January 14, 1992
The propane tank rental was due but I didn’t have the $50 necessary to avert repossession. I had been struggling to earn a living sewing and selling wildlife paintings so I could stay home to support my two small children. It was in this narrow place, a new Christian alone against threatening poverty, that God taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
Prior to the propane tank crisis, I had realized my sinfulness and came to the Lord in humiliation. Mortified by some of the things I had done, I had a deep desire to please Him but I knew I could not earn eternal life — that is a gift. Grateful for it, along with the forgiveness He offered, I sought to become all He wanted and intended I should be.
He showed me His promise regarding the daily concerns of life: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. These things referred to food, clothing and other needs (not greeds). At that point, my luxuries were in a rather barren fridge, hanging in an nearly empty closet, and sitting out in the yard in a bullet-shaped silver fuel tank.
At this point, I’d not looked around and noticed there were other people prospering while I was not. Had I done that, I may have been angry at God and needed to read Psalms 37: “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way... for evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.”
Nevertheless, verse 16 of that Psalm was a truth God wanted me to learn: “The little that a righteous person has is better than the riches of many wicked.” I was learning to appreciate the simple necessities. Even though my meager income only allowed $7 a week for groceries, God saw fit to fill my freezer through the generosity of others who knew Him. He showed me I did not need to “be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine I would be satisfied” (Psalms 37:19).
In the years since those tough early days of my Christian walk, I have seldom if ever worried about having enough. God taught that lesson well — and honored His promises. My husband was deeply in debt when we were married but we paid off that debt, by the grace of God. Later, when he became a Christian, God taught Him that if he would trust the Lord and be generous with what God had given, God would continue to meet every need. We have learned that we cannot out-give God. Whatever we do to help out someone in need, God pours in the supply.
Sometimes I have wondered if this abundance will last... and God always takes me back to the lesson. He supplies all our NEEDS, according to His riches. With the Psalmist, I can say, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread” (37:25).
The principle of Matthew 6:33 is simple: As His children seek Him (not wealth), and seek His righteousness (not some exalted human goodness but the goodness that comes from a deep relationship with Jesus Christ), He will take care of all our needs (again, not greeds).
The propane tank? Shortly after the bill arrived so did a letter from a woman I had never met. She wanted me to paint a portrait of her dog and cat. Not an unusual request but what she included with her order was very unusual. It has never happened before or since. She sent what she thought would be an appropriate payment — in advance! The amount was $52.50, enough for the pressing needs — the tank rental, and a canvas on which to put the paint!
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
A New Thing .............. Parables 299
January 7, 1992
A farmer in the Moose Jaw area has invented a new type of rod weeder. He says it will do in three days what once took sixteen with older equipment. Whether or not his boast is accurate, he won’t go back to outmoded methods. He spent half his life doing things that maybe worked but now he has discovered a better way and no one is going to convince him to change and go back.
Human beings are inventive sorts. Some say necessity is inventions’s mother but sometimes new things are given birth by our desire to work quicker, easier, or cheaper. Perhaps a longing for beauty tugs at our coattails and we paint pictures, embroider pillows and write poetry. Whatever the reasons behind our inventions, much of that creative ability was built in when the Creator God invented male and female in His own image.
Genesis was not the end of God’s invention of new things, however. When a few Israelite men rebelled against Him, “...the LORD created a new thing — the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up... they went down alive into the pit...” While onlookers gaped in terror, God used the first earthquake to demonstrate the seriousness of sin. Did this new invention do the trick?
No. While the earthquake judgment did rid the nation of some rebels, it did not bring the children of God into submission. It was set aside for another method, an inventive idea also called a new thing, a “road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). This was figurative language for a promise of a way out of their difficulties, a promise of mercy.
Like children who are first spanked, then hugged, the Israelites enjoyed the hugs far more than the earthquakes, but they still rebelled against their Father. One would wonder why God did not go back to the former plan and just open the earth and swallow them up, but mercy won over judgment. He unfolded still another plan, another new thing.
Earthquakes nor even God’s promise had no effect on sinful people so He fashioned a saving device whereby rebellious hearts could be changed. He knew we ourselves could not change, even if we wanted to. But He could make us new. Coming in a cradle, culminating in a Cross, this new thing — God in human flesh — was the invention par excellence, God’s coup de grace. What the law could not do, what judgment and wrath could not do, what promises of mercy could not do — the Son of God did. All who desire a new thing may put their faith in Him and, by the power of God, “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (Corinthians 5:17).
