Patience

Posted on by August 3, 2013
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August 3, 2013

Daniel 4:35 — And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Do you get frustrated with the unfathomable unpredictability of modern technology? As I have worked with computers for almost 40 years, I generally expect that they will work, or that I will be able to wrestle them into submission — but sometimes the seeming randomness of it all will defeat me. I’m getting better about dealing with it, I hope, but still …
I’ve just been on a short business trip, with my cool new iPad mini (it was a gift, I didn’t buy it!). On the flights out, in-flight wifi worked perfectly. On the flights back, not at all. I read the help text, followed the suggestions — no luck. Well, if that’s the worse thing that happens it’s not the end of the world. But it was one more reminder that I am not in control. In fact, the older I get the more I realize that, although I DO control some things — my choices and the way I react to what happens in my life, I live in a world in which “control” is really not mine at all.
We live in a fallen world, and so much of what happens to us is really the result of interacting forces — the force of God’s will, and the counter forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil. There is what God wants for my life, and what the enemy wants — and I cannot deny that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12). There is a mystery here — because I cannot deny that for a time God’s permissive will allows satan and his servants to impact my life. Does God “want” their activities? Absolutely not, but He does permit them. Is He powerless to prevent them? Absolutely not. I am forced to conclude that an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God knows that in someway allowing me to deal with “bad” things — from minor frustrations to major suffering — is in my eternal best interests.
I seem to have come a long way from the frailties of modern technology in a very short time! I must confess that even these short pieces don’t always go as I expect. They start with a seed thought, and then it seems the Spirit leads from one idea to the other — even in this small thing I have to know that I am not in charge and that with patience the words of Ecclesiastes 7:8 will be true once again —
“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
Be patient, God is in control!

Is God Dead?

Posted on by August 2, 2013
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August 2, 2013

1 Peter 3:2 — God is not slack, but works in His own time

 As Myra and I drove to the airport yesterday, the radio station we were listening to played Richard Strauss’s tone poem “Also Sprach Zarathustra”. Many of us are familiar with at least the opening of the piece because it’s used to great effect in Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001, A Space Odyssey” and as the theme for the Apollo program.

Nowadays, perhaps, fewer people are familiar with Friedrich Nietschze’s philosophical novel on which the music is based. The Novel is fiercely critical of mass movements –  Zarathustra is harshly critical of all kinds of mass movements, and of the “rabble” in general. Christianity is based upon a hatred of the body and of this earth, and an attempt to deny them both by believing in the spirit and in an afterlife. Nationalism and mass politics are also means by which weary, weak, or sick bodies try to escape from themselves. Those who are strong enough, Zarathustra suggests, struggle. Those who are not strong give up and turn to religion, nationalism, democracy, or some other means of escape.

Famously, Zarathustra is shocked that one of the characters he meets, an old man in the woods, has not heard that God is dead!

So is God dead? Some, weary of what they see as an unstoppable moral and spiritual decline, seem prepared to say so.

The truth may not be so simple. According to a

Gallup poll from — more than 90% of Americans believe in a god. That figure drops as you move East, talk to a younger or more liberal group, and rises if you consider Southerners, conservatives or older people. We have to be careful how we generalize, of course. Belief in “god” is not the same as believing in God!

God is not dead! It seems more that we have decided to act as though He were. Even when I was being raised in England there was a general acceptance — even if Christianity was lukewarm — that God was in charge and that the Bible was at least the starting point for law. Over the last 50 years it seems that, in Europe first and America next, God has been driven out of people’s hearts and minds — As the letter to the Romans has it, “They suppress the truth. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them.”

God  not dead, but we are! Unless we claim Him. Paul also said, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins …” and “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

If we behave as though God is dead, and deny Him, WE are dead! If we behave as though God is alive, and confess Him, we are alive.

So if God is alive, and will be mad at us if we don’t get right with Him, how come we’re still here? It’s because He’s patient! How did He announce Himself to Moses? “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” He’s working … in Hs own time …

Never mind “Thus spake Zarathustra”. Thus sayeth the Word. Pass it on!

 

 

 

 

 

I Seek Higher Things

Posted on by August 1, 2013
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August 1, 2013

Colossians 3:2 — Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 Our school motto was “Altiora Peto” — “I seek higher things”. It was a good motto. Sadly, nobody ever really talked to us about what “higher things” meant. Fortunately Paul provides plenty of clues about what higher things might be. Higher things are the things which are not “on the earth”. It’s a reminder of the Ecclesiastes focus on the vanity of things “under the sun”. Things on the earth have, at best, short-term value. Paul tells us believers are to think and live in the Spirit, not in the flesh (cf. Rom. 8:1–17). They have a choice and must set their lifestyle priorities. Being saved does not automatically issue in godly living, but it should.

