from it. Then God told Moses to take the snake by the tail, and when he did, it turned back into a staff.
Then God told Moses to put his hand inside his shepherd's cape. When he withdrew it, it was white with leprosy. Then God told him to insert his hand inside the cape again, and when he withdrew it, it was normal.
Now those two miracles were performed for Moses, to convince him that God had power to strengthen and bless his leadership. But still Moses resisted. God, I've been a shepherd in the desert for 40 years. I'm not eloquent, and besides at 80 years of age, I'm ready for retirement. God, get somebody else.
And Moses was correct. He was a senior citizen . . . he had been absent from the Hebrew scene for 40 years . . . and he was not an eloquent public speaker . . . and he didn't want the hassle. Lord, please send someone else to do it.
Let me point out several things from this encounter.
First, please understand that God Is Aware of His People's Plight. What had happened to the Jews, and their condition of slavery He was well aware of. Even though they had been stuck in slavery for 400 years, God had not forgotten then.
Second, please notice the Power of God. The miracles God performed for Moses indicated that whatever resources Moses needed to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, God would provide.
Third, notice the Power of Unbelief. Because Moses did not want to what God called him to do, even miracles weren't strong enough to persuade him.
Fourth, notice the Providence of God. Moses pleaded his lack of eloquence as an excuse not to obey. God said: "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and: will teach you what to say." "Moses, your physical capabilities and your handicaps are my doing. Your limitations are my problem I'll take care of them. Don't plead inadequacy as an excuse for disobedience."
And God had already prompted Moses' brother Aaron, a man who could speak well, to travel to see Moses, and God teamed them up together to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, with this promise: I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him And Moses, don't forget to take that staff you have in your hand!
Now, the rest of the story of the Exodus is a story for us. It tells us about the power of God that is adequate for everyday life. It shows the inadequacy of human resources. It illustrates the treacherousness of human nature. In spite of the miraculous power of God, human nature is still given to unbelief, grumbling and complaining. Faith is a very fragile and tenuous thing. We must never presume to be able to hang onto it on our own.
But the account of the Exodus is also a story which shows us what God can do through weak and inadequate people. When the Apostle Paul complained 3 times to God about an impediment he referred to as a thorn in the flesh, that he felt was hindering his work, God said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power shows up best in weak people." So, Paul responded: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).
So, when God gives you a job to do, and you are feeling inadequate, this message is for you. God's power shows up best in weak people. For all though history, God has accomplished uncommon tasks with common people using common tools.
J. Edgar Park, writing some years ago, was obviously relating an incident in his life back in Scotland. It was a time when he lay gravely ill, lying a back room in Edinburgh. Suddenly he dimly saw standing at the foot of his bed a tall, white-haired man who closed his eyes and said, "O Lord, Thou givest the victory unto the weak! We give it to the strong and to the talented, but Thou givest it unto the weak. Amen." Those words of Alexander Whyte of Free St.George's Church have remained living in the life of that man ever since. In them was the seed idea God was trying to plant in the mind of Moses.
The best work is done by people who do not think they are fitted for it. The man with all the advantages and gifts and assurance misfires; somehow he is too glib a speaker, too easy socially, too efficient, too robust, too sure of himself. Every great thing is done in spite of something. Excuses are the unconscious humor of the unwilling. God would probably never have made Moses facile with words, but would have seen to it that his stammering voice rang with a sincerity and power which is more than eloquence. The best teachers and persuaders are a-priori the most unexpected persons . . . when God is urging you, when your better self says 'you ought' then dare to try, and you will find that the humble man with the help of God can always do better than he thought (J. Edgar Park, in Interpreters Bible, Vol. 1, p. 878).
Is that not proven over and over again in history? People, in spite of handicaps and in spite of adversity, have accomplished far more than humanly speaking we thought they could. Take Beethoven, for example. He was totally deaf during the last 8 years of his life but it was during this tragic period that he wrote his Ninth Symphony, often acclaimed as his greatest musical work. Yet, he never heard it.
A horribly deformed dwarf-like cripple named Charles Steinbeck became one of the outstanding electrical geniuses of all time. He holds patents on over 100 inventions, and he did this during his tenure as a consulting engineer with the General Electric Company. This pitiful little man did most of his work half standing and half leaning upon a stool. An indomitable will guided him to accomplishments seldom matched by others in perfect health.
