Chipping Away

We recently had a few problem trees felled on our property that were pushing over retaining walls.  Because one stump was very close to a fencepost encased in concrete and the retaining wall, the stump grinder was unable to remove a large portion of the stump.  So over the past week I have chipping away on the stump, removing bits at a time, as the stump under the surface of the ground must be removed before the retaining wall can be prepared.  And it isn't easy.

While pine wood is considered a softwood, a pine stump is a powerful force to be reckoned with.  The grain of the wood is twisted in every direction, and only repeated blows with a heavy digging bar makes any headway to chip and split the wood apart.  The impact of the 10 kilo bar on the stump transfers vibrations into the hands and fingers that cause blisters and tears skin.  As I toiled yesterday in the heat for awhile, I had to be content with slow progress and quit before I had my fill to conserve skin on my hands with the future sessions in mind.  It is amazing that in about 5 years the tree grew out of control and damaged the property, and how resistant even in death the tree roots were to being removed.

As I dropped the digging bar repeatedly upon the stump, it occurred to me it was a hard but necessary task.  If anything was every going to be planted there instead--grass, groundcover or shrubs--the stump needed to be removed.  The stump that impeded a plumb retaining wall also prevented anything new from growing in that spot.  This provided insight into the impact sin can have in our hearts.  Weeds can be insidious and tough to eradicate, but stumps require much more effort to remove.  It struck me that God has freed Christians from the curse of sin and the power it wielded over us, yet old habits can be engrained in us like a stubborn stump in the ground.  Sure, the tree isn't dropping pine needles in the gutters anymore, but our lives can still be impacted by stumps allowed to remain unmoved under the surface.

By the power of the Gospel Jesus cleanses Christians from the presence and power of sin, and we need God's strength and help to deal with the consequences of being a sinner, to be further sanctified in a corruptible body.  If we desire to have the fruit of the Spirit produced in our lives, we must take intentional action to put off the old ways of living and thinking and be renewed in the spirit of our minds.  Rather than doubling-down by the works of the flesh, we are to submit ourselves to the leading, guidance and help of the Holy Spirit.  We are justified in a moment by faith in Jesus, but sanctification takes time and hard work.  Paul used the example of an athlete who exhibits self-control in all things because winning the race or boxing match is paramount to a champion, and Paul brought his own body under subjection to avoid disqualification in ministry (1 Cor. 9:21-24).

Those who see the folly of sowing among thorns ought to recognise the silliness of sowing among stumps.  We Christians can feel we are fighting a losing battle with all the shoots that spring from the stumps of trees, of old sinful habits and ways God has cut down in our lives.  Rather than the half measure of dutifully pruning the green shoots of sin that seems to resurrect themselves in our words and deeds, let us do all we can to chip away at stumps as well--to deal with the heart of the matter, what lies under the surface where only God can see how deep it goes.  We can only see what is plainly visible, but the LORD looks at the heart and what is inside us.  Praise the LORD He is able to give us new hearts and minds, to do work impossible for us according to the riches of His grace.

My aching hands show me how it hurts us to remove sinful ways from our hearts that have been there a long time (our entire lives), things we actually at a stage valued and viewed as an important part of us.  The flesh resists and hates the sanctification process, and it whines and cries like a pampered child when it does not have its way.  Ground can lay fallow and unploughed due to neglect or because it is littered with stumps that need to go.  Faithfully chipping away at the stump reminds me of the exhortation in Hosea 10:12 all God's people ought to take to heart:  "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."  Breaking up our fallow ground feels like it is breaking us, yet there is always healing, redemption and hope in our awesome Saviour who is righteousness for us.

Should Be Saved

The English language can be a tricky beast.  While language allows us to express our thoughts, feelings and reasoning, it is possible to write or say words that are misunderstood, read into and misinterpreted by others.  This is one reason why it is important to have conversations face to face, where potential confusion or misspoken words can be explained more clearly.  Fellowship with other believers is critical for mutual encouragement, edification and sharpening in the church.