It’s deliberate – Set your mind on higher things. ANYTHING ELSE that takes first place in your mind and life is an idol – including religious ceremonies (which Paul had focused on earlier in his letter to the Colossians). Things in heaven are the treasures to seek, as Jesus said: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found , he hideth , and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath , and buyeth that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

Nor did anybody at my old school explain why we should concentrate on higher things. Paul has the answer to that one too. When you focus on Jesus Christ and His truth and plan for your life, you are not easily swayed. You are firmly fixed and established in light of God’s victory. He says, “this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are  behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Now I understand what “higher things are” and why I should “seek them”. The understanding has added to my love for Johnson Oatman’s 19th century hymn:

I’m pressing on the upward way, New heights I’m gaining every day; Still praying as I onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
I want to scale the utmost height and catch a gleam of glory bright; But still I’ll pray till rest I’ve found,“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”

Lift Up Ye Gates …

Posted on by July 31, 2013
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July 31, 2013

 Psalm 24:7-8 — Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

 This psalm has been on my mind for quite a while. We have sung a wonderful hymn in choir a couple of times over the past year. By some silly association these two verses keep coming into my mind as we approach the gates to the community in which we live. But after yesterday’s devotion it has come back in force with another twist.

The King of glory, mighty in battle, could, of course, sweep away any gates he chose to. No everlasting doors could resist his might. He is just not that sort of God! Instead He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

How much we need to open the door! Both personally, and nationally, we need to open the door!

When I talked to Myra about this thought she add her own important perspective. “Yes,” she said, “it’s not enough to pray. We need to ask, to invite Jesus in.” How true that is. It’s not enough to ask Jesus for help, as though He were a powerful potential ally who can be asked for help when needed and dismissed when His work is done. We have to invite Him in to take over. Just as personal repentance and owning Jesus as Lord is the key to personal redemption, so is national repentance and owning of Jesus as Lord the key to national redemption.

There is a passage in Isaiah 26 that contrasts the faithful nation with the proud nation that has turned away from The Lord. The passage speaks to Israel, and we should be careful about adapting specific prophecies to our own use, but it seemed to me that the verses were apt to my theme. Isaiah 26:1-5 says:

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength: For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

It seems to me that a choice is laid before us, personally and nationally. Will we be faithful, and follow the King of Glory into His city. Will we be proud, and turn away, and go our own way? Will this be, once more, “a nation under God”?

Will We Turn Back?

Posted on by July 30, 2013
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July 30, 2013

 2 Chronicles 24:19-21 — Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.

 I don’t know why this was impressed on me today. Why this day and not another? But surely any day is a good day to turn and pray for the nation.

The people of Israel and Judah had it easy! When they turned away from The Lord, He turned away from them. The flow of battle successes dried up, then a prophet turned up and spoke up, the people listened up and straightened up, and things looked up! Of course, there were plenty of times when the King and the people didn’t get the message and bad things happened … but nobody could say cause and effect were not clear, or not clearly linked.

Even 200 years ago, here in America, perhaps it should not have been so difficult. There was a fairly general agreement that Americans were “One nation under God”. A government that based its principles and proceedings on God’s word could be confident of His favor, and for many years it seemed that America enjoyed those blessings.

How much harder it might now seem. For the first time in history, less than half of all Americans identify themselves as believers of some kind. That figure is even lower—30 percent—for people under thirty. Many of these reply “none” when asked about their religion. How hard that might make the challenge of governing appear. Today a government that based its decisions on the Bible might fear being seen as at best irrelevant and at worst downright wrongheaded.

What is the consequence of the nation’s forsaking of God? We see a series of fatal decisions made by all the branches of government. The results are not the easy and obvious signs granted to Israel and Judah — not the surgically sharp defeat in battle, but rather the insidious decline of morality and national character that, if not reversed, must lead to fatal political and economic defeats.

May we rely on prophets to arise and speak truth into the hearts of government and nation? We may not. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds”. There are, to be sure, brave men and holy who stand up and speak, and they may be granted a gracious hearing — but they have little real influence. As the verse says, God has spoken to us through Jesus. It is on Him alone that we can now depend. We must pray,and trust Him for mercy. If we will turn back to Him, He will turn back to us. But only then …

What’s On The Inside?

Posted on by July 29, 2013
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What’s On The Inside?

