The Cat Saga

When we moved into our current house, there was a sandy strip beside the driveway that evidently had become the communal litterbox for the neighbourhood cats.  Come to think of it, the first week we were living in the house (which had been vacant for some time) one of our neighbour's cats deposited an unpleasant surprise right in the middle of the pavers leading to the front door--as if to say, "You might be moving in, but this is my territory."  Living in this house has provided a crash-course of learning firsthand the tenacity of cats to mark their spot in vile, smelly ways.

Shortly after the BBQ and smoker were set up on the back porch, I began to notice dirty puddles and spray marks on the covers.  At first I thought little of it, that condensation had dripped from dusty covers.  After I cleaned the mess from the BBQ covers and tiles, I was surprised that in a night or two there were even more marks--and that cats were the culprits!  It was then I declared war on the habits of our neighbourhood felines and took action to prevent them from freely accessing areas where they relieved themselves.  After the adjacent retaining wall was completed, I filled in the area with decorative rocks to prevent cats from accessing it.  I purchased an ultrasonic "CatWatch" that is motion activated and designed to protect birds and gardens from cats.  Humans and birds cannot hear the tone, but cats can.  I was pleased to see this had an immediate effect, and I foolishly assumed the cat saga was over.

The cats then began to favour using the silty soil out of sight behind the bins, so I repositioned the CatWatch to move them on from their new dumping grounds.  This very morning, after moving a recycle bin to the porch, a cat decided to slink behind it--carefully out of sight--and poop on the porch tile!  So now the bins have been moved to a new location so the CatWatch can train the cats there are no safe havens on the porch.  I have been impressed and surprised by the tireless tenacity of those critters to find a way to dump their refuse all around the property.  It is at this point I could give up and allow the cats to have their way, but I am determined to win the war.  The appearance of disturbed soil, swarming flies, spray marks and puddles tell me to press the advantage and not lose ground gained with great effort.

The cat saga bears similarity to sanctification from sin in the life of a believer.  Like cats driven by instinct, we naturally tend to go our own way and do our own thing.  Having been born again by faith in Jesus, we ought to recognise the uncleanness of our sin--the bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts, cursing, addictions, lying, greed, selfishness and unbelief--all the works of the flesh Jesus died to cleanse us from and give us victory over.  When attitudes, words and actions that mark our old life spring to the surface, we go to the heart of the problem to confess and repent of sin and do what pleases God.  Slowly but surely, we will progress as we learn more of our sinfulness and our Saviour's goodness and grace.  A cat problem or a rat or roach infestation is not going to "go away" on its own, and besetting sins have great tenacity and treachery we must deal with personally.  Take decisive and diligent action to remove safe havens for sin in your life.  Don't give up, dear Christian, for we are victorious in Jesus. 

God Draws the Driven

This morning's sermon contained a warning from God to the children of Israel who departed from God through idolatry without repentance.  Through the prophet the LORD said in Jeremiah 27:14-15, "Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you; ¹⁵ for I have not sent them," says the LORD, "yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you."  False prophets were saying articles taken from the temple would soon be returned and they would not serve Nebuchadnezzar.  God said if His people believed the lie and refused to submit to the yoke He fashioned for them--to serve the king of Babylon--He would forcefully drive them from the land He gave them as an inheritance.  If they would not submit to God's word voluntarily, they would be driven to go where they did not want to.  This prompted my consideration of this pattern in Scripture.

As those redeemed by faith in Jesus, Christians are provided an incredible privilege of a relationship with the living God.  God created this world and all that is in it, and His desire is for people He created in His image to know Him, to respond to His love demonstrated to us while we were yet sinners.  We observe this from the very beginning.  After God created Adam, he had fellowship with God as they walked together in the Garden of Eden.  But sin resulted in the spiritual death of Adam, Eve and their offspring.  Adam and his wife were sent out of the garden as it says in Genesis 3:24:  "So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."  Adam disobeyed God by eating from the tree, and thus he was driven from his dwelling place and rest.

God called Nebuchadnezzar His servant, and without realising it Nebuchadnezzar was God's chosen instrument to bring judgment upon nations--including His own erring people.  Though God established Nebuchadnezzar on the throne, when he was lifted up with pride (having ignored God's warning through Daniel's interpretation of his troubling dream), God drove him made and he was driven from men for 7 years.  Daniel rehearsed the situation years later in Daniel 5:20-21:  "But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. ²¹ Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses."  When Nebuchadnezzar's sense returned to him, he praise the God of Israel who restored him to his throne and former glory.

After Jesus entered Jerusalem, He cleansed the temple in Matthew 21:12-13:  "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.¹³ And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Jesus did not show partiality between buyer or seller when He drove them out of the temple, for though they had a thriving business they had no business being in God's house due to their iniquity.  In a short time Jesus was lifted up on Calvary and draw all people to Himself as Messiah. These passages illustrate well how idolatry, idolatry, pride, greed and sin brings awful consequences--even being driven from the presence of the LORD.  The remedy for our sin is to return to the LORD in humble repentance, to take Christ's yoke upon us by submission to Him and walking with Him.

