Driving Truth Home

As king Solomon wrapped up his discourse, he wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:11-12:  "The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. ¹² And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh."  The words we speak make a difference in the lives of others for good when we are led by the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ who is wisdom for us.  Many people who will not consider listening to a sermon or reading a book by a Christian author (much less the Bible itself!) can be impacted by godly, wise speech.  At times it seems pastors or professors are not seen to be worth their salt unless they have written at least one acclaimed book, but Solomon pointed out how there is no end to making books.  The implication is books, however insightful and useful, have a limit of effect and impact which demands another.  There will never be a timeless, foundational, definitive book like the Bible ever written by men because it has been authored by God.

One way we can be effective in communicating Gospel truth is through the use of illustrations.  A well-directed story can breathe fresh attentiveness to a sleepy congregation.  Anecdotes can quicken thinking and help bring a key point to later remembrance.  Solomon's comparison of truth being well-driven nails fits well with a discourse C.H. Spurgeon gave during a lecture:

Mr. Betram aptly illustrates the way in which men are engrossed in worldly cares by telling the story of the captain of a whaling ship, whom he tried to interest in the things of God, and who said, "It is not use, sir; your conversation will not have any effect upon me.  I cannot hear what you are saying, or understand the subject you are talking about.  I left my home to try to catch whales.  I have been a year and nine months looking for whales, sir, and I have not caught a whale yet.  I have been ploughing the deep in search of whales; when I go to bed, I dream of whales; and when I get up in the morning, I wonder if there will be any whales caught that day; there is a whale in my heart, sir, a whale in my brain, and it is of no use for you to talk to me about anything else but whales."  So your people have their business in their heads, and in their hearts, they want to make a fortune, and retire; or else they have a family of children to bring up, and Susan must be married, and John must be got into a situation, and it is no use for you to talk to them about the things of God unless you can drive away the whales that keep floundering and splashing about.

There is a merchant, perhaps, who has just thought of some bad bill; or another has looked across the building, and noticed a piece of ribbon of a particular colour, and he thinks, "Yes, I ought to have had a larger stock of that kind of thing.  I see that it is getting fashionable!" or it may be that one of the hearers has caught sight of his neighbor, and he thinks he must pay him a visit on the morrow; and so people's thoughts are occupied with all sorts of subjects beside that of which the preacher is speaking.  You ask me how I know that this is the case.  Well, I know because I have been guilty of the same offence myself; I find this occurs when I am listening to another brother preaching.  I do not think, when I am preaching, that I get on very well; but sometimes, when I go into the country, and take the morning and evening services, and then hear some one else in the afternoon, I think, "Well, really, when I was up there, I thought I was a stick:  but now!  I only wish I had my turn again!"  Now this is very wrong, to let such thoughts come into our minds; but as we are all very apt to wander, the preacher should carry anecdotes and illustrations into the pulpit, and use them as nails to fasten the people's attention to the subject of his sermon. 

Mr. Paxton Hood once said, in a lecture that I heard him deliver, "Some preachers expect too much of their hearers; they take a number of truths into the pulpit as a man might carry up a box of nails; and then, supposing the congregation to be posts, they take out a nail, and expect it to get into the post by itself.  Now that is not the way to do it.  You must take your nail, hold it up against the post, hammer it in, and then clinch it on the other side; and then it is that you may expect the great Master of assemblies to fasted the nails so that they will not fall out."  We must try thus to get the truth into the people, for it will never get in of itself; and we must remember that the hearts of our hearers are not open, like a church door, so that the truth may go in, and take its place, and sit upon its throne to be worshipped there.  No, we have often to break open the doors with great effort, and to thrust the truth into places where it will not be at first a welcome guest, but where, afterwards, the better it is known, the more it will be loved. (Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Complete & Unabridged. Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan Publishing House, 1989.pages 395-396)

I am most grateful for the Bible and many useful books I have read by those who hold to and proclaim the wisdom and truth of God.  I am greatly indebted to authors who toiled with quill by candlelight to produce great volumes teaching and expounding upon the grace and goodness of God.  The insight and impetus to settle on a particular subject to write a book may never come to me, but I can labour to be a better communicator of God's wisdom in speaking in whatever occasions I converse.  I am aware I can hammer away with the best illustrations and achieve nothing without complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit who makes our efforts fruitful.  Praise the LORD He is the Good Shepherd who has the nails and is able, despite my poor aim and weakness, to drive them home.

The Sin of Suspicion

Suspicion may not be listed among the works of the flesh, but it is certainly a product of the flesh seasoned with the fear of man.  A close relative of Worry and Anxiety, Suspicion causes a person to perceive grave danger which exists only in his own mind.  Those given over to suspicion have lost focus on the sovereignty, protection and power of God, convinced it falls to them to outsmart their enemies.  Praise the LORD He has provided deliverance from this vice that torments all who justify it.  In Lectures To My Students by C.H. Spurgeon, a chapter titled "The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear" contains a wealth of insight on the matter which all circumspect people ought to take to heart for themselves:

"It would be better to be deceived a hundred times than to live a life of suspicion.  It is intolerable.  The miser who traverses his chamber at midnight and hears a burglar in every falling leaf is not more wretched than the minister who believes that plots are hatching against him, and that reports to his disadvantage are being spread.  I remember a brother who believed that he was being poisoned, and was persuaded that even the seat he sat upon and the clothes he wore had by some subtle chemistry become saturated with death; his life was a perpetual scare, and such is the existence of a minister when he mistrusts all around him.  Nor is suspicion merely a source of disquietude, it is a moral evil, and injures the character of the man who harbours it.  Suspicion in kings creates tyranny, in husbands jealousy, and in ministers bitterness; such bitterness as in spirit dissolves all the ties of the pastoral relation, eating like a corrosive acid into the very soul of the office and making it a curse rather than a blessing.  When once this terrible evil has curdled all the milk of human kindness in a man's bosom, he becomes more fit for the detective police force than for the ministry; like a spider, he begins to cast out his lines, and fashions a web of tremulous threads, all of which lead up to himself and warn him of the least touch of even the tiniest midge.  There he sits in the centre, a mass of sensation, all nerve and raw wounds, excitable and excited, a self-immolated martyr drawing the blazing faggots about him, and apparently anxious to be burned.  The most faithful friend is unsafe under such conditions.  The most careful avoidance of offence will not secure immunity from mistrust, but will probably be construed into cunning and cowardice.  Society is almost as much in danger from a suspecting man as from a mad dog, for he snaps on all sides without reason, and scatters right and left the foam of his madness.  It is vain to reason with the victim of this folly, for with perverse ingenuity he turns every argument the wrong way, and makes your plea for confidence another reason for mistrust.  It is sad that he cannot see the iniquity of his groundless censure of others, especially of those who have been his best friends and the firmest upholders of the cause of Christ...

