I'll Be Seeing You

A line from a beautiful love song of the 40’s say’s, “I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places.” Well, in John’s gospel he records the words of the Lover of our souls, before leaving this world, promising, “I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice.” And the old saint continues this exciting anticipation in his first epistle by telling us, “We shall see him as he is.” And in the Revelation, alone on Patmos, nearing his end, he adds “And [we] shall see his face.”

The gospel song puts it this way, “What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see; and I look upon his face, the One who saved me by his grace.” As the old timer’s would say of this promise of seeing our Lord face to face, “You can hang your hat on it.” That is, you can depend on it. I like the way Job put it, “For I know…after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh (Resurrection) shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold.”

Let me close by once again quoting “…the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Speaking to all the family of God he writes, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”

W.W.J.D. or W.W.J.S.

I’m not advocating the throwing away of your bracelet, necklace, etc.; but after this article, you may want to change the end letter “D,” to “S.” In my opinion it is not, “What would Jesus do?” but rather, “What would Jesus say?” I find most that practice the former go by their own imagination, instead of Divine Inspiration.

I seriously doubt if any Believer who saw Christian material being sold in the vestibule of their church for three or four times its actual price, would turn over the tables and drive out the culprits with a whip. That’s what Jesus would do; but what He would say is, “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.”

Jesus did a lot of things we could not and should not do, but all that He said, we can safely follow. God said concerning His Son, “Hear ye Him.” When we’re told to “follow in His steps,” it’s speaking spiritually, not physically. Paul said of young Titus, “Walked we not in the same spirit? Walked we not in the same steps?”

We cannot do what God does, but we can all do what God says. And so next time we’re in a predicament, rather than asking, “What would Jesus do?” how about, “What would Jesus say?” We’d be surer, I believe, of getting out of our ruts, and also pleasing God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “If any man…consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ…he is proud, knowing nothing.”

Global Warming

I am not a meteorologist, environmentalist, or biologist; but I do profess to be a 100% Biblist. And the Word of God tells me in no uncertain terms that as God destroyed His earth in the past by immersing it in water, He will demolish it in the future with a baptism of fire.

To those fickle followers of Christ who like to spiritualize the hard sayings of the Bible, I would remind you that the picture, good or bad, never does justice to the actual. Therefore, if the text is literal, it is going to be very, very bad. But if it is speaking figuratively, it’s going to be even worse than imagined. You choose.

As to the cause and effect of this devastation, the former is due to man’s continual sin against God. Concerning the latter, it’s the results of the Lord’s judgment upon mankind for his incessant rebellion. In the end-time Book of Revelation we’re told of the sun scorching men with great heat, so that they gnaw their tongues in pain and blaspheme the name God, refusing to repent.

But we are also told of a new earth that is awaiting those who bless that Worthy Name. Peter in his second epistle puts it this way, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

For you who have put all your stock in this present earth, I would remind you that your dividends of return will be ashes. I do not want to sound frivolous in making this statement to you who have put your roots deep in this present earth; but there is more truth than fiction in the old song, “There’ll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.”

So You Believe, Do You?

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” What a shock it must have been for those early believers, as it is for many today, to find out that the devil has faith. He is orthodox, in that he believes in the unity of God. He can stand alongside of many in churches and repeat their creed: “I believe in the one, true God.” If that’s all one has, then you cannot distinguish them from the devil. To be content with this kind of faith is to be condemned.

It is not a professing faith, but a faith that produces good works that God recognizes. If a person has only a faith without works, he is no better than the devil. The devils know there is one God, but there is no personal relationship with Him. “...what have we to do with thee...I know who thou art, the Holy One of God.” There are no atheists among the devil’s crowd. Those only exist among us mortals.

A mere intellectual assent is a vanity faith—it’s cosmetic. You can have an intellectual faith (the devils believe) and a faith that moves the emotions (they tremble), but only that faith that brings a change of life and good works, counts with God. It’s not talkin’ it that counts, but walkin’ it.

A naked profession of faith is no better than a verbal charity! (Thomas Manton)

Crediting the Creditors

Though the old saying, “Giving credit, where credit is due,” is not spelled out in the Bible, its principle is. One such deserving people are those who give the credit, just not those who receive it. We need to give some credit to the creditors.

It seems exalting oneself at another’s expense is the vogue thing today. It takes real heart-felt humility to put the spot-light on someone else and off of us. Pride loves to parade itself as if it were the only one in the marching procession. We like all eyes to be upon us.

The next time someone gives you credit for something, take a minute to appreciate the humility it took to sincerely do so. It’s an easy thing to take credit, to be on the receiving end, but not always easy to give it. Many times it’s a thankless endeavor!

I love the way the translators of the K.J.V puts it in their dedicatory, concerning those who are “eaten-up," so to speak, with themselves. They’re described as, “…self-conceited Brethren who run their own ways, and give liking unto nothing, but what is framed by themselves, and hammered on their anvil.”

When credit is due another, pay what is owed them.

A Word to the Intelligentsia

I personally do not know of anything more magnetic in the academic world than intellectual simplicity. This, no doubt, is what Paul was referring to when he warned the learned Corinthians of not forgetting the simplicity that is in Christ. Just because a great book on higher learning is on the bottom shelf, doesn’t make it any less so. One advantage of having the cookies on the lower shelf is that everyone can enjoy them, just not the “big people.”

I like to think of the intellect as the capacity to hold knowledge, and wisdom as enabling one to dispense it. Or to put it another way, intellect is the bucket, knowledge the fluid poured in, and wisdom the dipper that distributes it.

Though Jesus’ intellect was fathomless, and His knowledge endless, when He disbursed truth to the people, it was ordinary, familiar words He used. The greatest sermon ever preached was the Sermon on the Mount. Notice He used a simple dipper that they were all accustomed to, in satisfying their thirsty souls. Is it any wonder we are told, “…the common people heard Him gladly?”

Character is higher than intellect. ~Ralph

Daily Dependence

There are few things in the Christian life that are once-for-all settled. Certainly our salvation tops the list in this brief category (Heb.10:10). But most things are on-going. For example, we are told God gives out His benefits on a daily basis. Israel found they were to be daily dependent during their forty year pilgrimage in the desert.

God has arranged things so that the Christian’s life is to be lived in perpetual day by day reliance upon His faithfulness. Thus He keeps our lives from becoming boring and matter-of-fact. For, says He, “Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

It’s assuring to know He’s planned ahead for each new day. And exciting to anticipate what new things He has in store for us on any given day. David knew his days were in Deity’s hands, and so he penned, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had been done. (C.S. Lewis)

Good without God

It seems to me, in the controversial passage of Romans chapter seven, verses fifteen through twenty-five that we have a sinful man (vv.17, 20, 23) trying to be a good man (vv.19,21) without the God Man (v.25).

C.S. Lewis said, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” Paul found you can’t bypass God, trying to be good. Our Lord said as much when He said, “…there is none good but one, that is, God.” Therefore, the only way for a man to be truly good, is to get God into him!

One of Satan’s main goals in the Fall was to tempt man to side-step God, and exchange Him for good alone. You can be good without God; but only in the world’s estimation! It is not good enough for it to be said of a man, “He’s a good man.” But, like Barnabas, of old, “He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost.”

A Godly saint trumps a good sinner every time

*Same-Alikes

When my youngest daughter, Charity, was small and would see things that matched, she would say, “They are same-alikes.” Well, the only thing God’s children are alike in is their principles. We all received a Divine disposition at the time of our Spiritual birth. This is true Christ-likeness. Other than this, we are like snowflakes or fingerprints; the Bible uses the stars to show our diversities.

This individuality necessitates our Heavenly Father, like any wise earthly one, to deal with each of His children accordingly. The Scriptures teach both general truths and specific; and so it is with God’s dealings with His “Little Ones.” For example, generally speaking, “Nothing is impossible with God.” But, specifically we’re told, “It is impossible for God to lie.” This principle also holds true in the Lord dealing with each of His Elect; that is, in a general and specific sense.

There are the general Commandments (ten) addressed to all the saints, but there are also specific commands given to individual Believer’s at different times and in various situations, as they go through life. This is one of the great dangers in taking biographies too seriously and trying to emulate the character written about. Let me illustrate. C.S. Lewis’ prayer-life consisted in request and committal; while Hudson Taylor’s was in claiming and getting things from God. Which was right? Who was most Spiritual? Both! This truth is found in Hebrews chapter eleven, where we find the dividing line in such lives is found in the words, “And others…”
Let God be as original with others as He is with you! (Oswald Chambers)

Benefits without Baggage

We are told that God “…daily loadeth us with benefits.” But some cannot enjoy these blessings for the excess baggage they carry. It is not the weight of His benefits that causes us to cave in, but the extra baggage we lug around. There’s a reason they call it luggage!

