A Click Beetle and New Life

For the last two days, I encountered a strange, intermittent rustling noise that disturbed the early morning silence.  On a couple occasions I rose from prayer to try to find where the sound was coming from:  was it behind the lounge, near the window or in the attic?  This morning (for a few minutes) I was convinced the most reasonable explanation was the movement of air in the attic caused sound to come through the flexible duct through the register--until I finally found the culprit.  A click beetle had somehow made its way into the attic and found itself trapped in the white plastic lens of a ceiling light.  It could see it crawl up the lens, roll back to the bottom, and then stubbornly try again.

It is remarkable the beetle had the strength and endurance to continue actively trying to escape the ceiling light for over 24 hours with no water or food.  The constant effort to escape the plastic prison illustrated well the instinct God put in living creatures to keep living.  Later in the morning I was able to remove the plastic lens and relocate the insect to the front yard where the chance of survival for a beetle is far greater than in a ceiling light in my house.  The abundance of life on earth is unique in the observed universe, for God created living creatures and people and provides all that we need to survive and thrive.

This fight for survival in human beings is seen from the time we take our first breath until we breathe our last.  I am amazed by the great lengths people have gone to and severe trials and treatments people have endured to continue life on earth.  This desire to prolong our lives on earth impacts our desire for life beyond this earth, for God has put eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  The Bible teaches that spiritually speaking we are all born dead in sins passed down through generations from Adam.  Our guilt is confirmed through making sin our own by practicing it, and God's word reveals we are bereft of hope and incapable of measuring up to God's perfect standard of righteousness.  Like the click beetle could not save itself from certain death in the ceiling light, so every human being is doomed to destruction because of our sin.  The best I could do was extend the chance of the bug living for a short while, but Jesus has done something infinitely better by providing assurance of eternal life for all who trust in Him.

While we were spiritually dead God said to us, "Live!"  God spoke a parable through the prophet concerning His redeemed people in Ezekiel 16:6 from the perspective of a traveller who found a discarded baby by the road with the placenta still attached:  "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!'"  God saw people like newborns that had not been washed, swaddled, held and loved, and He was determined to do everything lost sinners needed to be adopted into His family.  So God sent Jesus to be the Saviour of the world, to lay down His life on Calvary so all who trust in Him can repent of sins, be forgiven and live with Him forever.  Jesus said in the latter half of John 10:10, "...I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  All who by faith enter the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus have an abundant life now and eternal life forever by Christ Who is our life.

It is like all our lives we have been trapped in a prison of sin, cut off from the living water of the Holy Spirit and love of God, and Jesus has set us free.  Having been born again by grace through faith in Jesus we are not merely given a better life now or optimal chance for survival, but we are granted the promise of abundant, eternal life we can enjoy today in the presence of our Saviour.  How blessed we are to have a Good Shepherd Who laid down His life so we could live, and by His resurrection Jesus demonstrated the victory over death and glorious life He has in store for all who love Him.

Prosperity and Success

What comes to mind when you think of being prosperous?  The 1828 Webster's Dictionary describes "prosperous" as:  "advancing in the pursuit of any thing desirable; making gain or increase; thriving; successful."  It is likely people have a range of views of what prosperity looks like, that it is gauged by financial net worth, possessions, being the boss rather than a new hire, one who owns houses and properties rather than the person cleaning them.  The Bible speaks of people who were prosperous, and the Scriptural examples fundamentally have little to do with any of these worldly metrics.

Genesis 39:2-3 in the KJV reads, "And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³ And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand."  There are likely few who would think a slave could be prosperous, but that is exactly how Joseph was described because the LORD his God was with him.  God made Joseph to be prosperous and successful, for even in the wake of his brother's cruelty by selling him to Ishmaelite traders God worked to redeem what was intended to be evil for good--not only in the life of Joseph, but also for Joseph's brothers, household, Egypt as a nation and the surrounding countries.  When God is with us, He brings prosperity and success to accomplish everything God desires we do.

A second aspect of prosperity springs from our obedience to God.  This is plainly shown in God's word to Joshua as he prepared to lead the children of Israel into their inheritance in Joshua 1:7-8:  "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."  God was with Joshua as He had been with Moses before him, and Joshua was to exert strength and courage to keep God's law.  Reading God's word, meditating upon it and putting it into practice personally was a key to Joshua being prosperous and successful to answer God's call upon his life.

Joseph was prosperous even when his allegiance and obedience to God resulted in him being thrown into prison after a false accusation of attempted rape.  The warden with his eyes did not see God with Joseph, but he saw the prosperity God wrought in the life and labour of God's servant Joseph and gave him additional responsibility.  Genesis 39:23 states, "The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper."   How blessed are believers in Jesus Christ who is called "Immanuel" meaning, "God with us."  Because He will never leave or forsake those who trust in Him, we can be prosperous as we live in our family home, as a slave, a prisoner or leader.  Our call is to submit to God and be obedient to all He tells us, for then we will be prosperous and have success in all God desires we do by His grace.

