Happy New Year

I haven't posted in a few days as I have been extremely busy with other things. Next week I hope to begin posting on Daniel as we begin a new series a week from Sunday on that wonderful Old Testament book. In the past year we studied from Hebrews, Philippians, Jonah as well as the Lord's prayer. It was a great year and I learned much. Now I am looking forward to another great year.
Have a blessed and prosperous New Year and spend time with God and His Word.

Family Tree

Thanks to Sacred Sandwich for this:

http://sacredsandwich.com/

Peanuts Christmas

Linus does a great job in explaining what Christmas is all about.

Welland Food Court Flash Mob

Flash mobs have become popular this Christmas. This one from the food court at a mall in Welland Ontario is one of the best and a must see.

A Social Network Christmas

What if?

iPad

The Bibles for Missions national board decided to go paperless so to make it work we all have iPads. Now these are fun, handy and more. How about the following? I am not there yet (and probably never).

Why Christmas Re-visited

A number of years ago I wrote a little booklet called Why Christmas. In that booklet I looked at the various people and events of that time and asked the question Why? If I was to do it again I would add another chapter. I willl outline it here.

Why Christmas?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14

Christmas is about God with us. The Creator of the universe became a man so that He could be our Saviour. As I said before He came at the right time. Galatians 4:4. He came in the right way, born of a virgin under the Law. It was not the work of man but a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 4:4. Finally, He came to do the right thing, He came to redeem us. Galatians 4:5.

Why Christmas? Christmas tells us that God became man to redeem us.

Left and RIght

The Lord told Jonah that He had thousands of people in Nineveh who didn't know their left hand from their right. Now knowing left from right is important, especially in following directions. But what did the Lord mean when He said that they didn't know their left from their right?
Some think it may mean children but I don't think that fits the context of the book.
Others felt that it could mean uneducated but I don't think so.
I think it means that they were morally corrupt. My son told me that in Nepal the people were careful to keep their right and left hand separate. The left was used for cleaning themselves, especially after going to the bathroom, while the right was used for eating and greeting people. These people were so morally bankrupt that they had no concept of right or wrong, right or left.

He wrote the book.

Well we finished our series on Jonah and I will never see Jonah the same again. Someone asked if there was a fifth chapter as the book ends abruptly. What happened to Jonah? Did he see his sin?
Personally I think he did because he wrote the book. He was the one that told us about his encounter with God. Yes, he wrote the book.

The Sign of Jonah

We read in Luke 11:29 - 32, "As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here."
Note they repented at the preaching of Jonah not his miracles. The people responded to the preaching of Jonah as soon as they heard it not like us today. Jonah pointed to the greatest of all preachers, Jesus Christ.
One of the great signs of today is the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the world.

A Dirty Trick

When Jonah saw that the people repented he became angry and went out of the city. There a plant grew that gave him shade from the sun but the next day it died. Again Jonah expressed his anger to God. Why had God made the plant and then destroy it? What kind of a dirty trick is that?
The Lord did it because He had a lesson to teach Jonah (and us). The lesson is simple: I (God) don't make things to destroy them. I am the Creator not the destroyer. You feel that way about the plant Jonah which I made but you do not feel that way about the city I made. Jonah and we have to learn this principle. God does not create to destroy. Blessings come quickly judgment comes slowly. Repent and the Lord blesses quickly, reject and the Lord remains patient, not wanting to destroy. This is how He acted with Nineveh and this is how He acts with us.

Questions

When my children were young they asked many questions. Most of the questions were why questions and that is how they learned. When I was teaching I asked a of questions of my students to help them learn but I knew they were learning when they asked me questions.
God asks questions but not to get information that He doesn't know but to make us examine our own hearts. For example:
In Genesis 3 He asked Adam and Eve "Where are you?", "Who told you that you were naked?", and "What have you done?"
In Genesis 4 He asked Cain "Where is your brother?" and "What have you done?"
In Matthew 16 Jesus aced His disciples "But who do you say that I am?"
In Jonah 4 the Lord shows Jonah how gracious He is by asking Jonah questions rather than issuing indictments. These questions are given so that Jonah will examine his heart. What is the Lord asking you today? Maybe He is asking the same question He put to Isaiah ;"Who will go and who can I send?"

Mercy

It is interesting that Jonah's life hinges on the mercy he despises. God showed mercy to Jonah by sending a fish and a plant but Jonah was not interested in extending that mercy to others, especially the Ninevites.
Are we any different? We expect that God will be merciful to us in our sins but that He will judge the sins of others. Jesus called this the speck and the plank in the eye.

Angry at God

Jonah got angry with God. " But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry." Jonah 4:1 It is interesting that if what we see is right and it doesn't come out that way we get angry with God. God just didn't see it my way so He must be wrong. Who is God anyway? Did Jonah think he was better than God?
I met with a lady to day who is bitter over the death of a loved one. I don't know if she blames God, I don't think she believes that she does, but the way she acts says something else. Her behaviour is more like a person who blames God for what happened than for one who sees God as the wise, all knowing, all powerful one.

Does God Repent?

The King James Version of the Bible says that God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do to Nineveh. Does this accurately describe what God did? THe New Century Bible says that he changed his mind. The NIV says that he relented. What we need to know here is that God's judgment always comes with a condition. "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned." Jeremiah 18:7-8 Too often we quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 saying that God will heal our land if we repent but that may be true only because God is a merciful God and not because of what we did. Our repentance does not guarantee healing, only God's mercy does that.
Just thinking.

Jonah Like

I wonder if we are Jonah like sitting outside the city waiting for God's judgment to fall? Sometimes instead of working to redeem our cities we are just waiting for the judgment of God. God will judge but not until He has given an opportunity to repent. Jonah preached repentance and God stayed His judgment for 150 years. When Nahum preached to Nineveh judgment came because they did not repent.

What was he thinking?

I wonder what Jonah was thinking the second time he was called to preach in Nineveh? The first time he was told specifically what the message would be but now he was to go and then God would relate the message to him. Maybe he thought that God had changed the message so that he could proclaim that there would be no time to repent but judgment was imminent. He was ready to preach what God commanded him.

Cities

Nineveh was a great city. God calls it great in the book of Jonah. Cities are places where evangelism takes place. Paul often looked at cities to do his evangelism. But why cities and not small communities?
First, cities are have power and prestige. If you can establish a church in a city then you can reach out from that city to the surrounding areas.
Cities are also a place of prosperity. People go to cities to get rich. Often they find that their wishes have not been met so they are open to the Gospel.
But cities are place were there is all sorts of sin and crime. Cities need the gospel.

A Second Time

God is the God of the second chance. Jonah had messed up big time but the Lord called him again. This time he obeyed. But did you notice the difference in the two calls? In the first call he was to go and preach against Nineveh because their wickedness had come up before God. In the second call Jonah was told to go and proclaim the message that the Lord would give him. Because he had failed the first time the Lord led him in baby steps the second time.
Imagine if Jonah went from Chapter 1:2 directly to Chapter 3:3. Instead of reading
'The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.'
It would read:
'The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh.'
Now that is how it should have been but Jonah disobeyed so God had to deal with His runaway prophet.

The Jonah Story as told by a child

This is worth watching.

