Where Do You Live?

Posted on by October 27, 2014
Reply

Psalm 91:1-2 — He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Not everyone agrees, but I think Psalm 91 is a conversation. One tradition that I love is that David speaks to Solomon, and that Solomon replies — faith speaks to wisdom, and wisdom responds. Beyond that, both verses are for every believer.
Both verses are for every believer — but there’s a condition. It’s in that notion of dwelling in God’s “secret place”. The promise is for those who stay close to Him … they don’t just live in the public rooms — they live in the Master’s private rooms. It is a wonderful place to be. It is a place of perfect safety. Spiritually, it is the place we occupy when we constantly “practice the presence of God”.
Those who dwell in the secret places of the Most High also abide in the “shadow of the Almighty”. The English “Dissenter Bishop”, Dr. Christopher Newman Hall explains it beautifully:

The term here denotes protection. A shadow screens me from the sun, and hides me from my foe. The overshadowing roof of a house shelters its inmates from the storm. And under the shadow of her wings the hen protects her brood. So the glorious attributes of the Most High, the unclouded rays of His perfections, are as a shadow of defense to His people.

In the face of such tremendous promises there can be only one possible answer for the wise believer:

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:3-4)

The trusting believer ought, though, to do more than just trust. The trusting believer ought, in common gratitude, to declare his trust. If you are blessed to dwell in the secret place of the most high, shout it out. “He is my refuge — a place where I am protected. He makes me more secure than a moat, portcullis and stone walls could ever do.”
“My God; in Him will I trust”. There is no other in whom I can place my trust. It is an expression of absolute dependence. I am trying to live in the secret place of the Most High. Where do you live?

In The Midst Of Life …

Posted on by October 26, 2014
Reply

Colossians 2:10-13 — And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

I suppose it’s natural that, as I get older, thoughts of death come naturally to mind. Today though, the perspective is a bright one. Before church this morning I heard of two deaths — one expected, one not. But then in the service I saw four new believers baptized and heard of a new birth. All these things brought to mind a passage in the Anglican funeral service, “In the midst of life we be in death: of whom may we seek for succor but of thee, O Lord, which for our sins justly art displeased. Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful savior, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.” It’s not actually a Biblical text, but it states an undeniable truth — wherever there is life there is death too. That truth, though, reminded me of another, a very Biblical truth. In the midst of death, we are in life!
This passage in Colossians is one of many that illustrate my point. Every one of us is born, lives and dies. There are deaths — but there are births. There is more than that — there is the escape clause. We are condemned to eternal death by our sins, but when we identify ourselves with Christ in baptism, God raises us with Him to eternal life. God wipes away all record of our sin, nailing that sin to the cross. It is an amazing mysterious truth — but it is true.
Sometimes I think we avoid looking at the hard truths. Suffering is real. Sin is real. There is poverty and disease — and for all our best efforts, they are not going away. Death is a fact of life. I don’t think we avoid the great truths — but sometimes we miss them. Heaven is real. Salvation is available. Life is a fact of life … if we choose to make it so. It’s true.

Pray First!

Posted on by October 25, 2014
Reply

Philippians 4:6 — Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Myra and I have had some work done on our house this week. Today we went out to buy a new runner to put down in the front door entry. Before we set out, we asked God for His blessing and guidance. It’s a simple example of something we’re trying to get better at — at praying before we start on anything we try to do. We’re reacting to something that we know in theory, and have proven in practice. If we set out in our own strength things tend to work out badly. If we pray first, things tend to work out well.
It turns out that our problem is not unique to us, and nothing new. The wonderfully faithful and diligent Oswald Chambers said:

We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.
Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don’t want to wait for God to resolve matters in His good time because His idea of ‘good time’ is seldom in sync with ours.

It’s odd how difficult we find it to remember simple Biblical instructions — simple absolutes. “In everything by prayer”, “pray constantly”, “always keep my commandments”, “always giving thanks”, “examine everything with care”, “proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God”, “never pay back evil for evil” … I’m sure you get my point. The Bible is full of simple straightforward instructions — absolute, unarguable … and yet we do such a poor job of following them.
Of all those basic instructions, “Pray” is the simplest and most important. This is God saying “Depend on Me. Don’t depend on your own strength. There is no way that you can imagine all the things that might go wrong. I’ve got it covered.”
Every time we go ahead in our own strength we might be unintentionally saying to God, “It’s O.K. God. I’ve got this — I really don’t need your help.” Or, as Mr. Chambers points out, we might be saying “You know God, You’re just too slow. Let me help you speed things up.” It’s really a shocking — if unintentional — show of pride.
I don’t know about you, but Myra and I know very well that we need all of God’s help we can get, just when He wants to deliver it. So that’s why we’re trying to get better at praying first!