Like the farmer and his new weeder, there is no reverting back. Those who are under grace never need to fear the wrath of God because all the condemnation we deserved was taken at the Cross. Jesus bore the penalty of sin for us. He warns us “not turn back to folly,” but the same verse promises He “will speak peace To His people and to His saints.”
There is danger for those who think that because God is not opening the ground and swallowing up sinners they can continue in sin and never face His wrath. However, John 3:36 says those “... who do not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Certainly the expression of His full wrath is withheld for now — He is not willing that any should perish. But someday His wrath will be revealed from heaven (Romans 1) and be poured out upon the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 5:6) who will be “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
It will come when people are so accustomed to the mercy of God that they will think wrath is a “new thing”... really it is not — it is simply what a Holy God should have done about our sin all along.
A farmer in the Moose Jaw area has invented a new type of rod weeder. He says it will do in three days what once took sixteen with older equipment. Whether or not his boast is accurate, he won’t go back to outmoded methods. He spent half his life doing things that maybe worked but now he has discovered a better way and no one is going to convince him to change and go back.
Human beings are inventive sorts. Some say necessity is inventions’s mother but sometimes new things are given birth by our desire to work quicker, easier, or cheaper. Perhaps a longing for beauty tugs at our coattails and we paint pictures, embroider pillows and write poetry. Whatever the reasons behind our inventions, much of that creative ability was built in when the Creator God invented male and female in His own image.
Genesis was not the end of God’s invention of new things, however. When a few Israelite men rebelled against Him, “...the LORD created a new thing — the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up... they went down alive into the pit...” While onlookers gaped in terror, God used the first earthquake to demonstrate the seriousness of sin. Did this new invention do the trick?
No. While the earthquake judgment did rid the nation of some rebels, it did not bring the children of God into submission. It was set aside for another method, an inventive idea also called a new thing, a “road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). This was figurative language for a promise of a way out of their difficulties, a promise of mercy.
Like children who are first spanked, then hugged, the Israelites enjoyed the hugs far more than the earthquakes, but they still rebelled against their Father. One would wonder why God did not go back to the former plan and just open the earth and swallow them up, but mercy won over judgment. He unfolded still another plan, another new thing.
Earthquakes nor even God’s promise had no effect on sinful people so He fashioned a saving device whereby rebellious hearts could be changed. He knew we ourselves could not change, even if we wanted to. But He could make us new. Coming in a cradle, culminating in a Cross, this new thing — God in human flesh — was the invention par excellence, God’s coup de grace. What the law could not do, what judgment and wrath could not do, what promises of mercy could not do — the Son of God did. All who desire a new thing may put their faith in Him and, by the power of God, “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (Corinthians 5:17).
Like the farmer and his new weeder, there is no reverting back. Those who are under grace never need to fear the wrath of God because all the condemnation we deserved was taken at the Cross. Jesus bore the penalty of sin for us. He warns us “not turn back to folly,” but the same verse promises He “will speak peace To His people and to His saints.”
There is danger for those who think that because God is not opening the ground and swallowing up sinners they can continue in sin and never face His wrath. However, John 3:36 says those “... who do not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Certainly the expression of His full wrath is withheld for now — He is not willing that any should perish. But someday His wrath will be revealed from heaven (Romans 1) and be poured out upon the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 5:6) who will be “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
It will come when people are so accustomed to the mercy of God that they will think wrath is a “new thing”... really it is not — it is simply what a Holy God should have done about our sin all along.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Abundant Gifts for You .............. Parables 298
December 24, 1991
For many, this is the happiest time of year. Family gathers and warm memories are shared. Happy celebrations around the piano singing, around the table laughing. Gifts opened and squeals of delight echo through the house and Christmas is a time of abundance.
For some, this is the saddest time of year. Perhaps memories are not heart-warming; a Christmas past brought heartache. Perhaps celebrations are not happy; a family member is addicted to spirits of a chemical variety. Perhaps gift-giving brings no joy; hard times or foolish spending robbed the children of their toys. And those who yearn for an abundant Christmas spend it in physical, mental and emotional poverty.
The occasion is the birth of Christ (remember?) and the party is in His honor. Will the fact that the party has been ruined a few times destroy forever that abundance longed for and yet seemingly so out of reach? Or does the Christ child, now a resurrected and exalted King, still have a gift unopened for you?
