And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:7-8)
The Sacrifice of Isaac is a familiar chapter to most Christians. We study it in Sunday School, it’s taught in VBS, we read it familiarly as mature Christians, our eyes having passed over the verses many times.
But sometimes the gravity of the moment just grabs you and won’t let go. The Father DID provide the Lamb for the sacrifice. The grandest, most beautiful, most terrible moment in all of history or ever shall be, was the death of Jesus on the Cross at Calvary.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
Ambassadors have all the authority of the sending nation behind them. As Christ’s ambassadors, we have all the authority of heaven behind us!
Sometimes just thinking about how Jesus died for us and absorbed the wrath that was rightfully due me, is overwhelming. Sometimes thinking of how despite my craven sinful nature, God cleaned me and forgave me. Sometimes thinking of the fact that God uses me, a poor clay vessel, for His glory, is just too immense for my mind to absorb.
The Christian journey is sometimes not easy, and it is always demanding, but it is also the most joyous and entrancing life a person could ever imagine. If you have not turned to Jesus for forgiveness of your sins, sins that incur the wrath of a Holy God against you every minute of every day, please do it. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth split history. The event divided the world into two paths. One is narrow and leads to everlasting life. The other path is broad and many find it, and will descend to hell for everlasting wrath.
The Father did provide the Lamb. And He is exalted.
The Lamb Exalted Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:11-13)
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)
Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. (Proverbs 4:26)
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)
My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. (Job 23:11)
All our righteous walking with Jesus is not without intervention by angels, strength of the Holy Spirit, and the will of God, because satan the adversary always tries to hinder us. He attempts to knock us off the path. He works to misdirect us.
because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
Gill’s Exposition says of the Thessalonians verse,
Satan does all he can to hinder the preaching of the Gospel, the hearing of the word, the profession of religion, and the saints coming together, and having spiritual conversation with each other; being, as his name “Satan” signifies, an enemy to Christ and his interest, and to the souls of men: indeed he can do nothing but by divine permission, nor can he hinder the will of God, and the execution of that, though he often hinders the will of man, or man from doing his will; he hindered the apostle from doing what he willed and purposed, but he did not hinder the will of God, which was that Paul should be employed in other work elsewhere.
Stay true to the Lord and His ways. Stay in the Word, and stay praying. God promised to those who walk in His paths that they will find rest for their souls. Though as we see in the Jeremiah verse, some refused to walk in His ways.
The old way isn’t the popular way! It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better. They are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching. Seeker services are replacing old time worship of the Lord. Yet, God has not changed, Heb. 13:8. I can find no room to change myself. I think I’ll ask for the old paths and walk in them. How about you? The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will knows the way. Let’s ask Him and He will lead! (source)
Amen!
If satan changed the signs on your path, would you still know which way to go?
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
These days are getting more and more evil. A Christian in an area like ours, the Southern United states, is so far spared the persecution many are experiencing abroad, praise the Lord. However, attitudes toward Christians from secular people are shifting rapidly even here in the so-called ‘Bible belt.’ Though we are only just beginning to be persecuted from the outside, many local churches have been dying from the inside.
Just as Britain is grappling with the reality that they are a post-Christian nation, a clear look at the US will show that we are too.
Apostasy is rising, which means that people who have called themselves Christians are behaving less and less like our Master and more and more like the world.
Paul warned Timothy to:
“understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
“Having the appearance of godliness”…Christians who look like they are Christians aren’t really, but will at some point be found to never have known the Lord. (Matthew 7:21-23). This is one of the saddest verses in the entire Bible, to me.
Spurgeon
Because it is getting toward the end of the end of the age (we have been in the end of the age since Jesus ascended (1 John 2:18), there are a good many people who succumb to tickled ears, heaping up teachers for themselves, and won’t endure sound doctrine.
People still refuse to accept such and such is a false teacher, or that a particular doctrine is aberrant, or an activity founded on a scripture is actually a twisted use of that scripture, or that Jesus is no longer delivering extrabiblical revelation to them personally,…. Discernment is seen as something unnecessary to a vibrant Christian life. So many people display an attitude of “let’s just agree Jesus is the only thing we need to agree on and leave the rest to God”. But that’s not all there is, and still the gift of discernment isn’t adhered to much.