The Sun and The Son

Posted on by October 24, 2014
Reply

Psalm 19:4-6 — Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

I thought I was going to be writing about Gehazi today.
But I’ve been redirected. Maybe tomorrow will be the day for him. (If you can’t wait, go see 2 Kings 5). Today though, it’s the sun and the Son.
Here’s what happened. Myra and I were driving in a westerly sort of direction this evening, into the setting sun. As we headed toward the sun, we couldn’t really see the road ahead. Out of my mouth popped, “which is odd because the more we look at the other ‘son’ the easier it is to see the road ahead!” It set me thinking about the “sun” and the “Son”. Psalm 19 came right to mind.
The first thing to note is that the sun comes out joyfully, ready like a warrior — rejoicing, ready for battle. So too, we might presume, did Jesus. We cannot imagine that Jesus was not joyful to set forth from heaven to do His Father’s will, to vanquish Satan, and to redeem His people.
Then we can see that the sun travels from one end of the earth to the other, spreading light and warmth wherever it goes, providing the vital energy for life and growth. Charles Spurgeon draws the analogy:

God’s way of grace is sublime and broad, and full of his glory; in all its displays it is to be admired and studied with diligence; both its lights and its shades are instructive; it has been proclaimed, in a measure, to every people, and in due time shall be yet more completely published to the ends of the earth. Jesus, like a sun, dwells in the midst of revelation, tabernacling among men in all his brightness; rejoicing, as the Bridegroom of his church, to reveal himself to men; and, like a champion, to win unto himself renown.

These are just a few of the ways in which the “sun” parallels the “Son”. For instance:

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2)
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)

These are just two of many, many places that you can find the comparison. The Son of righteousness is truly the Sun who is the source of all the light and warmth in our lives.

Bring On The Millstones

Posted on by October 23, 2014
Reply

Luke 17:1-2 — Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offenses will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

So maybe I should warn you — I have to let of some steam about something I’m really disgusted about.
So I know I’m getting old(er). But when I was young, adults were, on the whole, concerned to take care of children. Now, in so many ways, it seems that care has been forgotten. Let me give you a couple of examples that struck me just today.
First, let’s talk about “F-Bombs for Feminism” is also catching flack because of its source. A company called fckh8.com that makes it’s money by selling T-shirts with anti-sexism, anti-racism and LGBT (if you don’t know what that is, be happy!) equality messages has just produced and distributed a video advertisement that is about as exploitative as I can imagine. Five little girls, aged from six to thirteen, in princess dresses and tiaras, are featured asking questions about women’s equality.
“What’s so bad about that?”, you might ask. You mean apart from the political exploitation of children? How about the eighteen expletives (including the fifteen uses of the “f” word) that have been put in the mouth of those precious children.
“Of course,” you might say, “you can expect that from people like that”. But how about Pfizer?
Pfizer are running an ad for one of their best known products. A beautiful woman in a blue dress speaks to camera: “So guys, it’s just you and your honey. The setting is perfect. But then erectile dysfunction happens again.” Like I said — I’m getting old, and there are some things I don’t want plastered over my TV at any time. But this was an advertisement about this very personal topic– broadcast in prime time. It brought this plaintive post from a medical researcher (ironically, one who gets some funding from Pfizer), “My 11 year old daughter just asked what the Viagra ad was about. Not sure how to respond especially now that she knows I work for Pfizer.” Where was the thought for children in the decision to run that advertisement at that time?
Politicians … Businesses … anybody with no care for children … I think Jesus is going to be pretty mad with them. I know my scripture choice is not just about children, but about new believers too, but I know it’s one of many texts that show how much Jesus cared for children.
It’s time we started taking childhood back for children.