Recently I had a conversation when I said something that resulted in a visible reaction:  "Some people should not be saved."  Perhaps your eyebrows also shot up reading this.  Seeing the startled look provided an opportunity to explain what I meant by such a statement.  God has plainly told us in the Bible that we have all gone out of the way, have become unprofitable sinners, and cannot do good.  The reality is, in light of God's holiness and righteousness, no one should be saved.  I was including myself among those who should not be saved because of sin, who cannot save themselves by any attempts to do good.

Christians know we should not be saved, yet we can know we have been soundly saved by grace through faith in Jesus.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast."  Having received salvation through the Gospel, we Christians believe all people should be saved because they can be saved.  Of course this does not mean all will be saved, for some are unwilling to come to Jesus and receive the free gift of salvation.  Jesus revealed Himself to be the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one can come unto the Father but by Him (John 14:6).

I love that Jesus has provided salvation for all people, and He has urged whosoever will to come to Him, find pardon of sin and rest for their souls forever.  Concerning Jesus Paul wrote in Romans 10:11-13, "For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."  Based on our sinful conduct we should not be saved, but we should be saved because of the love demonstrated to all people by God through the Gospel.  Wondering if we should be saved is a matter easily shot down by the Law of Moses, but God has brought grace and mercy into the equation by giving His only begotten Son to provide atonement so we can.  The question is, are we willing?

Drink Clear Waters

With Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd, we will always be looked after continuously with love and care.  Unlike a hireling who would flee at the hint of danger or who avoided the hard, dirty work of providing for the needs of a flock,  Jesus laid down His life for all who would become the sheep of His pasture by faith in Him.  God had strong criticisms for pastors or shepherds of his flock in Israel who sought personal profit rather than the good of God's people entrusted to them--strong words Christians ought to lay to heart today.

In Ezekiel 34, God chastised priests and rulers in Israel who were feeding off the flock rather than feeding the flock.  Those who were meant to serve God's people felt entitled to be served by others and failed to do all the things good shepherds do for sheep.  Shepherding does not mean leaders ought to be controlling, intrusive or demanding of others, for we ought to follow the example of Jesus who loves, gives, serves, forgives and helps others without taking thought for His own life.  Rather than seeking those who were lost, strengthening the diseased, tending the sick or binding the broken, the shepherds in Israel ruled with force and cruelty (Eze. 34:4).  Their heavy-handed treatment caused God's people to scatter, and the LORD would hold His shepherds to account.

Seeing the priests and leaders in Israel were not fulfilling their calling before Him, God promised to step in and do all that had been neglected.  This ought to be a great encouragement to God's people who have experienced hurts and cruelty from people especially in churches.  God would seek out and deliver His people from everywhere they had been scattered and return them to Himself.  He asked a searching question to those in the flock that is appropriate and relevant for all God's people in the church to consider today in Ezekiel 34:18-19:  "Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture--and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."  Again, in context this rebuke concerns the whole flock of God--not just the shepherds or leaders.

While the word of God preached from the pulpit is important and powerful, this passage shows us all the people in God's congregation have the capacity to trample and "muddy the waters" so to speak.  God used an analogy of sheep that eagerly tromped into the water and polluted it by stirring up mud, sediment and refuse with filthy hooves.  When other sheep followed them to quench their thirst, they were left with muddy, impure water because of the sheep that preceded them.  How can Christians muddy the waters?  By stirring up doubts or contradictions, confusion and bias, by putting yourself and your opinions before others.  People can be contentious for all to agree with them over secondary issues or regarding personal convictions, and they foster divisions rather than edifying one another in love because they do not focus on what God has clearly said.  God forbid pastors or Sunday School teachers would muddy the waters with their own agenda and cause people to depart church spiritually hungry and thirsty because we neglected to provide the pure water of the word.  Ezekiel 34 teaches us those who hear also have a responsibility before God not to pollute the clear waters by their meddlesome agitations, to ensure others have access to the pure, life-giving spring that comes from Jesus Christ.

