This week I said a final goodbye to a good friend, Trevor "Ross" Tooke. As I looked at him as he lay peacefully in a casket before his funeral, I didn't need words. I smiled through teary eyes. After battling brain cancer for many years, he was finally a man who embraced eternal rest with His Saviour Jesus Christ. Ross will always be an amazing man.
I had the great privilege of getting to know Ross when I accepted he and Joan's offer of hospitality. I had accepted the offer of pastoring Calvary Chapel Sydney and needed a place to stay for two months. During that time I was afforded a special view into the life of a man I love, respect, and admire. Ross took me on as a project of sorts, happily teaching me the intricacies of Australian pronunciation, lingo, and culture. While under the wing of Ross you learn a lot of things: how to clean a pool, how to make a proper cup of tea, handle a BBQ, and to show love through service. Every time I have a cup of English Breakfast I remember my mate Ross.
If I could use three words to sum up the heart of Ross, it would be "love through service." When I arrived in Australia in October 2010, the prognosis for Ross was not good. His second brain operation had been an initial success, but that stubborn tumour was back again - and growing fast. Between going in for scans and treatments, Ross toiled away on my immigration paperwork. We spent hours driving from open house to open house, submitting applications, looking for a place for my family and I to rent. He would sit at his computer for hours, looking at property listings while Poncho soaked up the rays by his side. Let me tell you, no one wants to do those things even when perfectly healthy! But that was Ross. He could have done anything but paperwork. No one would have blamed him. But even after his third operation, Ross kept plugging away. Love through service, even when life was brutal.
I always loved to hear the stories Ross would tell. One of my favorites was when he had come home very late from work and the house was dark. Joan would always wrap up a plate for Ross to eat when he came home. As he felt around he found a plate of biscuits (cookies). "These biscuits are rather ordinary," Ross said to himself as he choked it down. (In Australia, the term "ordinary" is used to describe something which is poor or lousy.) It was only after finishing the biscuit that Ross realised he had just eaten one of Poncho's dog treats! Ross had a very dry, quick wit. I once asked him to describe his sense of humour in a word. Without hesitation Ross said, "Australian!"
1 Corinthians 4:2 says, "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." Ross was one of those faithful stewards. The love of Jesus Christ came out of his life in such practical ways. Because he set his love and faith upon Christ, Ross is one of the jewels spoken of in Malachi 3:17: "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." I love you, Ross. You ran well. Until we meet again in the presence of our Saviour, may I follow your example to be about the LORD's business.
13 April 2012
11 April 2012
The Planting of the LORD
"So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey."
Judges 6:3-4
In the book of Judges, we are told that there was no king in Israel: everyone did what was right in his own eyes. God promised to reign over His people, but they rebelled from under His rule. They sacrificed to idols and forsook God. Then God delivered them to oppression by the hands of their enemies. The Israelites toiled in their fields rising early and staying late, but their crops were destroyed by the Midianites. The people of Midian and Amalek waited until the children of Israel had sown their crops before they would destroy everything. They left them nothing to eat, even killing their animals. It was a desperate time. But it always took utter devastation and hopelessness before the people cried out to God. He was always faithful to raise up a deliverer to save His people.
When I read this passage I considered the spiritual battle Christians, as God's adopted children, face on a continual basis. The enemy is constantly on the lookout, seeking to hinder fruitfulness from the planted seed. In the Parable of the Sower, the seed is the Word of God. The devil seeks to attack a man after the good seed is sown. Man's heart is naturally wicked and deceitful, and his flesh only propagates wickedness exponentially and cannot please God. Satan turns his efforts on those who may slip from his grasp through belief in God's Word. Jesus says in Luke 8:5 and 11-12 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it...11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." The Midianites and Amalekites swooped down upon the fields of the Israelites to impoverish them. If they could not drive out the Israelites, they would starve them.
