A Double Difficulty

“But we will give ourselves...to prayer, and to the...word.”

(Acts 6:4)

A HARD THING TO ADMIT

I understand that the spiritually elite will never agree with the following essay; it would be too painful, wounding their pride. But those honest and humble saints among us will be the first to give testimony to its embarrassing truth, as self-debasing as it might be.

A TWO-FOLD DILEMMA

There are many difficulties that confront a saint in their daily life. I list here two such troublesome problems. The first being the difficulty in picking up the Bible once you put it down; and even more difficult to put it down once picked up. Along with this is the habit of prayer. When on your knees before God, you never want to leave; on the other hand, once you rise it’s hard to put oneself in that fetal position again.

FROM WHENCE COMETH THIS PREDICAMENT?

This problematic double puzzle comes from the fact of the two natures we possess as believers - the old Adamic nature that wants to feed the flesh, and the new Divine nature that desires to feed upon the spiritual. This creates a constant internal war. Victory comes, I believe, by one simply saying a definite “NO!” to the old and an emphatic “YES!" to the new.

THE OUTSTANDING THEOLOGIAN J.I. PACKER HAS IT RIGHT

In his excellent introduction to John Owen’s book, Sin and Temptation, the now ninety-three year old saint makes a profound comment. The old saint writes: “I now days think that the best way to deal with temptation is to at once say no, and with that to ask the Lord for strength to keep saying no...to squelch the sinful urge.”

"The two major means in Christ's life were: The Word of God and His prayers to God; both brought Him in contact with God!"

(rds)

The Necessity For The Needful

“...far better: Nevertheless...more needful.”

(Phil. 1:23-24)

GIVING UP THE ONE FOR THE OTHER

There will be times in your life when you will be torn between choosing what is “far better,” and what is “more needful.” The former pertains to your life, the latter to the life of others. What is better for you may not be best for others. In such situations you will find what is better is not always best at that particular time, but rather what is needful.

JESUS SET THE EXAMPLE

In John chapter four we’re told Jesus was wearied in His journey, as well as being left hungry and thirsty, yet He went some twenty to twenty-five miles out of His way because, we are told, it was a “must needs” case. In the life of this gentle-giant of a Man, it was never a question of what was best for Him, but what was needful in the lives of others!

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Those stalwart saints who have sacrificed the “far better” in their lives for what is “more needful” in the lives of others will find that the “far better” awaits them up the road apiece. A man or woman with old-fashioned integrity pays his or her bills on time; you can be sure God pays His when due. Or as the Holy Scripture puts it, “In due time.”

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

(Heb. 6:10)

YOUR LIFE’S PHILOSOPHY

“And he brought him to Jesus.”

(Jn. 1:42)

Most all believers in Christ have a philosophy that governs their lives. One can be conscious or unconscious of this philosophy. It may not be written with paper and ink, but it is etched in the deep recesses of one’s heart and mind. It is a principle that one lives by and reacts to, in crises especially. As I have mentioned in previous articles, my deep-seated belief is, “If I can get an individual to Jesus, everything will be all right!” Andrew found this to be true in his brother Peter’s life; so will we.

Most certainly God uses means, but not until we have come to the Master (2 Chron. 16:12).  A perturbed women once said to me, “You think Jesus is the answer to everything.” I readily and happily confessed I was guilty as charged. Jesus Christ is the “Fix-it-Man,” in all areas of life! He is a “hands on” individual. That means you must take your hands off. But a warning to my readers. Once you put yourself into His hands, things may not come out the way you imagined. But be assured, it will be for God’s glory!

"No one ever came to Jesus empty-handed and went away that way"

(rds)

FLAUNTING YOUR FAITH

“Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.”

(Rom. 14:22)

A CONSTANT REMINDER

I’ve made it a habit through these many years to read certain chapters or portions of the Bible, on a regular basis. For example: 1 Cor. 13, on what true biblical love is; Deut. 8, lest I forget what He brought me from and to; also 1 Thess. 4, keeping my eyes on the sky; Psa. 23, my Shepherd's care of me, etc.

ROMANS CHAPTER FOURTEEN

This chapter (and the first few verses in the following chapter) deals with questionable things in the saint’s life— those shady areas, if you please. It deals with diets (verse 2), days (verse 5), and drink (verse 21). Within this chapter you can apply its principle teachings to other doubtful areas in your Christian life.

A FAITH UNSEEN

James challenges believers of his day to shew him their faith, but in our main text there is to be an unseen faith that only God sees. Taking the context, it shows this is not a contradiction of terms but rather shows if we have faith to do certain things other brethren cannot, we are not to flaunt it. We are to keep it to ourselves lest we offend and hinder our weak brother or sister.

A TWO-SIDED SAYING

There is a little tract entitled, “Others May, You Cannot” but the flip side of this is, “You May, Others Cannot.” This hidden faith to do certain things others cannot, because of their weak conscience , is not hypocritical but scriptural. Temperament, upbringing, early erroneous Christian teaching, along with other things, hinder many from enjoying the glorious liberty they have in Christ. We must not cause them to stumble over our freedom.

A QUOTABLE QUOTE

My son Andrew has a saying, “Only God has the right to define sin.” I find it simultaneously both amazing and disgusting to hear preachers and Christians calling things sin that God has not so labeled as such. Bible teachers tell us the Jews added 613 laws to the Ten Commandments. For those who like to add their long list of sins to God’s short one, I would give serious thought to the wise man’s advice, “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Prov. 30:6

“Found among miserable Christians is a group who cannot tolerate anyone who does not meet their criteria of man-made rules.”

(rds)

PERSEVERANCE

OUR INSURANCE POLICY

We hear much, in some circles, about the “Preservation of the Saint.” But I find the same crowd is offended when one speaks of the saint persevering. Most certainly, the latter is not conditional for God keeping us, but it is a mark that we are His. You could say a Christian’s endurance is their insurance.

A WORD STUDY

An interesting word study in the New Testament would be, “Continue,” as it relates to the Believer. For example, we are told of the early Church in Acts, “They continued steadfastly…” And Paul exhorted those living in the hard times of the last days to “Continue thou…” Jesus told His followers to "continue" in His Word and in His love.

SNAIL SAINTS

I read something interesting about William Carey, “Father of Modern Missions.” He told a loved one before his death that if anyone wrote of him after his decease to tell them to simply attribute any success he might have had (humanly speaking), to the fact, “I can plod…I can persevere in any definite pursuit…to this I owe everything.” Then he added, “Anything beyond this credit will be too much.”

“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”  

(C.H. Spurgeon)