The Carpenter's Chapel

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

John 17

We have witnessed in the past few devotionals, the last words of Jesus to His
beloved disciples. He girded up their beliefs, even though they failed to
understand what He was saying. Here we have the Lord’s farewell prayer. This is
truly the Lord’s Prayer rather than what we commonly call the model prayer.

“These words spake Jesus, and liften up his eyes to heaven.” We witness the calm
before the storm. Jesus is facing death, and demonstrates absolute calm. John, who
has not before intimated the gestures of the Lord Jesus, here tells us that “He lifted
up his eyes to heaven.” I think John, of all the disciples, understood what Jesus
was saying. He was going to his death, and John knew this. So, he paid particular
attention to what Jesus was doing. His posture in prayer. And He lifted up his eyes
to heaven. If we don’t want to get lost in a journey, we keep our eyes on the road
and observe everything along the way. Jesus was enroute to heaven and he knew
where to look. He looked beyond the cross and the grave and unto his destination.
Home with the Father.

What does Jesus pray? “Father, the hour is come...” Our heavenly Father knew
exactly the events to come, but Jesus is spending time to commune with the
Father. How often do we come to prayer, just to talk with the Father? We don’t
have any demands, just that sweet fellowship with Him. Mr. Spurgeon calls this
the “intercourse of the soul with God.” We are getting intimate with the Lord. Our
souls should long for such moments of quiet. This time of fellowship with God;
the consummate love affair, the outpouring of affection.

The purpose of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever. Jesus prays, “...the
hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee...” There is none
of self in the Man, Jesus. His whole life is to glorify the Father. We ought to learn
from this prayer how we ought to live our lives to glorify the Father.

Verse 2 answers the questions of election. As thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as THOU HAST GIVEN HIM. It
is the father’s prerogative to save whom He will, and Jesus unequivocally pays
attention to this. Jesus had the power to save, but it was the Father who gave the
gift of eternal life. We see here the universality of redemption, and we also see the
specialty of it. All the elect will be saved.


Verse three brings us to the soul’s question. Have we experienced this life the
Lord Jesus is talking about. The head knowledge driven a foot or so lower to the
heart; the seat of emotions. This journey of redemption involves both. A sure
knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and the action of God the Father; man’s response to
God’s gift, the emotions of the heart. We cannot divorce the two. I am not saying
that everyone must have a Damascus Road experience, as did Paul, but we must all
experience this overwhelming attachment to the Father. This is what drives us to
our knees in repentance. This is what brings us to a place of obedience. We love
the Father and become desirous of pleasing Him. Nothing pleases a father like the
obedience of his children. So it is with God. If we are to please Him, we will keep
His law. We will find delight in the Lord, and the world will fastly fade away.

Lord, lead us into that path of righteousness, that we may truly glorify You.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Wednessday, December 24, 2003

John 17: 13-26

“And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might
have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”

Jesus never forgot, nor conveniently shelved, the needs of the world. He wished
that all would enjoy fulfillment in life as it is found in the word of God. There is
no place for an unhappy Christian. We ought always to shine in Jesus. How do we
do this? We immerse ourselves in the word of God, which reveals the Father and
His desires for us. Whenever I have come upon a Christian who is not enjoying the
fruits of the Christian life, it is contributable to a lack of reading the Book.
Someone once said, “This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from
this Book.” Time and time again, it proves to be true. Jesus was absorbed by the
word of God, and He exuded truth in His life. Everything Jesus did spilled over
from the Book. “I have given them Thy word.”

We are to be sanctified by truth. The teaching of Jesus is the truth from the Father
and that teaching is to bring us unto the holiness of God. Is there another purpose
for God’s word? We establish a lot of rules in our religion. We are very hard on
people who break those rules. The essence of God’s word is to bring us, you and
me, unto holiness. Our entire lives are to be sanctified. Separated from the world
and magnetically drawn to the Lord. It is not a single act, but a journey, and step
by step we climb the stairs of holiness.

From this sanctification we get our commission. “As thou has sent me into the
world, even so have I sent them into the world.” Vs 18. There is no end to journey.
I have retired from the ministry, but the ministry is still in me. I still have a
pastor’s heart and continue to minister God’s word. We cannot desert our high
calling in Christ Jesus. We are compelled to preach the gospel. This is the one
requirement of the calling to ministry. It is not that we are not qualified to other
things, but we are compelled by a higher calling to proclaim Christ and His word.
Every believer in a sense receives this call with his/her conversion.

