“Nothing is too difficult for You”

“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You”. Jeremiah 32:17

God had issued to Jeremiah a command which verse 25 shows would have seemed, to many, quite strange. Jeremiah was to buy real estate in the promised land even though Jerusalem, its capital, was about to be overrun by Nebuchadnezzar’s army. And the point of the purchase was to provide a testimony that, “although” God “[was] about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon,” yet “houses and fields and vineyards [would] again be bought in this land.”

And, as Jeremiah pondered that promise (and after he had obeyed the command!), he spoke to God in those marvelous words: “Nothing is too difficult for You”! And the fact that Jeremiah said that is evidence that, without the eyes of faith, the promise of God would have sounded “too difficult” indeed! But Jeremiah recalls that God “made the heavens and the earth”, and therefore understands and believes that “nothing is too difficult for” the Lord!

Marvelous! And true!

Do you believe it? And can you pray it, like Jeremiah?

“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You”. 

“Nothing” – neither steering us through a global pandemic; nor the provision of “our daily bread” amidst it; nor managing the trials of loved ones who may be suffering from it; nor caring for health care workers as they work in the middle of it – “is too difficult for You”. 

“Nothing” – neither the repair of broken relationships; nor the healing of our griefs; nor the protection of at-risk children; nor the rearing of difficult children; nor the loneliness of widowhood or singleness; nor the trials of disability or chronic illness – “is too difficult for You”. 

“Nothing” – neither the salvation of our loved ones; nor the revival of the church in the West; nor the spread of the gospel to “every tribe and tongue and people and nation” – “is too difficult for You.” 

“Nothing” – neither “the resurrection of the dead”; nor the “rescu[ing of Your saints] from the wrath to come”; nor the “making [of] all things new” – “is too difficult for You”.

Oh, brothers and sisters! Let us – both in this current situation, and in every other as well – believe and pray like Jeremiah!

"The Lord opened her heart"

“And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” Acts 16:13-14

“The Lord opened her heart”. It’s a beautiful phrase that Luke uses in describing Lydia’s conversion to Christ, is it not? And what he describes, with that phrase, is how all conversions to Christ happen. Everyone who has ever rightly “respond[ed] to the things spoken” in the gospel – everyone, in other words, who has ever savingly believed on Christ – has responded in that way because “the Lord opened [his or] her heart to” do so! What Paul wrote to the Philippians is true of all Christians: “to you it has been granted^ for Christ’s sake … to believe in Him” (Philippians 1:29). And this reality – that it is God who “open[s] … heart[s] to respond to the” gospel; that it is God who grants belief in Christ – should have the following effects on us:

1. Prayer. We cannot, by all our sound, clear, and winsome sharing of the good news, actually cause anyone to believe it. We should, of course, be as sound, clear, and winsome as we can with the gospel! But we cannot open hearts! Only God can do that. And while, yes, He is gracious to use our quoting, explaining, and applying of His word to do so … it is not us, but He (by the power of His word and His Spirit), who does the opening; it is not us, but He, who grants belief to our hearers. And so we ought not only to speak to people about Jesus, but also to speak to God about these people! We ought to do what we are called to do … and pray (before, during, and after) that God will do what only He can do!

2. Humility. Since it is God who opens hearts to the gospel; since it is God who grants belief in Christ, let us be sure that we do not take credit for ourselves that actually belongs to Him. Yes, He graciously uses us in His accomplishing of His work (and He commends us for our faithfulness!) … but it is, at the end of the day, His work, is it not? When we have shared the gospel and seen someone converted to Christ through our witness, the reality is always that “the Lord^ opened [his or] her heart to respond to the things spoken by” us. So let us praise Him, and never ourselves, when people come to Christ through our witness.

3. Rest. Since it is God who opens hearts; since it is God who grants belief in Christ, we can rest in the knowledge that the salvation of our family, and our friends, and our neighbors, and the nations is not ultimately up to us … but is in the capable hands of God! Now, make no mistake – we must be engaged in sharing Christ with them! The fact that it is God who opens hearts does not exempt us from our responsibility to proclaim the good news! For “how will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). And so the idea is not that, since it is God who opens hearts, we can therefore rest from sharing of the gospel. The idea is rather that, since it is God who opens hearts, we can be at rest regarding the outcome of our sharing the gospel; we can share the good news of Jesus restfully – taking upon ourselves only the weight of faithfulness, and able to leave the weight of outcomes with the only One who can open hearts!

4. Hope. Why did Lydia believe on Christ that day so long ago? Was it because she had the great apostle Paul sharing the gospel with her? No! “The Lord^ opened her heart”, remember? So she believed, not because she had Paul sharing the gospel with her … but because she simply had someone sharing the gospel with her, and because God was at work through the gospel to open her heart to the gospel! And so it could have been Luke or Timothy sharing Christ that day; or it could have been someone as pedestrian as you or me … and, so long as that person proclaimed the word (through which God opens hearts), and so long as God saw fit to perform that work of opening on Lydia’s her heart, she would have been converted to Christ just the same as she was through the evangelism of Paul! For it was “the Lord”, not Paul, who “opened her heart”! And that gives hope to us all these centuries later, doesn’t it? We don’t have to be great or gifted in order for to God save people through our sharing of the gospel ... precisely because it is God who does the saving; because it is the Lord who opens hearts!

