Singing in the Fire

While busy with custodial duties at church, I was listening to a talk by Britt Merrick, pastor of Reality Carpinteria.  He spoke from experience about how joy and suffering are coupled in the Christian life.  Instead of God removing suffering from life, He allows Christians to embrace genuine joy in the midst of suffering.  Just yesterday I finished reading a biography of Mrs. Spurgeon by Charles Ray.  Susannah was a godly woman who not only endured suffering, but continued to persevere and be profitable for God's glory in the midst of acute long-term illness.  She was a woman of maturity and faith, one who learned to trust in God no matter what.  In the book, there is an object lesson she shares which spoke deeply to my heart.  Ray begins this quote from Susannah on page 81:

At the close of a very dark and gloomy day I lay resting on my couch as the deeper night drew on, and though all was bright within my cosy little room, some of the external darkness seemed to have entered into my soul and obscured its spiritual vision.  Vainly I tried to see the hand which I knew held mine and guided my fog-enveloped feet along a steep and slippery path of suffering.  In sorrow of heart I asked, 'Why does my Lord thus deal with His child?  Why does He so often send sharp and bitter pain to visit me?  Why does he permit lingering weakness to hinder the sweet service I long to render to His poor servants?'  These fretful questions were quickly answered, and though in a strange language, no interpreter was needed save the conscious whisper of my own heart.

For a while silence reigned in the little room, broken only by the crackling of an oak log burning on the hearth.  Suddenly I heard a sweet, soft sound, a little, clear, musical note, like the tender trill of a robin beneath my window.  'What can it be?' I said to my companion, who was dozing in the firelight; 'surely no bird can be singing out there at this time of the year and night!'  We listened, and again heard the faint plaintive notes, so sweet, so melodious, yet mysterious enough to provoke for a moment our undisguised wonder.  Presently my friend exclaimed, 'It comes from the log of the fire!' and we soon ascertained that her surprised assertion was correct.  The fire was letting loose the imprisoned music from the old oak's inmost heart.  Perchance he had garnered up this song in the days when all went well with him, when birds twittered merrily on his branches, and the soft sunlight flecked his tender leaves with gold; but he had grown old since then and hardened; ring after ring of knotting growth had sealed up the long-forgotten melody until the fierce tongues of the flames came to consume his callousness and the vehement heat of the fire wrung from him at once a song and a sacrifice.

Oh! thought I, when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us, then indeed are we purified and our God is glorified!  Perhaps some of us are like this old oak log - cold, hard and insensible; we should give forth no melodious sounds were it not for the fire which kindles round us, and releases tender notes of trust in Him, and cheerful compliance with His will.  As I mused the fire burned and my soul found sweet comfort in the parable so strangely set forth before me.  Singing in the fire!  Yes, God helping us if that is the only way to get harmony out of these hard, apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter than before.

When God sees fit to refine us in the fire, may the Holy Spirit quicken us to praise Him!  May the joy of the LORD be our strength always!

The Grace-Knowledge Connection

"You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

2 Peter 3:17-18

After I read this passage, I was led to consider the connection between grace and knowledge.  Without knowledge we are unable to appreciate or even acknowledge grace.  For instance, salvation by grace through faith is an unmerited gift from God.  Because of His great love for us, God the Father chose to satisfy divine justice through the sacrifice of His own Son Jesus the Christ on Calvary.  What a gift!  Not only can man be forgiven for his sins by repenting and trusting in Jesus as Saviour, but the righteousness of Christ is freely credited to each Christian born again through the Holy Spirit.

There was a time when I was ignorant of God and His grace.  I didn't know that Jesus is God-made-flesh and humbled Himself to take human form.  I did not know Jesus died so I might live.  At first, His gracious sacrifice and gift of eternal life had been reduced to a picture on a page of an ornate Bible.  I didn't know that Jesus did that for me and everyone else who was guilty of sin.  But after reading the Bible I grew in knowledge.  I learned the Bible reveals Jesus is God's Son sent to seek and save the lost.  How greatly He humbled Himself in becoming a man and embracing the cross!  I realised all have sinned and none are worthy to be purchased with the precious blood of Jesus.  Only through knowledge and enlightenment by the Holy Spirit did God's grace - generous favour freely given which I cannot earn, purchase, or deserve - actually appear as grace.