For those who mourn and cannot applaud His birth, Jesus reaches out across time, across a million scarred and ruined holidays and cries, “This thief came to steal and kill and destroy... but I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly.”
Abundant life. Anyone who searches the Word of God looking for more presents, a bigger tree, a nicer car, a larger wardrobe, a fancier house, will not find that kind of abundance. Jesus says anything that rots, mildews, or rusts is not worthy of our Christmas list. He has far more valuable treasures in His “santa sack”.
The first parcel is labeled “PARDON.” He offers it with this word: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him... for He will abundantly pardon.” The gift tag is made out “To __________”, so whoever wants this parcel can fill in their name and help themselves.
The second gift is labeled “RENEWAL.” This abundance is for those whose lives have been scarred by their own foolishness, at Christmas time and otherwise. When they fill out the tag on the first gift, this is what they receive: “...not by your good works, but according to His mercy He saves you, through washing you with new life and renewing you by the Holy Spirit... whom He poured out on you abundantly through Jesus Christ your Savior.” This Gift-giver trades His New Life for your old memories.
The next parcel is labeled “SATISFACTION” for He knows we need more than tinsel and glitter. “They (those who receive the first two parcels) are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house, and He gives them drink from the river of His pleasures.”
Whether the tree be buried under a great mound of worldly treasures or barren as a greedy man’s heart, the Lord’s gift of satisfaction doesn’t depend on cash flow. Furthermore, it also is free!
Is there any more? Yes, for those memories and miseries that threaten joy all year round, He offers still more surprise-packages. But these have no label and no one knows what is in them until they help themselves. Here is their promise: “He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us....”
Whatever we ask for, whatever we can imagine that would make Christmas and all of life wonderful... He is able to do more, exceedingly abundantly more. And as we turn away from our rotting, rusting treasure and allow Him to give us His gifts, we find the last and most lasting parcel there for us.
It is called “HOPE,”the promise of “an entrance supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
With that, He vows someday the celebration will be totally without tears. For now, we can bring the sorrows of our celebrations to Jesus and let Him turn every one into abundance.
For many, this is the happiest time of year. Family gathers and warm memories are shared. Happy celebrations around the piano singing, around the table laughing. Gifts opened and squeals of delight echo through the house and Christmas is a time of abundance.
For some, this is the saddest time of year. Perhaps memories are not heart-warming; a Christmas past brought heartache. Perhaps celebrations are not happy; a family member is addicted to spirits of a chemical variety. Perhaps gift-giving brings no joy; hard times or foolish spending robbed the children of their toys. And those who yearn for an abundant Christmas spend it in physical, mental and emotional poverty.
The occasion is the birth of Christ (remember?) and the party is in His honor. Will the fact that the party has been ruined a few times destroy forever that abundance longed for and yet seemingly so out of reach? Or does the Christ child, now a resurrected and exalted King, still have a gift unopened for you?
For those who mourn and cannot applaud His birth, Jesus reaches out across time, across a million scarred and ruined holidays and cries, “This thief came to steal and kill and destroy... but I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly.”
Abundant life. Anyone who searches the Word of God looking for more presents, a bigger tree, a nicer car, a larger wardrobe, a fancier house, will not find that kind of abundance. Jesus says anything that rots, mildews, or rusts is not worthy of our Christmas list. He has far more valuable treasures in His “santa sack”.
The first parcel is labeled “PARDON.” He offers it with this word: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him... for He will abundantly pardon.” The gift tag is made out “To __________”, so whoever wants this parcel can fill in their name and help themselves.
The second gift is labeled “RENEWAL.” This abundance is for those whose lives have been scarred by their own foolishness, at Christmas time and otherwise. When they fill out the tag on the first gift, this is what they receive: “...not by your good works, but according to His mercy He saves you, through washing you with new life and renewing you by the Holy Spirit... whom He poured out on you abundantly through Jesus Christ your Savior.” This Gift-giver trades His New Life for your old memories.
The next parcel is labeled “SATISFACTION” for He knows we need more than tinsel and glitter. “They (those who receive the first two parcels) are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house, and He gives them drink from the river of His pleasures.”
Whether the tree be buried under a great mound of worldly treasures or barren as a greedy man’s heart, the Lord’s gift of satisfaction doesn’t depend on cash flow. Furthermore, it also is free!
Is there any more? Yes, for those memories and miseries that threaten joy all year round, He offers still more surprise-packages. But these have no label and no one knows what is in them until they help themselves. Here is their promise: “He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us....”
