I have heard people refer to Christianity disparagingly as a "crutch" for those too weak to deal with life's problems. They understate their case from a position of ignorance. Christ is not a "crutch" to enable a person to limp through life: Christ IS life. Whether your crutches are made of wood or aluminum, they are objects useful only for a living person. Crutches have no value for the dead. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Those who sneer at the idea of trusting in Christ for atonement and salvation through faith as weakness have not considered their own sin and mortality according to God's standard of perfection. Those who God makes to soar on eagle's wings have no need of crutches anyway! Instead of propping people up with positive thinking and mental manipulation, God infuses strength into His people because He dwells within them in the person of the Holy Spirit.
What a relationship is available to every person who will repent and trust in Christ! Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell within him, but we can take shelter in the Creator of all things. Psalm 91:1-2 reads, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." This passage is a picture of how God overshadows and protects His people. Some people treat God as if He is a divine temporary bomb shelter to hide in until the threat of a storm passes. Even some God-fearing Christians treat God more like a dank basement to hide in when things become difficult. The problem is, when the perceived danger is over they peek out of their hiding place and again become confident in themselves. They venture away from fellowship with God and do their own thing until the next storm darkens their lives.
Continuing this analogy, people retreat into hurricane or bomb shelters, not because of the luxurious accommodations, but for the preservation of their lives. I came to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith because my sin condemned me to hell for eternity: only through Jesus Christ could salvation for my soul be found. But Jesus is not some musty old bomb shelter to frequent in times of great need, but a real person who desires for me to abide in Him always. We are not to seek Christ or abide in Him for the purpose of receiving some arbitrary blessing from Him, but for the sake of knowing Christ Himself. We take shelter in Jesus Christ our Saviour because He loves us and we love Him. The joy of the LORD is our strength. Every morning we rise with Jesus, we walk with Jesus through our day He has made, and we lay down to rest with Him in our hearts and minds. Thoughts of God and His Word should be more precious to us than our daily food, for our life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
Jesus says in John 15:4-5: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." Like a branch must abide in the vine for life and fruitfulness, so Christians must abide in Jesus Christ. People who treat God like a divine bomb shelter are not only without their source of strength but their source of life when they choose to forsake communion with God. I suppose it is possible to try to use God as a "crutch," but unless God is invited into the heart it will not profit. These are the folks who say, "I've tried Christianity but it didn't work for me." Too true: Christianity cannot work for you if Christ is not permitted to work WITHIN you due to your willful disobedience, rebellion, and pride! Once we are born again through the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of God which raised Christ from the dead keeps us pure and Holy. Communion with God never again need be severed, and we can joyfully eternally abide in Christ!
Psalm 91:14-16 reads, "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." This is a promise no bomb shelter could possibly grant! Praise God we serve a Living God who has set His love upon us and is a Deliverer. God hears our prayers and answers us. He is with us in trouble and will deliver and honor His own. If your beating heart and every drop of blood in your body is your crutch, than Christ is mine. I am in Christ by God's grace, and I have found true life in Him. Jesus has not only prolonged my life, but given me eternal life. He will have you too if you will abide in Him!
31 July 2011
28 July 2011
Church - Holy Spirit = Worthless
C.H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying, "If we do not have the Spirit of God, it were better to shut the churches, to nail up the doors, to put a black cross on them and say, "God, have mercy on us." If you ministers have not the Spirit of God, you had better not preach and you people had better stay at home. I think I speak not too strongly when I say that a church in the land without the Spirit of God is rather a curse than a blessing." This quote came to my mind yesterday as I met to fellowship with a brother in Christ. This is a strong statement, and it is a true one.
Unless we are led by the Spirit in our prayers and deeds, we do them in the power of our flesh. If we are not led by the Spirit in our preaching, evangelistic efforts, conferences, and meetings, it would be better not to bother. To suppose I can do work for God without God is pride and blasphemy. Instead of allowing this admonition to be filled with the Spirit frighten us into inaction and despair, I believe the quote of Spurgeon was spoken to do the exact opposite: stir up believers to desperately seek the empowerment of the Spirit to honor God in their lives and service. There is no doubt in my mind this exhortation follows the same line of 2 Timothy 1:6-7: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." If our decisions are based upon the suggestions of a spirit of fear, it is not the Spirit which God has given. God has given us the Holy Spirit as the seal of our redemption, a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.