No one ought to be made an offender for a word; but, when suspicion rules, even silence becomes a crime.  Brethren, shun this vice by renouncing the love of self.  Judge it to be a small matter what men think or say of you, and care only for their treatment of your Lord.  If you are naturally sensitive do not indulge the weakness, nor allow others to play upon it.  Would it not be a great degradation of your office if you were to keep an army of spies in your pay to collect information as to all that your people said of you?  And yet it amounts to this if you allow certain busybodies to bring you all the gossip of the place.  Drive the creatures away.  Abhor those mischief-making, tattling handmaidens to strife.  Those who will fetch will carry, and no doubt the gossips go from your house and report every observation which falls from your lips, with plenty of garnishing of their own.  Remember that, as the receiver is as bad as the thief, so the hearer of scandal is a sharer in the guilt of it.  If there were no listening ears there would be no talebearing tongues.  While you are not a buyer of ill wares the demand will create the supply, and the factories of falsehood will be working full time.  No one wishes to become a creator of lies, and yet he who hears slanders with pleasure and believes them with readiness with hatch many a brood into active life." (Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Complete & Unabridged. Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan Publishing House, 1989.pages 327-328)

Learn to Discriminate

As a speaker of English it is interesting how the definition and meaning of words can change over time. 
It is not uncommon for the meaning of a word understood for hundreds of years to be easily overturned and narrowly re-defined as offensive.  A word which was once neutral can develop an overwhelmingly negative connotation and be viewed as bad in itself.  As a reader primarily of non-fiction by authors spanning hundreds of years, these shifts are not difficult to find.

One word that did not always have a negative meaning was "discriminate."  To "discriminate" is akin to a cardinal sin these days, yet see how it is defined in the Webster's 1828 dictionary (follow link for the full definition):  "To distinguish; to observe the difference between; as, we may usually discriminate true from false modesty.  2. To separate; to select from others; to make a distinction between; as, in the last judgment, the righteous will be discriminated from the wicked.  3. To mark with notes of difference; to distinguish by some note or mark. We discriminate animals by names, as nature has discriminated them by different shapes and habits."  From infancy we are taught to identify the difference between colours, shapes, sizes and kinds of animals.  For safety a child needs to discriminate between playing ball in the yard or in the street.  Discrimination according to this definition is good and necessary:  the process of distinguishing between two becomes wholly tainted when bias, favouritism, racism, nepotism, sexism, ageism, bigotry or selfishness in the heart guides our discriminating.

The Cambridge dictionary defines "discriminate" in accordance to a more modern interpretation:  "to treat a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their skin colour, sex, sexuality, etc.; 2. to be able to see the difference between two things or people."  Every true or false question on an exam demands a student discriminate correctly and rewards those who do.  People often follow "discriminate" with "against," loading the term with personal offence.  Regardless of your political or personal beliefs, you cannot hold any view unless you first discriminate--to note the difference between points of view and determine which ones you uphold or reject based on facts, personal convictions and experience.  It is of utmost importance a child of God learn to discriminate according to God's will and guidance.  Today people use the word "discern," yet the word discriminate carries in addition to the knowledge of God and His word the rejection of all sin and falsehood.

Interestingly as these thoughts were running through my mind, as I read C.H. Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students he touched on this theme precisely.  This is an excerpt from an address he gave to seminary students at a college for pastors in the 19th century:

"I have said that we must also learn to discriminate, and at this particular time that point needs insisting on.  Many run after novelties, charmed with every invention:  learn to judge between truth and its counterfeits, and you will not be led astray.  Others adhere like limpets to old teachings, and yet these may only be ancient errors:  prove all things, and hold fast that which is good.  The use of the sieve, and the winnowing fan, is much to be commended.  Dear brethren, a man who has asked of the Lord to give him clear eyes by which he shall see the truth and discern it bearings, and who, by reason of the constant exercise of his faculties, has obtained an accurate judgement, is one fit to be a leader of the Lord's host; but all are not such.  It is painful to observe how many embrace anything if it be but earnestly brought before them.  They swallow the medicine of every spiritual quack who has enough of brazen assurance to appear to be sincere.  Be ye not such children in understanding, but test carefully before you accept.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the faculty of discerning, so shall you conduct your flocks far from poisonous meadows, and lead them into safe passage.

When in due time you have gained the power of requiring knowledge, and the faculty of discrimination, seek next for ability to retain and hold firmly what you have learned. In these times certain men glory in being weathercocks; they hold fast nothing, they have, in fact, nothing worth the holding.  They believed yesterday, but not that which they believe to-day, nor that which they will believe to-morrow, and he would be a greater prophet than Isaiah who should be able to tell what they will believe when next the moon doth fill her horns, for they are constantly altering, and seem to be born under that said moon, and to partake of her changing moods.  These men may be as honest as they claim to be, but of what use are they?  Like good trees oftentimes transplanted, they may be of a noble nature, but they bring forth nothing; their strength goes out in rooting and re-rooting, they have no sap to spare for fruit.  Be sure you have the truth, and then be sure you hold it.  Be ready for =fresh truth, if it be truth, but be very chary how you subscribe to the belief that a better light has been found than that of the sun.  Those who hawk new truth about the street, as the boys do a second edition of the evening paper, are usually no better than they should be.  The fair maid of truth does not paint her cheeks and tire her head like Jezebel, following every new philosophic fashion; she is content with her own native beauty, and her aspect is in the main the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever."  (Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Complete & Unabridged. Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan Publishing House, 1989. pages 207-208)

Once we are born again through faith in Jesus Christ we are divinely enabled to learn to discriminate as Spurgeon exhorts:  to know the truth and hold fast to it.  The presence of the Holy Spirit within us guides us into truth, convicts us of sin and reveals the wickedness in us which loves some people more than others.  We can renounce our wickedness revealed by our sinful discrimination because God has discriminated between truth and error in His word and in our hearts.  For the glory of God and our good we are wise to learn to thus discriminate, not because we are God but because we fear and seek to honour Him above all.  Society can base beliefs and practices on the sinking sands of political correctness, fear of reprisal or censure by man:  as followers of Jesus Christ we ought to love one another as He loves us, give more grace and walk in compassion towards all.  It does us no benefit to point out tendencies of others to unfairly discriminate until we first learn to discriminate truth from error and walk with Jesus (who is the Truth) faithfully ourselves.

Glory In the LORD

God's glory is shown in using weak vessels to accomplish His awesome purposes.  He does not need us but chooses to use us and make us fruitful for His glory.  I remember a conversation I had with a pastor who spoke how amazed he was people kept turning up to church week after week:  "They just keep coming back," he said.  There are many conversations I have no memory of, but I recall this one because it struck me as odd.  I could have understood his confusion if he was the only one responsible for people coming to church, but won't God honour His word?  Isn't He at work in the heart and minds of people to remind and compel them to respond in obedience to gather in His name?  Since fellowship is prompted and sustained by the Spirit of the Living God, his surprise (feigned or not I could not tell) to me was surprising.

In his book Lectures to My Students, I came across something C.H. Spurgeon had to say on the matter:

"Oh, brethren, we ought to preach feeling that God means to bless the word, for we have His promise for it; and when we have done preaching we should look out for the people who have received a blessing.  Do you ever say, "I am overwhelmed with astonishment to find that the Lord has converted souls through my poor ministry"?  Mock humility!  Your ministry is poor enough.  Everybody knows that, and you ought to know it most of all:  but, at the same time, is it any wonder that God, who said "My word shall not return unto me void," has kept His promise?  Is the meat to lose its nourishment because the dish is a poor platter?  Is divine grace to be overcome by our infirmity?  No, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us." (Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Complete & Unabridged. Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan Publishing House, 1989. page 194)

Knowing preaching and teaching is God's work should not promote slackness in preparation or delivery, but wisdom causes our hearts to glorify and praise God when it is useful.  I tend towards pride like other people, and I have learned by God's word coupled with experience if there is anything good found in me it is solely due to God's grace.  Should there be no visible profit from my efforts I cannot blame God for it, yet fruitlessness ought to prompt thorough self-examination to see if the fault is mine.  I ought to own my failures and folly so I might repent, and all glory goes to God who does all things well.  Clutching even a little glory or credit for ourselves is the subtle start of disastrous straying from God.  Such are like Samson who was lulled to sleep on Delilah's knees, who awoke out of sleep without realising the Holy Spirit had left him.  He said, "I will go out as before and shake myself free" yet was promptly overcome, bound, blinded and imprisoned.  Proud Christians may encounter a worse end without an opportunity for redemption, and God keep me from such insidious folly.