God has always expressed desire to draw near to His people and dwell among them, whether it was in the Garden of Eden, in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt, when God established His people in Canaan, in the tabernacle and temple, and by Christ coming who gives the Holy Spirit who indwells us.   When people meet in Jesus' name, there He is in the midst.  God's desire is for us to abide with Him forever (for He has freely offered eternal life for all who believe in Jesus), and our rebellion, unbelief and sin prevents us from enjoying the fellowship and closeness God supplies today by His grace.  God is faithful and loving to always draw those driven away for sin to Himself.  Let us take to heart and put into practice the exhortation of James 4:8-10:  "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Bought Out of Love

Years ago when my family and I lived in Riverstone, there was an old derelict house on the corner of Garfield and Hamilton that had been condemned and fenced off.  I had no idea how old it was, but I would have liked to have explore inside and step back in time.  Exploring the house would not have taken very long, for it could be no more than one or two rooms with a dunny out back.  It could have been built before electricity and plumbing was available!  I expected the "fibro" siding to contain asbestos, and that would be expensive to safely handle and dispose of.

As the land in Riverstone grew exponentially more valuable in recent years, clearly the uninhabitable house had become a liability when it was taken away.  I was surprised when I drove by and the house was gone, and all that remained was a bare spot of dirt.  In one day the house had been demolished and the materials carried away.  It was a bit disappointing to lose a bit of history and charm when that house went.

Now imagine (if the house still stood) a wealthy fellow loved the old place, contacted the owner and made in a significant offer on the house with the intention to restore it to its former glory.  It would not be restored to be a museum or holiday house, but he wanted it to be his primary residence--just because he loved it.  Wouldn't this be a curious decision when the guy eager to buy and restore the house could easily afford to design his own modern, custom mansion and live in luxury?  Why would he prefer to live in a cramped house with a dunny in Riverstone when he could live in an exclusive Sydney suburb with harbour views?

The rich man buying a derelict house to live in it is like what God has done by saving people at the cost of the precious blood of Jesus.  He saw us in our condemned condition and instead of razing us from the earth He has chosen to redeem no-good sinners and make Christians His dwelling place as His temple.  Developers often have more interest in the land than the structures that sit upon it, yet God's greatness and glory is seen in saving sinners and adopting them as  His beloved children.  When we see a born-again Christian, we ought to marvel over the richness of God's love and grace that prompted Him to seek and save the lost.  God's interested in more than saving us, for He desires to sanctify us through a relationship with Jesus.  How great is our God!

The Golden Rule (With Love)

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught what is commonly called the "Golden Rule" to His disciples in Matthew 7:11-12:  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  God is good and the generous source of all good things.  Jesus pointed out since sinners are able to give good gifts to their children, our heavenly Father is infinitely more inclined and able to give good things to those who make their requests known to Him.

Because God gives good gifts to those who ask Him, Jesus said whatever we want others to do to us, we ought to do also to them.  The opposite of this can be true.  If there is something we do not appreciate to us, we avoid doing the same to them--even if it seems they deserve such treatment.  When I was musing upon the Golden Rule yesterday, I realised it cannot stand alone without great risk of making myself the flawed standard of morality I adhere to.  The Golden Rule in isolation can lead me to justify being unloving, devoid of sympathy or compassion, and resisting the Holy Spirit who always guides us to walk in love.  The Law and Prophets are summed up well by the Golden Rule, but Jesus fulfilled the Law and gave His disciples a new law to obey:  we ought to love one another as Jesus loves us (John 13:34).

In a conversation with my wife yesterday, I recalled laughing when my GP told me I had torn my ACL playing baseball.  She was a bit caught off guard and asked me what was so funny.  I thought it was funny that all I had done was rounded first base and fell over like a sniper took out my knee, a rather pathetic way to hurt oneself that required surgery, rehabilitation, financial cost, and missing over a year of sport.  When being fitted for glasses recently a new optometrist looked at my file and in great seriousness questioned if a specialist had fully explained the potential impact of an eye condition I have been diagnosed with.  I quipped, "Yep, untreatable and incurable."  "Yes," she said slowly, trying to make sense of my casual response.  The point I am trying to make is, if the Golden Rule was the only standard I employed to guide my conduct towards people's conditions or problems, it would lack compassion, gentleness and tact.  Love leads me to be sensitive to others when I am naturally harsh with myself.

The Golden Rule is a good rule that helps guide our conduct towards others, yet it cannot be followed rightly without God's love.  Paul wrote in Romans 12:9-15:  "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."  Jesus taught His disciples the Golden Rule, also commanded them to love one another, and demonstrated His love for sinners by dying on the cross.  God has provided the whole Bible and the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us to walk in love to one another:  to bless and not curse, to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.