Verses 20,21 show the multiplication of this word. They will believe and those
who hear their words will believe and so on. We are to be fruitful and multiply.
We are to bring others to the festival.

This Jesus, who was born sinless, would soon assume the sins of the whole world,
and would die as the sacrificial lamb once and for all slain that men and women
and children might be saved. If Jesus could die for usch a cause, surely the least
we can do is live for the same cause.

Let us pray this Lord’s prayer daily that we might mirror the Saviour as the Light
of the world.

Lord, make me and mould me in Thy image that Jesus may be seen in the life I live
and not just the words I say.

Cheers,

Jim

Happy Christ’s Day

 

For those who wondered about the lack of devotionals, my response is at the tearoom. I shall, Lord willing, resume the daily devotionals on January 7th...Again, Monday through Friday.

My thanks to those who wrote private notes whilst I was in distress, I offer my most sincere thanks, and may God bless you.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

John 20: 19-31

Jesus presents Himself to an assembly of His disciples after His resurrection on
the first day of the week.

“”Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors
were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and
stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

There are several things to be noted here. The disciples, whilst in great fear, had
not given up on church. There was an established day of assembly, and it was that
day, the first day of the week. It is partly from this passage we get the idea of
holding church services on Sunday.

Jesus had been killed. Their hopes had been dashed that the Messiah had come and
His establishment of the kingdom, military victory, was not accomplished. I
should imagine they were intending to develop a strategy to make this happen.

The doors were shut. This was a supernatural entry. Jesus does not need doors. He
can enter into our presence regardless of the barriers we impose. He came to
believers and not to the world. The world is blind to Jesus, as it is to-day. We, as
the light of the world, are commissioned to make Him known to the darkness of
this world by shining brightly for Him. Our testimony must be sure.

“peace be unto you.” and “He shewed unto them His hands and His side.” The
Lord graciously looks after matters in order. First, He is a comforter...”Peace be
unto you.” Jesus ought always bring us calm and peace and sweet assurances.We
are not to be given to troubles, turmoil and the tempests of doubt. “Peace be unto
you.”

Then Jesus provides the evidence, “He shewed unto them His hands and His side.”
To these disciples, who witnessed the execution, did not need more evidence.
They instantly recognized His nail-scarred hands and wounded side. Whilst we
cannot see these marks in our flesh, our minds should go back to the record, the
evidence of a risen Lord. It is in the resurrection we have the greatest strength. He
conquered sin and Hell and He rose again, the victor over all. The complete joy is
that we are soldiers of the cross, and we are partakers of the open tomb. We too
shall rise again to glory in that final hour. Jesus said it is so, and we are to believe
it. What power is placed upon us to be disciples in this dark age of doubt, mockery
and disdain for the things of God. We are the guardians of truth. How well do we
wear the armour of the gospel of light? Are we fully equipped? Let us go forward
knowing that we have the victory, because Jesus paid the price.

Lead us into victory, Lord and help us to know victory.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Thursday, January 8, 2004

John 20: 24-31

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus
came.” Thomas was not with them when Jesus came...There is no reason given for
his absence, and no blame is enscribed by our Lord. It is a lesson, however, for
those who think missing the odd meeting of the church is of no consequence.
Where will we be when Jesus comes? This absence is what gives rise to rumour
and misunderstandings. We miss a meeting and are not fully informed of events.
Then, we hear portions of things that are said and we use our furtive imaginations
to construct what might have been. Far better to be in the House when Jesus
comes; whether He comes in person, or in the person of the Holy Spirit,
ministering unto the saints.

This is a very tough time for the disciples. They had walked with Jesus and seen
His ministry up close. They witnessed the miracles, the healings, and souls coming
into faith. We know that their faith was in Jesus the Christ, but we are not sure
they had a right understanding about that mission. Many still had a physical,
military-type victory. The crucifixion dashed these hopes. Just prior to Jesus
revealing Himself in His glorified body, there was no real thought about
resurrection. Perhaps they were meeting to plan a strategy. Planning on how they
could gather the forces and overcome the enemy. Perhaps they were planning
terrorist-type attacks. They were meeting in secret and behind closed doors. They
had not given up hope.