This is the same tactic Satan uses in the lives of believers. He can kill the body, but he cannot touch the soul. The devil rages against God and His people with vicious hate and tenacity. Whom he cannot kill he will impoverish. He will lure followers of Christ to seek after the passing pleasures and amusements of this world. This same desire is seen in the Philistine leaders when they approached Delilah because they sought to destroy Samson, a man empowered with the Spirit of God. Judges 16:5 reads, "And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." Don't you smell the sulfur on their breath? Entice Samson so we might overpower him: then we can bind him to afflict him! How many people in this world are overpowered by circumstances, bound by sin, and afflicted with guilt and shame!
Whether you are teaching the Word of God or reading it, that will mobilise the enemy of your soul to rob you of the fruitfulness God desires. Praise God that no weapon fashioned against us shall prosper, for we have a Redeemer and Deliverer in Jesus Christ! He is the Living Bread from heaven, even as the Midinianite spoke of the vision with the loaf of bread which rolled down into camp, struck a tent, and threw it down (Judges 7:13). Through Jesus we can cast down arguments, strongholds, and everything which exalts itself against Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-6). Let us not be caught off guard by Satan's attacks which are designed to impoverish us. You may feel fatigued when the alarm goes off early so you can spend time in God's Word. Get up immediately trusting God to supply your strength, even as He did for Moses during his two 40-day fasts from food or water. Believe He can gird up your mind even as Elijah girded his loins and outran a chariot pulled by horses!
If you find yourself in a situation where the Israelites, having departed from the Living God, being afflicted and oppressed without victory or hope, follow their example in crying out to God for salvation and deliverance. Put away your idols (not in a closet but in the rubbish bin!) and seek the LORD with all your heart, mind, and strength. The promise God has given to His people Israel has a valuable application to Christians in Jeremiah 24:6-7: "For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." God plants His Word in our hearts to be fruitful for His glory, and we also are the planting of the LORD (Is. 61:3). Even Satan cannot pluck us from God's hand, nor separate us from the love of God. In Psalm 1:3 those who delight in God and His law are compared to a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in season, with leaves which do not whither, and prosperous in all things for God's glory. Thank God for this everlasting truth!
06 April 2012
Giants in the Woods?
A misunderstanding which has led to much disillusionment among Christians is the concept of easy victory. When we look at the example of the Israelites, it is clear that God gave them victory over their enemies when the Promised Land was divided among them. But it was not a victory without fighting or obedience. The land was divided by God, but it was the responsibility of the people to obtain the land. It was hard. And it was a job they never fully completed, despite the power of God. It was not the weakness of God which prevented them, but the people themselves. We can be our greatest hindrance to a deeper walk with Jesus.
God gave His people a rich land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But there were also established strongholds, giants, and fighters with better weapons than the Israelites. The tribe of Joseph approached Joshua with a question: "Why don't we have more land allotted to us?" Joshua's answer was basically, "If you need more land, go ahead and take it!" If we are dissatisfied with the lack of depth of our relationship with Jesus, He would say to us, "Dive deeper! I have given My Word, the Holy Spirit. Don't think you can serve both idols and Me!" Though we are to look to Him to supply our needs, it does not free us from our responsibility to live a consecrated life of obedience for God's glory.
In Joshua 17:15 we read the words of Joshua to the tribe of Joseph: "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you." Clearing forests is tough work, especially without the benefit of modern equipment. If the tribe of Joseph wanted to expand, they would need to put their logging sandals on, beat their plows into axes, and begin the slow process of cutting down a forest. By the way, in case you missed it, the forest was inhabited by giants! The tribe of Joseph, just like most people, weren't too keen on clearing away a whole forest or fighting the giants who lurked there. They would have preferred an easier way.