July 29, 2013

1Sam 16:7 — But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Myra and I were in Whole Foods on Saturday, drinking our coffee and eating our buns. It’s a regular treat. We do live a wild and crazy life!
Myra suddenly said, “Which of those four people do you think is disabled?”, as a group of fit looking folks strode away from the SUV they had parked in a “Disabled” parking space.
It led to a discussion about unseen disabilities, especially significant to us as we have a grandson with autism caused by a genetic oddity. I was reminded too, of having been told off when I had commented on somebody using a disabled space — on that occasion there had been a hidden heart problem.
From there our morning coffee chat moved on to unseen emotional and spiritual “disabilities”. We know, Myra and I, that it’s not possible for people to look at us and see our history. Each of us has things in our past that have scarred us. I remember never quite fitting in at my High School. It was a great school, and I loved many things about my time there — but there were things in my background and circumstances that meant I was never quite really accepted. You can’t look at me and see that I don’t always find groups easy. You can’t look at Myra and see the time that she had a new kitchen fitted, only for the fitter to steal it while she was at work on the next day — which makes her extra wary of people working in our house. People’s behavior, attitudes and actions are all influenced by their history — but only God knows what’s in their hearts. Those awkward people we have to deal with — the one’s Rick Warren describes as “extra grace required” — we just might not be able to see all the valleys they have come through just to get to today.
Of course, sometimes it’s nothing so dire as history that causes people to do things that get under our skin! That person who cut you up in traffic … What kind of day has he been having? How about the woman sharing her life on the phone? Is she unloading the weight of a miserable working day?
Over that cup of coffee, I made a small promise. Any time somebody aggravates me this week (and somebody probably will, now I’ve said it) I’m going to try and think about what lies behind whatever they do. Of course I won’t get it right … Because only “The Lord looketh on the heart” … But I’m hoping the effort will choke off a bad tempered thought or even an ill-timed comment. Call it a one-week empathy self-improvement program!
Pray for me …

The Lord’s Day

Posted on by July 28, 2013
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July 28, 2013

Revelation 1:10 — I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet

This is the third of my “Sabbath-related” devotions. It came to me that it might be worth focusing some attention on a distinction, for the New Testament “Lord’s Day” is not the same as the Old Testament Sabbath.

Myra and I attend a Southern Baptist Church, and it is in that church home that we have first, over the past thirteen years, been introduced to some formal definition of what we believe. It has been a blessing that we find what we are taught to resonate with inward beliefs — even about things we had not previously considered.

So what’s the party line on Sundays? Well, it’s laid out in the “Baptist Faith and Message” which may be found at http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp on the web. On the matter of the Lord’s Day it says:

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew Sabbath is an ordinance provided by God to the Israelites as a weekly remembrance of His covenant with them. We might regard the Lord’s day as a sign of that better covenant, based on better promises, of which Jesus is the mediator.

It is the last paragraph, perhaps, that is most interesting. The law of the Sabbath says quite frankly, “don’t work”. A Christian position says “It does not need legislation. Consult your conscience and do what seems right.” It is the logical consequence of the shift from Old Testament law to New Testament grace – so Paul says “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” and “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:” I am quite convinced that this is the right principle but I also see the risk. The risk is the beautiful risk God takes when He gives us free will. We are free to be as idle and frivolous as we wish on Sunday — but challenged to do better, to have our activities under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The party line used to be more stringent, forbidding “worldly amusements” and “secular employment” not driven by considerations of necessity or mercy. Even this firmness allowed for the activities of, for instance, doctors and nurses — but left many others in the awkward position of choosing between faith and practicality. Nobody now need make that choice — knowing that Jesus will bless those choices trusted to His Lordship.

The calling out of the other activities is interesting too — they “should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private”. But isn’t that true of every day? How then is this day special? The key, perhaps, is in Hebrews 4:9-11:

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Jesus is, and offers, a special rest. The Lord’s Day is a special time when we might pursue that special rest.

There are things Myra and I don’t do on a Sunday. We’ve thought about it, and prayed about it, and follow our conscience. How about you? What do you do, or not do, because it’s the Lord’s Day?

Healthy Mind, Healthy Spirit

Posted on by July 28, 2013
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July 27, 2013

1 Tim. 4:8 — For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

I was in the gym on Thursday night. (Anyone who says they’ve seen what I look like, and no way do I go to the gym is just being mean!). It occurred to me as I burned calories on the treadmill that the people I saw around me were pursuing their physical fitness with a lot more passion than I see being applied to the pursuit of spiritual fitness by some of the people I see around me on Sunday!

Strangely enough, I think Paul might have been thinking a similar thought when he wrote to Timothy as part of the first mentoring program for beginning pastors! He would be very aware of the Greek view of fitness – almost a religion – that had been adopted all over the Roman Empire. Even the Romans themselves recognized the need for balance. One of their poets said “ You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.” (In the original

Latin, “orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano.” – Juvenal, Satires).

Paul asked for more than balance. In fact he sees only a little value in physical activity – because it is valuable only for this life, whereas godliness has advantage for this life and the next. It might even be doubted if he is really talking about gymnastic exercises. He might rather be saying “the physical presenting of the body in religious worship is good, but without godliness it’s really not that valuable”.

