Devotions | Ian and Myra Rowlands' Musings

Home→Categories Christian→Devotional - Page 66 << 1 2 … 64 65 66 67 68 … 77 78 >>

What Kind Of Salt?

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 12, 2013

October 12th, 2013

Matthew 5:13 — Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Which of these seems more like you?

Choice 1: You’re comfortable with yourself, and are making a positive difference in the world. You have a core set of values that dictate your behavior and attitudes, and you value relationships very highly and wouldn’t put your need to be right all the time ahead of personal bonds. Your faith is really important and living a simple life full of happiness and fulfillment is more important than pursuing faith-based truth and righteousness.
Choice 2: When you look at yourself in the mirror you see a spiritual being, first and foremost, functioning in an earthly body. You are willing to live with your means, and committed to being generous in helping others and supporting your church. If a movie or TV program contains immoral or inappropriate content you default reaction is to stop it, and choose something else. You don’t believe it’s possible to live a meaningful or deeply satisfying life apart from God.
It’s amazing how many different kinds of salt you can find in stores nowadays. I searched for salt in Amazon’s “Grocery and Gourmet Food” department and got 18,939 results! When it comes to life, though, I think there’s really only three kinds — salt that has lost it’s savor, salt that does its job and makes everything around it taste a little better, and salt that makes its own distinctive contribution to the “dish” that it’s in.

I’m a great admirer of George Barna, because his research-based insights add a unique Christian flavor to the understanding of our society. In 2009, he published a book called “The Seven Faith Tribes”. Recognizing that America is in crisis, Barna profiles the major spiritual groups in our society and draws together the common values that might form a basis for national restoration.
If “Choice 1” above really resonated with you, you’re not alone. In fact, according to Barna, you are the same as 2 out of 3 Americans, one on 150 million “Casual Christians”. You might be a bit disappointed at the label, but there’s a lot to like about Casuals. In fact Barna describes you as “taking responsibility for making the American Dream — with an emphasis on liberty and happiness — into a reality”. To me, that translates to being the salt that makes everything around you a little better. But be warned, you might be a bit of a disappointment to the master.

If you recognized yourself in “Choice 2”, you are part of a smaller group — one of maybe 36 million “Captive Christians”. Barna says of Captives, “What they lack in numbers they make up for in passion and determination, based on their belief that what they do matters to God and that His love for them compels them to respond in kind by seeking to influence the world for His glory.” To me, that’s the kind of salt that adds its own distinctive flavor to the dish!

Of course, maybe you don’t really see yourself in Choice 1 or Choice 2? Well, maybe it would be worth you reading the book to see where you do fit. Of course there is that third kind of salt … But that couldn’t be you could it … Or you wouldn’t still be reading!

What Comes After

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 11, 2013

October 11th, 2013

John 14:2-3 — In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

We were talking about Heaven today. People have some odd ideas about Heaven. It seems some of us have somehow gained the cartoon impression of Heaven — people dressed in white robes sitting on clouds, playing harps. How depressing! Others hold to what I call the “chocolate box theory”. Cherry pick all the things you like best in this life — grandma, your puppy, the New York Symphony,your handsome husband — they’ll be in heaven.

Randy Alcorn has written a masterly book on the subject of Heaven and I must say that, in a way, he confirms some of the chocolate box notion. He argues that we can reasonably expect continuity between this life and the next wherever it would make sense. That works for me. God is good, and He gives us all things richly to enjoy. Why, then would He take those things away?

But perhaps some of the strangest misconceptions about Heaven relates to where it is and where we might actually be going to spend eternity. So let’s clear that up.
Here’s the deal. If you’re saved, you go to Heaven — but that Heaven is a temporary home. Our final destination is right here on earth … but it’s a new earth. John saw it and wrote in The Revelation, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Redemption is not just the ransoming and rescue of you and me. It’s the rescue and restoration of creation. God’s plan has not failed. It cannot fail. The ultimate testimony to that certainty will be the Savior dwelling with His people in the New Jerusalem.

