No Coincidence

During the holidays it is easy to stay up a little later at night and rise a little later in the morning.  I set an alarm on my phone to ensure I do rise at an hour before the house is awake and bustling.  Eliminating these potential distractions is a big help to a sustained and focused time of prayer with God.  The scripture says a man's heart devises his way, but the LORD directs his steps (Prov. 16:9).  One way this works out daily is I set the alarm, but God wakes me up when He wants. :)

Today He woke me minutes before my alarm was to sound, and this is always lovely.  Whenever this happens I am convinced this is no coincidence, for my times are in God's hands.  After I knelt in my customary place it was a sweet time of thinking about God and affirming my appreciation for Him.  Time during prayer can rush by or feel like time stands still as a soul draws near to his Creator.  At one point I opened my eyes and noticed a flash of silver near my knee.  It was a sewing pin!  I was so grateful God caused me to notice the potential hazard and pushed it back into the classic tomato pincushion.

If I did not believe in the existence or providence of God, I could have taken credit for finding the pin myself, even as I could have been proud of my well-tuned body clock.  Yet as a follower of Jesus, it was profoundly satisfying to give all credit to where credit is due:  to the God who Created me, sustains my life in His hands, and protects me from hidden dangers.  Even if the pin pierced my knee, I could maintain confidence in my great God who allows pain.  When all is well it is quite easy to "trust" God, but it is the painful circumstances which provide a clearer indication of our genuine faith and loyalty.  Job refused to curse God and die despite the pains God sovereignty allowed, and God remains praiseworthy in times of plenty and loss, in peace and pain.

Haters of God accuse Him of great evils, but as one who knows God through divine revelation it is clear wickedness has its origin and rabid continuation in man.  Many see the spectre of God as severe, brutal, arbitrary, and delighting in the pain of others, but this reveals they are not able to see clearly.  They do not know God.  Martyrs have intentionally embraced the flames of the stake, knelt without resistance before claws and teeth of wild beasts, willingly faced imprisonment, torture, and the loss of all things rather than deny their good and glorious God.  People were offered life if they would only recant, but they wisely realised their lives were forfeit forever if they did recant.  We follow the God-Man who said on the cross, "Into your hands I commit My Spirit," Jesus Christ who rose from the dead glorified forever.  He is the Resurrection and the Life, and the reality of His life and comforts is more real than burning flame, the crushing of bones, being nailed to a cross, or being sawn in two.

We do not need to suffer as martyrs to prove our resolve, but are called to daily deny ourselves, take up our cross in obedience to Jesus, and follow Him wherever He leads.  Christianity is a continual laying down of a life which urges us to take matters into our own hands again.  God's providence, protection, and even pain He allows are not coincidences but opportunities to thank and trust God more than ever.  God uses wealth and lack to test us, and we can rejoice in our God in every season.  It is written in 1 Peter 1:6-9:  "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls."

Off the Rails

It is newsworthy when a train derails, and always bad news.  No train goes "off the rails" without incredible damage due to the sheer size and weight of the train.  With immense force linked carriages pile into one another, creating a twisted pile of metal carnage.  A train which leaves the track whilst transporting people is a greater catastrophe still.  The aftermath is a nightmare for all involved.

Sometimes the lives of people have been compared to a train wreck, a personal disaster which causes people to stare and wonder in amazement.  A life which seemed to be going along smoothly to a profitable destination suddenly veered off course possibly due to bad choices.  Complications and severe consequences can quickly escalate out of control.  We say such a person has gone "off the rails."  A life which was once promising can be stopped in its tracks through drugs, alcohol, and debt.  There are undoubtedly many factors which lead to the derailment of a train, and there are a myriad of potential dangers to a healthy, fruitful, and prosperous life.

When we ask ourselves how someone with such positive potential - or really with so much to lose - could go "off the rails," it is important to recognise life for us is not like a train on a rail which can only go forward, reverse or stop.  A train is a machine at the mercy of the engineer, the design and quality construction of the track, and the arbitrary schedules of men.  It has no will of its own like a man does.  A man is more like a pioneer, exploring a wide world on foot and trying to find a place for himself to build a life which best meets his ideal.  Human beings could only be "off the rails" if they were first on a rail, and the only path a man is on from birth is a scenic descent to hell.  This is one area where man has no choice, for sin is master and ruler over us all from the womb.  Ultimately eternity in hell is the place where all will go, having fallen short of God's righteousness.

Those who recognise their eternal end afar off and repent, seeking salvation through trust in Jesus, will be delivered from this fiery destruction.  A train is rightly restricted to a track, but Jesus Christ has brought freedom, forgiveness, and deliverance for all who trust in Him.  Going "off the rails" in this sense is the best thing ever!  AC/DC sung a song about heading down a highway to hell, a "season ticket on a one-way ride." and people happily sing along.  Ozzy Osbourne has long sung of a crazy train he's riding, saying "I'm living with something that just isn't fair."  He expresses resentment for the hand he has been dealt, wounds that never seem to heal.  On the Day of Judgment, all whose names are not written in the Book of Life will receive what is fair, for the wages of sin is death.  But by the grace of God we can turn around and avoid our deadly destination, and Jesus will save us from what we deserve by trusting in Him.

