In John 13, we have the tender scene where Jesus takes the position of the lowest servant in any household to do the most menial task, which was to wash the feet of the guests. In those days, they didn't have the paved roads and concrete sidewalks we all know, and they walked everywhere in their sandals, so their feet were always dusty when they arrived anywhere. The servant with the lowest rank and least seniority got to crouch before each of them and wash their feet.
We are told that Jesus knew who would betray Him (John 13:21, 26), who would deny Him (verse 38) and He predicted that all His disciples would desert Him (Matthew 26:31). Yet He humbly bent before each of His disciples, including Peter and even Judas and washed and dried their feet.
Later, He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another" (verses 34, 35).
If you're like me, you immediately want to berate yourself for not being the loving follower of Jesus that you're supposed to be. But I believe it's impossible; I cannot, unless I first recognize, believe and receive how He has first loved me. I can't give away what I don't have, and I won't have this love unless I have it from Him.
Of course, there is no shortage of love coming from Him. We know that it is unconditional, limitless, and certainly far beyond our comprehension.
But, Lord, help us to get more understanding of it!
That was one of Paul's prayers for the Ephesians: "May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the length and breadth and height and depth [of it]: [that you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!" (chapter 3, verses 17b-19, Amplified version).
Yes, to apprehend and grasp and to know, practically, through experiencing it.
Most of us have heard from childhood and on that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" but we kind of miss that next verse, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world" and we continue to feel condemned. It's so hard for us to believe that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Can it really be that He doesn't count our sins against us?
Can He actually love us with the love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 which is patient and kind, "takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong] (verse 5, Amplified version)? Of course. He has to because that is what this chapter is about - the God-kind of love, from the Greek word agape. And God is agape love (1 John 4:16).
Jesus demonstrated this attitude on the cross when He said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing" (Luke 23:34).
The writer of Hebrews quotes from Jeremiah 31:34 when he says "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17) and this is true for us only because Jesus came to do God's will, offered His own pure, sinless blood as a sacrifice for all sin forever and "by one offering, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (read verses 5-18). Forgiven. My sins not counted against me. And even perfected. Wow!
Let's join together in making this one of our primary prayers for ourselves and each other - to really know the love of God for us. Then that love will spill out onto those around us and there will be the evidence that we are His disciples, when we love as we are loved.
Friday, 29 May 2020
Sunday, 17 May 2020
What's been percolating?
Funny word, percolating. You probably have to be from close to my generation to know what percolating is. With Keurig now pouring your cup of coffee almost instantly, the idea of putting your cold water in the bottom of your percolator coffee pot, adding the basket with the coffee grounds, setting it on your stove and turning the element on, then waiting and watching while it bubbles and "percs" until it's finally ready is all foreign now.
I find that ideas come to me and then percolate and bubble in my mind and develop over time. When I finally sit down to write out my thoughts, they kind of pour out. I sit back at the end and read it over and think, "Wow! Interesting how that all came together! Thank You, Holy Spirit!"
So here's what's been brewing lately:
A few weeks ago, a younger friend, mother of a couple of little girls, messaged me and said how she is fine with coming to God with her bigger problems, but doesn't like to bother Him with the little details. I replied that that could almost be considered an insult to God. That we would imagine that He is incapable of running the universe and also pay attention to each and every detail in the life of each and every one of the billions of people on the earth is to dismiss His omniscience and omnipotence. It shrinks Him in our view.
Ours is the God who "counts the number of the stars; He calls them all my name" (Psalm 147:4) and we know there are billions of trillions of them! Doing a hop, skip and jump through Isaiah 40:12-26, we find that God "measured the waters in the palm of His hand, measured the heavens with the span (of His hand) and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, weighed the mountains in a scale and the hills in a balance...stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in...brings out the host (of the stars) by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing."
Notice, though, that this comes right after "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young" (verse 11).