It stands to reason I ought to examine myself, to see if I continually seek to be led by the Spirit and remain obedient to His promptings. The leading of the Holy Spirit will always be in agreement with the written Word of God, the Bible. Being led by the Spirit does not occur through the striving of my flesh, but the submission of my will to the directives of God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 contains a wonderful promise for those who by grace have this mind of Christ and walk in the Spirit: "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." I must be ruthless in renouncing sin and obeying God. I must rely on Jesus Christ walking by faith, not by sight.
Walking in the Spirit does not mean "being mindful to avoid sin," for that is a bi-product of walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 teaches us, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Meditate upon these scriptures and feed upon the LORD's faithfulness. Romans 7:25-8:1 says, "I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Also consider Galatians 5:22-25: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Rejoice in the LORD always, again I say rejoice! God has not left us helpless, comfortless, or powerless, but has granted us the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us live accordingly! May the joy of the LORD be our strength!
27 July 2011
Powerful and Able
As a follower of Jesus Christ, I never need wonder about His ability to do anything. Even so, sometimes the temptation presents itself! The morning after Daniel was thrown into a den of ravenous lions, King Darius stood at the mouth of the den and called out in Daniel 6:20: "...Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" Daniel answered in the affirmative. God had sent an angel to shut the mouth of the lions and they could not harm him. Perhaps a skeptic might claim the lions weren't hungry after all. Daniel 6:24 clear this up immediately: "And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions--them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den."
When we consider the ferocity of a lion, it is nothing compared to the power and ability of God. Isaiah 40:10-12 says, "Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?" Our earth is located in the Milky Way galaxy, just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies observed in the heavens. It is estimated to be 100,000 million light years across. Light moves at the speed of about 186,000 miles per second (or 300,000,00 meters per second!), and a light year is the distance light travels in a whole year at that unimaginable speed. I have read the observable universe is around 46 billion light years in diameter, give or take. God says that gargantuan expanse is measured by the span of His hand, the distance from a man's finger to thumb with an open palm!
I recently read a National Geographic article titled, "Water in Quasar could fill Earth's oceans 100 trillion times." To me, that is a remarkable statement in itself. But how much more mind-blowing is it that God measures the waters "in the hollow of His hand." How astounding is the ability and power of God! If ours is the God who made and sustains all things, breathed into man a living soul, speaks the words of life, and holds the keys to Hell and Death, of what should we be afraid? He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
In light of God's power and grace, take heart in the words of Isaiah 40:28-31: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." God is all power, and His ability is limitless.
Do you believe this?
When we consider the ferocity of a lion, it is nothing compared to the power and ability of God. Isaiah 40:10-12 says, "Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?" Our earth is located in the Milky Way galaxy, just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies observed in the heavens. It is estimated to be 100,000 million light years across. Light moves at the speed of about 186,000 miles per second (or 300,000,00 meters per second!), and a light year is the distance light travels in a whole year at that unimaginable speed. I have read the observable universe is around 46 billion light years in diameter, give or take. God says that gargantuan expanse is measured by the span of His hand, the distance from a man's finger to thumb with an open palm!
I recently read a National Geographic article titled, "Water in Quasar could fill Earth's oceans 100 trillion times." To me, that is a remarkable statement in itself. But how much more mind-blowing is it that God measures the waters "in the hollow of His hand." How astounding is the ability and power of God! If ours is the God who made and sustains all things, breathed into man a living soul, speaks the words of life, and holds the keys to Hell and Death, of what should we be afraid? He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
In light of God's power and grace, take heart in the words of Isaiah 40:28-31: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." God is all power, and His ability is limitless.
Do you believe this?
25 July 2011
Remember Lot's Wife
The Bible is filled with miraculous events, both well-known and obscure. One event I thought strangest as a kid was the account of of Lot's wife demise as she fled from Sodom. God sent angelic messengers to not only warn Lot and his family of the certain judgment of the region, but to lay hold of them so they might be delivered from death. Genesis 19 records the event in detail. Lot and his household were very reluctant to leave their home as we read in Genesis 19:16: "And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city." Lot, his wife, and two daughters were brought outside the city and given clear instructions in verse 17: "So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." As God began to destroy the region of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and burning sulfur, Genesis 19:26 contains the last mention of Lot's wife: "But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."
