May God Do An AWESOME Thing With Us!

Being a Pastor is not easy. To say that it is the most difficult occupation in the world would be presumptious and probably untrue. But I have done a lot of things in my 38 years of life, from working for a moving company, to working as a plumber's helper (not fun!), to working for a trenching company (yes, digging ditches), to farming, to filling sandbags, to lifting kegs of beer (no, not recently!), to working with Greyhound buses, and to working in gold mining in the Yukon (by Alaska for all you Americans...and no I did not see any polar bears-a favorite question from my friends to the South), and NOTHING I have done is as difficult as being a Pastor and Shepherd for Christ in His Church. And I must admit (though I probably shouldn't) that there have been times when I wished that God would offer me the same offer He did to Moses in Exodus 32:9-10, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation." Yes, there have been days when thoughtlessly I would have said, "Okay, I agree! Do what You want to do, and let's start over with a people who will ADMIRE ME!" And then verses 11 & 12 rebuke me, and reduce me to a heap of dust and ashes: "Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people...Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people." I am sure that Moses loved many, or even most, of the people that he had led out of Egypt, but that is not what drove him to plead with God in this way in Exodus 32. No, what drove Moses to plead with God for mercy instead of wrath was this, "Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'?" (v.12b) Moses plea to God was as God-centered as it gets- "Why should you give the opportunity to the Egytians to laugh, mock, or belittle Your NAME? If you pour out wrath on Your people and destroy them, it will effectively reduce the AWE that Egypt (and soon all the nations around the Middle-east) has of You. And You cannot permit that!" On those days, that I referred to earlier, I just wouldn't care. Okay so God's glory would be a little less (but He has a lot of it!), but I would become a great Pastor (er...nation). If Moses were British at this point he would politely remove a white glove from his hand and slap me with it! My whole theology from the Bible and the springboard from which all my preaching comes is at the core--God-centeredness! But, O' how easy it is to become self-centered, self-indulgent, self-pitying, and self-reliant, no matter what your occupation may be. I pray that God would conintue to "make me complete in every good work to do His will, and work in me what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. AMEN!" (Heb.13:21) I long for, even more so, I crave to always and automatically respond in times of difficulty and in times of accolades in a God-centered way that always keeps God's glory at the forefront of things. I pray that self-pitying and self-advancement would become less and less a part of my expereince in reacting to things around me. Two chapters later in Exodus 34:10 God has indeed turned aside from His wrath and states, "Behold, I make a covenant (with you)...and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD (Yahweh). For it is an awsome thing that I will do with you." Yes, that is what I long for as a Pastor. Yes, yes, yes!!! Show us (my little church, and Your universal Church around the world) Your grace and mercy through the covenant of the Cross of Jesus Christ-the exalted Messiah of mankind, and DO AN AWESOME THING WITH US so that all the world will be in AWE OF YOU! I want for God to do an awesome thing with me and the church He has called me to Pastor, so that He is marvelled at! "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant me the thing that I long for!" (Job 6:8) That I may continue to live for His glory by His grace...always.

A Correct Response To Trials

The people contended...and...the people murmured...So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, "What shall I do with this people?" (Exodus 17:2-4) If I weren't a son of Adam I would be incomprehensibly astounded at different reactions of the Hebrew people as a nation following their exodus from Egypt. They most certainly were an unspiritual people, prone to complaining, and short in memory. How could they contend and murmur against Moses with such besotted hearts of unbelief in "I AM" (Exodus 3:14)? What am I and Moses missing in the narrative account of this befuddled, ungrateful people? God invented and caused 10 astonishing plagues to afflict the people of Egypt. He brought the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry ground and drowned the army of Egypt. He gave them clean water at Mara (bitterness), rained down daily mana (bread flakes) from heaven, and even through in some quail for a meaty feast. But no sooner are the Hebrews back on the trail to the promised land than they feel parched and...contend with...and murmur against Moses AGAIN! As a Pastor, I feel for Moses. I know his lot in life, and share in his burden, stress, and disillusionment with God's people. It can be nothing short of frustrating and discouraging tryin' to lead God's people. So I want to tell Moses to just cut ties while he still has his sanity--bolt before they stone you (Ex.17:4)--or bail before you go down with the boat. But Moses doesn't do that. This is the most humble man to ever walk on earth (Numbers 12:3) (outside of the God-man Jesus), and he has a lesson for both you and I. No matter that you are not a Pastor or even, directly, a leader of God's people. Whatever the insane trial is that you are facing that is frustrating you to the point of 'quit', let's listen again to what Moses does. "So Moses cried out to the Lord!" (Ex.17:4) Thankyou Moses for saving me from another 'bite of the forbidden fruit'. I was just about to indulge in another dose of self-sufficiency when Moses caught hold of my mind and heart with that word. Let every carnal reaction to the trials and temptaions of life be siffoned through these words, "Moses cried out to the Lord!" He did not cry or sob. He did not make a contingency plan for Israel's future contentions with him. He did not pick up a nice devotional to make him happy. He did not lay down a mat and crack out some yoga moves. He did not run to the Sinai Christian bookstore and buy Joel Osteen's latest book on self-help and how to smile. He did what I and you need to do all the days of our lives to find satisfaction and contentment--"He cried out to the Lord saying, 'What shall I do'?" Lord help me to react like this always...for your glory by your grace!

Being Found In Christ!

Almost everyone is familiar with the expression, “Oh he or she is just going through a difficult time right now, they are trying to FIND themselves.” It was a common expression in the seventies, in the so-called Age of Aquarius, when people were desperate for self-discovery. Discovery is a part of human experience, and people have been trying to find themselves through every age and every generation. And though everybody’s experience of self-discovery is uniquely different in many ways, there is one universal thread of commonality that all humans share. It is the common trait the Bible calls sin. The Bible calls sin a state of lawlessness, and declares that all created beings have sinned and will face judgment before God one day. The moral laws of the universe are no more subjective to human criticism and interpretation than the physical laws of the universe are. God has made them both. God has revealed to man through the Decalogue or Ten Commandments the moral authority that is to govern every one of us. When that moral authority is disrespected, disregarded, discarded, or usurped—that is called sin! Any one who truly seeks to find themself will discover that they are a sinner. What becomes even more serious is that the Word of God also proclaims that the wages of sin is death—everlasting exclusion from the presence of God and torment in the place called hell. This is why the Apostle Paul said, “I want to be found IN Christ…through faith IN Christ…” (Philippians 3:9) that he might be found clothed in the righteousness of Christ before God. Jesus was perfectly sinless and died as a substitute for the sins of all those who would have faith in Him. So we can try and find ourselves and risk inheriting an eternity in hell, or we can seek to be found IN Christ and inherit an eternity in paradise in the presence of our Creator.