Whatever we ask for, whatever we can imagine that would make Christmas and all of life wonderful... He is able to do more, exceedingly abundantly more. And as we turn away from our rotting, rusting treasure and allow Him to give us His gifts, we find the last and most lasting parcel there for us.
It is called “HOPE,”the promise of “an entrance supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
With that, He vows someday the celebration will be totally without tears. For now, we can bring the sorrows of our celebrations to Jesus and let Him turn every one into abundance.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Golfing and Grace .............. Parables 297
December 17, 1991
The fourteenth hole at Hillside Golf Club has a creek meandering through, first in front of an elevated tee box, then along the right side and back across the fairway just before the green. For some reason, my golf balls always think they are ducks when we play the fourteenth hole.
That fourteenth hole confirms the golf pros who tell me that this is a game of concentration. Obviously one has to ignore the water and concentrate on where the golf ball should go, but after a few direct hits into the drink, it is tough to put that hazard out of your mind, even while taking aim at something a little less liquid. Personally, the harder I try to not think about the water, the more my ball is apt to head straight for it.
The first time we played that hole, my husband laughed with me as my ball sailed into the creek. Then he hit two in a row — both splashing in the same spot — right in front of a mallard duck. After a few more rounds on the back nine, it didn’t take a calculator to figure that our golf ball budget would last longer if we just skipped the fourteenth.
However, avoiding the tough holes will not improve my aim. Nor will wishful thinking do anything for my back swing. Concentrated effort and continual practice are necessary. Even at that, I’ll never be a golf pro.
Sometimes I feel the same about the flaws in my character as I do about my performance at the fourteenth hole. If certain situations could be avoided, maybe no one would notice those shortcomings, but life is not like that. Even on the golf course, you wind up running over other people to get around the parts you don’t like. So I must find another solution.
In golf, the best answer is hours at the driving range, yet for players like me, there is no guarantee that the next time I swing my driver, the ball will go where I want it to. Thank God, His remedy is a little different for character flaws.
Instead of trying to change myself, God promises to get me to my goal if I will only just LOOK and keep on LOOKING at the target. Since flawless character is the goal, of course that target is Jesus Christ. He is the “bull’s eye,” the perfect mark, the total hope and aspiration of anyone trying to live to please God.
Obviously, we must rely on God’s power to become like Him. Our part includes complete commitment, refusing to be like we once were yet allowing Him to renew our minds and change our lives (Romans 12:1,2). Key to change is total honesty before Him, not hiding our sin or pretending to be what we are not. (That would be like trying to hide a hook or slice — what a joke!)
And here is where the lesson of the fourteenth hole comes in: we must concentrate on the target... because He promises that when we do, we will be “transformed into the same image from glory to glory... by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
That does not mean it is easy. Just try thinking about God for 60 seconds without losing concentration. Distractions easily draw away our attention and our aim, and we find ourselves hitting something far less than the perfect target of Christlikeness. If it were not for His grace, I’m sure none would ever come even remotely close.
Someone once told me it was better to aim at the stars and hit the woodpile, than to aim at the woodpile and hit your foot. It doesn’t work in golf. Aiming at the pin and hitting the water is not any better than aiming at the water and hitting the water. But aim is important in ironing out those flaws. When Jesus is the target, whatever I hit is an improvement over how I would live without Him.
The fourteenth hole at Hillside Golf Club has a creek meandering through, first in front of an elevated tee box, then along the right side and back across the fairway just before the green. For some reason, my golf balls always think they are ducks when we play the fourteenth hole.
That fourteenth hole confirms the golf pros who tell me that this is a game of concentration. Obviously one has to ignore the water and concentrate on where the golf ball should go, but after a few direct hits into the drink, it is tough to put that hazard out of your mind, even while taking aim at something a little less liquid. Personally, the harder I try to not think about the water, the more my ball is apt to head straight for it.
The first time we played that hole, my husband laughed with me as my ball sailed into the creek. Then he hit two in a row — both splashing in the same spot — right in front of a mallard duck. After a few more rounds on the back nine, it didn’t take a calculator to figure that our golf ball budget would last longer if we just skipped the fourteenth.
However, avoiding the tough holes will not improve my aim. Nor will wishful thinking do anything for my back swing. Concentrated effort and continual practice are necessary. Even at that, I’ll never be a golf pro.
Sometimes I feel the same about the flaws in my character as I do about my performance at the fourteenth hole. If certain situations could be avoided, maybe no one would notice those shortcomings, but life is not like that. Even on the golf course, you wind up running over other people to get around the parts you don’t like. So I must find another solution.
