A Job Well Done

 In Genesis chapter one, after various tasks performed in  creation,  on four different occasions, it's written "and God  saw that it was  good." Then at creations completion we're  told, "And God  saw  every thing He had made, and, 
 behold, it was very good."

Today I did some rather long and strenuous yard work, the first since my heart attack and five by-passes seven months ago. After showering and resting a bit, I told my wife, kiddingly, "I think I'll go out and admire a job well done." At that moment it struck me for the first time what God's Sabbath Rest was all about. Most certainly, as we are all aware, He did not rest from exhaustion. There are several good doctrinal views on the meaning of God's rest on the Seventh Day. But I now believe one practical aspect was that He might look back on "a job well done." We might say of God what they said of Jesus in His day, "He hath done all things well." The old-timers used to say, If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well." Each of us needs to take a breather, so to speak, and look back on our work. Can we say it is our very best? If not, we are certainly not emulating our God, which He explicitly tell us to do (Eph. 5:1). No job is too small or menial. He made the sun, moon and stars; but He made the small twig of a tree also! I may not be able to do big things in a big way, but I can do little things in a big way.

God's Plan and Duct Tape

A young unmarried girl constantly pestered her pastor concerning finding a husband. On one trying occasion he said in exasperation, "God's plan is one man for one woman and one woman for one man; that's His plan and you can't improve on it." To which she replied, "Preacher, I don't want to improve on it, I just want to get in on it!"

I used to have a book entitled, God's Plan For the Ages. This is true, but just as true is the fact He has a plan for each individual Christian life. And everyone of us who name the name of Christ ought to want to "get in on it!" Think of it, the great Architect of the universe fit such as we into His vast eternal plan. What an honor, what a privilege, and yes, what a responsibility.

But let us not make the mistake of thinking He places us into His great scheme of things according to our natural talents and gifts. This is true many times, but not always. Like duct tape, the experts have found it is good for a thousand practical things, but not for sealing heating ducts, the very task it was designed for. Often, some of us preform much better at things we were not intended for than tasks in which we should logically excel.

Whatever God's plan for our lives, we can be assured, He has or will qualify us for where to fit in.

Abraham the Adventure

“He went out, not knowing whither he went.” From start to finish, Abraham’s spiritual life was one of adventure. Some of the dictionary’s definitions of the word are: “exciting, unusual experience; uncertain and risky; taking a chance; bold, daring; new undertaking; soldier of fortune; courageous.” What has happened to the spiritual adventurers like those found in Hebrews eleven?

For God’s children, life should be an adventure. Some live and die and never get out of the boat. I’d rather try and fail than to have never tried at all. We like to read Pilgrim’s Progress, but shun being a pilgrim. We love to hear of the early pioneers and their experiences, but we shutter to think of being a pioneer, of venturing into untrodden and untried areas.

It says of the mariners in Acts 27, “[W]hen they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea.” Some of us, no doubt, need to take up our anchors of false security and commit ourselves to God, of whom it is said that He is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.”

To the spiritual adventurer, no mountain is too high, no valley too low, no enemy too strong, and no problem too difficult.

You Can Depend On Him!

"Now Jesus was not yet come..." Searching eight commentaries, I found not one commented on our text. Personally, I cannot understand this; I feel this little nugget is full of worth. 

The background of our story is about Lazarus' sickness and death. His sisters, Mary and Martha, sent a message to Jesus telling Him of His beloved friend's condition. After hearing of it, our Lord remained two more days where He was. Then He told his disciples Lazarus had died and that He was glad. For, said He, it was for the glory of God, and that they might believe. Jesus waited a full four days, Lazarus being in the tomb, before appearing on the scene.

You can always depend on Jesus to show up whenever and wherever He is needed, but according to His timetable. Our watches are always five minutes fast. Special events in our lives are in accord with His calendar, not ours! It's His prerogative in choosing the time and date. He works from the impossible aspect of life. When things become hopeless and helpless, look around you, He will be there, possibly in the shadows, but there, nonetheless.   

                              At the end of self is God!

The Sovereignty of God

“Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he…” The word “sovereignty” has come to be associated with a man’s teachings in the 1500’s. In some circles of Christianity, the word causes uneasiness when articulated. But this word defines a great Bible doctrine that runs throughout the Scriptures.

Some of its meanings are: “supreme rank, power, or authority; preeminent; independent and above all others; undisputed prerogative.” In other words, God has unqualified, unrestrained freedom to do as He pleases. No creature has that ability or right. Those who are overly concerned with the free will of man do not seem to be bothered by the fact that they are forfeiting God’s.

The sovereignty of God is a great ground of confidence for the people of God, especially to those who suffer. When once we realize Deity dispenses all of life’s events, then will we be heirs to indescribable peace within. There is nothing that can enter the protective hedge of God except by the permission of the Divine Doorkeeper. May each of us echo David’s words when he said, “[H]ere am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.”

It says of Jesus, “It pleased the Lord to bruise him”; and that pleased Jesus!

Reason and Feeling Won't Work

[When] "...all hope...was then taken away..." [it was then Paul said] "be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me... " Whenever experienced seafaring mariners say, as they undoubtedly did to Luke, that any hope of getting out of that particular storm was useless, one is prone to believe the experts. But God has a way of defying the professionals.