Or consider John Milton, one of England's greatest poets. He wrote his magnificent epic, Paradise Lost, after some 10 or 12 years of total blindness. Through a spirit of determination seldom equaled in the annals of literature, he was able to turn tragedy into triumph. His well known sonnet on his blindness illustrates his feeling of responsibility toward God who made him, and endowed him with such magnificent genius:
When I consider how my light is spent
E're half my days, in this dark world and wide
And that one Talent, which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide:
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God cloth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts, who best
Bear his mild yoke, they seine him best.
His state is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.
Several years ago I came across a poem written by the receptionist at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Reflecting on the meaning of her own life, she wrote:
"I don't know how to say it, but somehow it seems to me
That maybe we are stationed where God wants us to be:
That the little place I'm filling is the reason for my birth,
And just to do the work I do, He sent me down to earth.
If God had wanted otherwise, I reckon He'd have made
Me just a little different, of worse or better grade,
And since God knows and understands all things of land and sea,
I fancy that He placed me here, just where He wanted me.
Sometimes I get to thinking, as my labors I review,
That I should like a higher place, with greater things to do;
But I come to the conclusion, when the envying is stilled,
That the post to which God sent me is the post He wanted filled.
So I plod along and struggle in the hope, when day is through,
That I'm really necessary to the things God wants me to do;
And there isn't any service I can give, which I should scorn,
For it may be just the reason God allowed me to be born."
How human it is to make excuses. Excuses are evidence of unbelief. For if we truly believed God is adequate for every challenge He calls us to meet, every task He calls us to perform, every duty He assigns, we would step forward and salute our Command-in-Chief, and say, Yes Sir! What's next?
What is that you have in your hand?
-Are you a housewife and a mother? You've got pots and pans and children created in the image of God . . . That's what you've got in your hand!
-If you are a nurse you've got a thermometer, or a syringe, or a bed-pan . . . That's what you have in your hand!
-If you are a secretary, you've got a pencil, and a steno pad, and a computer keyboard . . . That's what you have in your hand!
-Are you a physician? You've got a stethoscope, or an X-ray, or a Scalpel . . . That's what you've got in your hand!
-Are you a teacher? You've got a textbook, and some chalk, and a wall full of charts, and a head full of knowledge, and a room full of children waiting to blossom like flowers . . . That's that you've got in your hand!
-Are you a lawyer? You've got the legal system, and justice, and lives . . . That's what you've got in your hand!
-Are you a business man? You've got management skills, and financial acumen, and commercial opportunity . . . That's what you've got in your hand!
God is not looking for experts. God is not looking for Supermen and Super-women. God is not looking for uncommonly strong and resourceful people. God is looking for people who will take what they have in their hands' and put it at His disposal. God can do uncommon things with common people and common tools, if we simply make them available to Him!
Will you let Him have what is in your hand?
June 29, 2000
The Path Back
David Massey
(Part 2 in a two-part series)
But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man said, "The woman you put here with me -- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." - Genesis 3:9-13 (NIV)
Last week I talked about the deadly path of sin, this week I want us to see God's grace and look at exactly what His grace is. The bad news is that the deadly path to sin is very slippery; the good news is that the restoration process, the path back to being in the Light, is laid out for us in this wonderful chapter of Genesis. Come with me as we walk back through the Garden, and watch and listen as God relates to Adam and Eve after their sin.
Some people see a God of harsh judgment, just waiting for an opportunity to strike us down when we sin. I see a God of great unconditional love and mercy in the way He deals with Adam and Eve after their sin. I see a God of great unconditional love and mercy when He deals with you and me today. Notice God seeks out Adam, "Where are you?" Like a loving parent looking for the child hiding out after pouring out all of mom's favorite perfume on the bathroom floor. God certainly knew where Adam was, but he wants Adam to realize where Adam is. God stills call out for us today. "Where are you?"
Notice in the above passage God is not being a prosecuting attorney; He is giving Adam and Eve the opportunity to admit their sin. This admission is the first step in the reconciliation process. Although, Adam and Eve play the proverbial game of "pass the buck," notice that they do admit to eating the fruit with a simple, "I ate it." Nothing frustrates me more than when one of my kids will not admit to a wrongdoing when I know good and well they did it, and likewise nothing softens my heart and warms me more than when I confront one of them and they freely admit to their wrongdoing. I am sure God was pleased when they said, "and I ate it."
The next step in the path to forgiveness is simply asking for forgiveness from God. It is pouring your heart out in prayer to Him, admitting your failure, and then repenting from your sin. Repentance is simply turning away from the sin. It is changing directions, getting back on the right track and running from the temptation that led you into the sin in the first place.
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them (Genesis 3: 1, NIV).