Needless to say, being turned into a pillar of salt is an uncommon way to die. Ancient historians such as Josephus have attested to the existence of this pillar in confirmation of scripture (Chapter 11, Antiquities). This pillar remained for years, a testimony and warning in a most unique form. What led me to consider Lot's wife is the mention Jesus makes of her in Luke 17:32: "Remember Lot's wife." It is wise to obey Jesus! What can we observe of this woman? I am struck first by the fact we are never told her name. The second point is the angels did not find her eager to leave Sodom, for she lingered until she was taken by the hand and brought out of the city. Third, Lot's wife disobeyed the command of the angels: "Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain." God is under no obligation to tell us the each specific outcome of disobedience. The wages of disobedience is death, whether in the city or the plain! Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
I do not need to justify God's judgment upon Sodom or Lot's wife. The Bible says there was not even 10 righteous people in the entire city. God, in His great mercy, intervened and saved those who were obedient and willing. This story of turning back reminds me of a song often sung at baptisms: "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back." Whether moved through curiosity or deep longing, Lot's wife looked back. That decision led to her destruction. The context of Christ's command to remember Lot's wife concerns His second coming. Luke 17:31-33 reads, "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." Jesus bids for all to take His Word seriously. Deviation from His command will bring certain, severe consequences.
When I remember Lot's wife, I instinctively think about looking back. As Christians following Jesus, we can choose to look to Christ or look back with longing at our life without Him. Just like some husbands or wives fantasize about how great it would be to be single again, Christians can sometimes have this same abominable longing to depart from God. Lot chose to walk in obedience and refused to look back. 2 Peter 2:7-9 tells us God "...delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment..." We read in the Bible that Lot was oppressed by the sins which surrounded him, his righteous soul tormented by what he heard and saw. We do not read the same concerning his wife. It is possible that Lot was the only righteous person in all of Sodom! God is merciful to extend salvation to all.
Looking back is the step which leads to going back. The tantalizing wares of this world may have great appeal to our flesh, but provide no life or strength for our souls. Far more common than outright apostasy is the peril of a divided heart. We follow Jesus best when we are looking to Him alone. When I think of Lot's wife as a pillar of salt, cold and motionless on a desolate hillside turned facing Sodom, I am filled with sorrow. All that is earthly will some day face the same end of destruction by fire. Will I set my eyes God or on things of this earth? 2 Peter 3:10-12 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat ?" Let us be ones who never turn back but fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, our Salvation!
Needless to say, being turned into a pillar of salt is an uncommon way to die. Ancient historians such as Josephus have attested to the existence of this pillar in confirmation of scripture (Chapter 11, Antiquities). This pillar remained for years, a testimony and warning in a most unique form. What led me to consider Lot's wife is the mention Jesus makes of her in Luke 17:32: "Remember Lot's wife." It is wise to obey Jesus! What can we observe of this woman? I am struck first by the fact we are never told her name. The second point is the angels did not find her eager to leave Sodom, for she lingered until she was taken by the hand and brought out of the city. Third, Lot's wife disobeyed the command of the angels: "Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain." God is under no obligation to tell us the each specific outcome of disobedience. The wages of disobedience is death, whether in the city or the plain! Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
I do not need to justify God's judgment upon Sodom or Lot's wife. The Bible says there was not even 10 righteous people in the entire city. God, in His great mercy, intervened and saved those who were obedient and willing. This story of turning back reminds me of a song often sung at baptisms: "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back." Whether moved through curiosity or deep longing, Lot's wife looked back. That decision led to her destruction. The context of Christ's command to remember Lot's wife concerns His second coming. Luke 17:31-33 reads, "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." Jesus bids for all to take His Word seriously. Deviation from His command will bring certain, severe consequences.
When I remember Lot's wife, I instinctively think about looking back. As Christians following Jesus, we can choose to look to Christ or look back with longing at our life without Him. Just like some husbands or wives fantasize about how great it would be to be single again, Christians can sometimes have this same abominable longing to depart from God. Lot chose to walk in obedience and refused to look back. 2 Peter 2:7-9 tells us God "...delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment..." We read in the Bible that Lot was oppressed by the sins which surrounded him, his righteous soul tormented by what he heard and saw. We do not read the same concerning his wife. It is possible that Lot was the only righteous person in all of Sodom! God is merciful to extend salvation to all.
Looking back is the step which leads to going back. The tantalizing wares of this world may have great appeal to our flesh, but provide no life or strength for our souls. Far more common than outright apostasy is the peril of a divided heart. We follow Jesus best when we are looking to Him alone. When I think of Lot's wife as a pillar of salt, cold and motionless on a desolate hillside turned facing Sodom, I am filled with sorrow. All that is earthly will some day face the same end of destruction by fire. Will I set my eyes God or on things of this earth? 2 Peter 3:10-12 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat ?" Let us be ones who never turn back but fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, our Salvation!
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