He hears me!

Having spent a goodly number of years in the classrooms of various State Secondary Schools in central Scotland, I have observed different kinds of pupils. Reading an article earlier this week reminded me of one particular type, who might well be referred to as the "There's only the teacher and me in the class" pupil. This pupil has a personal conversation with the teacher - almost as if there was no-one else in the class. For example, even a rhetorical question posed by the teacher will illicit an immediate response from this pupil. While the classroom is filled with his/her peers, this pupil lives in a little world of his/her own - and the teacher!

However, I would suggest that a pupil like that has something to teach some disciples of Jesus about the important subject of prayer! I wonder if you have ever thought that, with millions of other believers praying as you pray; speaking with Father God (to Whom, by the way, all prayer should be directed! We pray to the Father, in the Name of the Son, by the leading of the Spirit!) at the same moment that you are speaking with Him; your prayer is perhaps less important? After all, I know that my personal prayers, while important to me, and to those for whom I pray, are not in the same "class" as those of a brother or sister in the Lord Jesus who is undergoing torture.

That, of course, is totally wrong! As we talk with our omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, God we may be confident that He is giving us - each and every one of us - His full attention! Sometimes, in class, I would ask a general question, and twenty hands would be raised. I am but a human, and could ask only one pupil to provide the answer. Our God is far above and beyond our human capabilities. He is God! He hears, and can listen, to each one who comes to Him in the name of the Son. He directs single-minded attention towards our praise; our petitions; our concerns.

When you pray, it is as if you are the only person in the world who is doing so! Even although millions are "bending His ear" in prayer, He listens to each one, individually! Quel Dieu! (What a God!). May we take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity to commune with the Creator of all that exists.

Let us pray!

Female pastors!

It's not as if it is a subject to which I have never before given any thought! However, it is one that can cause severe polarisation, and I have tended to leave any discussion of it to private conversations. Until, that is, a friend posted a 'cartoon' on Facebook - and started a series of comments that is still growing!

The subject in question is that of female pastors. My personal stance is really quite simple and straightforward. The written Word of God makes perfectly clear that no woman should be in a position of spiritual authority over man. That, I would contend, means that no woman has the Biblical authority to be a pastor and teacher of men. Of course, this only became a major issue with the advent of the Women's Liberation Movement in the middle of the last century. Sadly, as still happens, the world was allowed to infiltrate the church, instead of the church going into all the world, and preaching the Gospel!

So, how have I arrived at such a conclusion? Well, my primary "proof texts" are in Paul's Holy Spirit inspired letters to two young pastors - Timothy and Titus. The relevant passages are:

I Tim. 3:1-7  "The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task.  Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil; moreover he must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." 

Titus 1:5-9 "This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. For a bishop , as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, master of himself, upright, holy, and self-controlled; he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it."

Notice that, in both letters, Paul states that the person who is to be given spiritual authority (whether he refers to "episkopos" - "bishop"; or to "presbuteros" - "presbyter/elder") is to be "...  the husband of one wife ...". One does not need to be a theologian to understand that a "husband" is male. Some, of course, argue that Paul was a child of his time, and that women were lesser creatures in that society. Sorry! For a start, Christianity gave women a whole now status that they had never enjoyed before - not even within Judaism! Secondly, the Greek language has a perfectly good word for "spouse". If the roles were to be interchangeable, I would argue that God the Holy Spirit would have inspired the apostle to use that word! Thirdly, Paul consistently uses the masculine form of the pronouns - "he" and "his"!

As an aside, may I also point out that Paul was not referring to the idea of "one wife at a time", as some try to have us believe. Polygamy was a total "no-no" in the early church. What Paul was stating was that even a man who has been married; divorced; and remarried while his wife lives; is ineligible to be in a position of spiritual authority in the church! If the church in the west were to exercise discipline in that respect, a lot of "pastors/ministers/etc" would not be in the pulpit, or on the platform, this coming Sunday!

I would also take note of the following: "As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only ones it has reached?" (I Cor 14:33-36). 

If one is obedient to this particular passage, then it is clear that women should not have authority over men. Paul refers to "the law" - which, to him, would be the Torah (the five Books of Moses: Gen. - Deut.) - which records the words of Almighty God to the woman, immediately after the Fall: "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Gen 3:16; emphasis added). Paul had already stated that women were permitted to pray and to prophesy (11:5) provided they were appropriately attired, so the injunction against speaking must apply to something else. It is unlikely that he was, in fact, referring to pastoral leadership and ministry, but (in context) to women seeking to evaluate what was being shared (see v.29).

Of course, there are also those who will quote Gal.3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - and emphasise "neither male nor female"! However, one of the first principles of hermeneutics (the interpretation of the Word of God), is that "a text, taken out of context, is a pretext"! These words to the Galatian churches have nothing to do with spiritual authority or leadership. They refer to our salvation, which is equally available to all.

I could go on, but this is a blog post, not another book! However, I trust that some who read this post will realise that, regardless of modern western society with its political correctness, its women's liberation movements (although I don't see much activity from activists in that area when it comes to female genital mutilation, or to females who have been raped being stoned to death for 'adultery', to give just two examples!), or any other worldly movement, Almighty God has His own economy - and His Word stands. "Let God be true though every man be false, ..." (Rom 3:4).

Blessings, and shalom.

Broken cisterns

Many years ago, in the town of Largs on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, one of the magnificent mansions that had been built in the late 19th century was converted into a Conference Centre - retaining the name of the original building: Netherhall. It was used by many Christian groups and, even before we were married to one another, my wife and I spent a number of enjoyable weekends there at Missionary Conferences and suchlike events.