While it is surprising how God employs a poor platter or earthen vessel to communicate His word and wisdom, let us not linger there:  may the weakness of the instrument foster praise for the God who works miraculously and marvelously.  What is the strength of a pillar without a solid foundation?  The use of the weak to reveal God's might is His divine plan as explained by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:  "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- ³¹ that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."

Read Good Books...Again

 King Solomon admonished his son in Ecclesiastes 12:12, "...of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh."  It is no easy feat to write a book (especially that is widely read), and it is easier to collect books than read them.  It would be a great shame to put our effort into acquiring books to our library without reading them with careful consideration.  Whether our books be many or few, their primary value is not as familiar decor:  we ought to read and re-read them as we welcome their input like dear friends.  The pile of books to be read for the first time can be interrupted as the LORD leads by books we already possess.

One book which has proved to be an invaluable resource over the years is C.S. Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students.  It is by far the most useful book I own outside the scriptures, as it has provided great insights, wise counsel and encouragement from a man of godly character.  One of the chapters which Spurgeon writes from intense personal experience is that on The Minister's Fainting Fits.  The "prince of preachers" was no stranger to seasons of despondency, and the chapter is steeped in compassion as he urges ministers to continue to keep their hand to the plough in following Jesus and fulfill the ministry given to us according to the richness of God's grace. Following are some highlights from the chapter which work to uplift the downcast:

"As it is recorded that David, in the heat of battle, waxed faint, so may it be written of all the servants of the Lord.  Fits of depression come over the most of us.  Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down.  The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.  There may be here and there men of iron, to whom wear and tear work no perceptible detriment, but surely the rust frets even these; and as for ordinary men, the Lord knows, and makes them to know, that they are but dust..."

These infirmities may be no detriment to a man's career of special usefulness; they may even have been imposed upon him by divine wisdom as necessary qualifications for his peculiar course of service.  Some plants owe their medicinal qualities to the march in which they grow; others to the shades in which alone they flourish.  There are precious fruits put forth by the moon as well as by the sun.  Boats need ballast as well as sail; a drag on the carriage-wheel is not hindrance when the road runs downhill.  Pain has probably in some cases developed genius; hunting out the soul which otherwise might have slept like a lion in its den.  Had it not been for the broken wing, some might have lost themselves in the clouds, some even of those choice doves who now bear the olive-branch in the their mouths and show the way to the ark..."

The bow cannot be always bent without fear of breaking.  Repose is as needful to the mind as sleep to the body...Even the earth must like fallow and have her Sabbaths, and so must we...Rest time is not waste time.  It is economy to gather fresh strength.  Look at the mower in the summer's day, with so much to cut down ere the sun sets.  He pauses in his labour--is he a sluggard?  He looks for his stone, and begins to draw it up and down his scythe, with a "rink-a-tink--rink-a-tink--rink-a-tink."  Is that idle music--is he wasting precious moments?  How much he might have mown while he has been ringing out those notes on his scythe!  But he is sharpening his tool, and he will do far more when once again he gives his strength to those long sweeps which lay the grass prostrate before him.  Even thus a little pause prepares the mind for greater service in the good cause..."

If it be enquired why the Valley of the Shadow of Death must so often be traversed by the servants of King Jesus, the answer is not far to find.  All this is promotive of the Lord's mode of working which is summed up in these words:  "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, said the Lord."  Instruments shall be used, but their intrinsic weakness shall be clearly manifested; there shall be no division of the glory, no diminishing the honour due to the Great Worker.  The man shall be emptied of self, and then filled with the Holy Ghost.  In his own apprehension he shall be like a sere leaf driven of the tempest, and then shall be strengthened into a brazen wall against the enemies of truth.  To hide pride from the worker is the great difficulty.  Uninterrupted success and unfading joy in it would be more than our weak heads could bear..."

By all the castings down of His servants God is glorified, for they are led to magnify Him when He sets them on their feet, and even while prostrate in the dust their faith yields Him praise.  They speak all the more sweetly of His faithfulness, and are the more firmly established in His love.  Such mature men as some elderly preachers are, could scarcely have been produced if they had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, and made to see their own emptiness and the vanity of all things round about them.  Glory be to God for the furnace, the hammer, and the file.  Heaven shall be all the fuller of bliss because we have been filled with anguish here below, and earth shall be better tilled because of our training in the school of adversity..."

The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble.  Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience.  Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness.  Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward.  Even if the enemy's foot be on your neck, expect to rise and overthrow him.  Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not His saints.  Live by the day--ay, by the hour.  Put no trust in frames and feelings.  Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement.  Trust in God alone, and lean not on the needs of human help.  Be not surprised when friends fail you: it is a failing world. Never count upon immutability in man:  inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment.  The disciples of Jesus forsook Him; be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers: as they were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure.  Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning, and then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to regret.  Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are.  When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full except in the Lord." (Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Complete & Unabridged. Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan Publishing House, 1989. excerpts from pages 154-164.)

Following Jesus Together

Ten years have passed since the beginning of my adventure in Australia.  It seems like a lifetime ago in 2002 I was living in southern California and working in a trade when God suddenly revealed to me while doing yardwork the plans He had for me:  "You will preach, and you will be sent."  I could accept this easily enough because nothing is impossible with God, but I had many questions which in due time God answered.  It became evident Australia was the place God planned to send me long before I knew how He would do it or when.  Along the way God has provided encouragement when needed and from unlikely sources.

When I was in the preparatory stages of answering the call to minister in Australia, I was introduced to lives of two missionary women who deeply impacted me and still do this day:  Gladys Aylward of England and Isobel Kuhn of Canada.  As I read their stories it reinforced the God who called them to China was the God who called me to Australia.  The struggles and difficulties I have faced pale in comparison to the situations God empowered these ladies to endure and overcome.  I read a biography of Gladys recently I could hardly put down.  I sat beside her on lonely train rides in a foreign land where no one spoke English, freezing with cold in the midst of a war, when her expectations of ministry were shattered, when she was made to care for stubborn mules, inspect feet and when she took in orphaned children.  It is easy to idolise the vessel God employs to do His work, but all glory and honour to God for doing His miraculous works through His people.

These missionaries and sisters in Christ will always have a special place in my heart because of my connection with them as fellow servants of the living God.  They had no idea the way God would use them in the foreign mission field and how they have ministered personally to me these many decades later.  Their faith and reliance upon God who guided and provided for them is inspirational, their insights encouraging and obedience always a timely exhortation.  Reminiscing of all God has done in my life has a place for the purpose of acknowledging His goodness, yet this is not the season to remove my hand from the plow and look back:  I must look to the LORD who has much more He intends to accomplish in these days by His grace.  Complacency and self-sufficiency go hand in hand and always lead to sloth and negligence.  God has good purposes and plans for all of us to do His work, not just with the apostles in the New Testament or missionaries to China:  God calls you and me to follow Him faithfully with great joy wherever He has us as He leads the way.

