I.H.S.

The letters of the heading are well-known to many. They are found on pulpit-falls (the piece of material that hangs down in front of the lectern in most church building pulpits) in many church buildings - certainly in those of the Presbyterian persuasion in which I was reared, and in which I ministered for many years. They stand for three Latin words: "Iesous Hominum Salvator" that translate as "Jesus, Saviour of Mankind" - the basic message of the Gospel.

I was reminded of the letters when I watched the "Big Hymn Sing, 2020" from the Scots Church in Melbourne, Australia, recorded in the church building. There was the pulpit; and there was the pulpit-fall. By the way, for those who appreciate some of the "old" Christian hymns, it is worth watching - at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l66Qz2ScIQ&t=1688s

When I was much younger, I realised that I could 'play with' those letters. Indeed, they could be formed in three different ways, each of which teaches us another important truth for the true disciple of the Lord Jesus. The first combination is H.I.S. That's pretty obvious! If I am a disciple of Jesus, then I belong to Him - I am HIS! So Paul, writing to the early believers in the great metropolis of Rome, refers to them as "... who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;" (Rom.1:6; emphasis added). There is something good about 'belonging'. That is, basically, why people join all sorts of groups and organisations - from cycling clubs to choirs; from political parties to painting classes; from sporting groups to stamp collectors. However, the best group to which anyone can belong is the family of Almighty God - those who have been born again through the work of God the Holy Spirit in their lives, as they have come, in repentance and faith, and accepted the salvation that was gained for them by the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus, at Calvary.

A second combination follows on from the previous one. If I am H.I.S., then I am S.I.H. - Safe In Him. In His "High Priestly Prayer", recorded in John 17, (and, by the way, the true "Lord's Prayer"!) the Lord Jesus refers to His disciples with these words: "While I was with them, I kept them in Thy name, which Thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:12-13; emphasis added). Again, in Paul's letter to the early Roman believers, he pens these wonderful words: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, 'For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:35-39; emphasis added). If I am truly His, then I am safe in Him.

The final combination returns to I.H.S. but, this time, I see "In His Service". Again, going back many years, we young believers were often taught that we are "saved to serve" and, of course, the One Whom we serve is the Lord Jesus Himself. This was the 'boast' of those first disciples of Jesus. Indeed, the word usually translated as "servant" is, more correctly, "slave". So Paul introduces himself to the early believers in Rome as "Paul, a slave of Jesus the Christ" (Rom.1:1); James commences his letter in a similar manner: "James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus, the Christ." (James 1:1); Peter is "Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus, the Christ." (II Peter 1:1).

Jesus, Himself, spoke these words: "I am among you as One Who serves." (Lk.22:27) - and serving Him is the greatest privilege that mortal man may enjoy. Of course, if I am truly HIS, and am assured that I am Safe In Him, then it will be my great desire to be In His Service!

"Iesous Hominum Salvator"; "Jesus, Saviour of Mankind". May He be your Saviour, your Lord, and your King. It will be for your eternal good, and to His eternal glory.

Your King needs you!

Among my Facebook contacts are more than 300 of my former pupils - always at their request! I have requests from about another hundred, but either do not recall them at all - or recall them only too well!! A few days ago, one of them posted this picture on his Facebook page:

I freely confess that I have absolutely no idea as to what the picture refers. However, the wording caught my eye,as did the lion's head. I thought of Aslan - C.S.Lewis' feline figure that represents the Lord Jesus, the Lion of Judah, in "The Narnia Chronicles". 

I recall, many years ago, what I think about as "the sticker period". Self-adhesive stickers were very popular, and advertised all kinds of products, pop stars, and belief systems. One popular one among disciples of Jesus stated clearly "You need Christ"! That is still true today. Each one of us, whether or not we are aware of the fact; whether, or not, we accept the fact; whether, or not, we have the slightest interest in Jesus of Nazareth, or even believe in the existence of a Supreme and Supernatural Being to Whom, in the English language, we ascribe the nomenclature "God" - each one of us is a sinner, who needs a Saviour!

However, the obverse is also true - that the Lord Jesus needs us! The old poem sums it up beautifully:

Christ has no hands but our hands, to do His work today,
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way.
He has no tongue but  our tongue to tell men how He died,
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible, the careless world will read,
We are  the sinners' gospel, we are the scoffers' creed.
We are the Lord's last message, given in deed and word,
What if the type is crooked, what if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy, with other work than  His,
What if our feet are walking, where sin's allurement is?
What if our tongues are speaking, of things His lips would  spurn,
How can we hope to help Him, and hasten His return?   (Annie Flint (1862-1932)

It's an amazing thought, is it not? The One "... for Whom and by Whom all things exist, ..." (Heb.2:10), needs you and me, to do His work in the world today! Your King needs you!

