The Carpenter's Chapel

Even genuine faith has hurdles and often falls upon the wrong pathway, but God is faithful and leads gently along the way.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Acts 15: 11 “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall
be saved, even as they.”

The early Church still had this notion that salvation was a Jewish thing. The Law
still applied. They were trying to impose the old laws unto the church. Peter had
already been taught this lesson by God, that men are saved by grace and not by law.
Salvation was never by law. The law may have convicted, but it did not save. A
person is convicted in a court of law by the law. This is what you must do, and if
you do not do the, then you are guilty. It is followed by punishment for the
violation. The scripture tells us what God expects by revealiing the nature of God. If
we, in and of ourselves, cannot live up to this standard, then we are guilty under
those laws. The punishment is death and ultimately eternal damnation. It is the
grace of God that intervenes. There is nothing we can do. It is the free gift of God.
It was the free gift of God in the old covenant, and it is the free gift of God in the
new covenant. More information is revealed regarding the supreme sacrifice made
by our Lord Jesus, but the gift of grace remains the same. Peter learned this lesson,
and now must pass it on to the church.

If Peter had not made one more contribution to the church, he said it all in this brief
address. “But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...” He did
not say, I believe and he did not say you must believe,,,he said WE believe. Who?
The church of Jesus Christ. This is the underlying doctrine of all doctrines. Every
other doctrine will rise or fall around this one doctrine.

Legalism existed then and it exists to-day, but it is mere jurisprudence, and does
nothing for one’s salvation. We can have the appearance that all is well, but we lack
the fruit of that act of grace. Eventually it comes forth and reveals the barenness of
the tree. Life does not exist at all, and it must be cut away.

This very vocal crowd went silent when the truth was told. Preach the word, my
friends. Do not be caught up in the fanciful words of delighting your audience. Do
not tickle their fancies with the things that bring them pleasure. Preach the word, be
instant in season and out of season. When the laws and the fancies fail, the truth
will have her way, and fruit will be evident.

Once Peter set the church straight, others followed. They then cited passages where
God had dealt with Gentiles of old. Salvation was not a Jewish thing. God used
Israel to preserve the word, and to present God’s truth, but it was not an exclusive
club. Salvation is of the Lord, and it is for all those whom the Lord has called unto
salvation.

It was not until the church faced the truth that it reached out to the Gentile world
and saw great growth. It is when we bend the knee before God and await His truth
that we can drive forth with the gospel. We must leave the baggage behind, wear
new clothes and show forth a new heart.

Let us bow before God, listen to His word, and preach the truth in love and
understanding. Then will we hear from heaven and He will pour us out a blessing.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Acts 16: 13 “And on the sabbath day we went out of the city by a river side, where
prayer was wont to be made...”

Prayer is the chief element of the Christian life that moves mountains. Prayer ought
to be the first priority of the believer. If we want to invite disaster, start one’s day
without prayer. The modern church has all but forgotten the power of prayer. This
need not e a great public display of eloquence, but even the unspoken thoughts
uttered from the heart. Prayer is also a very quiet time. We enter into the holy of
holies, realizing we are in the very presence of a holy God, and we wait upon Him.
This world has become a race; we race here and dash there and we forget to take
time to be holy.

The apostles took time to pray. Any site may be the occasion for prayer. By a
riverside, in the meadow, on a hillside and in the kitchen. The important thing is not
place, but presence. How present are we in prayer?

In my bible is pasted this quote from Spurgeon: “Prayer pulls te rope below, and the
great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray
so languidly; others give an occasional pluck at the rope; but he who wins with
heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his
might.”

When I first went to a church in Saskatchewan. I was all alone. It was very lonely,
speaking as a man. It was an isolated and desolate place. Had it not been for prayer
fellowship, I should have gone insane. I was a social person. I needed the company
of people. I came from a city church and always had people around me. Now I had
high banks of snow, inhuman cold and vast expanses of nothing. At first I played
the radio, day and night. I read books, wrote letters and essentially felt sorry for
myself. Then I discovered prayer. At first my prayers were self-centered. I prayed
for my personal needs. Soon I learned the myriad of ways to praise and bless God in
prayer. It wasn’t long before I had added my fellow pastors to that prayer list, and
then missionaries. I took a phone directory and prayed for the names alphabetically
listed. I had never met the people and I had no telephone with which to call them,
but I had their names.