Lose To Win? (Philippians 3:7-8)

The concept of losing to win is a strange one. But a radical servant of God from the first century had this quirky perception that to lose would ultimately mean gain for him. His name was Paul, and he wrote to the Philippian church, “that he counted ALL things loss, that he might gain possession of Jesus Christ!” He counted as a loss all his former confidence in religious fervour, zeal, and righteousness for his new found confidence in Christ. And he went a step further to say that in fact he counted all things outside of his love and relationship with Jesus Christ to be dung or refuse. This was a radical servant of the risen Lord! But he did not consider all things as a loss in his life because he had an affection for misery or sorrow. No, Paul lost for a greater gain. He was willing to give up all competing affections for Christ, that he might gain or acquire possession of Christ Himself! As the Gospel of Matthew says in chapter 13 and verse 44, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” He lost everything he owned to gain a far greater treasure. This is the Gospel- that Christ is a far greater treasure than anything else. Paul was willing to lose his reputation, his religious boasting, and anything else in his life that stood in the path of his affections for Christ. The late missionary Jim Elliot once penned, “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”. What is the treasure you most prize today? Are you gaining now, only to lose it all one day, or are you willing to count it all as refuse that you might gain Christ forever!

Are You Really Living?

When Jesus lived and walked upon this earth some two thousand years ago he had the Spirit of a prophet and made some very interesting observations about people around Him. He said of many that they were “seeing but not perceiving, and hearing but not understanding”. Of course what He meant was that many people have the ability to see with the eye, but lack the proper judgement to know what they are really looking at. So there are many who are seeing blind people. And there are many with the gift of hearing who cannot understand what they are hearing. So there remains many who are hearing deaf people. The book of Hebrews in the Bible says, “But we SEE Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9) But do you really SEE Jesus? Do you SEE Him as the One through whom all things in heaven and earth have been created? Do you SEE Him as the One who upholds the universe with the power of His Word? Do you SEE Him as God, the beloved and begotten Son? Can you hear? Can you hear the Bible as it proclaims that this same Jesus suffered death that He might taste death for the nations- for every tribe, and tongue, and ethnicity, and people? Jesus tasted death, that we might live! That is He suffered at the hand of God His Father for our sins, that we might be deemed as pure, righteous, and holy. Are you really living today? And can you really taste life? Pray to God that you might SEE, and HEAR, and LIVE.

A Wasted Life!

I can often be heard exhorting and saying to those who are close to me, and to my congregation, the words from the title of a book, “Don’t waste your life!” A book written by my mentor and friend, Dr. John Piper, it calls for the radical pursuit of a life lived with single passion—with the passion to “joyfully display the supreme excellencies of God in all the spheres of your life!” The wasted life is the life without this passion. So many of us spend the better part of our lives thinking, strategizing, and planning of ways to be noticed by others, and to be made much of, while the Bible tells a different story. It declares the wonder of God, and His desire to be made much of by that which He has created! That is, we have been created to make much of Him- God, not to be made much of by Him! To make much of God in every sphere of your life is to heed that word from the Apostle Paul, “that you live carefully, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time seeing that the days are evil” (Eph.5:15-16). Yes the days are evil, and it is not the time to buy the bill of goods being sold through slogans like “freedom 55”. Anyone can waste their life putzing around making much of nothing, but it is a lot harder getting to know God, making much of Him at all times in all places, and positively influencing the people and culture to which you belong. “King Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem for 8 years, and to no one’s sorrow, departed- died!” (2Ch.21:20) To no one’s sorrow he died. That is a wasted life! Making much of God, is this the single passion of your life today?

Goodness And Godliness Proceed From Preparation!

There is no question that Solomon, the son of David, was a great king over Israel, but he was not perfect. And among his many imperfections was his son Rehoboam who would be heir to the throne, and a foolish king! The biblical epitaph over his royal reign was, “He did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.” (2Chronicles 12:14) His heart lacked the proper, purposeful preparation necessary to do good before God. He drifted, enjoying the trinkets of the royal throne, and was thus vulnerable to all kinds of evil. I ask, “Can a turkey dinner just be whipped up, or is there a course of proper preparation for something that good and tasty?” Can one’s heart be good and righteous before God without proper purposeful preparation? The heart needs to be purposeful in seeking the Lord of heaven and earth each day. And the heart needs to go through disciplined preparation if it is to gravitate towards good and not evil! One of the ways of preparing a turkey is to baste it and stuff it. So the heart needs to be basted each day with the Word of God, and stuffed with the fullness of God’s Spirit. Rehoboam did evil! This was the result of an undisciplined life, without purpose, and adrift! How do you prepare your heart for each day? What is the object of your heart’s affection? At the end of this day if God were to write an epitaph over your affairs, what would He say? You did evil because you did not seek the Lord, for your heart was unprepared! Or, you did good because you sought the Lord from a disciplined heart, basted by the Word of God, and stuffed full of the Holy Spirit!

A Love Affair With Trinkets!

“Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants” (2Ch.9:12). King Solomon was no ordinary man, and he was no ordinary king. Famous for his unprecedented wealth, but more than that which he possessed he was famous for the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding he was blessed with. So why then was the queen of Sheba so easily satisfied with a few trinkets? All she desired King Solomon gave to her! Whatever she asked it was given to her! And once she had her fill of trinkets she turned and went. Despite all of Solomon’s wisdom and glory she takes some trinkets and leaves. Does she not vainly see the true value and worth of this glorious king? And is this not also how vainly some see Jesus Christ today? The Bible declares that Jesus IS the King of kings. Yeah in all of Solomon’s glory he is but an understudy of King Jesus. And yet so many people today are satisfying themselves with trinkets while Christ stands over all of His creation as the Sovereign GLORY. “No”, many from this generation says, “we do not care to know you Lord Jesus, but give us our trinkets and we will be fine!” Even many who possess an ingenuine spirit of religion will take up a creed, ask Jesus for the trinkets of a good marriage, safety for their children, good health, healthy pets, and a nice vehicle and home, and turn and go from His presence without ever seeing His true value and worth as the unending, all-satisfying fountain of living waters. The soul’s delight is to simply marvel at Him without need of any other. He is a bastion for our affections and emotions. He is the pinnacle of divine glory—brilliant—strong—incomparable—unending—an all-consuming fire of righteousness, purity, holiness, gentleness and love! He is the King of all other kings! He is the Potentate over the impotent! His true value is to be gained from who He is, and not merely from what He possesses…”Behold, your KING!”