In golf, the best answer is hours at the driving range, yet for players like me, there is no guarantee that the next time I swing my driver, the ball will go where I want it to. Thank God, His remedy is a little different for character flaws.
Instead of trying to change myself, God promises to get me to my goal if I will only just LOOK and keep on LOOKING at the target. Since flawless character is the goal, of course that target is Jesus Christ. He is the “bull’s eye,” the perfect mark, the total hope and aspiration of anyone trying to live to please God.
Obviously, we must rely on God’s power to become like Him. Our part includes complete commitment, refusing to be like we once were yet allowing Him to renew our minds and change our lives (Romans 12:1,2). Key to change is total honesty before Him, not hiding our sin or pretending to be what we are not. (That would be like trying to hide a hook or slice — what a joke!)
And here is where the lesson of the fourteenth hole comes in: we must concentrate on the target... because He promises that when we do, we will be “transformed into the same image from glory to glory... by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
That does not mean it is easy. Just try thinking about God for 60 seconds without losing concentration. Distractions easily draw away our attention and our aim, and we find ourselves hitting something far less than the perfect target of Christlikeness. If it were not for His grace, I’m sure none would ever come even remotely close.
Someone once told me it was better to aim at the stars and hit the woodpile, than to aim at the woodpile and hit your foot. It doesn’t work in golf. Aiming at the pin and hitting the water is not any better than aiming at the water and hitting the water. But aim is important in ironing out those flaws. When Jesus is the target, whatever I hit is an improvement over how I would live without Him.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Establishing good habits .............. Parables 296
December 10, 1991
Is it ever difficult to start an exercise program in December after giving it up in late September. All summer and on into fall my husband and I biked, fished and played golf, but after the cold weather came, it is so nice to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book. Who wants to exercise!
But before long, we notice the effects. Stiff joints and aching muscles, not being able to bend as easily as this summer — all add up to one conclusion — use it or lose it. So we strive at slim and trim.
Actually, the principle is the same in our spiritual lives. We have to decide how we will live and then work at it — or we rapidly get flabby. Yet making the choice is only the first step, and by far the easiest one! Doing it is the difficult part. Some persistent bad habits just continually hang us up; we can’t seem to get the habits established. Godliness, like fitness, must be continually worked at or it definitely eludes us.
Not only that, stubborn bad habits make us feel helpless. Sometimes those wrong things seem to take over and almost become obsessions with us. We can even assume our lives are out of control and there is nothing we can do to change. After all, we try so hard to say “no” to that sin, to simply stop doing it, but in spite of good intentions, we seem such slaves to it.
But is that biblical thinking? Is it possible to be out of control? Perhaps the real problem is simply focusing on the wrong issue. God tells us what we are supposed to DO as well as what we are to stop doing. He wants us to take our focus off the negatives... by doing the positives. For instance, God says tell the truth; don’t lie. Love our spouse; don’t be unfaithful. Work with our hands; don’t steal. Give thanks to Him; don’t jest or talk filthy. Love our enemies; don’t seek revenge.
So when sinful habits seem out of control, this is where the use-it-or-lose-it principle comes in. We need to ask God to help us concentrate on the DO’S. It is only by spending our energy there do we have any hope of victory over the DO NOT’S. In fact, like unused muscles, bad habits can atrophy — simply die — from lack of exercise.
It works the opposite way too. Those who refuses to tell the truth find lying easier and easier. After a time, their capacity to tell the truth becomes atrophied and lying develops strength to control their life. In the same way, anyone who refuses to love their spouse finds straying easier and easier. The capacity to love becomes atrophied — and marital treachery develops a strength that controls their life. Most compulsive or obsessive behavior is the same.
In contrast, a commitment to God calls for the exercise of godly virtues such as love, truth and faithfulness. As these things develop, sinful habits begin to wither up and lose their strength to govern our lives. They also lose their importance because the new habit is so rich and rewarding there is no desire or appetite for the old.
Simply put, God will help us overcome dominating sinful patterns by urging us to give extra-special attention to that sin’s opposite behavior. He says “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by doing good.”
Of course sinful attitudes and actions cannot be completely ignored, denied or repressed. They must be confessed and forsaken as we use the new nature we have been given to prevent spiritual atrophy.