God gave us richly all things to enjoy, but all of us do not enjoy everything. The “all things” is up to one’s individual liking. A smorgasbord is for everyone, but the choice is according to each one’s taste. Not everybody likes broccoli, but it’s there for the ones who do.

Every Christian needs to read Romans chapter fourteen on a regular basis. This chapter should be mastered by all believers. Without a doubt, it would do away with the greatest part of the dissentions that are so prevalent among God’s people today.

The overall teaching of the chapter is that some cannot, while others can. If what we do cannot be done in good faith, then we are not to do it. If we do, there will be a continual nagging of conscience. If the head says yes, and the heart no, you will be wise to cease from it. You need these two witnesses to agree to the truth, if you’re to be established.

“Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” There may be nothing wrong with your baggage, but there is if it keeps you from getting to where you want to go.

*Clothes Do Not Make the Person

God is not deceived by externals. It is only we who are impressed and taken in by them. We have a difficult time looking past the outer. Pharisaical movements and people, like the world, major on what a person does rather than who they are. What you look like, and do, are more important than what it is that motivates you. They think more of decorum than devotion. The inner robe of righteousness is passed over for the etiquette of ritualism.

Phariseeism loves public street corners where it can be seen of men, while true godliness longs for the inner chamber, where only God seeth in secret. The Pharisee wants to be called, “Rabbi, Rabbi,” by the people, rather than hear the Father say, “My son.” The pathway between the externalist and communion with God is grown over with grass; but the path between him and the praise of men is well trodden.

God’s way is always, “first that which is within.” Both Ezra and Nehemiah, when rebuilding the temple, began with the altar, and inner things. The outer always came last. If they had neglected the most important part, they would have been left with a monstrosity—yes, a beautiful temple for all to look upon and admire, but only a shell with no substance within, nothing that would attract God to it.

It is interesting that Jesus never once called attention to the externals, other than those in the lives of the Pharisees. We had better start concerning ourselves with what Jesus was concerned with: the heart, the inner man, the spirit within.

Quibbling Over Quotes

A few months ago, I quoted in an article some cowboy sayings from a book I received as a Christmas gift. One of the one-liners contained the word “damn,” at which a young preacher took offence. You have to wonder what one does when reading in God’s “R” rated Book, the Bible, such words as, “whore,” “pisseth,” and “bastard.” And what about those sexy scenes in Song of Solomon, along with depictions of vivid violence as found in the A.V.1611, that leaves nothing to imagination? I guess they go to one of the many watered-down, tickling translations, which offend none of the thin-skinned saints.

When scriptures quote the devil, it neither commends him, nor agrees with what he said. On the other hand, when the Apostle Paul quotes one of the secular poets of his day, though not promoting the man, yet he does agree with what he says (Acts 17). And in Titus chapter one he quotes a false prophet, and goes so far as to say of one of his statements, “this witness is true.” Jesus was constantly quoting those with whom he did not agree. But he never “threw the baby out with the wash,” so to speak. On one occasion, He told His followers to do what the Pharisees said, but not to do what they did (Matt.23:3).

Quibblers are always looking through the wrong end of the telescope; they never see the big picture.

*The Chamber of Our Mind

The Bible teaches a Christian can be either carnally or spiritually minded; the choice is theirs to make. I wonder if many of us prefer to think carnally, while trying to live spiritually. Or at least what passes off as being spiritual to our peers. It is important to this type person, what the brethren think of them, but they seem to care little of God’s estimation.

This brand of professing Christian doesn’t do what the world does; they just like to think about doing what the world does. We hear much about the sin of omission and commission, but what of the sin of intent. We commit this act because we like to think it is not a sin. But I’d venture to say this spiritual sin is one of the worst kinds of sin. Jesus said it is possible to be a murderer and adulterer without ever actually committing the act.

George McDonald says, “If we are to get rid of those things that defile us, we must go inside ourselves, be a convict, and scrub the floor of our cell.” I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for a scrub brush and mop!

*Temperaments Out of Control

The ever present danger in the Christian’s life is accepting and substituting the good for the best. It is possible for good to be the enemy of the best. Eve put good before God. The natural is not spiritual; the former mocks the latter, as Ishmael did Isaac. Natural temperament can bestow all its goods to feed the poor, and even give its body to be burned at the stake; yet be void of spirituality. The natural can never receive the things of the Spirit of God, no matter how well it passes itself off as being good.

The great peril of “natural niceties” is that one ends up thinking, “I…have need of nothing.” It will leave Christ on the doorstep of your life. Let us beware of flaunting our natural gifts as spiritual. C. S. Lewis writes, “The Devil was an archangel once; his natural gifts were as far above yours as yours are above those of a chimpanzee.”

A naturally nice temperament is as corrupt and vile in God’s sight as a loathsome one, if it has not been crucified. Oswald Chambers said, “Beware of not going to the funeral of your own independence.” Our natural only becomes divinely acceptable, when it is under the supernatural control of God.

After the Miracle, the Means

“And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.” Once Jesus performs the supernatural in our lives, He expects us to use the natural. After the miracle, the means. True, the Lord will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, but never will He do that which we can do. “[God] wilt make all his bed in his sickness”; but don’t look for Him to straighten the sheets once you’re up-and-around. Then you can make your own bed! God raised Jesus, but He folded His own grave clothes.

After the mountain is removed and drowning in the sea, we’re not to stand idle. As the old song goes, “These shoes were made for walkin.” When God did His part at the Red Sea, He told Moses to “get a move on,” that is to say, “go forward.” Far too many of God’s people are waiting for a miracle, while God is waiting for them to use the means He has put at their disposal. No one in the Bible had a miracle performed on his or her behalf, who was sitting around looking for one.

We are to use God-given means up to, and immediately following, the miracle. Miracles are the exceptions; means are the rule of life. Always be thinking about what you can do in hard situations; then when you come to the end of yourself, God will take up the problem. God still gets glory when we use our sanctified brain to get out of a mess, just as long as we realize that it is He who initiated the idea (Phil.3:12-13). We need to follow my wife’s favorite cartoon character’s advice, “Think, Think, Think,” says Winnie the Pooh.

Remember, it was Sovereignty that devised the means.

The Manhood of Elijah

The Bible tells us, “Elijah was a man...” In today’s society, there is a great emphasis on certain forms of life becoming extinct. One particular species that falls under this category is a real man; he is a rare breed. There seems to be few who care that he is passing off the scene. I remember, as a boy, coming from a broken home, and having no masculine example to follow. Yet, in spite of this, my greatest desire was to be a man’s man. This desire has never left me throughout the years. Just because one is a male does not necessarily make him a man. Nor does being a Christian guarantee it.

What is a man? It’s neither brawn nor brains. They come in all different sizes and vary in intellect. But all have one characteristic that marks them: in any situation that arises in life, you can always depend on him to do what needs to be done, on the basis that it simply needs to be done. It matters not to him that his personal safety, comfort, and reputation may be in jeopardy.

He is not without shortcomings. All are aware of them. He doesn’t put cosmetics on his blemishes. What you see is what you get. But of one thing you can be sure; when he faces his Goliath’s in life, He will not run from them, for he doesn’t know how to retreat. His inbred principles will not allow him to flee from his responsibilities. His principles are not negotiable; they are unchangeable. They are not open for debate. To the Christian man, they are eternal principles.

“Manliness consists not in bluff, bravado or lordliness. It consists in daring to do the right and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds, not in words.” 

Mohandas Gandhi

*No Fool's Paradise

“Experience is the best teacher.” I’ve heard that from childhood. I don’t believe it. Instruction is the best teacher. But, admittedly, experience comes in a close second. Most of us refuse the best way and choose to learn the hard way. It’s important to realize experience is not out to deceive us; it’s out to teach us. If we do not learn from bad experiences, we are destined to repeat them.

We are to live and learn. Not to learn is a miserable way to live. To play the fool once is understandable. To do it a second time is inexcusable. To this type of person, you can justifiably attach the adage, “There’s no fool like an old fool.” Or, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Let’s stop playing the fool.

Don't give cherries to pigs or advice to fools. ~Irish Proverb

*Fusing

"Doing the will of God from the heart." Knowing the will of God has to do with the head; doing the will of God, with the heart. The former is a must, and has to do with the intellectual; but the latter is just as important, dealing with the emotional. The heart is where the fire lies; therefore the will of God is to be done with fervency.

Paul said, "For if I do this thing willingly…but if against my will…" The will of God is not to be done grudgingly, but delightfully. Jesus said, "I delight to do thy will, O my God." They did not have to drag Him to the Cross. The will of God is always more than we bargained for. Therefore, we need to cease our bartering with God. Jacob would be the first to tell you it doesn't work.

When the head and the heart fuse together, you have a completed Christian.