The great danger in a saint's life, when the sun ceases to shine and there is a prolonged darkness, is to use human reasoning and go by one's natural feelings. But during such times, it is of utmost importance we remember, it is faith and faith alone that changes our dire situation from gloom to glory. If in the midst of trials we are to have joy and peace we must exercise faith. The scripture tells us, "...all joy and peace [comes] in believing."

A childlike faith, God will never betray. Such guileless trust treats the future as the present and the invisible as the seen. As Oswald Sanders writes, "It [faith] is at home in the realm of the impossible as well as the realm of the possible, for it relies on a God who knows no limitations." The God who spoke to Paul in the midst of this tumult still speaks to us today. God, through Isaiah, promises, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee." And Ezekiel adds his testimony, "[God] brought me through the waters." HE goes in and comes out of every storm, with us.

"A step of faith always involves the acceptance of a calculated risk." (Oswald Sanders)

Our God Doesn't Fit.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." There is absolutely no possibility of fitting our God into today's society. He is at odds with anything and everything natural man is for. 

For example, He would be considered a racist, He chose the Jews to be His, over all other peoples. Israel was the head, the rest the tail; He definitely would be tagged anti-feminist. According to His teaching, every Christian woman is to be subject to her husband and obey him; the United Nations would kick Him out, for He said, "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance"; He'd be known as a war-mongeral. For, said He, "I am a man of war"; they would try and arrest Him for hate speech. He plainly said, "Esau have I hated." He was, by contemporary standards, homo-phobic. For he commanded all the sodomites to be put out of the land; He would be called a narrow-minded, religious bigot, for He said there was only one way to Him, His Son; and the environmentalist would detest Him, for He said. "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

     

 No amount of legislative laws will change any of the above, or any other truths found in His Holy Word! And educating our youth with, "science falsely called," will change nothing. Only a radical Spiritual change by the Spirit of God within the human heart will convert these worldly views into a Scriptural perspective. Paul tells us explicitly in First Corinthians, the only way to know the mind of God is to have the Spirit of God within us. Until this happens, God's ways and thoughts remain foolishness to the natural man. The Apostle tells us, He (the natural man) cannot know them." 

Just as our God does not fit into this world system, neither should we, His children. 

Heaven or a Tent

"Look now toward heaven...” This is always God’s way. He takes us from the small surroundings of our tent, and shows us the sky. He brings us out of our prisons, so to speak, and, as David said, sets our feet in a large place.

God’s desire for each of us is that we might see the height and breadth of things. Most of us are too nearsighted. As Peter tells us in his second Epistle, there are those who cannot see afar off.

God wants us to trade our pup tents for the heavens. Within our self-imposed seclusion, we are too little to do anything big. Our Spiritual lives are lived within the confines of our little tent. We no longer see men and women of God with great aspirations and expectations. No, we prefer to live within the four walls of our man-made canvass tent, with our little god.

Our walk with God needs to be under the unrestricted vastness of Heaven—not in a six-by-six cell. If we are to be companions of God, our scope needs to be as great as the heavens themselves. “Look now toward heaven.”

Let It Alone

How I wish I had learned early in my Christian life and ministry to let some things alone, especially those that are commanded in the Scripture. Like the old adage, “Let sleeping dogs lie.” But we will be to awaken them. And when this occurs, it’s usually to our own detriment. When we begin to meddle in these forbidden areas, there is always a small voice in one’s ear that says, in a gentle but firm way, “Let it alone.”

There are three particular times I need to heed this warning. First, I’m told to “Let her alone.” Why be critical of those who have “chosen that good part.” A quiet devotion that pours one’s life out on Him will generally bring the wrath of the “sisters” and preacher brethren. Our age is characterized by hectic, endless, frustrating service, that results in very little being accomplished for the glory of God. Today, we are told to give our best to the poor, not Him, and to spend all our time in the hot kitchen preparing and performing for Him in service. Enjoying Him comes last in the order of this man-made menu.

“Let him alone,” says our Lord. So he doesn't do things exactly like you believe they should be done. He’s still preaching Christ, and no man doing this can speak lightly of Him. How many of us are like those described by the translators of the King James Bible, in their dedicatory, “...maligned by self conceited brethren, who run their own ways, and give liking unto nothing, but what is framed by themselves and hammered on their anvil.”

“Let them alone.” You will never convince the self-righteous extremists of the errors of their ways. A Pharisee remains a Pharisee. He’s not interested in my heart, or that of anyone else’s; he’s not even concerned with his own. He is only interested in how he looks to the brethren in his own group, and being accepted of them. Our Lord took a lot of His precious time with people from all walks of life, but very little with the Pharisees, and it was usually confrontational. It’s not that these legalists won’t get it; they can’t get it. In the case with most of them, the die has been cast; the cement has been set. These people spend all their time trying to bind people; Jesus spent His in loosening them.

“Abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine own hurt..." (2 Chronicles 25:19)

A Word To Those Who Minister the Word

On any given Lord's Day untold numbers of pastors, evangelists, missionaries, Sunday School teachers, etc. will be ministering the Word of God to the saints of God. I think it wise therefore, from time to time, for each to take a moment or two to ponder the fact of the great responsibility laid upon those ministering the scriptures. As well as the blessed privilege and honor bestowed upon each who are called to handle and give out the Bread of God.