^Italicized emphasis in scripture quotations has been added.

"Refreshed through you"

“I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.” Philemon 7

Philemon, by "[his] love", had provided heart-refreshing for his fellow believers. "[His love]" had given breaths of fresh air to God’s people; swigs of cool water to their hearts. And, given that Paul had just called Philemon a “fellow worker” (v.1), and that he’d just mentioned (v.2) that it was “in [Philemon’s] house” that his church family held their gatherings, we are probably to understand these two bits of information as at least part of what Paul had in mind when he wrote of Philemon’s refreshing love. We are probably to understand Philemon’s Christian work and hospitality as at least part of the refreshing love for which Paul commended him in Philemon 7 (and thus as at least two ways in which we might love and refresh the saints, as well).

But whatever Paul had in mind re: Philemon’s love – whether Christian work, Christian hospitality, and/or other aspects of Christian love – Paul commended him for it, and encouraged him with the fact that his love had provided refreshing for his fellow believers. “The hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you”^ said Paul!

And let me now say that Paul's words are also true of you, loving Christian. And so I echo them to you, now. I say to you: “The hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you”^; through “your love”^! And I echo Paul not only because what he says is true of you, loving Christian; but I do it also, in imitation of Paul, as commendation and encouragement – that “the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you”^; through “your love”^! Your service in the church nursery has allowed moms to lap up just a little more of the refreshment that comes from the Sunday lesson or sermon. The knowledge that you are praying for them has heartened your fellow believers. Your encouraging text or card has put a little wind in the sails of your brother or sister’s day. The meals you dropped off, and the benevolence you placed in their hands, have been encouraging reminders that God and His people care. Your visits in the hospital and the nursing home have been the same, and the scriptures you have shared in those moments have breathed fresh air into the soul of the sufferer. Your hospitality, like Philemon’s, has not only refreshed the bodies, but “the hearts of the saints”^, as well. And your Bible teaching has been refreshment, too.

Oh, my Christian friend! If you have loved like Philemon loved, then you can be sure that God has used you to refresh like Philemon refreshed! So be encouraged, you who have done so! And praise God (v.4) for using you in this way! And keep at it (vv.8-22, notice especially v.20)! “Let us not lose heart in doing good”. “The hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you”^ who love … and they will continue to be refreshed if you will keep on loving!

^Italicized emphasis in scripture quotations has been added.

"Child, arise!"

Thus Jesus spoke to the daughter of Jairus as she lay dead in her father’s house. And thus the girl did! “He … took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Child, arise!’ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately” (Luke 8:54-55).

Jairus, you may recall, beseeched the Lord on behalf of his daughter while the girl (at least as far as Jairus knew) was still alive – on her deathbed, but not yet expired (vv.41-42). But Jesus’ touch and voice did not come to her until after she had died. No matter, though! Death did not mean that she was beyond Jesus' reach! No! Even though she was dead, “He … took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Child, arise!’ And ... she" did so!

What marvelous power!

And, oh, let me remind you (Ephesians 2:1-6) that the Lord has the power to raise those who are spiritually dead, too; to grant life to those who are “dead in [their] trespasses and sins”. And so, as He raised Jairus’s daughter from physical death, Jesus has the power to raise your child or children (or grandchildren) from spiritual death; from their deadness to God!

Maybe your child is yet very young, but already you see selfishness of various sorts – evidence of his or her deadness to God (the condition in which we are all conceived). Or maybe your boy or girl is older now – possibly even grown – and still dead to God; still unsaved. And perhaps you recognize the fact that, but for the miraculous intervention of God, there is no hope. But Jesus’ raising of Jairus’s daughter reminds us that God does miraculously intervene; that He does intervene with the power to raise the dead! And if Jesus “t[akes your child] by the hand and call[s], saying, ‘Child, arise’” ... your son or daughter will surely do so!

So won’t you, like Jairus (v.42), “implore Him” concerning your child? And won’t you do so without giving up? The Lord is powerful and compassionate to answer prayer and to raise the dead!

"Our hearts burning within us"

Two men are making their way “to a village named Emmaus”, discussing a recently crucified prophet named Jesus. They are dejected that perhaps He was not the Messiah after all, and they are not altogether buying in to the recent report of His resurrection. Somewhere along the way, though, the prophet Himself joins their party (unrecognized), begins conversing with them and, upon their voicing of their lack of faith, He rebukes them and gives them a conversational sermon, from all throughout the Scriptures, showing that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.

He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27)

They would later comment on His words like this: “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).

“Our hearts burning within us”! What an experience!

And it prompts me to ask: When was the last time you experienced such burning under the preaching, teaching, studying, or reading of the word?

Surely it is something we should experience. For, while it is true that the sermon in Acts 24 was delivered by none other than the Son of God Himself, yet it is also true that the biblical material that He preached is still available to us today (along with the New Testament, now, also!); and that the subject matter is still as wonderful as ever; and that Christ’s Spirit is still alive and well today, and more than capable of speaking through mere men (or working through simple Bible reading or personal Bible study) with such power that the effect will be the same as it was for those two blessed men in Luke 24! And so surely we ought, at times, to find “our hearts burning within us” under the word of God about the Son of God!

Pray that it might be so!