The final step is when we accept God's grace. What is God's grace? God's grace is God providing for a need caused by our sins. This final step is the hardest step for me to do and to understand. Why in the world would our Holy God provide a way out for my sins? Why does God meet my needs caused by my own doing? It is because He loves us unconditionally, with a love that is so contrary to our worldly standards. It is so hard for us to understand His grace and His love.
Do you know what is harder than understanding His love? It is accepting His love and His grace. I think a lot of you know this. I really don't think I am alone with this. We have the first three steps down pat: admission of sin, asking for forgiveness and then repenting. It's the fourth step that throws me. Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves to cover their sins, and so do I. What we are saying to God by not accepting His forgiveness and His grace is this, "Hey God, I can take it from here" or "I can work this out on my own God. If I need You I will call on You."
Grace is about letting God love us. Accepting His grace and forgiveness is putting on God's garments of love. Grace is accepting from God that which we can never do on our own. Acceptance of His Grace is when we stop holding ourselves accountable for what Jesus died for. Acceptance of His Grace is when we stop playing God and start letting Him do His part. Let's put on His garments and get out of these silly looking fig leaves.
He is merciful and tender toward those who don't deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love.
He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever.
He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far away from us as the East is from the West.
He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him. (Psalm 103:8-13, TLB)
Father, Thank You for the ultimate covering of our sins, Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us Father to let go of our past sins, help us to stop playing You, help us to let go and accept Your Grace, Love and Forgiveness. In Jesus' name, Amen.
By David Massey
[email protected]
www.e-devotionals.org
Copyright � 1999 E-Devotional Ministries, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
June 21, 2000
A Deadly Pattern
David Massey
(Part 1 of a two-part series)
Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?"
"Of course we may eat it," the woman told him.
"It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die."
"You won't die!" the serpent hissed. God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil."
The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too. - Genesis 3:1-6 (NLT)
I have gotten caught up in this President Clinton matter for the past several weeks, not from a political standpoint, but rather a view from a human behavior angle. It is rare, (thank goodness), that we are able to look inside another person's life and see a sin unfolding. My looking into President Clinton's action is to learn from his mistakes, but the more I look, the more I see me and the more I see all of us.
None of us can outsmart the Evil One. He has been around much longer, seen it all, done it all and has perfected ways to lead each of us into sin. Of course, we do have power over the Evil One, through Jesus Christ. The Evil One uses the same tactics over and over. Let's look at them and then try to see what we can do to lessen their impact in our lives.
Here is the pattern:
Doubt
Deception
Desire
Decision
Death
Notice the Evil One casting a doubt to Eve in verse one. This doubt causes Eve to take a little away from God's Word and to add a little. Notice how her answer differs from the warning God gave back in Chapter 2.
But the LORD God gave him this warning: "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).
She leaves out the good part, God saying you can "freely" eat and then she adds that they must not even touch the tree. The Evil One then delivers the deception. "You will not die." He knew full well that Eve would die both spiritually and physically if she ate the fruit. He is the Father of Lies. It does not bother him to lie. He thrives on lies.
Now Eve passes from doubt and deception and enters the next phase, desire. It's hard to turn back once we reach the desire stage. Eve now must make the decision, do I turn back from the fruit or do I give in to the temptation? You can substitute any temptation with the fruit. The key to winning victories over temptations is to do all you can do to avoid the desire stage. I will come back to this in a few paragraphs. Hang in here with me.
Once the decision is made to give in to the temptation, then the sin is born and the sin result is spiritual death, or simply separation from God.
The LORD God called to Adam, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9)
Ever notice when you are mired in the muck of some sin, or struggling with not repeating the same sins over and over, that you just want to be apart from God. You don't want to read your Bible because it will tell you what God wants and it is the opposite of what Satan wants to give us. You don't want to pray for fear of hearing God's quiet voice telling you the truth about your decisions and choices. I certainly don't want to be around a bunch of Christians either, one may be Biblical enough to tell me my choices are leading to sins.
So, what do we do? Well, we know the pattern. When you start feeling some doubts about whether your action is right or wrong, that should throw up a red flag. Step back, think about it and pray about it. God is not the author of confusion and doubts; the Evil One is. If we allow the doubts to fester, he has the foothold to deceive us. The simple key folks, is to start early in the process. If you struggle with pornography, stay away from the bookstores and websites. You cannot outwit Satan. Once he creates a doubt in your mind about whether you should go in, or click that link, the bait hooks you and it is doggone hard at that point to break loose. You don't walk into a bar to become an alcoholic, you don't say "I do" so that you can get divorced, you don't do _____ to become _____. You fill in the blanks. None of us intend to fall into the traps set before us.