Back to the Galatians verse, Charles Spurgeon said in his exhortation about not being weary in the doing good-
"It is true, my Brothers and Sisters, that you are not to save yourselves by doing good. Your motive is not selfish, but because you are saved already, you desire to manifest the power of gratitude and to prove to all the world that those who receive a free salvation are the very men who most cheerfully labor to please God and to bring glory to His name. O you who are debtors to infinite mercy, “Be not weary in doing good.” …
Now, secondly, it appears from the text that in your service YOU WILL MEET WITH EVILS common to Christian workers of all descriptions. You will especially be liable to weariness and faintness. Take the first word as it stands in our version—you will be tempted to grow weary. …
Do you not think that, at times, our getting lax in Christian work arises from our being very low in Grace? As a rule, you cannot get out of a man that which is not in him. You cannot go forth, yourself, to your class and do your work vigorously if you have lost inward vigor. You cannot minister before the Lord with the unction of the Holy One if that unction is not upon you. If you are not living near to God and in the power of God, then the power of God will not go forth through you to the children in y our care! Therefore I think we should judge, when we become discontented and down-hearted, that we are out of sorts spiritually. Let us say to ourselves, “Come, my Soul! What ails you? This faint heart is a sign that you are out of health. Go to the Great Physician and obtain from Him a tonic which shall brace you! Come, play the man! Have none of these whims! Away with your idleness! The reaping time will come, therefore thrust in the plow.”
"Sometimes, too—I am ashamed to mention it—I have heard of teachers becoming weary from lack of being appreciated. Their work has not been sufficiently noticed by the pastor and praised by the superintendent. Sufficient notice has not been taken of them and their class by their fellow teachers. I will not say much about this cause of faintness because it is so small an affair that it is quite below a Christian. Appreciation! Do we expect it in this world? The Jewish nation despised and rejected their King and even if we were as holy as the Lord Jesus we might still fail to be rightly judged and properly esteemed. What does it matter? If God accepts us, we need not be dismayed though all should pass us by.
Spurgeon always has a good word. In addition, the Good Book says -
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (Philippians 2:14-15).
Spurgeon again,
"If there are a hundred reasons for giving up your work of faith, there are 50,000 for going on with it! Though there are many arguments for fainting, there are far more arguments for persevering. Though we might be weary and do sometimes feel so, let us wait upon the Lord and renew our strength and we shall mount up with wings as eagles, forget our weariness and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!"
Susanna and Phoebe are both mentioned as women who believed in Jesus and supported his ministry. In Romans 16:2 Phoebe is named as a benefactor, and Susanna was giving out of her means. (Luke 8:2).
A woman is depicted at prayer in an early Christian mosaic seen in the Vatican’s Pio Cristiano Museum. (Wikimedia Commons/Miguel Hermoso Cuesta)
Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a benefactor of many, and of myself as well. (Romans 16:1-2).
And it happened that soon afterward He was going around from one city and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager, and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to them from their possessions. (Luke 8:1-3)
Some women actually did have a job in Bible times. Lydia was a Seller of Purple- it seems she had her own business. Whether she was a widow or born into it is unknown, but she was successful enough to host Paul and his entourage in her home. (Acts 16:14,Acts 16:40) Rachel was named as a shepherdess. (Genesis 29:9). Priscilla with her husband is listed as a tentmaker. (Acts 16:2-3) Shiprah and Puah were Hebrew midwives. (Exodus 1:15). Sherah was a builder. (1 Chronicles 7:24). Professional mourners was a job that women had, too. (Jeremiah 9:17).
And Susanna and Phoebe were Patronesses. This was an actual title and job in the Bible times. In Rome especially, patrons & patronesses, and their clients, lived by a codified set of rules for their engagement. It was a system that was part of the social order. It was always the upper class person giving largesse to the lower, in the form of money, food, or legal help. The client had certain obligations as well to his patron. The client was expected to show deference to his patron, especially by calling upon him each morning (salutatio) and by aiding him in his private and public life. If one or the other ended up in court, neither could give evidence against the other, just as husbands and wives today can’t be compelled to testify against each other.