May our lives provide testimonies which extol and honour our glorious LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ, and may the influence of our words and deeds prompt those in ages to come to follow and trust Him too.  Isn't it wonderful when we follow Jesus it inspires other Christians to follow Him more closely?

The Holy Pursuit

Recently I finished reading a short book titled Enjoying Intimacy with God by J. Oswald Sanders.  There was one passage in particular which impacted me concerning our need to keep growing and embrace our sanctification.  By extension it also relates to my need to develop and grow as a member of the body of Christ and the role God has given me.  Sanders wrote:

The important thing is that we must "press on to maturity" (Hebrews 6:1).  Keep on growing.  Too many Christians become stuck in their Christian lives--"stuck between Easter and Pentecost," as Dr. Graham Scroggie put it.

I once knew a godly Christian woman who was dying of cancer.  She knew she had only a few days to live.  Her husband was attending to her needs, trying to make things as easy as possible for her.  She said to him, "You must not make things too easy for me.  I must keep growing, you know."  Her life of intimacy with God had brought her to a state of spiritual maturity in which she was more concerned about growing up into Christ than about her own very real pain and discomfort.  We too need to be ambitious to increase in our knowledge of God.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews urged his readers to cultivate such an ambitions, in these words:  "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity (6:1).  Dr. Alexander Smellie pointed out that the King James Version renders it, "Let us go on."  The Revised Version puts it, "Let us press on."  Bishop Westcott prefers to phrase it, "Let us be bourne on."

"The truth is that it needs all three to disclose the verb's significance and wealth.  Put them together, and they speak to us of three dangers which beset us as we look to the perfection front.  There is the danger of stopping too soon.  There is the danger of sinking into discouragement.  And there is the danger of supposing that we are alone."  How gracious God is to make provision through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, for our being "bourne on to maturity." (Sanders, J. Oswald. Enjoying Intimacy with God. Discovery House Publishers, 2000.pages 114-115)

The potential dangers mentioned by Sanders are real for all who follow Christ.  It is easy to stop too soon, to sink into discouragement or imagine we are alone.  We are called to press on to maturity and in ministry, looking to God for guidance and strength.  Apart from Him we can do nothing, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to do all things according to His will.  The weakness of our flesh is no hindrance to God's work, for it was in that place Paul discovered God's strength made perfect.  The directive given by Joshua to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh in Joshua 22:5 is fitting for believers to heed as well:  "...to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  The Christian walk is to be marked by the pursuit of Jesus and cleaving to Him, for He is our Life.

Photograph of "A Man in Christ" by J. Sidlow Baxter

Yesterday I started reading His Deeper Work in Us by J. Sidlow Baxter and am enjoying it thoroughly.  Now here is a man who knows and breathes the inspired truth of scripture.  No fluff or quaint cliches here:  just meaty, thought provoking words worthy of being meditated upon because they are from God's Word.  Directly after reading these words I found it necessary to read them again because there is too much to digest in a single pass:

Holiness, as taught in the New Testament, is no mere negative concept--a being freed merely from the disfigurements of sin.  Besides the negative aspect of being rescued from the tyranny of hereditary depravity, there are all those wonderful positive traits which accompany the Holy Spirit's deeper renewal of the mind into the image of Christ.  According to the New Testament picture of holiness, the garden is not only cleared of ugly weeds, it is filled with fragrant flowers and rich fruits...

In other words, the New Testament emphasis is not so much on our being ridded of something (though that is necessarily included) but rather on our being filled with a spiritual vitality and health which leave the sin-disease no environment in which to thrive.  That life of victorious fulness is the shining challenge of the written Word to every Christian believer.  It is a fulness of new spiritual life which is positive holiness--brought about through an invasion of our being by the Holy Spirit Himself (wonderful mystery!).  One has only to glance through the New Testament to know whether many or few Christians today are living according to the divine standard.

Look again at the New Testament photograph of "a man in Christ".  He has within him "the peace of God which passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7).  He "rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Pet. 1:8).  He has "the wisdom that is from above" (Jas. 3:17).  He "walks in the light as God is in the light", having continuous "fellowship with the Father and with His Son (1 John 1:3, 7).  He is "renewed in knowledge after the image of God" (Col. 3:10), and is renewed into "true holiness" (Eph. 4:24).  He "beholds with unveiled face the glory of the Lord, and is changed into the same image" (2 Cor. 3:18).  In him "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18).  He "dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).  He is "filled unto all the fulness of God" (Eph. 3:19).  He lives the "more abundant life" (John 10:10).

In his prayer-life he "asks and receives", till his "joy is full" (John 16:24).  He finds God "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all he asks or thinks, according to the power that worketh in him" (Eph. 3:20).  To his praying heart the risen Lord "manifests Himself" (John 14:21).  In him, "the Spirit beareth witness that he is a child of God" (Rom. 8.16).  The "Spirit of life" has "set him free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2).  He knows by experience that he is "sealed" with the Holy Spirit, and that he has the inward "earnest" of the Spirit as a foretaste of the heavenly "inheritance" (Eph. 1:13, 14).  He is "endued" by the Spirit with "the power from on high".  His character is beautiful with "the fruit of the Spirit:  love joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness..."

When "troubled on every side" he is not "cast down" but the life of Jesus is "manifested" through him (2 Cor. 4:8, 10).  In "tribulations" he is "more than conqueror through him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37).  In "infirmities" and "reproaches" he sings, "when I am weak then am I strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phi. 4:13).  He has "full assurance of hope" (Heb. 6:11) and "full assurance of faith" (10:22).  In a word, he is "filled continually with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).  (Baxter, J. Sidlow. His Deeper Work In Us. London, Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1967, pp. 16–18.)

This photograph of those who are in Christ is not theoretical or a fantasy only to be enjoyed in the distant future.  Here are qualities of followers of Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit has indwelt and empowered us by the grace of God.  A young aspiring bodybuilder hangs posters of muscled, ripped bodies in his makeshift gym because he hopes to work towards the body he idolises as an ideal:  God provides the true picture of the reality for believers in Christ we never dared to dream.  Faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him is the path to glory.  It is not the glory of the muscle-man who feeds and flaunts the flesh but humility and submission to God and by His using these weak, broken vessels the glory of Jesus Christ will shine through, and people will catch a glimpse of Him.

What Jesus Sitting Says

The LORD is faithful to bless those who read His Word.  Because the wisdom of God is infinite and His ways unsearchable, there will always be revelation for us in the scripture.  Today one minute I was reflected with amazement how I didn't comprehend basic biblical truth in my youth yet moments later noticed something new to me, a fresh connection which confirms the truth I am still learning.  Jesus says not one "jot or tittle" would pass from the Law until all was fulfilled, saying that the smallest of markings remained of great significance.  We know tone, timing, and emphasis can tweak the meaning of a simple sentence, and the writer of Hebrews keyed in on the posture of Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father to confirm the effectiveness of His sacrifice and much more.