Pray that preachers and teachers will do precisely that which Jesus did, and which resulted in “hearts burning”: Pray that we will diligently open the treasure of the word of God, and faithfully bring out “the things concerning [the Son of God] in all the Scriptures”! And pray for yourself, that you will be diligent to read and study the Scriptures, and to look for Jesus there!

Pray, too, that those who preach and teach God’s word about God’s Son would do so “by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Peter 1:12); pray for the power of the Spirit upon the proclamation and teaching of God’s word! Pray also for His anointing upon “the public reading of Scripture” – that we might experience “hearts burning” as the Bible is read aloud! And beg the Spirit’s anointing of your own study and reading of the word as well, that you might be deeply moved by what you see of Jesus there!

Plead with God that we would know – and know regularly – what it is to have “our hearts burning within us” under the Word of God about the Son of God!

"Like sheep without a shepherd"

“When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34

Jesus and His disciples had just gotten away for a sabbatical of sorts (Mark 6:31). And so this wasn’t necessarily the most convenient time for a big group of people to show up. But, convenient or not, there they were. And Jesus’ response to them is beautiful, is it not? Even in this less-than-convenient moment, “He felt compassion for them”! Why? “Because they were like sheep without a shepherd”. And in His compassion, Jesus shepherded them – “He began to teach them many things” … “and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).

And we, too, have people in our lives who are “like sheep without a shepherd”, do we not? Let us respond to them like our Savior –“[feeling] compassion for them” and shepherding them! Perhaps God would have us, like Jesus (Matthew 14:14), help them with some temporal difficulty. And in many cases He would have us, like Jesus, “teach them” – telling them the good news of His Son, informing them of His will for human behavior, comforting them with words of His compassion.

Often they will wander into our paths as individuals, rather than in “a large crowd” as in Mark 6. Maybe one of your “sheep without a shepherd” will be a hurting neighbor to whom God would have you bring some comfort from His word. Or perhaps a spiritually confused co-worker to whom you will “explain … the way of God more accurately.” Maybe a debauched co-worker to whom God would have you (lovingly!) reveal His will for human morality. Possibly a homeless person whom you will bless with a hot meal and the message of the gospel. Or an unknown but apparently lonely senior citizen who calls out to you as you walk through the nursing home … to whom you could sit and listen for a spell, and also share some hope from the Scriptures.

These sheep may not always show up in our voicemails, or at our cubicles, or on our doorsteps, or in our pathways, or upon our consciences at the most opportune moments. But even in the inconvenient moments, let us, like Jesus, “[feel] compassion for them” and shepherd them.

Moreover, brothers and sisters, remember the compassion of “the good shepherd” toward you when “you were continually straying like sheep”* – and let it move you to extend such compassion to others!

_____________________________________

*(1 Peter 2:25, emphasis added)

‘I don’t think being silent is sufficient’

I read these words, recently, from a man who is hoping to start a crisis pregnancy center in his area:

‘It is a massive undertaking, but I don’t think being silent is sufficient. I trust that God will help us.’

And both his ‘massive undertaking’ itself, and his reason for undertaking it (the insufficiency of silence), were convicting. How much do I lift my voice on behalf of the unborn? How deeply am I bending my back, like this man, to the task of pushing back against the evil of abortion? Against the killing of the unborn in our land?

His efforts and reasoning reminded me of Proverbs 24:11-12 –

“Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.
If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?”

Now, I don’t know whether Solomon had the unborn (perhaps among others) in mind when he wrote those two verses. But what he says surely applies to them! “Deliver those [unborn] who are being taken away to death”! “Oh hold them back”!

The brother above is faithfully attempting such “deliver[ance]”! And it convicts me. I’m helped, as well, by his ‘trust that God will help’ he and his co-laborers in the task. I’ll come back to this faith.

But first, let’s ask how we can join him in protecting the unborn. How do we undertake to “deliver those who are being taken away to death”? How do we put into practice the truth that silence is insufficient in the face of the great societal ill of abortion?

Let me give you some ideas, none of which (either in the specific suggestions, or in the broader categories) are original to me. And let me repeat what someone has said, namely that no one of us can or must do all of these things, but every one of us can and should do some, or at least one, of them.

Here are the ideas:

Get involved poiltically. Vote for candidates who will seek to protect the unborn. When opportunity arises, vote for legal measures that will protect them. Participate in grassroots efforts that attempt to protect them (like the Personhood initiatives in recent years in some states). Write your elected officials on behalf of “those who are being taken away to death”. Become an elected official who will fight for them.

Adopt. It has been wisely pointed out that, when a women is pregnant with a child whom she does not have the wherewithal to raise, the availability of loving couple who would be happy to take and care for that child can be a great deterrent to abortion. And thus it is further pointed out that we need such couples! Maybe someone reading these lines will be among them!

Start something. I don’t think I’d have thought of this category, and of the specific ideas within it, except that I’ve recently gotten news of two different men, in two different places, desiring to start crisis pregnancy centers. Neither is a wealthy benefactor. But both are men who are concerned to do something for the unborn. And if they can do so, perhaps someone reading this article could start a center, too. Or maybe, like a couple of church members recently got our church to do, you start an adoption and foster care fund. Or, like the men I’ve met through the years who started Personhood initiatives, perhaps you begin a grassroots campaign to change the law.