Patronage was a relationship distinct from other relationships.
In Israel, the rules in the patron/client relationship were not as well-known, but patrons and patronesses existed. In Christianity, those who gave out of their means were under a different set of standards, which is to say, a relationship based on grace and the ultimate benefactor being God.
For example, Bible verses tell us we are commanded this or that about money, i.e. to give sacrificially, to help the brethren where needed, to love one another, not to show partiality, etc. But it’s interesting to note that benefactors existed in that era and Phoebe and Susanna were given special mention. Phoebe had gained special respect from Paul and given a sensitive charge- bring the letter. In this case it was Romans 16.
“Phoebe was entrusted by Paul with a key letter on which the next phase of his ministry depended. The phrasing of Romans 16:1–3 makes it clear she fulfilled the usual role of letter carrier.”Source
In those days, there was a postal route but no postal carrier. If you wanted to send a letter you had to have someone to deliver it for you. Paul regularly sent his co-workers for this very reason.
By sea the trip was about 700 miles and could take 5-10 days in good weather. With a combination sea/land route following the Adriatic Sea, the distance was about 800 miles. There were paved roads and travelers often rode donkeys and stayed in inns along the way. This route took considerably more time–3 to 4 weeks–but in the winter months it was the only open route for travelers.
Phoebe was also most likely responsible for paying her travel expenses, including sea passage for her and any travel companions, food and wine for her journey, etc. Importantly, Phoebe needed to physically protect Paul’s letter. Source
In the case of Romans 16, Phoebe traveled almost 800 miles if she went by the direct route shown on this modern day map. Entrusted, as a woman, to travel to Rome with scripture, fragile papyrus, all that way is certainly an indicator of Paul’s esteem and trust of this woman. Perhaps he had met her when he was with Prisca and Aquila setting out for Syria and stopping in Phoebe’s home base in Cenchreae to have his hair cut for the vow. Cenchreae is a coastal town about five miles from the city of Corinth.
It would be important to say the word he used for helper with reference to Phoebe in Acts 16:2, is prostatis. It can mean a person in a position of leadership, whether as a president, chief, or presiding officer. It can also refer more broadly to a guardian or a helper, often meaning someone who takes the lead in ensuring someone else’s protection and provision via their own means, usually, wealth. It’s not likely Paul meant the former in reference to Phoebe, since women were not leaders in that sense. We know he meant helper, and he likely used the word in its definition of patron, though translators are unsure.
“She [Phoebe] had taken it on herself to ensure the practical well-being of many through hospitality and financial assistance, which indicates she probably possessed significant wealth. Perhaps she was the host of a house church. Cenchreae was the location of a busy seaport, affording many opportunities to offer financial assistance and hospitality.” Source The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.
Can you imagine the uncertainty the first century disciples lived under? Guilds, which were unions on steroids, would block out Christians because of their negative impact on idol making (Acts 19:24-27), not having a place to live, being persecuted, chased, beaten up. Not knowing where the next meal would come from sometimes. But they could count on Phoebe. They knew they had support there. No wonder Paul said ‘succorer’ in reference to Phoebe.
We know less than less about Susanna, because only a very few words surround her name in the Bible. But we can glean.
First, we know that Jesus had healed her, so she was probably grateful.
Susanna doesn’t even have her own GotQuestions entry but is mentioned with Joanna:
Joanna was one of several women in the Bible healed of “evil spirits and diseases” by Jesus Christ (Luke 8:2). After being healed, Joanna accompanied Jesus and the twelve disciples on their travels from town to town and helped support the Lord’s ministry. As the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod Antipas’ household estate, Joanna was a woman of means and influence. Along with Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and others, Joanna helped provide food and supplies for the missionary troupe from her own wealth (Luke 8:1–3).
Susanna was able to travel with Jesus and his other followers and provide him/them with a level of financial support. She was presumably single, seemingly not needing permission from a man (husband, father, brother, uncle, owner, etc.) to give out of her means, and indicating she had her own means. If she was married, her husband would be extremely tolerant of her being away and turning into an itinerant pilgrim, or perhaps he had divorced her when she converted. We simply do not know.