*A.W. Tozer, the Devil, and Us

For those who may not know, A.W. Tozer was one of the greatest devotional writers of the 20th Century, and in some minds, among the grandest in the Church’s history. He met the devil head-on at every turn in life. And as a result, to quote his own words, “…that doesn’t make a man easy to live with.” Speaking to God’s people, he went on to say, “It is a delightful thing when you know that you are close enough to the adversary that you can hear him roar! Too many Christians never get into ‘lion country at all.”

I have found run-of-the-mill Christians never get into the arena with this fiercest of all God’s creatures. Their only boast is that they have put some tamed baby kitten to scrambling from them for fear. But to say they have resisted “The Big Cat,” and put him on the run, in this they’re embarrassingly mute. One can only conclude the reason for this is because they’re going the same way; and it’s improbable that you will run into someone, unless you’re coming from opposite directions.

To Satan, those early Christians were delicious “cat food.” Today’s professors are disgustingly tasteless to him; they have lost their savor.

*No Private Corners

Adam had a level playing field before the Fall. But afterward, it was not so. Since then, mankind, like children trying to climb a muddy hill, keeps slipping, sliding, and falling. And by no means is this voided by becoming a Christian, for we still retain the Adamic nature. True, we have the Spirit’s indwelling to enable us, but Jesus reminded the disciples that though the Spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. A strong faith must still contend with a weak flesh. Ask Abraham, who was strong in the faith, but weak in the flesh.

Adam’s fall was the result of wanting to live independent of God, and that is why we believers, like the children mentioned above, slip, slide, and fall. And when doing so, we recreate Adam’s fall. Lets face it; no sooner are we out of bed, and having recognized God’s rights to our lives ,we take them back again before we reach the breakfast table. We dethrone Him and replace our self-will. We have forgotten our place. It’s at the foot of the throne, kneeling. Not sitting on it, ruling.

We are told in the Scriptures that “…ye are not your own.” There is no area of our lives that we can say to God, “This is my little corner; stay out of it.” Why? Because the four corners of the earth are His, and so is every corner of our lives.

Beware of the Middle Person

Those who use the acrostic, Jesus-Others-You as the true formula for joy, seem to always emphasize the last on the list as the greatest hinderer. But to touch the middle portion is a no-no. If one lives for self it is considered appalling; but if for others, there is applauding. The worldly philanthropist lives his life for others, but God receives no glory. Putting others first is no recipe for joy. You can be as miserable doing this as those are who live for themselves; ask any policeman, fireman, or doctor.

You will never get into hot water with the brethren for glorifying God, but you sure will by glorifying Him at others’ expense. To this day, Jesus is misunderstood by Christians who possess a humanistic spirit; and it is for something He said along this very line. Our Lord told His disciples that their love for him should so surpass their love for others, even their own, that it would look like hate in comparison. True, the two great commandments are to love God and others. But if we put the latter before the former, we wind up in the humanist camp, rubbing shoulders with them.

The Puritans, like ourselves, had short-comings, but God being supreme was not one of them. Every modern-day Christian should have a few Puritan writers on their bookshelf, which they read after on a regular basis. It will keep you focused, as the saying goes.

The absence of joy in a Christian’s life can usually be traced to someone taking God's place!

*Honorable Men and Women

“Naaman…was…honourable…but he was a leper.” Honor doesn’t negate defects in one’s life. We, like Naaman of old, can also be respected of our Master. In spite of all our shortcomings, we can still be honorable men and women. God knew about our undesirable traits when He saved us, but these did not turn away His love for us. Nor do these defective characteristics turn His head from us now. A marred vessel can be sparkling on the inside.

The greatest legacy we can leave our loved ones and friends is that we were honorable men and women. Beethoven said, “To me the highest thing, after God, is my honor.” Alexander Pope wrote, “An honest man’s the noblest work of God.” And the father of our nation said, “I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an “honest man.”

I for one want to be on God’s honor-roll. I know of no greater epitaph than “He was an honorable man.”

The only garment of clothing a man or woman needs in their wardrobe is “Honor,” it will last them a life-time.

Those Confounded Distractions

The word “distract” comes from the Latin and means “to draw apart.” Webster defines it: to draw the mind away in another direction. The world, the flesh, and the devil will go to any extreme if they can divert a child of God’s thoughtfulness away from Christ. And the means used is not always evil and sensual; it can be good and scriptural.

To place one’s attention on the house, rather than the Builder; to be occupied with Moses and Elijah, and not concentrate on the Man in the middle; to be given to constant introspection, and not have Jesus as the center of our lives, can be more effective than all the other toys our devilish distracter dangles before us.

But, at the same time we must beware of placing too much attention on being distracted, lest that becomes the chief distraction. As someone has said “No noise is so emphatic as the one you are trying not to listen to.” We must accept the fact distractions will always be with us in one form or another. They are like the frontage road that runs parallel to the freeway. Though it’s there and you are conscious of it, you need not get sidetracked.

*Messianic Complex

“I know that [when] Messias cometh...he will tell us all things.” How many of us like to play the part of this Divine Personage. We have the answer for everyone’s problems. We are real problem-solvers. That is, unless it relates to our own lives. If those we try to impress with our deep understanding knew this, they would say to us, “Physician, heal thyself.”
We may act like “miniature messiahs,” but we are, at best, poor replicas. Many times while we are attempting to unscramble eggs, we make a bigger mess. I’m finding the best way to help those who are hurting is simply by listening. I do not want a place among Job’s so-called enlightened friends. I don’t want to come across as a know-it-all to those who are suffering. I’m not a messiah; I’m a man. May God help me to be “swift to hear, and slow to speak.”
It doesn’t matter what the question is; the answer is always Jesus.

*Our Created God

In the “Seed Book” of the Bible we’re told, “So God created man in his own image.” But in today’s culture we’ve made it to read, “So man created God in his own image.” This is not something new to our age. Way back in the Old Testament God indicts the wicked by saying, “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.” In spite of being told we are not to make an image of God, we create a mental one.

Invariably, we bring God down to our level. By doing this, we tell ourselves we see everything “eye to eye.” It is easy to fashion God after our natural temperament. For example, to some He is syrupy; others have made Him rigid. We constantly fall into the trap of imagining God responds and reacts as we do. But, says the Lord, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”

Once we have created God in our own image, we become the creator, and He our creation. Thus, He becomes subservient to the likes of us. We need to follow Elijah’s admonition to “Let [God] be God.” After all, the only things you and I ever created were messes that He had to clean up in the end!

Bastards

One reason for many not caring for the old A.V. 1611 King James Bible, is its crude language…so they say. This was the same argument the people of Paul’s day used against his preaching. But though a perverted world uses such terms as vulgarities, the Bible presents them as descriptive. One modern dictionary gives the following definitions of the word: 1. Born of unwed parents; illegitimate 2. Not genuine. 3. Resembling a known kind or species but not truly such.

The writer of Hebrews tells the professing Christian’s of his day that when they sin, “If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.” In this twelfth chapter of the book of Hebrews, Paul goes on to say that such chastening not only proves our relationship to the Lord, but also shows our Father’s love to us, as well as making us partakers of His holiness. Therefore, it is not to be despised, nor should we grow weary when we are taken for a visit to the woodshed.

My mentor and dear friend was a man by the name of Joe Henry Hankins. He was the most compassionate and tender-hearted man I’ve ever known. Once after a sermon on how God spanks his wayward children, he was confronted by a woman who irritatingly told him she was a Christian, but lived like the world, and had never experienced God’s chastening hand upon her life. To which the old evangelist simply turned to our text and let her read it for herself. After reading it, she immediately left the church, telling people the awful name Dr. Hankins had called her; not realizing, as many reading this article, it is not I, but God Himself who calls you by this name.

Living God Out-Loud

I got the idea for our title from an old book in a used-book store I visited recently with my wife. Upon seeing it, my first words were, “How Christians need to follow this advice today.” There are far too many Wooden-Indian Christians running around.

We need a fresh touch from our Lord, that it may be said of us what is recorded of the man in Mark who had an impediment of speech, “And straightway…his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.” You’ll be hard pressed to find any “mute witnesses” in the book of Acts.

Some years ago, we were peddled a teaching referred to as, “Life-style Evangelism.” Most certainly, we should walk what we profess to believe, but let us never forget Jesus taught we’re to talk it also. The advocates of this philosophy argue, “It’s doubtful you’ll win anyone to Christ, until you have first won them to yourself.”

As convincing as this may sound, I’d remind you those primitive witnesses were, for the most part, hated by the ones they spoke to, as well as the Saviour they were presenting. The very meaning of the word “Witness” carries with it the thought of telling something you have experienced first hand.

The early saints were threatened and told to, “Speak henceforth to no man in this name.” It seems most of God’s people today, including preachers, have shirked their Lord’s Commission, under their peer’s intimidations. How can we ever be ashamed of the “Altogether Lovely One,” who was not, and is not, ashamed of the likes of us?