One other thing I noticed about the picture. The figure at the front appears to be some form of robot/android - but with a face resembling that of the lion. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are no robot. He desires that you serve Him freely, and willingly, in love - not by coercion! However, you should be displaying Him before others - they should see His likeness in you!

Have you entered, freely, into His service? Are you truly one of His soldiers? Can He depend on you to be His hands; His feet; His tongue; His help? The precise manner in which you serve will be different from the manner in which I serve - for "... there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one." (I Cor.12:5-6). But all who are willing will be given a task - and the means by which to fulfil it - and, on that day when you stand before His Judgement Seat, you will hear those wonderful words: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!" (Matt.25:21).

My favourite Christmas text - part 2

Last night, I shared that my favourite Christmas text makes no mention of shepherds, angels, magi, or even a manger. It is those equally well-known words found in John 3:16 - "... God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

Last time I shared about the most amazing fact - that God loves you and me! But the love, even of Almighty God, if it were merely passive and uncommunicated, would be insufficient. And so, after the Fact, this well-known verse goes on to speak of the Act.

“… God so loved the world - that He gave His only Son,” And here is the love of the God Who is love, being put into action. God loved you and me so much that He gave. And He gave sacrificially – even the only-begotten; God the Son.

Christmas is, traditionally, a time for giving. And isn’t it wonderful to remember that at what we think of as the very first Christmas, the greatest and best Gift that could ever be, was given? Almighty God gave Himself in the Persona (not a typo - read the chapter on "The Trinity" in my first book - details above!) of the Son; putting His love into action; giving the very best that He had; giving all that He was and is. The most wonderful Gift the world has ever known. A Gift so incredible that even Paul could not find words that were adequate to describe it, and so spoke of God’s “inestimable Gift”; His “inexpressible Gift”; His “indescribable generosity”; His “Gift beyond words”! (II Cor.9:15).

What a lesson to us, whose giving is often weak and selfish – even at this Christmas season. And I don’t refer to our giving of presents to one another, but in our giving to the work and witness of that same Jesus Whose birth we celebrate at this time. And even those who do serve faithfully and to the fullest extent of their abilities, can only say, according to Jesus: “… we are servants and deserve no credit; we have only done our duty.” (Lk.17:10). If folk like that are still, as it were, “in debt” to Father God; if even their selfless, and sometimes sacrificial, giving does not even begin to match His; where does that leave the rest of us?!

It's a "Fall"!

It would be interesting to know how many of my readers would recognise a "pulpit fall"!  It is a piece of material, usually embroidered, that hangs over the lectern (the 'shelf' on which a Bible usually rests) in a pulpit in a traditional Christian church building.  Modern lectern falls can be extremely complex, and beautiful, but the one with which I was brought up (and that I do not recall ever having been changed) was a simple embroidery of three letters - 'I'. 'H', 'S'. 

There are two suggestions as to the meaning of the letters. The first is that they are the first three letters of the name of Jesus in the Greek language - the Greek letter 'e' looking like a Roman letter 'n'. This, of course, would mean that the letters were actually 'i', 'n', and 's'.

I have always accepted the alternative - that they stand for the Latin phrase "Iesus Hominum Salvator", meaning "Jesus, Saviour of men".  However, I like to play with letters and words and realised, a long time ago, that if I changed the order of those three letters, some useful thoughts were generated.

If I change the order to "HIS", I am reminded that I belong to Him!  It's good to "belong".  The need to do so appears to be part and parcel of our human nature. That's why there are so many organisations, societies, and groups. People want to belong; to be able to share with others of like mind.  However, belonging to Almighty God is of a different order altogether!  What a wonderful privilege to be able to come into the presence of the Creator of all that is - and address Him as "Abba" (Can be translated "Daddy".  It is the word that a Jewish child would use to address its natural father).

Reversing "HIS" leads me to "SIH".  This reminds me that I am Safe In Him. When I was a child, I always knew that as long as my dad was around, I was safe. He was the one to whom I looked if I had a problem; if there appeared to be danger. Of course, my dad was just another human being, with all of the natural limitations that are our human lot. My heavenly Father has no such limits (although there are certain things that Almighty God cannot do!!).  My natural father provided me with physical safety; my heavenly Father provides me with safety that goes beyond this mortal realm!

"HIS"; "SIH"; and then there is "IHS" - which takes us back to where we started! However, in this order, I think of being "In His Service".   I suppose that it is a kind of logical progression - if I am HIS, and I am Safe In Him, then the very attitude of gratitude on which I posted a couple of weeks (and posts!) ago will surely wish to be expressed in serving Him.  How do I do that?  Well, we all have different areas of service that depend on our natural talents, and spiritual giftings. To give a very simple example, my wife would be hard pressed to preach a series of sermons; while I would be equally hard pressed to lead worship with a guitar in the way that she does.  Yet each of us is serving Him, our Saviour and our Lord.