Both Phoebe and Susanna traveled. Phoebe to bring the letter 800 miles to Rome and Susanna to follow Jesus. This was highly unusual in that day. It indicates the two women were likely unmarried since they were apart from their own home for such long periods. Yet they had means enough to support a large and growing ministry.
Patronage in Christian life of course is vastly different from patronage in Rome. It involves often a one-way generosity without expecting something in return, a sacrificial generosity, a denial of self, and a love of others. It is based on grace and a love for the Savior, not a codified set of socio-economic rules. Both Phoebe and Susanna were ‘patrons’ in the sense of living a grace-filled, loving life in service to their Lord and His Apostle, whom they were blessed to help in person.
I am eager to meet these women. I’m amazed at how the Lord collects the people he wants, fashions them into people in various socio-economic stations of life (think of the leper asking for healing or the blind man since birth, yet also wealthy Joseph of Arimathea and the women mentioned today) to do their part in His plan of this long road to the culmination of history.
TRIVIA
Susannah was the name of Charles Spurgeon’s wife.
The name Phoebe means “pure”, “radiant”, or “bright”
I was listening to Dr. RC Sproul explain the Doctrine of Concurrence in a 2004 sermon. He opened with an explanation of it, and after a short while of preaching, mentioned “The Fickle Finger of Fate”. The audience, ones of a certain age, lol, laughed.
I think he was referencing a famous skit during a 1960s variety comedy show called “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. The whole title of the skit was the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate.
“That dubious honor—which became a weekly staple of the series—was awarded to public figures, corporations, and government agencies, for their many questionable achievements” said one website. Laugh-In was a sort of a cross between Saturday Night Live and Monty Python, and was very popular for its time.
Of course, the fickle finger of fate phrase preceded that television show. People who don’t believe in God refer to seemingly random happenings as fate or chance.
There is no chance.
Literally, there is no such thing as chance, or fate, or randomness, in the events happening on earth. God is in control of ALL of it, down to the very last dust mote. As Sproul has famously said, “There is not one maverick molecule in the universe.”
John Murray has said,
1: There is a Providence “Providence is an old fashioned word and has a strange ring to modern ears. Yet when we break it down into its parts the meaning becomes clear. It comes from the Latin video ‘to see’ and pro ‘before’, meaning ‘to see beforehand’. In our lives we plan beforehand but we do not see what is going to happen. God has planned everything for His creation and because He is the sovereign God everything will come to pass as He purposed. Providence is that marvelous working of God by which all the events and happenings in His universe accomplish the purpose He has in mind.” ~Source: Behind a Frowning Providence
Surely, rolling the dice or casting lots is chance…right?
No.
Proverbs 16:33 says The lot is cast into the lap, But its every judgment is from Yahweh.
The casting of the lot is an extraordinary or unusual request made to God that He would reveal His will in an important controversy which cannot be resolved by either wisdom, skill, or strength. It pertains to an issue that must be resolved, as there would otherwise be danger or great disadvantage to the country, church, or individual. By Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service
Before I was saved I spent a lot of mental time pondering why things are the way they are…why things happen…the nature of ‘chance’. Far from being totally clueless about these concepts, non-believers do think of them. They know there is a God but they suppress that truth in unrighteousness, and continue on their way thinking it is all chance or fate.
We have will and moral agency. We decide to do things, either aligned with God’s holy standards, or not. Witness Joseph’s brothers, who hated Joseph and put him in a pit, plotted to murder him, and then sold him to the slave traders.
Yet Joseph said at the end of those long decades, they meant it for evil but God meant it for good. God meant it to happen. How do those two things work together to accomplish God’s plan? And what of tornadoes and hurricanes, i.e. ‘natural’ disasters?
Sproul explained that the doctrine of Concurrence (or confluence) can be seen in an analogy of the Three Rivers merging together in Pittsburgh.
The Monongahela River and the Allegheny River flow along in their individual riverbanks for hundreds of miles then merge to form the Ohio River.
The Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join to form the Ohio here. The West End Bridge crosses the Ohio in the foreground. Source
Though each river does its own thing according to its own nature, they eventually and inexorably flow into the mighty Ohio. What man does, man does, but unknowingly he is being directed, even by use of his own nature, to the flow God wants to direct it. Man’s actions and God’s will create a confluence that is part of God’s perfect plan. This same thing happens with ‘natural disasters’ such as floods, hurricanes, lightning and so on. God is in control of it all.
Even the adversities and disasters come upon a person’s life.
When adversity comes into our lives we tend to react in one of two ways. We may say that it is from a source other than God and He has no power to stop it; or we may say it is an evidence of God’s anger against us. Either way we are guilty of casting aspersions on the character of our Father and consequently of perverting our attitude to Him.John Murray
There is no such thing as a problem-free Christianity. God ordains all that will occur, including all that will occur to me, before I was even born. Before the first person – Adam – was even created.
Sadly such teaching seems far removed from the outlook that prevails in large parts of the Church today. The impression is given that the purpose of the Christian life is enjoyment. Everything that stands in the way of that is to be eliminated. People are looking for a problem-free Christianity. Murray.
We can’t say “God did good to me” or “God did evil to me”. All that God does is good. All that God does is perfect. All that God does is to the good of those who love Him, even and especially, the ‘dark providences’. There is no fickle finger of fate. There is only the steady and assured hand of God, doing all that He sees fit.
The hurricane, the car crash, the Down’s syndrome, the ‘untimely’ death of a young one, a miscarriage, are all part of God’s plan. Also part of His plan is our prospering, our sanctification, the joys of a newborn, the uniting of two into one through marriage, His assurance of salvation and eternity with Him, and all the other blessings He gives.
Our sins and evil doings both pre-and-post salvation are also absorbed into His plan and used for the good of those who love Him. As an Allegheny River flowing along, we don’t know there is an Ohio River ahead into which we eventually flow, banked by His rod and staff, nurtured and cleansed, until we reach the purest fountain of all: Jesus in His heaven.
There are so many attributes of Jesus Christ than we can praise and ponder. One of them is His kingliness.
He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16). God has given Jesus all authority in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18), therefore He is above all authorities anywhere that can possibly be imagined. He is High and exalted on His throne and He is KING.
On earth few of us have actually been in the presence of a King or Queen. There are relatively few royals on earth, compared to number of the population of the plebeians like us.
If one is favored enough to visit a royal, there is strict protocol. ABC News reminds us, regarding a visit with Queen Elizabeth II-
There is a long list of protocols that guides one’s behavior in the presence of Her Majesty and even though the president and the first lady are not required to abide by all of them, there are certain formalities they do have to follow.
There is the “no-touch” rule… Wait until the Queen extends her hand to shake it No gripping her hand or tightly pumping it No hugs, no kiss on the cheek, no touching the shoulder
Refer to the Queen as “Your Majesty” initially then “ma’am” subsequently Bow upon being introduced Do not turn your back to the Queen Wear conservative clothing with not much flesh showing
And so much more.
I remember the HBO mini-series John Adams. It was an excellent series, showing the life of our second President from a fiery attorney in his youth through to old age, in other words, most of his political life.
There came the moment when the Americans had won the Revolutionary war. Adams had been given the privilege and responsibility as diplomat to begin relations with The United Kingdom as national co-equals. He was to meet with the King. The moment was fraught with tension for two reasons. He had all of the future of America resting on his shoulders in how he approached the Monarch these next few moments. Would the United Kingdom be an enemy or an ally?
The second reason was protocol. Here was a scrappy lawyer born in 1735 in British America, (Quincy MA), and was American through and through, about to meet the most powerful man in the world, King George III. Americans had not been known to stand on formality and protocol, and Adams had been strongly tutored for this meeting. Bow three times, once upon entering, once when halfway to the ‘Royal Presence’ and a third time as you enter the ‘Royal Presence’. Avert your eyes until standing before the ‘Royal Presence’. Wear suitable clothing, “something more British.” Unsuitable clothing has been the undoing of many an Ambassador, we learn.