Idolatry

Idolatry
Jonah makes an amazing statement in his prayer recorded in Jonah 2. He says that those who cling to worthless idols forfeit God's grace. I wonder if he was thinking about the sailors or the Ninevites when he said that. I am certain that he wasn't thinking that it was he who was the one who was clinging to worthless idols. His idol was his nationality. He was not an isolator, he was a Hebrew and they worshiped the true God. So Jonah repented, not of his idolatry but for running from God. How could he preach grace when he had forfeited grace by cling to his idol?

Saving Others

Jonah was told to go to Nineveh to preach to the people there so that they might be saved from the wrath to come. He didn't do it. He wanted the Ninevites to suffer the wrath of God.
When the sailors found out that Jonah was running away from God they did everything within their power to save him. Even though they knew from Jonah that he was the cause of the storm they risked their lives to save him. They even sacrificed their cargo to save him but they were impossible to do so.
Jonah had it in his power to save the people of Nineveh and refused to do it. The sailors did not have it in their power but they did their best to save him.
What about us? Do we see secular relief organizations trying to save the sick and dying while we sit by and watch? Secular organizations may have the power to save the sick, starving and dying for a time but eventually they will be lost. Meanwhile we have the power to save them for eternity, the power of the Holy Spirit with in us, but we do nothing.

Arise

One of the key words in Jonah 1 is down but another key word is arise. The Lord told Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh. When the storm came the captain of the ship told Jonah to arise and call upon his god. Jonah told the sailors to pick him up and throw him overboard. The Lord told Jonah again to arise and go to Nineveh. Jonah chose to go down rather than arise. His choice not to arise led him to go down to the very depths.
Once on the Sea of Galilee the disciples called upon the Lord to arise from His sleep and call upon God to calm the storm. Both Jonah and Christ were sleeping when told to arise but Jesus calmed the storm with His Word, Jonah had to give his life. Christ was in the will of God, Jonah was disobedient and had to die to himself.

It must be God's will.

When Jonah decided that he would not go to Nineveh but rather go the opposite direction he went down to Joppa and guess what? There was a boat heading to Tarshish. He easily could have seen that as a sign from God. God must have intended him to go because there was the boat, there was opportunity, all he needed to do was pay the fare.
Circumstances can be so misleading. We can see circumstances has being from God when they just as easily could have been placed there as a test. When we choose to disobey God there will be opportunity.

Why is Jonah in the Bible?

If you read the minor prophets you will notice that Jonah is much different than the other prophets. Jonah is much more biographical than the other minor prophets. The other prophets have autobiographical material but Jonah seems to be written by someone other than Jonah.
Jesus makes it very clear that Jonah has much to say to us today (see Matthew 12:40). Jonah has in the central truth of Scripture "Salvation comes from the Lord". Not only does Jonah teach us that salvation is from God, not from ourselves, but that God is a compassionate God, not willing that any should perish.
Jonah is important in what it teaches us about God. Read Jonah and notice what he teaches us about God.

A Pea

Who do identify with in the story of Jonah? Is it Jonah, the Ninevites, the sailors or the fish? Today I want to identify with the fish.
Once upon a time, a long time ago when our children were at home, we were eating peas for supper when a pea went down the wrong way. I started to choke but soon it was okay. However, the pea did not come back up. A couple of days later I was trying to start the lawn mower and every time I pulled the starter on the lawn mower I would begin to cough. Soon up came the pea that was lodged in my wind pipe.

I wonder if the fish had a coughing spree and finally up came Jonah?

A Whale of a Tale

I couldn't resist this title though I could have used the title "Tale of a Whale". When I was a young child, many, many years at Daily Vacation Bible School at our church we had quizzes. One of the questions was, What swallowed Jonah? I said, "A whale." I did not get the question correct and was told the correct answer was a big fish not a whale. Today I know this to be correct but back then we used the King James Version of the Bible only and in Matthew 12:40 the KJV clearly says that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. I was upset, I felt that I had been cheated.

Miracles

Jonah has been rejected by some people because of the miracles. Let me list the miracles:
1. A wild storm and the raging sea.
2. The immediate stopping of the storm when Jonah was thrown overboard.
3. The fish that swallowed Jonah.
4. Jonah's deliverance.
5. The gourd or vine.
6. The worm that killed the vine.
7. The scorching east wind.
Which of these miracles both you? Do some seam improbable?
Jesus had control over nature when He was on earth.
God has control over all His creatures.
God used insects, lice, frogs to show His power to the Egyptians.
If we reject Jonah because of the miracles then we would have to reject many other parts of Scripture.

Racism and the Gospel

Jonah was a racist. He felt that the Jews were the only ones who had access to God. Now it is easy for us to say that Jonah was wrong. God had told Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all nations. However, believers have always had a difficult time with the racism.
When Martin Luther King Jr. confronted the racists in the churches he did not say that racism was wrong but rather he said that racism was not compatible with the Gospel. This is what Paul told Peter when Peter had separated himself from the gentiles. Racism is wrong because it is not compatible with the gospel.

Jesus and Jonah

When Jesus was asked for a sign He told them that the only sign He would give them would be the sign of Jonah. Jonah's three days in the fish was a sign that Jesus would be three days in the grave. Even though Jesus compared Himself to Jonah there are more differences than there are similarities. For example:
1. Jonah fled from the will of God while Jesus delighted to do God's will.
2. Jonah suffered for his own sin while Jesus suffered for the sins of others.
3. Jonah preached about God's wrath while Jesus preached both the wrath and the love of God
4. Jonah saw a remarkable positive response to his message while Jesus' message was rejected.
5. Jonah became upset at the repentance of sinners while Jesus delights in their repentance.

The Need and the Call

You have heard it said that the need is the call but that is not Scriptural. The need is the call to pray for workers to go.
In Jonah we read, "The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai." We are not told how the word of the Lord came to him. It may have been in an audible voice or a dream but most likely it came to him as he meditated on Scripture. As you read Ezekiel and Jeremiah you will notice that many times it tells us that the "Word of the Lord" came to them.
Jonah 1:1 - 3 says, "The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD."
If we read Jonah 1:1 - 2 followed immediately with Jonah 3:3 we would read, " The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it." This is how it should read but because of his disobedience we read, "Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it."
God is the God of the second chance so Jonah got a second chance to obey. This time he did but his heart was not in it.

Cartoon characters

Jonah believed that the Ninivites were one dimensional cartoon characters. They were wicked enemies of God's people and needed to be destroyed. However, he thought of himself as much more complex. He hated the Ninivites but you need to understand why he hated them. There were people who he loved, his people, and those he hated, the Ninivites. The Ninivites disobeyed God and needed to be destroyed. He disobeyed God but he had reasons. His disobedience didn't define him, according to his thinking, but you needed to understand him before you could pass that kind of judgment upon him.
Are we guilty of the same thing? Do we see someone you has misled us labeled them a liar while we lie but we have reasons, it is not, we say, what defines us.
People also reduce God to a one dimensional character. He is a God of love or He is a God of wrath. However, God is not a cartoon character. He is much more complex than either you or me.