So how can we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?  Practical knowledge spurns on our growth in grace.  When we understand who Jesus is, His infinite love for man, and the degree of His sacrifice and suffering, the grace He extends to us is discerned.  As our understanding of the depth of our sin grows, our appreciation of God's grace towards us also grows.  We realise our obligation to extend more and more grace to others, even as God has toward us.  We have freely received:  we are called to freely give.  If we do not see ourselves as great sinners, we will never be great in grace  If we are more concerned about the speck in our brother's eye than the log in our own, our growth in grace will be stunted.  This fact is illustrated in a conversation Jesus had with a self-righteous Pharisee named Simon.

Luke 7:40-50 reads, "And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." ⁴¹ "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" ⁴³ Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged." ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." ⁴⁸ Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." ⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" ⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

The difference between the sinful woman who anointed Jesus and the judgmental Pharisee was that the woman loved much because she had been forgiven much.  Do not misunderstand:  she had not sinned more than the Pharisee!  They were both sinners before God.  The woman recognised the enormity of her debt which had been forgiven.  Because of this, she expressed her love for Christ with tears and the sacrifice of expensive perfume.  The Pharisee loved little because he thought he had little need of Christ's forgiveness.  Though the woman was known as a sinner, she was the one who went home in peace justified and saved.

There is a point in every Christian walk we either grow or regress in grace.  Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.  When we grow in knowledge, we can be deceived to assume we have obtained the right to sit in the seat of judgement of others.  Our eyes are to be fixed on Christ, judging ourselves lest we be judged.  Knowledge of Christ and how undeserving we are allows us to grow in our appreciation of God's grace, to receive it from God, and freely offer it to others.  Maybe you figure you deserve grace because you have repented.  No!  We can never earn God's grace or it could not be grace.  Perhaps we withhold grace because someone has not proven themselves worthy to us.  In doing so we make grace of no effect.  If increased knowledge of doctrine makes us legalistic, we have abandoned the grace of God.  Paul warns the church in Galatians 5:2 & 4, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage...⁴ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

Let us grow in grace and knowledge of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Gracious words should attend gracious thoughts.  Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  Out of the abundance of grace a man has received from God so he thinks.  Unless God's grace seasons our knowledge, we will know nothing as we ought to know.

Mowing That Lawn

While driving yesterday, I caught sight of a heart-warming scene.  A man was mowing the grass in his front yard.  That in itself was not an unusual thing to see.  But what brought a smile to my face was his little boy, probably about three years old.  This boy industriously pushed a large plastic cart back and forth accross the turn, glancing occasionally at dad from his "work."  The riding toy had a handle at the back gripped tightly by the youngster.  Tongue sticking out in a concentrated effort, the boy was completely absorbed in mowing the lawn.  Some would say the boy was not actually "doing" anything.  It's true that his train toy was completely ineffective at cutting grass.  But the boy was doing something.  Best he could, he was working with his dad - and teaching me a lesson as well!

It is natural that this boy would delight in emulating his father.  Doing something like dad was fun in itself, and it is a great joy to serve those you love.  I have heard imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in this case it would be truer to say imitation was the sincerest form of love and respect.  Small children are for a time incapable to dispense the sweet poison of flattery.  Boys with great dads don't only want to do what they do:  they want to be like them.  I have been blessed to have a grandpa, grandad, and a dad that I not only admired as a youngster, but I wanted to be like them when I grew up.  I still respect them and hold them in highest honour.

When we are adopted into the family of God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, our eyes are opened to the awesomeness of our heavenly Father.  It is right for us to emulate Him in everything.  As children of God through the Gospel, we are made co-heirs with Christ as a brother and friend.  He is like the big brother we should always want to be like.  I started thinking about this little boy, feverishly pushing his cart across the grass.  A day will likely come when he will be taught to mow the lawn for real.  Someday that boy who has become a young man will grow tired of mowing the lawn.  He will put it off as a burdensome chore or even refuse to do it altogether.  This picture popped into my head of the greying dad mowing the lawn in his gumboots ten years from now, and the boy stayed at a friend's house, happy to avoid the chore he once did freely and happily as a child.

God, keep me young in heart as a child!  We must never see our service to the LORD as a burdensome task.  It is really God who does the work:  He pushes the real mower, and we are pushing our plastic toys.  But it pleases God profoundly when we joyfully work with sincerity of heart for His glory.  He no doubt smiles broadly when He looks over and sees us doing our best to emulate Him in thought, word, and deed.  That little boy wasn't being paid to copy his dad.  He took it upon himself to do, and his dad encouraged him in his efforts.  He didn't scorn the child for mowing the lawn improperly.  I can see it now:  the lawn mower and toy have been put away, and the father and son walking hand in hand to the house for a cold drink. "You were a good worker today, mate.  You did a fine job."  The boy looks up to the smiling face of his father and beams with satisfaction and profound joy.