Yes, getting on the exercise bike takes much determination. My muscles ache and protest. Yet the resulting strength and endurance will be worth it, and a good reminder that the habit of obedience makes more obedience a little easier. With that gain, sin atrophies and loses much of its appeal.
Is it ever difficult to start an exercise program in December after giving it up in late September. All summer and on into fall my husband and I biked, fished and played golf, but after the cold weather came, it is so nice to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book. Who wants to exercise!
But before long, we notice the effects. Stiff joints and aching muscles, not being able to bend as easily as this summer — all add up to one conclusion — use it or lose it. So we strive at slim and trim.
Actually, the principle is the same in our spiritual lives. We have to decide how we will live and then work at it — or we rapidly get flabby. Yet making the choice is only the first step, and by far the easiest one! Doing it is the difficult part. Some persistent bad habits just continually hang us up; we can’t seem to get the habits established. Godliness, like fitness, must be continually worked at or it definitely eludes us.
Not only that, stubborn bad habits make us feel helpless. Sometimes those wrong things seem to take over and almost become obsessions with us. We can even assume our lives are out of control and there is nothing we can do to change. After all, we try so hard to say “no” to that sin, to simply stop doing it, but in spite of good intentions, we seem such slaves to it.
But is that biblical thinking? Is it possible to be out of control? Perhaps the real problem is simply focusing on the wrong issue. God tells us what we are supposed to DO as well as what we are to stop doing. He wants us to take our focus off the negatives... by doing the positives. For instance, God says tell the truth; don’t lie. Love our spouse; don’t be unfaithful. Work with our hands; don’t steal. Give thanks to Him; don’t jest or talk filthy. Love our enemies; don’t seek revenge.
So when sinful habits seem out of control, this is where the use-it-or-lose-it principle comes in. We need to ask God to help us concentrate on the DO’S. It is only by spending our energy there do we have any hope of victory over the DO NOT’S. In fact, like unused muscles, bad habits can atrophy — simply die — from lack of exercise.
It works the opposite way too. Those who refuses to tell the truth find lying easier and easier. After a time, their capacity to tell the truth becomes atrophied and lying develops strength to control their life. In the same way, anyone who refuses to love their spouse finds straying easier and easier. The capacity to love becomes atrophied — and marital treachery develops a strength that controls their life. Most compulsive or obsessive behavior is the same.
In contrast, a commitment to God calls for the exercise of godly virtues such as love, truth and faithfulness. As these things develop, sinful habits begin to wither up and lose their strength to govern our lives. They also lose their importance because the new habit is so rich and rewarding there is no desire or appetite for the old.
Simply put, God will help us overcome dominating sinful patterns by urging us to give extra-special attention to that sin’s opposite behavior. He says “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by doing good.”
Of course sinful attitudes and actions cannot be completely ignored, denied or repressed. They must be confessed and forsaken as we use the new nature we have been given to prevent spiritual atrophy.
Yes, getting on the exercise bike takes much determination. My muscles ache and protest. Yet the resulting strength and endurance will be worth it, and a good reminder that the habit of obedience makes more obedience a little easier. With that gain, sin atrophies and loses much of its appeal.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Making Plans .............. Parables 295
November 26, 1991
Last week’s mail brought a new catalog full of planning calendars designed especially for people with so many business appointments and activities they cannot keep track of them any other way. For a fee, one day, one week, or one month can be seen at a glance or at the turn of a page.
Personally, I find these calendars terrific for a homemaker-student-writer too. No matter how little or how much is on my agenda, it is far easier to remember if it is written in my book instead of stored somewhere in my brain. Besides, if most of my “plan-to” items are not committed to paper but merely left to good intentions, they somehow never get accomplished. Planning to do them – and writing down the plan – makes the thing somewhat more certain.
However, the Bible has a thing or two to say about planning. One statement goes something like this: “Hey, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,’ don’t you realize you have no idea what will happen tomorrow...?’”
James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote that. Was he suggesting that Christians should never make any plans? After all, if we have no idea what tomorrow will bring, why plan?
If that is what James means, I’m in trouble. One of my college classes is Principles of Administration and I have a major assignment due next week. It requires that I make a Five-Year Plan for my life. I must use a chart of some sort, base it on a purpose statement, outline various objectives, add goals for reaching those objectives, and include standards by which I can measure whether or not the plan is carried out. This assignment is a challenge. I have spent the past year essentially living one day at a time. Now I MUST think ahead, and in detail.