I hear you now "OK, great David, another practical little tidbit but get real, it's not that simple." I hear you loudly and clearly; it is not simple, but it can work. Keep a notebook or journal with your victories over temptation, big or small. Pretty soon your little victories turn into bigger victories, and though none of us will be perfect until we reach Heaven, hopefully you can see yourself becoming increasingly aware of where the doubts and deceptions are coming from and you can run from them.
Lord, help us to recognize the doubts and deceptions. Give us the strength and wisdom that only YOU can provide. Your power and Your strength always will prevail over the Evil One. Thank you for our victory through Your Son Jesus. In His Name, Amen.
By David Massey
[email protected]
www.e-devotionals.org
Copyright � 1999 E-Devotional Ministries, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
June 7, 2000
Spiritual Discipline: PRAYER
by David Massey
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. - Luke 18:1
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. - Colossians 4:2
When you think of prayer what do you think about? I used to think prayer is for the very spiritual people, the kind who can pray eloquently in public. I believed that there was a formula, a certain procedure, and only one correct way to pray. In short, prayer was intimidating to me. Years ago, I heard the following true story and it changed my prayer life from that day on.
A pastor of a large church in a midwest town received a phone call from a lady who was somewhat distraught. This lady had been taking care of her elderly father in her home for several years. Her father was unable to get out of bed, and she had to care for all his physical needs, but he was mentally very alert and alive. It seems the father had heard the pastor for the past several years on the radio, and became quite fond of his teaching. The daughter told the pastor that her father wanted to meet with him, as they were unchurched and had no pastor to call upon.
The pastor went to the daughter's house and was led down the hall to the father's bedroom. The kind elderly gentleman's face beamed upon meeting the pastor, as he invited him to sit down and chat. As the pastor moved toward a wooden ladderback chair to sit, the gentleman said "Umm ... sorry pastor no one can sit in that chair, please sit over here." The pastor thought that was odd until the man said "You see pastor, that chair is for Jesus. When I pray, Jesus is sitting in that chair, and we have conversations. I pray, and then I listen for the quiet, still voice of our Lord."
That hit me between the eyes. Prayer is a conversation with our Lord. No fancy fluff, no rules, no boundaries, just simple conversation.
Trust in him at all times, O people; Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. - Psalm 62:8 NIV
A few weeks later the pastor received a phone call from the daughter, saying her father had died, and she asked him to serve at the funeral. As she was hanging up, she said "You know Pastor, my dad died in a strange way. We found him kneeling down with his head lying in that old wooden chair."
How to Have a Better Prayer Life
"The one concern of the Devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." - Samuel Chadwick
Jesus said, "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." - John 16:24
Jesus expects us to pray. He placed a very high priority on prayer. Prayer and praying is mentioned 226 times in the NIV Bible. Why is praying so hard? I have to believe it is hard because praying is not a "natural" human design. All our lives we are taught to be self-sufficient. We have a God who loves us very much and wants us to pour our hearts out to HIM often.
Trust in him at all times, O people; Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuse. - Psalm 62:8 NIV
Simple ideas for a better prayer life
1. Make a daily appointment with God and keep it. Set at least one time during the day to talk to God. Make prayer a top priority in your life.
2. If you have children, pray with them before they go to school. I also love praying with them at night after we talk about their day. Let them see that prior is a top priority.
3. Praying with you spouse. This seems to be the most difficult for couples. Pray for each other and express your thanks and needs to God.
4. Use what a friend calls "bullet" prayers. Short prayers all during the day. I love these prayers while waiting at stop lights, in grocery store lines, while getting gas and other "idle" times during the day.
5. Find someone to be your prayer partner. Hold each other accountable for praying and pray together. Many prayer partners exist via Email.
6. Use a prayer journal. Write down your prayers. Go back and write how God has heard your prayers. You will be amazed at the effectiveness of prayer journals. Years ago writing my prayers was the only way I could focus long enough to complete a prayer.
7. Go for walks and pray. Imagine God walking along and listening to you.
Dear Father, increase in us the hunger to pour our hearts out to you. Lord help us to focus on prayer daily, hourly, and every minute of our lives. Lord we love you and praise you. Lord, thank you for being an accessible God, 24 hours a day, anytime, anyplace. Thank you for allowing us your full attention. Thank you for wanting us to pour our hearts out to you. Thank you for hearing our prayers. Lord, help us to be more faithful in our prayer life. Thank you for being a loving God. YOU are an awesome God! In Jesus' precious name we pray, Amen.
