You cannot outgive God!

One of the lasting memories that I carry from my adolescence, concerns my late father. We were a "churchgoing" family and, in the congregation to which we belonged, most people, including the Ross family, gave their offering in special envelopes. These, my mum and dad filled each Saturday evening, one for each of them, and one each for me and those of my siblings who were old enough to attend the worship service.

I recall, clearly, one specific Saturday. I don't know if there had been some additional, and perhaps unexpected, household expense during that week, or coming up in the week ahead, but my mum told my dad that they would have difficulty putting the usual amounts in the church offering envelopes. However, my dad had one personal pleasure - he smoked a pipe. Suddenly he said that if he did without tobacco in the coming week, the envelopes could be filled as usual. 

My mum tried to dissuade him, but he was adamant. "After all", he said, "the Lord is no man's debtor". I had never heard that particular saying before - but it has stuck in my mind for, now, some 65 years. I should add that, on the Monday evening, there was a knock at the front door. My dad went to answer it, and I could hear him speaking with someone. When he returned to the living room, he had a smile that stretched from one ear to the other! "Who was that?", my mum asked. My dad named the person. "What did he want?" my mum asked. "Nothing!" replied my dad, enigmatically! Then he put his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out a £5 note. "Which bank", he asked, "would take a deposit of  6 shillings on Sunday, and give me £5 on Monday?" It turned out that that my dad had done some work for this other person, and had never been paid. He had accepted the loss but, that evening, he had been paid - with interest!

Many years later, as a student at the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow, the student body were addressed by Stanley Collins, the then Superintendent of the Tent Hall. His message was on the subject of tithing. I had heard the word, but it wasn't something to which I had given a great deal of thought. However, he did say something that brought me up short! He made the point that many of us had given up much to study at the BTI, and that we probably appreciated every penny we received. Then he also told us that if we received a gift of £1 (remember that this was in the latter half of the 1960s) 2 shillings belonged to the Lord - our tithe! 

I am not able to claim very much for myself, but I can say that I have tithed ever since - and eventually added a "love offering". 

One more story! I was now married and the father of two healthy children. But I was also unemployed! I had occasional teaching jobs, but nothing permanent. Three or four times each week, I would sit down to check the family finances. I didn't have a computer with a spreadsheet programme, but pen and paper did the job. I wrote down our income; I wrote down our necessary expenditure; I arrived at a balance - usually "in the red"! However, we maintained our tithes and love gifts. Then, one evening, the Lord spoke to me. "Are you going to get through this month?", He asked. "No, Lord. It looks as if we will be short." "Were you going to get through last month?" came the question. "No , Lord, it didn't look possible." "Did you get through?" A moment of thoughtful silence, then "Yes, Lord. Actually we did!". "And the month before?" "Okay. That was the same." "Has there been a month since you became unemployed , in which you were definitely going to make it?" "No, Lord." Has there been a month when you didn't make it?" Another thoughtful silence. "No, Lord. There hasn't!" "Are you getting the message?" "Yes, Lord. Your mathematics work on a different plane than mine!" Since that evening, I only check the figures when there is a change in our income. 

I can testify, from personal experience, that I - and my family - have never lost out by giving to the Lord. I think it was the late Billy Graham who said: "The Lord can do more with the 90%, than I can with 100%! As my dad said, "The Lord is no man's debtor." 

Humility.

The apostle John records an interesting incident in his record of the Gospel. Referring to the Lord Jesus, on the night on which He was betrayed, John writes: He "rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel. Then He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” (John 13:4-5)

The Greek word usually translated "humility" occurs seven times in the New Testament, implying self-abasement and suggesting a meekness of spirit. In Greek literature however, it was used to describe a slave’s demeaning of himself before his master ‒ an outward prostration, rather than an inward character trait.

The idea that a master would set aside his status and voluntarily become a slave was probably incomprehensible to the world of Jesus’ day. Yet, we are instructed to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8; emphasis added). He defined humility by His actions, as He did during that Last Supper with His disciples, So now we, if we claim to belong to Him, are to voluntarily take up His attitude and “... to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3).

Christian humility arguably surpasses all other virtues. Expressing itself as more than acting in a humble fashion, it consists of an inward habit of self-abasement, showing consideration to all others.