Before long, people were stopping off to say hello, and they always brought some
food and other creature comforts for me. After many weeks of this, some of these
people came to Sunday service. From 9 people the church body grew to 40. I never
again doubted the efficacy of private prayer, and this would support me for the rest
of my life. When prayer life altered, so did ministry. I could not get these people out
to service on my own as much as I tried. Prayer opened the doors of opportunity.

This rural opportunity was a training ground for things to come and I moved on to a
city church, a great work for God. God did not transform the world around me so
much as it transformed me. As we read Acts 16, we see what God took his servants
through before the blessings came. Prison and beatings and unjust charges, and it
was prayer that sustained these servants as it will sustain us. Believing ON Jesus or
IN Jesus is a great deal more than believing ABOUT Jesus. It is nigh time that we
actually believed in Jesus in our daily prayer lives.

Lord, teach us to pray.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Monday, March 22, 2004

Acts 16: 25-40

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the
prisoners heard them.”

Paul and Silas are in a life and death situation. They are chained and their fate is
sealed. What do they do? Pray and sing. What a blessed testimony. They turned a
dark and damp place into a sanctuary for God and for blessings. What a lesson for
us in a free world where peace and security dominates.

When we walk in the Spirit and pray and sing unto the Lord there is always
someone who hears. In this case it is the jailers. Think about this. It is a very serious
situation. If these prisoners should escape, it is the keeper who will pay the price
with his life.

An earthquake shakes the prison and looses the chains that bind and the prisoners
are free to go. What do they do? Stand about and testify of the Lord. What does the
keeper do? Draws his sword as to kill himself. Paul and Silas are free men in Jesus
and now free men from the prison. The keeper has nothing and now that which he
has is in jeopardy.

Sometimes it takes great tragedy to shake the very foundations of mankind to have
them consider the eternal hope promised through Christ Jesus, and Paul and Silas
presents this hope, and the keeper comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Paul is not
content to see one man saved. He adds “and thy house.” Let us not be content with
one soul, but go for the entire household. Paul got the head of the house and the
jailer brought his entire family. We often read about the over simplification of the
gospel, and we are critical about the concept. My friends, the fact of the matter is
that the gospel is just that simple. We must not allow the abuse and misuse of
certain concepts to destroy the facts of scripture. “Believe on the Lord Jesus and
thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

While this whole event was miraculous, it still required the mundane things we
must go through in presenting the gospel. Verse 32, “And they spake unto him (the
keeper of the jail) the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.” Nothing
was taken for granted. The word was presented to all. They went after the entire
household, and that is what God gave. When was the last time we prayed to God
about our dissatisfaction that only one in a family was saved? Some would tell us
that we can’t talk to God like that. Well, beloved, it is high time we got straight with
God and let Him know that we are not content with only one. We want the entire
household to follow God in salvation. Isn’t this what is meant when scripture talks
about praying boldly? Let’s get bold with God and see entire households come to
Jesus.

Lord, give us such a burden that we are not content with rain drops, but we seek a
downpour. Pour us out a blessing.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Acts 17: 16-34

“For as I passed by, and beheld your sacred things, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What, therefore, without knowing it, ye
worship, that I announce unto you.”

The apostle Paul is addressing the intelligencia of the day. He does not attempt to
tear down their false doctrines, nor dispell their myths. He uses their very doctrines
to present unto them the unknown god they had been worshipping in ignorance.

Sometimes we attack people like a bull in a china shop, and we accomplish little,
but do a lot of damage in the process. I am not saying that we should let false
doctrines abound, nor that we should let ignorant people abound. We should use
what God has given to us in common intelligence and tell forth the gospel in love
and knowledge. What are we trying to do when we approach people this way? Are
we trying to establish our superior knowledge? We do not have to prove our
superior education, we need to present the Jesus of the gospel. One thing I learned
in university was that every student is out to show the professor how intelligent he
is. The student will try every trick in the book, but they are soon found out. As I
used to remind the students, “You may have all the answers, but remember this, I
mark the papers.” You allow small victories to pass, and wisdom prevails in the
end. So it with the gospel. “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead,
some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul
departed from among them.”