A Lot Of Words

Posted on by October 22, 2014
Reply

Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 — Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter  any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

It was June last year when a good friend suggested I start to write a devotional. I was uncertain at first. Could I do it? Would it be any good? In fact in the introductory piece I wrote “My first reaction was “No, not me … Too much, people won’t always like what I say … Does he know how much work that is?” Those were all honest reactions, but still… I suppose the truth is, I’m afraid. I’m afraid I’ll quickly run out of things to say that draw people closer to Christ. I’m afraid I’ll put my foot in it, and upset someone. I’m afraid – horror of horrors – that I’ll get the theology wrong, and bring the wrath of the unforgiving down on my head.” Despite all that I got started, and this is the five hundredth piece. Seems like a good time to take a deep breath and see how we’re doing!
I still can’t answer most of those questions. I can say, though, that my fear of running out of ideas was unfounded. Not that, I have discovered, I have any ideas of myself. If I’m at a loss, and I just try to “think of something” it’s a waste of time. If, on the other hand I pray, go to my Bible … the Holy Spirit will put something in my mind.
I see that these devotions have been about a wide variety of topics, with “Christmas”, “God”, “Jesus”, “Love” and “Salvation” being most frequent. I’m glad, because those do seem to be the things that should be most important – but maybe, given the source of inspiration, I shouldn’t be surprised!
What has surprised me – so much that I’d recommend the practice to others, is that this business of writing a daily devotional has had unexpected benefits for me.
— It’s pointed out to me things that I should change in my life.
— It’s taken me to parts of the Bible that I otherwise might not visit very often.
— It’s made me more grateful, as I have been guided to write about things God has done for me and for others.
— It’s helped me make sense of things happening in my life.
— It’s helped me pray for people and situations I might otherwise have missed.
— Sometimes, it’s just allowed me to vent!
Blessed as I am, I’m going to keep writing until the Spirit stops driving. For those of you that have been with me on the journey, and will go further – thank you very much, and may God bless you.

Makeover

Posted on by October 21, 2014
Reply

2 Corinthians 5:16-18 — Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

O.K. Confession time. Myra and I enjoy watching HGTV.We particularly enjoy the makeovers. There is something wonderful about seeing a house that’s been neglected turned into somebody’s dream home. I wonder if God feels that way when one of us becomes a new creation?
There’s another sort of makeover I know about. These I have never watched! Personal, cosmetic makeovers — making somebody look like a new person.
There’s a real difference between those cosmetic makeovers and the house renovations. The personal makeovers start from the outside and don’t get any deeper than skin deep. The house renovations are much different — they get to the foundation and deep inside of the buildings. They really do result in “a new creation”.
Paul is talking about a similar idea.
Before Paul met Jesus he judged Him by external, worldly, standards. After he met Him, his whole outlook changed. In fact, he stopped judging anybody by external standards. He knew that he had been reborn in Christ — made over to be a new creation. What is more, he knew that the same is true of anyone in Christ. But what’s that makeover like?
Ephesians 4:24-33 has great description of the new creation:
It is “??the new man… created in ??righteousness and ??true ??holiness.”
The new man speaks the truth, is prone only to righteous anger, does not steal but works honestly with his hands, is charitable, speaks nothing that does not build up his hearers.
He has put away ??bitterness, anger, and quarreling, ????evil speaking, and ????malice.
God’s new creations are tenderhearted, ????forgiving each other, ??just as God has forgiven them.
The “new creation makeover” isn’t just passive. It results in action too. We are reconciled to God in Christ and that task reconciliation has become ours. Jesus was the means of our reconciliation, and now we must become the way that the gospel of reconciliation gets to others. Our makeover is a wonderful thing! We become show houses for the Holy Spirit — and that’s more wonderful than anything on HGTV!

Don’t Turn Away

Posted on by October 20, 2014
Reply

Obadiah 1:12-14 — But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

There are some vices I hate, and some virtues I cherish. Loyalty is very high on my list of virtues. Stand by your friends. Don’t turn you back on your brothers. Simple rules to live by!
The Edomites forgot the rules. They were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. The brothers had maintained an uneasy relationship. The tribes they founded were mostly separate, but there were “meetings”… Starting with Edom’s refusal to allow Israel passage as they traveled from Egypt to Canaan there were numerous bloody confrontations. Obadiah declares, however, that Edom has gone too far when Israel was invaded.
There are four possible candidates for the invasion that Obadiah speaks of. It is not certain, but scholars generally plump for the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar. Whichever it was, it is certain that at that devastating moment the Edomites turned on their “brothers” to exact a devastating revenge for centuries of grievances. And the Lord would not allow them to go unpunished.
Yesterday, I wrote of the Day of the Lord as a day when the Israelites would be punished for their breach of covenant. James E. Smith makes it clear that Edom’s condemnation has the same roots:

Edom would be put to shame “because of violence to your brother.” The term “brother” was part of the vocabulary of covenant formulation. Two nations with a treaty between them were called brother nations. Thus the crime here charged against Edom is that the terms of the covenant with Jacob, i.e., Israel, had not been observed. In fact, the “brother” Jacob had been treated with “violence,” i.e., wrongful,hurtful action, especially cruelty and oppression.