The Love of God!

“God loves you, and is willing to accept you wherever you are at!” This is the Christian mantra of our day. “What does that mean”, I often ask myself as a Christian minister? The Bible says that God is love, but the Bible also says that God is holy, pure, just, and righteous. God’s love and righteousness, at first sight, don’t appear compatible with each other. One is striving to uphold the holiness and justice of God’s character, while the other is defacing the character of God by forgiving and shirking the crime of sin. But when one follows the trail of these two Divine characteristics they gloriously and compatibly unite at the cross of Jesus Christ. It is through the passion of the Christ that we see the love of God for mankind in offering up His Son as a sacrifice for the nations. The prophet Isaiah said, “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him”- the “Him” being His Son! “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16), the apostle John penned, referring to a qualitative, not a quantitative action. It is the quality of God’s love that is impressive! He set forth His own Son! And it pleased Him to do so for the people of His love. Yet at the same time the suffering of Christ on the cross removes all suspicions about God’s righteous character too. He delivers a verdict upon sin and sentences His Son to bear the iniquities of many. Yes, His love is demonstrated and His righteousness upheld in the sufferings of His own Son. God will not accept you wherever you are at today, and He does not love you for who you are. But He will accept anyone at the cross of Christ—anyone who is willing to trust in the righteous loving sufferings of Jesus for their sin. And He will love you as He sees the reflection of His Son in you—clothed in the holy merits of Christ!

Which one of these prophets from the Bible was a 'Herdsmen'?

The answer to my last poll question, "Which one of these prophets from the Bible was a 'Herdsmen'?", is AMOS (Amos 1:1). I have been informed by a friend that my poll questions are too easy, so I will make any future poll questions a little harder from now on.

On Vacation

I will be on vacation for the next 5 weeks as I and my family return to Canada for the first time in 3 years. I will not be blogging again until after I return. God keep you all for His glory by His grace!

A Wise Investment!

Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant…’. The servant said, “I was afraid!” (Mt.25:24-26a) Fear can evoke three different reactions from we humans, as I see it. It can evoke the reaction of alertness or readiness. It can evoke the reaction of run and hide. Or it can evoke the reaction of panic and irrationality. Here the servant in Jesus’ parable in Mt.25 runs and hides. The lord had made an investment in this servant and was looking for a dividend, but would not find one. In essence this servant despised his lord’s investment and wasted his life in doing nothing of any value. The lord calls him a ‘lazy servant’. This is the sad unwritten epitaph on many a gravestone: “Here lies the wasted life of a lazy servant!” God has invested Himself in each one of our lives personally, as our Creator, provider, and sustainer, and expects a dividend at the end of our lives too. As our Creator He has invested His image in each one of us that we may honour and glorify Him in all that we do. So we can run and hide and waste our lives in spiritual laziness, but He will deal with us in the end. Or we can panic at the demands of God and live irrationally and foolishly. Or we can be alert to the demands of our Creator to honour Him, by investing our lives in the work of His Kingdom, including trusting in His offering for our sin, His Son- Jesus Christ.

Magnify The Lord!

I said in my blog yesterday that when Gabriel, the messenger of God, told the young girl Mary that she would deliver to the world the Son of God- Jesus, she proclaimed, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46). But how does one’s soul magnify the Lord? Whatever magnifies, makes that which it magnifies more fully seen. So how can the soul of a person make God more fully seen. There are two basic types of magnification: the microscope and the telescope. The microscope makes things that are very tiny look very large, and the telescope makes things that are distant and large appear for what they really are. Mary’s soul treasured the infinite panorama of all of God’s goodness and glory. She did not behold God as through a microscope, and hope to add something to His being by making Him look bigger than He really is. Rather, Mary saw God for who He truly is and yearned to declare and make known His glory and worth to all. Reverend Henry Scougal in his treatise The Life Of God In The Soul Of Man says, “He who loves shameful and distasteful things does thereby become base and vile; but a noble and well-placed affection does advance and improve the spirit or soul unto conformity with the perfections which it loves”. In other words, “the worth and excellency of your soul is to be measured by the object of its love.” What are the objects of your soul’s affections today? Will your soul magnify the Lord today and thus improve with conformity into all of God’s perfections or will your soul magnify the base corruptions our culture has so intoxicated itself with and thus degenerate with conformity to all that is vile?

Seek Hard After God!

When the young girl Mary was told by Gabriel, the messenger of God, that she would deliver to the world the Son of God—Jesus, she proclaimed, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46). Thankfully we can apprehend the nature and character of God from His Word, though we will never be able to fully comprehend the Being of God until we pass through the portal of this life into the next. But WE CAN comprehend how Mary’s spirit rejoiced in God her Saviour! She rejoiced in the Being of God, in His nature and character as much as she could apprehend Him. And she apprehended Him, as did the Psalmist before her, as a “God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” (Psm.86:15) This apprehension of God aroused joy in her spirit, as it should ours. Yet in a culture that has been relegating God out of the public forum in ever-increasing measure and restricting Him to the Church, and in a society where the separation of Church and State has become the separation of God and State; people are soullessly drifting with no greater purpose than continuous WANT! But WANT of what? There is no definite secular answer to that question. People are simply wandering, drifting, and separated from their Creator trying to fill that relationship void with “endless want”. Joy is a temporary commodity in our culture today, and has no deep and abiding roots in the life of those who have no apprehension of the One who has made them. So if you truly long for your spirit to rejoice within you, seek hard after God today, to apprehend Him through Jesus Christ in all His goodness and grace. You might start by picking up the Bible.

Re-Which one of these English Pastors was known as the 'Prince of Preachers'?

Regarding my most recent poll, "Which one of these English Pastors was known as the 'Prince of Preachers'?", the correct answer is Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

The True Emancipator!