By David Massey
[email protected]
www.e-devotionals.org
Copyright � 1999 E-Devotional Ministries, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
May 10, 2000
No Big Deal for God
by Chuck Swindoll
No flour? No oil? No problem! ...Not for the God who provides all our needs according to His riches in Glory.
Walking with God is the most exciting and rewarding of all experiences on earth. I should add, it is also the most difficult. I don't think I've ever met an exception to the rule that those who walk closest to God are those who, like Jesus, become acquainted with trials and testings. God takes us through struggles and difficulties so that we might become more committed to Him.
That was never more true than in the life of Elijah. He was sitting beside the dried-up brook Cherith when God instructed him to go to a town called Zarephath, a word that means "to smelt or melt." Apparently, there was a smelting plant of some kind near this town, and that was the place God had designed for Elijah. He had been tested by the dried-up brook, and now came another time of testing at Zarephath.
An ancient map tells me that Zarephath was about 100 miles from Cherith. That was a long walk, and it was across a wilderness. At that time, Elijah was a wanted man�Ahab was pursuing him. Yet God told him to leave his place of security, a hidden place, and go to a place that was better known. It was a risk. He had to trust God on that long journey.
God also told Elijah that a widow would provide for him in the town. That was a humbling piece of information for the prophet. He wouldn't have minded if God had commanded him to provide for the widow. But no, God was going to have a widow provide for him. But God knew best and had prepared the woman for his arrival.
Quiet Trust
So Elijah obeyed God and made the long journey to Zarephath. But when he arrived, there was nothing but a woman looking for sticks to build a fire to prepare her last meal and then die of starvation. From a human perspective the situation looked impossible. But what did Elijah do? He wasn't going to let the initial impression of an impossibility get him down. He rolled up the sleeves of his robe and said to the widow, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son" (1 Kings 17:13, NIV).
How did Elijah have the courage to talk like that? Stop and think. He had walked with God and had proven God faithful. You can't talk like that if you've never walked like that. You can't encourage somebody else to believe the impossible if you haven't believed the impossible yourself. Faith is like lighting the torch that passes from one person to the next. You can't light the torch of another if yours isn't burning. Elijah had been 100 miles through miracles. He had been in Cherith through a miracle. So when he met a widow with an empty oil bottle and an empty flour barrel he could say, "That's no problem with God!" Quiet trust prompts courage.
Have you ever been around a person of faith? Ever rubbed shoulders with men and women of God who didn't have the word impossible in their vocabulary? It's the most incredible association you can imagine. It's remarkable how it builds courage into your faith!
It certainly built the widow's faith. Especially when Elijah assured her with a promise of God's provision: "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land" (1 Kings 17:14). What a promise! The woman looked at Elijah, a stranger covered with the dust and grime of a long journey, and she heard words like she had never heard before. Though she didn't know him, she listened to him...she believed him.
The most exciting part of this story is not the widow's willingness but God's faithfulness. When the woman obeyed God's instructions, God honored her obedience with two miracles: The jar of flour was never empty, and the jug of oil never ran dry.
How thrilling it must have been for that woman and her son and the prophet, who was now part of the household, to sit down at the table and look at one miracle after another and eat it. Now, it doesn't mean they had everything they wanted. It means they had all they needed. Always remember, when you don't get what you want but God gives you what you need, that is the height of happiness. When God says no to your wants but yes to your needs, you are wonderfully contented.
Just Go
God may be leading you somewhere such as Zarephath, somewhere that doesn't make much sense. I want to encourage you: Don't try to make sense out of it; just go. If God leads you to stay in a difficult situation and you have peace that you are to stay, don't analyze it�stay. Do your part. Do what He tells you to do, for His promises often hinge on obedience. God told Elijah to get up and go, so he got up and went. God told the widow to fix the meal, and she went and fixed it. They did their part, and God did His part�they never ran out of food.
That doesn't mean they had a banquet; they had simple little bread cakes morning, noon and night. But they had food. God's provision is enough, but we fail to thank Him. Maybe you don't have the job you wanted. Maybe you don't have the position you planned. But His provision is just enough and just right for this time.
Since He took care of our greatest need at Calvary by giving us Christ, then you can be sure He will take care of everything else He considers important to us.
You can walk with Him in perfect trust. That's your part.
By Chuck Swindoll
Excerpted from Perfect Trust by Charles Swindoll, J. Countryman.
