I remember days when I could eat whatever and as much as I wanted without a clear negative correlation to my physical health. When I was about twenty a friend a bit older than me warned as age increases the metabolism can slow down. "You'll notice a change around thirty," he predicted. "At least, that's when my metabolism started slowing down. I had to make adjustments to my eating habits or I would really pack on the pounds!" Yeah right, I thought to myself. But to be honest, he wasn't too far off. I have found it is important for me to eat less and exercise more to maintain my current body weight.
This year I will be celebrating my fortieth birthday, and needless to say a lot has changed since I was twenty. The thing I find most challenging is the necessity to be constantly vigilant concerning my fitness. The nature of my job is sedentary, and it is rarely convenient to make time to exercise. I look at myself in the mirror and it seems no matter how much I reduce my intake of foods or sugary drinks, those stubborn pounds just hang around. I have finally come to accept this simple fact: the battle for staying fit is "on," and as long as I live in this failing body it will continue without intermission. The only way the battle will be over is if I passively surrender to the advance of age and become careless towards my health. If I want fitness I've never had at my age, I must be willing to sacrifice more and work harder than I ever have before.
The same is true concerning the spiritual health of a Christian. Because we have been given the victory over sin by grace through faith, we might think we can be passive and still win the battle for our mind and affections. Not so! Jesus has defeated sin, Satan, and death, but I am often my own worst enemy. I would like to think that sinful habits once overcome will remain perpetually beaten and powerless. But you know what? Enemies have a way of secretly growing stronger, launching secret attacks, and waiting for complacency to provide easy opportunity to regain control. Enemies adapt and adopt new strategies to succeed where prior efforts failed. Exterminators do not only spray their poisons one time and assume a pest infestation is handled. They spray again and again, open and inspect dark places, and scour for any evidence of any remaining pests. Even when the bugs are gone they will continue to spray, because if left unchecked the filthy freeloaders will be back.
Let's not be smug and think there are no negative correlations between sin and bondage, that being spiritually sedentary will not make us listless, dull, and easy prey for the enemy of our souls. Instead of looking into the mirror to gauge your progress, look to Jesus in the clarity of His Word. God created you to be a person through whom His glory shines in the world in holiness, purity, and power. We ought to take seriously this responsibility and privilege, and be willing to sacrifice more and labour harder than ever to improve our fitness for service. Are you willing?
04 June 2015
A Tract Concerning Sin's Folly
For a long time I have kept my eyes open for volumes of The Sword and the Trowel, a compilation of articles and tracts from C.H. Spurgeon. I am happy to say I discovered a couple of clean used copies (Volumes 1 & 2) from a bookseller (Christian Books Australia) and have been enjoying them as expected. As I read a tract published over a hundred and fifty years ago, I was amazed at how little has changed concerning the human heart and Satan's tactics. Here is the tract, as originally published by Passmore & Alabaster:
Rowland Hill illustrated the folly of sinners by the story of a butcher who was followed by the swine right into the slaughterhouse. As pigs are not usually in the mind to go where they are wanted, it seemed a mystery how these animals were so eager to follow their executioner; but when it was seen that he wisely carried a bag of pease and beans with which he enticed the creatures onward, the riddle was solved at once. Unsuspicious of impending death the hogs cared only for the passing gratification of their appetites, and hastened to the slaughter - and in the same manner ungodly men follow the great enemy of souls down through the jaws of hell, merely because their depraved passions are pleased with the lusts of the flesh and the pleasures of sin which the devil gives them by handfuls on the road. Alas, that there should be such likeness between men and swine!
The joys of sin are so short and so unsatisfactory, that they can never be thought of for a moment as a fitting inducement for a rational being to lose his immortal soul. Will a few hours' foolery, gambling, drinking, or wantoning, compensate for eternal fire? Is the momentary indulgence of a base passion worth this endurance of flames which never can be quenched? To moan in vain for a drop of water! To be tormented by the never dying worm! To be shut out from hope for ever! To be eternally cursed of God! Is any sin worth all this? Can any gain make up for this? O ye who delight in the poisonous sweets of sin, remember that though pleasant in the mouth for the moment, sin will be as wormwood and gall in your bowels for ever. Why will ye swallow the bait when you know that the hook is there? Why will ye belured by the Satanic fowler? Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird; but you are more foolish than the birds and fly into the snare when you know it to be there. O that ye were wise, and would consider your latter end. Let that one word Eternity ring in your ears and drive out the giddy laughter of worldings who prefer the present joys of sense. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life by Jesus Christ." Jesus receiveth sinners. Go to him and he will no wise cast you out. (Spurgeon, C. H. C.H. Spurgeon's Works as Published in His Monthly Magazine The Sword and the Trowel. Vol. 1. Pasadena, Tex.: Pilgrim Publications, 1975. 35. Print.)