A little historical background:  it was customary morning and evening to offer sacrifices at the tabernacle and later the temple in obedience to the Law of Moses.  After Jesus died on the cross, the veil which surrounded the Holy of Holies was torn top to bottom.  The writer of Hebrews alluded to that resembling the torn body of Jesus on Calvary, that through His shed blood that provided atonement those who trust in Jesus now have access to God by the Holy Spirit.  Paul affirmed what spiritually occurred during the crucifixion, how the Old Covenant of the Law was nailed to the cross with Christ in Colossians 2:13-15 and how the New Covenant in Christ's blood made the old obsolete.  When Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, Paul exhorted believers in Colossians 3:1:  "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God."

Jesus seated at the right hand of God is an important observation seeing He is our Great High Priest.  When the high priest offered the morning and evening sacrifices they stood--they did not sit.  When the annual sacrifice was offered to atone for the priest and the nation the blood of sacrifice covered sin but could not eliminate the need for future sacrifice.  The writer of Hebrews showed how the sitting posture of Jesus proves there is no additional sacrifice possible for sin:  Jesus sat down because the purification for sin is complete.  Hebrews 10:11-14 states, "And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."  Isn't this amazing?  Jesus is the LORD who has fulfilled Psalm 110:1, sitting down at the right hand of God.  We are enabled to stand in righteousness because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, having "perfected forever those who are being sanctified."  Having been purified from our sins, we ought to present ourselves as living sacrifices to the One who laid down His life for our redemption.

Jesus sits as the Great High Priest who has forever finished the work of atonement, but on a couple of occasions He is mentioned standing.  Jesus said He stood at the door of the church of the lukewarm Laodiceans in Revelation 3, and before his martyrdom Stephen cried out before the council Acts 7:55-56 says, "But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ⁵⁶ and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"  This shows me though Jesus sits He is not inactive or unmoved by things which concern His people on earth.  He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks; He rises to be our advocate and will someday rise in judgment upon an unbelieving world, delivering all who trust in Him.  He sits at the Father's right hand yet is not sedentary.  He sits to show He is on the throne and rules over all, has once for all offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, the shadow of Law has been made obsolete by the New Covenant, by grace through faith we are perfected forever, and we are being sanctified by Jesus.  Who could have thought Jesus sitting could mean so much?

Confessing One to Another (and praying too!)

Today a visit to the bathroom turned out to provide an unexpected object lesson.  We have an intermittent leaky tap in our bathroom which is the ultimate "jiggle the handle" experience.  If you have the technique and strength, it works ok.  But because the maintenance man didn't match the new handles with the old-style brass fitting it has always been difficult to keep from dripping.  So we have developed a workaround:  if the tap drips a cup is placed underneath to catch the water to prevent wasting it.  Then when I come in to wash my hands, I crank that puppy down--much to Laura's dismay.

As I watched the water slowly form under the tap and drip into the cup, I mused how pointless it would be to try to keep the tap from dripping with a finger.  Attempts to keep the water from dripping by hand pressure or placement of a cup underneath does not address the internal problem with the tap.  It needs to be pulled apart and fitted with a new plunger, O-Ring, and grease for smooth function (with compatible knobs of course!).  The dripping really isn't the problem, but is a symptom of a hidden internal problem.  We can be quite similar to the dripping tap because losing our temper, worrying, lying, or cheating are only symptoms of a heart problem which can result from our neglect of confession and repentance.

In Christian circles confession of specific sins to others on a regular basis is a seldom practiced spiritual discipline--at least speaking for myself.  That is set to change for me personally on the basis of what the LORD has been teaching me lately, for who does not sin (1 John 1:10)?  In addition to the biblical directive in James 5:16, I came across something J. Edwin Orr wrote in his book Full Surrender which impacted me:

"It costs nothing for a church member to admit in a prayer meeting, "I am not what I ought to be."  It costs no more to say:  "I ought to be a better Christian."  It costs something to say:  "I have been a trouble-maker in this church."  It costs something to say:  "I have had bitterness of heart towards certain leaders, to whom I shall definitely apologise."  While it is true that human hearts possess attributes towards sin which can be described as general, all acts of sin are particular and should be confessed in a particular way.  A sinner might be overwhelmed by so many specific convictions of sin that he does not know where to begin.  He should begin with his besetting sin, about which he will feel most conviction.  The exhortation to confess our sins is clearly progressive:  "If we keep on confessing our sins." (Orr, J. Edwin. Full Surrender. Marshall, Morgan, & Scott. 1951. pages 28-29.)

Though all sin is against God, we also sin against people.  Since this is the case, when guilt of sin comes to our attention we ought to confess our sin to the one we have wronged as the Prodigal did to his father:  "I have sinned against heaven and against you."  Orr put forth a maxim concerning confession in Full Surrender to let the "circle of the offence committed be the circle of the confession."  The unity and healthy fellowship of Christians can be severely hampered by pride and our (my!) refusal to confess sins to one another as James prescribed coupled with prayer for each other.  Joshua exhorted Achan to publicly confess what impacted the nation; Job prayed for his erring friends and they were healed.  We cannot keep short accounts with God if our ledger is bleeding red with sins against our brothers and sisters and we have neglected our responsibility to confess.  It is good for us to keep from sin, but if our primary motivation to avoid it is the fear of confessing to our brothers our hearts are not right before God.  Praise the LORD He is forgives, cleanses, restores, and even redeems our sin for His ultimately glory and our good.

What Does the White Stone Say?

I enjoy books and films that make me think, that take me beyond words on a page or a plot unfolding on the screen to learn something.  It doesn't need to be a clearly defined moral like in a family sitcom or a G.I. Joe Public Service Announcement, but they prompt thoughts which open a window of the mind to draw in fresh air.  These books and films do not claim to be ultimate truth, but can at times stir up the truth we have learned and been assured of through scripture and put it to more effective personal use.

In the book The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis mentioned something I was already familiar with but stirred me to think it over.  The point he was making was not the main point taken.  This is a way the Holy Spirit often works in preaching, and I have observed many times He brings to hearer's hearts everlasting truth the preacher never anticipated.  C.S. Lewis wrote:

"The thing you long for summons you away from the self.  Even the desire for the thing lives only if you abandon it.  This is the ultimate law--the seed dies to live, the bread must be cast upon the waters, he that loses his soul will save it.  But the life of the seed, the finding of the bread, the recovery of the soul, are as real as the preliminary sacrifice.  Hence it is truly said of heaven "in heaven there is no ownership.  If any there took upon him to call anything his own, he would straightway be thrust out into hell and become an evil spirit."  But it is also said "To him that overcometh I will give a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."  What can be more a man's own that this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him?  And what shall we take this secrecy to mean?  Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can.  Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently?  And this difference, so far from impairing, floods with meaning the love of all blessed creatures from one another, the communion of the saints.  If all experienced God in the same way and returned Him an identical worship, the song of the Church triumphant would have no symphony, it would be like an orchestra in which all the instruments played the same note...For doubtless the continually successful, yet never completed, attempt by each soul to communicate its unique vision to all others (and that by means whereof earthly art and philosophy are but clumsy imitations) is also among the ends for which the individual was created." (Lewis, C. S. The Problem of Pain. Whitefriars Press Ltd., London and Tonbridge, 1942.)