There have always been strict protocols when meeting royalty. In Esther 4:11 we read,
All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.
This scene is described in Esther 5:1. The King is holding his scepter.
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.
Wikipedia
Thrones were always higher, set upon a dais in order to visibly indicate the lower position of the person approaching the Royal Presence. This is a photo of Napoleon’s throne. Pharaoh is described as sitting on a throne in Exodus 11:5; Exodus 12:29.
Solomon wrote,
Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; 7For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.
And yet, another aspect of the uniqueness of Jesus continues. He sits upon His throne, the highest of the high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1) and yet we may approach!
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12).
Must we dress in a certain way? Must we wait to be introduced or summoned? Must we bow in sequential order as we reach certain spots in the throne room? Must we avert our eyes until He speaks? No! No! No! No!
Our Lord Jesus is said to be the Mediator between God and man. Now, observe, that the office of mediator implies at once that he should be approachable. ~SpurgeonHe is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and yet He has told us we may approach Him with petitions large and small! He is tremendous. Every time we pray we approach Him. He is a God who sees (El Roi Genesis 16:14) and a God who hears!
In 1920 Frank Boreham wrote a book titled “A bunch of everlasting; or, Texts that made history“. His book contains biographies of famous Christians who came to the saving grace of salvation as the light of one particular verse broke upon their hearts.
In his pitiful distress, there broke upon the soul of John Bunyan a vision of the infinite approach-ability of Jesus. John Bunyan’s text-verse was a revelation to him of this approach-ability.
‘This scripture did most sweetly visit my soul; and him that Cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” Oh ! the comfort that I had from his word, in no wise! As who should say, “By no means, for nothing whatever he hath done. ‘Him that cometh I will in no wise cast out!’ Like the gate that swings open on hearing the magic ‘sesame’; Like the walls that fell at Jericho when the blast of the trumpets arose; the wall round Bunyan’s mountain fell with a crash before that great and golden word. ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out!’ The barriers had vanished! The way was open!
Christ is approachable. Praise Him! Approach today, with no worries of what you must say or how you must look. He will in no wise cast you out. How sweet is this knowledge.
The NY Times published an article titled The modern charm of practical magic. I found it interesting for many different reasons. I was not saved by grace of the Lord Jesus until I was 42 years old. I spent all of my adulthood prior to the salvation moment, searching for the magic key to the magic in life, the unexplainable, explained. I dabbled in lots of different kinds of magic. Ouija boards, Kirlian aura photography, dreamcatchers, sage burning, Reiki, astral projection, summoning spirits & spirit guides, clairvoyance…
We all want to know what’s on the other side. We do enjoy peeking behind the veil, knowing the unknowable. Because, the unsaved person knows there is a higher power. (Romans 1:19-20). They just deny Who it is. ‘Oh it can’t be God. It must be runes…solstice…labyrinths…”
The NYT article says that they notice more than ever, people seeking answers through magic,
You may have noticed it at work. Perhaps your co-worker has ornamented her cubicle with rose quartz crystals? Has a friend uploaded an I Ching app onto his phone? Or maybe your boyfriend blamed his failure to respond to your text messages on Mercury being in retrograde?
Why magic, and why now? The lack of religious faith so prevalent in our age is an anomaly in history. Magic, which usually does not demand faith in a particular deity, or the sometimes exclusionary imperatives of organized religion, allows people to access a sense of the miraculous on the level of the quotidian.
The article concedes the yearning for a higher power but subtly warns against it actually being God,
There is relief to be found in simply accepting a higher order, in letting go, but what of appeals to reason? Is it not important to disbelieve things that aren’t real? Might faith in the healing powers of a vibratory sound bath lead the next day to outlandish conspiracy theories?
I liked this NY Times article, for many reasons but mainly for its use of my favorite word, quotidian. Where else are you going to read an essay where the author uses such a fancy word which means mundane?
