From Death to Life

God is able to do exceedingly beyond what we can ask or think, and He often operates in ways unexpected by man.  On one such occasion Elisha met with the sons of the prophets during a season of famine.  During their meeting, they filled a large pot with various herbs and wild gourds they found growing on a vine nearby.  Though the variety was unknown to them, the gourds certainly looked edible and good enough to eat.  I'm sure they thanked God for His provision as they cut up the gourds to make a stew.

2 Kings 4:40-41 tells us the miraculous event that followed:  "Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ So he said, "Then bring some flour." And he put it into the pot, and said, "Serve it to the people, that they may eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot."  It turned out the wild gourds were poisonous, that there was death in the pot!  One would think all the contents of the pot were dangerous for human consumption and the poison from the gourds.  Picking them out would not render the pottage safe.  But Elisha did something unexpected:  he told them to bring some flour, pour it into the pot, and miraculously the stew was rendered safe to eat.

There is an element of faith required in these events, to obey Elisha to bring the flour and to eat the stew with the poison still within.  By faith in God and obedience to Him the prophets were preserved and nourished even in the midst of a famine.  This is not the only time something like this happened.  When the Hebrews came to the bitter waters of Mara that were undrinkable, Moses cried out to the LORD who showed him a tree.  He threw the tree into the water and the water was made sweet (Exodus 15:25).  On another occasion after the people murmured against the LORD He sent serpents among them that bit the people and many died.  They confessed their sin and begged for Him to remove the snakes.  Instead God directed Moses to fashion a serpent of brass, to place it on a pole in the midst of the camp, and everyone who looked upon it would be healed (Numbers 21:9).  The men of Jericho must have been shocked when Elisha threw salt into the bitter waters of Jericho that previously caused barrenness and they were healed (2 Kings 2:21).

Instead of removing what was deemed dangerous, in these cases something more was added according to the word of God Who overruled the poisonous contents of a pot, bitter waters and venomous bites.  It was those who believed in God who received the benefits of God's miraculous power to nourish, heal, refresh and save.  It is God who gives life, and His word is living and powerful.  Even when there is a famine of hearing God's word He can direct people to receive eternal life in Himself by faith in Jesus.  Jesus, the Living Bread come from heaven, came into a world full of sin He allowed to remain so people could see their need for forgiveness and salvation found only in He Who gives everlasting rest for our souls.  How wise is God to place the church in this world steeped in sin so we might be the salt of the earth who, by His grace, can share the Gospel with all and make disciples of Jesus.

Sound In Love

As I was studying this week during sermon preparation, I came across this quote by D. L. Moody in the Enduring Word Commentary by pastor David Guzik:  “The church has become very jealous about men being unsound in the faith. If a man becomes unsound in the faith, they draw their ecclesiastical swords and cut at him. But he may be ever so unsound in love, and they don’t say anything.”  In this context jealousy means to be suspicious with fearful unease.  Now I do not know if this is an accurate portrayal of the church as much as people with whom D. L. Moody was aware.  I myself am exceedingly hesitant to suggest the behaviour of some is indicative of all.  But it is a sobering consideration, that anyone in the church would dismiss the need to love one another in an effort to uphold the truth.

In Paul's parting words to the elders of the church of Ephesus he said in Acts 20:28-32, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.³⁰ Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. ³² So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."  Paul realised the church could be undermined from within as well as attacked from outside.  There were two groups identified:  men like savage wolves who would come in among them and also from the group he addressed would men rise up, speak perverse things and attempt to draw disciples away from Christ and to themselves.

It is fitting therefore for elders, pastors and congregants within the church to be aware of the potential they themselves could be one who makes a series of choices to depart from faithfully following Jesus Christ and the word of His grace.  It is love of God and others that is to motivate Christians to address divisive behaviour and heretical doctrine in the church while choosing to walk in wisdom, love and grace towards all.  The one "unsound in the faith" is not beyond hope or help, for the God who saves souls can also restore them.  Jesus told Peter to put his sword back in his sheath when he lopped off the ear of Malchus, and we ought to wield the sword of the Spirit with gentleness with an aim to restore.  Galatians 6:1 says, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."

