The Carpenter's Chapel (5)

Thursday, September 16, 2004

Ephesians 6: 19

“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth
boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

When the great revival hit Wales, the preacher mounted the pulpit, but could not
speak. The great oratory of silence overcame the congregation until one member
broke out in confession of sin against a brother. This was followed by forgiveness,
one for the other, and a hymn broke out. This silence was far more eloquent than
any sermon ever prepared by man. It was an holy silence. Just how much do we
long for a revisit of this holy silence to overcome the assembly where we meet? I
wonder how content we would be?

We all know about the infirmities of Paul. We are not certain on specifics. Some
speculate he had a visual problem, and others a stomach disorder. We know that
he suffered greatly in prison. Here Paul says, “And for me.” He is talking about the
prayer mentioned in the previous verse. When you pray, pray for me, that I may
speak the gospel boldly. Help me to put aside self, and simply speak the truth in
love. Lovingly discharge my duty to proclaim Jesus’ love abroad. This would far
outweigh any homiletic brilliance on our part and the congregation would cry
afterwords, what a brilliant Saviour is his.

I am to attend a wake to-day. I will hear accolades of good works, which will be
nice platitudes for the family, but there will be no mention of salvation, and this
grieves my heart more than anything. There is nothing worse than to attend the
funeral of uncertainty; where churchism overcomes the message of the church.

Paul says, “And for me, that I may speak boldly the gospel of truth.....This is the
speech I long to hear, but it will not come. Sorrow and grief will be rampant, and
individual human praise will abound, but this is nothing compared to the gospel of
the Saviour, the Prince of Peace. How can we know peace when we do not know
the author of peace?

My beloved, let us never hold silence when opportunity arises to speak boldly the
gospel. May we always wear the whole armour of God as soldiers of the cross and
move fearlessly amidst the enemies of that cross.

If we dare to do this, we shall indeed experience the eloquence of God wresting all
fear from our hearts and equipping us for battle in an holy warfare. The Holy
Spirit will overwhelm us with His presence and we shall know peace.

And for me, Lord. Fill me with such awe that I will always speak Your truth with
holy boldness and immersed in Your love, that we shall all see Jesus.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Saturday, Sept 18, 2004

In our dear brother's absence, I will present these short stories from a book I have used since the fifties to tell children's stories in the morning services before they left for junior church. They are taken from 1001 Stories for Children by Alice M. Knight, Eerdman's:

Why His Life Was Spared

In Africa, there once lived a tribe of cannibals. These cannibals ate human flesh. One day, a missionary carried God's word to these cannibals. He told them about the Lord Jesus Christ who saves them from sin. As the cannibals heard the word of God, they accepted Christ as Saviour, and their hearts and lives were changed. They no longer ate human beings. Soon, they learned to read the bible for themselves.

One day, a trader from Europe, came into the village. He saw one of the men reading his bible. He asked what he was reading. "I am reading the bible," was the reply. "Oh, you don't believe that book?" asked the trader. "If I didn't believe this book," said the African, "you would be cooking for my dinner now!"

Cheers,

Jim

 

Sunday, Sept 19, 2004

In Daddy's Shoes

One day there was loud laughter in a home. The father went to see what was causing it. Down the stairs his little boy was coming.He was all dresed up in one of his father's suits. He had tied strings on the bottom of the trousers and pulled them ay up under his arms. Then he had rolled them way up at the bottom. The vest came down to the boy's knees and the coat touched the floor. The boy's feet were lost in a pair of his father's shoes.

"Daddy, I'm coming in your shoes."

The boy wanted to be like his daddy. He wants to walk in his shoes. We must be careful how we live before oiur children. They might want to walk in our shoes.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Monday, Sept 20, 2004

Prayer

D.L. Moody was crossing the Atlantic Ocean when a fire broke out at one end of the ship. The crew engaged the help of some passengers. The crew and passengers stood in a line and passed buckets of water to extinguish the fire.

A friend suggested to Mr. Moody that they should retire to the other end of the ship and pray. Mr. Moody said, "No, we should remain here in line passing buckets and pray hard."

Mr. Moody believed that prayer and work go hand in hand.

Would to God that all people believed the same. So many take prayer so flippantly and the obvious answers to prayers is overlooked. A slice of bread and a bowl of soup. A place to rest or a suit of clothes. Are we seeing the "effectual, fervant prayers of righteous men" being answered? Would that person for whom we offered to pray, actually know that we were praying for them even if we did not tell them?

I am starting Philippians in the devotionals and prayer plays a vital role in Paul's life.

May the Lord answer our prayer when we pray, "Lord, teach us to pray."

Cheers,

Jim

 

Wednesday, Sept 22, 2004

“In times of sadness, the warmth and compassion of those who care makes the
difference.”