He is the God who knows the number of your hairs. Yours! That in itself would be an incredible and ever-changing number, but then multiply that by the population on the earth and it gets really staggering!
Psalm 139:17, 18 "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with You."
Psalm 40:5 "Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."
As usual, this reminds me of a song, "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin:
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea,
Creation revealing Your majesty.
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring,
Every creature unique in the song that it sings;
All proclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God!
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim:
You are amazing God!
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night,
None can fathom.
Indescribable...
Incomparable, unchangeable,
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same,
You are amazing God.
You are amazing God.
Let's meditate on this fabulous, compassionate God. Let it percolate!
I find that ideas come to me and then percolate and bubble in my mind and develop over time. When I finally sit down to write out my thoughts, they kind of pour out. I sit back at the end and read it over and think, "Wow! Interesting how that all came together! Thank You, Holy Spirit!"
So here's what's been brewing lately:
A few weeks ago, a younger friend, mother of a couple of little girls, messaged me and said how she is fine with coming to God with her bigger problems, but doesn't like to bother Him with the little details. I replied that that could almost be considered an insult to God. That we would imagine that He is incapable of running the universe and also pay attention to each and every detail in the life of each and every one of the billions of people on the earth is to dismiss His omniscience and omnipotence. It shrinks Him in our view.
Ours is the God who "counts the number of the stars; He calls them all my name" (Psalm 147:4) and we know there are billions of trillions of them! Doing a hop, skip and jump through Isaiah 40:12-26, we find that God "measured the waters in the palm of His hand, measured the heavens with the span (of His hand) and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, weighed the mountains in a scale and the hills in a balance...stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in...brings out the host (of the stars) by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing."
Notice, though, that this comes right after "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young" (verse 11).
He is the God who knows the number of your hairs. Yours! That in itself would be an incredible and ever-changing number, but then multiply that by the population on the earth and it gets really staggering!
Psalm 139:17, 18 "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with You."
Psalm 40:5 "Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."
As usual, this reminds me of a song, "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin:
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea,
Creation revealing Your majesty.
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring,
Every creature unique in the song that it sings;
All proclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God!
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim:
You are amazing God!
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night,
None can fathom.
Indescribable...
Incomparable, unchangeable,
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same,
You are amazing God.
You are amazing God.
Let's meditate on this fabulous, compassionate God. Let it percolate!
Thursday, 7 May 2020
Grace enough
My father-in-law was born in 1900 in south Russia. As a very young man, he was conscripted by the Russian army as an interpreter. (He knew 7 languages in his lifetime.) He saw atrocities he never told us about.
But there is one he spoke of.
In 1967, he and Mom attended the World Conference of Mennonites in the Netherlands. During an intermission, he looked across the auditorium and caught the eye of a somewhat familiar-looking man. They kept glancing at each other, eyes meeting frequently enough that Dad finally got up and went over to the man to see how they might know each other. It turns out that he was a man that Dad had seen tortured in Russia. He had had wood splinters jammed under his fingernails, and these were then set on fire. He had had fingernails pulled out with pliers. And more. During the whole thing, he only smiled at his tormentors.
Now decades later, Dad looked at the man's deformed fingers and asked him how he had been able to tolerate it. The man answered, "I had a promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that I would never be tested beyond what I could endure, and that there would be a way of escape so that I could bear it. And during all that torture, I never felt a thing! There was no pain! God was faithful to His promise."
I have sometimes wondered, as probably many of you have, whether I would be able to stand true to my faith if I were persecuted. I feel the answer is that God will give grace for every situation. I have grace that I need today, and He will not fail me in the times of testing which, I believe, will certainly come in our nation. Here's a quote from a Joyce Meyer devotional: "God will always give you the grace (favor and power) that you need, but you can't store it up and put it in a bank. Trust God for help one step at a time."
There's an old hymn called "He Giveth More Grace" and these are the lyrics:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater.
He sendeth more strength when the labours increase.
