What Must It Be Like?

Posted on by October 22, 2013
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October 22nd, 2013

Genesis 2:8-10 — And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden;

As I begin today, I am sitting in a place of great manmade beauty. I am listening to the tumbling waters of two great and two lesser waterfalls. I can see beautiful Passion flowers, and peace lilies, and floating baskets of impatiens (we used to call those bizzy-lizzies where I come from). All of this is one of several areas in a resort where I am staying for a conference. 57 acres under glass, with a temperature maintained at a consistent 72 degrees all year round. It is truly very beautiful. The surroundings are paired with pleasant architecture and the whole is a tribute to its creators. But I was given pause, to think …what must it be like to live in the garden designed and built by the Creator?

In the first garden every tree grew that was pleasant to look at. Every tree grew that was good to eat. It was watered by a river provided for that express purpose. Later in the chapter we find, too, that the garden provided occupation — responsible occupation — for Adam.

Now the beautiful place in which I found myself today had its drawbacks too. It’s a tightly controlled environment. In fact it’s so tightly controlled that there aren’t many insects. With no insects, there are no birds except for a few handsome ducks. Eden, of course, suffered from no such drawbacks. It was perfect. Can you imagine what it must have been like?

Maybe we don’t have to imagine. In the very last book of the Bible, right at the end starting at Revelation 21:10-27 we find the description of the a new Jerusalem, a city so beautiful it defies our imagination. The description is glorious, and it tells of a river running through — “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

The creators of the garden I was in today are made in God’s image. In some way their creativity reflects His — but of course His is so much more wonderful. I can’t wait!

With God, What You Need Is What You Get

Posted on by October 21, 2013
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October 21st, 2013

Psalm 84:11 — For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

There’s a funny word in the software business, which I work in. The word is pronounced wizzywig. It’s spelled WYSIWYG. It’s actually an acronym, standing for “What You See Is What You Get”. Well, I just invented another one. It’s WYNIWYG. Winnywig. It describes how God treats us — “What You Need Is What You Get”.

Did you ever pray for something and it didn’t happen? Why do you suppose that was? Do you think it’s because God was too busy, or because He’s not a generous God? I hope you know that’s not the answer. The verse from Psalm 84 tells us His nature — He is a sun and shield who will give grace and glory.

The second half of our verse explains a lot about this business. It provides two qualifications for God’s open-handed provision. The things provided must be good, and we must walk up rightly.
This business of “good things” is interesting for, as Sir Richard Baker (quoted by Spurgeon) said:
“But how is this true, when God oftentimes withholds riches and honors, and health of body from men, though they walk never so uprightly; we may therefore know that honors and riches and bodily strength are none of God’s good things; they are of the number of things indifferent which God bestows promiscuously upon the just and unjust, as the rain to fall and the sun to shine.” If we pray for these things, and think we are asking for “good things” we are mistaken. The good things are those things bestowed exclusively on those who walk uprightly… They are the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance”.
And who are those who work uprightly? I love the way it’s expressed in Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” The upright man treats every person equally, but in mercy never demands all that might claimed. The upright woman displays complete obedience to God, active and passive. We are to be gracious and kind and to walk uprightly be not proudly, and then no good thing will He withhold.

There is one more thing to this business of “what you need is what you get”. Sometimes we definitely don’t ask for what we need. Sometimes, what we need is disciplined — and God is going to give us that too! Hebrews 12:6-7 says it: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?”

With God, what you need is what you get. WYNIWYG.

Pale Imitations

Posted on by October 20, 2013
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October 20th, 2013

James 3:13-17 — Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

There are teachers in this world who seem to have some wisdom. They seem to provide insight into trying subjects and good advice for living by. I was reminded of them this morning as I sat on our lanai for my quiet time.

It was beautiful this morning, and so peaceful. Most days of the week by 5:30 or 6:00, when I am out, the world is starting to wake. There is the sound of traffic, and building works in the distance. Dawn is breaking and the birds are starting to sing — or in the case of the ducks, to mutter and grumble!
Today was different. As it’s Sunday, the builders are not working. At 5:00, traffic was scarce, and the birds were still mostly quiet. And there was a moon — such a moon. It was full, and cast such a silver light. Everything was illuminated, and yet nothing was really clear. It was attractive, yet somehow as I looked closely I realized much was still hidden. The moon, of course, was not truly casting a light. It was reflecting … claiming, if you like, a glory that was not truly it’s own. It seems to me that the same is true of many of those claiming to provide wisdom and truth today. And it’s an old, old, story.

Sin was the god of the moon in Assyria and Babylonia. The two chief seats of Sin’s worship were Ur in the south of Mesopotamia and Harran in the north so it might even be that Abram’s family were prominent in the worship of this pale imitation before Abram heard the call of the true God to get out of his country, and from his kin, and from his father’s house to the land that He would show him.