When the angel Gabriel announced John the Baptist's birth to
Zacharias, his father was told one of the things that would characterize this great man of God was that he would, "...make ready a people prepared for the Lord." He would not, as many today, use the people of God to build his ministry, but rather, he would use his ministry to build the people of God. As a craftsman preparing a work for his kings enjoyment, John was making ready and preparing a people for his King's pleasure!

It is easy to spot the true teachers of the Word of God; their one resonating cry is, "BEHOLD THE LAMB."

The Christian's Crowbar

"He shall shut, and none shall open." Legion is the number who praises God for open doors, but few there are who are thankful for closed ones. Yet it is the same God that does both. Years ago, the Lord taught me, through my wife, to be just as excited for a closed door as a wide open one.

I'm sure, if not in this life, then in the next, the Lord will show each of us the tragedy that lay behind the door that we were so desirous and insistent upon entering. Closed doors should not bring sadness, but, rather, gladness, into our lives.

Each of God's children has a tool chest, so to speak, but there should be no place in it for a "Christian crowbar." Why would anyone want to force an entrance into the unknown, when God is on this side of the door with us? Noah found this out, to his own delight, after God had shut the door.

Never enter a room unless it's God who opens the door for you.

Have the Birds Stopped Singing?

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come." The old Nazarene preacher, Uncle Bud Robinson, now with the Lord, used to tell a sweet story. It seems he had some difficulty with a ticket agent pertaining to the train he was to travel on; he had spoken harshly to him. He said as he turned to go from the ticket counter he noticed the birds had stopped singing in his heart. He returned and apologized for his rude behavior. He said, as he walked away, the birds started singing again.

I am sure most Christians who read this article, like myself, can relate to times when the "birds cease to sing" in our hearts also. Maybe not the same experience as Uncle Buddy's, but times when the freshness of Spring departed from us and the cold of winter set in. Maybe it was when our love began to "wax cold," for one reason or another. Or possibly, when a seasonal trial ran longer than we thought we could bear it. Leaving us cold and indifferent. Whatever the reason, if we are willing to make things right, whether with God or man, or both, then shall come to pass the saying, "the time of the singing of birds is come." 

One of my greatest enjoyments through the years has been to awake on a early Spring morning, the bedroom window being opened a little, and to hear the returning birds, after a long cold winter, singing again. O, but thousands of times much sweeter it is to hear the song of the Spirit making melody in my heart once again! 

The Great Jail Break

Some years ago, I was holding a meeting in a southern city. A young pastor, whose father is a preacher, and an acquaintance of mine, called and wanted to have lunch with me. The host pastor and I met him in a local restaurant, and at the conclusion of our meal, he interrogated me in depth on some positions I had changed my view on. After I had explained the reasons, the whys and the Scriptural basis for doing so, I was shocked to hear his reply.

After a brief pause (for he is a thinker), he made this statement, “You know, I believe just about like you do on all these points, but I’m waiting till my father passes on before I say anything about it.”

You may say, “How pathetic,” but there are scores of pastors and people who hold views that are contrary to the status quo, and who are doing the same thing in principle. The reason for this is that the “cultic” group they are associated with would brand them as apostates or heretics if they were even to hint that they believed any other view than that to which the group holds.

Therefore, in such situations, one has a choice to make: Stay in and let your mind lie dormant, while others do your thinking; or break out of jail and enjoy the intellectual freedom to pursue boundless Biblical and intellectual truths. I chose the latter of these and have never been sorry I did.

The Gospel Affects

“...they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel”. (Gal.2:14)  Cp. “...let your conversation (manner of life) be as it becometh the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27). In the first text, Paul rebuked Peter for not living up to the claims of the gospel. In the second scripture, Paul tells the Philippian believers their lives should compliment the gospel.

Many today think by believing the gospel that everything ends there. But that is only getting your foot in the door, so to speak. Both Paul and Peter tell us the gospel, once believed, is to be obeyed. Belief in the gospel gets one into God’s family; but obeying the gospel proves your belief is valid, and that you're actually a legitimate member of it.

The gospel of Christ is not only effective in those who believe, (that is,it works in the salvation of their soul), but affects, (produces change) one’s lifestyle, as well. Paul’s term is, “Walking in newness of life.” A gospel that doesn’t change a person from the inside out is “another gospel,” and carries with it the “curse of God” (Gal. 1:8-9).”

Jesus Christ didn’t leave heaven and come to this earth to suffer, bleed, and die, to save people “in” their sin, but “from” their sin! (Matt.1:21)   

Two Dogs But One Master

Like most of my readers, it was not long into my Christian life before I heard the old proverbial story of the black dog and the white dog, illustrating the conflict of Romans seven in the Believers life. The problem was, there was little explanation of it. I don't know about you, but I was left to believe they represented the "old man" and the "new  man," making me, I thought, a dual personality.

But to a thinking individual this leaves no one responsible for sin. For the "new man" cannot sin," and the "old man" can do nothing but sin. Therefore, one is left with no one to blame for an unrighteous life, or commended for a righteous one. The answer lies in the fact that there are not two different people within a saint. There is but one responsible personality: ME, with two natures inside.

That being the old sinful Adamic nature all are born with, and the new Divine nature, received at the second birth. Whichever nature I yield to decides whether I, that is, the real me, will display the thoughts and actions of the "old man," the Adamic nature, or those of the "new man"; the one "which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

Only one man chooses if he is to be the "old man" or the "new man." You cannot be both at the same time.