May 3, 2000
Worship - Waiting on God
by G. Christian Weiss
"Waiting on God" is Isaiah's definition of fervent, effectual prayer. The prophet wrote: "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31).
There are several senses in which we wait on God, but to most believers "waiting on God" means waiting on Him in prayer. This concept of prayer is emphasized in the Bible, where very often prayer and waiting on God are equated. In a certain sense, a true Christian is always waiting on God; but in a special sense, waiting refers to prayer.
It is interesting to observe that in what the Bible says concerning waiting on God, ten Hebrew and Greek words are employed. We need to note some of these words, for they have quite different meanings.
Stillness
In Psalm 62:5 we read: "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." In verse 1 the psalmist wrote: "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation." And in Psalm 65:1 he wrote: "Praise waiteth for thee, 0 God ' in Sion." The word "wait" in these verses is translated from two words that are derived from a Hebrew root word which does not basically convey the idea of "waiting" but rather "being still" or "being quiet." Derivatives of this word are translated this way in a number of places in the Bible.
The root word is familiar to me from the Arabic language, and it is fairly easy to remember. It is dum, like "dumb," meaning "to be silent." In our language we have come to apply the word "dumb" to a person who is not very intelligent. This is probably because of the connection with the German word dumm, meaning "stupid," "dull" or "silly." But the basic meanings of the English word "dumb" refer to mute persons who are unable or unwilling to speak.
"Wait thou only upon God" signifies "be silent" or "only be silent" before God. We are to be still before Him. "Wait" sometimes means "to cease" or "to stop" whatever action may have been taking place. It behooves us to stop and pray. We should cease other activities before we come into the presence of God.
Sometimes this word is translated "stand still." When Joshua said to the sun, "Sun, stand thou still (Joshua 10:12), he used a word that is derived from dum. He was saying, "Sun, be still, stop, cease--just wait where you are." "My soul, wait thou only upon God" (Psalm 62:5) is the equivalent of saying, "My soul, be thou silent unto the Lord; remain still in the presence of the Lord; stop what you are doing, and seek the Lord."
In Psalm 37:7 we read: "Rest in the Lord." "Rest" comes from the same word, dum. The instruction is "Be silent before the Lord, or unto the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." The word "wait" here is an entirely different word, which will be considered later.
Words derived from dum are translated "silent" or "silence" 12 times in the King James Version. Six times it is translated "still," and twice it is translated "rest." Of course "to rest" means to stop and be still.
In his book The Praying Christ, James G. S. S. Thomson makes this statement: "Stillness of heart is an important and essential factor in our waiting before the Lord in prayer." We all know this from personal experience. I do not think you can really start to pray until you have stopped to be quiet and still before the Lord. I know there are times when you can, and even must, pray on the run. Someone once said to D. L. Moody when a building was on fire, "Let us pray." Moody replied, "We'll pray while passing the water buckets."
To really pray is not a matter of dashing into the presence of God, "spitting out" to Him what is on our minds, and then dashing away again. We will never get very far in prayer that way. I sometimes think the Lord purposely gives us times of stillness in the night. Normally I sleep well, but sometimes I think the Lord awakens me so I can talk with Him, because in the night a person can truly be still and utterly quiet. This is especially true in the early hours of the morning before noise begins in the streets. Even the birds are at rest during this time. I believe God tries to teach us throughout our lives that to wait upon Him requires quietness and stillness. Spoken words are not enough; silent worship constitutes genuine prayer.
The Prophet Habakkuk said, "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him" (Habakkuk 2:20). I had become distressed by the fact that in our own church there was much commotion and loud talking going on prior to the worship service, even after the organist had begun to play. One Sunday when I was in the pulpit, I mentioned this and asked that the people try to observe silence. As soon as the organ music started, they were to stop conversation and commotion and prepare their hearts to worship the Lord. After the service, one of the men of the church commended me warmly for this. "I am glad you said that," he told me. "You know, I am an usher, and this thing has griped me for a long time. " But that same Sunday night, I preached again in the church. And again, even after the first hymn had been announced, there was audible talking going on in the rear. And, to my astonishment, it was the very man who had commended me that morning!
Another statement from author Thomson says, "The loss of the secret of silence and stillness in worship and adoration impoverishes our devotional lives and renders ineffective much of our waiting on God in prayer." Our minds are human, and they operate in human patterns. It is necessary for us to be quiet and still and to stop our minds from wandering all over the globe and all over the things we are engaged in if we are to properly prepare for prayer.
As we have seen, "wait on the Lord" often means "be silent before the Lord." It is necessary that we collect our thoughts and quiet our hearts for worship and adoration before we can truly pray.