We must know how far to go and when to leave. We can prevail for a season and
lose them for eternity, or we can let it go for the moment, and return to speak again.
The great soldiers of battle learned when to retreat and when to attack, and both
play vital roles in battle. So it is with our witness for Christ, our Captain.

Paul departed from them, but that was not the end of it. Verse 34, “Hpwbeit certain
men clave unto him, and believed.” There is a time when we content ourselves with
the few, knowing that they will in turn win many. Out of this few came the church
at Athens and it flourished even un ungenial soil. Yesterday, I thought about
demanding more, and that was in relation to a family. To-day I am content with
few, but that concerned a nation. Both thoughts are compatible and both thoughts
are biblical. Let us by all means be biblical.

Lord help us always to follow your word, and be pleasing unto you.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Acts 18: 1-17

“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and
hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for
I have much people in this city.”

Paul is relentless in his patience with the Jews. He continually preaches unto them
that they must accept Jesus. In the face of this he met with violence, arrest and
imprisonment. I can only imagine the consternation that might beset Paul. He is no
doubt discouraged. A people who had been blessed with the word of God all down
through the ages had become so hardened against the very Jesus who provided the
final act of redemption.

Now the Lord comes to Paul in the night. The time when we are alone with our
thoughts, and our doubts, and our fears, and our frustrations. He comes in our quiet
times, and to Paul He says, “Be not afraid.” How many times have we experienced
similar feelings? In our quiet times God reminds us that He is there, and a great
peace comes over our hearts and minds. This shows the importance of being still
before God. Sometimes we have too much to say, and our ears are stopped to the
still small voice of God. We miss the peace that God offers. Be still and know that I
am God.

Then God instructs Paul to be instant in season and out of season. He is to preach
the word without fear. Why? Because the Lord has many souls in the city who will
believe. It reminds me of the lost soul in the middle of a woods. He is lost by the
magnitude of the woods, and walks in circles. He has the sun for guidance, but
loses all his senses when panic sets in. He is hopelessly lost. Safety is often only a
few feet away, but the walking in circles wears him down, the mind draws a blank
and fear reigns.

The lost soul is much like that. He wanders about in his lost estate and is without
hope. Preach the word without fear. We need to be ready always to preach the
word. We never know when that lost soul is waiting anxiously to be rescued. If the
search crew gives up, the man remains lost unto death. If we remain true, the Lord
will lead us in his path and the lost soul will find Jesus.

We are to minister with the confidence that the Lord has His elect everywhere, and
it remains our duty to seek them out. We preach the word as though every soul is
elect. Our only commission is to preach the gospel to the whole world. It is the
Lord’s duty to bring them in through saving grace. Let us never tire in our witness
to the gospel, and to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Spurgeon once prayed: “Lord save the elect, and elect some more.”

Cheers,

Jim

 

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Acts 19: 1-20

“And the evil spirits answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who
are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame
them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and
wounded.” Verses 15,16

This is an interesting passage where some who are great pretenders, even invoking
the name of Jesus, but lacking the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They know nothing
of grace, repentance and faith, but they preach the word of Jesus. One may fool the
world of unbelievers and even some believers, but you cannot fool even the evil
spirits of this world. These pretenders were called out and they were exposed for
what they were. And they were chased out naked and wounded.

The name of Jesus was honoured, as was the name of the true servant of Christ:
Paul. The true men of God will be recognized for what they are, but those who
would lift their own name and follow their own ideals will be found out,
embarrassed and exposed. The true ministers of the Lord have nothing to fear, and
should live their lives boldly in the Lord. They will go forth in full attire showing
forth the adornments of an holy God, as they are dressed in His righteousness.

Far too many ministers to-day cower in their witness. They fear that their
intellectual capacitity will be diminished anong their peers, and so hide behind
degrees and such. When men take a stand, not in their own intellectual prowess, but
in the kowledge of the Christ, they will see great fruit for their labours. “And many
that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.” Verse 18. The true
believers will always show their deeds..they will always show the fruit of their vine.