When Israel was invaded, Edom started as an unhelpful bystander, moved on to be a gloating observer, progressed to being a looter and ended as a hunter and betrayer of the fugitive Israelites. The punishment was to be complete, “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.” Obadiah 1:10)
Loyalty is an important virtue. Betraying a brother is not acceptable. My prayer is that we never forget it — personally or nationally!

Smart Dressing

Posted on by October 19, 2014
Reply

Zephaniah 1:8 — And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord ‘s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

Zephaniah has been charged with prophesying imminent judgment — a universal day of judgment on Judah and, specifically, on the nation’s around her. He is also to comfort Judah with prophesy of restoration. So much for the content of this small but important book. In this piece, though, I am concentrating on just this one verse from the verse chapter which calls out two groups for special condemnation.
Josiah the King was a godly man. He restored the temple, was behind the collection of key scriptures and worked to eradicate idolatry and the worship of false gods. But Zephaniah makes it clear that Baal worship was still rife and that Josiah had made little impact on major social ills.
The problems started just where they shouldn’t — at the top, where right examples should have been set. “The princes, and the king’s children” referred to the court and the officials and they were the leaders of a group who wore “strange apparel”. “Strange” is a translation of a word that more exactly means “foreign”. They are wearing fashions imported from Nineveh, Babylon and Egypt. There were two certain problems and two more that might be suspected.
There is no doubt that those wearing foreign clothes were disobeying God’s directions as to proper attire — and distancing themselves from the laws of Moses and the culture they were raised in.
The adoption of expensive foreign clothes was also evidence of — to say the least — an unhealthy preoccupation with material things.
There is a clear possibility, too, that the foreign clothes were a sign of adherence to the pagan religions that Josiah was working so hard to eradicate. In its turn that might have been a sign of disobedience — rejection of the king’s reforms.
We live in a world that shows many of the same symptoms as Zephaniah’s. Corruption at the highest levels of civil society. Weakness, at best, in religious leadership. Idolatry, materialism … All these are rife.
A society that had a strong religious foundation has seen it eroded with dreadful immediate consequences, but there is worse to come.
Zephaniah prophesied the coming of the “Day of the Lord”. Dr. Roy Zuck clarifies Zephaniah’s understanding of that day. It would be a day when the Lord personally intervened in man’s affairs. He would inspect and punish those highly punished offenders. The day of the Lord would be a day that would demonstrate His universal sovereignty and superiority. It will be a day of judgment. It will be the day that the Lord executes the terms of His covenant with Israel.
If America was founded in a covenant with the Lord we must surely fear that for America too, there is a Day of the Lord coming.
It’s to “dress smart” … and put off “strange apparel”.

You’re Going To Die

Posted on by October 18, 2014
Reply

Romans 1:18-19 — For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them.

I don’t want to depress you, but the title of this piece expresses a pretty much unavoidable truth. If you’re my age, you already know that. If you’re much younger you may still see the little endings in life — the lost friendships, house moves, job changes — as just bumps on the road. Really, they are a preview. You are going to die. But trust me, it’s a good thing.
I was thinking about this rather odd idea this morning when it occurred to me that a refusal to accept this truth is one thing that lies behind the denial of God described in the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
God and His nature are self-evident in the world that surrounds us. One of the self-evident truths is that we are not in control, and God is. Those who deny God are claiming that He is not in control, and they are. Death is not under God’s control. Trace that back.
The trace back from “I am in control and God isn’t” leads to “I am greater than God” to “I am God”! In other words … it is to be like Satan.
For the rest of us, willingly confessing that God is in control, there is the first death — but not the second. Or, for some of us, there is the rapture to put a full stop to this first life. Without that full stop, the next chapter can’t start!
Some people think that there’s something wrong with death … that Adam and Eve would have lived for ever, had it not been for sin. It’s true that Paul also wrote to the Romans “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12). But perhaps that verse refers to the eternal death for those whose sin is not atoned for. I’m inclined to believe it does.
Death, perhaps, is a natural and necessary part of our lives. And perhaps it always was. It’s impossible, of course, to have any idea what a world without death would be. And yet … I know that God is all good, all powerful and all knowing. It seems that He thinks death is a good idea …
You’re going to die … and it’s a good thing …