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Faithfulness
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25-26)
Recent Posts
God? Who Needs Him?May 31, 2013
Self-sufficient humanism. Paul saw it coming – “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Imago Dei
September 12, 2012
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Why Can't I Pray?
August 18, 2012
The bible gives us several reasons, but according to Jeremy Taylor, a deceitful heart is at the root of prayerlessness.
It's Not Rocket Science
July 23, 2012
To keep in step with the Spirit should be our daily quest. And if we are successful at that, all of life falls into place.
Theological Steak
April 10, 2012
These words by P. T. Forsythe on the magnificence of Christ's work are to theology what Ruth's Chris is to a good steak.
Describing the Indescribable
February 11, 2012
What we have in Christ will take all eternity to describe. But for one segment of one sermon, a great preacher made a mighty attempt.
Making Sense Of It All
January 30, 2012
Where are things headed? Is there rhyme and reason to the endless cycle of summer, fall, winter and spring? Is there a plan in place, or is randomness the explanation?
So Where's The Next John The Baptist?
February 15, 2009
At key times in the history of the Church, men and women have been raised up to fan into flame the the embers of Christian believers, and often with seismic results. God is watching carefully, and preparing. Keep your eyes open, and keep praying.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 1 Samuel 15:10-11
All night long? That's a long time, and a whole lot of agony. What did Saul pray? Was he despairing, angry, disappointed, threatened, hopeful? Did he take Saul's failure as king personally?
At any rate, the next morning, all blurry-eyed, Samuel and Saul "had it out." Saul was clueless as ever. "But I did obey," he whined.
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice," Samuel declared.
That ended the argument. But Saul was finished. His short-lived rule had peaked, and now would be torn from him. He begged to no avail. The scene is pathetic. Too late. What's done is done.
Ah, but here comes chapter 16. God sets Samuel in motion, on a mission to anoint the next king, the king through whose line the Promised One would be born.
You know the story. Jesse's sons get paraded in front of Samuel. None of them are it. Finally David, the sheepboy is sent for, and stands before Samuel.
Then the Lord said, "Rise and aniont him; he is the one." 1 Samuel 16:12
Whenever lamps burn low in the Church, and love waxes cold, and watchers slumber while the Bridegroom tarries, the Restorer and Sustainer of His people is always standing at the door.
He can create fresh witnesses to Himself in the most unlikely quarters, even even as He raised up Paul from among the Pharisees, and Luther from among the Mendicants. The Gospel of the grace of God has been disproved a great number of times - it has been assailed and wounded and beaten down and left for dead - but it survives by the power of an endless life.
Amid fightings within and fears without the modern Church can still say, "I know that my Redeemer lives." Who can guess what swift, incalculable revival Christ has in store for His desponding people?
JOHN HUTTON
in the British Weekly, January 7, 1926
(Quoted from THE FIRST FOURTY YEARS by Ian Murray on the life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones p 152)
All night long? That's a long time, and a whole lot of agony. What did Saul pray? Was he despairing, angry, disappointed, threatened, hopeful? Did he take Saul's failure as king personally?
At any rate, the next morning, all blurry-eyed, Samuel and Saul "had it out." Saul was clueless as ever. "But I did obey," he whined.
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice," Samuel declared.
That ended the argument. But Saul was finished. His short-lived rule had peaked, and now would be torn from him. He begged to no avail. The scene is pathetic. Too late. What's done is done.
Ah, but here comes chapter 16. God sets Samuel in motion, on a mission to anoint the next king, the king through whose line the Promised One would be born.
You know the story. Jesse's sons get paraded in front of Samuel. None of them are it. Finally David, the sheepboy is sent for, and stands before Samuel.
Then the Lord said, "Rise and aniont him; he is the one." 1 Samuel 16:12
Whenever lamps burn low in the Church, and love waxes cold, and watchers slumber while the Bridegroom tarries, the Restorer and Sustainer of His people is always standing at the door.
He can create fresh witnesses to Himself in the most unlikely quarters, even even as He raised up Paul from among the Pharisees, and Luther from among the Mendicants. The Gospel of the grace of God has been disproved a great number of times - it has been assailed and wounded and beaten down and left for dead - but it survives by the power of an endless life.