There’s a lot that is not explicit about a lot of the details of our wonderful future. In 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 we find, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Did you catch that second part? “God hath revealed into us by His Spirit”. That means that if we look, we can find plenty of hints in the Bible. Here’s a few to be going on with:

Only righteous people will enter Heaven, and not many of them (Matthew 5:17–20, 7:13-14)

Jesus is preparing Heaven for us (John 14:2–3)

Being with Christ in Heaven is much better than the life we have today (Philippians 1:23)

We should be looking forward to Heaven (Colossians 3:1–5)

People in Heaven will walk with God (Revelation 22:5)

That’s just a small sample of the many Bible verses about Heaven. And after the heavenly way station, we will live with Jesus on the new earth. We don’t have to guess or imagine what it will be like. God has told us!

Eat Dust!

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 10, 2013

October 10th, 2013

Lamentations 3:27-29 — it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

I’m a very lucky man. Every morning my beautiful wife drives me to work. Now maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy, but it seems to me that drivers are just getting more and more crazy, bad tempered and rude. There was a typical example today. We were behind a pretty slow truck. There was a lady in, say, her late thirties behind us. She wanted us to go faster. She was mad. So she sat on our bumper all the way. What was the point?

Another thing. Did you see the news story about the 9-year old who took a flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas without bothering with formalities like having a ticket or boarding card? It turns out that it’s not the first time he’s been in trouble. In fact his father says he’s been out of control since he was 5!

What’s going on? And how are these incidents related to the verses from Lamentations?
It’s dangerous for men like me, in what might gently be called “late middle age” to be too critical of younger generations — but I think there are some unhealthy things going on.
Simply put — childhood is not what it was, and the journey from childhood to responsible courteous adulthood has, for more and more children, failed.

Consider this (shortened)commentary from The Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society.

Childhood is generally considered to be either a natural biological stage of development or a modern idea or invention. … Up until the 1990s, theories of childhood tended to be determined in a “top-down” approach which some have described as “imperialistic.” … Children themselves, while the focus of theory, have not generally been considered as having a legitimate voice in influencing its production. However, the UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (1989) created a climate for reconsidering this tendency and a subsequent focus on listening to the views of the child and CHILDREN’S RIGHTS of expression in general.

There lies the root of a sickness. The Bible, from first to last presents a very clear view of childhood, and the responsibilities of parents. Consider, for instance, Galatians 4:1-2, “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.”
The failure to bring up children “in the way that they should go” is to desert them. It leads, of course, to them growing up in the way that they should not go! Undisciplined children grow into undisciplined adults.

I know it’s old-fashioned, but I maintain that the ideas of putting duties before Rights and expecting children to obey parents and young adults to work to earn respect are right, and that forgetting them is a route to disaster.
Consider this. If you remove the Bible, sanctity of marriage and the right relationship between parents and children, what kind of society is left. Call me an old Jeremiah if you like — but I think it’s a satanic triple threat. Time to stand up for Christianity, marriage and family!

Consistency

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 9, 2013

October 9th, 2013

Psalms 19:1-6 — The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 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.

News Flash! The sun rose over Collier County, Florida, today. It rose yesterday, and will also rise tomorrow.
News Flash! Ian was not his bright smiley self on Monday, was more cheerful on Tuesday and is expected to be variable for the rest of the week.

OK, that’s a bit hokey … but you get the point. God is consistent. I (and, I dare say you fall into the same category) am not. Does that matter? Now a lot of what follows is “other men’s flowers” — but I hope you’ll agree with how I’ve arranged them.
Some great men have had unkind things to say about consistency:

“Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead.” ? Aldous Huxley, Do What You Will: Twelve Essays
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

I’m not at all sure that these smart gentlemen are right. At least I think they might be deploring the wrong thing. There is consistency in what we say and what we do, and maybe that’s nonessential. Circumstances, as they say, alter cases. But why do we say what we say and do what we do?
In a study guide, discussing the fruits of the Spirit, David Jeremiah says “a person who develops the quality of long-suffering or patience is a man or woman who will first of all discover what it means to be consistent in living. The thing we all lack is a consistent day to day existence before God. One of the things which impedes our consistent lives more than anything else is the lack of patience. We react impatiently to things.”