"We ought to obey God rather than men," is good advice in any age.

The Choice Should Be Yours

A pastor once remarked to me that he had something going on at his church seven days a week. He thought this was something to boast of; I thought it something of the opposite. It seems whenever you find a totalitarian ministry, individuality is sacrificed for conformity. It would seem the Scripture “Christ who is our life,” is substituted, in many instances with “The church is our life.” We are in danger of having a church-centered life rather than having a Christ-centered one. We forget “He that built the house is greater than the house.”

I have known (and do know) churches that demand much, if not all their members’ spare time, leaving them very little for anything else, not even their families. There are ministries that knowingly, or unknowingly, so lock a person in that their choice of associations, and even to their recreation, is controlled by them. In such cases, Lordship has given way to a leader who lords it over God’s heritage. When this happens, individual priesthood also fades.

No believer’s life should be so monopolized by a church (or any organization) that they can’t enjoy friends of their own choosing, go to events of their own choice, and determine before God how to use their spare time. Avenues ought to always be open to explore. When exploration ceases, so does advancement.

I like the way our church does things. Sunday School is selective; worship is collective; and the various ministries and meetings throughout the week (some at church, some in homes) are elective. Your church may do it differently, but make dead certain you have some elbow room. If not, you might as well be in prison, with a warden watching and dictating your every move.

*The Big Bang Theory

While the world’s heart are failing them for fear, worrying about those things which are coming on the earth, our Lord’s admonition to His people is, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Jesus tells us that there will be wars and rumors of wars till the very end.

Some try to convince us that everything started with a “big bang.” The fact is, Peter tells us in his second Epistle, just the reverse will happen. It’s going to all end with a big bang. There’s much discussion today as to whether Christians will go though a tribulation period, or be kept from it. That’s not the question. The question is, “Are you ready for either?”

I heard an old preacher years ago say that the worse thing that can happen to a Christian is for a bomb to fall on him and blow him into the arms of Jesus. This thought doesn’t disturb “Gutsy Christians”; who, like Paul, can say, “Neither count I my life dear unto myself.” But it sure upsets “Toy Saints” something awful!

The Devil's Playground

In Philippians chapter four and 2 Corinthians ten (as well as in many other places), we are taught that a believer has control over his or her mind. We can think good thoughts, and we can also put down the bad ones. As my old Granny used to say, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in it.”

When Jesus defeated the devil at the cross one of the effects was that He stripped our adversary of his armour (Luke11:21-22). Satan’s main weapon and strategy today is to corrupt our minds. He does this by planting an evil seed in it, and then tempting us to cultivate it. During the cold war with Russia a manifesto was found showing ways to defeat the West. The main point of the document was that wars are not mainly won with weapons, but by ideas. Therefore, it concluded, get a person to think your way and you have defeated him or her.

The scripture says, “As a man thinketh…so is he.” We are what we think, and so the battle is for the mind! And remember, the mind affects the body (Hebrews 12:3b). The mind should never be in neutral; it should always be in gear. Again, let me quote my sainted grandmother, “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” So don’t put it in park J.

I have a note in the fly-leaf of my Bible which says, what we visualize will materialize. Therefore, if we are not careful, our fantasies will become realities in time.

Daily Visits with the Baker

One of our daily duties is to pray. When our Lord taught His early followers to pray, He told them to ask God each day for their daily bread. It goes without saying that He expected them to visit and commune with their Heavenly Baker on a daily basis. I, for one, do not like old, stale bread; I like it fresh, hot out of the oven. When we neglect prayer, we end up eating moldy bread (Josh. 9:12,14).

Many of us feel like Job of old when he asked the question, “What profit should we have, if we pray unto him?” That is, does prayer really work? Does it pay to pray? Well, stop doing it and find out, but it will be to your own detriment if you do. Many do not pray because of the fact they cannot understand it. But we are told to trust God and not lean on our own understanding. It’s, “…by faith we understand."

I find in my own life that when I feel I need prayer least, I need it most. Until a person realizes his or her great need of God, they will not pray. They have a false sense of security, never suspecting they are, “… wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” David was a king, yet when he came before God he always characterized himself as being, “…poor and needy.” He would not have fit with our modern day Laodicean Christians who boast, “I…have need of nothing.”

“One way to get comfort is to plead the promise of God in prayer, show Him His handwriting; God is tender of His Word.” (Thomas Manton)

Better Trumps Best Every Time

“…go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.” The people the writer is addressing had been brought up on an external system of traditional rules, religious regulations, and rigid restrictions. These were preferred before the Altogether Lovely One. External rites are always wrong when chosen over Christ.

Many today are in the same situation as these early Christians. They are associated with a movement or group that started out right, but has now ended up wrong. To turn your back on it and walk away is no easy thing. The loss of lifetime friends, the misunderstanding by loved ones, and the reproach of one’s peers, is a price many are not willing to pay. If others would come along with them, they might be willing, but to go it alone is unthinkable.

The books of Hebrews is about Christ being better; and, believe me, identification with our Lonely Christ is better than association with the popular crowd. God had rejected and abolished their old ceremonial ways and had offered them in its place “a new and living way.” Will you accept it?

Who minds being outside the camp, if you’re inside the veil?

The Greatest Fear of the Flesh

The one great fear of the flesh is it being dragged, kicking and screaming, to the Cross. It will subtly submit to any and all propositions, except taking a trip to Calvary. At the very mention of “The place of the skull,” it shutters and draws back at the thought of climbing that dreaded hill of execution. The flesh seeks to be coddled, not crucified!

But if the child of God is to truly “Belong to Christ,” there must of necessity be such a visit. Paul tells us “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” As the song writer so aptly put it, “Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, And there’s a cross for me.”

Agag of old is a type of our flesh, and just as he came to Samuel “delicately,” so our “old man,” as Agag, will daily come to us thinking “the bitterness of death is past.” But we must emulate the old prophet’s actions, if we are to be victorious, “Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.” There can be no quarter; if you give self an inch, he’ll take a mile. If you really want to please God, then take Sword in hand and start hacking.

“The flesh will brazenly follow its victim into the very sanctuary and kneel along with him while he communes with God” (A.W.Tozer)

The Trickle-down Effect

“And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” God starts from the top, down, not from the bottom, up. Everything originates with God, and trickles down to us.

For example, we begin with the local church, move on to the Body of Christ, from there to God’s Kingdom, and finally to God Himself. Using this method, most never get past the first or second thing. A few advance to the third, but hardly any ever reach God, the reason being that they stop short, and spend a lifetime enjoying and emphasizing one, or possibly two, of these particular entities.

The mistake lies in the fact that they do not start from God and work down. All these things come out of God. We start at a tributary and never seem to be able to work our way back to the mouth of the river. What we need to do is start with the Origin, and then follows the flow downstream. This, I believe, is common sense. Anything else, to me, is nonsense.

God doesn’t work to the source; He is the Source.

*Relegated to the Past?

“Is thy God…able to deliver thee...? This question reverberates down the corridors of time to our present age. Every child of God, as Daniel of old, must give an answer; there can be no shirking it. Strong’s Concordance has five lengthy columns for the word “deliver” and its equivalent. God would have each of us know that He is distinctively in the deliverance business.

Our age is infested with addictions such as drugs, drunkenness, immorality, gluttonies, and a host of other sins of the flesh. It seems that many have come to accept these life-destroying habits, feeling they will plaque them till death do them part. They believe this is to be the norm. But if this be true, what are we to do with such statements as, “He hath sent me to…preach deliverance to the captives?”
Are Gods promises of deliverance only written to torment our souls? They are either true or not. If we believe the latter, then we have resigned ourselves to live a miserable and torturous life of defeat. But He has not left us to grovel, groan, and despair; to tantalize us with the impossible and unattainable. There is no chain so binding that He cannot break it, nor yoke so burdensome that He will not remove it.

When Paul says, “Let not sin reign…” He is not speaking of sins banished presence, but rather its broken dominion. Though sin will always be present in our lives, its power over us has been broken. But to argue with the Spirit over this, will inevitably result in one’s downfall. “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me…I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Contempory Christianity

Generally, we speak of Christianity in collective terms, but actually, it is distinctively individual. From our salvation at the beginning, till the Judgment Seat of Christ at the end, God deals with us one on one. And this is true of all that goes on in between.

Most certainly, our Heavenly Father has some basic rules that all the family is to adhere to, but these are for their well-being. Like any wise father, God does not dictate to his children’s preferences in tastes and likes. He allows them to be their own men or women in these.

One mark of a cult is seen in its strict regimentation. As one of my daughters used to say as a child, “They’re same-a-likes.” There is no elbow room in such collectivization for individualism. If you’re different in any way from the other robots, the Gestapo will report you to the Fuhrer.