To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
We may all have heard grace defined as undeserved favour. It is that, certainly, but more. Vine's Expository Dictionary does define it as "that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard...lovingkindness, goodwill generally...in this respect there is stress on its freeness and universality, ...thus it is set in contrast with debt, ...with works, ...with law" but also it means "the power and equipment for ministry" as in, for instance, Ephesians 3:7: "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace give me through the working of His power".
But check out Romans 1:5 - There's grace for obedience.
Acts 20:32 - There's grace to build us up and give us an inheritance.
Romans 3:24 - His grace justifies us.
1 Corinthians 15:10 - It wasn't Paul, but God's grace doing the labour.
2 Corinthians 8:7 - Here Paul is referring to the grace of giving and generosity.
2 Corinthians 9:8 - Grace abounds to give us provision for every good work. Not just sufficient, but abundant also.
2 Corinthians 12:9 - Grace is related to His strength in us when we only have weakness.
2 Thessalonians 2:16 - We were given everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.
Titus 2:11-14 - Grace teaches us how to live.
Hebrews 13:9 - Grace strengthens our hearts.
And we can't leave out one of my all-time favourite verses, Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Grace helps when we need help.
In 1967, he and Mom attended the World Conference of Mennonites in the Netherlands. During an intermission, he looked across the auditorium and caught the eye of a somewhat familiar-looking man. They kept glancing at each other, eyes meeting frequently enough that Dad finally got up and went over to the man to see how they might know each other. It turns out that he was a man that Dad had seen tortured in Russia. He had had wood splinters jammed under his fingernails, and these were then set on fire. He had had fingernails pulled out with pliers. And more. During the whole thing, he only smiled at his tormentors.
Now decades later, Dad looked at the man's deformed fingers and asked him how he had been able to tolerate it. The man answered, "I had a promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that I would never be tested beyond what I could endure, and that there would be a way of escape so that I could bear it. And during all that torture, I never felt a thing! There was no pain! God was faithful to His promise."
I have sometimes wondered, as probably many of you have, whether I would be able to stand true to my faith if I were persecuted. I feel the answer is that God will give grace for every situation. I have grace that I need today, and He will not fail me in the times of testing which, I believe, will certainly come in our nation. Here's a quote from a Joyce Meyer devotional: "God will always give you the grace (favor and power) that you need, but you can't store it up and put it in a bank. Trust God for help one step at a time."
There's an old hymn called "He Giveth More Grace" and these are the lyrics:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater.
He sendeth more strength when the labours increase.
To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
We may all have heard grace defined as undeserved favour. It is that, certainly, but more. Vine's Expository Dictionary does define it as "that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard...lovingkindness, goodwill generally...in this respect there is stress on its freeness and universality, ...thus it is set in contrast with debt, ...with works, ...with law" but also it means "the power and equipment for ministry" as in, for instance, Ephesians 3:7: "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace give me through the working of His power".
But check out Romans 1:5 - There's grace for obedience.
Acts 20:32 - There's grace to build us up and give us an inheritance.
Romans 3:24 - His grace justifies us.
1 Corinthians 15:10 - It wasn't Paul, but God's grace doing the labour.
2 Corinthians 8:7 - Here Paul is referring to the grace of giving and generosity.
2 Corinthians 9:8 - Grace abounds to give us provision for every good work. Not just sufficient, but abundant also.
2 Corinthians 12:9 - Grace is related to His strength in us when we only have weakness.
2 Thessalonians 2:16 - We were given everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.
Titus 2:11-14 - Grace teaches us how to live.
Hebrews 13:9 - Grace strengthens our hearts.
And we can't leave out one of my all-time favourite verses, Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Grace helps when we need help.
Lean on His constant, over-the-top, more-than-enough supply of grace, my friends. He never fails us.