Marcus Regulus and William Wallace died for the love of their countries. Abraham Lincoln lost his life for the success of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Louis Riel was known as a murderer and traitor to some, but was a hero and martyr to the small, oppressed community of Metis he lost his life for defending. And not many people know the name of Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic, but mourn, even today, the loss of the man he murdered. On January 30th, 1948, the genius and the man known as Mahatma Gandhi was martyred in his quest for peace between Muslims and Hindus. Then along came the black emancipator and civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr., who lost his life in martyrdom for his cause. And there was Jim Elliot, martyred by the Auca Indians of Ecuador, in his attempt to bring them the glad tidings of Jesus Christ. And as much as the stories of these men’s lives have had an impact upon mine, it is limited. For in the blood they shed for there different passions, there was no redemptive value. Their martyrdom redeemed no one, though inspired many. What makes the great Martyr, Jesus the Christ, different than all these men is that He was also God, and as such the very nature of the blood he shed had redemptive value. That is, it redeemed, rescued, or emancipated the people for whom He died. So though we may respect these other men, and men and women like them, Jesus is the only one worthy to be worshipped. With the Psalmist may we say today, “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God!’” (Psm.31:14)

True Education Vs. Facts And Figures

What is the best way to educate our children? Should we educate our children in a system that ignores the great reality of the universe- namely God? In a system that is void of any true morality, except the morality of tolerance? In a system that ignores any true behavioural discipline? In a system that promotes sexual freedom, and hands out condoms as the cure for STD’s and AIDS? In a system that holds very little accountability over the lifestyles of its teachers who serve as role models and mentors for our children? In a system that teaches scientific hypothesis for fact? In a system that is inherently incapable of dealing with violence, bullying, and suicide? In a system that teaches the Language Arts, but preposterously fails to acknowledge that all communication originates with God, and all languages are of His invention? In a system that teaches that science is observation and study, but is nothing more than religious atheism protected by the state? In a system that teaches history in the absence of the pre-eminent historical event of the incarnation of the Creator? In a system that teaches psychology in the absence of the great Counsellor and His manual? Education has become the medium of the hollow learning of facts and figures devoid of the Great Reality of our humanity. True education is impossible if you separate it from the Origin of all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. You are left with an empty shell of insignificant facts and figures, and isn’t this reflective in those who are being pumped with its propaganda 8 hours a day? True education must be holistic and springboard from its true Origin—“In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1)—if we are really going to provide the kind of education our children really need.

Discerning Ears!

All of us are looking to get something out of today. Each of us is pursuing something for some reason. But how do you know that your reason for doing anything is right? What or who do you listen to, to know that something is right? What information shapes your person and fuels your decisions. In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, the people of Palestine were doing what they were, based upon bad information and counsel, and the prophet retorted, “Behold you trust in lying words that cannot profit!” (Jer.7:8) But profit we must! Whether through a sunrise, a dollar gained or a dollar given, or a relationship; we are all looking to profit- to increase our joy and satisfaction! Obviously if we are listening to lying words, whether from within or without, we will live a life of deception, which in the end will not profit us at all. So to avoid the tragedy of listening to lying words we need good sensory receivers- we NEED GOOD EARS! In the Bible, wise young Elihu spoke to Job and said, “For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food” (Job 34:3). The palate is the sensory organ in the mouth that lets food down the throat. If it is good it is allowed in, and if it is bad it comes out to the hand and down to the dog! We need ears that function the same way. We need ears to hear the truth and instruction of God. Young Elihu also said, “…God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it…Then He (God) opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction” (Job 33:14,16). May God open your ears to truth today so that you may know that your reason for doing something is right.

The Tongue, The Heart, And Faith in God!

How many of us have been involved in conversations that when you walk away you start beating yourself up inside because you said something proudfully stupid or you spoke ill of someone who was not there and able to defend themselves? 99% of us have been there haven’t we? The Bible is a glorious testimonial of God, of who He is and what He is like; but it is also a true mirror of humanity and who we are, why we are, and an instructional book of how we ought to be. It tells us that the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, a little member and boasts great things. It even says that no man can tame the tongue. Why? Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The tongue is a litmus test of the heart! To tame the tongue you must tame the heart, and “it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”, the Bible says, and “who can know it?” This must be why God gave us the proverb, “When words are many sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). This is a great antidote to an embarrassing conversation. Hold the tongue, walk away with a good conscience, and rejoice in wisdom. If it were only that easy! To hold the tongue is to hold the heart. So to get at the tongue we must target the heart! But as the Bible says, “we can’t know our own heart”. Thank God for His grace that also says, “I, the Lord, search the heart”, and He “turns the heart wherever He wishes”. If you are frustrated with your tongue, pray to God that He will change your heart.

Riches Are Fleeting!

I said in my last blog that so many people live for “immediate gratification” with very little hope beyond their daily cup of coffee. And some of you might have said, “That isn’t me!” “My whole life is future oriented! Freedom 55 baby! I’m giving it all I have now, so I can enjoy the last 25 years of my life instead of retiring too old and too tired to do anything.” You find yourself in a different group or category because you don’t live for the moment, but I would dare to say that you still don’t live for any bona fide unyielding hope. You work 60 to 80 hours a week. You have no time for any deep relationships or the ones you should be nurturing are being ignored. But one day you’ll have time for everything and everyone. You are like a dog chasing your tail, and your hope is fleeting the Bible says. The richest man ever was a Palestinian king named Solomon, and though he attained great wealth, he was still better known for his wisdom. He said, “Do not over work to be rich, because of your own understanding cease. For riches certainly make themselves wings, and fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:4-5) This was not some poor jealous man uttering the jargon of envy. This was a man “who had it all”, and wisely proclaimed “having it all is not really all there is”. If riches were not fleeting, then over working to attain them might be justifiable. But riches can leave a man in a moment or a man can leave his riches far sooner than he had hoped. So look around at the things and people in your life who are suffering in your quest for gold, and stop over working for the uncertainty of riches, and put your hope, rather, in God.

Delayed Gratification!

Are you familiar with one of the catch phrases of our day, ‘Delayed Gratification’? It means that you live and act now in such a way as to maximize your gratification or happiness in the future. It means the opposite of the phrase, ‘Living For The Moment’. In a very real and sizeable way this is the premise of Christianity. The climax of joy and happiness, for the Christian, will come at the moment of entering the presence of God. Intimate, face-to-face, communion with God is the hope of all of God’s children. So the eminent hope of Christianity is future oriented. Gratification, joy, happiness, and satisfaction will only be FULLY realized in the future. It is why the Apostle John penned, “Do not love the world or the things in the world…for all that is in the world is not of the Father, but is of the world…And the world is passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever!!” (1Jn.2:15-17) The word ‘forever’ is powerful and arrests the conscience and mind. Live now in such a way that you live forever! Discover and live out the will of God now, which will involve pain and persecution, loss and lonliness, for the gratification of living forever-in joy and peace. Yet tragically so many people live only for the moment. And maybe some of you are simply living for that first cup of coffee every morning. This is the distinguished concern of your life, and your daily hope! Take stock of your life; consider the hope you have or don’t have, and consider the hope you might have forever if you would live for the will of God and the eternal joy of His presence!