Patience is just one of the fruits of the Spirit. Put all those fruits together and you have the foundation of a Christian character. If those clever men who scoff at consistency are scoffing at consistency of character — for which another word is integrity — they are surely missing the mark.
Consistent character, developed in us by the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, is surely essential to Christian life. Let me finish with one more quotation, this time from F. B. Meyer:

The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.

God is consistent. I am not — but I’ll keep trying.

When The Well Drys Up.

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 8, 2013

October 8th, 2013

Genesis 21:25 — And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.

I’m not sure where this idea came from as there’s no shortage of rain in Southwest Florida — especially not this summer!
In Palestine, water was a more serious matter because there was a long dry spell,between the end of the rain latter rains in March, and the start of the early rains in November. That made digging and ownership of wells really important, so it’s not surprising that Abraham was very concerned to protect his rights in his negotiations with Abimelech (which, by the way, means “father of kings”).
“Interesting story,” I hear you say, “but what’s it got to do with me?” So here’s what’s being going round in my head:What do I do when my well is running dry, when my spiritual life is not going so well? Sometimes I’m afflicted by what John Bunyan describes in his autobiographical “Grace Abounding To The Least Of Sinners” — “I have sometimes seen more in a line of the Bible, than I could well tell how to stand under; and yet at another time, the whole Bible hath been to me as dry as a stick; or rather, My heart hath been so dead and dry unto it, that I could not conceive the refreshment, though I have looked it all over.” There it is. Lack of refreshment from a visit to the well.
Do you want to hear my magic answer? Well here it is — I haven’t got one! But I think Abraham’s reaction to finding his well filled in is instructive. He went to the right person, and made the appropriate covenant offerings. So when it comes to spiritual dryness, who’s the right person and what are the right covenant offerings?
I don’t really need to tell you who the “who” is, do I? God owns our spiritual life, of course — so it’s sure that we need to be right with Him when it seems like the spirit well has dried up. But what else should we be paying attention to?
Now I’m not saying that all spiritual dryness is caused by sin — far from it — but there is this interesting passage in Hosea (5:15-6:3):

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the Lord : for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord : his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

If The Lord feels we are not, perhaps, truly and sincerely seeking after Him it seems He will turn away, and the well will run dry — but if we acknowledge our offenses, seek Him early, return to Him and follow Him then He will return like the former and latter days and refill the well.
I do think taking prayer or study, or worship, lightly might play into this — no matter how much we deny it even to ourselves. Thinking about Abraham and the well of Beersheba made me wonder. If he had been watching and taking care of his well, could Abimilech’s men have moved in an filled it up? Could it be that sometimes my well gets to run dry because I am not always diligently taking care of it?

Consider The Lilies …

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 7, 2013

October 7th, 2013

Matthew 6:28-29 — … Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

I am a romantic. And today, it seems to me that God is too. I’m going to try to make my case, because it seems to me that sometimes Christian teachers are so concerned to have us understand sacrificial love — that love called “agape” — that they can be a little dismissive of romantic love which the online “Free Dictionary” beautifully describes as “A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.” This love is beautifully expressed between husband and wife, and most beautifully between God and Israel.

Have you ever wondered what flowers Jesus meant when He spoke of the lilies of the field? You’re not the first. I was reminded today that a lot of people think it was the anemone, which has many varieties, and especially the The Anemone coronaria that can be lilac, white, and red, but is most often a brilliant scarlet color. Others think it might have been one or other variety of lily, as well as species of iris, gladiolus, narcissus, asphodelus, squills, and fritillaria. The anemone is called “kalanit — little bride” in modern Hebrew, but it seems it flowers at the wrong time. It doesn’t really matter whether Jesus meant one flower in particular, or flowers in general, there is such a profusion of riches to choose from.

Israel is a country bedecked like a bride. The Lord has dressed it in beautiful flowers.
Israel is the Father’s bride — see what Isaiah writes (and there are many other passages):

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

Oh yes, the Father is a romantic … He has dressed his bride beautifully, and He surely inspired Solomon to write of his beloved, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” There are those lilies again!
Romance is a wonderful, beautiful, tender, joyous, sweet emotion. If, like me, you are a romantic revel in it. Enjoy it. Thank God for it. It’s His idea!

