Asceticism

One of the definitions Mr. Webster gives for the word “ascetic” is: “one who leads a simple, non-materialistic life.” A non-materialistic life? Neither Jesus nor His followers practiced this kind of life-style. Though many professing Christians adhere to this type of teaching today, it is foreign to the Scriptures. God made matter, and that matters. He made the world; He created all the physical, materialistic things in it, and He tells us we are to enjoy them. We’re told the first Tabernacle was “worldly.”

C.S. Lewis says, “There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. We may think this rather crude and unscriptural. God does not; He likes matter. He invented it.” Need I remind you that in Jesus’ spiritual, resurrected body, He enjoyed eating? We will still retain flesh and bone throughout eternity. God does not separate the physical and spiritual in the Christian’s life; only we do that. If it is not sin, then we can enjoy it (1Tim.6:17b).

If the things Jesus and John said about Heaven be literal, then Heaven is a very physical, materialistic place.

Peer Pressure

“The fear of man bringeth a snare.” We hear much today, both among the younger and older generations, about “peer pressure.” The word is derived from the Latin, meaning an equal. And when adding the latter word to it, we come up with a complete definition; “Pressure from one's peers (equals) to behave in a manner similar or acceptable to them.”

All temperaments are prone to yield to this common temptation, but some succumb more readily than others. For example, Peter was more apt to surrender to the whims of others than say, Paul. The former would be enticed to play the part of a chameleon much quicker than the latter (Gal.2:11-12).

“Peer Pleasers” ultimately find the old adage true, “You can please some people some of the time, but you can’t please all the people all the time.” Therefore, it is best to set out to please the Lord alone, and if that pleases everyone else, fine. And if not, tough!

Why should clay fear clay?

Prayer and Supplication

“Be careful (full of care) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” I’ve never had a problem with the prayer part of this text, but I have wondered about the supplication half of it. Most understand prayer is the asking and petitioning; but what is to be made of the supplication portion?

I asked the wife of a dear friend, if she could help me out on this. She is a real word-smith (etymologist). The following is the result of her study:

Supplication:
Latin – supplet, suppliant supplic: bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed. Sample given: (like a branch on a tree). Responsive, compliant, yielding.

Indo-European root words: sup + plak
Sup: having supper
Plak: to be flat, calm, humble

Enough said, I’ll let the Holy Spirit do the applying, lest I spoil it for you.

Divine Drudgery

“...common things.” As you read your Bible, you become aware that our Lord has an affinity for common things, though many of us must confess to having a dislike for them. We read in the New Testament of a common people, a common faith, a common salvation, and a common temptation. To be sure, God is the Creator of the common.

Ordinary water poured into common water pots is turned mysteriously into that which makes glad the heart. Unlearned and ignorant men become ambassadors. From uncultured lips, mighty arguments are presented, and a common meal is changed into a Sacrament by the God who can transform the common into the uncommon.

And, since He is the same today as He was then, this glorious ministry of transformation continues on. He can, and does, still turn the humdrum things of life into burning bushes. The only condition necessary to make the common to shine is to put the Light of the World into them.

Life’s drudgeries become delights, when Deity is put into them.

What Might Have Been

A line from the famous poem, Maud Muller says, “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: “It might have been!” Or as the wise woman of Tokoah told King David, “[We] are as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.” The popular idiom puts it this way, “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”

Whatever else these sayings might convey; one truth stands out above all others: “What’s done is done.” You can’t undo past history in your life. Only an illogical fool would disagree. But all sensible, sane persons would also admit; although it is impossible to reverse the past, one can begin a new history today.

Most, if not all, of us have said, “If I had to do it again, I’d do it differently.” Who among us in this imperfect life has not taken a wrong turn, or made an error in judgment? And though there are no u-turns in many instances, or overturning verdicts in others, we can learn from our mistakes and correct them. We need not repeat our history!

We all need to be astute historians when dealing with our past blunders.

The Main Ingredient

“…in all things [Christ] might have the preeminence.” Colossians is as relevant today as it was when first written. The false doctrines that had crept into this early Church have slithered into our contemporary assemblies. Eastern mysticism, Jewish legalism, and religious asceticism, along with the world’s philosophy and scientific astrology, had invaded that primitive band of believers, as they have our own.

And what was Paul’s answer to each of these heresies? The preeminence of Christ. Colossians is the answer to the so-called “New Age” movement. Christ is not one of many ingredients in God’s recipe for what ails us; He is the only ingredient. For we are “complete in him.” “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily.”

The apostle teaches, the best way to confront error is to emphasize truth. Controversy has few converts. Paul did not waste his time in explaining each false doctrine, but in exalting Christ. He only refers to the errors of these false teachers in a general sense. He didn’t even take time to give us their origin, but simply made a passing reference to them, as he headed for the Head of the Church.

"The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it."

Before We Can Move On

How thankful I will always be for a dear, elderly Christian lady who helped me when I was a babe in Christ. I was troubled with my past, trying frantically to deal with it, but all to no avail. After I explained to her the regrets that lay behind me, she simply opened her Bible and had me read Philippians 3:13, “...forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” This, she said, was the secret of Paul’s perennial success as a Christian and it would work for me also, she confidently affirmed.

That was over 50 years ago, and I can give testimony to the fact that it really does work. I could never have made it this far had I tried to drag the ball-and-chain of my yesterdays along with me on my journey to Bunyan’s Celestial City.

There is no moving on, as long as we live in the past. May God help us to forget, and to leave behind all of life’s failures, sins, heartaches, and shattered dreams. We must bury them, and make sure to throw away the shovel so that we cannot dig them up again.

We must decide, each day, whether we want history or future.