Down

One of the key words in Jonah 1 is "down". He went "down to Joppa"; he went "down in the ship"; he was thrown "down into the sea"; and he went "down into the fish". Jonah went down to get away from doing the will of the Lord.
Contrast that with our Lord. He came "down from heaven" and he went "down into the grave". He came down to do the will of the Lord. Jonah went down so that he would not see the lost redeemed but Jesus came down to redeem the lost.

Jonah

Next week we will begin a short series on Jonah. I will not be doing the class but my friend Aaron will step into my place. We need to understand two things about Jonah.
First, though Jonah is about evangelism it is not about the fear of evangelism but the idolatry of making our nation or our family or our church or whatever the reason why we do not want to do evangelism.
Second, we need to notice that key verse in Jonah and maybe in all scripture is Jonah 2:9, "Salvation is of the Lord."
Two things to keep in mind while we study Jonah together.
And don't forget the fish, he only makes a cameo appearance, he is not central to the story.

Remembering

Yesterday was Remembrance Day in Canada and we Canadians are so grateful for what our military has done for our freedom.
However, I would like to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our faith. There are more people dying as martyrs than are dying as soldiers. We need to remember them. I am asking that anyone who reads this will take a day next week to pray and fast for the persecuted church and in particular the church in North Korea.

Why Fast?

It is interesting, at least to me, that Jesus' teaching on fasting follows His teaching on prayer. We do not fast so that God will answer our prayers. So then, why do we fast? First, according to Matthew 6:18 we fast for the pleasure of the Father. We fast for the Father, not others. Second we fast for the good of our souls. This verse also says that our Father will reward us.

When you fast

Next Sunday we are going to look at the teaching of Jesus in the sermon on the mount about fasting. Jesus says, "When you fast" not "If you fast". Fasting is not popular among Christians. Some say it smacks of legalism but they don't understand fasting. What is your understanding of fasting? Is it for Christians today?

Fathers and Temptation

Sometimes you read about fathers who have involved their children in their sin. I don't know how you feel but it should enrage us. How can a person of trust do this to an innocent child?
Does our heavenly Father do that to us? Remember that if an earthly father is good how much better is the heavenly Father. He may test us but He never leads us into temptation. So what does it mean when the Lord says in the prayer, "Lead us not into temptation."? The word means test. But we must remember that what God gives to us as a trial or a test is almost always used by Satan as a temptation.

Yield not to temptation

Growing up we used to sing this hymn. (I have mixed feelings about not singing it today):

Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each vict’ry will help you some other to win;
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

Refrain:
Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen, and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.

Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,
God’s name hold in rev’rence, nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true;
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown,
Through faith we will conquer, though often cast down;
He who is our Savior, our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

My first thought is that the second line of the first verse, "Each vict’ry will help you some other to win" is not true. That may be true if you are trying to beat a habit like biting your nails but it is not true about temptation.

Second, though the hymn writer doesn't say this there is the implication that we can overcome temptation in our own strength. He does not say this but that is what I believed that it said when we used to sing it. In fairness to the hymn writer he does tell us that it is Jesus who will carry it through.

Do I miss the hymn?

Temptations and Trials

When we pray the Lord's prayer we may wonder why it says that we should pray "Lead us not into temptation." We know that God does not tempt anyone but He does test us. However, trials have an element of temptation in them. When Abraham was tested he could have succumbed to the temptation to question God's goodness and not obeyed. That element is always present in any test. Does that mean that God is tempting us? No! But He is testing us.
So how did Abraham obey? Was it because he was strong? No! He obeyed because he was weak and he relied upon his strong God. We can overcome temptation when trials come by knowing that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. He has made a way of escape. Trust Him.

Thomas Edison and the Lightbulb

When Edison and his staff were developing the incandescent light bulb, it took hundreds of hours to manufacture a single bulb. One day, after finishing a bulb, he handed it to a young errand boy and asked him to take it upstairs to the testing room. As the boy turned and started up the stairs, he stumbled and fell, and the bulb shattered on the steps. Instead of rebuking the boy, Edison reassured him and then turned to hi staff and told them to start working on another bulb. When it was completed several days later, Edison demonstrated the reality of his forgiveness in the most powerful way possible. He walked over to the same boy, handed him the bulb, and said, "Please take this up to the testing room."

Corrie ten Boom and Forgiveness

“It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former SS man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing centre at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain blanched
face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message Fräulein”, he said “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!”His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.
Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your Forgiveness.As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.
And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

How is your prayer life?

As I think about this question I realize that it should be the same as asking how is your life. After all we are told to pray without ceasing. However, there is a check list for us:
1. Have you taken time to find out the will of God in a matter of prayer or are we trying to change God’s mind?
2. Have we really learned the secret of praying through?
3. Are we concerned about God’s reputation?
4. Do we view our sin as a sin against a Holy God or are we concerned about the social context of our prayers?
5. Do we ever see a tension between God’s written truth and the world around us?
6. Have we ever tried to bargain with God in prayer?
7. Have we ever felt silenced in the presence of God? Have we ever just covered our mouth?
8. Do we see prayer in a narrow confines of talking with God or do we see prayer in all our worship?
9. How do we pray for others? Do we give thanks for other people? Are we concerned about their spiritual well-being?
10. Have we learned to pray forgiveness prayers? Is there someone who we must forgive?

Confession

The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins then He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So what is confession?
First it is owning up to our sin.
Second it is God centred and not self pity. We come to God and rely on His grace.
What does God do?
He gives us a new beginning.
He releases us from a past of guilt into freedom to forgive and serve others unconditionally.
Forgiveness of God is based upon the cross.

Why we need forgiveness and to forgive.

There are some principles that we need to understand abut why we need forgiveness.
1. Sin makes us guilty. All have sinned. When we understand that sin is not actions but our condition then we can understand that we are guilty before God.
2. Forgiveness is offered to us by God. We cannot earn forgiveness it is only by grace.
3. Confession is necessary. Confession is owning up to my sin. It must be God centred and not self centred. It is not self pity but relying on the grace of God. It is not reforming our actions or feeling guilty because we were caught in sin.
4. Forgiving one another is not an option. God forgave us unconditionally and we must forgive others.

Weighing a Prayer

A visitor to our class gave me the following story last Sunday after class. I just read it now and I want to share it with you.

Shortly after World War II, a tried-looking woman entered a grocery store and asked the owner for enough food to make a Christmas dinner for her children. When he inquired how much she could afford, she answered, "My husband was killed in the war. Truthfully, I have nothing to offer but a little prayer." Although the man was unmoved at first, he thought of a clever response to the woman's simple request. "Write your prayer on a piece of paper and you can have its weight in groceries", he said sarcastically. TO his surprise, she plucked a folded note out of her pocket and handed it to him saying, "I already did that during the night while I was watching over my sick baby." Without even reading it, he put it on one side of his old-fashioned scales. "We shall see how much food this is worth", he muttered. To his dismay nothing happened when he put a loaf of bread on the other side. But he was even more upset when he added other items and it would not balance. Finally he blurted out, "Well that's all it will hold anyway. Here's a bag. You'll have to put these things in yourself. I'm busy!" With a tearful, "Thank you", the lady went happily on her way. The grocer later discovered that the scales was out of order. As the years passed he often wondered if that was just a coincidence. Why did the woman have the prayer already written before he asked for it? Why did she come at exactly the time the mechanism was broken? Whenever he looks at the slip of paper which bears that mother's petition, he is amazed, for it reads, "Please, dear Lord, give us this day our daily bread!"