This characteristic, in God’s eyes, is seen as one of great value. “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for « God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. » Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you.” (1 Peter 5:5-6; emphases added).

Being an "influencer"!

Some months ago, my wife and I were spending an overnight with our dear friends in Melun, south of Paris. I honestly cannot recall the context of what I am about to share, but we ended up talking about this modern phenomenon named "influencers"! I asked Jonathan how one became an"influencer", and he replied (not quite verbatim!): "One chooses a catchy name like, for example 'CrazyRev'. Then one posts a blog that people read; and one is an influencer!"

Now, I don't know exactly how accurate my young friend's answer was/is, but I found it interesting - and not just because of the personal application! You see, I realised that I had discovered the 21st century way to spell "disciple of Jesus" (okay, it's only recently that my thinking has moved in this direction!). That new spelling is "influencer"!

Permit me to explain. In the book of the Acts of the apostles, Dr Luke records these words of the Lord Jesus, just before He ascended to return to the Father: "So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”  And when He had said this, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight." (Acts 1:6-9).

Now, for many years I have pointed out that to be an evangelist is to receive a specific gifting of the Lord Jesus, for the equipping of the believers, and the building up of the body of the Christ. (see Eph.4:11-12). However, being a witness is a command of the Lord Jesus - to all of His disciples; and that includes you and me (if, of course, you are one of His!). The only question is: "Am I a good witness, or am I a bad witness?" But make no mistake - if you and I are claiming to be His disciples, then we are His witnesses.

Some will be familiar with the poem written by Annie Johnston Flint:

"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 tongues 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 sinner's gospel; we are the scoffer's creed.

We are the Lord's last message, written in word and deed. 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 tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn? How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?"

"We are the only Bible the careless world will read; we are the sinner's gospel; we are the scoffer's creed." Do you realise what that is saying? I suggest that it is saying that, by our words and deeds, we are influencing others!

So, perhaps I am, indeed, an "influencer" - and so, if you claim to be a disciple of Jesus, are you! Actually, no matter who you are, if you interact with others, you are influencing them - and they are influencing you! As my late paternal grandmother - a woman with barely any formal education, but tons of common sense and homespun philosophy - was often heard to say:"Show me your company, and I'll tell you your character." 

May the influence of each one of us be positive - and especially if we claim to be Jesus' disciples!

Who is God?

Those who know me best would, I think, support my claim to be an aficionado of the English language. I get most annoyed when people use an adjective when it is an adverb that is required. I like to see the humble apostrophe used in the correct manner (or omitted when it is not required!). I don't like to see a preposition as the final word in a sentence!

So I can understand why some people may think it strange that when, some 3,500 years ago, Moses asked his God - the God of the Israelite people - who He was, he received a strange response. God said: "Say to the Children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you ... This is My name forever." (Ex. 3:14-15).  

A two-word sentence! Yet it is full of meaning! In the English language, a sentence needs only two parts of speech to be complete - a subject and a verb. So when God says that His name, not one of His attributes, is "I AM", this conveys to us the concept that He is complete in Himself. He is subject and verb. He is everything that we could possibly need.

However, there is more. This name indicates His eternal nature. He is not "I was". That would suggest that He had a past. He is not "I will be". That would suggest that He has a future. His name "I AM" shows that He is dwells in the timelessness of eternity. You see, that is the nature of eternity. It is not "endless time", but timelessness! If you find that to be confusing, don't worry - you are not alone! However, it is one of the words with which I deal in my book "Great Words of the Faith" (see above for a link). I provide an analogy that, I believe, most people will understand - indeed, will have experienced!

Then, in the fulness of created time, Jesus put flesh on God's bare-boned answer to Moses' question. Jesus, Who is God the Son, left the eternal glory in order to give His life for our salvation. However, He also came to show us what it means to bear the Father's name. 

In John's account of the Gospel, the apostle records seven specific instances in which Jesus declared His deity by the the use of the words "I AM". He said, "I AM the bread of life" (6:35 ff). He said "I AM the light of the world" (8:12. 9:5). He said: "I AM the door" (10:7,9). He claimed "I AM the Good Shepherd" (10:11.14). Outside the tomb of His friend, Lazarus, He stated "I AM the resurrection and the life." (11:25). He told His disciples: "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life." (Jn.14:6). He said "I AM the true vine." (15:1,5).