Nothing But Ashes

It takes a lot to start over, especially when it is necessitated by dreams that were accomplished but have now gone up in smoke. It’s difficult to begin building again using only ashes as building blocks.

It is at this point that many cease to live, and only to exist. I can view tragedies in my life as sad endings, or look at them as new beginnings. In one of his books, Louis L'Amour said, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.”

May our Lord grant us grace, courage, fortitude and faith; and when all is gone, and nothing is left but an ash heap, to put up a sign on the charred remains, for all to read: BUSINESS TOMORROW AS USUAL.

*Stemming the Tide

 I find, prophetically, I fit somewhere in the middle of two extremes, so to speak. There is what I like to call the “Clean-up” crowd, and then there’s the “Caught-up” bunch. The former spend their time thinking about, “the nasty now and now”; and the latter, “the sweet by-and-by. It seems neither side has yet learned you can walk and still chew gum.

Man is not going to bring in an age where the lion and lamb lie down together. I heard of one farmer who bought the two animals and attempted it. Asked if it worked, his reply was, “Yelp, with the lion. But we have to supply a new lamb daily.” And for those who are miserable and just want to “get out of here,” morbidity (doom and gloom) is not God’s plan for us.

On the one hand Jesus tells us, “Occupy till I come.” But on the other hand, we’re told to, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” While we live here, we’re to love heaven. In this on-going battle, which started in Genesis chapter three we are to, as a fighting soldier would put it, “Hold the line.” And while doing this, look for our Captain from heaven, to break through the clouds with re-enforcements!

There will be no “Peace on earth”, until the “Prince of Peace” returns!

*Accept or Expect

I read a booklet some years ago by a popular dispensationalist. He said the only prayer promise today for the Church age is Philippians 4:7. We are simply to let our requests be known to God and to expect nothing else other than the peace of heart and mind prayer brings. He said the prayers concerning asking and receiving had to do with the Jews of old, and not with this present Gentile age.

I say, “What rubbish!” What an insult to God Almighty. My answer to those who would try to pigeon-hole God is that of the Apostle Paul, who answers them with this question: “Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also...” Making your requests known to God, and then leaving it there with no expectation, may make you look good and spiritual, but it does nothing for God. Who wants an impotent God? From Genesis to Revelation, in every age, to every people, God is distinctly a God Who hears and answers prayer.

"God never denied that soul anything that went as far as Heaven to ask for it." (Puritan saying)

*Rationalization vs. Revelation

Two good definitions given for the word rationalize, and its derivatives are; the practice of accepting reason as the only authority in determining one’s opinions or course of actions; to devise plausible explanations for (one’s acts, beliefs, etc.), usually in self-deception. Rationalization then is man reasoning apart from God’s revelation. No matter how common sense something may seem, without putting God in the equation we deceive ourselves. We are told today (it seems in every area of life) from psychology to theology, and all in between, that we are to be rational beings. But to be rational without revelation (the Scriptures) is not reasonable.

I like what Oswald Chambers has to say on this subject. The following are some of his quotes. “The boldness of rationalism is not in what it does, but in the way it criticizes…when it comes to action the rationalist is amazingly timid…Nothing bold has ever been done in the name of rationalism…no rationalist has ever produced the heroism, the adventure, or the nobility that the people and things he criticized have produced…We hear it said that Jesus Christ taught nothing contrary to common sense: everything Jesus Christ taught was contrary to common sense.”

Let each of us then follow the wise man's advice when he tells us to, “…lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

*When You've Had Enough

There is a gospel song with these words in it: “I went into the enemy’s camp and took back what he stole from me.” This is exactly what David did when the Amalekites came to Ziglag and carried away all that David held dear. At first, as you would naturally expect, “David was greatly distressed”; but after this, we are told, “But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” It was then he inquired of the Lord as to whether he should attempt to get back what he lost. To which God replied in essence, “Go get it!” And at the climatic end of the story we are told, “David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away.”

How we need daring David’s today. Christians who will put on the “armour of light,” and storm the kingdom of darkness and take back what the devil and his hoard robbed them of. Maybe it’s your peace, joy, power, or self-respect that has been seized. Whatever the case, if it rightly belongs to you, it goes without saying, it does not belong to Satan! No matter if it be a lion, bear, giant, or the Amalekites, David faced his enemy head on. His adversary never saw his back parts. David was like the first century Roman soldier; there was no armour for their back.

I like what A.W. Tozer wrote in his book, I Talk Back To The Devil. When feeling pressed out of measure, he said he would fall to his knees and be given strength to pray “Now, Lord, I have had enough-I refuse to take any more of this heaviness and oppression. This does not come from God-this comes from my enemy, the devil! Lord, in Jesus’ name, I will not take it any longer-through Jesus Christ I am victor!” At such times he says, “Great burdens have melted and rolled away- all at once!”

*Untouched Tools

Let’s suppose we have a carpenter dad, who, in many respects, comes far short as a father, but who taught his children his trade expertly? And let us now suppose these children are grown. And imagine, for illustration sake, they’re walled-in by a twenty-foot high concrete barrier, with no way out. Now suppose all their father’s tools are lying there in plain sight, along with an ample supply of trees. What would you think if rather than making a ladder of the wood available, and escaping from their dire circumstances, they spent their time blaming their parent for all their personal short-comings in years gone by?

