Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor

I have just finished reading Don Carson's book about his father. It was refreshing to read about a man who was a faithful minister of the Gospel. Don Carson is one of the most brilliant Biblical scholars I have heard and it was a delight to see the love and respect he had for his dad. One of our great pleasures was to have Don Carson in our home though our son will never forgive us for spending the time talking about skunks when we could have talked about Don Carson's work. Don Carson is also an ordinary man.
As I prepare for this coming Sunday evening when we will look at the furniture of the Holy Place I have been drawn to the bread on the table of showbread. The bread speaks of Christ but it also speaks of the Word. Tom Carson (Don's dad) was a man who loved the Scriptures and his life reflected that love.

No Chairs

Tonight we were down at the Bibles For Missions store and the one piece of furniture that sells well is a chair. I have been in many home to pick up furniture and every home I have been in has a chair. However, there was no chair in the Tabernacle. The priests work was never done. But when Jesus ascended into heaven His work was completed so He sat down at the right hand of God the Father.

Altar of Incense

Bible League of Canada

Last night we attended a banquet for the Bible League of Canada. The two speakers were Joel Nederhood (who I am pictured with) and Brian Stewart, Canada's leading foreign journalist. Both speakers talked about the Word of God. Dr. Nederhood talked about how the Word must be in our hearts. Brian Stewart talked about how Christians and the Word of God led him to seek after God.
Both men were outstanding and I was glad that I was one of over 1000 people who attended that event. However, both men were there to bring attention to the Word of God.
The Table of Showbread was magnificent but one did not just look at the table. The table was to display the bread. The table was nothing without the bread. The Bible often is compared to the bread of life.

Table of Showbread

Come in, stay out

Doors serve two purposes. They are a way to come in and they are a means of keeping out. We have doors on our houses so that we can enter but we can also keep others out. The door to the Holy place was a way of entering but the veil to the Holy of Holies was to keep people out. Only the high priest could enter and that only once a year. On the curtain to the Holy place there were no Cherubim but on the veil there were woven in Cherubim. Cherubim were the guardians of God's holiness.
Sometimes the doors to our churches are welcoming place allowing people in but there are times when they are a way of blocking people from coming in. Our pastor in Thunder Bay pointed out that our church had more ways of getting out than getting in. I am not saying that churches should always have their doors open but churches do need to let people know that they are welcome to come in.

More Water

Thanks to my friend Dale for allowing me to post this. This is a devotional he did for a Christian Farmers dinner a couple of years ago.

Water; when we have too much of it we grumble. When we don’t have enough of it we pray. The rest of the time we scarcely think about it. Water has been the cause of more wars than oil or gold.
The estimated supply of water on the Earth is 330 million cubic miles. Each cubic mile contains over a trillion gallons of water. 97% of the water is contained in the oceans. The Great Lakes contain 1/5 of all the liquid surface water in the world. One guess is that there is enough groundwater beneath North America to cover the continent with a sheet of water 100 feet deep. One inch of rain drops 100 tons of water on a 100 acre farm.
Water is one of the most unique elements in the natural world. It exists in all three states; solid, liquid and gaseous. It is most dense at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That is why ice floats in water. If it didn’t that would make for a lot of wet ice fishermen.
We use water for nourishment, power generation, recreation, comfort, cleaning and transport. Most of us have ancestors who came to North America via waterways. In south-western Ontario we have abundant water around us, above us and beneath us.
The topic of water pervades the pages of the Bible. It is mentioned at the start; the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). It is mentioned at the end; come whoever is thirsty…take the free gift of the water of life (Revelation 22:17).
Water destroyed the world in the days of Noah. Joseph was tossed into a dry cistern, pulled out and sold as a slave into the land of the Nile. Moses turned those waters into blood to deliver the house of Israel. He then parted the waters of the Red Sea to lead the children of God out of bondage and Joshua parted the waters of the Jordan to return the Hebrew children to the Promised Land. Moses struck the rock to bring forth a spring of refreshing water in the desert and consecrated the basin which held the water of the tabernacle which ceremonially cleaned the priesthood of Aaron before they approached the altar of God.
Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. People can survive over a month without food but will go mad and die of thirst in a week’s time. Water, in baptism, is the symbol of the new birth of Christian faith. Many of the disciples were fishermen and earned their livelihood on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus turned the wedding waters of Cana into wine, warned about floods and shifting foundations and thirsted upon the cross.
Yes, water is more abundant beyond all our finite comprehension. Yet the most precious water, in the eyes of God, is those tears of water shed by the repentant sinner. The Bible tells us that if we sow in tears we shall reap in joy (Psalm 126:5). The harlot who anointed Jesus with perfume and washed his feet with her tears was justified ahead of the self righteous Pharisee. We can laugh so heartily as to be moved to tears or mourn so deep to cry tears of sorrow. Even Jesus, before he knew he was to revive Lazarus, wept before the tomb of his friend.
We are surrounded by so much water we rarely give it our full appreciation. We will pray for our daily bread but without the water to grow the grains there would be no flour to bake the bread. Let us strive to be more thankful for our food and water for without water there would be no life.