The Ugliness Of A Suspicious Critical Spirit!

One of the things God has revealed to me about my life is that I naturally possess a critical, suspicious spirit. We live under the Biblical paradox of judging all things (1Cor.2:15), and yet being told to “judge not, that you be not judged” (Mt.7:1). We are constantly in judgement of the lives of others around us through observation and process, and yet the Bible would have us to judge charitably and not critically. I think that means to think the best about others and not the worst until all possibilities of charity have been eliminated. The opposite of this is what we see in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 3:1-2. The Scriptures tell us “Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. And they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him." If the Pharisees had judged Jesus actions charitably and thought the best of His intentions they would have discovered the true meaning of the Sabbath. Instead right from the start, “they watched Him closely… so that they might accuse Him”. In a verse shortly following we read in paraphrase, “The Pharisees…immediately plotted…how they might destroy Him.” (3:6) Do you have the same kind of suspicious critical spirit as did the Pharisees? Almost all of us do at some time, with some people. Are you watching somebody closely today, waiting for them to trip up, so that you can accuse them; and plot how you might destroy them? God forbid! Let us judge each other with great charity, exalting the love and mercy of God as He keeps us for His glory by His grace!

Which one of these influential leaders of the Protestant Reformation was born in Scotland?

The answer to my latest poll, "Which one of these influential leaders of the Protestant Reformation was born in Scotland?" is John Knox. He really was the catalyst for what was called the Second Reformation, which began in Scotland slightly behind the primary Reformation that began on mainland Europe.

The Vanity Of Sinful Pleasure!

In the days of the prophet Isaiah God heralded His Word, “Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope.” (Isa.5:18) That is an interesting metaphor isn’t it? I believe the picture we have here from the prophet is one of a person standing at the edge of a water-well in search of the quenching of their thirst. They are letting their bucket down into the well of worldly pleasures like sex outside of marriage, pornography, blasphemous entertainment, violence, covetousness, and so on. But as they draw up the bucket of wickedness to satisfy their thirst, the thread upon which the bucket is held breaks and gives them no satisfaction. Again and again they try to draw up the bucket, and again and again the thread, though it looks like a cord, breaks. The thirst continues and even grows worse. The other part of the picture is that of carrying around sin with the same labour as an ox pulls a cart. So not only does the pursuit of worldly pleasure not satisfy, but becomes a strenuous burden a person carries around with them. Yet we as a people continue to insanely pursue our quest for satisfaction outside of the presence of God. The Bible tells us that God is the fountain of Living Waters, and that if we humbly follow Him as sheep do a shepherd He will make us to lie down in green pastures, and lead us beside still waters. Be covetous for pleasure and satisfaction, and pursue it with all your heart. But pursue it at the fountain of Living Waters- in the presence of God.

A Call To God-Honoring Leadership!

Have you ever heard of “the leaf in the wind” syndrome? Wherever the currents of popularity and acceptance are blowing is where you will always find certain people. People whose only stand is to not take a stand. Though Zoologists might still classify these people in the vertebrate group they are in essence imitators of the jellyfish having no backbone. People like this are desperately afraid and conscious of any and all criticism directed their way, and will do almost anything to avoid it. Hmmm. This sounds a lot like many of our politicians doesn’t it? But what is worse is that it is beginning to look a lot like a portrait of many of our religious leaders of today. No longer do we dare call people sinners, sin as sin, or Jesus as the only way, the truth, and the life! The Gospel is no longer the Good News that Jesus Christ died to reconcile us to God, and free us to a holy life and from God’s wrath to come; but has become a pill-popping, pop psychology antidote to all of mankind’s problems. The Gospel has become a call to the “good life” instead of a call to take up the cross with joy. Pastors and preachers know where the currents of popularity and acceptance are blowing just as well as politicians do, and in many circles the Church has diminished into a glitzy business pedaling its “feel good—solve all” product to its consumers who sit on plush comfortable chairs (or recliners if your in an emergent church-lol). But God spoke to the people in Isaiah’s days and said, “For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed” (Isa.9:16). If you are a leader consider this indictment, and if you are a follower consider your leaders, whether politically, religiously, or at your place of employment, and keep them accountable or stop following them lest it destroy you.

True Freedom- A Proper Perspective Of The Law

The ethos of our society today is one that was radically shaped by the “freedom movement” of the late sixties and seventies, characterized at least in part for its lack of moral constraints. It was the “free love” era that would not be controlled or constrained by a perceived moral standard. It was a movement all about freedom and anarchy against the established system of law and morality under the banner of love and peace. But is it true freedom to be free from law and authority? How long would a little child last in the world if free from the counsel and protection of their parent’s authority? I don’t think that law and authority are bad, but perhaps our understanding of them is and the way that we have seen them modelled. For instance God’s law in the Holy Bible is a law of liberty not one of oppression. Dr. J. Douma in his book, The Ten Commandments says, “For its growth, a fish is limited to water, its proper element. Similarly, people are free- like a fish in water and a bird in the air- only when they listen (and keep) to God’s law.” This of course is impossible apart from God's grace, but that is no fault of the Law. The Law promises us freedom--the kind of freedom that God enjoys in His holy Self; the kind of freedom that a fish enjoys darting through water, and a bird enjoys soaring through the air--but it cannot but condemn us in our sinful nature and acts! “Is the law, then, against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.” (Gal.3:21) The Law is righteous, and in our sinful weakness it leads us to the soul-satisfying emancipator of our souls, Jesus Christ, and through Him we find the will, desire, and ability to keep the Law in the power of the Holy Spirit! Through the Grace of God, the Law of God opens for us a field of freedom for the joy and gladness of our souls!

Jesus Don't Depart!