Some of the grown children who read these articles need to “grow-up.” By far, most of you had parents who equipped you with every tool that you will ever need in life to get you out of any predicament you may ever face. But rather than put your tools to good use, you’d rather blame their inherent weaknesses for you being a self-imposed weakling! I know some Christian young adults whose parents had much to be desired in certain areas of their lives, but who did their best to equip their child with the finest of implements. And these children have gone on to excel in life, well worn tools characteristically lying all around them. Others, who never made it, are content with a tool-box with untouched tools, being held hostage by circumstances.

When you blame others, you give up your power to change.~Author Unknown

*We'll just Have to Wait

I don't know about you, but it seems as I grow older in the Lord, most of my prayers begin with, “I'm sorry, Lord, please forgive me.” I’ve found not only do I have feet of clay, but the whole of me is made out of the same stuff. It seems breaks in the vessel come so frequent and easy these days.

I wish I were what I want to be and what many think me to be. But I’m afraid, in this life; I'll never achieve this desired dream till that blessed day when I see Him face to face. Until that anticipated day, may I, and each one of you in this similar situation, say with God’s darling, David…

“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”

*Do You Really Want Revival?

Years ago, I heard a preacher say, “Many who are praying for revival would be scared to death if they met one face to face.” Most Christians praying for revival do not really want one. I believe I can prove this.

Anyone who is the least familiar with the history of revival realizes it crosses all boundaries. Sectarianism goes out the door; the walls of inclusiveness fall down flat; dogmatism is put on a short chain; and “I only am left” gives way to “I have yet seven thousand.” Are you sure you want revival?

In an authentic, Biblical revival, there will be a resurrection from the dust, where the gifts of the Spirit have lain dormant. Love for all God’s people will be preeminent; miraculous things will occur apart from man-made machinery. And each believer will look past the weak, sinful, earthen vessel of his brother, to the treasure that lies within. Are you sure you want revival?

Revival is not denominational; but it is demonstrable.

*Peer Perception

“...we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” It is not how others see us that’s so important, but how we perceive ourselves. Because these men viewed themselves as being small, insignificant, and weak, they imagined others felt the same about them. Sometimes, other people’s conception of us is what we ourselves have created.

If we do not see ourselves in Christ and “somebodies,” then we will present an image of a “nobody.” And few, if any, are impressed with this sort. You can always spot the latter; their philosophy is “We be not able.” The former is always easy to recognize, for their attitude is “...we are well able.”
The one sees an Omnipotent God; the other, an impotent grasshopper. Both of these outlooks stem from how we think about ourselves. The wise man put it this way: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

Many heirs of God, think like paupers.

The Ox and the Cart

“For if I do this thing willingly...but if against my will...” Motive is everything with God. Many believe if they only do the right thing, it doesn't matter how or why they do it. But something can be done willingly or unwillingly, cheerfully or grudgingly, for the benefit of onlookers or for His sake alone Who sees in secret. It is possible to have the right actions for the wrong reasons. Internal quality of character suffers when right motive is not our mainstay.

The Pharisees were sticklers for their external rich rules, but poverty-stricken when it came to internal right motives. Right can become wrong for that person who does not do it for the right reason. Jesus’ order is, “First that which is within, then that which is without.” In many pulpits and churches, I am afraid we’re putting the cart before the ox.

"Honesty is the best policy." Bob Jones Sr, said, "If you're honest because it's the best policy, then your as crooked as a dog's hind leg!"

Seeking the Spectaculur

“...but the Lord was not in the wind...the Lord was not in the earthquake...the Lord was not in the fire...” How prone we are to look for God in the spectacular. Our impressionable and impulsive spirits give way so readily and easily to temporal externals.

We are so reluctant to admit the strong wind, in comparison to the Almighty, is no more than hot air; the earthquake is only a small, insignificant tremor; and the fire, man-made, using a light bulb and dangling scarlet cellophane in front of it for effect.

We need to hide our faces in our mantles, blinding us to all these passing, outward, earthly manifestations, and listen for the inward “still small voice” that will never pass away.

In the Temptation, Satan was for the spectacular; our Savior, for the Scriptures.

Culture and Christianity

Many cultural conditions in the Bible have no parallel in our culture today. Few, if any, greet one another with a holy kiss. You don’t want to take a teaching that prevailed for that particular time and place and make it a binding law for all time, and in every place. It’s dangerous to make a blanket acceptance of first century Jewish culture, by transferring it into ours today.

Paul advised the single Corinthian believers to remain unmarried because of, “…the present distress.” But this was not to be a permanent statute, but was a temporal teaching for that time. Christ brought about vast changes in many cultural areas. For example, women no longer have their own Temple Court, or sit on opposite sides of the church to worship. The Cross now brings them along side their husbands.

There are transitory, geographical, and local cultural conditions in the Bible that were never meant to be timeless, nor universal. But the principle teaching can be applicable to whoever, whenever, whatever. For example, my wife says of the wise woman of Proverbs 31, “I don’t have to buy a sewing machine and make my own clothes to be like her; but I do need to be industrious if I’m to emulate her.”

It’s not the kiss, but an affectionate greeting that’s the issue. Not the washing of feet, but ministering to another’s needs that is important. Let us be careful we do not lose the lasting principle, while trying to establish something permanent out of the temporal.