First, I need to settle the issue James raises about planning. The rest of the passage says “our lives are like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away,” like a puff of smoke. In other words, most of us are relatively insignificant in the overall scheme of things, at least as far as our own plans go. I might go somewhere, buy, sell, and make a profit, but when measured by God in light of eternity, plans that are designed to profit only me are really not very important – at least not for long and not to anyone else but me.
James then adds; “Instead (of making your own plans) you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”
James is not putting down buying, selling, or make a profit... he is just pointing out that if God says to do otherwise, we are foolish to make such plans. He says ignoring His will in favor of our own is “boasting in arrogance and all such boasting is evil” (verse 16).
So what can I include in my five-year plan that will not put me out of the will of God? James gives a final clue in verse 17: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
James says acts of goodness must be included in the plan. I already know WHY they must be planned: unless I think ahead and prepare to do unselfish things for others, my schedule will rapidly fill up with activity designed for me, for my profit only. Unselfish goodness is left out, also vanishing like a puff of smoke.
So my professor in Principles of Administration is wise. He did not misinterpret James. Instead, he has thought of a way to help those who take his class to make the first step towards godly living – planning it in advance.
Last week’s mail brought a new catalog full of planning calendars designed especially for people with so many business appointments and activities they cannot keep track of them any other way. For a fee, one day, one week, or one month can be seen at a glance or at the turn of a page.
Personally, I find these calendars terrific for a homemaker-student-writer too. No matter how little or how much is on my agenda, it is far easier to remember if it is written in my book instead of stored somewhere in my brain. Besides, if most of my “plan-to” items are not committed to paper but merely left to good intentions, they somehow never get accomplished. Planning to do them – and writing down the plan – makes the thing somewhat more certain.
However, the Bible has a thing or two to say about planning. One statement goes something like this: “Hey, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,’ don’t you realize you have no idea what will happen tomorrow...?’”
James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote that. Was he suggesting that Christians should never make any plans? After all, if we have no idea what tomorrow will bring, why plan?
If that is what James means, I’m in trouble. One of my college classes is Principles of Administration and I have a major assignment due next week. It requires that I make a Five-Year Plan for my life. I must use a chart of some sort, base it on a purpose statement, outline various objectives, add goals for reaching those objectives, and include standards by which I can measure whether or not the plan is carried out. This assignment is a challenge. I have spent the past year essentially living one day at a time. Now I MUST think ahead, and in detail.
First, I need to settle the issue James raises about planning. The rest of the passage says “our lives are like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away,” like a puff of smoke. In other words, most of us are relatively insignificant in the overall scheme of things, at least as far as our own plans go. I might go somewhere, buy, sell, and make a profit, but when measured by God in light of eternity, plans that are designed to profit only me are really not very important – at least not for long and not to anyone else but me.
James then adds; “Instead (of making your own plans) you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”
James is not putting down buying, selling, or make a profit... he is just pointing out that if God says to do otherwise, we are foolish to make such plans. He says ignoring His will in favor of our own is “boasting in arrogance and all such boasting is evil” (verse 16).
So what can I include in my five-year plan that will not put me out of the will of God? James gives a final clue in verse 17: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
James says acts of goodness must be included in the plan. I already know WHY they must be planned: unless I think ahead and prepare to do unselfish things for others, my schedule will rapidly fill up with activity designed for me, for my profit only. Unselfish goodness is left out, also vanishing like a puff of smoke.
So my professor in Principles of Administration is wise. He did not misinterpret James. Instead, he has thought of a way to help those who take his class to make the first step towards godly living – planning it in advance.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Can’t understand the Bible? .............. Parables 294
November 19, 1991
“The Bible? It’s just a book... it doesn’t do anything for me... I’ve read it and it doesn’t make sense. Even the parts I do understand don’t seem relevant for my life.”
Ever feel like that? Then try this: make a list of all the things you qualify for, such as Workman’s compensation, Family Allowance, Social Assistance, Retirement Pension, singing in operas, performing brain surgery, writing a book in Gaelic, becoming president of Peru, paying child’s fare for a bus ride, owning property, feeling warm sunshine on your face, drinking clear water, making a baby smile, signing your name, hearing a sparrow chirp, feeling the cool fall air, the Bible...
No kidding, a person has to be qualified for understanding the Bible; and not everyone is eligible, but anyone can be!
Before assuming you go off and join a church or go to a seminary, that’s not it. The qualifications are related to a covenant or contract or an agreement – made in two parts called the Old Testament and the New. It is between God and all those who put their trust in Him.