It is during this time of stillness that we must search our hearts and examine our inner thoughts. This often humbles us greatly before the Lord, but humility is an indispensable prerequisite of prayer. During this time we also become conscious of sin in our lives, and we can confess this and get it cleared away so that we can really pray.
This time of stillness is also a time when we can just contemplate God, think of who He is, look into His face, reflect upon His grace and power, and prepare our souls for true communion with Him.
It is during stillness and quietness, before we speak to God in petition, that He has a chance to speak to us. We are prone to think that prayer is man doing all the talking. But some of our best and most effective prayer periods are those in which we do not say anything but just let God do the talking. This is communion, not mere petition.
Silent waiting on God is good preparation for both private and public prayer. The old Quakers met together in their homes for worship, and for a certain time they just sat in silence to let God first talk to them. After this someone would perhaps pray aloud, comment on a verse of Scripture, give a testimony, or announce a hymn to be sung. The Plymouth Brethren have practiced this from their very beginning, and it is still customary among them to do this. Their practice is to meet on the Lord's Day morning around the Lord's Table, without any planned service, to have a quiet time in the presence of the Lord. I have been at many of these meetings and can testify that when the Spirit of God is present in a group of believers, it is wonderful. But if the glory of God has departed, it is the most boring thing you can imagine.
Most churches have moved so far away from this practice that if there is a time of silence in their prayer meetings, everybody gets fidgety and restless and wonders why someone doesn't pray. I wish we could get over this! I think if we were conscious of the Spirit of God in our midst, there would be no embarrassment and no frustration or irritation in the times of silence. But we must really be in communion with Him and allow Him to talk to us. I fear many of us are far away from the idea and habit of being silent before the Lord, especially in our public worship. In both public and private prayer, silence is essential to true contact with God.
April 26, 2000
Parting The Curtains Of Time
by Sigmund Brouwer
In a post-Easter meditation, novelist Sigmund Brouwer and singer/songwriter Cindy Morgan�who happen to be husband and wife�take you to the tomb that could not hold Christ. Inside the weeping chamber, where mourners washed and anointed Jesus' body after the crucifixion, experience how the doors of time, and windows of your soul, are opened for grace�and God's good.
It wasn't until I stood in the weeping chamber of His tomb that I finally began to truly understand what the life�and death and resurrection�of Jesus meant.
Until that quiet moment in a small cave carved into a hillside of stone, I had been held prisoner by those sentimental paintings of a haloed, bearded man tenderly holding a lamb; by Crayon-colored Sunday school drawings of fishermen in small wooden boats; by smarmy Christmas carols; by long and boring sermons on damnation or guilt or tithing properly. In short, the wall separating me from Jesus the man was built by a middle-class Protestant childhood on the eve of the third millennium in the wealthiest region of the world.
Differences?
He was a celibate Jew in a dusty, backwater province that struggled under Roman rule 2,000 years ago. As for me, married less than a year, a son of Dutch immigrant parents, I was intent on writing a novel that spanned only eight days, the week of the crucifixion of this carpenter who changed the world. How could I place myself in the life of someone who walked beside Jesus during the week of his crucifixion? How could this man Jesus and I reach across time to each other?
I knew, however, I could at least share geography with this man. So, with my wife Cindy, I flew to Israel, on a 200-ton airplane that traveled at three-quarters of the speed of sound, some six miles above the earth. Definitely not a borrowed plodding donkey colt, the way that Jesus had traveled. What a surprise; the curtains of time did not even ripple for me.
We Followed His Trail
Days passed as Cindy and I toured Israel. A blur of historic sites. The pastoral beauty of the Sea of Galilee, the hills above Capernaum, the River Jordan, Nazareth. I did not find myself closing the gap between me and this man. Because as I walked through Israel, I held hands with someone who anchored me to love. Jesus? He'd been alone, even among disciples who failed to understand Him, as He defied centuries of rigid legalism in a growing showdown that would doom him to hours of agony and humiliation of public torture on a darkened Friday afternoon.
As I walked through Israel, I took what photos I could get with a disposable camera. In the same places, Jesus had been giving what he could to the wounded in spirit and flesh, bringing His radical message that we are all children of a God of love. Still no connection, no opening of the curtain of time. Of course not. No connection until my last day in Israel, when I stood in the weeping chamber of His tomb, overlooking the hollowed rock where it is said Joseph of Arimathea placed Jesus' body.