Give. Give to the kind of work that I’ve recently learned of two men hoping to initiate: the starting of a crisis pregnancy center. Give to such a center that is already up and running (fill those Life Forward baby bottles, Cincinnati area folks; and give to Life Forward in other ways, too - see their "Give" page, and the "Get Involved" tab on their website). The church members mentioned above persuaded our leadership of the importance of giving toward the costs and needs associated with adoption. Give to that, too!

Influence individuals. Be a sidewalk counselor in front of an abortion clinic. Influence a friend, or a grandchild, or a co-worker to choose life. Volunteer with a crisis pregnancy center.

Pray. If silence is insufficient in the face of the great evil that is abortion, surely that means we mustn’t be silent on this matter in our prayer lives, either. So pray! Pray for the unborn in general. Intercede on behalf of any specific imperiled unborn children about whom you may know (and for their parents). Pray for the sorts of actions mentioned in this article.

So there you have some ideas for “deliver[ing] those who are being taken away to death”. And the faith of the man quoted at the beginning (‘I trust that God will help us’) urges me to ‘trust’ – and to urge you to ‘trust’ – that God will help us’, too, if and when we join this brother in the fight.

"The lips of knowledge"

“There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.”

Proverbs 20:15

“Gold, and an abundance of jewels” are mighty fine, Solomon acknowledges. These treasures – the kinds of items one might find hidden in a chest, or protected in a safe, or made into exquisite jewelry – are indeed “precious”. “But”, he says, “the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing” (emphasis added).

Wow! Let that sink in! In comparison with fine jewelry, or the contents of a treasure chest, “lips” that convey “knowledge are a more precious thing”!

And surely it is primarily, if not entirely, “the knowledge of God” (to which he makes reference in Proverbs 2:5) that Solomon has in view in our text. Surely he has in mind “the knowledge of the Holy One” (as he calls it in Proverbs 9:10). “Gold” is “precious”, he grants. “Jewels” as well, he admits. “But the lips of knowledge” – “lips” that communicate “the knowledge of God” – “are a more precious thing.”

Now, does Solomon mean that “the lips of knowledge are a … precious thing” to be possessed (and, of course, opened) by us? Or is he saying that “the lips of knowledge”, possessed by others and opened to us, “are a … precious thing”? Or is it both?

In any case, surely both are true!

It is certainly true that, appraised in comparison with “gold, and an abundance of jewels”, “the lips of knowledge” that are opened to us by others “are a more precious thing.” It is a great blessing, in other words, to have people – whether parents, disciplers, Sunday School teachers, elders, pastors, or whomever – who teach us “the knowledge of God”! “The lips of knowledge” which they open to us “are a … precious thing”! Let us thank God for them, and make good use of what they have to offer!

It is also certain that, in comparison with “gold, and an abundance of jewels”, “the lips of knowledge” that we may possess (and, of course, open) ourselves “are a more precious thing” as well! We are exceedingly blessed if we possess “the knowledge of the Holy One”, and have the faculty for communicating that “knowledge” to others. We are exceedingly blessed, in other words, if we possess “the knowledge of God” and can tell others about Him! And, if you are a Christian, dear reader, surely it is true that, in some measure, you do and you can; that, in some measure, you have “the lips of knowledge”. They “are a … precious thing”, says Solomon! So make sure you open them!

“There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.”

The Holidays

The anchor us just about ready to lift. The sails are soon to unfurl. And many of us have already begun moving about the deck, preparing to embark on that annual voyage we call ‘the holidays.’ But before the ship departs the harbor, how about some wisdom from God’s word to tuck into our hip pockets, and take with us on the journey? Here are a few portions of scripture, and some thoughts upon them, that I think could be helpful over the next few weeks:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). The holidays sometimes come with some peculiar challenges. One of them, for some of us, is the reality that our shoulders, during the holidays, are often in much closer proximity to family with whom the rubbing of shoulders (sad to say) comes with a good deal more friction than is comfortable. Some of it is perhaps our own faults, to be frank. And sometimes the provocation is largely coming at us. Often it’s both. But in any case, you must “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” And that means you must not be one of the cantankerous ones at the family gatherings. And it means that you must not respond to the cantankerous ones by bickering, or withdrawing, or silently fuming, or talking about them behind their backs. Be a peacemaker this holiday season.

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). These next few weeks are going to bring some of us into proximity, not only with people who rub us the wrong way (or vice versa!), but also with people who need Jesus. Some of these lost people will be one and the same with the people with whom we have difficult relationships (all the more reason to “be at peace” with them!). Others will be those who are quite easy to get along with … but still lost. But, in any case, they all need the Savior! And, if you know the Savior, you may have opportunity to speak to them a “good … word” (2 Thess. 2:16-17) about Him. And you will likely have opportunity to do for them a “good work” that represents Him well. And, as you think about those opportunities, know that I have prayed 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 for those who read this article. Go out, now, strenghtened by the Lord, and do “every good work and word”!

“The LORD is near to the broken-hearted” (Psalm 34:18). For some of us, the holidays not only come with the challenge to “be at peace with”, and be a witness to, folks who are present … but with heartache over those who are not. For some of us, the holidays draw extra attention to the fact that someone is missing from the table. Usually it’s someone who used to be with us, but no longer is, for one reason or another. And sometimes, since we tend to think of the holidays as times to be with family, there may be a quiet grief over family members that God never granted; over a spouse or children who never materialized. But if you are the Lord’s, and if you grieve this season over someone who is not at the table with you, know that God is with you; that He “is near to the broken-hearted”. Rest in His nearness, dear friend … during the holidays, and always.