Hand-Me-Downs

What oldtime family, of any size, does not understand the significance of hand-me-downs? For those in our present day who know little or nothing of the meaning of the term; it's a garment or items that have been passed on from another person, usually a family member. It is pre-owned, if you please.

All God’s blessings, His righteousness, promises, mercy, peace, etc., are hand-me-downs from His First-born. Christ is the medium by which we receive all the good things of God. You might say, “We get them second hand.” But no worry, they're the same as new when we become possessors of them.

Ah, what an honor, what privilege, and how humbling, to wear and to display our Elder Brother’s hand-me-downs!

Your Last Two Cents

"And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing." (Mk. 12:42)

I'm sure my readers are familiar with the the story of the widow and her two mites. In today's article I'd like to center our attention on the "two mites which make a farthing." 

Since the Bible is its own interpreter (A.V. 1611) we will allow it to show us the significance of the two mites or, farthing. When Jesus told the story of the man being cast into prison, He said he would not be released until, as Luke writes, "thou hast paid the very last mite." And Matthew puts it this way, "till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Now we understand Jesus' statement concerning her when He said, "but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." That is, she scraped the bottom of the barrel, there was nothing left! She had cast in her last two cents, so to speak.Unlike Ananias and Sapphira, who "kept back part," she gave her all, even down to her last mite.

From our story, we find our Lord is not interested in what we have given Him, but rather, what we have left. Common sense tells us He already has the latter. From the whole burnt offering in the Old Testament, to the great Commandment in the New, the characteristic word is "ALL." I close my article with asking a question from a Gospel song.

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
Your heart does the Spirit control?
You can only be blest,
And have peace and sweet rest,
As you yield Him your body and soul.

The Truly Progressive Christian

Allow me to use a familiar C.S. Lewis quote, “We want progress, but progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. If you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer, if you are on the wrong road. Progress means going back to the right road, and in that case, the man that turns back soonest, is the most progressive.” Or, to put it simpler, as the feminine voice on our car’s GPS says, when we’ve taken a wrong turn, ”When possible make a u-turn.”

Don't let anyone fool you, no matter how spiritual one may like to be considered, he or she has taken some wrong turns in life. If not yet, they will, I guarantee. Some do it unintentionally, others with their eyes wide shut. One way or the other, those who refuse to stop, turn around, and go back to the right road, can only attribute it to either their stubborn pride or willful ignorance; maybe a little of both. We are so egotistically slow to admit we're on the wrong road, in spite of all the road signs confirming it.

Those who attempt to save face at all costs, ultimately find, to their regret, the price to be way above what they’re able to shell out.

K.I.S.S.

In camp meetings in which I spoke, where there was a number of speakers, they'd remind us of K.I.S.S. "Keep It Short, Stupid!" Warren Wiersbe tells of a conference where he was the keynoter. It seems the speaker before him went beyond his allotted time, thereby leaving him with very little. The windy preacher's excuse was that he couldn't help it, that the spirit constrained him. To which sly Wiersbe replied, "Brother, have you never read, 'the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophet's?'"

It's humbling, but true, most people are not as interested in hearing or reading us, as we ourselves. The wise man's admonition, "Let thy words be few," can be applied to both public speakers and authors, as well as general conversationalists. Jesus said we're not heard for our much speaking. Even God likes one to get to the point!

The prophets of Baal talked all day, from morning till night, with no results. Elijah kept it pithy with only sixty-three words, and the fire fell. Read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount for brevity in speech. And as to writing, John tells us the Bible is a condensed Book, God kept out many things, even things of interest.

Whether in preaching, conversation, or writing, we should leave people wanting more, not bloated. As the old preacher said, "Don't dump on people the whole bail of hay all at once." Generally speaking, brevity is always best.

One thing that has helped me, especially in my preaching and writing, is leaving out detail when it is not pertinent to what you're trying to get across. For example: the State in which it took place; color of hair; make of car; how many other children they had; etc. Let's not wear people out with our words. I come from kin who were characterized by "going around robin's barn" to get something said. It is a trait that has not been easy for me to break; but I'm working on it.

"The only thing about getting old is one story reminds you of another."

(Walter Cronkite)    

A Fluid Situation

One of today's popular statements, "It's a fluid situation," is regularly used by both the media and military; some believe the latter were possibly the originator of it. Most common sense people would guess its meaning without any help from the experts. It is apparent, highly unstable and unpredictable situations would be referred to as "fluid." That is, could change from one moment to the next. Like streams from melted snow coming down a mountainside. 

Each of us, who are God's elect, are in transition while here on earth, and such a state is always a fluid one. Anyone the least familiar with Psalm's is aware it is basically an autobiography of David's life. And looking at it strictly from the human viewpoint, it can be characterized as fluid. His life was filled with varying courses. As a result, he had learned change is the only constant in life, and thereby to go with the flow! and so must we!  He had found, by hindsight, his apparent problems were, in reality, God's arranged providence'.

We see only the next bend in the river, fearing what may await us, raging rapids, etc. But God has a panoramic view and makes plans accordingly. You can be sure God's predestined plan will be fulfilled in each of His children's lives, no matter how many twists and turns our lives may take! And I might add, it will all happen according to the good pleasure of His will. You see, unlike the world in their fluid situation, we have a stabilizing anchor, unseen, within the veil. 