Who prayed?

In Mark 9 we have the story of the transfiguration. When Jesus came down from the mountain there was a problem. A father had brought his son to the disciples to be healed but they were unable to do it. They were powerless so they started to argue among themselves. Jesus was disgusted with them and said that they should bring the boy to him.
He immediately heals the boy. The disciples then asks why they couldn't heal and Jesus tells them that this type of healing only comes by prayer and fasting. What is remarkable in the story is that the disciples had prayed but Jesus didn't pray. So what did Jesus mean? He meant that the disciples' lives and our lives must look like His life if we expect to have answers like His answers.

One of you believes in prayer

The story is told about prayer. The situation was that a strip club was opened next to a church. The church was upset about their neighbour so decided to have a prayer meeting. They asked God to remove the club. That night there was a thunder and lightning storm and the lightning struck the strip club and it burned to the ground. The owner of the club sued the church but the church said they were innocent. The club's owner said that their prayers had caused the lightning to strike the club but the church claimed that it was just an accident.
After hearing both sides of the argument the judge said, "It is obvious to me that someone here believes in prayer but I am not sure which of you it is."

The Only Reason

The only reason why we can pray, "Give us today our daily bread" is because we have the confidence that God is our father, we see God in His glory, we humbly acknowledge His wisdom and we know we are reconciled to Him. This is the first half of the Lord's prayer. If we don't know that He is our Father; if we don't see Him in His glory; if we don't acknowledge His infinite wisdom: if we are not reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ then we are just treating God as a Genie and not as a Father.

Parsnips

Growing up we ate parsnips. I hated parsnips. I never wanted to eat parsnips again. However, I got married and my wife likes parsnips. Not only does she like them but she cooks them in a totally different way than what I ate as a child. So I ate the parsnips. Guess what? After eating parsnips for many years I can honestly say that I now enjoy parsnips.

So what has this to do with the Lord's prayer? Spiritual disciplines are like that. We have difficulty praying or reading our Bibles but as we discipline ourselves we begin to like doing that and then the time comes when we look forward to the time in the Word and in prayer. We are told to discipline ourselves to godliness. Many people give up because they tried their parsnips once and didn't like them.

Helen

On March 21, 2010 the blog entry was called Helen's prayer. Helen passed away last night. We took time to pray her prayer in class this morning. I will copy and past this prayer at the end of the article.

Let me explain how it came that Helen wrote this prayer. I was putting together a study booklet on Hebrews and I had asked a number of people to write prayers for the lessons. The person I asked to write the prayer for Hebrews 11 decided that he couldn't do it. I had a number of people in mind who I intended to ask but before I could ask them I saw Helen come into church. I knew I should ask her so I did. Her prayer was part of her anchor during this time. Here is her prayer.

A Prayer of Faith.

O God !
Have mercy, I pray !
Deliver me from the onslaught of these fears -
These dark imaginings,
These dreadful possibilities that are only that -
Possibilities - NOT facts.
They roll over me like the waves of the sea,
And fill me with despair.
Help me to realize that the voice that whispers them in my
mind
Is neither mine - nor yours.
Help me instead to turn my thoughts to You -
To remember Your precious promises
Given so often and so clearly in Your Word -
To comfort and sustain,
To defend and protect,
To fight for those who put their trust in You.
Help me to go over them, Lord,
The ones You have given me,
Word by word,
Promise by promise,
Step by faltering step,
Until I reach Your peace -
Until I am enfolded by the Comforter -
Until I am safe in the light of Your love -
And I can truly speak the prayer
That never fails –
"Thy will be done."
Thank you, O Lord, my God,
For Your sustaining love and grace.
Amen.

by Helen G.

Privileged to refuse

Someone wrote the following poem:

Sometimes reading
...I look out
at everything
growing so wild
and faithfully beneath
the sky
and wonder
why we are the one
terrible
part of creation
privileged
to refuse our flowering.

Should I or Shoudn't I?

We talked to a lady today who we knew well in another city. She was in a dilemma. Sin had come to light in her church and the leadership was not dealing with it. When she confronted the leadership she was told that she was being judgmental. She decided that there was only one thing for her to do and that was to leave. However, leaving meant that her ministry would come to an end. Should she chose service for God and ignore the sin around her. Even though she knew the answer she needed confirmation. That is why she phoned us.
Many times in doing the will of God we know what we are to do but we need confirmation. It is an important idea to talk to others who you know to be spiritual to confirm your leading.

Problem with Western Christians

Os Guinness said, "The problem with Western Christians is not that they aren't where they should be but that they aren't what the should be where they are." To grow the Kingdom we must make disciples as we go. To do that we must be what we should be everywhere we are.

I Cannot

An unknown author wrote the following:

I cannot say "our" if I live only for myself.
I cannot say "Father" if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.
I cannot say "Who art in heaven" if I lay up no treasure there.
I cannot say "hallowed be Thy name" if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say "Thy kingdom come" if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful event.
I cannot say "Thy will be done" if I am disobedient to His Word.
I cannot say "in earth as it is in heaven" if I'll not serve Him here and now.
I cannot say "give us this day our daily bread" if I am dishonest or seeking things by subterfuge.
I cannot say "forgive us our debts" if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say "lead us not into temptation" if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say "deliver us from evil" if I do not but on the whole armour of God.
I cannot say "Thine is the kingdom" if I do not give the King the loyalty due Him from a faithful subject.
I cannot attribute to Him the power if I fear what men may do.
I cannot ascribe to Him the glory if I'm seeking honor only for myself, and I cannot say ""forever" if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by time.

F. B. Meyer

One day F. B. Meyer was on a ship crossing from the US to England. As they were coming into the harbour he noticed the thousands of lights and wondered how the captain could steer the ship into harbour with so much distraction so he went and asked the captain. The captain pointed out three large lights and told Meyer to watch. As the captain controlled the ship slowly the three lights lined up. As soon as they lined up he sailed right into the harbour.
We have three lights. Scripture, the Holy Spirit and circumstances. These three lights can guide us but we have to be careful. Unlike F. B. Meyer's three lights we must remember that circumstances can mislead us but the Scripture never will.
Sometimes I think a better picture would be the picture of a guide. It is not that we have been given guidance but rather a Guide.
When we lived in Manila we found it difficult to find our way around the city. Maps were of little or no help so it was often easier to hire a guide than to to rely on a map.

The Paradox of Prayer

Prayer is a paradox. God is sovereign and knows what we need before we ask Him but He has told us to humble ourselves and pray.
First, I believe in the sovereignty of God. Without that believe God would not be God. He is in control of everything and nothing happens without his knowledge or permission.
But, second, I believe in prayer and the power of prayer. I believe what Jesus said that this can only happen by prayer.
This is the paradox of prayer. If we believe in prayer without the sovereignty of God we are falling into the trap of the open theists. We have demoted God and promoted man thus making man God. This is heresy.
However, if I believe in the sovereignty of God so that prayer does not matter I fall into the heresy of the hyper Calvanists. Man is just a puppet and God is the puppet master.
I believe that both the sovereignty of God and the power of prayer have to be believed and held in tension. We cannot find a middle ground. To look for a compromise between the two only demotes God and weakens prayer.