Moon worship isn’t really what ran through my mind as I looked at the pale imposter this morning, even though modern pagans do still worship the moon. No, I was thinking of those other impostors — those who would replace faith with philosophy, sociology and other “cures” to modern ills. Paul warned the Colossians about their equivalent of the modern worldly wise. “Beware”, he said, “lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

James might sometimes have seemed like a hard, austere man, but He knew the true sunlight of Godly wisdom. True wisdom that is pure, peaceful and gentle, full of good fruits. The fruits of the Holy Spirit … not a pale imitation.

The Best Accountant Ever

Posted on by October 19, 2013
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October 19th, 2013

Jeremiah 33:12-13 — Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord.

It’s funny the way the mind makes connections sometimes. When I read these verses in Jeremiah this morning several links popped into my mind. One was to Numbers, and another to the Gospel of John. Another was to Phillip Keller’s wonderful little book “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”. (That one might be a spark to two or three devotions this week.)

The word picture that really moved me this morning was that of the shepherd “telling” his sheep. The word, of course, speaks of counting the sheep — but so much more is suggested. Keller describes it beautifully:

In caring for his sheep, the good shepherd, the careful manager, will from time to time make a careful examination of each individual sheep … This is a most searching process entailing every intimate detail. It is, to, a comfort to the sheep, for only in this way can it’s hidden problems be laid bare before the shepherd.

The “good shepherd” in Keller’s passage of course points to the “Good Shepherd”. In John 10:14, Jesus says of Himself, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” he knows His sheep with that unbreakable connection gained by that regular “telling”, that regular passing of His sheep under His rod. His sheep know Him too, they know and trust Him to whom they belong.

The sheep belong to Jesus because they have been given to Him by the Father. Later in the Gospel of John, in the great High Priestly prayer we find “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. (John 17:6). The men were the Father’s and He gave them to the Son. That reminded me of the incident in Numbers.

Remember the history. When The Lord struck down the firstborn of Egypt He claimed the firstborn of Israel for His own, to serve Him. It never happened and now The Lord decides to redeem them, and substitute the Levites. But there’s a problem. When the firstborn of Israel are numbered, and the Levites are numbered, there’s a shortage. Does The Lord say “Oh well, a few sheep more or less”? Not a bit of it. He’s not just a Shepherd, but an Accountant too. In fact He’s the perfect Accountant. He exacts five shekels a head for each of those sheep and uses those shekels to fund the ministry. He perfectly told the number of His flock, and so it has always been. Father and Son, the best Shepherd and the best Accountant — ever.

It is such a comfort for me. Father and Son, knowing me intimately, providing for me, caring for me. Always.

From One, By One, To One, For One

Posted on by October 18, 2013
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October 18th, 2013

Matthew 25:37-40 — Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

It’s not about the numbers. It’s about one number, the number one.

There have been times when I’ve been involved in ministry activities, and very few people seemed to need what I was doing. Honestly, it didn’t feel great. Then at other times there was a lot of interest. That felt good. What’s wrong with that picture? Two things. I was getting validation from the numbers and not from the service, and I was forgetting that I wasn’t doing anything anyway.
There are times when our view of ministry gets very distorted. Apart from the ideas that it’s about the numbers and that somehow we are doing it, sometimes we get the idea that service is something groups — even churches — do for communities. If you have any of these illusions, it’s time to sweep them away.

The word Jesus most often used to describe servants was “diakonos” — which always pointed to an individual who is busy doing something to help somebody else. Collections of people are not called to service. Individuals are. Jesus didn’t recruit His disciples as a group, each one is called individually. Service is by one person at a time. Nor is service really an activity directed towards group. The verses at the head of this piece make it clear … “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one…”. Service is to one person at a time.

The bigger errors though are in confusing why we do service. When we are invited to serve … To ministry … We need to know where the call comes from. That’s what helps us to be discerning about the calls we answer. It’s flattering to be asked to serve, but we need to know who’s doing the asking. If it’s not God, it’s not ministry. Service is from one — the one. We need to be clear, also, about why we do what we do. Let’s not run away with the idea that the one I serve depends on me. God can meet their needs quite well without my help! God calls us to serve because the service will benefit us, and we should remember “ye have done it unto me.” Service is for (the)One.

To me, the heart of service is God saying “I’ve got something I want you to do for somebody. It will please me if you do. I don’t need you to do it, but it will be good for you, and pleasing to me.”

The joy of service — From One, By One, To One, For One.

A Joyful Sinner

Posted on by October 17, 2013
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October 17th, 2013

Isaiah 61:10-11 — I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Some thoughts came together today to lead to this idea that I should be a joyful sinner.

