The Hope of the Gospel

Recently I heard of a young woman's passing at the age of 21.  Cancer previously in remission came back with a vengeance, and her graduation to glory was sudden and unexpected.  The only solace her friends have in this time of loss is the knowledge this woman chose to place her faith in Jesus Christ, having received the Gospel which saves to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25).

A mate of mine who knew her well spoke about his grieving process, how his mind went to their last interactions, his sorrow and tears.  He thought about how in her brief life there are many things she never had the opportunity to experience:  to graduate from university, to be married, bear children, or own a home.  Despite the sadness, he was able to discover joy in the knowledge her days of pain are over for good, for she had a hope in the Gospel which is greater than a cure for cancer.  Because of the assurance provided in the Bible through Jesus, this dear girl now rejoices in the arms of her loving Saviour and lives unfettered by illness or pain forever.

It struck me:  even if our days on earth be few, no life is "cut short" after being born again through faith in Jesus Christ.  There is nothing more this woman can do on earth, but she made a decision and lived a life which counted for all eternity.  Marriages end, children move away, and houses burn to ash, but those who repent and trust in Jesus have eternal security and have accomplished all that matters.  "The LORD took her away at work," my friend said.  It is immensely painful for all who remain behind, but I am convinced the one taken up in the arms of Jesus is not at all sorrowful.  Our Saviour wept when He was brought to the tomb of Lazarus, but mourning was turned to joy because He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Cultivating Receptivity

I have been reading through Tozer's Pursuit of God and have found it insightful and thought-provoking.  I like a man who does not only point out problems but holds forth the biblical solution.  While there is no shortage of self-proclaimed watchmen these days, those who cultivate the presence of God are surprisingly few.  After acknowledging the reality of God and our need for utter dependence upon the Holy Spirit, Tozer follows it up with the responsibility of man to labour to seek God and be receptive to His voice.  I find this convicting because of my own lame efforts yet encouraging at the same time because of the assurance provided by God in His Word.  Tozer wrote:

"Receptivity is not a single thing; it is a compound rather, a blending of several elements within the soul.  It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have.  From this it may be gathered that it can be present in degrees, that we may have little or more or less, depending upon the individual.  It may increased by exercise or destroyed by neglect.  It is not a sovereign and irresistible force which comes upon us as a seizure from above.  It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift if it is to realize the purpose for which it was given.

Failure to see this is the cause of a very serious breakdown in modern evangelicalism.  The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture.  It is too slow, too common.  We now demand glamour and fast flowing dramatic action.  A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals.  We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God.  We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us.  Shallow lives, holy religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit; these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

For this great sickness that is upon us no one person is responsible, and no Christian is wholly free from blame.  We have all contributed, directly or indirectly, to this sad state of affairs.  We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor average diet with which others appear satisfied.  To put in differently, we have accepted on another's notions, copied one another's lives and made one another's experiences the model for our own.  And for a generation the trend has been downward.  Now we have reached a low place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the Word of Truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed...

What God in His sovereignty may yet do on a world-scale I do not claim to know:  but what He will do for the plain man or woman who seeks His face I believe I do know and can tell others.  Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days.  Any man who by repentance and a sincere return to God will break himself out of the mold in which he has been held, and will go to the Bible itself for his spiritual standards, will be delighted with what he finds there." (Tozer, A. and Snyder, J. (2017). The Essential Tozer Collection. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House, pp.67-69.)

When Wisdom Laughs

Wisdom is no good to us when unheeded.  In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom is personified as a woman calling aloud to all who will listen.  She raised her voice in the city gates and main thoroughfares, reproving the foolish and the scorner.  There is great grace in her boisterous approach, for she sought out and addressed people who were unlikely to listen.  It seems for the most part Wisdom's voice was ignored and scorned by those she warned and instructed.

Her response to their stubborn folly is revealed in Proverbs 1:24-31:  "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, ²⁵ because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, ²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, ²⁷ when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. ²⁹ Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, ³⁰ they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. ³¹ therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies."

As a farmer reaps what he sows, so those who do not fear God and follow their own ways will reap calamity, terror, destruction, distress, and anguish.  Even as the type of seed sown dictates what kind of crop is produced, our response to God's call, counsel, and rebuke has real consequences in our lives. Should we mock and laugh at the stern warnings of Wisdom, Wisdom will laugh when the trouble she warned them about comes upon us.  Those who despise Wisdom will find themselves without aid in trouble.  I am amazed how Jesus has become for Christians wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30-31) and it is His voice we are to heed.  If we hear and obey His words, we are compared to a wise man who builds his house upon the rock.  When the storm hits we will be secure and protected; we are the ones who can laugh at the storm because Wisdom prepared and preserves us.  When Wisdom laughs at you, that is no laughing matter.

The Rock of the Divisions

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Psalm 18:2

After David fled from Saul, he was relentlessly pursued by the king and his mighty men.  David was convinced there was but a step between him and death, and so David hid in the wilderness.  There is a remarkable account in 1 Samuel 23 when David and his men were on one side of a mountain, and King Saul and his men were on the other side.  When it seemed certain David would be discovered, word was hastily brought to King Saul that the Philistines had invaded and he immediately called off the pursuit.  1 Samuel 23:28-29 reads in the KJV, "Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth. ²⁹ And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi."

God was David's rock, his fortress, deliverer, strength, salvation, and stronghold.  The Strong's concordance defines Selahammahlekoth as, "rock of the divisions."  Hearkening to what Jesus said about the wise man building his house upon the rock, we might think the rock of salvation is limited to a foundation.  Yet in David's case, the rock or mountain protected David by dividing the two companies on either side, a barrier which made attack impossible.  This reminds me of how God makes a distinction between those loyal to Him and everyone else.  Jesus spoke concerning the Day of Judgment and how God will divide people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats:  those who love and fear Him will be preserved for eternal life, and those who hate Him will face eternal destruction.

It is a great comfort to know God protects His people today, even as He delivered David from Saul's schemes.  Satan prowls about like a lion seeking whom he may devour, but God is our Rock and Deliverer.  David went from Selahammahlekoth to Engedi, a beautiful oasis with many caves and strongholds.  It is a lovely picture of how God is able to protect and provide for the needs of His people; He was as the rock which divided David from Saul thus preserving him, and He was as the springs and strongholds of Engedi, supplying living water, protection, and solace from assault.

David concluded his song extolling the greatness of God.  Psalm 18:46-50 reads, "The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. ⁴⁷ It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. ⁴⁸ He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. ⁴⁹ Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. ⁵⁰ Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore."  Let us praise and thank the LORD for His deliverance and mercy, and having been adopted into God's family through the Gospel we are partakers!

Waterfall in Engedi, 2014