The Christian is bombarded with practical magic all the time. Did you know that? The fads are part of the devilish worming into your home of these magical activities. Labyrinths, Breath prayer, mantras, prayer beads, Mandala coloring books, the false gospel of telling you your words have power, drawing prayer circles, horoscopes, seeking the Presence (which is actually summoning spirits)…and more, are just different kinds of old magic that satan is using to take your eyes off Jesus.
Beware of the charm of practical magic, brethren. The warning is not just for unbelievers, but for believers. Satan insinuates practical magic into our lives under the guise of it being Christian, but it never is. We have the answers. We have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16). Our answers are in the all-sufficient Bible. We do not need additional practices that promise to deliver information, (but never does), or promises to give added insight (but won’t) or gives a special closeness to Jesus (but never does).
Here are some resources about the dangers of Christian magic:
I wrote this a couple of years ago, but our elder preached on this Sunday so I unearthed my essay to re-read it and mull over what he said. I hope you enjoy it too.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:1-4).
Notice that in the Bible it’s almost always (with two exceptions) a cleansing of a leper, not a healing of a leper. This essay examines why that distinction exists, and looks at the life of a person in New Testament times who has the disease of leprosy.
I totally get Paul’s lament in Romans 7:15: “For what I am working out, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” Every day I ask the Lord for opportunities to obey. For the most part I do, but sometimes I don’t. I hate that. I love Jesus and I want to make a Kingdom difference, but when He presents something I still balk sometimes. As Paul said, “I don’t understand what I do…”
There are a lot of serious illnesses, heartaches, and tremendous difficulties facing our people. Many people are hurting in some way or another.
I am so, so, so sick of sin, in other people of course- isn’t it easier to hate sin in others? lol, but I truly hate it worse in myself. I hate my sin!!! I’m convinced that the Bible’s promises of entering His rest (Hebrews 4:1) do not mean rest from labors. We will be doing a lot of work on New Earth and New Jerusalem. Adam was created to work the garden. I am convinced the verse means rest from our struggles with sin. In our glorified bodies in a sinless world, we will no longer have to guard every thought, control the tongue, fail, confess, obey, and repeat the fleshly cycle. It’s tiring. I can’t wait for rest. I really can’t.
The best part thought is that He is so present in the world, and so active and alive in us. He is so gracious to accept my repentance when I fail, and to bless me afterwards with a peace that He knows my heart (and loves me anyway.) I love Him so much. We have the truest God and the best God possible.
Prophecy gives us urgency. It reveals God’s plan and offers us the wonder of seeing it fulfilled to the jot and tittle, from the past by reading the Bible, and the future as we await His return. Prophecy shows us His holy anger, of which we must fear. We gain comfort and hope- think of Simeon and Anna in the temple, eagerly awaiting the Consolation of Israel, their hope and comfort fulfilled before their eyes as Mary and Joseph came to present the babe. (Luke 2).
I like being heavenly minded. I think of seeing the face of Jesus, singing to Him with all the redeemed. I think of the street of gold, the saints of the past I’ll get to know, and so much more. Being heavenly minded also means seeing the justice of God as He renders it in the final judgments. Judgment, wrath, and hell. There but for the grace of God go I… He took my ragged and pitifully polluted life and turned it into something glorious for the Father. He put in me a new heart and my soul daily being cleansed of sin.
In all the ways above and many more, prophecy demonstrates His glory.
I encourage you all to read and study the Book of Revelation. It is not difficult, and the Spirit will make it clear. You know, it is written in that book that we receive a blessing if we read the Book of Revelation. Zechariah has as much prophecy in it related to the final days on earth as Revelation does, if not more. I enjoyed Steve Hadley’s verse-by-verse sermons from Zechariah. There is so much prophecy in the Old Testament. I guess I should just say that the entire Bible is wonderful. Some say that a quarter of the whole Bible is prophetic. There is history, Law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy. Something for everyone! So get to it today, don’t shy away from prophecy, especially Revelation.
Prophecy puts me in my place. I am a crumb, saved by grace, and at His perfect appointed time, placed within the Age of Grace to do His will, and perhaps gloriously see His return while I’m alive. What a privilege. Share Jesus with another, His prophetic timetable is moving quickly toward the climactic moments on earth.
the-end-time.org 