I don't know about you, but I will never use the phrase "off the rails" the same way again!  I am eternally grateful for the freedom and the new life I have realised through Jesus and the glorious future which awaits all those who love Him.

The Aerated Heart

We have been experiencing summer in full swing in Sydney, and areas of our lawn without shade have begun to dry out.  Though the Sir Walter turf is very hardy, additional water is needed at times to keep it green and growing.  It took me mowing and edging to notice the dusty and dry condition of the lawn.  It's funny, isn't it?  I look across our green lawn every day, but it isn't until I tend to it that I notice areas of neglect which escaped notice.  Yesterday I spent a good half-hour watering the lawn and offering my skin to thirsty mosquitoes (I found this out later).  The soil was so dry it took a while before the water penetrated the surface.  A large portion of the turf slopes down to the street so it was necessary to water above the area I wanted to soak because of the water runoff.  Thirsty and dry as the soil was, it was like it was incapable to drink the water in.

As I stood watering, it occurred to me dryness is one of the reasons soil is aerated from time to time.  Sun-hardened soil and roots packed tightly together do not allow water or fertiliser to adequately penetrate.  To aerate a machine with sharp teeth pulls plugs out of the soil, and this stimulates growth by ensuring water and nutrients are able to soak in beneath the surface.  As Jesus compared the condition of human hearts into various soil types in the Parable of the Sower, this sun-baked ground was also instructive to me.  Dry and thirsty souls are often incapable of receiving the Living Water God supplies through the Holy Spirit.  God allows words and situations to cut us deep like the sharp teeth of an aerator so we will be receptive to His truth.  He allows our hearts to be broken so He can graciously heal them.

Pain is an impetus to prayer.  For those who have the Holy Spirit within us, pain breaks the fallow ground of our hearts and moves us to offer petitions, requests, and praise to God we wouldn't be mindful of otherwise.  I find physical pain wakes me up and helps me rise in the mornings for prayer when I might be tempted to remain in bed for a few more minutes.  When we perceive danger to ourselves or others we pray fervently and more diligently.  All the while God rains His grace, love, and truth upon our hearts, stirring us to consider Him in our pains.  God breaks us to restore and save.  Financial ruin, marital woes, work and family conflicts have worked salvation for many who have suffered such things, for it is often a heart painfully aerated by trials which is most receptive to God and spiritually refreshed in the end.  The pierced heart is a soft one, divinely prepared for fresh growth.

Friend, are you dry?  Perhaps you haven't invited the LORD to search your heart for a while.  God invites you to come to Him as it written in Isaiah 55:1, "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."  We are perpetually thirsty, but Jesus is able to satisfy what this world cannot.  He said to a Samaritan woman in John 4:13-14, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  He is our Source; He is our life.  Those who are thirsty need never be thirsty again, for Jesus provides eternal life.

The Prosperous Word

This is a picture I took in 2005 during my first trip to Israel of the theatre in Caesarea.  Though there are various accounts, this location may be the spot where Herod Agrippa was struck by God according to the historian Josephus (Josephus, Antiquities 19.8.2 343-361)  The biblical account is found in Acts 12:21-24:  "So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. ²² And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" ²³ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. ²⁴ But the word of God grew and multiplied."  There is debate over the exact malady which killed the proud ruler, but the Bible is clear Herod's grave, worm infested condition was God's judgment upon a man who denied God rightful glory.

The people flattered Herod for his fine oration as a god who walked among them, and Josephus recorded his silver clothing shone brilliantly in the sun.  Herod's voice would be swiftly silenced, and verse 24 holds forth a contrast:  "But the word of God grew and multiplied."  There are many voices in this world, and often it seems voices which contradict God's word are plentiful and amplified.  Many are unwilling to glorify God, much less acknowledge His existence.  But we can rest assured man's word will not endure as God's word, nor can the effectiveness of it be compared.  Notice the passage does not bother to tell us what Herod said, for the power of his words - polished as they may have been - perished with him.  God's Word, on the other hand, will endure forever (1 Peter 1:25).

Today at Calvary Chapel Sydney we considered Isaiah 55 and the divine authority and power of God's Word.  Isaiah 55:10-11 says, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."  Into the darkness God said, "Let there be light!" and there was light.  With the power of His words God spoke into existence the earth, plants which bear fruit and seeds, the atmosphere of the earth, the sun, and all living things.  From nothing God brought life!  A seed sown in the ground may not impress you immediately, but it will sprout in due season according to God's design.  In the same way, the scriptures of the Bible are effectual and will accomplish what God pleases with power.  Caesarea is a reminder how man's words will fail and ultimately be forgotten, but God's Word will prosper, grow, and multiply.