More Joy!

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 6, 2013

October 6th, 2013

1 Peter 1:7-8 — … the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Do you know this charming snippet from a somewhat questionable poem by Robert Browning? This portion if the poem is called “Pippa Passes”. I wonder if it describes the way you feel about the world:

The year’s at the spring, And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven; The hill-side’s dew-pearled;
The lark’s on the wing;The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His heaven—All’s right with the world!

As Myra and I drove through our development on the way to church this morning, I definitely wasn’t feeling that way. A power surge seems to have damaged one of the components of our audio system last night, and it felt like just one more aggravation in a series of minor irritations afflicting us recently. But then …
As we drove through the gate out of our development I saw a beautiful tree, a larch, against a glorious blue sky. It struck me then… Joy. Joy is always present, and if a man truly understood what was in store for him in heaven and the character of Him who promises it then he could never lose a sense of joy.
There are so many things I love about this letter of Peter’s. There is no better example in all of Scripture of a man triumphing through trial. Peter was a fisherman. He was practically smart, for sure … but no intellectual. He started off with having lots of bluster, but a being a little short on basics. By the time of this letter, the bluster as gone, and it’s all about basics. In verses 3 thru 12 Peter just about lays out a complete gospel message. In a few verses he delivers the bad news and the good news. “Yes, things are going to be tough … And we should be jumping for joy!” (Peter wasn’t preaching platitudes from a distance — he was in their suffering too.)
Alexander MacLaren points out that faith is the energizer of joy, and where faith is, there should be unspeakable joy:

“It is poor wealth that can be counted; it is shallow emotion that can be crammed into the narrow limits of any human vocabulary. Fathers and mothers, parents and children, husbands and wives, know that. And the depths of the joy that a believing soul has in Jesus Christ are not to be spoken.”

Believing, we rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable, and not just unspeakable, but glorious. Our joy is to ordinary happiness or joy what the pictures of Michelangelo or Rembrandt are to my feeblest attempts at painting. It is the music of the finest orchestra to the sound of traffic in the city. It is a joy beyond comparison and compare!
God IS in is heaven. All IS right with the world!

The Best Cook In The House

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 5, 2013

October 5th, 2013

1 Corinthians 12:4-5 — Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

I thought I was going to be writing about something else today — about when Myra and I thought we were destined for the mission field — but this came into my head, and so that must be for another time.
Who’s the cook in your house? (If there is one … Maybe you just eat out…). In our house Myra does most of it but sometimes, like today, I get to put my pinny on and work some magic. Today’s masterpiece is a nice spicy Thai curry, and that seemed to start this train if thought.
You know, some of the ingredients of a tasty dish don’t taste so good on their own. In fact you might spit them out! Put them all together and apply the right kind of energy, and amazing things happen.
Churches are the same. Let’s be honest, when God is truly at the center of a church He can add some pretty odd ingredients to the mix. And (while we’re still being honest, and just between us) I don’t necessarily always like all of them.
Of course not every dish a cook prepares works. Quite a few things can go wrong.
If a meal goes cold … The energy goes out of it, What’s left? A lukewarm dish. And we know what The Lord thinks of lukewarm – “because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
Then, of course, there’s the time when the ingredients are just bad. Or maybe they just dried up.When the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
If there’s too much of one ingredient or too little, if the balance is wrong, the flavor doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s like one ingredient wants to say “it’s all about me … Garlic is much more important than mushrooms!”
Then there’s the dish with no heart. You know, the one that’s all decoration and flavorings and seems to have no main ingredient, nothing at the center?
Am I pushing the metaphor too far? I don’t know that I am. There are churches where the Holy Spirit isn’t working — there’s no energy. There are churches where people have dried up and churches where people really don’t have the Spirit in them. There are churches making no difference to the community around them.
Perhaps the worst dish of all is one you never find in any kitchen. What happens when the ingredients get confused, and think they’re the ones doing the cooking? As for me, I’m just trying to figure out what kind of ingredient I am, and how I can help the dish come together. I know who the best cook in the house is!