Lewis' allusion to the passage grabbed my attention, the part when Jesus addressed the church in Pergamos in Revelation 2:17:  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."  This is numbered among the many promises Jesus makes to overcomers through faith in Him.  It is not a surprise Jesus Christ who makes all things new will provide a new revelation of Himself to His followers to cherish for eternity.  There is something intriguing and alluring about the secrecy, that God has something special just for me and just for you, a unique name for us to call Him--or even a name He calls us.  John was not precisely clear about whose name is written on the stone, but I am looking forward to discovering the secret personally in God's time!  The One who created, called, and chose us has a glorious future other believers will share but for each it will be a personally tailored experience.  It will be the culmination of God's awesome design, that the Saviour slain from the foundations of the earth would joyfully receive His inheritance and we, His redeemed creatures fashioned in His image, will become all He envisioned us to be together.  The saints may be lumped together as one for our convenient reference, but each have an intimate relationship with God that transcends all others.

We could spend our days wondering what the secret name could be or what we think it ought to be, but that misses the point entirely.  Through Christ we can overcome, and He has much He delights to reveal and give to us.  God has already given us a life, a body and personality we never dreamed of or could imagine in the womb of our mothers, and our eternal state will be just as other-worldly and infinitely better than life in or outside a uterus on earth.  The good God who created us and is preparing a place for us to be with Him forever knows perfectly what we need and even the desires of our hearts.  Free from the sins of greed, envy, and covetousness we will be wholly content without the impulse to compare our whites stone with others.  We will eat of the hidden manna He provides and be given at least one secret name revealed by God no one else will know.  This shows me we will not be all-knowing as God is but confirms eternity will be a time of glorious discovery of God as we fellowship with Him, self abandoned to His praise and adoration because He is worthy.

Love and Happiness

When I read the works of C.S. Lewis, I am always blessed and encouraged by his God-honouring intelligence which far exceeds my own.  His literary skill and creative approach to answering meaningful questions puts me in the place of a little child having to run to keep up with his father's long stride and still lagging behind.  I recently started re-reading The Problem of Pain, a book Lewis wrote in 1940.  It is the sort of book which strikes the reader differently in each reading because of the depth of content and how much the reader or his circumstances have changed.  Instead of following a familiar pattern of discussion, C.S. Lewis blazed a trail academics, theologians, and us ordinary folk do well to follow.

Having laid the foundation for the existence of God, C.S. Lewis began to explore how people have a belief that if God is all powerful and loving, He should ensure our constant happiness.  A false contradiction and even the denial of God's existence can follow because of the pain a supposed loving God allows.  Consider this remarkable paragraph on page 36:

"The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word "love", and look on things as if man were the centre of them.  Man is not the centre.  God does not exist for the sake of man.  Man does not exist for his own sake.  "Thou has created all things, and for they pleasure they are and were created."  We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest "well pleased".  To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God:  because He is what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled, by certain stains in our present character, and because He already loves us He must labour to make us loveable.  We cannot even wish, in our better moments, that He could reconcile Himself to our present impurities--no more that the beggar maid could with that King Copherua should be content with her rags and dirt, or a dog, once having learned to love man, could with that man were such as to tolerate in his house the snapping, verminous, polluting creature of the wild pack.  What we would here and now call our "happiness" is not the end God chiefly has in view:  but when we are such as He can love without impediment, we shall in fact be happy." (Lewis, C. S. The Problem of Pain. Whitefriars Press Ltd., London and Tonbridge, 1942.)

Every love we experience on earth:  the love of people for pets, the love of family, and love between a married couple are only shadows of the love God has for every person.  In our natural state we are cut off from the love of God by our sin, but having provided atonement through the Gospel we are restored to a relationship with God He has designed and desires.  Love is never content with distance, and God delights for us to invite Him in.  Jesus stands at the door and knocks, calling out for people who have grown comfortable without Him like the Shulamite in Solomon's Song.  Fullness of joy is promised those who open the door of their hearts to Him.  What could make a man happier than to love the God who created and loves him?

The Matter of Self-Belief

My wife works at a Christian bookstore and occasionally brings home one for me to read.  I am convinced King Solomon's claim was spot on when he wrote, "Of making books there is no end." (Ecclesiastes 14:12)  It seems easier than ever to write a book too, as these days anyone can print their own book without an editor or publisher!

Anyway, I have started reading one of these new offerings on the subject of mentoring.  The premise of the book seems biblically sound, but there were times I felt good reasoning somehow led to incorrect conclusions.  My mind followed the track of logic until the final word of a paragraph!  Here is an example of what I mean:

Every man is living out "The Story of Me."  And I have yet to meet a man who wouldn't love to be the hero in that story--if only he knew how to do it.  But here's the catch:  information alone can't turn him into a hero.  Nor can technique.  Nor can a strategic plan or a set of goals.  Certainly no app can do it, either.  Something has to take place inside the man--inside his heart and mind--that transforms him into acting as a hero would act.  It's ultimately a matter of believing in himself.  (bold emphasis mine, quoting Bill Hendricks in Men of Influence, pages 56-57)

It's certainly debatable what motivates "heroes" to do admirable acts which justify the label, and it is ironic some of the most heroic men and women would humbly declare they have done nothing to deserve such praise:  they simply did what others would have done in the situation.  It is true there are heroes in history who did not profess faith in God, but was it self-belief which saved the day?  To say the necessary transformation inside a heart and mind is a result of "believing in himself" is not the conclusion I expected.  Since no man has the capacity to create himself or transform his heart and mind, it is only faith in God which can bring about this required miracle.

But then I started thinking:  what is the proper role of self-confidence in Christianity?  Does it have a place, what Hendricks calls "believing in himself?"  I would say biblically it has no place whatsoever, but in reality self-confidence can creep in.  The church in Galatia is a good example of this dynamic:  they started their journey of faith well by trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation, but then tried to progress through the efforts of the flesh.  I do not believe Jesus was self-confident, but He knew who He was in relation to His Father in heaven.  Self-confidence is always a snare because it rests in self and pride.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and grow as we humble ourselves and obey Him--not because having a relationship with God gives us self-confidence.

Psalm 118:8 says, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."  We do not always chose the best option but tend towards what is natural, to place our confidence in other people or ourselves.  But Jesus did not place His confidence in men because He knew what was in them.  Our boldness, strength, and success does not come from believing in ourselves but in the revelation of our God "...according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹²  in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him." (Ephesians 3:11-12)  At the same time it is good for us to examine ourselves:  is it self-confidence or faith in Christ which moves me to serve God and others?  Am I bold because I am confident in myself or in humility before God?  Self-belief is misguided, but faith in Christ places our confidence in Him.

The Gift of Longing

"The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing."

C.S. Lewis (from "The Weight of Glory")

There is longing in every human heart because God created us needy.  We are carried in the womb for 9 months and emerge needing to be washed, fed, and carried.  Young children are completely dependent on their parents for love, provision, protection, nourishment, and training.  Unknown to little ones (and many older, independent folks too) is we have spiritual needs which outweigh the physical ones which are signaled by our bodies like hunger, thirst, and fatigue:  the need for forgiveness and redemption by God because we are sinners.

C.S. Lewis touched on a unique aspect of the human condition:  an appreciation of the arts, of music, pageantry, and beauty.  Our taste in clothing styles, music and cuisine differs, but the appreciation of skills and creativity beyond our own captivates and enraptures.  We long for love and acceptance, to be appreciated, to accomplish something significant and worthwhile.  This longing may be numbed or go dormant by cynicism or perceived failures, but the desire remains.  Have you ever known this longing, a dream that is felt more fully when awake than asleep?  Whether this longing burns bright or has died down to embers, it is a need only fully satisfied in God.