The first thought was about the idea that there are no perfect people! Shocking, don’t you think? That thought started when Myra shared that she had heard someone say that nobody with even one sin could enter into heaven. Now that’s true — God and sin will not live together, so we must be cleansed of all sin before we can enter His presence. Yet I believe that salvation is the free and unconditional … but that very few of us will manage to die at the instant after we have confessed our last sin! I’m not even sure I know enough to be sure I’ve confessed all my sins. Instead, I accept that Jesus will deal with me about all my actions at His judgment seat and that His blood pays for my sins. I am forgiven, I am being forgiven, and I will be forgiven.

That last line … I am constantly in need of forgiveness. That struck me with great force this morning. I am in constant need of forgiveness, and yet I am to “rejoice evermore”! How is it that I should not mourn for my sinful state?
It is the usual problem. I am looking at things through my eyes, and not through God’s. Look at me!

He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

This beautiful picture is the picture of God’s people, saved and living right. God’s people — that’s me, and you! In Isaiah, of course, God’s people were the Israelites but I think we may fairly adopt the words for Christ’s church.
Here was the last thought that built into this idea of the joyful sinner. The people of God are clothed with beautiful garments — in honor of their bridegroom Jesus. The beauty will spread to all nations. I am one of a redeemed host. How could I not be joyful?

I am a joyful sinner.

A Song For Going Up To Worship.

Posted on by October 16, 2013
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October 16th, 2013

Psalm 134 — Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

As the text plainly suggests, today I’ve got worship — or more specifically, praise, on my mind.
Only Psalm 117 is shorter than this little gem.

Psalm 134 draws two beautiful pictures. In the first two verses, the pilgrims bid the servants of The Lord,the Temple Guards — who were Levites, to bless The Lord.
In the last verse the priests respond with a blessing in return.

The invocation is to “lift your hands in the sanctuary”, and to “bless The Lord”. As you watch over the temple by night, don’t slip into Inattentive sleep but be active, vigorous, be about the Lord’s business. And recognize your privilege.
The response is the answer from the temple to the pilgrims, perhaps as they are about to return to their homes. It is a blessing “from Zion”, from the ministers to the people.

The invocation starts with a peremptory “behold”. It’s like a “heads up”. “Wake up. Be alert!” Each of us is a priest, we are a holy priesthood, and it is a command we should all be listening to. We should be alert — watch and pray, as Jesus told His disciples in the garden. We should all be about the business of the temple. The believer who has no part in the work of the church is an idle priest, asleep at his post.
But just as we are all priests, so are we all pilgrims, and the response is a blessing to us each individually — and collectively to the church. The blessing is the High Priestly blessing. In Numbers 6 we find The Lord instructing Moses to tell Aaron how to bless the people — “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee”. The form here is a short form of that blessing. As we consider this Psalm, we may hear the blessing from above, The Lord in Zion directly blessing His people.

If we are a priesthood of believers, as Luther said, then this Psalm addresses us as priests and pilgrims both. On the one hand we are to be praising God continually as we go about our service. On the other hand, we should — like the pilgrims — always be going up to worship. As we do both, we are blessed. This beautiful psalm, which in the New Century Version is titled “A Song For Going Up To Worship” encapsulates all of our Christian experience in three short verses!

Focus!

Posted on by October 15, 2013
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October 15th, 2013

Ephesians 4:1-3 — I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot about discouragement recently. And, as some of you might know, I’ve experienced a bit myself around my working environment.
I’m glad to say that much of what I have seen from those that I think of as good “spiritual touch points” has really been helpful. Just today I read a really good piece from David Wilkerson. (If you aren’t familiar with this man and the devotions he wrote before his tragically early death take a look at www.worldchallenge.org) .

As I’ve been thinking about this area, I’ve realized that I was getting close to slipping into one of satan’s traps — confusing occupation (how I earn a living) with vocation (how I’m called to serve the kingdom). This is an especially seductive trap for men, because we get a lot of our validation from career success. It’s nice to get encouragement and affirmation when it comes to occupation, but when it comes to vocation, validation is built in.

See what Paul writes to the a Ephesians: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”. If we are called, and if we work at our calling, we grow in understanding. The fruit of that growing understanding is a knowledge of two things. The first knowledge we gain is the knowledge of “the hope of his calling” — a knowledge of all that Christians can look forward to in a future life. The second knowledge, “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” That phrase “riches of the glory” might well have been translated “glorious richness”. Paul wants us to understand that we are heirs to an infinite reward — the end of our calling is far beyond anything we can ever conceive of!

