Clothes!

It was a sad morning!  For the first time in many months, I felt obliged to put on a pair of working jeans instead of the shorts that have been my attire in the garden, and the house, for a long time.  It was simply the case that, although there was not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was beaming, there was a wee chill in the air.  Mind you, by lunchtime I was ready to revert to shorts, as we sat outside for our mid-day meal!

Clothes!  We all use them - basically because of culture and climate!  They do have uses.  As I dug out some old rose bushes, I was glad that I was still wearing the jeans.  Those thorns can be quite sharp!  

I was reminded of a verse in Paul's letter to the Christian believers in ancient Rome.  He encourages his readers (and that includes disciples of Jesus, today!) to: "... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (Rom 13:14).

The word translated "put on" (endusasthe) refers to putting on of clothes.  But why would Paul tell us to put on Jesus as we put on our clothes?!  Well, here are some of the reasons why we put on clothes, that might provide some clues.  We put on clothes, first of all, in order to cover our bodies. In Gen.3:1-7, we read about the entrance of sin into the perfect world that Almighty God had created. When they realised what they had done, Adam and Eve "... sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons." (v.7).  This action is often interpreted to refer to nudity, as if that was the great sin!  Not so!  It has really to do with sin.  This was man's attempt to cover his sin by his own works – sewing the fig leaves together.  But Heb.9:22 makes clear that “... without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” and, in Gen 3:21 we read that: "... YHWH Elohim made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them."  In order for that to have been done, an animal had to die - the first death in creation!

You and I born as sinful human beings.  Like Adam and Eve, we need to have a covering for our sin.  Like them, we often try to make up our own covering.  But it's of no use.  Father God sees right through us!  So how can my sin be covered?  “... put on the Lord Jesus Christ ...”!  I need to be covered with His righteousness; I need to be so surrounded by His presence so that, when the Father, in judgement, looks at me, He sees, not my sinfulness, but the Son’s sacrifice and shed blood.  I need to “... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, ...”

But we also put on clothes in order to protect our bodies.  Father God’s words, after mankind had allowed sin to enter, and spoil, His good creation were, concerning the earth, “... the ground is cursed because of you.  All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.  It will grow thorns and thistles for you, ‘though you will eat of its grains.” (Gen 3:17-18).  And so, man found that an apron of leaves that was the work of his own hands, would not be sufficient.  They might have covered his immediate nakedness; they might have satisfied his desire to cover up his sinfulness; but they would do nothing to protect him from the thorns and thistles that now surrounded him or, as his descendants migrated to colder climates, from the lower temperatures.  He discovered that he needed not only covering, but also protection.

And so it is with Jesus.  We don’t just need to be covered with His righteousness; but also protected by His power.  We need to be, not just saved; but also sanctified.  We don’t just need forgiveness for all of our past sin, but also the strength to resist the temptations that we meet, day after day – the spiritual thorns and thistles that crowd into our lives.  We need to “... put on the Lord Jesus Christ ...”

Covered; protected; and then a third reason for putting on clothes occurred to me.  For is it not true that we also put on clothes in order to enhance our bodies – to make us ‘look better’?  Even a person of very plain looks may, if well and properly dressed, look more attractive.  Just think of the popularity of various ‘makeover’ reality shows on TV!  And, of course, even a person endowed with natural good looks can be strikingly beautiful, or handsome, when dressed with equally good taste.  “Clothes maketh a man” (Shakespeare) – and there is more than a grain of truth in that!

Of course, it would be unfair to directly compare me with, say, Tom Cruise (he wouldn’t stand a chance!!).  The only valid comparison is between me poorly-dressed, and me well-dressed.  It's the same in the spiritual realm.  The life of one who having confessed their sin, and repented, is following Jesus, changes – and does so for the better.  Putting on Lord Jesus Christ has made that life more attractive than it was before; the person is different.  But beware of making a comparison with someone else!

Clothing: something with which each of us very familiar: used to cover; to protect; to enhance our bodies. 

The Lord Jesus Christ: One of Whom we are all so very much in need – the need to be covered with His righteousness; protected by His power; enhanced with His beauty.

Have you “... put on the Lord Jesus Christ ...”?  Have you?

Stop the world - I want to get off!

Was it a film?  Was it a song? I can't recall, but the phrase (or something very similar!) was certainly in vogue when I was a lot younger.  "Stop the world - I want to get off!"

As I try to keep abreast of contemporary world news, it is a sentiment that any sane person would surely understand - and with which many would readily identify.  Today's, apparently co-ordinated, attacks in the German city of Munchen (Munich) are but the latest in an ever-lengthening catalogue of violent and fatal incidents.  We have witnessed an abortive coup in Turkey; police officers murdered in the USoA; Bastille day celebrations in Nice cancelled because of another mass murder, using a bus.