Another characteristic of a cultic Christianity is that dedication is gauged by the things you give up. It matters little what kind of person you are, subtraction of things is the criteria for acceptance. These morbid members cannot give up a thing, without wanting everyone else to give it up.

There is a little tract entitled, “Others Can; You Can’t.” It leads one to believe spirituality is based on asceticism. But how about, “You Can; Others Can’t”? What a servant can or cannot do is between him and his Master, not another slave (Ro.14:4).

If God doesn't like the way I live, let him tell me, not you. ~Author Unknown

A Shameless Society

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God.” When I was a boy I remember both boys and girls could blush. It was a pleasant teasing point. And, I might add, even adults were not beyond manifesting this crimson glow when finding themselves in embarrassing situations. But it seems to me that today’s society is void of any and all shame. It appears to be a shameless society.

But I have no problem with non-Christian’s losing this essential character trait. That is to be expected; it’s no great shock. But when God’s sinning people are no longer ashamed, and cannot blush before a Holy God, something is drastically wrong. The inability to do so is a mark of superficial spirituality! The Lord says through Jeremiah “Were they ashamed when they committed abominations? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.”

The problem, says the Lord, was that they didn’t want “…the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein.” Like this present generation, they thought the “old time” way of doing things was out-dated. They follow the proud Pharisee’s pattern, rather than the humble Publican. When you live in Babylon for awhile, you first accept their way of life, then approve it, and finally indulge and enjoy it yourself. When this happens, Christian’s lose their saltiness, and their light is hid under a bushel.

It seems today’s Christian accepts and excuses sin when it has do with them or theirs; but the same sin is condemned when they see it in others.

A New Face on Suffering

“Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” You can still hear this shallow question being asked in our age. Be assured; shallow questions always originate from shallow beliefs. Such people cannot see anything below the surface. There exists today in Christendom the same superficial belief of bygone years. It is that all suffering is related to some sin committed.

The people who advocate such nonsensical beliefs do great harm and damage both spiritually and psychologically to the sufferer. An affliction becomes doubly burdensome when given a false interpretation. Our conception of a thing determines its weight in our lives. If I look upon my ailment as from an offended God, I will carry it around like a prisoner does a ball and chain. But if I see behind it my gracious Refiner, I can calmly wait, knowing it is beneficial.

Thankfully, our precious Lord still continues to relieve the sufferer of the callous crowd’s false interpretation of his infirmity. “Neither did this man sin, nor his parents.” The stormy winds of winter now become the fresh breeze of spring. All becomes transfigured when Jesus puts a new face on suffering. He says it’s for the glory of God. Who can’t bear up through the pain and tears when they hear these words?

Job’s miserable comforters know nothing about Job’s merciful God.

The Devils Delight

“I am weary with repenting.” Matthew Henry says of this text, “...it is a strange expression; they [Israel] had behaved so provokingly, especially by their treacherous professions of repentance, that they had put even infinite patience itself to the stretch.”

Jesus, John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul all preached repentance. It is a doctrine that you hear very little about today. In fact, one group of Dispensationalists teaches that repentance is not for our age. By observing the life styles of many Christians, it seems they would agree!

Repentance is a turning about. Some think of it as simply “changing lanes” and continuing in the same direction. But it is not flowing into a different line of traffic; it is making an abrupt U-turn and going the opposite way. God is tired of those people who are always repenting, but who never change. It is this kind that the Devil delights in.

Some of us need to repent of our repenting.

To Whom Do You Belong?

For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, becau ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.The text seems to be self-explanatory. No act of kindness, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant goes unnoticed by God. That is, if it is done in Christ’s name. What’s easier than giving a cup of water to a thirsty soul? The poorest of saints can provide a brother or sister with this refreshment. But it must be done out of a motive of love for Jesus Christ, not just human kindness. The world can do that. This humblest of acts, the lowliest of service, will be rewarded, we’re told.

But how are we to know the recipient “Belong[s] to Christ?” It’s not by wearing a cross around one’s neck; pagans can do this. Nor is it a bumper-sticker of a fish, or a bracelet with W.W.J.D inscribed on it. I believe Paul gives us a hint as to our Lord’s meaning of the passage. The apostle tells the Christians at Galatia, “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” When you meet this person, I guarantee, you’ll “…take knowledge of them, that they [have] been with Jesus.”

The word “belong” carries the meaning of relationship, ownership. Like the old gospel song says, “Now I belong to Jesus…” DO YOU?

Originality

“I am verily a man...brought up...at the feet of Gamaliel.” One of the greatest thinkers in history, was without a doubt, Saul of Tarsus. His teacher, Gamaliel, was not just a religious man, but very learned, with a show of wisdom and understanding, who’s teaching and advice was adhered to by many. I wonder how much of this man’s teaching and philosophy Paul took with him through life.

When I was yet a “babe” in Christ, an older preacher said to me that seventy-five percent of my life and ministry would be made up of those who influenced me along the way, and only twenty-five percent would be original. If this be true (or even close) how important it is for us to be original in our lives, especially in our thinking. If you don’t, then you will never know you. It’s important to assimilate from others, but make sure you put your own ingredients into the mixture, or your life will lack originality and be tasteless.

Remember; when someone speaks of another as being original that person is an amalgamation of the influence of parents, teachers, friends, etc., and, if a Christian, the indwelling Spirit. We are products of many others. Let us be grateful they crossed our paths and that some of their attributes rubbed off and were infused into our makeup. But don't forget, you are not them, you are you!

If you don't control your mind, someone else will. ~John Allston

A Tribute to Tina

You may not know her, chances are you don’t; but I hope to God you are acquainted with someone akin to her. If you aren’t, I can guarantee, you’ll go through life a pauper for not having among your assets such a rare jewel. I consider myself richer for having the privilege of calling this exceptional human being my friend.

As her pastor many years ago, I saw her grow from childhood and blossom into womanhood, a beautiful specimen of the feminine gender. She had just turned eighteen, and after being married only a few months, she and her young preacher husband, riding in a bread truck, were hit head-on by another vehicle. The accident almost took her life. As a result, it left her paralyzed from the waist down. Some weeks after, after being told she would never walk again, she said to me from her hospital bed, “Preacher, whether I walk or am in a wheel-chair, I’m going to serve God.”

This was all a long time ago, and since then, Tina and her dear husband, John, have served God faithfully. They also raised two adopted sons. Over the years, Tina has been in and out of hospitals numerous times, and has suffered many things, one of which was having one of her legs amputated at the knee.

Tina Jane Green is my hero, and has been for most of my long ministry of fifty years. Her overcoming life has kept me going through the tough times. She gives testimony that if God gave her the choice of walking or staying in her chair, she would choose the latter, believing it to be God’s Perfect Will for her life. In all these many years, I’ve never heard her complain. Certainly, this is a display of Grace on God’s part; and old fashioned grit on hers!

A PERSONAL NOTE: Thank you, darlin’, for being a crutch for me to lean on these many years.

Our Great Temptation

“Ye shall be as gods…” This was (and is) Satan’s greatest spiritual temptation. A god knows more, has more, and is more. Whenever you are discontent with the spiritual person God has made you, you can be sure the devil is at work in your life. The cause of Lucifer’s fall was, “I will be like the most High.” He was not content with the spiritual person or position God had bestowed upon him.

We are to have God’s disposition, not his position. There are little “gods” running around who would like you to believe they are omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and by the speed at which they move, you would think they are trying to be omnipresent (everywhere at the same time)! Spiritual pride is at the root of wanting to be miniature gods. But need I remind you, the Bible does not teach a plurality of gods, but just one God. “Beside me there is no God.” So says Jehovah.

It was a milestone in my own life when I realized I was never going to be an Apostle Paul, or some great Bible saint. Nor was there any hope of my ever emulating the physical Christ, other than in spirit. I’m just me; and God has seen fit to indwell this vessel of clay. My one main goal is to obey God, not be God.

“To obey is better...” Ask Adam and Eve.

Give Them Some Space

“Master, we saw one…and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not.” The disciples had a problem with anyone who was not just like they were. It was not good enough that they had their own ways; they wanted to impose them upon everyone else. They could not grasp the fact that anyone not like themselves could be used of God.

Because a man or a woman took a Nazarite vow, must everyone else do it also? Should other families adhere to the tradition of the Rechabites passed down by their father? Can all believers meet the standards laid down for church officers in the New Testament? Any spiritually intelligent, thinking person, knows that the answer to these questions is an emphatic, “No!”

Since all of us come way short in one area or the other in our lives and ministry, we would be wise to give others a little elbow room; room to breathe in if you please. Some people’s standards would suffocate an angel.