Those who have been subjected to muddy waters can look to the LORD with joyful expectancy.  In contrast to those who foul clear water with their feet, see what God has promised to do in Ezekiel 34:23-26:  "I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them--My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken. ²⁵ "I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing."  God has fulfilled His promise through Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd and has established the new covenant in His own blood.  No longer do we need to fear beasts or demons in the darkness, for Jesus will protect us wherever we are.  By faith in Him we are safe, secure and all our needs abundantly provided for.  We are not subject to drinking the muddy waters because God has showed His grace upon us and made us a fountain of the Living Water of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.  How awesome and wonderful is our Good Shepherd Jesus who loves, protects and provides for our needs always!

Power of the Holy Spirit

 I was blessed to read a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon which exhorted believers to rely upon the Holy Spirit to do the impossible, to perfectly accomplish what we could never do by our own efforts.  May you be encouraged in knowing God and experiencing the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus.  Here is an excerpt in the conclusion of the sermon preached long ago but remains as relevant as ever:

"The power of the Holy Spirit is your bulwark, and all his omnipotence defends you.  Can your enemies overcome omnipotence? then they can conquer you.  Can they wrestle with Deity, and hurl him to the ground? then they might conquer you.  For the power of the Spirit is our power; the power of the Spirit is our might.

Once again, Christians, if this is the power of the Spirit, why should you doubt anything?  There is your son.  There is that wife of yours, for whom you have supplicated so frequently; do not doubt the Spirit's power.  "Though he tarry, wait for him."  There is thy husband, O holy woman! and thou hast wrestled for his soul.  And though he is ever so hardened and desperate a wretch, and treats thee ill, there is power in the Spirit.  And, O ye who have come from barren churches, with scarcely a leaf upon the tree, do not doubt the power of the Spirit to raise you up.  For it shall be a "pasture for flocks, a den of wild asses," open but deserted, until the Spirit is poured out from on high.  And then the parched ground shall be made a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; and in the habitations of dragons, where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes.  And, O ye members of Park Street! ye who remember what your God has done for you especially, never distrust the power of the Spirit.  Ye have seen the wilderness blossom like Carmel, ye have seen the desert blossom like the rose, trust him for the future.  Then go out and labour with this conviction, that the power of the Holy Ghost is able to do anything.  Go to your Sunday School; go to your tract distribution; go to your missionary enterprise; go your preaching in your rooms, with the conviction that the power of the Spirit is our great help.

And now, lastly, to you sinners.  What is there to be said to you about this power of the Spirit?  Why, to me, there is some hope for some of you.  I cannot save you; I cannot get at you.  I make you cry sometimes--you wipe your eyes, and it is all over.  But I know my Master can.  That is my consolation.  Chief of sinners, there is hope for thee!  This power can save you as well as anybody else.  It is able to break your heart, though it is an iron one; to make your eyes run with tears, though they have been like rocks before.  His power is able this morning, if he will, to change your heart, to turn the current of all your ideas; to make you at once a child of God, to justify you in Christ.  There is power enough in the Holy Spirit.  ye are not straightened in him, but in your own bowels.  He is able to bring sinners to Jesus; he is able to make you willing in the day of his power.  Are you willing this morning? has he gone so far as to make you desire his name; to make you wish for Jesus?  Then, O sinner! whilst he draws you, say, "Draw me, I am wretched without thee."  Follow him, follow him; and, while he leads, tread you in his footsteps, and rejoice that he has begun a good work in you, for there is an evidence that he will continue it even unto the end.  And, O desponding one! put thy trust in the power of the Spirit.  Rest on the blood of Jesus, and thy soul is safe, not only now, but throughout eternity.  God bless you, my hearers.  Amen." (Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Spurgeon’s Sermons: V. 1-2. Baker Books, 2004. pages 131-133)