Jelly Beans and God

As the boy waited for his mother to complete her shopping, the old time store keeper smilingly held out a large jar of jelly beans to the little fella, inviting him to take a handful. The wise little urchin asked the kind man if he would mind doing it for him.

In the final analyses, it is best to always have God’s hand in all our choices. As the song says, “He holds the whole world in His Hands.” It’s because of this, He does, “…exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”

I always loved to give to my children. To this very day I still find great pleasure in it. No doubt our Lord was referring to this when He said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

I don’t know about you, but I dearly love jelly beans. I think I’ll ask my Father if He would mind putting His Hand in the jar for me. How about you?

Leeches in Christian Costumes

In the world, these Christian leeches, dressed in religious garb, are known by different aliases: freeloaders; bloodsuckers; sponges; moochers; hanger-ons; scroungers; parasites; and last, but not least, extortioners. The world has always had their share of these low-downers, who fleeced the innocent and unsuspecting, but now the Church has a “mixed multitude” who has taken up residence among us.

They’re found not just in the pews, but worse, in the pulpits, and among many missionaries and Christian institutions. These “hard-Luckers” have done more harm to the legitimate ministers, enterprizes, and servants of God than the devil ever has. They take advantage of the gullibility of innocent saints who have never known the ways of the world. But, I’m sorry to say, “I have.” And I want to warn you who are being drained by these devils.

These charlatans are not just to be seen in the public media, but also in our assemblies and among our kin and friends. In this case they generally come under the guise of borrowers, but have no means or intention of ever paying their incurred debts. The Bible speaks of such, “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again.” God’s command is, “Pay...that thou owest.”

These characterless conmen and women need to have the “brook dried up” on them. Hanger-ons don’t hang-around long when this happens! You think I'm, tough? Paul said, “If a man didn’t work, neither should he eat,”

The Cause of Discontent

“I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Contentment is something we learn, and this subject cannot be learned until we have first learned that there can be no contentment without commitment. Once we commit ourselves daily to the will of God, we have learned the secret of contentment. It’s not that we do not know the will of God; it’s the fact that many of us do not like the will of God, and that brings on discontentment. We are not content with who we are, where we are, what we're doing, and even the way we're doing it. Because of the simply reason we have not committed these things to God.

We cannot enjoy the present for the imagery we create in our minds of some fanciful future. C.S. Lewis writes: “Of unattainable longings, sour is the fruit.” Sometimes it is alright to say to ourselves, “This is it, and there “ain’t no more; and that’s O.K.” Along with this, we need to change our philosophy from, “It could be better” to “It could be worse.” Again I quote Lewis: “Nobody who gets food and clothing in a world where most are hungry and cold, has any business to talk about misery.”

“Commitment” and “contentment” are spelled differently, but they go together.

Enjoying Our Bible

Someone has said, “The Bible is not read because it is not enjoyed; it is not enjoyed because it is not understood; and it is not understood because it is not rightly divided.” Rightly divided, as in giving to each their equal share. Like the Old Testament offering, a portion went to God, another to the priest, and a third to the one sacrificing. You don’t give to one what distinctly belongs to another. All the Bible is for us, but not all of it is to or about us.

Many, I find, are slaves in the reading of their Bibles. Sometimes Bible teachers lay down hard and fast rules for a person’s quiet time that in return become a law to the recipient.  I’ve heard such nonsensical statements as: “Every Christian needs to read their Bible through three times a year”; “You ought to mark your Bible from Genesis to Revelation”; The time to read the scriptures is very early in the morning.” The aforementioned is fine for some, but not all. One size doesn't fit all.

The man who works midnights is not in any shape to have early morning devotions. The young mother, with two or three to look after would have a tough time reading so many chapters a day. The visually impaired have difficult time enough reading, much less marking. And those with terminal maladies find it almost impossible to fit some ritualistic, man-made system into their suffering lives! The truth is, other than a daily meeting God in his Word, there is no cut and dried way to read your Bible.

A.W. Tozer stated that there were times he spent days, even weeks, on one scripture or portion before moving on in his Bible reading. Brainard said he read till his heart burned. And that late, great missionary statesman, Oswald J. Smith, made it a point to make sure he turned a page a day in his reading of the old Book. Most certainly, we all agree we should read the Bible, like any other book, from cover to cover. But we do not all agree as to the method. Therefore, let’s give each a little elbow room.

It’s not how many times you've been through the Bible, but how many times it’s gone through you. And the question for sure is not, “Do you mark your Bible?” but, “Are you marked by your Bible?” I close with two quotes from Andrew A. Bonar in reference to the Bible: “May we be able to spread our Bibles on the Mercy-Seat, and read them by the light of the cloud of Glory”; “Keep a grape of Eshcol beside you, and moisten your parched palate with it when you can.”  

*The Old Manna

“And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years...until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan...And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old... neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”

Manna, whatever else it may represent, is associated with wilderness saints: faithless, fruitless, and faltering, going in circles, never getting any place. We wonder sometimes why we have not advanced in our Christian life, why we have not grown more. To a great extent, it is because we live upon the “old manna.” We're too easily satisfied with the old manna, rather than the fresh grapes of Eshcol .       

The history of Israel was, each time the way got rough, “Let us return into Egypt.” They longed for the way it was, not the way it could be. The former takes faith! To experience the new, many times we must leave much of the old behind. This was the problem with the early Jewish Christians. They held to their religious past. The writer of Hebrews exhorts them,  “Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.”