In essentials, UNITY; in non-essentials, LIBERTY; in all things, CHARITY. (St. Augustine)

The Mighty Victor

In past years, I have been asked by some belonging to a certain “Deeper Life” group, if I had the victory. My answer, I’m afraid, to their dismay was, “I don’t always have the victory, but I always have the Victor.”

This is why the old Divines used to say, “When you fall, shout the victory.” They knew victory is not something you get, but rather something you have, a present possession, if you please.

We are told, “The gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.” But it is also written, “Thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

If you truly have Christ dwelling within, you have eternal life. To doubt it only means you don’t enjoy it. And so it is with victory. Defeat doesn’t change the fact you have the Victor within. The old Divines were right!

When an Olympic contestant, representing the U.S.A., wins the gold, we say, “We won, we’re the victors.” Actually we didn’t do anything but simply bask in the victory another won for us. HALLELUJAH!

Greatness in Overalls.

It says of both John the Baptist and Jesus that they were great in the sight of the Lord. Though certainly not in the eyes of the world, God visualized them as such. In their case, greatness was in the eyes of the beholder.

The lesser is not necessarily void of greatness. In fact it can be equal. “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.” When Jacob blessed Pharaoh, carnality saw only the lesser blessing the greater. But the spiritual eye saw the opposite.

We need to be couscous as Christians that we do not equate greatness with position. It’s not rank, but relationship that determines greatness with God. As C.S. Lewis says, “One is sometimes (not often) glad not to be a great theologian; one might easily mistake it for being a good Christian.” Greatness and goodness do not always walk in the same shoes.

I’ve seen greatness in overalls behind a plow, in an apron washing dishes, and in a thousand and one other disguises that the world does not, and cannot, perceive. It would be well for each of us who profess to be God’s kin, to remember that the lesser in His Kingdom is the greater.

A Life in the Fetal Position

The picture of an unborn babe in the womb has always fascinated me. In its fetal position the child is in the same posture as a person in prayer. On the other hand, just as interesting, when one is dying, he or she reverts back to that original fetal position.

Is God telling us we are born to pray? That all our life, from our birth into His Kingdom, to the very end of our existence on earth, we are to pray? The first thing said of Paul at his birthing into God’s family was, “behold he prayeth.”

We cannot be on our knees physically every moment. But the “knees of our heart” can be bent to the Lord throughout the day. We are told to “continue in prayer,” and to be “instant in prayer”; “Praying always.” David tells us that “he gave himself to prayer.” When we do this consensually, each day, the Holy Spirit will carry on this ministry for us, even when we are not conscious of it. Proof is seen at different intervals, when, for no reason at all, we break out into prayer, or when a sudden emergency arises and our first words are, “Oh God...”

We do not know how or what to pray for. Therefore, let us give ourselves over to the indwelling Spirit, who will fulfill the ministry of prayer through us. Allow Him to carry out His intercessory work in each of us today—even when we’re not aware of it, except for the groanings within us that cannot be uttered.

God can pick sense out of a confused prayer. (Richard Sibbes)

A Promise and a Prayer

The last promise of the Bible is made by Jesus, “Surely I come quickly.” And the last prayer in the Bible comes from John the Beloved, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” There are only two important days on the Christian’s calendar: “today” and “that day.” Primitive believers looked and longed for His return. One of their greetings was, “Maranatha” (The Lord Cometh).

It seems today with all the bickering, dogmatism, and controversy associated with His Coming that many have lost the blessing of the Blessed Hope. I personally have never known of a bride awaiting her bridegroom’s arrival, who was overly concerned with the particulars of that event. That is, the type of luggage, transportation, friends, etc. that will accompany him. She only cares her lover is coming; all else is incidental.

If you cannot pray, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus,” then one of two things is wrong. Either your life is not in tune with Heaven, or your interpretation of prophecy needs fixin’.

Precisely because we cannot predict the moment, we must be ready at all moments. (C.S. Lewis)

The Saul Syndrome

“Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” When Saul heard this saying, we’re told it, “displeased him.” He was willing for David to have come close, possibly even to equal him, but never to excel him. This is what I like to call the “Saul Syndrome.” This cancerous trait is still among us.

The test of true spiritual humility is seen in one’s attitude when another is of greater blessing than they themselves. I have noticed the “lesser- blessers” try to hold the greater back. I guess they are fearful that the people will say that they have been a blessing, but the latter has been ten times that.

Though the front door be closed to them, back door blessers are just as effective.

Let Me Dream On

Years ago an old-time evangelist and his wife were traveling to a meeting by bus. One of the stops was at a little mountain store in the Carolinas. The preacher’s wife, looking out the window, noticed a humble country woman hanging up her wash. She jokingly said to her husband, “Vance, she doesn’t know the rest of the world exists,” to which he replied, “For goodness sake, don’t tell her!”

Until recent years, God’s plain people were content with simply believing heaven was a place with streets of gold, gates of pearl, a river of life, etc. But nowadays they are being told that all these things are to be taken spiritually; that they are figurative, and not meant to be taken literally. The one thing wrong with this is that none of these know-it-alls replace the common people’s hope with anything better.

The word scholar is derived from the Latin word, schola, meaning “school.” The Bible’s definition, as well as the dictionary’s is, “a student or pupil” (1Chron.25:8). Maybe some of the so-called scholars of our day ought to go back to school and continue their learning.

I have photographs of beautiful, breathtaking places where I’ve been, but not one picture captures what the reality was really like. Dear saint of God, don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. If heaven is not all you thought it to be, it will still surpass your fondest dream. So, dream on!

Nothing is more contrary to a heavenly hope than an earthly heart. (William Gurnall).

A Sweet Tooth.

My sainted mother was addicted to sweets, especially chocolate and little candy orange slices. When it was necessary for us to move her to a Christian rest home, we made sure upon each visit that we brought her some type of sugary delight. I inherited this craving, but now find to my dismay, I’m a border-line diabetic.

Well, God has no such ailment. He is not a diabetic. He loves sweets; you cannot give Him too much. In the Old Testament sacrifices we read of sweet incense,  sweet spices, sweet odour, sweet savour, sweet smell, and sweet wine. Is it any wonder He had an affinity for David, “The sweet Psalmist?”

One of God’s indictments against His people Israel was, “Thou hast bought me no sweet cane.” Not brought, but bought; it’s to cost us something. One of the thrills my mother got when presenting her with a large, expensive box of chocolates was the fact that she knew I’d paid a dear price for it.

This, no doubt, was the secret of how darling David wiggled himself into the heart of God. Let us listen and learn, “Nay; but I shall surely buy it…at a price: neither will I offer…unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing.” When is the last time any of us brought the Lover of Your Soul something sweet; something that cost us dearly?

Rotten to the Core

“I am vile”… “O wretched man that I am!”… “Woe is me! for I am undone”…” Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Each of these men’s confession (Job, Paul, Isaiah, Peter) brought an end to self, nevertheless, it was the beginning of God in their lives. We are never as good as we think we are; but we are always worse than we think we are. When we come before God, it is possible to be too good, but we never need fear feeling we are too bad.

I am not speaking of morbidity that manifests itself in a false humility, but, rather, accepting sane, Scriptural facts about our inward condition. Until we see the utter corruption within, and stop making excuses, we will feel no reason for forgiveness. The Blood of Christ cleanses sin, not excuses. And we need not despair at the greatness of our sins. His grace is always greater.

In God’s sight, the Pharisee was a good bad man; the Publican, a bad good man.

That Seat is Already Taken

“What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask…to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.”

Everything in the Bible is not, so to speak, set in stone. On the other hand, some things are eternally cemented and settled; predestinated and pre-determined, if you please. Man’s freewill and God’s sovereignty is something that has been debated over two-thousand years. And with all the great and godly minds on both sides working over-time, they have still not figured it out.

Each side covers the holes in their arguments, but with tissue paper; and any diligent observer can see through the patch work. I agree with C.S. Lewis on these two opposing factors: “Until (if ever) we can see the consistency it is better to hold two inconsistent views than to ignore one side of the evidence.” In other words, “Don’t throw the baby out with the wash.”

The Scriptures plainly teach that there is a HIS PART and OUR PART in the lives of saints. None will ever be held accountable for not knowing the former, but we sure will for not doing the latter. To cop out by saying you neglected to accomplish the second because you didn’t understand the first, won’t fly with God! Each knows the part they’re to play here; He’ll explain the other, I trust, in the hereafter.

When in a buck-board and the horses run wild, pray, and hang on tight!

*Those Embarrassing Falls

“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” How many times have I heard it said, “How could they do such a thing? I could never do that.” Oh, yes we can. We are capable of doing anything anyone else has done. When we think or say such a thing, we have stepped from the Solid Rock onto thin ice.

David thought himself secure within his own house. Yet, this is where the serpent bit him (Amos 5:19). And is not this the man who said, “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart?” Peter, warming his body around the enemy’s fire, never realized what could come out of his cold heart. Had he not boasted and believed, “Though all men shall...yet will I never”? When we think ourselves the safest, we are the most vulnerable.