The Word of the Lord came to me

People have often asked how they could know what the Lord wanted them to pray about. How do we know that we are praying in the Lord's will? It struck me as I read the book of Ezekiel how he came to know the Lord's will. The Word of the Lord came to him. The Word of the Lord will come to us if we are in the Word. We cannot expect to know the Lord's will if we ignore His Word.

By Him, to Him, for Him

"Beware of anything that completes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him... The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God, not a call to do something for Him." Oswald Chambers.


"We are not primarlily called to do something, or to go somewhere, we are called to Someone." Os Guinness.

God's will for us

Paul writes this to the church at Thessaloniki, "Be joyful always. Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:14 - 15
When we pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven we know that praise and thanks giving is what is happening in heaven and it should be happening on earth. All too often we bring our requests to God that we don't have time to give thanks and to praise Him but this is the will of God for us.

The Prayer is the Answer

Have you ever gone to pray and prayed for a specific request only to rise from prayer without the answer you were seeking but knowing your prayer was answered? Some times the prayer is the answer. You go to prayer seeking one thing but in your prayer you encounter the living God and what you prayed for is not longer important, only God is. He is the answer.

Fred and Heather

When you think about the Kingdom from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth you cannot help but think about missions. Many people think that short term missions are a waste of time but not so for Heather and Fred. Heather is around 20 and has been to Guatemala twice. Missions is now in her blood. Fred is in his 70's and has made numerous missions trips. Fred saves his money so that he can go and help other missionaries. I admire that in him, as a matter of fact, I admire both Heather and Fred. May their tribes increase.

Building Project

Our church is planning on doing a renovation to its sanctuary. I know that it is much needed but I also know that there are mixed feelings about spending the money at this time. I am both in favour as well as opposed to the building. Let me explain.

I am in favour if it means that we will do ministry better. Now I don't mean enhance our worship because we don't need a better sanctuary to do that but a new vision of God's holiness. However I do mean that if we have a better way to do ministry both at home and overseas then I am all in favour. Some feel frustrated with the sanctuary as it is now so they do not get involved as they should. I know the reasons are poor but that is the reality.

So why might I be opposed? I don't want us to focus on our comfort rather than on doing ministry. I heard good things at the meeting regarding ministry at home but as I heard that I had this feeling that the world wide mission is some how being downplayed. Don't get me wrong, I am excited that we see the needs in the community but why should they hear twice while some never get to hear the good news. Let us not think that we have done our part because we have done something.

Will renovating our sanctuary mean that we can do ministry and missions better? I believe it can but we must have an undivided heart, dedicated to the Gospel.

How does this relate to the Lord's prayer? Your kingdom come.

North Korea

Of all the nations in the world North Korea is number 1 in persecuting Christians followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia. If we take the Lord's prayer seriously then we must pray for the persecuted Church. We need to pray for Christians in North Korea and other parts of the world. When Jesus said that we were to pray, "Your kingdom come" He was referring to the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God stands against sin, evil and injustice. Are we praying for these to end?

Radical

David Platt wrote a book called Radical. There are three questions that he asks:
1. Will you choose comfort or the cross?
2. Will you settle for maintenance in our churches or mission?
3. Will you be marked by an indecisive mind or an undivided heart?
One man who is reading this book said that it sometimes makes him glad and other times it makes him mad. I can understand that totally.

Missions, Missional, Next

The current buzz word is that the church should be missional. When asked what that means it usually means that the church should be what the church should be. However, missional has replaced missions and that would not be bad but something else happened on the way.

The church has decided that it needs to be involved in it community. That is good, that was what it was established in the community to do. But the church forgot that it is to be a blessing to the nations. We can be missional and missionary at the same time but somewhere we have allowed the former to replace the later. Let us be missional but not forget missions.

The Lord's prayer says, Your kingdom come. The kingdom involves people from all nations. Churches need to renew their vision of missions while keeping alive the missional aspect of ministry. They shouldn't be different but they have become different.

I am not going to Pray for that

A friend of mine was having marital problems and he asked me to pray for him. I said to him that I wasn't going to pray that his marriage would be restored but rather that he would have the joy of the Lord renewed in his heart. I then backed up and said I would pray for his marriage but not that it would be primary in his life. He began to see what I was talking about.

However, the wife of his pastor told him that his marriage would be restored, the Lord had told her that. The next week the wife filed for divorce. Was the pastor's wife wrong or just saying what she hoped would be true? I know that God's first concern for my friend is that he would fall in love with the Lord again. Now I should add that he is not angry at God but he has lost the joy of the Lord.

Bells and Prayer

Someone told me one time that as Christians we should use breaks in our routines to stop to pray. Because I was a high school teacher I was told that I should stop when the bell rang for the end of a class and pray for the next class which would start when the next bell rang. It sounded like a good idea except that I never did have that break. Students wanted to talk, papers needed to be photocopied, messages had to be answered. At first I felt guilty but I soon learned that my job did not allow that kind of interruption. Besides my wife will tell you that I rebel against order like that.

I am now retired and I love the routine of prayer in the morning. No bells to interrupt only the occasional phone call.

Free Will, Sovereignty and Prayer

I believe in the sovereignty of God but also the free will of man. Is there a conflict? Sometimes but the sovereignty of God is always first.

The problem comes when we pray for other people especially when it involves their wills. Praying for other things like healing, finances, safety, etc. is not a problem but what about when it involves another person's free will? Can we pray that their free will will be over ridden? Just wondering. Of course we pray that their free will will be changed when we pray for their salvation but what about other things like leadership roles?

This is different than two sports teams praying for victory when they go against each other. That trivializes prayer. But this is much deeper than that. What do you think?

Praise Power???

John White tells this story in his book, Parents in Pain:

My friend Jean has a seventeen-year-old daughter who drinks too much, has been on and off drugs of various sorts, has mad three suicide attempts and had two illegal abortions. Jean is a single parent, torn apart both by the frustration of trying to keep a home together (she has two younger children) and by mingled rage and compasion toward her oldest daughter.
"Try praise poer," a christian friend advised.
"Praise power?"
"Yes, Have you never praised God that Sasha tried to commint suicide? Have you never praised him that she drinks too much?"
Jean was shocked. But desperate, she was ready to clutch at straws. She knew enough of the Bible to be dubious about the theology of the suggestion, but she could not resist the force of her friend's enthusiasm and her glowing accounts of "deliverance through praise power>"
"God has to respond to praise! He can't resist it! What's more, the devil can't stand it. Demons take flight. Just praise him, Jean! Praise him for the mess she's in! Praise him because you're torn in two and can't stand it anymore! Praise him that he will come in and take over!"

John White goes on to say that this story is not extreme.

People do not relize that what they are doing is making them selves above God by controlling Him. That is heresy.

John's Truck

John told us this story yesterday.

When he was about 7 years old he was riding with his father when they went past a gas station. There in the window was a toy truck. John said to his dad that he wished he could have that truck. His dad slowed down, turned around and went in an bought the truck for John. John was delighted that his dad had done that for him.

That is the way prayer is for those who call God their Father. We ask and when we get we are delighted because we know that it is because of His extravagant love for us. Just as John's dad bought him the truck because of his love for his son.