Saturday, 2 May 2020
Winning against our enemy
Not long ago, a friend of mine experienced a terrifying night experience. She was awakened and something just "felt weird" in her room. She was able to go back to sleep. She was awakened again by a noise in the room. She couldn't identify the source but spoke the name of Jesus against it. She went back to sleep again. She was awakened a third time by a voice and something tugging at her blanket. The room felt chilly. She felt absolute terror but, being a woman of faith and knowledge, she sat up in bed and started to rebuke this thing in the name of Jesus. She found it difficult to speak at first, but won out by praying out loud in the spirit and using the name of Jesus.
She shared this with a few of us who prayed with her. One of the other ladies emphasized James 4:7: "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." It doesn't say he might flee from you. It says he will.
I read a story about a British evangelist born in the mid 19th century, named Smith Wigglesworth. He woke one night and heard a constant creaking sound coming from the main floor of his house. He lit his candle and went down to investigate. He discovered a demon sitting in his rocking chair, rocking back and forth, causing the creaking sound. Mr. Wigglesworth said, "Oh, it's only you," and turned and went back to bed. Now, that would be truly insulting to a demon.
I think in our culture, there are two extremes in opinions about the devil and demons. On the one side we have those who don't believe there are any such creatures except possibly in some dark and heathen foreign land. On the other hand, we have those who see demons and a devil absolutely everywhere, and think that they are very powerful, almost equal to God in their power.
The truth is that demons are, of course, real. Jesus dealt with them on a regular basis. People report encounters with them to this day.
But, as always, the Bible, the Word of God, has to be our authority on what we believe about them.
And what does the Bible say? It tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but we do wrestle "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Notice what exactly we are fighting against, in verse 11. The King James Version tells us we have to "stand against the wiles of the devil" while the New American Standard and New International versions have us standing against his "schemes". The Amplified Bible has us "able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil." Apparently his fiery darts are wiles, schemes, strategies and deceits. Some of his names are liar and father of lies, accuser, and deceiver. The term "devil" literally means "slanderer."
But according to Colossians 2:15, he is a defeated foe: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross)." If Satan is disarmed, what does he have to fight with? Apparently, wiles, schemes, strategies and deceits. If we know the truth and put on our armour of truth, we are "able successfully to stand against" all his lies.
Philippians 2:9-11 says, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him (Jesus) and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." By using the authority of His name, we can enforce the victory that He has won over Satan.
Besides knowing the truth that the devil has already been defeated and that the name of Jesus is above every name, we also need to know that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). Also, "you are of God, little children, and have overcome (the spirits) because He who is in you is greater than than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
So, if you encounter an attack of the enemy, remember that (1) he was defeated and disarmed by Jesus in His finished work, (2) the name of Jesus is above absolutely every name, including every name that the devil introduces to cause you to doubt and fear, and (3) you have within you the Spirit of the resurrected victorious Lord whose love makes you more than a conqueror.
I realize this is a very long blog, but I want to include a song we first heard on an LP by Don Francisco sometime in the '80's. It's called "The Package"; here it is:
I was awakened in the morning by a knockin' on the door,
So I got up to see what all the knockin' was for.
There stood the devil with a box addressed to me.
He said, "Boy, I got something here I think you oughtta see."
I said, "I know that I don't want it if it's anything from you
'Cause I hate everything you say and don't like anything you do."
But then he pointed with his finger and he smiled kinda sly
'Cause the package said "From God" there in the corner 'way up high.
So I said, "If it's from God, then why'd He send it here by you?"
He said, "He always sends me when there's dirty work to do,
And this box is full of misery, poverty and shame
To perfect you through your suffering 'til you're worthy of His name."
Well, I'd been pretty patient but that last line took the cake!
I just couldn't take no more, I'd taken all that I could take
So I told him what I thought of him and all his filthy lies.
Then I fired the shot that got him right between the eyes...
I told him, "Jesus took my sickness, sin and poverty away.
You nailed it to the cross when you murdered Him that day.
The sufferin' that I do will be for love and not for shame;
I'm already worthy by His blood to wear His name.