Isn't there a longing in everyone to be wanted, even to be needed?  We all want to be chosen, acknowledged as belonging, valued for who we are--though flawed.  The great God who created mankind has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ and called us all to Himself.  The beauty of His invitation to know and live with Him forever is not on the basis we are numbered among a select few but His awesome greatness and love for all.  The fabled courage of the knight risking life and limb against a fire-breathing dragon to save a princess only hints at the longing we have to be so courageous ourselves and is put to shame by the love demonstrated by God for us.  We want to be the brave knight but we are better cast as a vain and unfaithful damsel who grows to love her own reflection over all else.  While we were yet sinners Jesus Christ died for us so we could be saved!  All the songs and poetry of the world together cannot outshine this truth which eternally satisfies our deepest longings.

Worship the LORD in the beauty of His holiness!  Even now He is preparing room in His kingdom for all who return His love with trust.

Affections like Ivy

In the waiting room of a local doctor's office there is a small cabinet filled with books supplied by a local book club.  A sign encourages people to take, exchange, or donate books so others can read and enjoy them.  As I was waiting a classic book I never read caught my eye:  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.  I flipped to the beginning of the story and was greeted by a gem of a simile on the first page:  "His friends were those of his own blood, or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object." (Stevenson, Robert Louis, and Jenni Calder. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: and Other Stories. Penguin Books, 1979, page 29.)

Comparing the affections of Mr. Utterson to the growth of ivy provides great insight into the man.  Ivy does not discriminate:  it will climb on a brick wall, a fence, or up the trunk of great trees to soak up as much sunshine as possible.  Though the pace of growth differs on the variety, over time vines can choke out other plants.  The point the author made is the lawyer Utterson grew to appreciate the company of many sorts of people over time.  The proximity of a person and the amount of time they spent together provoked a loyalty towards them regardless if their influence was beneficial or a detriment.  His affections grew like ivy and covered their cracks.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to love one another.  It is not the passage of time which is to order our affections but the love of God freely given to us by grace.  1 Peter 4:8 exhorts believers, "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."  If we say we love God, we ought to love one another.  At the same time we must take to heart 1 Corinthians 15:33 that warns, "Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."  There may be people we have known all our lives or are family relations who have no desire to please God.  Even as Utterson's affections did not depend on the "aptness in the object," we are to love those who seem unworthy.  Jesus taught in Matthew 5:43-45, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

Over time may our godly affections grow beyond human desire or longing that is often plagued with selfishness and insecurity.  The love God calls us to walk in and express is transcends natural affections of a mother for her child or a husband for his spouse:  it is selfless, giving, and sacrificial.  God's love is far more durable and resilient than the heartiest ivy, springing back to life when hacked away even by violent hatred.  Jesus prayed with nails in hands and feet, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."  The life of Jesus Christ provides the foundation and structure of what love looks like, and the fruit of the Spirit is love.  May we be fruitful to keep loving like Him!

About Churchgoing

I have been reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, a clever and unique book.  It is a fictional series of letters from uncle Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, the older demon giving advice concerning how to influence his "patient," the soul assigned to his care, to ensure he goes to hell.  In this book everything is upside down:  the "Enemy" is God and the "Father" is Satan.  Whilst this book was never intended to be a book of theology, it turns the thinking of born again Christians to profitable self-examination.  We are told there is a spiritual battle we are to contend in, having been provided spiritual armor by the Holy Spirit, yet the reality of it can be lost on us.  The insights of C.S. Lewis are helpful to expose the subtle ways the enemy of our souls works to undermine the good work God intends to do in and through us.

Lewis hit upon a topic of great relevance for people today:  the need for Christians to be in regular fellowship.  Consider what uncle Screwtape wrote to his demon trainee:

"You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it.  May I ask what you are about?  Why have I no report on the causes of his fidelity to the parish church?  Do you realise that unless it is due to indifference it is a very bad thing?  Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.

The reasons are obvious.  In the first place the parochial organisation should always be attacked, because, being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires.  The congregational principle, on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and finally, if all goes well, into a coterie or faction.  In the second place, the search for a 'suitable' church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil.  What He wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejection what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise--does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment that is going. (You see how grovelling, how unspiritual, how irredeemably vulgar He is!)  This attitude, especially during sermons, creates the condition (most hostile to our whole policy) in which platitudes can become really audible to a human soul.  There is hardly any sermon, or any book, which may not be dangerous to us if it is received in this temper.  So pray bestir yourself and send this fool the round of the neighbouring churches as soon as possible.  Your record up to date has not given us much satisfaction." (Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity & the Screwtape Letters: Complete in One Volume. HarperSanFrancisco, 2003. pages 321-322)

I have often marveled at the diversity of backgrounds, ages, interests, and personalities at one church.  It is Jesus Christ who unites us as one Body yet we are so different!  When our hearts are humbled and meek before God by the indwelling Holy Spirit we can be receptive and discerning of truth at the same time.  We can joyfully attend a fellowship where God has directed us to go even when personalities, programs, and philosophies differ from our liking.  It is love, grace, and unity only Christ brings which keeps us from clashing and instead labour to edify and strengthen the Body as we follow our Saviour faithfully.  When Christians walk in an attitude of humility we are receptive to God and this is most devastating to Satan's devices.  Until God takes you elsewhere according to His divine purpose, flourish in the local church where He has established you.  Instead of becoming critics of others let's remain receptive and teachable by God--and this means we will welcome instruction and correction of men.

Motive Matters

Our family was reading through 2 Kings 7 after dinner tonight and we found the conduct of the four lepers in the passage ironic and amusing.  Whilst the famine in Samaria had become severe due to a Syrian siege, these blokes were literally waiting around outside the gates to die from disease, starvation, or at the hands of cruel enemies.  They discussed their meagre options and decided to throw themselves on the mercy of the Syrians.  The worst thing that could happen was their demise, and given their hopelessness it had some appeal.

After making their way into the camp they were shocked to find it completely deserted.  Unbeknownst to them, God miraculously caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a great army and they fled for their lives.  2 Kings 7:8-9 says, "And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. ⁹ Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household."  While people in Samaria had literally resorted to cannibalism, these lepers ran from tent to tent like Templeton the rat in Charlotte's Web, feasting and hoarding loot for themselves.

Suddenly one of the lepers addressed his fellows:  "Hold on a second, boys.  Today is a day of good news, and if we remain silent we'll be in big trouble.  We need to tell the king!"  And they did.  Their motive in reporting their discovery to the king was not because they loved their friends and family within the city walls, because they had compassion on starving people, or because they had gathered enough for themselves:  they acted out of fear of punishment.  Truth be told, they reported it for their own sakes.  I wonder how many of our deeds which seem thoughtful, considerate, or generous are bourne out of our own self-interest.  When our flesh calls the shots with ourselves as prime benefactors, let us not be tricked to think we will be rewarded by God for it:  surely we have our reward.

Consider the motive for Jesus going to the cross to save sinners in obedience to the Father mentioned in Hebrews 12:1-2:  "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  Jesus always did the will of the Father and rejoiced to do it.  His humanity begged the cup pass from Him, but Jesus humbled Himself to the death of the cross.  He understood that when He submitted Himself to the will of God it would result in pain but joy would be the ultimate result.  Had the motives of Jesus been selfish, He never would have gone to Calvary.

Our motives matter, and the scripture applied by the Holy Spirit exposes the thoughts and intent of our hearts.  By God's grace He places within us power to both will and do His good pleasure.  We ultimately benefit from this arrangement as much as anyone, for we enter into the joy of the LORD.