It really doesn't matter

I have looked at my prayer life and knew that praying my shopping list was not necessarily the best way to pray. But when I thought about changing I realized that this was the way I was best expressing my hearts desires to our Father.

I then thought about prayer even more and realized that lately the answers to my prayers were not that important as the fact that I had spent time with our Father. Do I care about answers? Of course. I pray for the sick that they will be healed, I pray for the lost that they might be saved, I pray for my children and the concerns they have but in the end I pray because He is our Father.

Can I trust our Father? Can I leave my hearts cry with Him? Will I continue to pray? Yes, yes and yes.

This I Know

My father-in-law gave me this poem this morning after class:

This I Know

I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know - God answers prayer.
I know that He has given His Word,
Which tells me prayer is always heard.
And will be answered, soon or late,
And so, I pray and calmly wait.

I know not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the way I thought,
But leave my prayers with Him alone,
Whose will is wiser than my own -
Assured that He will grant my quest,
Or send some answer far more blest.

Thanks Ray and happy birthday.

What did I order?

Do you remember the best meal that you ever had? How about the worst? I certainly can remember the most interesting.

It was 8 years ago and we were at the orientation session for missionary candidates. It was Sunday and we were given instructions about a visit to China town in Toronto which included a meal in an authentic (not Westernized) Chinese restaurant and then ending up in a true Chinese worship service.

We went into the restaurant and when we looked at the menu nothing made sense. So we ordered. Rice came with everything but I had ordered jelly fish. It was raw and like rubber - very difficult to eat.

I think prayer is like that. Not that we end up getting what we don't like but rather trusting someone else with what we don't know. To often our prayers are like going to Burger King and placing the order "my way". Sadly that is the way most Westerners pray while Easterners have learned to trust rather than control.

What defines us?

In Jeremiah 2:26 - 28 we read,"As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced— they, their kings and their officials,their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, 'You are my father,'and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say,'Come and save us!' Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah."

Jeremiah tells us that we take something good and use it to define us. We look to it for meaning, worth and even for out existence. We look to it for our salvation. What are the good things that we are looking to for our meaning? Is it our job, our family, our church, our pension, our possessions, our work for the Lord?

God as our Father must be the One to do all of these things.

The Role of a Father

A father is to be both a provider and a protector. However, in this world there are many fathers who are neither a provider or a protector. In fact there are children who need to be protected from their fathers, the one who should be protecting.
God is both our protector (Jehovah Sabaoth) and provider (Jehovah Jireh). There are some who do not want to think of God as a Father because of their earthly fathers. However, they need to be reminded that is not our heavenly Father. They know what a true father should be like and that is our God.

Aren't we all God's Children?

I remember a meeting at a former church we attended when one of the members said about those who were obviously non-Christian, "After all, we are all God's children."

In one sense she was right. We are all God's children in that He created us all but that does not give everyone the right to call Him 'Our Father". To use that term means that you are member of His family together with other believers. As believers we are part of the family because He has adopted us into His family. We just cannot call Him Father because He created us, we have to have a family relationship.

Our Father

‘Too much “Our Father” – too much Abba, too much Daddy, turns into sentimentalism, and we could drag God down to a kind of buddy-buddy relationship. … We’ve got the Father part down; but we think of God as the big Daddy who is going to give us everything we want.’
John MacArthur Jr.

Drive Through Prayers

We were talking about prayer this morning and some one described most of our prayers as a drive through restaurant where we place our order and then drive away without either paying or getting our merchandise.

Two Problems

When I look at prayer I see two problems.

The first is why doesn't God act the way we want Him to act? We ask for one thing and He gives us something else. If we could look back over our lives we would see that what we wanted was not the best but God gives us the best.

The second problem comes to me when I read scripture. Why don't I act the way God wants me to act? The difficulty is that I want to do it my way, even my obedience is in my strength while God says to me, "Just let me do it for you."

What to pray for?

In Matthew 9 we read, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:36 - 38

When Jesus saw the crowd He didn't tell His disciples to go and tell them about Him but rather He told them to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send workers into the field. Why not just tell them to go as we see Him doing in Matthew 10. Before the disciples could go they need to spend time in prayer so they could see the need as Jesus saw it.

Prayer isn't about you

Did you notice the pronouns in the Lord's prayer? Our Father; give us our daily bread; forgive us our trespasses.

How different is this than many of our prayers. I pray for my needs, my family, my health, my friends. This prayer teaches us that we are not individual Christians but we are part of a community. We may come to Christ as individuals but we do not remain individual Christians. It is much more than "Jesus and me".

Just another question

When our children were small they would ask questions about everything. Someone said that an average 3 year old will ask about 300 questions each day. This is how they learn. They would see you doing something and ask you why. One question they didn't ask as often is "Would you show me how to do ...?" They would rather say, "I'll do it myself."

The disciples had seen Jesus in prayer and they wanted to pray like that. They had been taught how to pray from childhood but their prayers were not authentic prayers like their Lord's. The question they may have asked could have been, "Lord, would you teach us to pray real authentic prayers like you and John the Baptist pray?"

That is what we need. We need to learn to pray real authentic prayers.

Glory and Grace

So what is the purpose of prayer? God is sovereign, God is all knowing, God controls the future so why pray?

We first pray that God will be glorified on earth. We pray that His glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Jesus said, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." John 12:13 When we pray we need to remember that it is to bring glory to the Father.

But we also must remember God's grace. We pray that God's grace will be felt by all peoples in the world. When they see God's grace then they can glorify the Father.

Some people think prayer is getting what they want from God. That is why we have those that preach prosperity, health and wealth and name it and claim it. That is not theology but me-ology. Let us remember two words when we pray, glory and grace.

Lord, Teach us to Pray

This coming Sunday we will be starting a new series. Here is a brief discription of that series:

Lord, teach us to pray. This was the request of the disciples as they saw Jesus praying. In answer to their request the Lord gave them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Like the disciples we do not need to be taught how to pray but we need to be taught to pray. I have many books on prayer but those books do not help me to pray. In this study we will look at the Lord’s Prayer and how that teaches us to pray.

My Favorite Books - The Final

I was going to give a list of 50 of my favorite books but I have decided that it is time to bring this list to an end. I want to end with the book that has made the most difference in my life. It is a book that I have read through over 50 times and I am currently reading it again. I have read this book in many different versions including listening to it on tape. The book I am referring to is the Bible. I have read the Bible in the following versions:
King James
New King James
Revised Standard Version
Today's English Version
New American Standard Version
English Standard Version
Living Bible
The Message
The Amplified
And there are probably more.

My Favorite books Part 6

It is time to end this list but I have a few more books to add. Today I would like to add some of my favorite fiction books.

39. Randy Alcorn - Safely Home
40. Howard Fast - My Glorious Brothers.
41. Chaim Potok - The Chosen
42. John Grisham - The Appeal

And a few non- fiction works.

43. Keith Leenhouts - A Father, A Son, anda Three Mile Run
44. Bill Watterson - Calvin and Hobbs.

Still a few more to add.

Unjust Laws

A person I respect a great deal questioned Linda Gibbons confrontation with the law over the abortion issue. She said that we have a responsibility to obey the law. I know she has a great deal of respect for the law but what if the law is wrong? The people of Germany obeyed the law but the law was sinful.

