Break it Down!

"Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls."

Proverbs 25:28

The Word of God is more insightful than we often give it credit for.  My family and I have been reading through the Proverbs together.  It is easy to read a statement and not take time to give it deeper thought.  But below the surface lies truth so profound we benefit greatly from meditating on it.  Take the proverb above, for example.  Do you think you or your children can understand it without explanation?  It would be better to explain a single proverb in detail than reading a thousand without discussion.

This proverb uses an analogy which compares the man who has no rule over his spirit to a city broken down without walls.  How does a man rule over his spirit?  There are many correct answers:  self-control concerning temper, judgments, fear, worry, cares, and many more.  The scripture teaches us that no man can even tame his own tongue:  how much less the heart?

Now consider the term "a city broken down."  Without shelter, people would have no place for protection or rest.  It would be difficult to prepare meals or enter into productive labour.  What could be the cause of this breaking?  It could be from neglect of maintenance.  It could also be the product of assault and warfare.  King Nebuchadnezzar left not one stone in place when he razed Jerusalem.  Walls can break because of poor design or craftsmanship.  A huge earthquake, flood, fire, or some other natural disaster could cause walls to break.  Faulty building materials could be to blame for a collapsed building.  We could add many more causes to our list.

The city is not only broken down but is described as being "without walls."  What are the purposes of walls?  A primary purpose would be protection from enemies.  Watchmen would have a safe place on the high walls to observe any potential threats and warn people within the city to prepare for battle.  Not only would walls keep out enemies, but they provide safe boundaries for those within.  A wall also sets clear limits of the city to prevent confusion.  King Saul and his sons were hung from the walls of Beth Shean to proudly display their bodies as trophies of battle.  Walls give people within the city a sense of security and safety.

With this in mind, what can we know about the man who has no rule over his spirit?  The Bible teaches us that only those who submit to the rule of the Holy Spirit have the capacity to rule over their own spirit!  Only those who walk in the Spirit will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  The desires and impulses of our flesh can only be restrained for a season.  But those who have crucified the flesh with its lusts through faith in Christ are fortified on this Rock of Salvation.  God has made Christians the Temple of the Holy Spirit and filled these earthen vessels with His glory.  We have protection, safety, wisdom, and help from God to honor and obey Him with our thoughts, attitudes, and deeds.  Without God's rule we are slaves to sin and Satan.  In this condition we are without protection or defense, without watchman or security, in utter confusion and ruin.  Any moment we can be overrun by sin which is more fearsome than deadly raiders who rape, thieve, kill, and destroy.

Aside from the lesson contained in this rich passage, may this process of meditating on the Word of God become part of our daily practice.  Allow and invite God to open His inspired Word to consume your thoughts as you carefully ruminate upon it.  Invite God to teach and minister to your soul as you willfully engage your mind to seek Him.  As we break down God's Word, He will build us up.  Build your church, LORD Jesus!

Delight in Discovery

"The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider."

Isaiah 1:3

Yesterday I saw a remake of "The Miracle Worker," a drama I first saw in black and white.  My mind went back to the first time I saw the unforgettable scenes depicting Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller, especially the classic dining room scene.  I found it laborious to watch.  But the struggle made the end of the film so sweet when the light inside Helen finally turned on as the water washed over her hands.  How hard it must have been to break through Helen's deafness and blindness!  Inside that head was an amazing, intelligent mind isolated from communication through normal means.  Anne Sullivan was really no miracle worker in that she used natural techniques:  she firmly believed in her methods of teaching, was consistent in her approach, and was able to love the unlovable child who was clothed with violence and every manipulation tactic.  But the change in Helen was miraculous!  She learned to speak, read, write (12 books!), and even graduated from university with a B.A.  What an amazing transformation we see from the kitchen scene to the water pump!

Who do I identify with?  You might think as a pastor that I identify with Anne Sullivan the teacher.  Not me.  I identify with Helen Keller, because the Bible teaches that in spiritual matters all are deaf, blind, naked, lost, and even dead!  I was senseless in my sin, not even recognizing God or my need for Him.  Christ is my teacher, and the Holy Spirit makes men to be born again and helps us understand God's Word.  How senseless Helen was as she destroyed everything around her!  She was stubborn, thankless, rebellious, and violent.  Yet Anne remained faithful and reaped the rewards of a lifetime friend and companion in Helen.  Though Helen was blind and deaf in body, when she was asked later about her belief in God she answered in the affirmative, "I always knew He was there, but I didn't know His name!"  The Holy Spirit had illuminated her heart and gave her that Living Water which Christ had promised to all who trust in Him.

I love watching the water scene when the "light comes on" in Helen.  How can the tears be suppressed?  See her excitement to know what things are called!  A new world of discovery opened up in an instant, and she continued to pursue truth and knowledge for the rest of her days.  I wonder if Christians are as excited about the world of spiritual truth and discovery opened to them through the Bible and the teaching influence of the Holy Spirit.  It is great to know that water is called "water," but how much greater to know WHO God is:  that He is our Jehovah Rapha (God our Healer) and Jehovah Jireh (God our Provider) and Jehovah Shalom (God our Peace) and much more!  Even still more thought-provoking, consider what wonderful days of exciting discovery await us as we grow in learning - not simply facts about God - but knowing God Himself.  Would He send the Holy Spirit to take up residence within believers to hide Himself?  No!  God did so that we might know Him intimately as He knows us.