Every blessing to you all this coming holiday season,

Love and Feasting

"Better is a dish of vegetables where love is

Than a fattened ox served with hatred."

Proverbs 15:17

"Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it

Than a house full of feasting with strife."

Proverbs 17:1

We are entering the season of the “fattened ox” and the “house full of feasting”, are we not? And I, for one, am glad of it! God’s bounty to us – both temporal and spiritual – is grand reason for us to engage in the art of the shindig; for us to say, with the father in Jesus’ story, “bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate”. And so Thanksgiving and Christmas feasting are entirely appropriate and wonderful! And I like a good meal any other day, too!

And yet let us carefully observe the wise words of Solomon in the two texts quoted above.

Now, these words certainly apply to everyday life. It is better to be a family whose resources are pretty slender; whose everyday fare is along the lines of dry cornbread or simple veggie plates – but who genuinely loves and lives at peace with one another – than to be a family whose pantries, refrigerators, and tables are constantly bursting with scrumptious fare, but who are often at each other’s throats! Better a poor, but happy, home … than a rich, but tense, one! Take that to heart … and make life-decisions accordingly.

But let’s also apply Solomon’s wisdom on a micro level. Let’s apply it to the holiday gatherings with family and friends that many of us are soon to (theoretically) enjoy. I think it’s not a stretch to say that the air, at many family get-togethers, can sometimes have some tension (or at least potential tension) lingering in it. Maybe there are great worldview divides between believers and unbelievers. Maybe there are hurts, or disagreements, or bitterness that are often set to one side, but have never actually been buried. Maybe your family tends to just be a little pushy, or irritable, or cantankerous. Maybe sometimes there are just ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’, as the saying goes.

Sometimes these things boil completely over. And sometimes they simmer, fairly palpably, just below the surface. And thus our holiday gatherings, which ought to be celebrations of God’s goodness, and which ought to be filled with enjoyment both of one another and of God’s blessings, can sometimes degenerate into being uncomfortable at best, or downright ugly and/or painful at worst. Sometimes there is “feasting with strife” or even “with hatred”. Because, while the “fattened ox” (or turkey) is on the table; and while the “house” is “full of feasting”, it is not full of love. And thus, some financially struggling family somewhere – scraping together a meal that hardly looks like what we expect out of Thanksgiving Dinner, but genuinely showing love toward one another – is better off than our well-fed, but squabbling or bitter, clans!

So what should we do about it? How do we apply Solomon’s wisdom this holiday season? Well, I don’t think he’d have us just serve dried cornbread or a plate of greens for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner! For, save that it might keep you from having ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’, this wouldn’t actually address the other problems (and even the ‘too many cooks’ problem, when it leads to strife, is deeper than just logistics). No, Solomon is not saying that feasting is bad, or that it is the cause of our family strife. He’s saying that feasting is less important than love; or, to put it positively, that love is more important than feasting – so much so that the family who can’t afford to feast, but who genuinely loves one another, is better off than the bickering family who has the fancy meals.

So how do we make application? Don’t cancel the feasting … but give a great deal more thought and effort to love! Think (and pray!), ahead of time, about situations and people and subjects that you know could be tense. Ask God’s great grace to truly love your family and friends when things are tense. And then choose, in the moment, to do so.  Choose, in the moment, to love!  Choose not to retaliate or to simmer, but to forgive.  Choose not to vent your frustrations.  Choose, if you must say something that will be difficult for others to hear, to do so gently, patiently, and (where possible) discreetly.  And make sure that it's really something that truly needs saying.  Choose to love!  For wouldn’t it be wonderful, this holiday season, if the love was even more memorable than the feasting!

Babies!

PRBC is blessed with babies! Praise God for another one born today! And praise God for how He offers us spiritual instruction through them. Consider …

Babies remind us that we “must be born again” (John 3:7). “Unless one is born again” said Jesus in John 3:3; unless one is granted new spiritual life, in other words, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Birth is a metaphor for the new life that men, women, girls, and boys so desperately need! And so, when a baby is born, let us remember the new birth as well … and long that this child, and we ourselves (if we are not yet saved), and those around us, and those at “all the ends of the earth” might experience it!

“Newborn babies” remind us to “long for the pure milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2). Babies “long for” milk, Peter says. Have you observed it? The opening of their tiny mouths, and the turning of their heads, and the looking for some place to latch on? We ought to be like that, says Peter, when it comes to “the milk of the word”! And so, when we see “newborn babies” longing for milk, let us remember that such ought to be our longing for the Scriptures!

Babies remind us of the Baby. Jesus was once a baby, too, wasn’t He? Jesus, too, grew inside His mother’s womb. Jesus, too, had those little bitty hands and feet; and laid, newborn, in his mother’s arms; and had His first drink of His mother’s milk. “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14)! The second person of the Holy Trinity became one of us! The “I am” became a human! And so, when we hold a tiny little human in our arms, or see him or her in momma or daddy’s arms, let us remember the Baby; let us remember that God Himself became one of us! And then let us remember, too, the saving purpose for His doing so!

Oh, let us thank God for the babies among us! And let us glean the instruction that God offers to us through them!