Isaiah said:

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,

to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless. Isaiah 10:1, 2

Arrogant

“May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts.” (Psalm 119:78)

We are told in the book of Proverbs that pride goes before a fall. How often we see that to be true. When you take pride in what we accomplish, or what we own, or whatever, when we fail to accomplish or we lose what we had then what we had pride in is empty. It is like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch.

We may find arrogance in an associate troublesome to us but it is much worse in a Christian. Christians can be like the Pharisee who went down to the temple to pray and was thankful that he wasn’t like others. He was proud that God had made him righteous. He wasn’t even proud that he had made himself righteous but it is equally repulsive if we are proud of who we are even when we contribute that to God.

Linda Gibbons

Why does a woman like Linda Gibbons spend eight of the last sixteen years in jail for protesting abortions while I have known murders who have served less time in jail? Where is the justice? If she was the murder of the unborn instead of protesting their slaughter she would he heralded as a hero? Read her store in the Toronto Star.
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/brian_lilley/2010/08/31/15203891.html

Compassion

“Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.” (Psalm 119:77)

The most common attribute mentioned in the Gospels of the Lord Jesus is His compassion. We often read that he was moved with compassion. Compassion for the weak, the lost, the hurting was a driving force in His ministry. We often think of compassion of a mother for her children.

The Psalmist recognizes the compassion of God the Father as he spent time in God’s Word. He delighted in what the Word of God revealed about the Father.
If you were to ask someone today the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New they would tell you that the God of the Old was a God of wrath while the God of the New is a God of love and compassion. The Psalmist did not see that distinction. To him the God he worshipped was a God of compassion. If we would take off our blinders and read the Old Testament we would see the compassion of God there as we see it in Christ Jesus.

Permanent

“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.” (Psalm 119:76)

We used to live in Thunder Bay which is on the Precambrian Shield. The Precambrian Shield is the largest rock in the world. Often in the summer we would drive out to Sibley Peninsula and drive across to the Thunder Bay Lookout. The Thunder Bay Lookout is located on the North side of the peninsula and extends out over the cliff down to Lake Superior far below. From the lookout you can see all of Thunder Bay harbor, the bay and the city. It is a spectacular place to see Lake Superior. The lookout is anchored in the Precambrian Shield so as any as can fit on the lookout landing can stand there without fear of falling.

Just as the lookout is unfailing so is God’s love and even more so. Rock can be worn away by the constant dripping of water but God’s love will never change. He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow.

My Favorite Books Part 5

Here is a continuation of my list of favorite books. I am currently reading Radical but I now it belongs on the list.

34. Randy Alcorn - Heaven
35. David Platt - Radical
36. Ken Sande - The Peace Maker
37. David Wells - No Place for Truth
38. Gary Gilley - This Little Church went to Market

Still more to come.

I Know

“I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” (Psalm 119:75)

I worked with a man who seemed to know everything. He would walk into a conversation and immediately take over. He was an authority on almost every topic.

Knowledge is important but when Paul prays for the church he doesn’t pray that they will have knowledge about everything but that they would grow in their knowledge of the Lord. Is it your desire to grow in the knowledge of the Lord? If we want to know something or someone we have to spend time with that topic or person. To grow in the knowledge of the Lord we must spend time with Him and His Word.

Hope in Your Word.

“May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.” (Psalm 119:74)

What is your hope? For many people hope is like blind faith. They hope things will turn out well but they are not sure. However, for a Christian hope is security in knowing that the One who we put our hope in is faithful and He will do what He has promised.

This is the kind of hope that the Psalmist had. His hope was in the written word of God. God had said it and he believed it. The author of Hebrews tells us that hope is the anchor of our souls. What do you hang onto when things are going rough? Do you cling to the promises of God?

Your Hands

“Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.” (Psalm 119:73)

Does God have hands? We don’t know but that is the only way we can describe God. We have to use human terms. We form things with our hands, God spoke and things came into being. Regardless whether God formed us with His hands or with His voice He made us and we are His. Because He made us we should want to know more about the One Who made us. The only way we can truly know Him is through His word. His word shows us His character and His plans for us.

Jeremiah tells about the potter who took clay and formed it into the vessel that he wanted. When the vessel was flawed he broke it down and reformed it. Paul tells us that we are jars of clay. We are jars of clay formed by the hands of the Potter. He can make us to be whatever He wants us to be. We have no right to question the Potter but to do what He has formed us to do. His Word teaches us that. Our part is to be students of the Word and obey His commands.

Precious

“The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.” (Psalm 119:72)

What do we consider precious? Is it our possessions or our talents? Is it something that we have obtained ourselves?

The Bible talks about many precious things:

Psalm 116:15 tells us that the death of a saint is precious in the sight of the Lord.
Proverbs 8:11 tells us that wisdom is precious. That is why Solomon asked for wisdom rather than riches or fame.
Isaiah 26:16 tells us that there is a precious cornerstone. The cornerstone of our faith is our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:4 tells us that we have great and precious promises.
1 Peter 1:19 reminds us that the blood of Christ is precious.
1 Peter 2:7 reminds us that Jesus Christ is precious to us who believe.

What do you consider precious? Those things that will pass away or those things that will last for eternity?

Good to be Afflicted

“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” (Psalm 119:71)

The disciples were caught in a frightening storm on the Sea of Galilee. Now most of the disciples were fishermen and they knew storms this one was different. They were frightened.

Now the disciples were not out in the boat because of disobedience. The Lord had sent them away. If they were in the will of God then why were they being afflicted?
Little did they know that they were safer in the boat in the storm than they would have been on dry land with the people? They wanted to make Jesus king because they had been fed by Him. Jesus knew their motives and He did not want the disciples to fall into the same trap.

Finally, they saw Jesus coming to them on the water. The thing that was bringing affliction into their lives was the very thing that brought them Jesus to save them. Could it be that our afflictions are bring Jesus to us?

My Favorite Books Part 4

Continuing my list of favorite books:

28. Mack Stiles - Marks of the Messenger
29. Jerry Bridges - Pursuit of Holiness
30. Jerry Bridges - Practice of Godliness
31. Lee Stroble - A Case for Creation
32. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart - How to Read the Bible for all its Worth
33. John White - Daring to Draw Near

Continues later. Please add your list.

Callous

“Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.” (Psalm 119:70)
When I was working on construction my hands became calloused. First they formed blisters because I was not use to that kind of work but the blisters went away and my hands became calloused. They were hardened so I could handle the tools without any fear of getting blisters again.
Now a callous can be a good thing but when our hearts become hardened or calloused that is anything but a good thing. After I quit working on construction my hands soon lost their hardness but if our hearts become calloused then we need the work of God to change our hearts. Ezekiel said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26).
To avoid getting a heart that is calloused or unfeeling is to spend time in the Word of God.