Doesn't the thought of your Father saying that to you bring delight to your soul?  May we mature in faith, allowing Christ to live His life through us.  But may we retain the heart of a child with simplicity of love and utmost respect.  Let us look to our Father with our hands on the plow and worship Him!

Be Filled with the Holy Spirit!

People are into power.  Who wants a gutless car when you could have one with power instead?  There is a longing in the human heart to control.  This desire for power can seep into our walk with Christ as well.  The other night our family read of Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8 who for a long time had captivated the people of Samaria with sorcery.  Philip preached the Gospel to the people and his words were attended with powerful wonders and signs no one could deny.  Though a sorcerer, even Simon was convinced by the truth of the Gospel and believed.  Peter and John then came to the city, desiring the new believers would receive the Holy Spirit.  When they laid hands on Christians, they received the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The text does not say if Simon also received the Holy Spirit.  But he was not one to stand by idly when actual power from God was potentially available!  He offered Peter money and said in Acts 8:19, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit."  Peter sternly rebuked Simon for his foolishness, thinking that the power of God could be purchased with money.  It can only be received by faith.  He added in Acts 8:21-23:  "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity."  Simon is like many people today.  They are willing to offer God something in exchange for spiritual power or a particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit.  People still look for the simplest way to obtain our ends under the guise of doing all for God's glory.

So people buy books, ask for people to lay hands on them and pray, go to conferences, and try to figure out the formula to obtain this power from on high.  The whole problem with this approach is God does not give the Holy Spirit based upon what you do but based upon what He has done.  Following a seven-step formula to receive a spiritual gift might as well be offering God a wad of cash.  In the Bible, it is clear there is no formula.  Sometimes people were gathered together praying in one accord and the Holy Spirit fell upon them in power.  Other times hands were laid on people to receive the Holy Spirit.  On one occasion, Peter was simply telling Cornelius and his household the words of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit fell on them without them even specifically asking!  The manifestations of the Holy Spirit coming upon people are as varied as the people themselves.  The common denominator is faith in Jesus Christ and humbly presenting ourselves before Him as living sacrifices.

God has given us insights into the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Galatians 3:2 tells us the Holy Spirit can only be received in fulness through faith:  "This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"  It is a scriptural principle that we ought to ask, seek, and knock.  Jesus taught that we ought to ask God the Father for the Holy Spirit.  He says in Luke 11:9-13:  "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  Our obedience is another factor God reveals as a requirement for the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Acts 5:32 reads, "And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."  As James says, I believe in many cases we have not because we ask not.  Or when we ask, we ask according to our lusts.  God desires obedience over sacrifice.  If we are disobedient in worldly matters, why should God commit to us the true riches?  If we have not been faithful with another man's things, why should God give us our own?  (Luke 16:11-12)

Maybe you are thinking, "Well, that's fine for people when the church was first starting up.  I mean, they needed the power of God revealed to confirm their words."  To that I say, do we need God's power any less today?  A blight upon the modern church is lack of power and faith that God still operates according to scripture!  Miraculous works ought to attend our ministries (Mark 16:14-20)!  If paralytics were healed, cancers were disappearing, and demon possessed were delivered with a word in Christ's name, would not there be additional power behind our words?  The Bible makes it clear, my friends:  the promise of the Holy Spirit with power has been offered to all who are in Christ.  Acts 2:38-39 tells us, "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."  The promise is to you and me!  I was once far from God but have been brought near by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.  It is not by works of righteousness I have done, but according to His mercy He has saved, reconciled, filled, and empowered me.

Maybe you are not sure if you have received this filling of the Holy Spirit experienced by many in the book of Acts.  A.W. Tozer used to say that everyone who has been filled with the Holy Spirit have three things in common:  1) they know for certain they have been filled; 2) they know exactly when it happened; 3) and it was not a gradual process, for God gives the Holy Spirit without measure.  Just like you know when you were baptised with water, you will know when you were first baptised with the Holy Spirit.  So the question is:  have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?  Have you been endowed with power from on high?  If you have not, perhaps it is because you have not met God's conditions.  Perhaps you have been like Simon, who was interested in the power but was not concerned with repenting of the sin which festered in his heart.  God is good, and He gives good gifts.  God the Father has provided His Son to redeem us and the Holy Spirit to regenerate us.  Let us not be deceived to think we can do God's work without the power of God.  Be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit today!