Of course, one of the problems about such an old building was that the plumbing was not up to even mid-20th century standards. The noises that came from the pipes, at the most unwelcome times, is something that anyone who stayed in the building will never forget! One old hymn was often referred to - "I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, but ah! the waters failed"!

Cisterns, of course, are not a modern invention. Archaeologists frequently discover cisterns that have been hewn out of solid rock. Can you imagine - swinging a pick-axe, or using a primitive hammer and chisel, digging such a cistern out of hard, unyielding, stone. You work, and work, through the biting cold of winter, and the blazing heat of summer.

After perhaps years of work - if this is to be a domestic cistern - you finally complete the task. You then step back, and wait for the cistern to fill - and it leaks! You discover that, in spite of your hard work, there is a hairline crack in the rock, and your supply of water slowly seeps away.

That is, in fact, a picture of the futility of our attempts to find real satisfaction in life. It's an age-old problem. We read, in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures; the First/Old Testament) that Almighty God told the prophet Jeremiah that His people "... have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jer 2:13). The Children of Israel were doing what, sadly, their descendants appear to be doing today. They were looking for satisfaction - but not looking to YHWH, the God of the Covenant. 

About the same time that many of us were spending time in Netherhall, the musical group "The Rolling Stones", sung a song entitled "I can't get no satisfaction!" Ignoring the poor grammatical structure of those words, they convey the experience of so many, even today.

Are you driven by an inner longing; yearning for satisfaction? There is a spring of living water, rising from hidden depths, that is available to you, and will pour into your heart, satisfying you even as it makes you thirst for more. But you must be willing to stoop down and drink!

Only your Creator can satisfy your heart. Everything else will deceive and disappoint. The apostle John records an incident in the life of the Lord Jesus, when He spoke with a Samaritan woman at a well. He said: "... whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14).

That is a cistern that will never leak; will never fail; and that is available to all who will come to Him, the fountain, or source, of that living water. The hymn-writer, John W. Peterson wrote these words:

"I thirsted in the barren land of sin and shame

And nothing satisfying there I found;

But to the blessed cross of Christ, one day I came,

Where springs of living water did abound."

You,too, may come - and be satisfied.

The only One.

The story is told of a particular officer in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was completely devoted to the emperor. One day, the officer was mortally wounded in battle. As he lay, dying, he called for Napoleon and, to his credit, the emperor quickly came to where the man was lying. 

The officer thought that someone as great as the emperor, and one to whom he had been so devoted, could somehow save his life. However, all that the emperor could do was shake his head, and leave. The story describes the tragic scene. As the dying man felt the cold, merciless, hand of death drawing him irresistibly to his eternal destiny behind the curtain of the unseen world, he was still heard to cry out: "Save me Napoleon! Save me!" In the hour of his death, the officer discovered that not even Napoleon could rescue him.

The story - which I am unable to confirm, but about which I have no particular doubt - is an analogy of the spiritual. When we seek deliverance from spiritual death, we find that no human being has the power to save - no minister of the Gospel, however faithful; no pastor or priest; not even one of those who may be classed as the great prayer warriors. Only in, and through, Jesus is there salvation for sinful mankind.

Preaching that first great sermon of the Christian era, on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter spoke these words: "... there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Jesus, Himself, said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." (Jn.14:6; emphasis added).

Not even the officer's devotion to his emperor was enough - and our best works are, likewise, insufficient. Paul wrote: "... by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God — not because of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph.2:8; emphasis added).

Have you asked the Lord Jesus to save you? If not, do it now! He always answers those who come to Him, in repentance and faith*, and put their trust in Him. Call on Him. He is the only One Who saves.

*These are two of the words dealt with in my first book; "Great Words of the Faith". Details for ordering it, and the others, in paperback or Kindle e-book formats, at the top of the page. Remember, I receive no financial benefit from the sale of my books. All royalties are sent, directly, to the bank account of Release International, in support of the persecuted church.

Being an apologist.

A dear friend left, today, to travel to her home country of Poland. She has not been a disciple of Jesus for a very long time, and has asked friends to pray that she might be: "... an example with my behavior, my words and my deeds, for His glory. My deep desire and hope is that I can be and remain a great witness of what Jesus did in me and how He has changed me ..."

That, of course, should be the prayer of every disciple of Jesus, whoever they are; wherever they are; and regardless of how long they have been walking the Christian way.

So what is the best reason we can give to anyone who asks why we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour? How may we, most persuasively, bear witness to our faith? "Always be ready", urged the apostle Peter, "to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,    ..." (I Peter 3:15). The Greek word translated "answer" in that quotation, is the word "apologian" - "apology"! However, this is not a weak-kneed excuse from a quivering person who merely wants to keep out of trouble! The word refers to a convincing argument in support of the position that one holds. 

For a long time, I have found it interesting that while "evangelist" is a gift of the Lord Jesus to the church (see Eph.4:11), we are all called to be witnesses! It is not a gift - it is a direct command! (see  Acts 1:8). The only option I have is to be a good witness - or a bad one! Of course, as I witness "with my behaviour, my words and my deeds,", I am being an apologist for the Faith! Please don't think that you have to be a member of the clergy; a theologian; a Bible teacher; or whatever in order "... to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, ..." You can bear witness to the the truth and power of the Gospel message. Your own life can be the best argument in support of your faith in the Lord Jesus, the Christ, to anyone who asks why you believe what you believe. You can share how He has changed you; how He continues to guide you; how He walks with you.

One word of warning! The Greek word translated "witness" in Acts 1:8 is the word "martures" - from which we get the English language word "martyr". Yes, as our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church in some sixty countries who suffer for the Gospel in ways that I am unable to comprehend, do so, it is because of their constant witness!

Are you a good witness for Jesus? Am I? we may not be preachers, or teachers, or evangelists. We are witnesses!