That partly explains why some people see nothing for themselves in the Bible. Without faith in God, the Bible is not particularly addressed to them. They are not participants in the covenant. They just don’t qualify.
Furthermore, note what the Apostle Paul says: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped to do good works.” Notice again, the Bible is not given to just anyone or is it profitable to just anyone.
But does a person have to trust Jesus Christ and become a man (or woman) of God before getting something out of Scripture? Of course not. If that was the case, no one would ever have biblical faith. “Faith comes by hearing... the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). People without faith and without a covenant relationship can receive faith only through hearing His Word. (The word “hearing” means listening with the intention of acting upon what is heard.)
So to really qualify for getting something out of the Bible, one must trust in God, become a man (or woman) of God, and read it with a view to obeying it. Then God will give understanding. Mind you, this is a progressive thing. It begins small and grows as one obeys. After all, God is not obligated to reveal more truth to those who reject what they already know.
Lest that seems unusual, we could think of it this way: because of our general rebellious attitude towards God and our persistence in running our own life apart from His direction, there is little reason why He should allow anyone to understand this timeless book. Our sin not only blinds our minds to spiritual realities written therein, but it also disqualifies us from the privilege of communing with the One who authored it.
But God shows mercy. Anyone who comes honestly to His Word, however unenlightened, will find Him faithful to help them be qualified to understand it. In other words, the person without a relationship with Him can ask for it; the person looking for faith or truth can admit their lack and ask for it; and those whose lives are full of disobedience can also ask – and be forgiven.
Qualifying for financial assistance, positions of prominence, special privileges – all those things may be important, but when anyone is qualified by the grace of God to interact with Him through reading and understanding His special covenant, they ought to feel deeply honored and deeply humbled. Such a qualification is indeed a blessing and a privilege.
“The Bible? It’s just a book... it doesn’t do anything for me... I’ve read it and it doesn’t make sense. Even the parts I do understand don’t seem relevant for my life.”
Ever feel like that? Then try this: make a list of all the things you qualify for, such as Workman’s compensation, Family Allowance, Social Assistance, Retirement Pension, singing in operas, performing brain surgery, writing a book in Gaelic, becoming president of Peru, paying child’s fare for a bus ride, owning property, feeling warm sunshine on your face, drinking clear water, making a baby smile, signing your name, hearing a sparrow chirp, feeling the cool fall air, the Bible...
No kidding, a person has to be qualified for understanding the Bible; and not everyone is eligible, but anyone can be!
Before assuming you go off and join a church or go to a seminary, that’s not it. The qualifications are related to a covenant or contract or an agreement – made in two parts called the Old Testament and the New. It is between God and all those who put their trust in Him.
That partly explains why some people see nothing for themselves in the Bible. Without faith in God, the Bible is not particularly addressed to them. They are not participants in the covenant. They just don’t qualify.
Furthermore, note what the Apostle Paul says: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped to do good works.” Notice again, the Bible is not given to just anyone or is it profitable to just anyone.
But does a person have to trust Jesus Christ and become a man (or woman) of God before getting something out of Scripture? Of course not. If that was the case, no one would ever have biblical faith. “Faith comes by hearing... the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). People without faith and without a covenant relationship can receive faith only through hearing His Word. (The word “hearing” means listening with the intention of acting upon what is heard.)
So to really qualify for getting something out of the Bible, one must trust in God, become a man (or woman) of God, and read it with a view to obeying it. Then God will give understanding. Mind you, this is a progressive thing. It begins small and grows as one obeys. After all, God is not obligated to reveal more truth to those who reject what they already know.
Lest that seems unusual, we could think of it this way: because of our general rebellious attitude towards God and our persistence in running our own life apart from His direction, there is little reason why He should allow anyone to understand this timeless book. Our sin not only blinds our minds to spiritual realities written therein, but it also disqualifies us from the privilege of communing with the One who authored it.
But God shows mercy. Anyone who comes honestly to His Word, however unenlightened, will find Him faithful to help them be qualified to understand it. In other words, the person without a relationship with Him can ask for it; the person looking for faith or truth can admit their lack and ask for it; and those whose lives are full of disobedience can also ask – and be forgiven.
Qualifying for financial assistance, positions of prominence, special privileges – all those things may be important, but when anyone is qualified by the grace of God to interact with Him through reading and understanding His special covenant, they ought to feel deeply honored and deeply humbled. Such a qualification is indeed a blessing and a privilege.
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