There is great strength when our faith is as a little child. There is nothing of which
to boast. It is all of God, or nothing at all. And along comes Thomas. Some of the
others had witnessed the empty tomb, and their first thought was that “they” had
stolen away the body. Mary runs to the other disciples and “saith unto them, They
have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have
laid him.” Vs 2. Peter and John ran to the open sepulchre, but it was impetious
Peter who went in. Sometimes impetuosity is a good feature in the Christian life. It
got Peter into difficulty a few times, but not this time. Whilst Peter witnessd the
neat grave, it was John who first believed. The question is what did he believe?
That would be mere speculation, but I wonder if John didn’t have that special
insight that all is now well that he has seen the empty tomb. That believing heart
overtook emotion and doubt and planted a firm faith in place.

It was Mary who remained. The others went to their own homes. It is here that
Mary meeting with the resurrected Jesus. Again, the others were absent. You see
what absence brings. We miss the Lord. Mary thought it was the gardner speaking
to her, but then she recognized His voice. Do we recognize the Lord’s voice when
He speaks to us? He does speak to us through His word and through our hearts in
those quiet moments we spend in the garden of prayer...especially if we remain
silent enough to hear Him.

And along comes Thomas. “Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will
not believe.” vs 25. It is not wrong to have doubts and to expect proof. Some want
to hide their doubts because of how people will perceive them. Let it out, my
friends, and resolve the doubts. Get the proof from God’s word and get on with
living the life of joy and triumph.

Lord, help me to trust in your word and go from faith to faith in daily living,
knowing that one day we will see you close and up front.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Friday, January 9, 2004

John 21

Do not I love thee, O my Lord?
Then let me nothing love;
Dead be my heart to every joy,
When Jesus cannot move.

Hast thou a lamb in all thy flock
I would disdain to feed?
Hast thou a foe, before whose face
I fear thy cause to plead?

Thou know’st I love thee, dearest Lord;
But oh, I long to soar
Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
And learn to love thee more.
-C.H. Spurgeon

“After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples...” It is interesting
to note that Thomas the doubter has become Thomas the faithful and did not miss
this meeting. It seems, as it should, once we meet Jesus, we ought to desire to be
all the more where He abides. Isn’t this the purpose of a daily devotional? Not so
much to inspire, but to encourage each of us to rush into “the secret place of the
most High” as one missionary wrote. We advance quicker on our knees than we do
on our feet.

Peter leads the way. “I go a fishing.” He returns to the routine of daily living,
suggesting that the disciples did not neglect their mortal duties to provide their
own living. Labour was not beneath them. We then notice that this leadership
leads others to follow, “We also go with thee.” When we give our lives over to
Jesus, we cannot but lead others to follow. Often we do not have to speak because
our testimony speaks for us. How many fellow-workers, neighbours and friends
watch our every move. Yes, they want to find the least fault, but they are still
looking. According to this example, if we set the example, they will follow. In one
church, I had a Jewish woman who found the Lord Jesus, and her son. The
husband was a good man, but was quite hard. He did not treat his wife and son
cruelly, and I would call him a kind man. This woman never said a word to him,
but never missed a service, including prayer meetings. The son went on to Bible
College and after that I lost contact with him. After some 30 odd years, this man
came crying and said, He couldn’t take it any longer. What is that, I said? I can’t
take her silence. I watch her every move and cannot find fault. I put every obstacle
in her way, and she hurdles them with great ease. She goes to Synagogue for my
benefit, but never misses a church meeting. She has faithfully taught Clive and
brought him into manhood as I would have him. I must have this Jesus too. It was
a great joy when I looked over the pulpit and saw this family sitting in the usual
pew, but now a complete family. Time, patience and a simple life-revealing
testimony. Oh how eloquent her life. She had a quiet time with God each and
every day.

These men returned to their tasks and they were unfruitful. Jesus appears on the
shores, and in good humour, asks them if they have any meat? They did not
recognize him. Would we recognize Jesus if He appeared where we live? Jesus
tells them to cast nets on the other side, they do, and there were fish, more than
their nets could handle. It is amazing how abundant our lives become when we
obey the Lord.

Lord, help us each one to learn how to labour in Your love, so that we may be
obedient to your call...the call unto Yourself.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Monday, January 12, 2004

1 Corinthians 15: 1-18

The witness to our Lord’s resurrection is presented in this passage. Christianity
differs to all other religions in the fact that we have a living God, and the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. We shall not go through some process of change to
arrive at our destination. The change took place when Jesus came into our lives.
The transformation takes place when we rise again and we take up permant
residence in the presence of God and the saints.