Amid fightings within and fears without the modern Church can still say, "I know that my Redeemer lives." Who can guess what swift, incalculable revival Christ has in store for His desponding people?
JOHN HUTTON
in the British Weekly, January 7, 1926
(Quoted from THE FIRST FOURTY YEARS by Ian Murray on the life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones p 152)
'Jever Have One Of Those Days?
January 22, 2009
No one in this life is exempt from trials. But when they come in the service of Christ, we suffer in his name, and there is purpose in our discomfort. Nonetheless, trials must be weathered, sometimes literally. Consider John Paton.
I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.
I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 2 Corinthains 11:23-29
Ok, Paul, you win. That is quite a list. One gets exhausted just reading it. There is no question that servants of God are not given a free pass from being in harms way. The "cushy life" seems antithetical. Rather, by being ambassadors for Christ, it seems that the likelyhood of trials and testings increases.
John Paton had four nightmarish years on the island of Tanna in the South Seas. His wife and infant son were buried there. He had ignomiously been chased off the island by what could best be termed savages, fleeing for his very life. After some fund raising in Australia, he was encouraged to return to Scotland, and raise further support for "stage two" of his mission.
At the time of his arrival, Scotland was experiencing a harsh winter, and the trip from Edinburgh to Thurso, he took a mail coach. The inside seats were occupied, so he sat outside. Brrr...
"The cold was intense, and one of my feet got bitten by the frost. The storm detained me nearly a week at Thruso, but feeing did not return to the foot."
"We started, in a lull, by steamer for Stromness; but the storm burst again, all were ordered below; but the storm, and hatches and doors made fast. The passengers were mostly very rough, the place was foul with whisky and tobacco. I appealed to the Captain to let me crouch somewhere on deak and hold on as best I could."
"He shouted, 'I dare not! You'll be washed overboard.' On seeing my appealing look, he relented, directed his men to fasten a tarpaulin over me, and lash it and me to the mast, and there I lay till we reached Stromness."
"The sea broke heavily and dangerously over the vessel. But the Captain, finding shelter for several hours under the lee of a headland, saved both the ship and the passengers."
"When at last we landed, my foot was so benumbed and painful that I could move a step only with greatest agony. Two meetings, however, were in some kind of way conducted; but the projected visit to Dngwall and other places had to be renounced, the snow lying too deep for any conveyance to carry, and my foot crying aloud for treatment and skill."
Yikes! A doctor who cared for him said that he had never seen any part of the human body so dead to feeling on a live and healthy person! It took months to fully recover, but the toe survived. John Paton remarked...
"I feel myself crooning over the graphic words of the Greatest Missionary, 'I bear about in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.'
Samuel Rutherford, the much-tried Scottish pastor of the 1600's, saw difficulties (banished from his congregation) as part of what we "signed up for:
"It cost Christ and all his followers sharp showers and hot sweats ere' they win to the top of the mountain. But still our soft nature would have heaven coming to our bedside when we are sleeping, and lying down with us, that we might go to heaven in warm clothes; but all that came there found wet feet by the way, and sharp storms that did take the hide off their face, and found to's and fro's, and up's and down's, and many enemies by the way."
As the hymnwriter asks....
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?
Sure I must fight if I would reign
Increase my courage Lord
I'll bear the toil, enfue the pain
Supported by Thy word
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.
I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 2 Corinthains 11:23-29
Ok, Paul, you win. That is quite a list. One gets exhausted just reading it. There is no question that servants of God are not given a free pass from being in harms way. The "cushy life" seems antithetical. Rather, by being ambassadors for Christ, it seems that the likelyhood of trials and testings increases.
John Paton had four nightmarish years on the island of Tanna in the South Seas. His wife and infant son were buried there. He had ignomiously been chased off the island by what could best be termed savages, fleeing for his very life. After some fund raising in Australia, he was encouraged to return to Scotland, and raise further support for "stage two" of his mission.
At the time of his arrival, Scotland was experiencing a harsh winter, and the trip from Edinburgh to Thurso, he took a mail coach. The inside seats were occupied, so he sat outside. Brrr...
