Lord's Day Devotion - God's Marvelous Grace

How do we begin to understand God's grace at all?  It's difficult for me to even get a grasp of it as it often seems abstract.   Yet, when we ask Him to show us...He will.  I have personally experienced it.

The situations we face daily may well require an abundance of grace to operate in His strength.  When the going gets tough, look to Him.  Beg for His grace to sustain you.  Cuz when you try to do stuff on your own, it won't go so well.  Then you may well feel like giving up, even in a situation to which you believe God has directed you.  

God graciously tells us,

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

His grace is sufficient.  Sufficient to cover all those difficulties.  Sufficient to help us through.  We are in process to know and learn more of God's marvelous grace.  We can have as much or as little as we wish.

Take the analogy, limited though it is, of yogurt, you can keep some and make another batch from a small amount.  And on and on and before you realize it, you've had a lot of yogurt all from a small original quantity.

Before you know it God's grace will be more and more evident in your life.  The tough times help you to exercise God's grace.  Remind yourself of that and that His grace is sufficient.  Say it almost like a mantra if it helps.  Then let Him work in your life again and again stretching you and helping you to become more and more gracious just like Him.

"It was by grace we are saved..." (Ephesian 2:8).

It is by grace we can move through life with His promise of sufficient grace to overcome our weaknesses and aid us in the daily ground level trials.

Ponder on this as you remember Jesus in His death and resurrection on Lord's Day as the bread and wine are passed from one believer to another.  This grace is part and parcel of His 'gift package' to us through salvation. 

 "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.  Amen" (Revelation 22:21 NIV)

God's marvelous grace.  Thank-you Father.  Thank-you Jesus.

                                                            ~ERC  July 2018~

Here's a link to the song Grace, Grace, God's Grace sung by Don Moen

Burning Quest - Part 30

Historians and scientists the world over, seek knowledge and facts; they seek evidence and do a lot of digging, often quite literally, ha, ha, to get at it.  "Seeing is believing," they say.  They establish a hypothesis, do their experimentation, compare, and make conclusions from their data.  When they see their conclusions matching up to their surmises, ah-h-h, then they can have the confidence to believe.

None of this 'faith' stuff for them!  Blind faith, bah, humbug!

I have faith in faith.  The book of Hebrews tells us,

"..Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..."

That is found in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews (KJV) which many followers of Jesus Christ call "The Faith Chapter," or a "Hall of Fame" of  Faith.  When you read it you will see it is an enumeration of those of old who have received a promise of some sort or who had believed in God trusting Him against all odds, many times not even having had their faith validated in their lifetime.  They clung onto that faith with great confidence in God.  Often times what had been promised came to fruition much, much later in history.  That kind of faith has substance.

Jesus at one point told Thomas,

"Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are  those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:24-29 ESV)

Yet God does not want us to have blind faith.  He doesn't want subservient puppets at his beck and call.  He wants us to be engaged in a relationship with Him.  He took pity on us human beings who feel we MUST have that documentation for everything.  In that same chapter of John, John writes,

"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."  (John 20:30-31 ESV).

Jesus lived as a fully human, human being while maintaining His being fully God on this earth, and that  for about thirty-three years.  He actively walked about doing miracles of healing and even restoring people back to life.  What other evidence does a person need to believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God, and, for that matter in the first place, Who is God? 

Did you notice that?  Who IS God, NOT who believed Himself to be a god. 

John had been one of the disciples who was an eyewitness of Jesus's life, death, and who saw Him after His resurrection.  He saw all the wondrous things Jesus had done.  John writes and tells about many of Jesus's teachings in the gospel according to John and also in his epistle called 1 John.  John really wanted all his readers to know the truth and to have confidence to believe; to have the faith to believe even though we in subsequent generations and millennia  haven't seen as he saw.  This is not blind faith; his was a first hand account and he tells us about it.

John reiterates what he said in the gospel, again in 1 John 5:13,

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know [emphasis mine] that you have eternal life..."

This leads us to have confidence to believe, to have faith in the other words of God as well.  Faith is the essence of evidence and has substance.  This is evidenced by the following example.

The Bereans.  The apostle Paul commended them for not taking him at his word. They searched the Scriptures daily to see if Paul's words matched up to God's.