Verse 1, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” Paul preached the
gospel. He has been faithful in the great commission given by our Lord. Not only
did he preach it, but it was received, and Paul is now talking to the saints of God.

verse 3, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” Paul tells us the facts that
Christ died for us. It is a personal relationship. Paul was a first-hand recipient of
this good news and now passes it along to remind of us of the root and hope of our
religion. “According to the scriptures.” He does not leave us in a blind stupor, but
affirms the veracity of the scriptures. My heart goes out to those who would bring
the scriptures to naught by their own fallible, puny minds. Some think they are
above the scriptures and chase after dreams. Paul tells us we have confirmation,
and this confirmation comes in the resurrection.

This being such an important event, Paul goes on to tell about witnesses to the
resurrection. “And that he was seen by Cephas (or Peter), then of the
twelve.....after above five hundred brethen at once,...James, then all of the
apostles.....”

Paul goes on to say he is the least of the apostles. He was forgiven by the Lord
himself, yet Paul never forgot his station as a persecutor of the church. How often
do we think about the profanity of our lives? The times when we rejected the Lord
and went our own way? Do we have that “thorn” in our side? We are reminded by
Paul that we “crucify Christ afresh when we sin.” Let us resolve not to sin in the
face of God, and get on with the perfecting of our lives in Him.

The resurrection gives us eternal hope; eternal purpose ; and eternal destiny, We
must live in the promise of the resurrection.

Bless’d be the everlasting God,
The Father of our Lord;
Be his abounding mercy praised,
His majesty adored.

When from the dead He raised His Son,
And called Him to the sky,
He gave our souls a lively hope
That they should never die.

What though our inbred sins require
Our flesh to see the dust;
Yet as the Lord our Saviour rose,
So all His followers must.
-CHS

Help us, Lord, to see our religion as a living and vibrant experience in Christ, and
help us to live each day in the resurrection of Christ.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

1 Corinthians 15: 19-34

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

What is Paul saying here? In essence, Paul is saying, If our only hope in Christ is
in this present life, then those who have died have lived their lives in vain. They
have sacrificed the earthly pleasures which titilate the natural senses for nothing.
They have died in vain, for there is nothing beyond death, but dust and ashes.

Is this not the plight of those who are of the world? Is this not the problem faced
by those who would deny the scriptures? Men have speculated about who God is,
and if there is a God. Their speculation is based on man’s intelligence, and we all
know how frail that can be. We are a fickle lot, and we each seek our own
aggrandization. Look at me, we say, sometimes in word, but most often in our
posture. I am important to the world, as if the world stops and goes based on our
presence. The gospel dispells this myth. We are as dust blowing with every wind
of change.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead.” Paul verifies that not only did Christ die,
but He rose again. Paul goes on to say, “and become the firstfruits of them that
slept.” Jesus led the way for those who had already died in faith. Remember Job
who said, “I know that I shall stand on the earth and see God.” He didn’t
understand about Jesus, but he did believe God, and he had hope in the
resurrection. He didn’t understand the resurrection, but he believed God. Why? It
was the word of God, written and repeated by those in authority. Job sat every
Sabbath in the amen corner, and shouted his assurances that God doeth all things
well.

I remember the Sunday when a young baby was shouting out. The mother did her
best to quieten the child. I told her it was OK, the baby is just shouting Amen and I
appreciate its confirmation of the gospel message. I never minded the members
who shouted the odd amen during the preaching service. Dead people say nothing.
Live people are open for excitement. Those who have hope of the resurrection
have something to shout about. It saddens me when people who claim to know
Jesus don’t express their excitement. We are not all vocal, but there is a body
language that speaks eloquently. When neither presents itself, I worry for them.

“If in this life only....we are.....most miserable.” How clearly Paul says it.

My friends, everything in the Christian religion hinges on the resurrection. When
the cross was hoisted up it revealed a dying Man. When Jesus presented Himself
in the garden he lifted up a vibrant life. He rose again. I get excited everytime I
think about this fact. Not only did Christ rise from the dead, but I shall also rise
again when this frail body succumbs and I shall see Jesus. The cross shows the
sacrifice that gives us the hope of things to come which is manifest in the
resurrection.

Lord, help me to focus on the fulfillment of your earthly life, the resurrection, so
that my earthly life will reflect the absolute victory which is mine in Christ, the
great Captain of salvation.

Cheers,

Jim