Discouragement is a weapon of satan. David Jeremiah, in his book “Power of Encouragement” remind us that God -Son and Holy Spirit — is an encourager. Here’s how He explained it:

  • Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Blessed be the God,…the Father of mercies [encouragement]” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Here Paul used the word paraklesis.
  • In one of his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul reminded his readers that Jesus Christ is also, at the very core of His ministry, an encourager (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17).
  • And what can we say about the Holy Spirit? “Encourager” is one of His names! The King James Bible says of the Holy Spirit (in John 14 and 16), “However when He the Comforter is come.…” The title “Comforter” translates the word paraklete which means “to encourage.”

    • What does all this mean for me? It reminds me to focus on vocation not occupation. It tells me that I should try (harder) to be an encourager, not a critic. It lets me know that I feel discouraged, satan is probably around. Above all, I need to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith I am called”.

    Hell

    Posted on by October 14, 2013
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    October 14th, 2013

    Matthew 25:41 — Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

    Hell is real.
    I have had a burden for some days to write about hell, but have been reluctant. Especially, yesterday, a Sunday, I did not want to dwell on such an ugly topic — but it is one that Christians must face.

    Yesterday our Pastor spoke powerfully about devils and demonic influence and I was encouraged to get on with thoughts about hell. We are blessed to have a deeply principled Pastor who never shrinks from telling us what we need hear and not just what we would like to hear!

    Here’s a funny thing. It’s not a big difference, but more Americans believe in heaven than believe in hell. I checked. According to major research published by the Pew Research organization in 2008, “Most Americans (74%) believe in life after death, with an equal number saying they believe in the existence of heaven as a place where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded. … Belief in hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without repenting are eternally punished, is less common than is belief in life after death or heaven, with about six-in-ten Americans (59%) expressing belief in hell. In every religious tradition, including all the Christian traditions, belief in hell is at least slightly less prevalent than belief in heaven.”
    I’ve been wondering about why that is. I’ve come up with a couple of reasons. First, it seems to me that we’re much better at believing in things we want than things we don’t want. We’re also really good at taking good things now, and hoping there’ll be a way to wriggle out of the consequences later. Second, I think the basis of belief has shifted. We used to take things on faith — if the Bible, or the Church, said a thing was so that was that. Over the past century or two “science” took over. Belief was based on experience. More recently we have entered a “post-modern” era, in which belief often seems to be a matter of personal preference — and a lot of people prefer NOT to believe in hell! And sadly, a lot of pastors seem to prefer not put them straight.

    Here’s the thing though. Hell is real. The verse at the head of this devotion is one of several references by Jesus to this place of eternal punishment. He wasn’t kidding.

    The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Analytics does a fine job of describing what hell is like:

  • The nature of hell is a horrifying reality
  • It is like being left outside in the dark forever (Matt. 8:12)
  • It is like a wandering star (Jude 13)
  • A Waterless cloud (Jude 12)
  • A perpetually burning dump (Mark 9:43–48)
  • A bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1, 3)
  • A prison (1 Peter 3:19)
  • A place of anguish and regret (Luke 16:28)

    • If by some odd chance you’re not quite convinced about hell, wise up. You owe it to yourself and anyone you might witness to.

    Hell is real. Believe it!

    United We Stand

    Posted on by October 13, 2013
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    October 13th, 2013

    John 17:20-21 — Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me..

    I sometimes surprise friends by what they see as a kind if doctrinal flexibility. I’m pretty much willing to accept as a brother anyone who admits their own sin nature, believes Jesus is the Son of God and claims Him as Lord and Savior. To me, anything else is not such a big deal.

    I saw a statistic that made my eyes pop. Did you know that there are more than 20,000 “Christian” denominations. That doesn’t stack up well in the light of Jesus’s desire that “they all may be one”!
    Maybe it seems like no big deal … But to me it’s a fault at the heart of our faith. Our Father hates fractured relationships. Satan is set on seeding separation.

    Let’s start with Genesis. The first thing we see Satan do is to undermine trust in God’s truth (… And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?). Next, he sows distrust about God’s motives (For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.). Sadly, Adam and Eve “bite” and the result is a broken relationship (Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.)
    God hates to see broken relationships. In fact one way of looking at the Gospel story, from Genesis to Revelation is as God’s work to rebuild the relationship between Him and us. Look at just a few examples …

  • God hates divorce. See what is written in Malachi 2:15-16, “And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away:”
  • God longs to heal the relationships in broken families. From the Book of Malachi again, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord : And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5-6)
  • We are told in Isaiah 2:4 that God will heal breaches between nations, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

    • I could have chosen so many other examples to illustrate our Father’s passion for relationships.That passion is one of the unique things about Christianity, and it is the reason for my inclusive love for fellow Christians. It is why Jesus prays as He does in that great “High Priestly prayer”. It is why He died for us. It is why the for beasts and four and twenty elders of the Revelation sing a new song:

    Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

    Unity is critical. Let’s stand together.