"The cold was intense, and one of my feet got bitten by the frost. The storm detained me nearly a week at Thruso, but feeing did not return to the foot."
"We started, in a lull, by steamer for Stromness; but the storm burst again, all were ordered below; but the storm, and hatches and doors made fast. The passengers were mostly very rough, the place was foul with whisky and tobacco. I appealed to the Captain to let me crouch somewhere on deak and hold on as best I could."
"He shouted, 'I dare not! You'll be washed overboard.' On seeing my appealing look, he relented, directed his men to fasten a tarpaulin over me, and lash it and me to the mast, and there I lay till we reached Stromness."
"The sea broke heavily and dangerously over the vessel. But the Captain, finding shelter for several hours under the lee of a headland, saved both the ship and the passengers."
"When at last we landed, my foot was so benumbed and painful that I could move a step only with greatest agony. Two meetings, however, were in some kind of way conducted; but the projected visit to Dngwall and other places had to be renounced, the snow lying too deep for any conveyance to carry, and my foot crying aloud for treatment and skill."
Yikes! A doctor who cared for him said that he had never seen any part of the human body so dead to feeling on a live and healthy person! It took months to fully recover, but the toe survived. John Paton remarked...
"I feel myself crooning over the graphic words of the Greatest Missionary, 'I bear about in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.'
Samuel Rutherford, the much-tried Scottish pastor of the 1600's, saw difficulties (banished from his congregation) as part of what we "signed up for:
"It cost Christ and all his followers sharp showers and hot sweats ere' they win to the top of the mountain. But still our soft nature would have heaven coming to our bedside when we are sleeping, and lying down with us, that we might go to heaven in warm clothes; but all that came there found wet feet by the way, and sharp storms that did take the hide off their face, and found to's and fro's, and up's and down's, and many enemies by the way."
As the hymnwriter asks....
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease
While others fought to win the prize
And sailed through bloody seas?
Sure I must fight if I would reign
Increase my courage Lord
I'll bear the toil, enfue the pain
Supported by Thy word
Calling All Men Of Issachar
January 18, 2009
"Hope springs eternal." As humans we just naturally assume that "everything will be ok. It will all work out." Just how do we face the present in light of a God who is holy? And how do optimism and realism correctly co-exist in the heart of a Christian?
Every Reason To Be Thankful
November 23, 2008
Complaining seems to come naturally, doesn't it? Being thankful is a whole different matter. We have to work at it, knowing that if we are obedient in this, God will get the credit he deserves, and our satisfaction in Him will expand.
Do The Math
November 21, 2008
Ten lepers, all healed. One returned to give Jesus thanks. Ten percent. You don't suppose that ratio always holds true, do you? Yikes! How can we then foster hearts of gratitude?
Priming The Pump Of Gratitude
November 20, 2008
Who can proclaim he mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise? Psalm 106:2 The answer? No one. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Remember To Remember
November 20, 2008
Psalm 107 ends with the command to "consider the love of the Lord." Our memory is a powerful tool God has given us - with it we recall his faithfulness, which serves to give us the confidence that our faithful God will continue to be just that - faithful.
Faith And Real Life
November 16, 2008
"Keep a stiff upper lip," we're told. Buck up. Life is capable of throwing a withering sequence of blows at us, bringing even the strongest to their knees - literally. For if our hope is in God, our future is very bright, no matter how grim the present.
I Pray The Lord My Soul To Keep
November 4, 2008
The Bible is full of prayers that took place at night. Assuming that we will wake to see the morning light is hasty, and presumes on God's grace. Isaac Watts put his heart on paper in meter and rhyme, placing his hope in the grace of God.
When God Relents
October 30, 2008
Ninevah was scheduled for demolition by God. It's end had been determined. That same God sent Jonah to warn it, so that they could repent and not be destroyed. What gives? Does God vacillate?
The Falling Leaf And God's Sovereignty
October 16, 2008
So just how much does God know beforehand? And just what is determined and orchestrated? Is He ever surprised?
Faith - A Grace From God
October 12, 2008
Faith, hope and love are the three qualities that endure. But if our faith gets depleted, this three-legged stool suddenly is worthless.