Ephesus was so well known through history as a place of magic, it even has a place
in the writing of Shakespeare. In this passage we learn something of the magical
sorcery of the would be ministers who attempted to copy Paul. It did not work.
They learn that the works of God are not magical, but quite real and live changing.
To show their faith they burned significant manuscripts containing this magicical
incantation. Some manuscripts did survive and are on view in the London series.

The one thing we are to do when we come to Christ is to burn the past and the
doctrines we once held. This is a figurative burning to-day. The fire being the
symbol of purification. Unless we are willing and ready to be purified, we cannot
speak of Jesus in all sincerity and the seed we sow will fall on barren land. To be
effective, our lives must be truly changed, and then can we speak the name of Jesus
in truth.
Spirit of Truth, be thou
In life and death our guide!
O Spirit of adoption, now
May we be sanctified.

Lord, help us always to know truth, that we may speak of Jesus with great power
and fruitful admonition.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Friday, March 26, 2004

Acts 19: 23-41

"Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth."

What was their cradt? It was making statues of the goddess Diana. There was high demand for this statue, the primary god of Ephesus. If Paul were allowed to preach Jesus, these craftsmen would lose their source of wealth.

How much this reminds me of mob mentality when they are deprived of their way. Right or wrong does not matter and truth is sacrificed.

When man fears the effects of Christianity, he will concoct all manner of religious thought, especially when it will cut into his income. I remember, in the early days of Billy Graham, when he met with a University of British Columbia professor. The professor told Mr. Graham he believed what he was preaching, but if he accepted it, he would have to change his lifestyle, and he was not prepared to do that. He sacrificed the gift of eternal life and truth for the moment of the flesh. How true that is of to-day. Men would rather believe foolishness that the change that takes place when one believes in Jesus. It is the ultimate in selfishness, and, as Christians, we ought to remind ourselves what danger lurks in self interests.

I do not choose my scripture for these devotions, but follow a guide. I was a bit puzzled about how I could turn this passage into a devotional. The fact is, there is not a bit of scripture where we cannot find something pertaining to our personal living for Christ, including the genealogies. Sometimes we have to work a little harder to see the spiritual truths.

Not only were these craftsmen pushing their own trade, but they suported a false religion. Is was not that they believed so much in that religion, but that it was their source of income.

The next thing we see, is they pushing one of the tradesmen, who was a Jew, to the fore. The Jews and Christians confounded this group and they wanted a Jewish spokeman to make concrete this false religion. What does he say? :"Great is Diana of the Ephesians..."

If we look at many cults to-day, we will find the same actions. They will take so much of Christianity and add to it the desires of their minds. Some Jehovah's Witnesses have been coming to my home over the years. Their latest venture was to ask me if I used the King James Version. When I said yes, the pulled out a King James Version from their bag and started to misquote from it. They were prepared to abandon their bible and use mine to get their message to me. It was at this point I brought out a different version and quoted the text that they were reading. They didn't know what to say, when they heard the passage in clear modern english. It did not allow for their doctrine. I suggested I could get my Greek NT and check out what it says. By this time, they had to move along. They, other religions, are quite ingenious in their attempts to disguise their strange doctrines. Why not just accept the truth as it is? The truth will require change, and few of us are prepared for change.

We can turn a situation into an opportunity and this is what Alexander did. I remember a missionary who went to Australia during the war years. He told me this story long after. Australians in those days took their politics quite seriously, and the labour Party was in power. He could not get an audience. So, he got a school bell and stood on a corner ringing the bell, and crying out,"Down with the Labour Party...Down with the Labour Party." Well, it wasn't long before he had a large and angry mob surrounding him. He then intoned, "Come unto me all ye that labour, and I will give thee rest." Down with that labour party. You see, he got a crowd to listen, and he used the moment, and preached the gospel.

By all means that I may win some. We must sometimes step outside the mundane to present the gospel of Christ. Let us never settle into one mindset, less we fail in our ultimate mission.

Lord help us to always be prepared to lift You high that all men may see.

Cheers,

Jim