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 highest watermark.

In his letter to the believers in the early church in the Imperial City of Rome, Paul writes these words: "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (12:1-2).

It was many years ago that I was taught that, when one reads the word "therefore" in the Bible, one should ask "What is it there for?"  In those words, it refers to all of the teaching that Paul has previously provided to the recipients.  It is, indeed, the pivot word on which this section of Romans turns from belief to behaviour.  Up until this point, Paul has been explaining what God has done to redeem us.  He now challenges his readers (now, as well as then!) to surrender themselves, totally, into God's hands.

Self-surrender and self-sacrifice have, of course, been demonstrated by God before He demands them from us!  Tomorrow (Saturday) is, of course, the Jewish Shabbat.  Judaism has its own "lectionary" - set readings from the Scriptures for each week, or even day.  In synagogues around the world, one of the passages that will be read on this particular Shabbat is from the Book of Leviticus: "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to YHWH, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock.  If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before YHWH."  (1:2-3).  The Hebrew word korbanot  means to be close and the point is that the sacrifices, once accepted by God, restore closeness and intimacy between Him and His people.  Why is this necessary?  Because our iniquities and sins separate us from God and prevent us from establishing or maintaining a close relationship with Him.  "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2). For we who live under the New Covenant, the perfect sacrifice was made by God Himself, in the Persona of the Son.

It is our sin - yours and mine - that took Jesus to the cross in the greatest act of self-sacrifice in all of history.  When He asks us to surrender ourselves, He is not asking us to do, or give, anything that He has not already done, and given.

The story is told of a missionary who shared this truth with a highly intellectual Hindu, and added, "I believe that to be the high watermark of the universe".  The Hindu removed his spectacles, wiped away an involuntary tear, and replied, "High watermark?  That's the highest watermark of which the human mind could ever conceive!"  How true!  In the self-giving of Himself, Almighty God set the standard for the universe.  Nothing in either God, or in man, can ever go beyond it.  It is the highest truth conceivable.

Have you submitted yourself to Him?  Have you presented yourself, a living sacrifice?  It is, indeed, no more than "reasonable service"!

Strength out of weakness.

As I endeavour to set up the study in our new home in Gardonne, I am 'discovering' books that had almost been forgotten!  One of those is a book on the life of David Brainerd, a man whose ministry emphasises the words of Almighty God, given to His servant Paul, and shared with us in II Corinthians 12:9 - "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness".

David Brainerd was, for about four years, a missionary to the North American native people ("Red Indians"), and experienced a variety of physical ailments, as well as suffering from a form of mental neurosis.  He died when he was only 29 years of age, yet he did more for the Lord during his brief life than many other robust, and talented, men accomplish in 60 or 70 years of ministry.  Often desperately ill and, humanly speaking, alone, he repeatedly travelled deep into the forest, trying to reach tribes whose language he did not even speak.  At times, he records in his journal, he spent whole days in prayer,asking the Lord to intervene.  Once, the only interpreter available to him was so drunk that he could hardly stand up - yet scores were converted through the Gospel message.  Although Brainerd was extremely weak, God's strength was consistently manifested through him.

The truth that divine power is best displayed against the background of human frailty, was emphasised by Paul in his letters, and exemplified in his life.   He ministered to the Corinthians "... in weakness,and in much fear and trembling ..." (I Cor.2:3).  His speech was not with enticing words, and great oratory, yet he preached "... in demonstration of the Spirit, and power, ..." (I Cor.2:4).  In spite of suffering from "... a thorn ... given me in the flesh ..." (II Cor.12:7), he determined that the Lord would be glorified through his affliction.

Each of us has inabilities - even handicaps.  However, if we are disciples of Jesus, we have no right to sit around, wallowing in self-pity, and doing nothing.  We should, surely, gladly accept the Lord's will for our lives, and serve Him wherever we are, as He gives us opportunity.  Our very weaknesses are the Lord's opportunities to reveal His strength!

Remember, we may face situations that are beyond our physical strength; but they are never beyond His supernatural resources!

The Church the Bible Built.

Many years ago the Rev. Robert Burris, now 92 years of age, worked for four and a half years as a missionary in South China. As part of his ministry he journeyed into the mountains carrying copies of the Scriptures, in Chinese, for distribution. In this way, although he could not speak fluent Chinese, the people were given God's Word.

Toward the end of his term Mr. Burris and three companions began a 180- mile journey with 4,000 copies of the Chinese New Testament. In the first ten days about half of these New Testaments had been distributed. Then, in the remote countryside, they were stopped by five armed bandits who took everything - money, clothing, shoes - and the remaining 2,000 copies of the New Testament. Mr. Burris and friends limped home barefooted, in their shirts and trousers, glad to be alive.

Approximately 25 years later when Mr. Burris was the pastor of a church in Ohio, he and his wife attended a lecture with slides presented by a missionary to South China. Among the slides shown was a picture of the very place in which he had been robbed by the bandits."Now," the missionary said,"we come to the most important slide in my collection. I call it The Miracle Church."

The picture on the screen showed a large rough empty building. "This is The Miracle Church," the missionary continued,"because no one knows who started it, or how it is that, every Sunday, 400 people attend, each with a copy of The New Testament in Chinese. No one knows were they got these New Testaments. So far as is known, no missionary or distributor ever went into these mountains, that are infested with bandits and robbers. Yet today, the church is there, and the people have God's Word".

Mr. Burris smiled in gratitude. God's Word, taken from him that day by bandits had been building its own church in China for 25 years.

Through the prophet Isaiah, Almighty God says: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isa. 55:10-11; RSV).   Jesus said: "... I will build My church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:18; RSV).

Déviation (Detour).

In just two weeks (D.V.), my wife and I will be in France! :-)  As usual, we expect to cover quite a few (thousand!) miles, and see many sights, but one sight we are almost guaranteed to see is the sign that announces a Déviation.

It's a common sign, I suspect, in every country; and we don't like to see it.  Perhaps we've been making good time towards our next stop.  We're looking forward to getting the 'van set up early, and enjoying a pleasant and relaxing evening.  Déviation!  Suddenly, whether we like it, or not, we must leave our planned route, and take an alternative one - that looks less than inviting!

However, sometimes we discover that the alternative route is very enjoyable.  It may take us through areas that are more beautiful than if we had continued on the main road and, of course, if we follow the signs, we will eventually return to the original route.

Life can be like that as well!  Certainly, those of us who are disciples of Jesus know that we must sometimes take a seemingly unpleasant detour - even when engaged in the Lord's work!  All appeared to be going reasonably well in the early church, when the Lord permitted Stephen to be martyred (Acts 7:54-60), and an outbreak of persecution followed (Acts 8:1).  It would seem likely that many of the believers couldn't understand why!  However, we know that the déviation that the Lord made them take at that time aided the spread of the Gospel!  The scattering of the disciples carried the Good News to new areas.

So, the next time you read/hear of an apparent tragedy in a missionary situation, or in a church, or wherever, remember that such a déviation may, through the Lord's providence, be used to eventually bring great blessing to others.

On an even more personal basis, the Lord may permit an illness, or a handicap, or a redundancy, or a bereavement, to enter our lives.  We may not like the particular turn of events but, if we trust Him, the detour may bring great blessing, and spiritual enrichment.

Don't treat God's Déviation signs with moans, or expressions of distrust, but with hope and expectation!  He is still "working His purpose out, as year succeedeth year".