Where Is God When I’m Talking?

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 4, 2013

October 4th, 2013

Matthew 25:44-45 — Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Do you ever feel God has stopped talking to you? I do. R.C. Sproul describes the common experience:

There are times when we are called upon to live for Christ when we don’t feel like it, when we don’t have an overwhelming sense of his presence. Every Christian knows what it means to go through the ‘dark night of the soul’. That is when we discover what our faith and memories are made of.

I’m not sure that the thought that started this off was even as grand, though. I think that’s the experience of the mature Christian being given a chance to ride without the training wheels for a while.

What I was thinking of was just something that happened in my quiet time today. I’ve been feeling a bit as though some of my prayers have been bouncing of the ceiling and I said something to The Lord along the lines of “Lord, I’m praying to You, and I’m not feeling the response … and I’m trying to be like Jesus to some of the people I meet, but it’s like I’m banging my head against a wall!” (Yes, I was having a little spiritual pity party).
The response was rather shaming. Now I don’t usually hear God’s voice explicitly. It’s usually a sense of things — of what’s right and wrong. Sometimes it’s something in the Bible. Just occasionally, though, I get a more direct communication. And that’s what happened today.
“Ian, it’s nice that you are trying to be Me to other people — but how is it you don’t see when they are Me being Me to you? You know that guy you didn’t like the look of because of the scar on his face? That was me. Then the one you walked past in Germany the other week — remember? And you walked on by because you gave already? Yes, that was me too. The lady you try not to get engaged with because the conversations are endless … That co-worker that never listens … yes …”

Oh yes. He’s always there. (Or here, or everywhere). It’s just, maybe, that sometimes my eyes and ears aren’t fully open, and God knows I won’t really listen. And none of us like talking when nobody’s listening!

Government Goes On!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Ian and MyraOctober 3, 2013

October 3rd, 2013

Ecclesiastes 5:8 — If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

(Don’t worry, this is not a partisan piece!)

The Federal Government of the USA has closed down. The world has not ended. We really shouldn’t be surprised when human governments fail. David Jeremiah has a wonderful comment on governments, based on the verse above.

The government’s problem is the same as mine and yours: It’s human. Sometimes they do good and sometimes they don’t. Solomon says not to invest your energy in criticizing human corruption. Instead, recognize it’s going to happen and do what you can to fix it. As bad as government can be, it is better than lawlessness. Bad government is better than no government. We should try to make it better, but we should not pin any of our hopes on it. It is a flawed, human institution.

The good news is that there is a government that is not going to close down anytime soon.
Psalm 22:28 says “For the kingdom is the Lord’s : and he is the governor among the nations.” and Proverbs 8:15-16 “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.” These are just two of the many declarations in scripture as to the sovereignty of God.

The Christian is challenged by Governments. Both Paul and Peter, though living in the time of the tyrannical Roman emperor Nero, stressed the obligation to honor and obey the government of the day. But there are times when human governments are so foul that resistance seems a duty. And for (nearly) all of us there are times when the government of the day seems so plain irritating that it’s really hard to remain appropriately respectful! Why is it this way?

David Jeremiah makes two key points.
The first is that those in government are, indeed, only human. The second point is also about humanity. Modern governments are HUMAN institutions, not divine. Remember the history …

God created heaven, and the angels — an orderly government, until satan rebelled.

God created Eden, and Adam and Eve — an orderly government, until man rebelled.

God chose His people, gave them the law and judges to apply it — an orderly Government until the people rebelled.

The people rebelled and rejected both law and judges. “Give us a king”, they said. And the Lord told Samuel, “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king”. Ever since that day, all forms of government have been (and are) human institutions.

Human government, flawed though it is, is part of God’s providence. Under His direction, there is always some sort of government. That direction is part of His government which provides everything — from the movement of the planets to the ebbing and flowing of the tides to the minutest of genetic components — to provide the orderly framework for life.
Man’s government is temporary. God’s is permanent. Don’t let the current hiatus disturb you!