There’s more to this business of the body and the Spirit though – Paul also says (1 Cor 6:19-20) “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. There can be no doubt that we need to take care of this earthly, temporal body, for while we live this life our body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, the helper Jesus sent to us. What a shame so many of us do such a poor job of keeping the temple in good shape! What kind of message am I sending about my God if I keep Him in a run-down, beaten up wreck of a place!

But the Spirit doesn’t just need a good home. It needs regular care and attention. Godliness is that business of making the Holy Spirit feel at home. The bible doesn’t offer a precise definition, but I saw a list of characteristics of a Godly life (from Loren Warkentin, then Registrar at Northwestern Baptist Seminary):

  • Our pursuit of godliness involves determined effort (2 Peter 1:5)
  • Our pursuit of godliness requires strict training (1 Tim. 4:7)
  • Our pursuit of godliness entails a renunciation of ungodliness (Titus 2:12)
  • Our pursuit of godliness will be characterized by/produce a zeal for good works (Titus 2:14)
  • Our pursuit of godliness has been resourced richly (2 Peter 1:3,4)
  • Our pursuit of godliness has an ultimate goal in view (Titus 2:13 and many other passages)

Spiritual conditioning, properly considered, should be every bit as strenuous as physical conditioning. I’m off to exercise!

Why I Read The Bible

Posted on by July 26, 2013
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July 26, 2013

2 Tim. 3:16-17 — All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

I quoted 2 Tim. 3:16 yesterday, as part of thoughts about how we read the Bible. It occurred to me later that there is a preliminary question to be asked. “Why do I read the Bible?” These two verses provide a good starting place. (By the way, they also provide an object lesson in “how” — all too often these verses are only quoted in support of the authenticity of the Bible — “all scripture is given by inspiration of God”. It’s also worth taking apart the verses to answer the “why” question.)

The bottom line on the “why” question is clear — “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Those words will repay a lot of study.

“The man of God” can reasonably read as meaning “any Christian” although it is particularly apt for spiritual leaders. “Perfect” is “complete, finished”. The idea is that scripture is God’s provision to us to enable us to carry out the tasks He gives us.

Now let’s look at the items preceding the “bottom line” clause:

  • All scripture is profitable for doctrine — to help us understand the thing of God
  • For reproof — for the rebuke of ungodliness and unholiness
  • For correction — for setting us right after reproof
  • For instruction — in fact, the provision of fatherly discipline
  • Taken altogether, these clauses, for me, carry the idea of the whole educational process — identification of right and wrong, guidance, and discipline.

These two verses are not the complete answer to “why read scripture?” I find a more complete answer in some other often quoted verses — Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Hebrews 1:1 tells us that in these days God has spoken to us by His Son, and the channel for that communication is surely through His Word. When I’m looking for guidance, or I want to Know more about God, I know where to go!

I have one more answer; it is found in another sort of inspiration. I find that reading scripture  — especially the Psalms — inspires in me a sense of worship. My sweetheart reminds me that the Bible is God’s love letter to us. There are times when it just fills me up with love for Him!

Trudge, Treasure-hunt, or Fruit-picking Expedition?

Posted on by July 25, 2013
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July 25, 2013

Isaiah 28:10 — For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, and there a little:

Can we talk? Between you and me, from time to time, I find some of the books of the Bible a long trek. March through Numbers, trudge through Chronicles. I always feel guilty when I have those feelings of course and remind myself firmly of 2 Timothy 3:16 (“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”)

Do you ever find that the Holy Spirit gently reminds you of what the journey through scripture is for? What I’ve discovered about long marches is that from time to time they provide great rewards along the way. Myra and I have been reading through the Bible every day for the last 10 or so  years, and yet I still keep finding new nuggets of gold. Myra says it’s the Holy Spirit’s highlighter saying take note of this today!. Yesterday 2 Chronicles 13:10 jumped out at me — “But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him” — what a wonderful affirmation!

The verse at the head of this devotion is often misunderstood. It is not, as is sometimes taught, advice on how scripture is to be approached. It is, in fact, part of a priestly rebuke to the drunkard Israelites who have mockingly rejected his teaching. In effect the Israelites are saying, “We are grown-up’s. We don’t need teaching like children, repetitiously, precept upon precept, line upon line.”

How many people are there today who are unwilling to work through scripture chapter by chapter, verse by verse? How many of those nuggets (hidden by the Holy Spirit!) do they miss? I am reminded of how Martin Luther said we should read the Bible:

I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb–study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings.

How do you treat your Bible reading? Is it a long, dull trudge? Or is it an exploration for hidden treasures? Or is it an exercise in fruit picking? Mine have become treasure hunts!