Jesus is the Good Teacher, the ultimate miracle worker.  He does not grow tired or weary and loves us completely.  Oh, that we would know Him and delight in Him alone!  There is so much He wants to tell us on this side of eternity and we are often content with comforts and the passing trinkets of this earthly existence.  God makes every morning new:  a new date, new hours and seconds, clean beams of sunlight which cut through puffy clouds and fresh rain which causes the earth to spring forth with new growth.  Today is the beginning of a new age of potential discovery with God as we rejoice in our Saviour.  Or...we can grovel back to our old sins and blindly eat rubbish and drink the numbing poison this world offers.  May God open our eyes to see Him in a fresh way today that we might delight in our God.  What a testimony against God's people, that an ox has more sense of belonging and knowledge of his owner than some believers do concerning their God!  Let us rejoice not only in the day the LORD has made, but in the LORD who has made the day and caused His light to shine within us!

The Promise of Resurrection

What an unfailing hope is offered all those who repent and trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour!  While reading Ichabod Spencer's A Pastor's Sketches I came across a fitting poem for the season of Easter.  Though the bodies of all men are corrupted through age, sickness, and injury, death for Christians is not the end:  our souls are released immortal and incorruptible upon the death of our bodies.  The souls of men will either spend eternity in eternal torment and separation from God because of their sin, or will flourish in eternal strength and glory in the presence of Christ whose righteousness, suffering, death, and resurrection made it possible!  Below is the poem exactly as it appears in Volume 2, page 276.

THE DEATH-BED OF THE POOR !

"Tread softly-bow the head-

In reverent silence bow;

No passing bell doth toll-

Yet an immortal soul

is passing now.

Stranger! however great,

With lowly reverence bow;

There's one in that poor shed-

One on that paltry bed-

Greater than thou.

Beneath that beggar's roof,

Lo!  Death doth keep his state.

Enter-no crowd attend;

Enter-no guards defend

This palace gate.

That pavement, damp and cold,

no smiling courtiers tread;

One silent woman stands-

Lifting with meagre hands

A dying head.

No mingling voices sound-

And infant wail alone;

A sob suppressed-again

That short, deep gasp, and then

The parting groan.

Oh, change!-oh, wondrous change!-

Burst are the prison bars;

This moment there, so low,

So agonized; and now

Beyond the stars.

Oh change!-stupendous change!

There lies the soulless clod.

The sun eternal breaks-

The new immortal wakes-

Wakes with his God."

Seek the Seeker

This morning my eyes fell upon Psalm 84:8-10:  "O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah ⁹ O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. ¹⁰ For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."  What a privilege it is to be in the presence of the King of kings!  An eternity apart from the presence of the LORD cannot compare with a single day as a servant in His presence.  When we love people, we desire to be near to them.  A loving husband and wife do not live in separate houses as a rule, but they long to abide as close to each other as possible.

It is obvious that followers of Jesus Christ should rejoice in His presence.  We are the ones who are honored to serve Him and be known by Him.  We are blessed, privileged, and humbled to have the Spirit of God within our hearts.  But did you realize that God highly regards our presence as well?  While reading the Bible this morning, I was drawn to consider a passage in 2 Kings.  The king of Moab rebelled against Jehoram king of Israel.  Jehoram asked Jehoshaphat (great names aren't they!) king of Judah and the king of Edom to aid him in attacking Moab which they agreed to do.  After the three kings and army traveled for seven days they ran out of water for both man and beast.  While Jehoram lamented and blamed their situation on God, Jehoshaphat desired to inquire of the LORD and sought after Elisha the prophet.

2 Kings 3:14 records a remarkable statement and principle from God's perspective:  "And Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you."  Elisha was a man who stood in God's presence and knew the will of God.  Had the faithful Jehoshaphat not been among the kings who inquired of the LORD, their request would have been disregarded.  For the sake of Jehoshaphat God gave directives to supply both the water shortage and victory in battle they desired.  God looks upon all men, but He sees those faithful to Him with great joy and pleasure.  His ear is open to their cries, and He stretches out His arm to deliver, heal, save, and restore.  The first part of 2 Chronicles 16:9 reads, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."   Yet God does not only look down from heaven like a divine voyeur:  God became flesh in Jesus Christ; He sent the Holy Spirit; He hears, speaks, and answers; He delivers and saves!

Neither Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, or even Elisha were worthy of such favor from the Almighty.  That God would regard man is proof of His goodness and grace, not ours!  King David wrote in Psalm 8:3-5:  "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, ⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? ⁵ For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor."  How amazing it is that God would honor the presence of one man and respond to his request!  God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  If we will humble ourselves to repent and seek God, He joyfully crowns us with glory and honor!  What amazing, unfathomable condescension!  Have you taken time to stand before the LORD in praise and thankfulness today?