And I know my Father loves me and has only good in store
So you just take that jive and get away from my front door!
You can write my name on packages until I'm ninety-two
But every single one I'm sending back to hell with you.
Go on, get out of here!"
She shared this with a few of us who prayed with her. One of the other ladies emphasized James 4:7: "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." It doesn't say he might flee from you. It says he will.
I read a story about a British evangelist born in the mid 19th century, named Smith Wigglesworth. He woke one night and heard a constant creaking sound coming from the main floor of his house. He lit his candle and went down to investigate. He discovered a demon sitting in his rocking chair, rocking back and forth, causing the creaking sound. Mr. Wigglesworth said, "Oh, it's only you," and turned and went back to bed. Now, that would be truly insulting to a demon.
I think in our culture, there are two extremes in opinions about the devil and demons. On the one side we have those who don't believe there are any such creatures except possibly in some dark and heathen foreign land. On the other hand, we have those who see demons and a devil absolutely everywhere, and think that they are very powerful, almost equal to God in their power.
The truth is that demons are, of course, real. Jesus dealt with them on a regular basis. People report encounters with them to this day.
But, as always, the Bible, the Word of God, has to be our authority on what we believe about them.
And what does the Bible say? It tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but we do wrestle "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Notice what exactly we are fighting against, in verse 11. The King James Version tells us we have to "stand against the wiles of the devil" while the New American Standard and New International versions have us standing against his "schemes". The Amplified Bible has us "able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil." Apparently his fiery darts are wiles, schemes, strategies and deceits. Some of his names are liar and father of lies, accuser, and deceiver. The term "devil" literally means "slanderer."
But according to Colossians 2:15, he is a defeated foe: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross)." If Satan is disarmed, what does he have to fight with? Apparently, wiles, schemes, strategies and deceits. If we know the truth and put on our armour of truth, we are "able successfully to stand against" all his lies.
Jesus didn't give in to him for a second, but always came back at him with the truth; "It is written, it is written."
Philippians 2:9-11 says, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him (Jesus) and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." By using the authority of His name, we can enforce the victory that He has won over Satan.
Besides knowing the truth that the devil has already been defeated and that the name of Jesus is above every name, we also need to know that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). Also, "you are of God, little children, and have overcome (the spirits) because He who is in you is greater than than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
So, if you encounter an attack of the enemy, remember that (1) he was defeated and disarmed by Jesus in His finished work, (2) the name of Jesus is above absolutely every name, including every name that the devil introduces to cause you to doubt and fear, and (3) you have within you the Spirit of the resurrected victorious Lord whose love makes you more than a conqueror.
I realize this is a very long blog, but I want to include a song we first heard on an LP by Don Francisco sometime in the '80's. It's called "The Package"; here it is:
I was awakened in the morning by a knockin' on the door,
So I got up to see what all the knockin' was for.
There stood the devil with a box addressed to me.
He said, "Boy, I got something here I think you oughtta see."
I said, "I know that I don't want it if it's anything from you
'Cause I hate everything you say and don't like anything you do."
But then he pointed with his finger and he smiled kinda sly
'Cause the package said "From God" there in the corner 'way up high.
So I said, "If it's from God, then why'd He send it here by you?"
He said, "He always sends me when there's dirty work to do,
And this box is full of misery, poverty and shame
To perfect you through your suffering 'til you're worthy of His name."
Well, I'd been pretty patient but that last line took the cake!
I just couldn't take no more, I'd taken all that I could take
So I told him what I thought of him and all his filthy lies.
Then I fired the shot that got him right between the eyes...
I told him, "Jesus took my sickness, sin and poverty away.
You nailed it to the cross when you murdered Him that day.
The sufferin' that I do will be for love and not for shame;
I'm already worthy by His blood to wear His name.
And I know my Father loves me and has only good in store
So you just take that jive and get away from my front door!
You can write my name on packages until I'm ninety-two
But every single one I'm sending back to hell with you.
Go on, get out of here!"
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