If you have experienced one of life’s embarrassing falls you might want to read Prov.24:16; Psl.37:23-24).

David fell while walking; Peter fell while standing; you’re not apt to fall while kneeling.

*Spiritual Geography

After everything is said and done, a person’s salvation comes down to one simple fact: where he or she is geographically, Spiritually speaking, that is. We are either “In Adam” or “In Christ”. There is no other place for the human race to be. To be “In” the former, “All die”; but “In” the latter, “All are made alive.”
In the garden of paradise, Adam gave up God’s will for his own. In the garden of Gethsemane, the second Adam (Jesus) gave up His will for God’s. Adam gave up his dependence on God to live a life of complete independence. Christ gave up a life of independence to live a life totally dependent upon God.

This is the one sure way of telling who is “In Adam” and who are “In Christ”. It is either “We will not have this man to reign over us,” and live a cursed life; or a life of blessing, by saying, “[We will not] henceforth live unto [ourselves], but unto him which died for [us], and rose again.” God says, “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse.” Choose!

Camping Out in Capernaum

“Thou, Capernaum...mighty works…have been done in thee.” These people were blessed above all others in Galilee. Our Lord chose Capernaum as “His own city.” It was His headquarters, so to speak. He did more mighty works here than in any other place. In Matthew, chapters eight and nine, there are ten miracles recorded; half of them were performed in Capernaum alone. We are not told these people ever mocked, ridiculed, or threatened Jesus; they were simply indifferent to all He had done among and for them.

You can understand the unregenerate living such a life, but for a saint to settle down in Capernaum, that’s difficult to grasp. To have seen the Centurion’s servant healed; an unclean spirit cast out of a poor soul; a bed ridden man to walk; water turned to wine; and a son at death’s door raised to life again; would these not leave a lasting impression? Would they not have left an indelible mark upon one’s own heart? But sad to say, how much like Israel of old they were, as well as ourselves. We’re told, “They soon fogat his works.” The Red Sea experience, manna, water out of the Rock; “They remembered not.”

Whenever God gives a promise for future blessings, He reminds His people of the past great things He accomplished on their behalf. For example, He promises, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” But the first part of the text says, “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” To forget past miracles is to forfeit future ones! If you’re dwelling at Capernaum, it’s time to pack up and move out! No good can ever came from a Christian camping out in Capernaum.

Where reason cannot wade, there faith may swim. (Thomas Watson)

The Wordsmith

“And as soon as he (Jesus) had spoken, immediately…” The man with leprosy found David’s words in Psalms to be true: “For he spake, and it was done.” As they say, “He (Christ) had a way with words.” But this does not surprise His own elect who know Him as “The Word.”

Is it any wonder then that we find such statements as those of the centurions at Capernaum “…speak the word only, and...[it] shall be...” How we need to emulate the nobleman whose son was at death’s door; “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.”

The apostle Paul lived by this rule. When all was dark around him, and there was no human hope of survival, Gods Word assured him all would be well. To which he testified openly, “Be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”

“A man is as good as his word,” they say. Well, The Man is as good as His!

There is Just Like Here

Before my conversion to Christ, and having been recently discharged from four years in the Air Force, I decided to leave my hometown and live in S. California. My reason, I told my Mother, was that I hated the town in which I was brought up. Her reply, as always, was a simple and wise one: “Son, you’ll find things there are pretty much the same as things are here.” She went on to explain the geographical landscape may look different, but life is the same wherever one goes.

I used to have a sermon entitled, “What Demas found in Thessalonica.” It was from a text found in 2 Tim.4:10. I pointed out that one of the things he found upon his arrival to that city was himself. Remember, part of the baggage you carry from one place to another, is you. A change in geography does not necessarily bring a change in character. If you’re going to move on, make sure you’ve changed before you seek a view change.

The Prodigal found the above truth to be so. In fact, “there,” can be much worse than “here,” if you carry a deformed disposition into the far country. You think it’s bad where you’re at, wait till you get where you’re going! I have found in many cases that a person must first come back to here, before they can move on to their desired there. God is still in the business of calling His Jacobs back to Bethel. It was when Jacob returned to Bethel and his God that he was able to move on with his life.

Obedience gets us on the right road; and it always ends up at the right 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.

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.

A Bible Lesson in Golf

Those in the know tell us the secret in golf is not slicing (causing the ball to curve). They say if you want to get distance, you must, as they call it, “Follow through.” That is, complete your swing, not stopping short. One expert tells us that 90% of all amateur golfers do not follow through.

After over half a century of observing professing Christians, I am convinced that the above ratio could possibly be correct when describing so-called saints today. In the game of life God has placed them in, it seems they always come up short; they never follow through.

As the little poignant saying goes, “If it’s worth starting, it’s worth finishing.” At the end of their lives, both our Lord and Paul gave testimony they’d followed through with what God gave them to do. They went the distance because of the fact they did follow through!

When Jesus said, "Follow me," He expected them to follow through.

Let Me Do it Daddy

If it does not endanger the child, and provided it does not incur significant financial loss, it’s a wise father who allows his child to discover life’s great secret, which is, the father is more capable than the child in handling things he or she knows nothing about; even though the youngster is convinced of the opposite; that is, until they learn the hard way, by making a mess of everything.

The child’s problem, like our own with our Heavenly Father, stems from thinking he or she is superiorly qualified in working things out on their own. They actually, but erroneously, imagine they can do better; that they are more competent than their qualified parent.

It is well for each of us as Christians to always remember, when we take things in our own hands, we can only get what we are capable of producing. But when placing them in God’s omnipotent hand, we experience what He alone is able to create. Therefore, when we have made a mess of everything in life, it is a wise child who brings the shattered pieces to their Heavenly Father and says, “Daddy, will you please fix it?”

Once you’ve placed something into God’s hands to fix, don’t hang around trying to help Him!

*Set Backs

“Woe is me for my hurt!..Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.” If ever a man had set backs, Jeremiah did. He knew there was no escaping them. That let downs were part of the hard facts of life, and that sooner or later our dearest dreams will be shattered and our best laid plans dramatically changed. Some never rise above these and drown in the sea of disappointment. Others view them as character building blessings in disguise.

It’s important to realize a Christian in the will of God, when taking two steps backward, will ultimately take three forward. Like our time change, we may “fall back,” but we also “spring forward.” Many of God’s children, who experience disappointing times in their lives, return to the world. But set backs never excuse us for going back.

Armchairs and Wheelchairs

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” You can acquire a much deeper knowledge of God Himself from a sufferer in a wheelchair, than a scholar in an armchair. The latter may know doctrine, but the former knows Deity. The first is meant to lead us to the second. But sad to say, many intellects come short, falling in love with the lesser, and never following on to experience the greater, true love.

A healthy child studying geography may be able to tell you more about the five continents; but the little crippled brother, carried constantly by his parent, knows more about his father. An intellectual knowledge does not guarantee Spiritual intimacy. As J.I. Packer says, “John Owen and John Calvin knew more theology than John Bunyan or Billy Bray, but who would deny that the latter pair knew their God every bit as well as the former?”

God does not condemn intellect, nor does He condone ignorance, but He does highly commend those who know Him out of both these categories. Writing on the subject of scholarship C.S. Lewis pens, “The intellectual life is not the only road to God, nor the safest, but we find it to be a road, and it may be the appointed road for us. Of course it will be so only so long as we keep the impulse pure and disinterested. That is the great difficulty.”

The best combination is an intellectual mind condescending into a devoted heart.

To Whom Are You Looking?

“Look unto me…” It’s futile to look unto anyone else. “For vain is the help of man.” True, God can, and does, help man through man. But never can man find help from man alone. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it by looking unto Him. This is the one, absolute condition; and the moment you do, everything falls into place, like looking into a kaleidoscope.

If you need help, “Look unto me,” says the Lord. It’s not difficult or hard; it’s simple and easy. Just look to God. That is, direct your attention to Him, as one we expect aid from. Like a drowning man who casts his eyes upon one standing on the shore who alone is able to save him. We must look to Him in our helplessness if we are to get help.

Oh, dear saint, will you not just now turn your eyes from all others and look only unto Him? Listen to God’s darling, David: “They looked unto him, and were enlightened.”

Everything associated with man is temporal and perishable; with God, eternal and lasting. To whom are you looking?

Inside Issues within the Body of Christ

In the dedicatory of the King James 1611 Bible the translators wrote, concerning those they knew would oppose their work, “We shall be maligned by self-conceited brethren, who run their own ways, and give liking to nothing, but what is framed by themselves, and hammered on their anvil.”