Their response is found in Joshua 17:16. "But the children of Joseph said, "The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel." Unlike Caleb, who based his ability to drive out the giants based upon the infallible word of God, the tribe of Joseph focused on the difficulties before them. "Even if we cleared the mountain, it wouldn't be sufficient. And in the valleys all the Canaanites have chariots of iron! We're stuck between a mountain and a valley!" Isn't this typical to the way we feel when we are challenged with our need to "dive deeper" and "climb higher?" Taking the mountain or the valley would be hard work. They would both require effort, dedication, and determination. It would require faith! That's exactly where we can find ourselves. We lose sight of God and His promises because of the giants in the forest and the chariots of iron in the valleys.
Let us look at their excuses more carefully. "The mountain country is not enough for us." They claimed God had not given them enough, even before they would lift a finger to lay hold of it. That is like a poor beggar refusing a $50 because it is not a $100! What an insult, to say that God's provision is lacking! Forgive me God when I have done the same! It was not God's provision that was lacking: it was the faith of the people and their willingness to labour and fight that was deficient. Their second complaint was no doubt hyperbole: "All the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron!" I am sure that not "all" the Canaanites had chariots of iron. Even if they did, what is a chariot compared to the power of the Living God who is on your side? Had not God taken the wheels off the Egyptian chariots in the midst of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:25)? The Egyptians recognized God was fighting for Israel and sought to flee, but in their current situation the children of Joseph forgot about that. I bet Satan has more of a clue how powerfully God fights for us than we do.
I love the response of Joshua. Though the children of Joseph were ungrateful, walking by sight, forgetting about the promises and power of God, making one excuse after another, Joshua 17:17-18 reveals the great grace of God: "And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph--to Ephraim and Manasseh--saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong." Whether they liked it or not, the mountain country had been given to the children of Joseph. The strength of their enemies and the abundance of their resources and fighting power was of no consequence. "Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours..." That God would find among His people those who are willing to cut down the dark forests in their hearts and minds so His light may shine brightly again!
As David met the giant Goliath armed with only stone and sling (and the power of the Almighty God), he shouted in 1 Samuel 17:46-47: "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands." The battle is the LORD's, but we must be willing to run at that giant and sling that stone for God's glory. Do we have numbered among us those who are willing to fight the good fight and finish the course with joy? The call is an upward call, and there are many obstacles and enemies. Let us recall the promise of Isaiah 54:17 to mind: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD."
If that is my heritage in Christ, I gladly take it. All God has given me I fight to lay hold of, whether it is the strongholds of giants in the wooded hills or chariots of iron in the valleys. Many might be cut down as we take the hill, but we will be victorious through our God. If God is for us, who can be against us?
God gave His people a rich land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But there were also established strongholds, giants, and fighters with better weapons than the Israelites. The tribe of Joseph approached Joshua with a question: "Why don't we have more land allotted to us?" Joshua's answer was basically, "If you need more land, go ahead and take it!" If we are dissatisfied with the lack of depth of our relationship with Jesus, He would say to us, "Dive deeper! I have given My Word, the Holy Spirit. Don't think you can serve both idols and Me!" Though we are to look to Him to supply our needs, it does not free us from our responsibility to live a consecrated life of obedience for God's glory.
In Joshua 17:15 we read the words of Joshua to the tribe of Joseph: "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you." Clearing forests is tough work, especially without the benefit of modern equipment. If the tribe of Joseph wanted to expand, they would need to put their logging sandals on, beat their plows into axes, and begin the slow process of cutting down a forest. By the way, in case you missed it, the forest was inhabited by giants! The tribe of Joseph, just like most people, weren't too keen on clearing away a whole forest or fighting the giants who lurked there. They would have preferred an easier way.
Their response is found in Joshua 17:16. "But the children of Joseph said, "The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel." Unlike Caleb, who based his ability to drive out the giants based upon the infallible word of God, the tribe of Joseph focused on the difficulties before them. "Even if we cleared the mountain, it wouldn't be sufficient. And in the valleys all the Canaanites have chariots of iron! We're stuck between a mountain and a valley!" Isn't this typical to the way we feel when we are challenged with our need to "dive deeper" and "climb higher?" Taking the mountain or the valley would be hard work. They would both require effort, dedication, and determination. It would require faith! That's exactly where we can find ourselves. We lose sight of God and His promises because of the giants in the forest and the chariots of iron in the valleys.