Willingness, Desire and Baptism

In the New Testament, water baptism follows a basic pattern of personal willingness coupled with personal desire.  This is one reason why many Christian churches require the individual being baptised to have an understanding of the spiritual significance of water baptism after being born again by the Gospel.  Being baptised is symbolic that as Jesus died, was buried and rose again from the dead, we who were once dead in sins have now been raised to new, everlasting life by the power of the Gospel.  We are baptised in water in obedience to Christ, for identification with Christ and as a public testimony we have chosen to follow Christ.  Our salvation hinges upon our personal choice to repent and trust in Jesus, and the decision to be baptised in water is also a personal choice that requires our willingness.

I see a connection between our willingness to submit ourselves to God in receiving the Gospel to be saved from our sins (for God will not force forgiveness or salvation upon anyone), and the necessity of our willingness to submit to water baptism as well as submission before God to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.  Now when I came to faith in Jesus as a child, I did not know anything about being baptised in water.  It was only after several years I learned that Christians were called to make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all Jesus had commanded.  Once I understood Jesus had called me to be baptised as His disciple--and that I was to follow His example of being baptised Himself--I went forward at a church baptism in Mission Bay in San Diego to be baptised by another Christian.

Another thing I did not realise when I came to faith in Jesus is I could be baptised with the Holy Spirit--the birthright of every Christian.  During my youth and into adulthood, I was like the believers Paul met in Ephesus in Acts 19:1-2:  "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ² he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."  I did not realise this spiritual baptism Peter identified as "the promise of the Father" to curious onlookers in Acts 2 was for me.  When I first heard about the Holy Spirit coming upon believers to empower them to be His witnesses, I was uncomfortable with the idea.  My pastor asked a question God used to soften my heart:  "Don't you want all God has for you?  If God has a spiritual gift to give you, wouldn't you desire it?"  In time I decided I did desire and and would welcome any spiritual gift He would give me.  Convinced it was God's will for me to be baptised with the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:14-15), I asked and God baptised me.

Water baptism and baptism with the Holy Spirit for Christians both involve personal desire and willing submission, these always involve another person.  No one is baptised in water by themselves, and no one is baptised without the Person of the Holy Spirit.  When Philip shared the Gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch, the eunuch immediately asked if he could be baptised, and this correlates with someone who receives baptism with the Holy Spirit at the same time as conversion.  In my case, I had no idea about the Holy Spirit or the baptism Peter experienced and spoke of, and it was only at a later time I learned of it and was brought to a place of willing submission to God, to ask and receive that baptism by faith in Jesus and God's promise.  What R.A. Torrey said is true about baptism with the Holy Spirit rings true of water baptism:  everyone baptised knows that have been, when it happened, and that it was not gradual.  Praise the LORD for the gracious blessing of the Holy Spirit given beyond measure to fill us day by day.

Why the Enemy Flees

The Bible is full of encouragement for those who trust in God, and sometimes it is found in unexpected places.  This morning I was blessed by a pattern I considered that sprang from reading Genesis 36:6:  "Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob."  After decades of living in Haran, Jacob returned to the land of Canaan a wealthy man with a huge family.  Esau was a wealthy and powerful man in his own right, having 400 men who followed him when he greeted Jacob upon his return.  Yet there was no power play between them for the land of Canaan:  when their flocks and herds became too many for the land to support, Esau voluntarily chose to leave.

I found this very encouraging.  From the beginning, God is established as Creator and sovereign over all things.  When Adam sinned, God drove him out from the Garden of Eden.  After Cain killed Abel his brother, Cain went out from the presence of the LORD.  God directed Abraham to leave his family and go to the land God would show him, and when Abraham and his nephew Lot's beasts were too many, Abraham gave Lot the choice of where to settle.  It was Lot who departed from Abraham, and God affirmed all the land Abraham could see or his foot would tread He had given to Abraham and his descendants.  God is, and those He establishes by faith in Him are also strengthened to remain steadfast where God would have them be.

A similar pattern occurred when Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil.  Luke 4:13 says, "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."  Jesus did not avoid the wilderness to escape from the devil or his temptation, but resisted Satan and it was the devil who departed.  This aligns with what the Scripture says is true for the believer in James 4:6-7:  "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  Spiritually speaking, by faith in Jesus our lives are established like houses built upon the rock, and thus we are enabled to stand resolute in obedience to God's Word:  "Be strong in the LORD and the power of His might; put on the whole armour of God and stand therefore!" (Eph. 6:10-20)

I love how Esau chose to depart from Jacob without violence:  though he had 400 men to support and aid him, Jacob, his wives and little children were protected, provided for and prospered by Jacob's great God.  Jacob was established in the land of Canaan, and God had a place set aside for Esau too.  It was not for Jacob to run for the hills to hide from his brother, but to remain in the place God called him to be by faith.  Spiritually speaking for Christians this is also true.  We do not need to concern ourselves with violent forays into enemy territory or lay siege to the wisdom of the world spouted in our culture:  our LORD and Saviour Jesus is the KING OF KINGS Who will subdue all to Himself.  We are called to submit ourselves to God in faith joyfully with obedience and stand.  This is how we battle the enemy, and this is how the fight is won because Jesus has overcome.  Resist the temptations of the enemy to give up or give in, hold the ground God has given you, and the enemy will flee.