My oldest daughter, Leah, who lives in Ohio, along with my eleven-year-old granddaughter Skyler, surprised me last week by visiting me for Fathers Day. In passing conversation, Leah mentioned a large Fundamentalist school in the mid-west that is attacking Southern Gospel music as being satanic, and not to be listened to.

In all honesty of full disclosure, I must confess, my grandson, Joseph, is lead singer for the Southern Gospel group, The Perrys. But those who know me best will not be prone to think that would bias my judgment. They consider me to be like Vince Lombardi. When a black player was asked if he was fair to all the team, he answered, “O yeah, Vince treats us all like dogs!”

Those who do not care for contemporary music need to realize it was all contemporary at one time. Isaac Watts’ father thought it blasphemous when his son wrote such songs as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” He believed in singing only the Psalms, saying, “You can’t improve upon King David.”

As I’ve said in previous articles, I find that dogmatists on minor issues end up in the dog house. A good example of not thinking things through is the Fundamental, Separatists, who believe their ladies are modestly dressed. But the Amish believe their attire to be worldly; and 1st Century, Christian women would believe the Amish to be so.

In Revelation, we’re told we “Sing the song of Moses.” But we also sing “A new song.” My test of Gospel music is like my test of any other music; Paul, the singer, says, “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with understanding also.” And this, of course, was done to the Glory of God. Just make sure your heart pants, before your foot pats.

A good rule to go by if you do not like a certain kind of music is, don’t listen to it. I have no right to impose my preference upon others. When people argue that they like the old-time way, they invariably are referring to the immediately previous age. The one that always seemed better than the one in which they now live.

There is no doubt some Southern Gospel is commercialized today. But aren’t profiteering Mega churches and large Christian Schools, also? What of selling “doves” for more than they’re value, in the vestibule of the Temple (books, CD’S, DVD’S, and trinkets)? Be careful when you throw stones; they may boomerang upon your on pate!

As Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, “If an old hound dog comes to town and barks for Jesus, I’m not going to try and stop him.” That’s my sentiment exactly. You might feel differently; and that’s your prerogative. This is just one man’s opinion.

Courageous Cowards

Years ago at a youth camp, a somewhat delicate preacher was trying in his timidly bold way to say that we needed more John the Baptist types. I whispered to my wife, “Its one thing to say we need, and another to be”. As someone has said, “The pulpit can be a coward’s fort.” I’ve labeled these kinds of Christians, “courageous cowards.” They are easy to spot; they hit first, then run away, saying they won the fight; they voice loudly their convictions, but from under their beds; they preach hard, but to an agreeing choir; they’re brave on the firing range, but stay in the fox hole in battle; they like to rattle the lion’s cage, but never enter the public arena with him; and probably worse of all, they speak of the ills of the sick around them, while keeping the cure a secret.

These pseudo courageous souls cannot take being ostracized. When they are, they play the part of an ostrich and hide their head in the sand. In private they flex their muscles in a mirror, but refuse to carry anyone’s burden. They live in their little self-made monasteries called churches, homes, and schools, but never venture out to face the rest of the world. They know nothing about a hands on, up close and personal ministry. Everything is viewed at a distance. They are not comfortable with confrontation.

I’m not advocating a Christian machoism. The truth is, most of England’s early martyrs who were burned at the stake, were indoors men and book worms. What I am saying is that all of us, with the help of God, need face up to whatever needs to be faced. No matter what the personal cost, pain, or results. May God give each of us the courage to keep us from being a courageous coward!

*Transforming Your Prayer Life

A.W. Tozer tells a story of an old minister, whose Christian life was revolutionized. When asked what brought about this noticeable change, he answered, “I simply promised God I would never again pray a prayer I didn’t mean.”

Some years ago while in Ireland, I picked up an old Welsh hymnal; in it is a children’s song I think conveys the old minister’s sentiment. Here is the first verse of it.

I often say my prayers,
But do I ever pray?
And do the wishes of my heart
Go with the words I say?

I may as well kneel down
And worship gods of stone,
As offer to the living God
A prayer of words alone.

For words without the heart
The Lord will never hear;
Nor will He to those lips attend
Whose prayers are not sincere.

Lord, teach me what I need,
And teach me how to pray;
Nor let me ask Thee for thy grace,
Not meaning what I say.

(John Burton 1803-77)

*Chips, Scratches, and Breaks.

One great danger facing those who long to be Spiritual is in forgetting that in this life we will always be “earthen vessels.” God in His wisdom, for reasons known only to Him, has seen fit, so to speak, to indwell old, marred, crock pots. Yes, chips, scratches, breaks, and all. The only perfect person He ever inhabited was His lovely Son.

Some of us spend a lifetime running from our humanity, until we come to realize that’s all we’ve got. There “ain’t” nothin’ else we have to offer Him. Since God sent Jesus in human flesh, He more than understands now our cry, “Lord, I’m only human!” Remember, we’re not supermen, just a part of frail humanity.

Though the spirit is willing, the flesh will ever be weak.

He'll Get Around to Yours.

Immediately upon calling His first disciples, Jesus said, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also." Then, later on we're told, “He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.” Oswald Chambers, commenting on our latter text says, “Jesus comes where He commands us to leave.” The disciples had left all to follow Jesus. He now rewards each of them by coming to their towns. Whenever we put God first, especially in the area of clinging to loved ones, you can be assured that they will ultimately receive a personal visit from Him.

Do not rob those you love of the personal attention of Christ by refusing to let go of them. To be sure, if you put God first above all others, He will get around to seeing them sooner or later. Don’t debate Him; just obey. If you don’t, you’ll only be in the way of His plans for them. Leave all the consequences with Him. The day of their visitation will come, and they will know it when it arrives.

Our time zone is different from God’s. Our calendars are always one day ahead, and our clocks five minutes fast.

A Room Full of Doors

Our Heavenly Father would have His children live a life of faith. Without it, we are told, it is impossible to please Him. The highest respect we can pay God is in believing His Word, no matter what! To stand before Him when all is dark, when stripped of everything we hold dear, and all hope is gone, to say, “I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me,” is the greatest honor one could bestow upon Him.

The way in which the Lord teaches us this vital lesson is to “shut [us] up unto the faith.” He puts us in an impossible situation and shuts every door except one. After weary and worn from trying all the locked doors, in desperation we finally try the door of faith. And when we do, we find that all the time it was the way out, just waiting for us to enter through it. Reach out and turn the knob, you never need a key, it’s always open.

Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. And lo, no one was there.

*Divine Set-backs

“Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.” Paul was compelled to leave behind one of his traveling companions because of sickness. This faithful friend was, no doubt, of great help to the Apostle in his missionary journeys. What a set-back this must have been for both Paul and Trophimus. Nevertheless, Paul went on, and his co-worker stayed behind. In spite of the disappointment to both, there was no complaining to God or blaming Him. Their motto was always, “The will of the Lord be done.”
We are told of the remarkable healing powers entrusted to Paul, but neither he nor his sick friend had faith to claim healing. It is written “God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul,” but it was not so in this case. Why? Simply because it was not in God’s plan. Contrary to the teaching of some today, it is not always God’s will to heal or deliver. Paul’s eye problem stayed with him till death; and young Timothy had stomach problems all his life.

Our gifts, powers, and possibilities are subject to the limitations of God’s perfect will. Our prayer should always be, “In sickness and in health, the will of God be done.”Set-backs can’t keep back a person who does not hold back his life from God.

No Apology Necessary

My oldest son, Andrew, pastors a church in Santa Cruz, here in California. He has some great one-liners, such as: “If love never fails, why try anything else?”; “Having an infallible Bible doesn’t make us so”; and, “You can’t run from your humanity.” But the one I think could be the most profound of all is, “We need to stop apologizing for the Will of God.” Think of it, we often come across as being apologetic for the blessings of God upon our lives. Many, it seems, live in constant condemnation when blessed above some others.

We feel we need to explain to everyone, almost embarrassingly at times, for the good things that have come our way. If we are blessed, we need not be ashamed before the brethren, but simply stay humble before The Blesser. If, on the other hand, God has seen fit to withhold the “goodies” of life, we need not be bitter, but rather content in whatsoever state we find ourselves. This is a great gain in itself; so says the Apostle.

But this truth goes much deeper than material things. Yes, He makes both the rich and the poor, as the wise man says; but it also covers God’s dealings with His Elect in every area of their lives. We are told He makes one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor; He made the seeing, as well as the blind; what’s more, He makes the deaf and the hearing. To those who would question such things, Jesus says “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?

Therefore, it is not for me to question, but to obey. And if I am obedient, I can know, most assuredly, whatever lot falls to me, He is the disposer of the same. Or as the song writer so ably put it, “Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul.” May I ask you a question that Elisha’s servant asked the great lady of Shunem, after the loss of her dearest possession? “Is it well with thee? She answered, It is well.”

You can never lose what you have given to God!