_______

P.S. The baby pictured is not the one born today, but my Lisi (2011), sporting an Ole Miss Rebels onesie!

The Mature Coloring of Autumn

I love the fall – the cooling of the weather, the hot apple cider, the pumpkins and dried corn, college football. Autumn is surely my favorite of the four seasons. And, of course, one of the great gifts of the fall is the changing of the leaves. What a stunning work of God’s artistry are the various hues that He draws from His palette every fall! And what a blessing that He grants the leaves this flourish of beauty in the final stage of their lives.

Perhaps there is a God-given parable built into that last reality. Perhaps we should be reminded, by the changed (yet gorgeous!) autumn leaves, that a similar beauty is meant for us in what has been called ‘the autumn of life’.

It’s not original with me to say that human life has its seasons – the spring of youth, when we grow and blossom; the summer of prime adulthood, when we produce fruit and get a lot work done; the autumn of older age, when certain things begin to slow down, and yet there is still produce to be gathered; and the winter of death.

And isn’t it interesting that the leaves, in the autumn of their lives, are given a flourish of beautiful color? Yes, they have lost some of the strength of spring and summer. But they are also granted a striking splendor in this final season of life!

The autumn of the life of faith can (and should) be much the same. Yes, as we draw near to winter, we are not quite the same as we were in the spring and summer of life. The energy of spring is no more. Some of the productivity of summer is just not possible any longer. But, if we are walking with the Lord, a beautiful autumn hue will also be growing upon our lives – the mature fall coloring of greater patience, a more fully-developed eternal perspective, and an increased dependence upon God in prayer.

Don’t you find these things attractive in mature older saints? Would, of course, that we all would seek much more of them earlier on, as well! But growth in grace is progressive and, as with the leaves, some of its warmest coloring appears later in life.

So whether you are living in the spring, summer, or autumn of life – take a parable from the changing of the leaves this fall. When you notice their changed, yet stunning, appearance, ask God to make you beautiful in your older age, as well; to grant you the autumn hue of increased Christian maturity. Don’t wait, of course, until older age to seek or expect growth in the graces that are sometimes peculiarly attractive in that season of life. But ask Him that in older age, you will indeed be colored with the maturity of autumn.

"Speaking the truth in love"

This is one of the ways in which we who are in Christ are to help one another become more like Christ: “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the Head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). We are to be “speaking the truth in love” to our fellow believers, in other words, so as to help one another “grow”.

And notice two aspects of this calling:

• we are to engage in “speaking the truth”
• and we are to do so “in love”

Now, none of us is immune to failure on either of these counts. And so I suppose that all of us sometimes fail at “speaking the truth” when we ought to; and that each of us also fails, at other times, to do so “in love”.

But I also reckon that, by nature, some of us find one aspect of this calling – or the other – more difficult.

Some Christians have the greatest trouble with the “speaking the truth” part. Maybe you are one of them. You are naturally timid. And thus you often find yourself so afraid of difficult or awkward conversations that you pull back from saying things that need to be said. Maybe you are sometimes afraid to address backsliding or sin in a fellow believer’s life. Or perhaps you are prone to shrink from correcting a fellow saint on some faulty way of thinking (v.14) which they are in danger of imbibing.

Other Christians struggle more mightily with the “in love” aspect of the calling. Perhaps you fit into this category. You are fairly assertive by natural disposition. And so, when something needs to be said, you are often quite ready to say it. Perhaps you don’t mind confronting sin, or correcting off-base theology, or tracking down a backslider. And yet you may sometimes be harsh in the way you do so.

But here’s the thing: No matter your natural disposition, you are still called, very plainly, to the task of “speaking the truth in love”! And so am I! A timid disposition doesn’t give us a free pass from “speaking the truth”; and neither is natural assertiveness an excuse for failing to do so “in love”.

And let us note that either sort of failure is a failure to love. We either fail to love by not “speaking the truth” that our brothers and sisters need for spiritual growth, or by speaking it in an unloving way!

Let us not fail one another in these ways, brothers and sisters! Let us, rather, live our lives “speaking the truth in love”.

"Then there will be a future"

Article 2 of 2

13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it, then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14

Wisdom, “if you find it”, will ensure you “a future” and maintain “your hope” (v.14b-c). Surely these are among the reasons why wisdom is so sweet! How could something that provides “a future” and protects “hope” not be sweet, right?

But how does this work? How does wisdom work for those who find it, so that “there will be a future” and so that their “hope will not be cut off”?

Well, let us first note that the word of God is true wisdom. If we want to gather the honey of wisdom, we must open the Bible! And, with that said (and with the question of ‘how’ from v.14b-c in our minds), listen to how the apostle Paul spoke to Timothy about biblical wisdom in 2 Timothy 3:15 –

from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

It is “the wisdom” of the Bible “that leads to salvation” in Christ! And it is by this salvation that sinners gain “a future” with God in eternity. And it is by this salvation that this eternal “hope will not be cut off”! Therefore, “if you find” the biblical “wisdom that leads to [this] salvation”; if, in other words, you hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ …

then there will be a future, 
And your hope will not be cut off.

And that is sweet indeed!

So … have you found wisdom? Have you heard and, by faith, eaten the sweet honey wisdom of the good news? “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures … and … He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That is good, sweet news! It ensures “a future” to, and maintains “hope” of, all who take it in, by faith! And so I urge you – “eat [this] honey, for it is good”!