John records two further instances of "I AM" statements made by the Lord Jesus. However, these are not metaphors. They are direct applications of "the Name" ("HaShem" - the manner by which Jews refer to "I AM") made by the Lord Jesus to Himself - and are therefore His own claims to being an integral part of the Godhead. (If the doctrine of the Trinity confuses you, I deal with that word, also, in "Great Words of the Faith.") The first of these is found in 8:58, where Jesus says to certain Jews who had been disputing with Him: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM". He was not making what would have been a ridiculous claim that He was older than Abraham would have been at that time, but declaring His eternal existence - His being God.

The second occasion on which He speaks like this is recorded in John 18:4-5. Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the soldiers, priests, and mob, led by the traitor, Judas, have come to arrest Him. As they approach, He asks for whom they are seeking. They tell Him that they seek Jesus of Nazareth, and the Lord says "I AM He"! Now that word "He" is added in English language translations, by the translators. However, in the original Greek of the Second (New) Testament, the record states that His response was "Ego eimi" - "I AM". He was applying God's covenant, personal, name to Himself. Little wonder that they "drew back, and fell to the ground". (v.6).

If, for whatever reason, you are questioning Who God is, take some time to get to know Jesus, the eternal One, made flesh, in the pages of His word. He is, as Paul wrote to the Colossian believers: "... the image of of the invisible God," (1:15). I commend Him to you - and you to Him!

My Barrister!

During my time as a Chaplain with the former Strathclyde Police Force, I had a separate blog named "Chaplain's Corner", that tied in with a monthly spot in the bulletins published by the three areas in which I was deployed. I had totally forgotten about this blog, but found this post from June 2012. I immediately decided that it was worth sharing again. Indeed, I suspect that I gleaned the article from some other source, and adapted it! It is, of course, "fictional" in the sense that no specific individual is portrayed as the writer, and the word-picture painted has no precise Biblical foundation. However, the basic message is very true. I commend it to you.

After living what I felt was a "decent" life, my time on earth came to the end. The next thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what appeared to be a courthouse.

The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.

As I looked around I saw the "prosecutor." He was a villainous looking character who snarled as he stared at me. He was definitely the most evil being I had ever seen.

I sat down and looked to my left and there sat my Barrister, a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, that I felt I must know Him.

The door flew open and the Judge appeared, in full flowing robes. He commanded an awesome Presence and, as He moved across the room, I couldn't take my eyes off of Him.

As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, "Let us begin."

The prosecutor rose and said,

"I am the Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell."

He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and times in the past when I had cheated others. He told of other horrible sins that were once in my life and, the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, not even my own Barrister, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.

As upset as I was at the Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at my Barrister Who sat there silently, not offering any form of defense at all. I knew I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't they at least cancel part of the harm I'd done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, "This man belongs in hell.  He is guilty of all that I have said, and there is no-one who can prove otherwise."

When it was His turn, my Barrister first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of the Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward. As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendour and majesty. I realised why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus representing me, my Lord and my Saviour.

He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, "Hi, Dad," and then He turned to address the court.

The Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned. I won't deny any of these allegations. And, yes, the wages of sin is death, and this man deserves to be punished."

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, "However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as his Saviour, so he is Mine."

My Lord continued, "His name is written in the book of life and no one can snatch him from Me. The Satan still does not understand. This man is not to be given justice, but rather grace and mercy."

As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, "There is nothing else that needs to be done. I've done it all."

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips..

"This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed."

As my Lord led me away, I could hear the Satan ranting and raving, "I won't give up, I will win the next one." I asked Jesus, as He gave me my instructions where to go next, "Have you ever lost a case?"

He lovingly smiled and said, "Everyone that has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, ....... Paid In Full."

As stated at the top, it's only a story - but it does have a message. If we want Him to represent us there; we must be willing to represent Him here!   If you've never done so before, confess your sins to Him now; ask for His forgiveness; thank Him for taking your place on the cross; accept Him as Saviour and Lord.  Then live for Him - "life in all its fulness" (Jn.10:10). By the way, it doesn't matter if you are male or female!