Of course, each of us who owns His Name is serving Him in one particular way that is common to us all.  That is the area of witnessing.  If I am known as a disciple of Jesus, then I am a witness - whether I wish to be or not.  The only question is: "Am I a good witness, or a bad one?"  When others look at me, do they see any difference between me and the rest of the people whom they know - and who make no Christian profession?  Do I ensure that I spend time with fellow-believers, discussing spiritual matters with them?  Whatever I am doing, reading, watching, am I comfortable in the knowledge that He is there with me - or would I be embarrassed and ashamed if He were to appear, physically, at my side?

Being a disciple of Jesus (as opposed to being a "church member", or even a "church office-bearer") is demanding.  He never promised anything else!  What He did promise is that if we deny Him, He will deny us!  That denial can take many forms.  It is as likely to be by my actions, as by my words!

Are you a disciple of Jesus?  Then you are HIS; you are Safe In Him; I trust that you are truly In His Service.

It's the police!!

It was just an hour or so ago. I was sitting in my study, my open Bible in front of me. The telephone rang and, as my dear wife was out, I answered. It was the police! To be more precise, it was a Sergeant from 'Q' Division of Strathclyde Police. He had 'phoned me in order to let me know that he would be away on a training course for the next couple of days and, after having passed on this information (I was wearing my Force Chaplain hat!), he proceeded to have a friendly chat with me.

How different, I thought, as I eventually hung up the handset, from the situation in more than 50 countries around the world today! In those countries - North Korea; Iran; Saudi Arabia; Somalia, the Maldives; to name just the five worst ones - a call from the police would not have meant an exchange of information and pleasantries, but arrest, imprisonment (without trial), torture, and even death. And all because I had a Bible!

This morning, I have already joined with thousands, and tens of thousands, in praying for two young women - Maryam and Marzieh - in Iran who, today, are in court facing charges of "propogating Christianity" and "apostasy" (from Islam). As I sat in the relative safety of my study, I wondered if I could ever be charged with such "crimes" and, if I was, whether or not there would be sufficient evidence to convict me?!

The British parliamentary and judicial systems are, undoubtedly, far from perfect. However, let those of us who claim to be disciples of Jesus be grateful that, at this time, we may still own - and even read - the Bible; that we may meet together, openly, for worship and fellowship; that we may share the Gospel message with those with whom we come into contact, without fear of punishment. Let us also seek to be built up in our faith, so that if persecution should come to our own land, we might show the same steadfastness, and loyalty to Jesus, as do Maryam and Marzieh - and millions of others around the world. And let us be faithful in our prayerful support of our those who are our rothers and sisters in Christ, remembering the words of Jesus, as recorded by Matthew:

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left.

Then the King will say to those on the right, `Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison, and visit You?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, `Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' Then they will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help You?' And He will answer, `I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help Me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life." (25: 31-46).

In the Upper Room

Servant, and service, are words that are no longer in vogue. They smack of the Victorian/Edwardian "Upstairs Downstairs" sort of class divisions. Yet, in John 13:1-17, Jesus of Nazareth shows that service is love's royal road to happiness"! It's not how we normally think!

If you take a few moments to read the record of this amazing incident, you'll discover that Jesus was fully aware that His hour had come (v.1). He recognised the urgency of the moment and so, in the very shadow of the cross, He took a towel and wrapped it around His waist. Then He took a basin of water and performed the function that was usually left to the lowliest servant in a middle-eastern household - washing the dust from the feet of the guests.

Of course, there are some people in the life and experience of each one of us whom we would gladly serve. But just think! Among that group whose feet Jesus washed, was the man named Judas Iscariot. Would I be willing to serve someone whom I knew was shortly going to betray me (see v.27)? Would you?! I might wash the feet of those who had my respect - but Judas?! Yet Jesus washed even his feet. He also washed the feet of Peter. Here is a man who is shortly going to deny his Master. Here is a man who is good at letting out the clutch on his mouth, before his brain has engaged gear! Here is a man who can assure Jesus that, whatever the other disciples might do, he would stand by Him. Here is the man who, three times, denied having any knowledge of the Lord! Yet Jesus washed his feet as well.

Perhaps there is an example, here, that each of us might follow! That's certainly what Jesus says (vs.14-15). For the disciple of Jesus, service is not an optional extra. It's an obligation that is placed upon us by the Saviour! And that obligation includes the sharing of the Gospel message - not only by the message on our lips, but also by the manner of our living. The motivation, of course, must be love - love for our Lord, and love for our fellow-man.

I imagine that all of us desire happiness - but how many truly find it? Perhaps the mistake that many make is to expect happiness to be the result of having others serve them, instead of serving others. Many years ago, I obtained a book entitled "The Happiest People on Earth". It's a book about a group of Christian men who have discovered that there is no-one happier than the disciple of Jesus - in the service of the King of kings; serving all men.