Near this garden is a hill that looks eerily like a skull. Golgotha. It was not named, as many think, for skulls of the dead abandoned around the execution sites; Jewish law forbade exposure of human bones. Instead, as anyone can see even today, the hill is a high, rounded rocky plateau like the dome of a man's head, worn by wind and rain to a dull gray. Two shallow caves side by side, and a lower, larger cave centered below, form the two eyes and gaping mouth of a skull. At certain times of day, when the sun's light casts black shadow across those depressions, it such a vision of a gaunt face that you can almost hear an ancient wind moan across its barren stone, speaking of the cries and groans and cursing of all the men who had died tortured deaths within sight of those dead, dark eyes. It was in this tomb I stood, along with others in a small group with our guide. Behind us, the mouth of the tomb was open to the sky and sunlight beyond. Despite the day's heat, in the silence that is peculiar to any resting place for the dead, it was still cool.
Our guide broke this hush to quietly explain that a man of means in the time of Jesus would purchase a rocky hillside for a family tomb, and hire stone workers to carve a narrow arched entrance the height of a man's head. Through this entrance, the workers would continue to hew into the heart of the hill, widening and clearing a space inside as barely higher than a man can reach and no more than seven steps in length or width.
Once the tomb had been completely hollowed, the workers then measured each grown member of the family, and chiseled graves side by side to accommodate each of their bodies upon their eventual deaths. Graves for the children in the family would be left rough and unfinished until they were fully grown, so that the size of their graves could be accurately determined and cut only once. When the guide told us we were standing in the weeping chamber of the tomb�a small area overlooking the graves�I had my first inkling of the shiver of understanding that would overcome me.
We Stood Where He Was Lifeless
The weeping chamber. Where mourners washed and anointed the body with oil and perfumes, wrapped it in the grave clothes made of long strips of linen, packed the linens with fragrant spices to take away the smell of death, and bind the body's head with a linen napkin. The weeping chamber. In that moment, time's curtain first moved for me. The crucifixion Friday started to become real to me, 2,000 years later.
Then the guide pointed out the grave to our far left, the place of honor, where the head of the family would have been buried. The guide asked us to notice that the end of that grave had been crudely hollowed out an extra few inches�as if workers had first designed it for the owner of the tomb, then hastily changed at the last minute to accommodate a taller body.
The guide allowed us our silence of comprehension. Joseph of Arimathea had made his last�minute decision to place Jesus' body in his own grave. And Jesus was a taller man. So they had chipped at the pre-sized grave to make room for Jesus.
The curtains of time opened farther for me. Yes, Jesus was a man who had walked this earth. Just like me, a fragile package of protein wrapped around hopes and fears and love. And a soul.
At that moment, my growing shiver was not a result of the cool air of the tomb.
And, finally, our guide reminded us of a verse in the gospel of John, one that had never made sense to me until then. Our guide told us that during Jesus' time there was one way that a carpenter let the contractor know a job was finished. A signature, so to speak, by illiterate workers who could not leave behind notes or invoices upon completion of a job.
Instead, they left a different signature. A folded cloth�the cloth they used to dry themselves after washing at the completion of the job.
As our guide spoke, I was able to imagine a hot afternoon in Galilee. Jesus at the end of a carpentry job, the hair of His strong forearms matted with sawdust and sweat. At the side of His work, He pours water over His face and chest, splashing it over His arms to clean Himself before He begins His journey home. With a nearby towel, He pats his face and arms and hands dry. Jesus folds the towel neatly in half, and folds it in half again. He sets it on His work and walks away.
Later, as the guide explained, whoever arrived for inspection would see the towel and understand its simple message. The work is finished.
His disciples, of course, knew this craftsman's tradition.
On the Sunday of sorrow that followed his death on the cross, years after Jesus had set aside his carpenter tools, Peter would crouch to look into an empty tomb and see only the linens that the risen Jesus had left behind. Peter saw, too, the wrap which had been used to cover Jesus' face. It had been folded in half, and then folded in half once again. Placed neatly on the stone floor of the tomb. Peter understood on that Sunday morning. His friend, the carpenter, had left behind a simple message. It is finished.
Hearing this from the guide, it was there, in that moment in the weeping chamber of His tomb, that Jesus reached across time for me. It was there that I finally began to truly understand how Jesus was man, and yet so much more than man too. His message had been left for me too: 1 John 20:6,7: "Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side."
Finished, but not over.
By Sigmund Brouwer
This story is adapted in part from Can The Real Jesus Be Found, (Harvest House Publishers), The Weeping Chamber (Word) and The Carpenter's Cloth (J. Countryman).