Sometimes the seemingly insignificant verses in the Bible can have a great effect on the heart. This is certainly true of at least one verse for me . In Matthew 21:12 Jesus came into the great temple of God, and confronted the temple merchants and was confronted by the civil and religious leaders of Jerusalem. A few chapters later we read, “Jesus went out and departed from the temple” (24:1). I can’t help but think how sad an occasion this must have been for so many who were enthralled with the wisdom, grace, charisma, and majesty of Christ the Lord. He left the Temple! There was the euphoria and elation of being in the presence of Him through whom the universe was made; and then for Him to leave just as quickly as He came must have been deflating for many. Jubilation turned quickly to numbness. “Jesus don’t leave”, should have been the cry of their hearts! But it should also be the cry of our hearts. Is it? Is this the cry of your heart today, “Jesus don’t leave me! Jesus stay near to me, and lead me through every trial and temptation, through every valley of the shadow of death, and through every squall and breaker.” “Jesus do not depart from me in my moments of joy and jubilation!” “Be near while I pray, while I think, while I speak, while I drive, while I work, while I love my wife, while I mentor my children, and when I enter Your temple on Sundays may I find You always there!” Let us be earnest in seeking the presence of the Lord in our lives from ‘eyes open’ to ‘eyes closed’. Let us plead together, “May Your rod and staff comfort me today as I‘m enraptured by Your presence!”

The Pursuit Of Joy & Happiness

17th Century French Philosopher (& Mathematician), Blaise Pascal, is quoted as saying, “All men (people) seek happiness. This is without exception.” If this is true, which I believe it is, then it is not the pursuit of pleasure that is wrong, but the things that we are pursuing that need to be called into question (you might reference my last blog on the definition of evil). Christianity is not a religion of stoicism, but one of passion and emotion. So where do we find true pleasure and happiness. Not in the white bread of the world. You know, the things that appear fulfilling but have no nutritional value to them!! If you stuff yourself full of white bread all day long you will be very undernourished, but nonetheless full, leaving no room for that which will really satisfy. All around people are looking for pleasure in the form of sex, drugs, fashion, entertainment, hobbies, or possessions, but the Bible says in Psalm 16:11, “In Your (God’s) presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” To be near to God in communion today is to have as much joy as one can possibly imagine for as long as one can possibly think. Don’t be afraid to pursue joy today; just don’t stuff yourself with the white bread of the world.

Which One Of These Men Was A Missionary To The Cannibals Of The New Hebrides?

In answer to my latest poll, "Which one of these men was a missionary to the cannibals of the New Hebrides?", the correct answer is John G. Paton. Adoniram Judson was a missionary to Burma (Myanmar), Henry Martyn was a missionary to Persia (the Middle East), and William Carey was a missionary to India.

Beware Of Your Definition of Evil!

A number of years ago now I politely debated a journalist from Calgary on his world-view and religious beliefs. One thing that stuck in my craw was his definition of evil. To him evil was the injustice done to those innocent victims of rape, drunk driving accidents, assaults, or robberies, and on the human level most would agree, even with feelings of rage! But the Bible is quick to correct our distempered, secular, humanistic thinking in cutting straight to the reality of all evil. God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah, “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer.2:13) The essence of all evil is forsaking God as your satisfaction in life, and replacing Him with things that cannot satisfy. Alcohol, sex, and greed are besmirched replacements for one’s full satisfaction in God. It is a horrible thing to be a victim of crime, and lust, and reckless driving, but real evil is the exchange of God’s glory for a sullied treasure that will not last. This is the real tragedy of drunk-driving that someone has exchanged their satisfaction in God for the high that alcohol can give. This is the real tragedy of rape that someone would exchange their satisfaction in God and His definition of love for their lust of another creature—like a woman. We should feel injustice on the human level, and mourn with those who mourn, and weep with those who weep. But this feeling of injustice should never precede what we know evil to really be—the forsaking or ‘falling short’ of the glory of God! You may not be a drunkard or a rapist or a thief, but are you drinking from the fountain of Living Waters today so that you can live for His glory by His grace or are you building yourself broken cisterns—filled with trinkets and things that can never satsify?

Redeeming Your Time For His Glory by His Grace

(This picture is of my Administrative Assistant [Suzanne] who volunteers her time to help me with work in the church—redeeming her 'disposable' time wisely!)

Life is life! It is littered with innumerable trials and temptations till the end. Daily circumstances, responsibilities, and employments that tend to lead us away from loving God with all our hearts. There are people to meet, deals to get done, mouths to feed, and many cares of this life! But each one of us only has so much time till the thunderous voice of Him who will tally the accounts of our lives says, unheard to us, “You fool! This night your soul will be required of you.” Well might we take heed to the admonition of the Apostle Paul to, “walk circumspectly…redeeming the time”. If you walk as a fool Paul also has words, that “the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” But to walk circumspectly redeeming the time is to “be filled with the Spirit of God, walking as children of light in all goodness, righteousness, and truth; giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So redeem your time wisely today as you live for His glory by His grace!

All For The Glory Of God...Always!

What is the point of today? What keeps you going each morning and putting your feet on the floor? What motivates you to face another day? The Holy Word of God says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”. Do you drive in a way that magnifies the patience of God? Do dress in way that glorifies a pure and holy God? Do you eat with thanksgiving in your heart to the One who causes the bounty of the earth? God created all things to reflect back to Him His infinite glory. He was not lonely or wanting or deficient in any way, but in His fullness overflowed in the mosaic of His manifold perfections that it might echo back to Him the glory due His name! So be an echo of God’s glory today, join in His purpose for you to be the aroma of Christ in all you do, and treasure Him with all your heart!

Which Countries Border Honduras?

The answer to the first poll on my blog, "Which of these countries border Honduras?" is: Nicaragua (to the south), El Salvador (to the NW), and Guatemala (to the North). Try and take a stab at my new poll question to test your knowledge of a late great missionary (don't cheat!).

The 'Second-Hander Syndrome'- Unable To Stand Alone!

And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?" And Aaron said, ‘You know the people that they are set on evil.’ For they said to me, 'Make us gods… So I said to them, 'Let any who have gold take it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf"… (For Aaron had let them break loose). (Ex. 32:21-25 [ESV]) Poor, poor Aaron the brother of Moses. His brother had left him alone in the midst of such an evil people and he had to give them what they wanted for fear of his own safety. Aaron says, “Don’t be mad at me, it’s this wicked people’s fault that the golden calf was erected and worshipped instead of God. Aaron had no choice but to give to the people what they wanted. If Israel had been a democracy at that time instead of a theocracy, Aaron might have run against his brother Moses for the leadership of this nation and won it in a landslide. Moses stood firmly for what was true and honored God, and Aaron stood for whatever seemed good to others. He gave into the people of Israel quicker than they could say, “golden calf”. He had what I now call the 'second-hander syndrome' (though this label is not my invention)—living off of the second hand values of others, whether that was the general consensus of the people one day, or the values of his sister the next day, or even the values of his God-honoring brother on a different occasion. Aaron was a second-hander! He acquiesced to the standards of others. This is a common syndrome among young people, and even politicians who need to pander to others at all costs. But what about us? Will we live as second-handers today swallowed up by the culture that surrounds us (in or out of the church), or will we stand simply for what is true—according to values that promote truth and honor God (the absolute foundation of all truth)? God is not honored by Post-modern relativism or cunning political correctness. Rather Jesus said, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven…” (Lk.6:22-23a [NJKV]) The second-hander cannot fathom the thought of being reviled by or excluded from others, but the one who honors God will sometimes have to face the cruelty of this for the sake of Jesus glory and the attainment of their highest joy! So I encourage you to set yourself to it and prepare yourself for it today. Don’t be a second-hander embittered by your bondage to other’s values and standards, but be earnest for your greatest joy in valuing Jesus (the way, the truth, and the life- Jn.14:6) above everything! And may God keep you for His glory by His grace!