Being unsound in the faith has devastating consequences, and being unsound in love even more so.  If we cease to walk in love, we turn aside from walking as a disciple of Jesus should.  Jesus said in John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  By the grace of God may we be sound in love and faith as we watchfully shepherd the church of God purchased with His own blood.  In obedience to the Father Jesus shed His blood to purchase us unto Himself, and a church bought out of love can be guarded lovingly too.

Snail Crossing

During an early morning walk it is not uncommon for me to see snails of all sizes crossing the road.  It must take hours for those persistent mollusks to slowly make their way across the bitumen.  People ask why the chicken crossed the road, but I don't have a clever punchline about why snails would cross the road from a green, lush grassland to a construction jobsite filled with bricks, sand and clay, where nothing is able to grow.  It makes no sense to me why a snail would venture across the road towards a location which will only bring certain death.  The saturated clay is covered with puddles that would drown snails that attempted to ford them, and there is no food source for them to eat and survive.

I imagine a snail crossing the road might say something like this:  "Life had become unbearable for me.  My spouse left me and I have nothing but trouble with my annoying brothers and sisters.  I was in an unfulfilling job, an abusive relationship, and had no direction or motivation to do anything.  I was depressed and had no hope of a better life.  It all changed when I decided to do what's best for me and to hit the open road to find adventure.  My life has been completely transformed for the better and I'm excited about my future.  I'm really living now."  I would say, "Mr. Snail, I'm sorry to paint a bleak picture for you, but from my perspective my eyes can see what you cannot from the ground.  You are leaving a lush paradise for a barren wasteland.  You might be excited about your bright future, but I can tell you beyond any doubt there is nothing but death ahead.  I urge you to turn around and head back to a place where you can live life to the full."

Now Mr. Snail, if he could think and talk, would likely trot out reasons to keep on going.  Having thrown off the shackles of his previous life going back was out of the question, yet I could clearly see it would only be a matter of time before the money was gone, the positive feelings wore off, and his hungry belly would start growling like the prodigal in the parable Jesus told.  I wondered:  would he be able to muster up the energy to make the return trip?  Should I just pick the snail up and throw it back to where there was plenty of food, water and others snails in his native environment?  I decided to let the snail be.  You see, it isn't just a chicken or snails that cross the road because of the hope of greener grass, for people do the same.  They choose to venture away from the presence of God Who has provided all their needs all along and go far from Him to explore, experience and pursue what they have not yet found by His side.  Because Jesus Christ is the Life, to leave Him is to cut ties with Him and head to certain ruin.

Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  It is a challenge to describe what "life" is, and it is found in Jesus who gives eternal life.  Like a branch is connected to the vine or a limb is connected to a human body, life is only found through a personal connection with God through faith in Jesus Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life.  The source of all life is in those who believe, and we in Him.  There is no life beyond Him.  People who say they "hate their life" may not realise they can rejoice in Christ who is our Life at all times.  A better life is not on the other side of the road or at the end of a rainbow:  abundant and eternal life is found in Christ now and forever and nowhere else.  Life is more than activity, a beating heart, breathing lungs, brain activity or thoughts.  All of these are physical signs of life, shadows of the real thing that transcends physical, spiritual and the temporal world we live in currently.  Jesus has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel (2 Tim. 1:10), and in Him we live and have our being.

The incident on the road this morning demonstrated the short-sightedness of snails, and it is good we realise we human beings are much the same.  Snails and men alike find ourselves in ridiculous situations where we need assistance from God and others to help us find our way to the green fields and dewy grass where we can thrive under the protective guidance of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.  Except Jesus called our name and came after us, we would have gone to our doom in search of life found only in Him.  While I pondered these things, this is what I saw:

I was faced with a new question:  how did a snail manage to climb onto this car?  And how would he be able to safely crawl down?  There was nothing on this car the snail could eat:  why would the snail climb the tire?  How long did it take to crawl onto the rim, find the axle, somehow climb into the body of the car from the inside, then crawl outside?  A far easier explanation is the snail was placed there.  What this shows me is it does not matter how the snail ended up on the car or how long it took to navigate to the window:  what matters most is the snail be relocated to a place where it can feed, rest and thrive.  People find themselves in all manner of crazy places and have wild ideas about what an abundant life is, but Jesus Christ alone has the words of life because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He has come to reveal God's love to sinners and save us by His grace.  The hope of finding true life by crossing the road is a mirage as the prodigal son found out for himself and Mr. Snail would in due time.

