The Carpenter's Chapel (5)

Thanks Jim. The law shows us that we are sinners.
Only The Lord Jesus can save us from the penalty of sin. "gaseous verbosity,: I like that.

 

Saturday July 31, 2004

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philipians 4:19)

We have here a great passage in the Word of God that, no doubt, many would claim as their favorite verse. This fourth chapter of Philipians is full of comforting words for us:

Verse 6: "Be anxious for nothing..." Truly, perhaps, the thing that may well be the cause for the greatest anxiety is what we all, if the Lord tarries, will face someday: the end of our race here on earth-death. Back in my Southern Baptist years they would use the Southern Baptist quarterly's in Sunday school. The best I can recall, I will recount one of those lessons, one I will never forget. I cannot verify if this actually took place, or if these men really existed; but it speaks such obvious truth that it doesn't really matter.

An elderly doctor was visiting his life-long friend who was dying. The doctor, and medical science, had done everything possible for him that could be done, but in spite of that, the man had probably only a few hours left. Both of these men were Christians but the dying man was troubled;
What is heaven like? What goes on there? What does it look like? What is everyone doing? What will I be doing? (Has not some questions crossed OUR minds in this regard?) The doctor did not know how to answer. The Bible has passages like, "Now we see through a glass darkly," or, "Eye hath not seen..." Just then a scratching noise was coming from the front door and the doctor went to see what was going on. The doctor had totally forgotten that he had left his dog outside; when he opened the door, his dog bounded in, jumping up and down, wagging his tail and giving the doctor kisses. His dog gave the doctor the answer he needed. He turned to his friend and said, "You know, my dog has never been in your house, didn't know what it looked like, nor did he have any idea what we were doing in here; he only knew one thing: I was in here. We may not know a lot about were we will be, but we know one thing: Jesus is there." The man was comforted in his final hours.
And for us as well, this should dispell all anxiety; He who loved us and gave Himself for us awaits us over there.

Other comforting verses in chapter 4:
Verse 11. Whatever state (we!) are in "to be content." Now it could be said, rightly so, "Easier said than done." Even the apostle Paul had to learn it ("for I have learned...") You sure won't find this trait much among young people, you learn this over time.

Verse 13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." God will not assign to us a task that is impossible for us to do.

And our lead verse, 19: "And my God shall supply all your need..." Note: NOT all our wants. "I have ben young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread." (Psalm 37:25)

In short, For our anxieties; For the state we are in; For the tasks that we face; For everything we need: Christ is sufficient.

 

Just had the time to catch up on the Friday and Saturday devotionals!

Two great lines - on from Jim the other from Charles:

"It was all humanism. My friends, this takes us nowhere and leaves us there."

"We may not know a lot about were we will be, but we know one thing: Jesus is there."

Thank you Gentlemen!

 

Sunday August 1,2004

Then He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire;
and after the fire a still small voice.

God's awesome power and might come readily to mind as one contemplates being confronted in sin. But for a believer who has walked with God, the Lord's reproof is not one of thunderous confrontation. Much as a loving Father tenderly deals with an errant child, our Father longs to deal with our offense and restore fellowship.

Look at God's dealing with Adam in the Garden of Eden:
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you." (Genesis 3:9) God's still small voice asked the rhetorical question that brought conviction and opportunity for restoration.

God's prophet Nathan confronted a sinful King David with a simple story of injustice that a man had commited.
So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely Die!...And Nathan sid to David, "You are the man!"
(2Samuel 12: 5,7)

Christ Himself provided an illustration of loving confrontation. After being forsaken and denied by His disciple Simon Peter, the Lord met with him alone and asked a penetrating question: "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?"
(John 21:15)

After the mighty wind, earthquake and fire, God spoke to the prophet in a still small voice.
It seems to be that everytime this writer is tempted in some way, a passage from God's Word will come into remembrance every time.
The Bible: God's still small voice for us today.

 

How much more that "still small voice" of loving rebuke means than a raging anger.

Thanks Watchman!

 

Thank God for "that still small voice!"

Thank you Charles!

 

Monday, 2nd August, 2004

I want to take a one day break from our visit to Vanity Fair to share something that I found in my devotions. I am reading through Acts and read the account of Paul and his team approaching Rome. They have travelled as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. They are still about 65km from Rome when we come to verse 15 of Acts 28.

I was immediately challenged by the action of these Roman Christians. Travel was not easy in those days, though the Roman roads were the best of their time. Paul and his team had been through all kinds of “adventures” on their way to Rome. As they travelled they came to the town of Appii Forum shortly thereafter, perhaps the same day they come to the “rest stop” of the Three Taverns. Along this journey Paul must have looked up and seen a group of people approaching. We don’t know how many of these people Paul knew if any, but he had written to the church there about five year before and he had been praying for them and longed to meet them (see Romans 1v9-11) and had desired to do so for a long time (Romans 15v23).

How did Paul recognise these believers? Or did they recognise him first? We cannot know the specifics of their meeting, but we can know this – Paul gave thanks and took courage at meeting them!

What a picture of true Christian fellowship! What a testimony to these unknown Roman saints.

There is a challenge for each of us today as well. First, do we have the hospitable, sacrificial spirit of these saints who would walk at least 65km to meet Paul and his entourage? Secondly, do we have the kind of spirit that causes fellow Christians to give thanks and take courage at meeting us?

Ask the Lord to give you a “Three Taverns” encounter today, and be a source of thanksgiving and encouragement to another.

 

My fear has always been that what excuse we are going to give to God for not reaching the world as He desired with all the gadgets today and the still small voice still active. mode of tranportations fast and easy.
I pray He will grant us more grace of obedence.

 

Great thoughts Jamiu and Jim. I thought about few of us would walk 65km just to greet a brother in Christ today.

 

Thank you Roger for sharing that with us. The love and devotion of the first century Christians was quite commendable.

 

Thank you Roger - for yesterday's thoughts. Jim - I anxiously await your thoughts for today!

Wasn't on BB at all yesterday - left for work a 6 AM - got home from work at 10:30 PM - didn't even turn the computer on!

Dan

 

I thank God for imputed righteousness - else wise - I would have none!

 

Wednesday, 4 August, 2004

Faithful and Christian have their first personal encounter in Vanity Fair.

Proverbs 23v23 – Buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding

What a rare commodity truth is in our day. We think sometimes that we are unique in the 21st century, but Bunyan knew that they was a lack of truth in his day as well. These men stood out in the crowd when they said, “We buy the truth?” With all the wares of the city before them these men chose truth above all else.

The world claims to live today is a “post-modern world” where all truth is relative and many would question the existence of truth. How does the world around you respond when you boldly cling to the truth? Probably much like the residents of Vanity Fair who “despise the men the more: some mocking; some taunting; some speaking reproachfully; and some calling upon others to smite them.”

The world hates the truth. They will try to destroy the truth because the truth convicts of sin, If there is no truth that man can live as he wills and do whatever he desires. We expect that from the residents of Vanity Fair, but what about the children of the King.

The question for us today, based on Proverbs 23v23 is this, “Where does truth come on your shopping list?” With all of the shopkeepers of the world, do we say like our pilgrims, “We buy the truth?” Sadly, too often truth is not at the top of our shopping list. Choose the truth in very situation today. Despite what the post-modernists say, there is truth today. It is only found in the One Who said – “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.”