Let us look at their excuses more carefully. "The mountain country is not enough for us." They claimed God had not given them enough, even before they would lift a finger to lay hold of it. That is like a poor beggar refusing a $50 because it is not a $100! What an insult, to say that God's provision is lacking! Forgive me God when I have done the same! It was not God's provision that was lacking: it was the faith of the people and their willingness to labour and fight that was deficient. Their second complaint was no doubt hyperbole: "All the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron!" I am sure that not "all" the Canaanites had chariots of iron. Even if they did, what is a chariot compared to the power of the Living God who is on your side? Had not God taken the wheels off the Egyptian chariots in the midst of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:25)? The Egyptians recognized God was fighting for Israel and sought to flee, but in their current situation the children of Joseph forgot about that. I bet Satan has more of a clue how powerfully God fights for us than we do.
I love the response of Joshua. Though the children of Joseph were ungrateful, walking by sight, forgetting about the promises and power of God, making one excuse after another, Joshua 17:17-18 reveals the great grace of God: "And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph--to Ephraim and Manasseh--saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong." Whether they liked it or not, the mountain country had been given to the children of Joseph. The strength of their enemies and the abundance of their resources and fighting power was of no consequence. "Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours..." That God would find among His people those who are willing to cut down the dark forests in their hearts and minds so His light may shine brightly again!
As David met the giant Goliath armed with only stone and sling (and the power of the Almighty God), he shouted in 1 Samuel 17:46-47: "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands." The battle is the LORD's, but we must be willing to run at that giant and sling that stone for God's glory. Do we have numbered among us those who are willing to fight the good fight and finish the course with joy? The call is an upward call, and there are many obstacles and enemies. Let us recall the promise of Isaiah 54:17 to mind: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD."
If that is my heritage in Christ, I gladly take it. All God has given me I fight to lay hold of, whether it is the strongholds of giants in the wooded hills or chariots of iron in the valleys. Many might be cut down as we take the hill, but we will be victorious through our God. If God is for us, who can be against us?
03 April 2012
The Wart War
Over the course of my life, I have had different skin-related issues. By God's grace I have successfully battled athlete's foot, dandruff, dry patches of skin, and an occasional wart. Warts can be particularly annoying because they are so durable! Caused by a virus, warts have the amazing ability to regenerate even after being burned, cut off, or persistently treated. I have had about five warts over the course of my lifetime, and they have never been cured without an all-out fight. This is certainly not a glamorous post, but I trust it will do some good.
At the moment I am well on my way to ridding myself of a wart on the pad of one of my toes. Since it wasn't giving me any pain, I ignored it for some time. It was never that large, but it amazes me how fast skins grew around it for protection. After many months, I decided the wart was part of my body I no longer wanted and committed myself to dealing with it. So every other day I cut a small pad coated with an acid designed to break down the wart. Then I carefully cut away any dead skin and apply another fitted pad. The wart had feeling, a blood supply, and seemed to constantly regenerate. It was like a parasite, a sensitive, painful area that draws strength from the body. It is a two steps forward, one step back fight - a fight I was devoted to winning. The reason why I still have the wart after a couple of years is because there were times that I thought the fight was over and stopped monitoring my toe. Hello! A month later the wart would be back, like it had never left.
It's a weird thing, to be fighting against your own body. But this fight with the wart is just like our fight with sin. Sin is a part of us because of our fallen nature. If we are in Christ, God opens our eyes to parts of ourselves that should not be. We must decide to deal with our sin and then diligently fight the battle. It is true that those who repented and placed their faith in Jesus Christ have been forgiven from sin. However, sin can grow in the life of a believer like a wart. Unchecked and ignored, it can grow large and spread. But sin is much more than unsightly: it is deadly and destructive.