God's Blueprint For A Home!

A home is a hard place to manage! And where you find the absence of God’s Word in a home you are sure to find the absence of true peace. Why? Because God has set a certain order to how a family must function if there is to be true peace, which one can only learn from His Word. Man has been given the challenging role of leading his home in loving wisdom and servitude, even as Christ came to serve and not be served. While woman created from man, has been called to the dignified role of wisely helping her husband in the family paradigm. I say dignified role because God Himself uses this same Hebrew title of Himself on many occasions in the Old Testament. He is said to be our Helper. So while the husband is given the ultimate responsibility to lead and serve his family his wife is called to help him wisely, humbly, and submissively in the completion of his task. This is neither chauvinistic nor degrading of women. A wife is to be loved and nurtured in dignity by her husband with respect for her unique gifts, talents, and wisdom. She is not called to be a doormat any more than she is called to “rule over her husband”. God has ordained both equality and difference between a husband and wife. They are to “compliment” each other’s God given roles in the home as “one flesh”, while appreciating the distinctions that separate them. And then add to this the complexity of children, and a home is truly a hard place to manage. Children are called by God to honor, respect, and obey their parents in all things in so far as it glorifies God. Where these relationship roles break down or get mixed up a home will lose its peace because it has become divided against itself. Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12:25 that “any house divided against itself cannot stand.” So how does your home look today? Is it standing or crumbling around you? If it is standing peacefully, thank God for His good grace and wisdom in knowing what is best for you, and for giving you a blueprint for the well-being of your home. If it is crumbling it may be because you have failed to honor the authority of God in your home by failing to live within your God ordained roles as husband, wife, and child? Remember the Psalmist said, “It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man (or should we say, ‘the philosophy of man’!).”

Facing Fear!

How should we face fear each day, knowing each day has some element of fear to it? It may be the fear of people around us not accepting us or even rejecting us or even making unfounded judgments of us. It may be the fear of starting a new job or a new life in a new country. It may be the fear of being robbed at gunpoint (not uncommon in Honduras) or your children being segregated because of the color of their skin or the language that they speak (isn’t that a change for a white child from North America!). We have all kinds of fears: cultural fears, financial fears, relationship fears, work-related fears, and even academic fears of failing. Fear gives birth to anxiety, and it is that anxiety that becomes so destructive in our lives. I used to fear snakes in my younger years, and though I am still not fond of them I used to be crippled by my fear. It got to a point that when I would be out jogging and find one lying across the trail I was running on I almost became paralyzed. I could not jump over it, I could not get myself to go around it, and so I usually just turned around and cut my run short. The Bible talks about fear and one place where it does concerns King Jehoshaphat. Three nations came to battle against Israel and King Jehoshaphat some 2700 years ago, and the king feared for himself and his people. How he handled his fear I commend to you as the only true way of being freed from your anxiety today. The Scriptures say in 2Chronicles 20:3, 4, & 12 that Jehoshaphat “set himself to seek the Lord…ask help from the Lord...and set his eyes upon the Lord”, for they knew not what to do, but that God ruled over the kingdoms of the nations. In other words Jehoshaphat admitted that his anxiety came from his weakness and could only be overcome by a confidence in the greatness and goodness of God’s strength. So take your fears in the admission of your weakness before God, and seek Him, ask His help, and keep your eyes on Him—on His strength or the snake may keep you paralyzed from moving one more foot forward on the trail today!

Young People- Reflect The Image Of God!

There is no doubt in my mind that it is more difficult to be a teenager or young adult today than 21 years ago when I graduated from High School. Back then it seemed like as a teenager you were always looked at suspiciously by most adults, but that is probably even truer today. Young people always seemed to be looked at as up to something, doing no good, defying authority, or getting into trouble. It is absolutely wrong to judge all young people in this way, and to be continually suspicious of them. There is no doubt that there are young people today that lack a proper respect for authority and are bent on finding trouble, and though this may seem more prevalent now it has always been the case. Even as far back in the Bible as the days of Elisha the prophet young people have struggled with proper respect. Back then some youths met and mocked Elisha calling him, “Baldhead”. And God met these youth’s mocking of Elisha with severe judgment. For young people it is a difficult transitional time between childhood and adulthood. And more often than not parents do a poor job of leading and supporting their children through this most difficult time in their lives. Parents seem to either give their children too much room and freedom while neglecting them, or do not properly spend the time explaining the true liberty that comes from respecting God ordained authority. Young people need to find patient loving leadership from their parents, pastors, teachers, and role models. Paul said to Timothy in his first pastoral letter to him, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1Tim.4:12) As adults we should despise no one for their youth, but rather encourage the youth of today to reflect the image of God in which they were created. Try and make a point of this with some young person today!

Jesus Is AWESOME!

Do you know what I find to be a truly awesome thought for today?—That right now, as I write and you read this, Jesus is thinking and speaking into existence all things. I said in my last REFLECTION that our self-importance is the delusion of our own minds in the light of Jesus who can command even the winds and the seas to obey Him. How much more glory does the Son of God reveal in Hebrews 1:3 where we read that He is “upholding all things by the word of His power”. The reason the mountains don’t crumble into microscopic dust right now is because Jesus is upholding the mountains by the word of His power. That is, His power is being communicated through His decree, and he is upholding that which IS. He is upholding stars and moons and black holes. The law of gravity fails apart from the communicable decree of Jesus Christ. Atomic particles do not tear apart from each other and spin randomly off into space because Jesus decrees their adhesion. The reason your flesh does not fall off your bones and return to dust is because Jesus upholds your cells, and tissue, and organs by the power of His Word. The reason Creation has such a marvelous and obvious design and is not a chaotic mess is because…you guessed it—Creation is a testimony of the power and beauty of Jesus creative decree. You would fall apart, your car would fall apart, and the house you’re in would fall apart in the absence of Jesus’ powerful Word. This is an awesome thought! But then this is why a few chapters later in Heb.3:1 we are commanded to “consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest” of the Living God—because He is truly awesome and worthy of our worship and adoration today…and everyday.