Yes - will someone please stop the world.  I, for one, would be happy not to be here!

Of course, we know that such a wish is impossible to fulfil - at least in physical terms.  However, as Shakespeare has his character Hamlet say: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." (Hamlet: Act 1, scene 5).

Yesterday morning, I completed a period in which I have been using the "minor" prophets of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) as the basis of my private devotions.  It has, at times, been like reading the morning newspaper!  

The book of the prophet Joel is particularly applicable, as he writes about the coming "Day of YHWH".  His words are, of course, the words most quoted by the apostle Peter in the first Day of Pentecost of the Christian era.  That "Day of YHWH" has two applications.  The first may be seen as the destruction of the Second Temple and the dispersion of the Children of Israel when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D.  However, that date and event does not exhaust the prophetic word.   Those words of Joel also point to the end-times - times in which many believe we are currently living.

Obadiah - the shortest book in the Tanakh - also speaks of "the Day of YHWH", and makes clear that, while the forthcoming destruction of Edom would be the immediate fulfilment of the prophetic word, that it also applied to the final move of Almighty God before the end of time itself, and the judgment of mankind.   

However, there is also a message of hope.  Obadiah assures his listeners and readers that "... in Mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions." (v.17).  The later equivalent of that promise, that goes beyond the Children of Israel (Jacob), is found in the letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus who, the writer claims: "... have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a Judge Who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel." (Heb 12:22-24; emphasis added). 

Joel also makes clear that if we are to escape that great judgment, then we must repent: "'Yet even now,' says YHWH, 'return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to YHWH, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil." (Joel 2:12-13). 

That, of course, is also the message of the Christian Gospel - that we confess that we are sinners; that we are, of ourselves, unable to do anything about our sin; that we accept that Almighty God, in the Persona (not a typo!) of the Son has, Himself, graciously paid the penalty for our sin; and that we need only come to Him, with repentant hearts, to receive cleansing and forgiveness, and begin a new life under His control.  If we have done that, then we need have no fear.  John writes that: "... He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (I John 4:4).

The crucial question is this: Have we found that salvation, deliverance, shelter, and strength only the Lord can provide when the final “day of the Lord” comes?   If not, then remember that "... now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (II Cor 6:2; emphases added).

If I may be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me at author@minister.com Alternatively, there are some useful links further down the page.  May you know the prompting of God the Holy Spirit.  May He give you no rest until you have accepted the great gift, purchased at such great cost.

The end of life.

Quite a number of recent posts have been on the topic of abortion - the deliberate killing of an unborn human being.  This evening, I want to go to the other end of the Journey of Life spectrum, and look at another emotive issue that is currently very topical - assisted dying (aka assisted suicide/euthanasia).

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;" states Shakespeare's heroine figure in his play Romeo and Juliet.   So, whatever name is given, and has been given, over recent decades, the common denominator, in this situation, is the deliberate taking of a fully adult life, for whatever reason.  By the way, I do not propose going into a discussion on etymology, especially with regard to the strict definition of euthanasia (from the Greek!).

Yesterday, the UK House of Lords debated the Bill that has been brought forward by Lord Charlie Falconer.   This Bill seeks to “enable competent adults who are terminally ill to be provided at their request with specified assistance to end their own life”.   Of course, there have been a number of attempts to legislate in favour of the right to end one's own life in recent years - at least one previous one also being in the name of Charlie Falconer.   Thankfully, each one has been defeated, but the assisted suicide and/or euthanasia supporters keep coming back with the sort of determination that one often wishes was seen in other areas of politics!

Often, some recent high-profile case, in which there has been a lot of public sympathy for the person who wishes to end his/her own life, is used by the 'suicide lobby' (to use a convenient shorthand expression!).  One that may well have been raised in the House of Lords, yesterday, is that of Brittany Maynard, the young woman from the USoA who travelled from her home state of California, to the state of Oregon, in order to legally kill herself!   However, emotional cases do not lead to good legislation!   Thankfully, for every Brittany, there are hundreds of others who do not take the 'easy' way out!  There were many who shared their stories on social media, but I didn't notice their stories receiving the same publicity in the main-stream media!

However, away from the individual cases.  What about the general picture?  It is interesting that all of the professional medical bodies are opposed to the sort of legislation that Charlie Falconer and, in the Scottish Parliament, Patrick Harvie, wish to see enacted.   However, that is not really surprising! Do assisted suicide supporters really expect doctors and nurses to be able to assist the suicide of one patient, then go on to care for a similar patient who wants to live, without this having an effect on their ethics or their empathy? Do they realise that this reduces the second patient’s will-to-live request to a mere personal whim—perhaps, ultimately, one that society will see as selfish and too costly? How does this serve optimal health care, let alone the integrity of doctors and nurses who have to face, and live with, the fact that they helped other human beings kill themselves?