Quote from Reappearing Church

I have been reading Reappearing Church by Mark Sayers, pastor and cultural commentator.  I suppose only time will tell how accurate and prophetic they are, but as one who lives in a westernised culture much of his analysis rings true to my observations and experience.  The vast information available on the internet and availability of customising our information streams to our personal preferences is a massive shift from years past.  The abundance of spiritual menu choices (or pseudo-spiritual content) coupled with an Uber Eats approach means we only need to feed on what interests us--not what we may need to hear.  The awesome thing is God's Word and goodness towards us remains unchanged and deeply personal.  He has the dynamic ability to speak above the noise in His still, small voice.  Mark Sayers wrote this in Reappearing Church on the prevalence of consumerism in culture and how it can affect our approach to following Jesus and ministry:

Many of us may balk at forms of cultural Christianity that mix nationalism or ethnic identity and faith, yet we miss how we have been shaped by our own dominant culture, the culture of consumerism.  Consumer culture is placeless, yet pervasive.  It is the water in which we swim.  Consumer Christianity is a form of cultural Christianity that compromises the cross with self rather than flag, mixing the worship of God with the worship of options, personal autonomy, low commitment, and opinion over responsibility.

Consumer culture tells us we can do it all, yet we become paralysed by endless options.  FOMO, the fear of missing out, according to Author Patrick McGinnis, is now accompanied by FOBO, the fear of better options:  'I noticed that my classmates and I were always optimising.  We hedged, lived in a world of maybes and were paralysed at the prospect of actually committing to something, out of fear that we might be choosing something that wasn't the absolutely perfect option.'  McGinnis reports that the fear of better options leads ultimately to the fear of doing anything.  Unlimited options and the search for lifestyle perfection leaves us paralysed...

Consumer culture creates in us a mentality of toxic entitlement--the sense that we can have it all, but without struggle or cost.  This mentality of entitlement eventually will infect our faith...The Christian caught in consumer Christianity shifts blame for their lack of growth to God, their leaders, the church, their friends, spouse, or family, insulating themselves against renewal. We fool ourselves that someone else will solve the problem of our lack of discipleship.

The good news is that we are reaching the limits of a consumer culture without limits.  The possibility of living out of the passive posture of consumerism is passing as its negative effects are felt.  churches and faith built on consumerism don't last beyond a generation. (Sayers, Mark. Reappearing Church: the Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture. Moody Publishers, 2019.)

Even when we are paralysed by the abundance of options in our consumer culture, remember how men demonstrated their faith by bringing their paralysed friend to Jesus who healed Him.  No culture, society, scheme of Satan, or folly of man provides an obstacle God has not overcome.  Self-righteous Saul was breathing out threats and murder against Christ when he was floored by an unexpected, uninvited Saviour Jesus Christ who revealed Himself to Him.  Every believer once dead in trespasses and sin has been raised to new life by the power of Jesus Christ by grace through faith.  Warren Wiersbe wisely said, "Nothing paralyzes our lives like the attitude that things can never change. We need to remind ourselves that God can change things. Outlook determines outcome. If we see only the problems, we will be defeated; but if we see the possibilities in the problems, we can have victory."  God provides more than possibilities but great and precious promises!  In a Christian culture which attempts to isolate itself from God, it is comforting to know the battle is the LORD's who works miraculous wonders.

Andrew Murray Quote

A quote from Andrew Murray was recently shared with me from a friend battling cancer, and it is a great reminder how God is sovereign and good regardless of our health, circumstances, or feelings.  Because of the depth of suffering, pain, and sorrow we face in this life unless a person knows God they cannot accept this statement as remotely true.  But for those who know God, knowing they are known by Him, they can affirm the words of Andrew Murray when he wrote:

In time of trouble, say, first, He brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place; in that I will rest. Next, He will keep me here in his love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as his child. Then say, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons he intends me to learn, and working in me the grace he means to bestow. And last, say, in his good time he can bring me out again. How and when, he knows. Therefore, say, I am here (1) by God's appointment, (2) in His keeping, (3) under His training, (4) for His time.

It is faith in God which allows us to walk in the love, joy, peace, and patience required to endure and press on.  Because God is faithful to His Word and His promises we can rest in Him even if the earth shakes and mountains are thrown into the sea.  This globe we inhabit will one day be dissolved in flame with everything on it, but those who hope in the LORD lack no good thing.  It may be that death is the passage we must travel to enter into eternal glory, but God's glory will not be tainted by the strain of the journey.  Though I have not experienced cancer, I have received great encouragement from passages like Isaiah 65:17-18:  "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. ¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy."

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to new heavens and a new earth--plus a glorified body free from sickness, pain, and sorrow.  I almost shed a tear thinking about how good it will be to have God wipe away all tears from our eyes.  There is part of us that holds onto memories of this life, good and bad.  In the eternal state we will be perfected and know what we need to know.  Since we will not be God and know everything we will rejoice to be ever learning of our awesome God and resting in His truth without fiery trials and the burden of this perishing flesh.

Praise the LORD He is creating a joyful reunion for all those who fear His name, and we do not need to wait for eternity to experience His love and peace.  We have His comfort and rest today, if we will trust and seek Him, and we will also enjoy His presence forevermore.  It is only the Christian who can say regardless of the season, "All the time God is good!" and experience rest in our loving Saviour who is our life.

Rats in the Cellar

I have been reading through Mere Christianity, a classic penned by C.S. Lewis.  It is really a terrific resource which deals with a lot of complex aspects of Christianity which he explains exceptionally well.  As an intellectual who once was an atheist, his insights are the product of wisdom from being born again and part of his own personal journey in knowing God.

One consequence of  coming to faith in Christ is a more sharpened sense of our own sinfulness.  Maturity in faith brings a greater sense of our need for Christ to transform us from within.  C.S. Lewis wrote:

When I come to evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed.  And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself.  Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards to those particular acts:  they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated.  On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is?  Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth?  If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly.  But the suddenness does not create the rats:  It only prevents them from hiding.  In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.  The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.  Apparently the rats of resentment and vindictiveness are always there in the cellar of my soul.  Now that cellar is out of reach of my conscious will.  I can to some extent control my acts:  I have no direct control over my temperament.  And if (as I said before) what we are matters even more than what we do--if, indeed, what we do matters chiefly as evidence of what we are--then it follows that the change which I most need to undergo is a change that my own direct, voluntary efforts cannot bring about.  And this applies to my good actions too.  How many of them were done for the right motive?  How many for fear of public opinion, or a desire to show off?  How many form a sort of obstinacy or sense of superiority which, in different circumstances, might equally have led to some very bad act?  But I cannot, by direct moral effort, give myself new motives.  After the first few steps in the Christian life we realise that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.  (Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity & the Screwtape Letters: Complete in One Volume. HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.)

I believe God allows us to be put off guard--not because it is a test we must pass or so God can know the conditions of our hearts--but so we will see the rats scrambling for cover in the cellar of our souls.  If we saw rats or evidence of rats because of damage or defecation in the pantry where we store our food, we would take prompt action to eradicate the pests.  We ought to do the same when our sinful reactions come to light.  Shrugging them off emboldens the pests to remain, to breed, to further corrupt the good God has wrought within us by grace.  On our own we could never eradicate or cleanse ourselves from sin, but through faith in Jesus Christ these victories are accomplished.