True GREATNESS!

Call it the sin of eating the forbidden fruit. Call it naivety and deception. Call it gullibility and disobedience. Call it what you may, but the temptation Adam faced in the Garden of Eden was the temptation of self-importance! He made a conscious decision to esteem himself above God. He declared that he knew better than God and that he did not need God. We might say He assumed to know better than God that the fruit was good, and that he could provide for himself what his soul desired. Adam—the self-important and self-sufficient one! Oh yes! And the curse of self-importance continues to reveal itself all around us everyday, and we rarely need to go any further than the mirror to find it rear its ugly head. But then we read a statement like this from Mt.8:27, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Was this a question pertaining to Adam? Was it a question pertaining to you or I? No! It was a question pertaining to Jesus of Nazareth—the Savior of mankind. Down the corridors of time has there ever been anyone like Jesus? Granted Adam was likely a great zoologist, but could he command the wind and the waves to obey him? No! But who can this be that even the winds and waves obey Him? The Bible says that the “men marveled” at Jesus. This is the antonym of self-importance—to marvel at someone else. And it was the proper reaction of those who beheld Him. Self-importance fades in the light of true greatness and glory. The charade of self-sufficiency is exposed in the presence of true power. Jesus is still to be marveled at today as He exercises His dominion over all of His creation. The winds and the seas still obey Him and hear His hidden voice. He is true greatness, and the embodiment of all glory. And as we look around at all that is His, at what He has made, and at what He controls may the delusions of our own self-importance shrink as we marvel at Him.

Truth Vs. Experience

As a society evolving in a culture called post-modernism you are bombarded constantly with messages like, “Image is nothing, obey your thirst!” (Sprite) Or, “I’m lov’in it!” (MacDonald’s) Or, “Never stop growing. Never stop!” (Milk) These advertising messages all have one common thread, as with so many just like them, and that message is: That your experience defines what is real. If you thirst—THAT is real—and what your thirst compels you to drink is TRUE or REAL! We can say that the orientation and desire of your thirst is more REAL than the image or even the substance of what you drink. If you are “lov’in it” then THAT is real to you. If you are merely being told what to eat THAT is not real to you, but the oppressive force of authority. If you’re eating it, and you’re lov’in it, then it is real and true whether it contains any nutritional value or not. And the one sure thing to keep you growing, according to the Dairy world, is milk! Milk is always working inside of us to give us healthy and strong bones. Like anything else that you experience that causes growth, milk is real! Your experience either validates the worthfulness or worthlessness of any given thing. EXPERIEINCE is everything, and we cannot know what is true anymore without IT. Therefore, there is no relevancy to such things as authority or objective truth unless they are validated by experience. Almost every advertisement you see on TV or on a billboard targeting you as users of their product are saturating you with that message, consciously and unconsciously. Do not accept authority based on someone else’s claims, but prove any and all authority before you call it true—by your own experience. Now whether you drink a can of Pepsi based on the image it presents or you drink a can of Sprite because it will truly satisfy your thirst is quite trivial; but the message Sprite is proclaiming goes way beyond its own product to a “worldview of life”. The worldview that Sprite is proclaiming is that inward desire and thirst are the authorities that validate what is true for us. Our desire to experience something defines what is true for us. So if you don’t desire or thirst for something it is irrelevant. It ain’t happening and it ain’t true! So if you don’t thirst for God, He isn’t true, and you therefore have no obligation to accept the claims He makes of Himself or the demands He makes of you. And if you don’t desire to come to church on Sundays, then worship must be phony and a grand waste of time because experience defines for you what is true! And if you have no desire to read the Bible then it has no claim of truth over your life. It cannot. Your experience determines what is true, and you have no desire to read the Bible, so it must not be true. Others may find things to be true that you don’t, but unless you yourself experience IT to be true—IT is not! This high view of EXPERIENCE will one day regretably and sorrowfully lead us to the awful experience of God’s judgment and wrath! That is an EXPERIENCE we don't want to patake of before validating it as real! Then it will be too late: "As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Heb.9:27) This is not an idle threat to scare people, but a profound declaration of mankind's position before the God who says, "I AM!" (Exodus 3:14) It is the plunge of a harpoon into our guilty consciences and weary souls that is followed by the sweet gracious words, "...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time apart from sin, for salvation." (Heb.9:28) Jesus said, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life…” So Pastors and Bible teachers have the difficult task of trying to press upon the Church and culture the authoritative claims of God that are objectively true outside of any experience you may have of Him. God is objectively true—whether you experience Him or not! God’s Word is objectively true—whether you thirst to read it or not! God’s church is the embodiment of His truth—whether you desire to be apart of it or not! Remember this today that God will judge and validate all our experiences, but our experiences will NEVER ultimately judge or validate Him! If you can accept God’s self-acclamations of Himself, presuppositionally, you will be the richer and happier for it! God is true and let every man be a liar (Rom.3:4)!

I Obtained My Highest Wishes

“I obtained my highest wishes, but was surprised to find that I had grasped a shadow”, said young Henry Martyn, an English prodigy born late in the 18th century. Is this not the testimony of many? Either you are still striving to obtain your highest wishes, or you have obtained your highest wishes, and yet you are surprised to find that you have grasped a shadow—a reflection of something resembling the real thing yet without substance. Many people are chasing the shadow of a bowl with little round domes rising up out of it, thinking it is a bowl of ice cream, only to discover it is a bowl of turnips. What a surprise and what a disappointment! But there is hope because shadows are a reflection of something. If you follow the shadow of your highest wishes you will find its origin in God who will become for you the satisfaction you could not find in the shadow itself. Moses confronted the nation of Israel many millenniums ago with the statement, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death. Therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.” (Dt.30:19-20a) To put it very simply, Moses was saying to Israel to choose God over the shadows of fleeting pleasure that surrounded them. “He is your life and the length of your days.” He is your Creator and Sustainer. Might you pray to God with young Henry Martyn today, “Stir up my soul to lay hold of Thee, and remove from me the cloud of ignorance and sin that hides from me the glory of Jehovah; the excellency of my God.”