Lies

“Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart.” (Psalm 119:69)
What do you do when someone tells lies about you? Do you fight back or do you leave it with the Lord? When the Psalmist was a victim of lies he turned to the Word of God.
Satan is called the father of lies. When one person lies about another they are doing the work of Satan. It is a terrible thing when someone lies about you but when it is someone in the church then it hurts even more. People lie to protect themselves but they forget that Scripture says that all liars have a place reserved for them in the lake of fire.
In the early days of the United States the Baptists in Kentucky had a problem. Should they tell the natives the truth when they came looking for their families which were hidden or tell the truth. The church became divided in lying Baptists and non-lying Baptists. That is not what is meant here. The lies were not to protect the Psalmist’s family but rather to slander another person. The first can be questioned as whether or not one should do it but the second is a sin against the Holy God.

God is Good

“You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.” (Psalm 119:68)

A few years ago it was common for a worship leader in church to say, “God is good” and the response from the congregation was, “all the time.” Then it would be reversed and the leader would say, “All the time” to which the congregation would respond, “God is good”.

People question God’s goodness when they see evil and bad things in the world. The common question is, “If God is good then why did this happen?” Or you would hear someone testify to how they were protected in a situation and add the phrase, “God is good.” Sometimes I want to jump and yell, “Even if you were not protected, God is good.” It is so true that God is good all the time.

We need to remember that God is not good because of what He has done but rather He does good things because He is good.

Afflicted

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” (Psalm 119:67)

I have a friend who I asked to write a prayer for a study booklet I was making. Her prayer was about faith. Since that time she has discovered that she had breast cancer. When she first learned that she had cancer she turned to her prayer and prayed it again and again. Her cancer has not left her but her faith has grown. Has her affliction helped her faith to grow? Yes! Could faith grow without affliction? Yes! However, we are too often comfortable and we not only take our health for granted but we do the same with our faith in God.

We need to remind ourselves that it is not affliction that makes our faith grow but the Lord Jesus Christ. He is much more than an example; He is our Saviour. He suffered affliction for us so that we could be saved. Does He care about our afflictions? Yes! However, He cares more about our salvation. Our affliction should lead us to the Word of God and the Word should lead us to Christ.

My Favorite Books Part 3

Here are some of my current favorite books. Please feel free to make suggestions.

18. The Reason for God - Timothy Keller
19. The Prodigal God - Timothy Keller
20. Knowing God - J. I. Packer
21. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God - J. I. Packer
22. What is the Gospel? - Gilbert
23. What's so Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey
24. The Jesus I Never Knew - Philip Yancey
25. Your God is too Safe - Mark Buchanan
26. The Trellis and the Vine - Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
27. The Call - Os Guinness

More to follow.

Good Judgment

“Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands.” (Psalm 119:66)

I have seen may intelligent people make very poor judgments. I have often joked that I wish I could sell “stupid insurance” to cover the stupid things that we do from time to time. I am sure that we have all wished we had insurance to cover our seemingly stupid mistakes.

The Psalmist knew that knowledge and good judgment does not necessarily come from common sense. We need more than common sense if we are to make good judgments; we need the leading of God’s Word. God’s Word does not tell us what to do in every situation but as we are students of the Word and trust and believe the Word then when we make decisions we will do so in light of what brings glory to God.

When Jesus went back to His Father He told His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit Who would teach them all things. The Holy Spirit does that through the Word of God.

My Favorite Books Part 2

Yesterday I listed some books from those who have gone to glory. Today I would like to list a few books from those that I have heard this past year.

9. Don Carson - The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God
10. Don Carson - Scandalous
11. Don Carson - Memours of an Ordinary Pastor
12. R. C. Sproule - The Holiness of God.
14. C. J. Mahaney - The Cross Centred Life
15. Mark Dever - 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.
16. Arnold Cook - Historical Drift.
17. John Piper - Let the Nations be Glad

Next I would like to list some of my current favourite authors.

Do Good

“Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD.” (Psalm 119:65)

When the Psalmist wrote these words the only Scripture he had was the Law of Moses. Many people today see the Law as being repressive but the Psalmist saw the Law as the goodness of God to His people. The Law was not given to oppress the people but to free them.

Today we have traffic laws that are not to be oppressive but freeing. Without the law we would be like the people in the time of the Judges who did what was right in their own eyes. We lived in Manila for a year and driving in that city was an adventure at best and terrifying the rest of the time. Traffic laws were ignored. Drivers did not stop for red lights or drive in their own lanes. Buses would pass on curves and hills without any regard for what might be coming the other way. Driving in a country that has laws at are obeyed, most of the time, gives you a sense of security. Laws are given for our own good.

When the Law said that we must be truthful then we could have the security that our neighbour would not lie about us in front of the judge. That was the goodness of the Law.

My Favorite Books Part 1

I would like to list what I think are the 50 books that have effected me the most. In the first listing I want to list those writers who are no longer alive.
These books are in no particular order. Plese feel free to add any to my list.
1. Oswald Chambers - My Utmost for His Highest
2. C. S. Lewis - Mere Christianity
3. C. S. Lewis - The Screwtape Letters
4. A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God
5. A. W. Tozer - The Knowledge of the Holy
6. L. E. Maxwell - Born Crucified
7. Roy Hession - The Calvary Road
8. Brother Lawrence - The Practice of the Presence of God.

Next will be those that I have heard over the past year.

Teach Me 2

“The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.” (Psalm 119:64)

When Jesus met with His disciples the last time before His crucifixion He told them that when He departed He would send another comforter who would teach them all things. Jesus was telling His disciples that the Holy Spirit would not only bring them comfort but He would also teach them His words.

The Psalmist also knew this. He knew that because the earth was a demonstration of the love of God that he could ask the Lord to be his teacher. To truly understand the love of God we must understand His Word. We can recite John 3:16 about God loving the world but do we understand that love? We need the Holy Spirit to teach us what that means in the life of a believer. Just two verses later Jesus reminds His disciples that though God loved the world He would judge those who would not believe.

Friend

“I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.” (Psalm 119:63)
Who are your friends? As a parent you should be concerned about who your child’s friends are. Friendships shape the character. We cannot make our children be friends with the right people but we can make it much easier for them to choose proper friends.
The Bible has a great deal to say about friends. David, who wrote many of the Psalms, had a good friend in Jonathan. Jonathan was interested in obeying the commands of God and his friendship with David made it much easier for David to follow God’s Laws just as David’s friendship with Jonathan helped Jonathan to obey.
The writer of Proverbs reminds us that we have a friend that is closer than a brother. That friend is Jesus. Jesus told His disciples that “You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14. Now we cannot command our friends to do what we command them but Jesus can. Does our friendship with Him depend upon our obedience? Yes it does. He told us to obey and then He gives us the will and the strength to obey.

Midnight

“At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.” (Psalm 119:62)

What do we do when we cannot sleep? Some people read, some people watch television while others count sheep. Someone has said that instead of counting sheep you should talk to the shepherd.

Many times people have been awaken in the night with a strong compulsion to pray for someone only later to find that the person who they were praying for was going through a time of trial or testing at that time.

However, we do not always have that unction to pray for someone in particular but we should have a desire to talk to our heavenly Father. We always have something to be thankful for or something to praise Him for. We may be thankful for our warm bed even though we could not sleep.

When we first came to Manila I would wake up in the night with knot in my stomach wondering why I had brought my wife and daughter to such a strange country so far from where I was comfortable. However, I also found it was a time to talk to God and He confirmed to me that it was He who had brought us here.

Take time when you cannot sleep to talk to the Good Shepherd.