Not exactly scripture, but scriptural just the same. To-day, we had to sign cards of
thanks to all those who took a moment to attend the funeral of Mary’s mother.
Included in my devotional reading to-day is Philippians 1: 3 “I thank my God
upon every remembrance of you.” This is how Paul felt about the believers at
Philippi. Wouldn’t it be a lovely thing if all in our acquaintance had this feeling
about us in life? In fact, this is what Christ expects of us in our daily living. It is
our testimony to a living Christ who gave His life that we might live. It is not just
for eternity to come, but eternity now. How we live does matter. It directly affects
our gospel presentation. The things we say are far outweighed by how we live and
have our being.

Take a moment, not just in death, but in life, to give thanks for all those who come
into our lives. Walk up to the next Christian who crosses your path and say,
“Thank you.” Nothing more; nothing less. Then look at the surprised face you
meet. Some will respond with a question. Why? The puzzlement will dissolve
when you say, Just because you are you. This is how we ought to feel about the
brethren; both men, women and children who walk in the shadow of Jesus.

Far too often we take people for granted. Oh, they know they are loved and
appreciated, we think. The truth is, they don’t always know, and it is fitting that
we express it from time to time.

I had a deacon in one church, who had little education and murdered the King’s
English, but he went out of his way to greet people at church on Sunday morning.
He went to people without discrimination and welcomed them to the services.
Prince or pauper, they were all the same to Wes, and I always remember him. I
would take a congregation filled with people like him over all the intellectual
giants of Christendom. He exemplified what being a Christian was all about. In
essence, he gave the preamble to my sermons and showed that the gospel worked
in his life.

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” We could ask for no more
from our lives if those who enter our space think the same.

Lord, help us to embody the gospel of grace in everything we say and do, that
people will see our blessed Saviour.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Friday, September 24, 2004

Philippians 1:6

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

No single verse of scripture offers the perseverance of the saints clearer than does
Paul in Philippians 1:6. Paul tells us the source of this perseverance. It is not in
what Paul preached, and it is not in our own personal salvation. It is in the grace of
God. We will persevere, we will continue in faith, because God has said so, and it
is His work in us...”For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13) Let this thought rest firm in our minds and hearts.
This accepting Christ as Saviour is a serious matter. It is not a fleeting fancy. It is
not a wim for the moment. This God will not only start grace in us, but will
continue to do “a good work” in you unto the day of Jesus Christ. What a
comforting thought.

Now, let us not be deceived.There will be times when we question and doubt our
standing. There might be a time when we fall into strange and weird doctrine.
There may be times when we walk a reverse path as if lost in the woods. Still, God
has said that :he will perform or continue that good work he started unto the day
Jesus returns again.

Paul knew that the believers at Philippi were not perfect. He knew that the
Judaizers had had their day in the church and misled people. He knew that the
Roman influence was in this church. Still, Paul says the grace of God will abound
in each and every believer.

Just because the doctrine of perseverance all depends on God, it does not remove
our human obligation to also persevere in the faith. Whilst a green traffic signal
gives us authority to move into an intersection and proceed, it does not guarantee
our safety to do so. We must proceed with caution. We must observe what is
happening and what could happen. It is much the same in the Christian life. Whilst
our perseverance is guaranteed by God, we must persevere, advance in faith, with
caution so long as we are in the flesh. We have human responsibility.

Let us make certain of our redemption by living for Christ on a daily basis
knowing that He will indeed continue our saving grace unto the end.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Saturday, Sept 25, 2004

William Colgate

Many years ago, 1799, a lad of sixteen years old, left home to seek his fortune. The captain of a canal boat, a Christian man, said to him. "Be sure you tart right, and you will get along well." The boy told the captain that he wanted to be a maker of soap. That was the only trade he knew and served an apprenticeship in soap making. The captain said, "Someone will soon be the leading soapmaker in New York. It may be you! Be a good man; give your heart to Christ; give God all that belongs to Him. Make an honest soap. Give a full pound. God will prosper you, and, one day, you will be a rich man!"

The boy arrived in New York. He remembered the words of the old captain. He became a Christian, and united with a Baptist Church. He gave God a tenth of the first dollar he earned. After that, ten cents of every dollar he earned went to the Lord's work. He engaged in the soap business. He made an honest soap and gave a full pound. He never forgot to honour the Lord God. How greatly did God honour him. He prospered and grew richer than he ever hoped. Then, he promised to give the Lord two tenths, and then three tenths, four tenths and finally five tenths. This is the story of William Colgate, a lad from Kent, England and partnered with another man to form the Colgate-Palmolive soap company. He also helped with the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, later named Colgate University in his honour. It was a leading Baptist university at the time.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Sunday, September 26, 2004

Looking Over Our Troubles

One day John Wesley was walking with a man who was in great trouble. The man
even doubted the goodness of God. He said, “I don’t know what I shall do with all
this worry and trouble.” At that moment Wesley saw a cow standing in the pasture
and looking over a great stone wall. “Do you know why that cow is looking over a
stone wall?” asked Wesley. “No,” replied the man. “I will tell you,” said Wesley.
“The cow is looking over the stone wall because she can’t see through it, so you
must look over it and above it.”

Faith enables us to look over and above our troubles to God who is our helper.

Cheers,

Jim