"Sweet to your taste"

Article 1 of 2*

13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it, then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14

I’m glad Solomon says what he says in verse 13. It’s a reminder that food is good – and that good food is good! And so I feel just a little bit better about my enjoyment of sweet tea (my own personal honey, as it were), and m a y b e even about fried chicken (not sweet, but still delicious)! There is something to be said, according to Solomon, about enjoying that which is “sweet to your taste” – and for that I am thankful.

But Solomon extols the sweetness of honey, of course, not mainly to teach his son about physical eating, but in order to say something about his spiritual diet! And the Holy Spirit, of course, inspired these things for us, as well as for Solomon’s son! And what we are told is that, in the same way that “honey … is sweet to your taste” (v.13), “wisdom is thus for your soul” (v.14).

Wisdom is sweet to the soul! Wisdom delights the palate of the inner-most being! Haven’t you discovered that to be true, Christian? Haven’t you found that the word of God (which is true wisdom) is “sweet to your taste”? Haven’t you experienced the Scriptures – read personally, read publically, and preached – delighting your spiritual taste buds?

The psalmist put it like this in Psalm 119:103:

How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

God’s word is a delight! Would that I craved it like I sometimes have a hankering for sweet tea! And would that I would remember, when a perfect glass of sweet tea stimulates and satisfies my taste buds, that the wisdom of the Bible will do the same (and even better, Psalm 119:103), if I will drink it in!

And, oh, this wise word of God will be sweet to you, as well, my friend … if you will “taste and see” (Psalm 34:8)! Think of this reality when you crave – and when you are privileged to enjoy – whatever it is that peculiarly delights your palate.

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul

________________________

*I hope to come back, in the next article, and consider v.14b-c – where we are told that wisdom ensures “a future” to, and maintains the “hope” of, those who “find it” (blessings which, when we consider v.14b-c in connection with the three lines prior, must surely be seen as among the reasons wisdom is so sweet!).

His Feet

Part 6 in a series on Jesus’ Body

We conclude our look at Jesus’ body by gazing down at His feet. And I remind you of three wonderful truths concerning those feet:

First, Jesus' feet are “lovely”. In Isaiah 52:7 we read this memorable exclamation:

How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

And, oh, does that ever describe the feet of our Lord Jesus as He proclaimed good news to sinners! “How lovely” were Jesus’ feet as He trekked across Galilee and Judea, “announc[ing] salvation” to the people there! And, though that earthly task is now complete, “how lovely” the feet that performed it remain! And “how lovely … are the feet of” those, today, who carry on in Jesus’ mission! Let us be among them! And let us praise God for Jesus’ own “lovely”, gospel-carrying feet!

And then, secondly, let us remember that, at Golgotha, Jesus' feet were pierced. “They pierced my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16). Why? “He was pierced through for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5). The same feet that carried Jesus from place to place “bring[ing] good news” were eventually staked to a Roman cross in the event that is the very centerpiece of the good news! His feet were pierced in order to pay the penalty for all the sins of all His people for all time! That is good news, indeed! Praise God that He loves sinners that much!

Finally, let us remember that Jesus’ feet will return (along, of course, with the rest of His body!). Seeing into the future, the apostle John wrote that he “looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion” (Revelation 14:1). And Job said of Jesus that “at the last He will take His stand on the earth” (Job 19:25). Jesus will, “at the last”, plant His feet, once again, “on the earth”! May you be ready for His second coming by repenting of your sins and believing in this same Jesus whose feet, at His first coming, were “pierced through for our transgressions”!

His Hands

Part 5 in a series on Jesus’ Body

What a wonderful thing it is to consider Jesus’ hands!

With His hands Jesus healed the sick (Luke 4:40). With His hands He blessed the children (Mark 10:16). And with His hands He washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:5). And, oh, let us “sing for joy at the works of [His] hands” (Psalm 92:4)! And let us remember that Jesus is still healing the sick, and blessing children, and serving His people even today! And let us imitate the hands of Jesus by using our hands to serve one another (John 13:14)!

And then there is this wonderful account of the use of one of Jesus’ hands, in Matthew 14:28-31 (emphasis added):

Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

What a strong and merciful hand that was! And praise God that, still today, Jesus reaches out to His people in our doubts and, with great strength and mercy, keeps us from drowning by them!

Then, of course, we must never forget that Jesus’ hands were “pierced through for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5) … “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Do you believe in Him? Have you trusted in the Savior whose hands were pierced for sinners?

Note also that, in His resurrected body, those hands carried “the imprint of the nails” – such that His disciples were certain that the One whom they encountered in those days after Golgotha was none other than the Lord Jesus Himself, risen from the dead (John 20:19-29)!

Oh, the marvelous hands of our Lord Jesus! Let us love those hands! And let us love Him whose hands they are!

His Mouth

Part 4 in a series on Jesus’ Body

“His mouth is full of sweetness.” So said that famous woman of Solomon’s song, regarding her beloved (Song of Solomon 5:16)! And so we can say of our Lord Jesus (although for different reasons than hers) – “His mouth is full of sweetness.”

One reason is because Jesus’ mouth reminds us that He really did take on our nature; that the Word really did become flesh. For, with His mouth, Jesus ate (Matthew 9:11). He needed bodily sustenance just like we do! Because He really is one of us!