02 June 2015
God Does Not Threaten
The ideas people have of God's character or nature are commonly not based on the revelation of scripture but their own faulty assumptions or reasoning. People imagine God to be a certain way based upon short quotes (without context) or observation of others who claim to know him. Do you think you could possibly "know" a musician by learning the lyrics to their songs? Can you become intimately acquainted with a politician based upon a short television interview, sound bites or an advertisement? The truth is, a lot of people who enshrine misconceptions of God actually "know" musicians and politicians (they do not know!) far better than they know God.
God is not whoever man imagines him to be. Many have constructed a "god" in their own minds which is not God, an imaginary being of whom they approve, blame or hate based upon blind ignorance. Being God, He is not subject to our judgments or self-centred bias. God has revealed Himself through the Bible, God's word, and God became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ. All of nature reveals and proclaims the undimmed glory of God, while man often worships creation over the creator. Man in his folly sets up idols for himself which "will not totter" (Is. 40:20) and are well pleased to slide a little cardboard under the leg to prop up their misplaced affections--rather than repent, trust and obey the living God.
One thing consistent in God's character revealed in scripture is He does not threaten: He tells man how it is. Man often views a warning as a threat, but they could not be more different. Let's say you are teaching someone to drive a car. You warn him if he follows cars too closely, he runs the risk of rear-ending other vehicles and causing an accident. Imagine if the student's head whipped around, and with narrowed eyes asked, "Is that a threat?" How ridiculous! It is not a threat to explain what is the eventual certainty of taking the risk of following another car too close. What if you saw a young child (not your own) playing dangerously near a fire while camping and felt you should say something? "Careful now," you call out as you see the flames reaching out to lick the clothing of the clueless lad. "If you play near that fire, you could be burned!" This is not a threat but a loving response in the face of danger. Not being your child, the young one might cry or run away because they did not understand your motive. Such is often the case when unbelievers hear God's Word, for they interpret warnings as threats.
The scriptures say with absolute authority: "The soul that sins will surely die" (Eze. 18:20). God never threatens a man with death for his disobedience. The fact is, all human beings are sinners who will die because of our sin. We are already doomed to destruction because of our disobedience, and our souls are headed to hell! As certain as the law of gravity has an impact on life on earth, so the law of sin and death means we are already facing judgment and eternal damnation. Punishment in hell is not a threat to manipulate those God wants to control: God warns us because it is already a reality. He is not willing that any should perish but that all would repent and receive eternal life by faith in Him, for the death of the wicked provides God no pleasure. The reality of death and eternal separation from God is true concerning all people and even nations. This morning I read in Jeremiah 12:17, "But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation," says the LORD." This is not a threat but the effect of sin on a people that walk in disobedience and disregard of God. It has been proved true again and again with all nations, including Israel. Still God shows compassion to those once disobedient, and graciously restores all who place their trust in Him.
Consider the example of Jesus Christ, supremely consistent with the character of the Father in 1 Peter 2:20-25: "For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." Jesus had all power and authority in heaven and earth granted to Him, yet did not threaten (verse 23). He did not threaten those who skewered Him with punishment nor threaten to withhold forgiveness or the Gospel. Jesus committed Himself and all His pain and suffering to the Father in heaven who judges righteously. Eventually all those who hate Jesus will receive their wages, and the wages of sin is death.
Do you feel threatened by the warnings of God? Ezekiel 33:11 conveys the heart of the God who seeks to save the lost: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'"
God is not whoever man imagines him to be. Many have constructed a "god" in their own minds which is not God, an imaginary being of whom they approve, blame or hate based upon blind ignorance. Being God, He is not subject to our judgments or self-centred bias. God has revealed Himself through the Bible, God's word, and God became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ. All of nature reveals and proclaims the undimmed glory of God, while man often worships creation over the creator. Man in his folly sets up idols for himself which "will not totter" (Is. 40:20) and are well pleased to slide a little cardboard under the leg to prop up their misplaced affections--rather than repent, trust and obey the living God.
One thing consistent in God's character revealed in scripture is He does not threaten: He tells man how it is. Man often views a warning as a threat, but they could not be more different. Let's say you are teaching someone to drive a car. You warn him if he follows cars too closely, he runs the risk of rear-ending other vehicles and causing an accident. Imagine if the student's head whipped around, and with narrowed eyes asked, "Is that a threat?" How ridiculous! It is not a threat to explain what is the eventual certainty of taking the risk of following another car too close. What if you saw a young child (not your own) playing dangerously near a fire while camping and felt you should say something? "Careful now," you call out as you see the flames reaching out to lick the clothing of the clueless lad. "If you play near that fire, you could be burned!" This is not a threat but a loving response in the face of danger. Not being your child, the young one might cry or run away because they did not understand your motive. Such is often the case when unbelievers hear God's Word, for they interpret warnings as threats.