The old in our lives has served its purpose, but to return to it is only to find it breeding worms. The rich, adult cuisine of Canaan cannot be compared to the infant pablum of the wilderness. We have a choice how we will live our lives. Either in poverty, wandering in the wilderness of this world, our fleshly appetites never satisfied, or feasting on the spiritual riches of Canaan.

I guarantee, no true Christian when entering the New Heaven, will desire the old earth!

When There's None To Encourage

David and his men have just returned to Ziklag, where both he and the families of his followers were housed. While absent, the Amalekites had invaded the city, burning it down, and taken all the women and children captive. David and his men wept till they could weep no more. Then, because of grief, his men spoke of stoning David, leaving him in great distress. It is at this point, we are told, “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

There will be times in all of our lives when each of us will find ourselves totally alone, with no one around to encourage us. It is then we must learn to follow darling David’s example in encouraging ourselves in the Lord. And just how is this done? I suggest we take the wise advice of Martyn LLoyd Jones, “We must learn to talk to ourselves instead of allowing ‘ourselves’ to talk to us.”

We’re not to listen to ourselves; we are to talk to ourselves. Whenever the former is the case, there will be discouragement. Listen to David when tempted to be downtrodden, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him.” Three times he tells us this. David knew how to handle himself. There are times we need to take ourselves in hand and give ourselves a good talking to. For some of us, maybe that time is now.

“Yesterday He helped me,

Today He did the same,

How long will this continue?

Forever, Praise His Name!”

Be Thankful/Things Could Be Worse

Years ago, an evangelist I knew went through a great trial. His wife left him, spreading lies everywhere, his children all turned on him, and every church he had booked, cancelled their meetings. He told me he thought at the time, it was bad as it could get. Then a card came in the mail from a preacher friend. On the front was a picture of a one-legged man with the caption, "I thought I was bad off." Then when you opened the card, it said, "Until I met a man with no legs."

I remember my blessed mother saying about herself or to others, when in difficult situations, "Well, it could be a lot worse." Those among us who are tempted to say, in trying times, "It is as bad as it can get," may find God will allow us to realize the hard way our statement to be untrue. We need to learn to be thankful our lot is not worse than it is. There are many suffering saints who would gladly change places with us. None of us has yet "sweat blood," in our agony!

David, no doubt, had the same trouble some of us have in our afflictions. He complained with his lot."I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed." Whenever we feel like grumbling we need to follow the advice an older preacher gave me when I was starting out in my ministry. I had asked the cure for those times I felt sorry for myself. The wise answer was, "Read a chapter out of Foxe's book of Martyrs, or go visit the cancer ward at a local hospital. Maybe some of us need to do some reading or visiting today. What do you think?

Virtue Trumps Vice

"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all - And  now, my daughter...all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman - A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones - Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies - And Jesus said...I perceive that virtue is gone out of me - for there went virtue out of him [Jesus], and healed them all - Finally, brethren, ...whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things - add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge - him that hath called us to glory and virtue."

The word virtue, and its kin, is found eleven times in the 1611 KJV. In the Old Testament it always refers to a woman. In the New Testament the reference is to either gender. It has to do with who a person is, thus affecting what he or she does. Like many of our English words today, it has been gutted of its Bible meaning. The world desires to neutralize such words, thus taking away the convicting power of them. Therefore, they have now educated many that they are associated with only the self righteous and holier-than-thou crowd.

But notice in the texts we quoted, the Holy Spirit gives us a different interpretation than that of the worldling. Taking just the scriptures, observe: in God's eyes virtuous people excel all others; those around such, take note of them; also, they are like a crown to those close to them; and to not possess this godly trait is to be rotten to the bone; we're told these folk are hard to find, in any age; that their value is far above rubies; that their lives can be used to help the hurting; that virtue is sandwiched between a good report and praise, (yummy); that it is to be an additive to our faith: and last, but not least, God has called all of His children to be virtuous!

Marcus Porcius (234-149 bc), known as Cato the Elder, was a Roman statesman and writer. He said, "Those who have a great concern about the appearance of the body, have great carelessness about virtue!" Seems things haven't changed much.

rds

Christ is All

Someone has said, "If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." To Paul, to put it in his words, Christ was his "All in all." He knew that if his precious Lord was not the whole of his life, even the green pastures soon withered away. If Jesus was not the portion of his cup, it might as well be poison; death was preferable to living a life without Christ being the center.

Paul's eye was always fixed on Christ. He was on his mind night and day. So much so that people thought him, "beside himself" (crazy). The once blasphemer had been taken captive by His love. He knew he could take no other course but to love Him back, with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. There are degrees of love, little and much, but he knew his Master longed for the latter. He found the more you love Him, the more you want to love him!

Paul didn't spend his time at "broken cisterns, that cannot hold water," he went directly to the fountainhead. Only there and there alone could he find satisfaction. Peter, speaking of us coming to Christ, said, "To whom coming...[is] precious." The history of Paul's life, once he met Christ, was a constant coming to Him. He knew of no other place to go! And once more, he didn't desire to go anyplace else.

O, beloved, the greatest hinderance to fuller blessings in our lives is that thing, or things, we take into our hearts with Christ. He is a jealous lover, He does not want to share us! He wants to be our, "ALL AND IN ALL."