And not only did He eat, but Jesus ate “with the tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 9:11) – so that this particular use of His mouth not only reminds us of His humanity, but also of His grace! He came to minister to those who were spiritually sick – and eating with them was an entry point to such ministry!

Further, not only did Jesus eat before His death, but also after His resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), demonstrating Himself to be no mere spirit, but bodily risen from the dead!

But then it’s not just what went into Jesus mouth that makes that mouth “full of sweetness” – but also what came out!

On more than one occasion, the physically impaired had reason to praise the Lord for even the very saliva that came from Jesus’ mouth (Mark 7:31-37; Mark 8:22-26; John 9:1-7). Did Jesus need to use His spit to perform these healings? No. He could have “just [said] the word” (Matthew 8:8) and the miracles would have been effective. But He chose to use the very secretions of His mouth to grant these healings. And the people who received them could surely never think of His mouth, again, without recognizing it as “full of sweetness”!

But, oh, it’s not just (or even mainly) the physical drippings from His lips that make Jesus’ mouth “full of sweetness” … but the verbal drops, as well! In Luke 4:22 “all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips.” Do you ever find yourself doing the same? Jesus’ mouth is what Solomon calls “a fountain of life” (Proverbs 13:14)! And we drink from that fountain, still, as we take in His word today! Drink from it, my friends! And as you do so, may God enable you truly to say that “His mouth is filled with sweetness.”

His Ears

Part 3 in a series on Jesus’ Body

A discussion of the various parts of Jesus’ body must surely include His ears, right? For one of the lovely qualities of our Jesus is His listening … both to His Father, and to His people.

In a beautiful messianic passage, recorded by Isaiah, Jesus speaks of the opening of His ear to the Father:

“He awakens Me morning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The Lord GOD has opened My ear;”

Isaiah 50:4-5

Each day the Father would awaken His Son and open His ear to listen – to hear the Father’s words by reading and/or meditating on the Scriptures, and perhaps as the Father sometimes spoke to Him in other ways as well. And what a reminder this is of the value and weight of the heavenly Father’s words! And what a reminder that we need open ears, too; that we need to hear from God, day by day. And what a call this is for you to ask God to do for you what He did for Jesus – “morning by morning … awaken[ing your] ear to listen as a disciple.” Ask God to do so, and then open His word and listen. And as God gives you an ear like Jesus, the word of God will mold you into Jesus’ likeness in many other ways as well!

And then we also note that Jesus’ ears are not only tuned in to the voice of His Father, but to the cries of His people as well! I love the example of this which is given to us in Luke 18:35-43. Blind Bartimaeus is “sitting by the road begging.” And “a crowd [is] going by” (making the kind of noise, v.36, that you’d expect a crowd to make). And Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is in the crowd, and begins calling out to Him for help: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Will his voice be drowned out by the din of the crowd? Will Jesus perhaps not hear poor Bartimaeus, for all the other noises bouncing off His eardrums? Or will He, perhaps, even join some others in the crowd in telling Bartimaeus to pipe down? Not a chance! The Son of David does hear (and care about!) the blind man’s cry! And, oh, what a reminder this is of Christ’s dealings with you as well, believer! No matter how much clatter may be ringing out around you, and no matter how unconcerned others may be about your pleas, Jesus hears (and takes deep interest in!) the cries of each and every one of His people! His ears are open to us!

His Eyes

Part 2 in a series on Jesus’ Body

When we contemplate the parts of Jesus’ body, there is much to see and to learn by looking at, and into, His eyes! Consider them with me, now.

And we begin by noticing our Lord, in John 17:1, “lifting up His eyes to heaven” in prayer for His people. And it’s a reminder that, even though He is now in heaven, He is still praying for His people; still looking to the Father in prayer on their behalf. “He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Praise God for a Savior who sets His eyes on the Father in prayer for His own!

And then notice another beautiful mention of Jesus’ eyes in Mark 10:17-27. There Jesus encountered a man who foolishly overestimated his own righteousness (vv.19-20), and whose “much property” (v.22) was more valuable to him than following Christ. And, although Jesus heard evidence of the first folly in v.20, and although He knew the second even before the man “went away grieving” in v.22, we are told that “looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him” (v.21). Jesus’ eyes (and heart) saw, in this foolish and sinful man, not someone to hate, or to write off ... but someone to love; someone on whom to have compassion! Praise God for such a Savior!

But then notice that those eyes can look at us in less comfortable ways, as well. In Mark 3, we find Jesus’ eyes “looking around … with anger” at a group of uncompassionate Pharisees. And, oh, what discomfort came into Peter’s heart when, after his three-fold denial of his Master, “the Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61)! Let us live in such a way that Jesus need not set His eyes upon us in anger, or with a countenance that is grieved!

And let us finally notice how the glorified Christ’s eyes are described to us in the book of Revelation: “His eyes” says John “are a flame of fire” (19:12). See also 1:14 and 2:18. Surely this is the shining forth of His holiness! And when we look into those eyes of flame, the church (Rev. 2:18-23) should take sin very seriously … and Christ’s enemies (Rev. 22:11-18) should be very afraid!

Praise God for the eyes of our Lord Jesus – for both the comfort, and the discomfort, that they bring! Observe them, and gaze into them … and give yourself in faith to their possessor!