The scriptures say with absolute authority: "The soul that sins will surely die" (Eze. 18:20). God never threatens a man with death for his disobedience. The fact is, all human beings are sinners who will die because of our sin. We are already doomed to destruction because of our disobedience, and our souls are headed to hell! As certain as the law of gravity has an impact on life on earth, so the law of sin and death means we are already facing judgment and eternal damnation. Punishment in hell is not a threat to manipulate those God wants to control: God warns us because it is already a reality. He is not willing that any should perish but that all would repent and receive eternal life by faith in Him, for the death of the wicked provides God no pleasure. The reality of death and eternal separation from God is true concerning all people and even nations. This morning I read in Jeremiah 12:17, "But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation," says the LORD." This is not a threat but the effect of sin on a people that walk in disobedience and disregard of God. It has been proved true again and again with all nations, including Israel. Still God shows compassion to those once disobedient, and graciously restores all who place their trust in Him.
Consider the example of Jesus Christ, supremely consistent with the character of the Father in 1 Peter 2:20-25: "For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." Jesus had all power and authority in heaven and earth granted to Him, yet did not threaten (verse 23). He did not threaten those who skewered Him with punishment nor threaten to withhold forgiveness or the Gospel. Jesus committed Himself and all His pain and suffering to the Father in heaven who judges righteously. Eventually all those who hate Jesus will receive their wages, and the wages of sin is death.
Do you feel threatened by the warnings of God? Ezekiel 33:11 conveys the heart of the God who seeks to save the lost: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'"
01 June 2015
Called to Serve
When I arrived home this afternoon, I turned the kettle on for a hot drink. Over the sound of the electric kettle I heard an odd mechanical noise outside. A quick glance out the window revealed evidence which confirmed my suspicion: the pool pump! With all the leaves falling of late, the pool filter basket fills quickly. The large amount of leaves floating on the surface suggested strongly the basket was packed full and the pump was straining to draw water through. I quickly went outside, turned off the pump, and discarded the leaves which had collected.
As I used the net to skim off the remaining leaves, my initial thought was: "How is it no one else seems to notice the basket needed to be emptied?" But then I caught myself. What if one of my contributions to a smooth running household is my awareness of the pool's condition and doing something about it? If I was called to be the pool cleaner, why should I be frustrated or annoyed at other people who aren't doing what I am supposed to do? I am thankful to have a pool, and grateful for the tools and ability to clean it.
Then it struck me: how many times in church ministry have I seen people bothered the "church" isn't doing what they think it should be doing? Could it be those people who are acutely aware of a need are actually the ones who could do something about it? How sad it would be for me to berate my wife and children for not doing the thing I am called to do myself! Teaching, training, and delegation all have their place and value in life and ministry. But too often we notice our "pool" is not clean, it bothers us those choking leaves seem to bother us more than others, and this leads to judgmental, grumbling, and sour believers. It would seem a bit strange for me to pray God would call someone to clean up these leaves - when I am holding the skim net in my hands. Huh. It looks like God already has!
How good it is to know God is in control, and He gives us the ability to rejoice in any situation. If God has called you to be a pool cleaner, rejoice! If He has called you to do the washing, clean dishes, or mop floors for the glory of His name, so be it! In all things may we be thankful, happy to be of service in the simple ways He graciously provides. Instead of frustration the pool wasn't clean, I can rejoice God led me to notice the condition and clean it myself. Ah, the bliss of doing what God calls us to do!
As I used the net to skim off the remaining leaves, my initial thought was: "How is it no one else seems to notice the basket needed to be emptied?" But then I caught myself. What if one of my contributions to a smooth running household is my awareness of the pool's condition and doing something about it? If I was called to be the pool cleaner, why should I be frustrated or annoyed at other people who aren't doing what I am supposed to do? I am thankful to have a pool, and grateful for the tools and ability to clean it.
Then it struck me: how many times in church ministry have I seen people bothered the "church" isn't doing what they think it should be doing? Could it be those people who are acutely aware of a need are actually the ones who could do something about it? How sad it would be for me to berate my wife and children for not doing the thing I am called to do myself! Teaching, training, and delegation all have their place and value in life and ministry. But too often we notice our "pool" is not clean, it bothers us those choking leaves seem to bother us more than others, and this leads to judgmental, grumbling, and sour believers. It would seem a bit strange for me to pray God would call someone to clean up these leaves - when I am holding the skim net in my hands. Huh. It looks like God already has!
How good it is to know God is in control, and He gives us the ability to rejoice in any situation. If God has called you to be a pool cleaner, rejoice! If He has called you to do the washing, clean dishes, or mop floors for the glory of His name, so be it! In all things may we be thankful, happy to be of service in the simple ways He graciously provides. Instead of frustration the pool wasn't clean, I can rejoice God led me to notice the condition and clean it myself. Ah, the bliss of doing what God calls us to do!
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