The Quiet and Peaceable Life

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."

1 Timothy 2:1-2

In his famous Gettysburg address during the Civil War, president Abraham Lincoln spoke of government of the people, by the people and for the people--all prefaced with the statement, "under God."  Due to the democratic forms of government that allow people to vote in elections, the fact God presides over the appointment of those in authority can be dismissed or forgotten.  For all citizens it is wise to look beyond a ruler whether they are revered or despised by men and to the God who moves their hearts like the turning of a river (Proverbs 21:1).

Paul exhorted Timothy and fellow believers in Christ to offer supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks for all men, for kings and all in authority.  These earnest petitions, requests in prayer and giving of thanks were to be faithfully offered to the end all may lead a "quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."  Depending on where you live or the political climate, it might be more common to sign petitions to oust a governor than to make petitions known before God with thanksgiving.  We can be swept up in praying against people rather than giving God thanks for them.  How far short of Paul's exhortation we fall when we hope to gain political sway towards our desired end rather than leading a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

When it comes to politics, these days it is the antithesis of quiet and peaceable.  News reports are full of people shouting at rallies, protesting, amplifying their frustrations with loudspeakers.  There is nothing wrong with using the voices God has given us to speak forth His truth in love, our lives ought to be attended with all godliness and reverence.  We are to have the humble mind of Jesus Christ and demonstrate reverence and respect for others even if they view us as opponents or enemies.  The Greek word for "reverence" is also translated "dignity."  This is the quality of being worthy of honour and respect, being composed and calm.  If we lack this godly demeanor in our thoughts and conversation we miss the mark even should our views be biblically spot on.

Let us take to heart this exhortation from God's word personally, to give thanks for everyone--whether they are a sovereign by birth, selected by a political party, elected by constituents or a fellow citizen on the other side of the aisle.  We are called to submit to the KING OF KINGS Jesus Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth.  Jesus IS the authority, and thus we are never at the mercy of democracy or despots.  Our peace can never come from who is on "capital hill" but what Jesus accomplished on Calvary's hill.  Because Jesus is our peace we can lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, knowing His reign is eternal and He is good.

The Hidden Cost of Milk and Sin

Several months back I was driving and listening to a radio interview on ABC news.  The subject was a familiar one, that dairy farmers have been doing it tough for some time because of the demands placed upon them by retailers for low prices.  Therefore the price of milk was slated to rise $.50 a litre.  While the price of other commodities had been rising over time, for years milk stayed the same price.  The question was put forth, "Do you support paying more for milk to support Australian dairy farmers?"  The people who called and texted said they were fine paying more for milk.  The consensus among the host and callers was it was the least consumers could do.

As part of my weekly routine I buy groceries for my household.  Whilst the increase of the price of milk does not impact my ability to buy it, I have noticed something the ABC presenter did not explain.  I have noticed, not only the rise of the cost of milk, but the cost of all dairy products.  This makes perfect sense:  the increase of the cost of milk means it will cost more to make yogurt, cream, cheese, ice cream, etc.  The rise of the cost of milk is not in isolation and would impact the price of all offerings from the dairy industry.  With the cost of doing business these days it still might not be sufficient.

For many people this rise does not mean they are unable to buy milk or dairy products, but it would have been a good point of consideration up front to answer the question:  "Do you support paying more for milk?"  The result of raising the cost of milk has shown the original premise to be incomplete and flawed.  I believe this is a good example of how sin has a "knock on" effect in our lives.  The phrase "knock on" is a rugby term when a player loses control of the ball forward after touching a hand or like a fumble in gridiron.  The result of a "knock on" means the stoppage of the game and a change of possession.  One tiny fumble of the ball, one accidental brush by the tip of a finger, and your team forfeits the ball.  This can lead to losing the whole game.  Adultery in the heart can lead to fornication, estrangement from family, damaged relationships and ruined marriages.  Sin isn't something we can keep to ourselves but negatively impacts us, others and our relationship with God.

Hebrews 3:12-13 provides a warning and exhortation for Christians:  "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."  Because of Jesus we do not need to fall for sin's deceitfulness, become hardened in heart or depart from the living God in unbelief.  Sin that can flourish like weeds inside us can be rooted out by the power of God, the wisdom of His word and godly fellowship with fellow believers.  Sin brings death, and praise God He has abolished death and brought immortality to light through the Gospel.  Let's not be tempted to think sin looks affordable when it is deadly and deceitful, for it is never isolated to a particular act.  Having received new hearts, may we keep them soft with swift repentance of sin and obedience by faith in God.  In doing so we will realise the blessing of Jesus Christ is infinitely beyond price.

Examine Yourself and Receive

On the first Sunday of every month at Calvary Chapel Sydney we receive communion, and the verses which impacted this week are found in 1 Corinthians 11:26-28:  "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. ²⁷ Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."  Paul wrote this to a church in Corinth marred by factions, drunkenness and carelessness.  What was supposed to be a time of unity with Christ and one another by proclaiming His death lacked evidence of His love and holy life.

The bread symbolises the body of Jesus broken for us and the cup represents the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary to provide atonement for sinners.  Jesus instituted a new covenant in His own blood by grace through faith, and receiving communion is an acknowledgement we have spiritually received Christ by faith even as we eat the bread and drink the cup.  As there ought to be a correlation between the physical reality of eating and spiritually of receiving, our lives should be a testimony of a new life by faith in Christ that resembles His own in love, grace and obedience to God.  Paul reiterated the purpose of the love feasts at Corinth, that they ought to demonstrate the unity and love they received by Jesus with one another.