God Is Sacred

"There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history."

Roger the Shrubber

When I was a kid going to church, we were told to remove our hats and not run in the sanctuary by watchful ushers.  It was viewed by some as a sacred place, the "house of God," a consecrated location to draw near to God in worship, adoration and reverence.  In Webster's 1828 Dictionary the first entries to define sacred are:  "the sense is removed or separated from that which is common, vulgar, polluted, or open, public...holy; pertaining to God or to his worship; separated from common secular uses and consecrated to God and his service; proceeding from God and containing religious precepts."  The concept of a part of a building or hall being considered sacred in Christian circles perhaps comes from the example of the tabernacle or temple.  More likely it is merely a tradition of man borne out of a desire to honour God, albeit with the pitfalls of legalism.

It is good for man to recognise God is holy, and that believers have been made holy by faith in Jesus Christ.  Those wary ushers would do well to examine their own attitudes, words, motives and actions as conscientiously as they wore collared shirts when on duty and aimed to silence exuberant children with stern looks.  We live in a secular day when frankly nothing is viewed as sacred except the freedom of the individual, and the societal norms around dress, hair length, hair colour, tattoos and rock music--which were frequent points of contention between a traditional generation and my less traditional one--have largely disappeared.  In times past much of what was deemed sacred was drawn from tradition without substance, not having been produced by a personal relationship with the living God.  Now many of the traditional views have faded and thus the legalistic mirage of what was sacred has disappeared as well.

"Nothing is sacred," Roger the Shrubber said, and what he says is partially true.  Man has a way of making the sacred profane through idolatry when God is holy.  He is sacred, free from the pollution of sin and the wisdom of fallen man.  His word is sacred, having been divinely inspired and preserved by His power so man could be taught of our glorious Creator, realise our fallen state and place our faith in Jesus for salvation and redemption.  The sacred lies not in a building or in a hallowed place on this planet which will one day perish but in God Himself and the activity of people drawing near to Him in worship and adoration.  When a person bends the knee in prayer, when hands are raised to God in praise, when the word of God is proclaimed, when a heart submits in obedience and rests in God alone, these are sacred moments wherever we are because it is a soul uniting with the holy, sacred God in faith.  It is God Who must remain sacred in our eyes, for when we draw near to Him we stand on holy ground by His grace.

For this reason I believe during times of worship, whether we congregate in person or online, it is important to lead by example before children and adults alike to lay aside distractions.  It is not a time to check emails or record videos to post on social media.  If Jesus came to church I bet people today would ask for a selfie with Him!  How ludicrous when He is God, our Saviour and LORD!  Our aim should not be to occupy children who are capable of watching a favourite show when they too can learn to engage in worship.  Nehemiah 8:2-3 provides a good example of this when all the people gathered as one man to hear the Law of Moses read:  "So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. ³ Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law."  When a child is able to understand the dialogue in a TV show, they can hear the word of God.  This requires wisdom, training and discipline, and praise the LORD He is the master of all these and more.

Friends, do you see God as sacred?  Or has the grace of God or our familiarity with Him brought Him down to the level of what is common, worldly and exists for our benefit or enjoyment?  There are many warnings in scripture against profaning the name of God or His temple, and Ezekiel 44 speaks of how the role of the priests and Levites was to teach the people the difference between what is holy and profane, and their responsibility before God to observe this themselves.  It is no longer the Law of Moses which governs these distinctions under the New Covenant but the love and fear of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  We have been made holy by the power of the Gospel, and thus we are in Christ and He in us.  God is holy, and thus our worship, service and praise is sacred unto Him.