Just like there are steps I must take to rid myself of a wart, so we must take steps to eliminate sin from our lives. We must recognize the sin that we have cultivated and allowed to remain. We should not try to hide it from sight or deny its existence: sin must be brought out in the open. One man deals with the wart on his foot by going to a doctor for treatment; another man constantly wears socks, ashamed to show his toes. When it comes to sin, hiding it only increases the power Satan has over our lives. Unforgiveness is a foothold which can turn into a stronghold. It cannot be seen with the naked eye, but is evident when seen through the lens of scripture. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 reads, "Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."
If you are aware of an area of sin in your life, do not rest until you confess it to God and those you have wronged (James 5:16), repent, and forsake it. The weaknesses in your flesh you will have for the rest of your days. But weakness does not mean defeat if we are in Christ. We must be vigilant and aware that we can fall back into old sins, ways of coping, addictions, and unscriptural thought patterns which will lead to our destruction. We should not shrug off sin because we are confident in our salvation. If Jesus died for my sins, I have no right to persist in them. Let us fight the good fight without losing heart or hope. Our God is able to keep us from stumbling. When we do trip and fall, we have a God who is able to lift us up to our feet and lift our head so we might gaze into His eyes of everlasting love and take heart.
Declare war on those warts, and don't give up! God has given us the victory, healing, and cleansing through Jesus Christ our LORD!
At the moment I am well on my way to ridding myself of a wart on the pad of one of my toes. Since it wasn't giving me any pain, I ignored it for some time. It was never that large, but it amazes me how fast skins grew around it for protection. After many months, I decided the wart was part of my body I no longer wanted and committed myself to dealing with it. So every other day I cut a small pad coated with an acid designed to break down the wart. Then I carefully cut away any dead skin and apply another fitted pad. The wart had feeling, a blood supply, and seemed to constantly regenerate. It was like a parasite, a sensitive, painful area that draws strength from the body. It is a two steps forward, one step back fight - a fight I was devoted to winning. The reason why I still have the wart after a couple of years is because there were times that I thought the fight was over and stopped monitoring my toe. Hello! A month later the wart would be back, like it had never left.
It's a weird thing, to be fighting against your own body. But this fight with the wart is just like our fight with sin. Sin is a part of us because of our fallen nature. If we are in Christ, God opens our eyes to parts of ourselves that should not be. We must decide to deal with our sin and then diligently fight the battle. It is true that those who repented and placed their faith in Jesus Christ have been forgiven from sin. However, sin can grow in the life of a believer like a wart. Unchecked and ignored, it can grow large and spread. But sin is much more than unsightly: it is deadly and destructive.
Just like there are steps I must take to rid myself of a wart, so we must take steps to eliminate sin from our lives. We must recognize the sin that we have cultivated and allowed to remain. We should not try to hide it from sight or deny its existence: sin must be brought out in the open. One man deals with the wart on his foot by going to a doctor for treatment; another man constantly wears socks, ashamed to show his toes. When it comes to sin, hiding it only increases the power Satan has over our lives. Unforgiveness is a foothold which can turn into a stronghold. It cannot be seen with the naked eye, but is evident when seen through the lens of scripture. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 reads, "Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."
If you are aware of an area of sin in your life, do not rest until you confess it to God and those you have wronged (James 5:16), repent, and forsake it. The weaknesses in your flesh you will have for the rest of your days. But weakness does not mean defeat if we are in Christ. We must be vigilant and aware that we can fall back into old sins, ways of coping, addictions, and unscriptural thought patterns which will lead to our destruction. We should not shrug off sin because we are confident in our salvation. If Jesus died for my sins, I have no right to persist in them. Let us fight the good fight without losing heart or hope. Our God is able to keep us from stumbling. When we do trip and fall, we have a God who is able to lift us up to our feet and lift our head so we might gaze into His eyes of everlasting love and take heart.
Declare war on those warts, and don't give up! God has given us the victory, healing, and cleansing through Jesus Christ our LORD!
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