Paul critiqued the sinful manner that crept into their gatherings and bid them examine themselves to the end they would "eat of the bread and drink of the cup."  The idea was not to exclude any follower of Jesus Christ from receiving the LORD's supper.  If the idea of the love feasts in Corinth was to have fellowship with God and one another, in Paul's estimation they had been falling woefully short due to sin.  We eat a meal to satisfy our needs and strengthen our bodies:  why would a person go to a restaurant to fast?  In a similar way, if people did not desire fellowship with God, to glorify Jesus Christ and edify one another, what was the point of receiving communion?  All who chose to receive communion in obedience to Jesus were to examine their hearts, confess and repent of sin, and thus eat the bread and drink of the cup because of all Christ accomplished for them.  No one is worthy on the basis of their own works to receive communion, yet all that believe the Gospel are responsible to receive it in a worthy manner.

In my youth there may have been an occasion where I chose not to receive communion because I was acutely aware of a particular sin and felt guilty about it.  My feelings of guilt were a poor substitute for confession and repentance.  How much better it would have been for me to respond in repentance for sin and rejoiced in the provision of forgiveness by Jesus who died to freely offer it to all sinners!  To refuse to receive communion because of your own failings betrays a lack of understanding of what Jesus has accomplished for us unworthy sinners:  He has given us forgiveness by grace through faith in Him.  He did not come to starve people out or destroy them but to save them, so we might joyfully proclaim His goodness and salvation to all now and forever.

Our Moments Kept for God

I recently picked up an out of print book from Christian Books Australia titled Kept for the Master's Use by Frances Ridley Havergal, and this small book is filled with great nuggets of wisdom.  While I have yet to finish reading it, her insights on giving God our moments is simply too good not to share.  It is one thing to ask God to take our lives and retain the moments for ourselves.  There is great value in giving and asking Jesus to keep our moments for His sake.  Here are some excerpts on this subject:

"In things spiritual, the greater does not always include the less, but, paradoxically, the less more often includes the greater.  So in this case, time is entrusted to us to be traded with for our Lord.  But we cannot grasp it as a whole.  We instinctively break it up ere we can deal with it for any purpose.  So when a New Year comes round, we commit it with special earnestness to the Lord.  But as we do so, are we not conscious of a feeling that even a year is too much for us to deal with?  And does not this feeling, that we are dealing with a larger thing than we can grasp, take away from the sense of reality?  Thus we are brought to a more manageable measure; and as the Sunday mornings or the Monday mornings come round, we thankfully commit the opening week to Him, and the sense of help and rest is renewed and strengthened.  But not even the six or seven days are close enough to our hand; even tomorrow exceeds our tiny grasp, and even tomorrow's grace is therefore not given to us.  So we find the need of considering our lives as a matter of day by day, and that any more general committal and consecration of our time does not meet the case so truly...

We do not realise the importance of moments.  Only let us consider these two sayings of God about them, 'In a moment shall they die,' and, 'We shall all be changed in a moment,' and we shall think less lightly of them.  Eternal issues may hang upon any one of them, but it has come and gone before we can even think about it.  Nothing seems less within the possibility of our own keeping, yet nothing is more inclusive of all other keeping.  Therefore let us ask Him to keep them for us.

Are they not the tiny joints in the harness through which the darts of temptation pierce us?  Only give us time, we think, and we should not be overcome.  Only give us time and we could pray and resist, and the devil would flee from us!  But he comes all in a moment; and in a moment--an unguarded, unkept one--we utter the hasty or exaggerated word, or think the un-Christ-like thought, or feel the un-Christ-like impatience or resentment...

But the sanctified and Christ-loving heart cannot be satisfied with only negative keeping.  We do not want only to be kept from displeasing Him, but to be kept always pleasing Him.  Every 'kept from' should have its corresponding and still more blessed 'kept for.'  We do not want our moments to be simply kept from Satan's use, but kept for His use; we want them to be not only kept from sin, but kept for His praise...

The same thing is going on every day.  It is generally a moment--either an opening or a culminating one--that really does the work.  It is not so often a whole sermon as a single short sentence in it that wings God's arrow to a heart.  It is seldom a whole conversation that is the means of bringing about the desired result, but some sudden turn of thought or word, which comes with the electric touch of God's power.  Sometimes it is less than that; only a look (and what is more momentary?) has been used by Him for the pulling down of strongholds.  Again, in our own quiet waiting upon God, as moment after moment glides past in the silence at His feet, the eye resting upon a page of His Word, or only looking up to Him through the darkness, have we not found that He can so irradiate one passing moment with His light that its rays never die away, but shine on and on through days and years?  Are not such moments proved to have been kept for Him?  And if some, why not all?...

While we have been undervaluing these fractions of eternity, what has our gracious God been doing in them?  How strangely touching are the words, 'What is man that Thou shouldest set Thine heart upon him, and that Thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?'  Terribly solemn and awful would be the thought that He has been trying us every moment, were it not for the yearning gentleness and love of the Father revealed in that wonderful expression of wonder, 'What is man, that Thou shouldest set Thine heart upon him?'  Think of that ceaseless setting of His heart upon us, careless and forgetful children as we have been!  And then think of those other words, note the less literally true because given under a figure, "I, the Lord, do keep it; I will water it every moment." (Havergal, Frances Ridley. Kept for the Master's Use. Nisbet & Co. LTD., 1908. Pages 30-36)