Indeed, a report in The Telegraph, on Thursday, stated that "One in 10 British people believe elderly people should be offered a “reward” if they opt for assisted suicide, new polling suggests."  Now, apart from the fact that, if the 'reward' is only to be offered posthumously, it is going to be of little satisfaction to the recipient, why should anyone wish to be rewarded in this way?  By the way, the suggested 'reward'  was "a martini and a medal"!  I'm teetotal; and I would prefer to wear a medal on my own chest - while standing up!   The report continued: "Anti-euthanasia campaigners said the finding was “chilling” evidence of deep-seated prejudice towards older people from a small but significant minority of the population."   Chilling, indeed.

What is needed is more, and improved, palliative care.  The Hospice movement does a wonderful job - I know, I have visited enough of their establishments! - but it is limited in its scope because, as a charity, it depends on the donations of supporters.  As I type, I am thinking just how far the latest demand from the EU - £1.7 billion - would go to providing that desired level of care.  However, all that will happen is that it will be wasted on an already corrupt and bloated administration!

The debate, yesterday, went on for longer than was expected, and there was no formal division.  However, it is reported that the majority of those who spoke did so in opposition to the Bill.  For this, at this stage, many of us are truly thankful.

On baptism and homosexuality!

More than thirty years ago, I was wrestling with the subject of water baptism within the Christian Church, and the appropriate subjects for that sacrament.  I was a parish minister within the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) - a denomination that held (and holds) that it was (is) acceptable to baptise infants on the basis of a profession of faith made by their parents. However, after much study, and soul-searching, I had come to the conclusion that the teaching of the New Testament was that only those who had recognised, and confessed, their sinful state; who had repented of their sins; who had deliberately and consciously surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; and had accepted the salvation that He had won for them on the cross at Calvary; were suitable candidates for water baptism.

My decision led to a period of almost two years before I accepted the inevitable and demitted (resigned from) my charge.  Less than a year later, I was baptised as a believer, on my own profession of faith, and gave up my status as a practicing minister of the Kirk.  None of this was easy!  I was married, with two small children, and in a 'tied' house.  We had very little in the way of savings (ministerial stipends were not known for their largesse!), and I believed that the Lord was now leading me into the teaching profession - requiring a further year of full-time postgraduate study.  Yet that same Lord provided for all of our needs - and blessed us abundantly over and above the necessities.

It was that experience that gives me, I believe, some authority to address the situation that is facing so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are still ministering in, and members of, the Church of Scotland.  The recent decision by the General Assembly of that Church to admit practicing homosexuals to the pastoral care of congregations goes completely against the clear teaching of the written Word of God. Accordingly, those who love that Word, and ministers who have sought - many of them for decades - to be faithful to it in their preaching and their teaching, face the same kind of dilemma that faced me all of those years ago.  

I understand something of the pain and anguish that they are currently experiencing.  I understand the brother who was only recently called to another congregation, and who feels that the Lord would not have called him there for just a few months.  I understand the members who are looking, in vain, for some clear guidance from the pulpit - I have heard of at least one believer who left her C of S service last Sunday in tears. She had gone to church expecting to hear something in the way of an observation regarding the acceptance, only six days earlier, by the Church of practising homosexual clergy; something by way of a response; something; anything. But nothing was said.

I also know that, when I stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ, it will be my faithfulness to Him on which I will be judged - not my faithfulness to a denomination, or even to a congregation, where such faithfulness goes against being faithful to Him!

When I was going through my own 'crisis period' a number of ministerial friends sought to provide me with help and guidance - usually quoting a selection of Biblical texts.  Without, in any way, belittling such texts, the words that probably made the greatest impression on me came from a dear minister friend (a Presbyterian!) in Australia.  Ian, in the course of a long, and lovingly-written letter, quoted these words, penned by William Shakespeare: "This above all: to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man" (Hamlet, Act 1, Sc.iii).

The word of the LORD through the prophet Haggai may be seen to be relevant: "Thus says YHWH Sabaoth: Ask the priests to decide this question, 'If one carries holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and touches with his skirt bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does it become holy?' The priests answered, 'No.' Then said Haggai, 'If one who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?' The priests answered, 'It does become unclean.' Then Haggai said, 'So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, says the Lord; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.'" (2:11-14; RSV).  In the vision given to the apostle, John, he hears a voice saying: "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities." (Rev 18:4-5; RSV).

As I share the pain of brothers and sisters, I commend all of those words to them.  It is a laudable aim to seek to 'change' the Kirk from the inside.  I fear that it is, in the current climate, an impossible task.