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  As a result, many of them believed..."  (Acts 17:11-12).

Evidence is a scientist's treasure.  Faith is evidence, and faith is the follower of Jesus Christ's treasure. Faith is a gift of God and we can pray and ask Him for it.  He will give us the 'seed' of faith and then give us the experiences and opportunities for us to trust in Him which will help that faith grow and establish a strong relationship with Him as did the Biblical men and women of the Old and New Testament times.

What does all this discourse have to do with the comparison of Buddhism to God's Word?   The author, Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, of the book What Buddhists Believe writes that,

"Theistic faith is a sedative for the emotional mind and demands belief in things which cannot be explained." (Page 258).

He goes on to say that,

"Knowledge destroys faith and faith destroys itself...under a spotlight of reason." (Page 258)

Due to this, Sri Dhammananda says that therefore faith cannot give us any confidence.  He believes much the same way as do many historians and scientists; you gotta have the hard facts and reason.  Seeing is believing.  Faith has no part in the equation.

Further to that, he feels prayer is rather a useless endeavor.  Of course we are reminded that the Buddhist does not believe in a god, but relies only on oneself to help oneself.   What, they may ask you, is the point of prayer?

If you are in a burning house, you do not sit in your lazy boy chair and pray and ask God for intervention!  No, you call the fire department on your way out the door!   True enough, but we followers of Jesus Christ would likely pray anyway  making that phone call and our escape as quickly as possible.  We ask for the intervention.  We leave the results up to God.  We trust, we have faith that what this is all about will be revealed to us and that we show our faith and trust by still trusting even though a bad thing has happened.

There is such a thing as God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.  It is not my goal to pursue this topic here, but you may wish to read one of my other blog entries, Testing God, that deals with this parallel equilibrium.  However, I'll just share the following adage that addresses both sides of the equation in this regard, "Trust God and tie your camel."  The two work in tandem.

If you want to talk about prayer with a Buddhist, they may well tell you that Buddhist "prayer" is actually meditation (Page 261).  Meditation is something that is considered a beneficial practice to the Buddhist.  Sri Dhammananda highlights,

"Meditation is the psychological approach to mental culture, training and purification of the mind" (Page 262).

On what does a Buddhist meditate?  The Three Gems:  Buddha, The Dharma and the Sangha.  As they concentrate on those or on an object, perhaps a picture or statue of Buddha, controlling their breathing (in/exhaling), and with great patience, they hope to work towards purification of their mind.  If their thoughts can be good thoughts, then their words and deeds will follow suit.

Sri Dhammananda comments on Page 261 that,

"The Buddha himself has clearly expressed that neither the recital of holy Scriptures, nor self-torture, nor sleeping on the ground, nor the repetition of prayers, penances, hymns, charms, mantras, incantations and invocations can bring the real happiness or nirvana, only purification of the mind through self effort can do this."

As said earlier, the author of What Buddhists Believe does not put much stock in prayer; he says on page 262 that,

"Prayer alone will never take him (a person) to the final goal."

Meditation is the big key for this author.  He actually quotes a poet's prayer but says it is to be used more as a meditation in lieu of asking/petitioning a "higher power" for help.  Things must be done for oneself, and by oneself.

Another analogy by that book author is,  if someone wants to go across a river, he doesn't sit and pray on the river bank and wait, and wait for a way across to materialize out of the blue.  No, he goes and looks for a boat to use or begins to make a raft to ferry himself across.

Like the chap sitting in his lazy boy chair, praying and waiting for God to send a deluge of rain to put out the fire, likely is not going to happen.  He's got to get himself up and out of the house.  He can still pray and trust God, that He is allowing this devastation for a good purpose.  In Romans 8:28-29 (ESV) we learn that all such things happen for our good and to,

"...conform us to the image of His Son." 

God always knows just what we need to accomplish that.

This is part of the equation between God and our individual selves.  God's sovereignty and man's responsibility as alluded to above.  God sent His Son Jesus to atone for our sin (unwholesome thoughts, deeds, wrong doings [whether done in ignorance or otherwise]), and its consequences of pain and suffering ultimately ending in death onwards to Hell.  God offers salvation, new life and an end to suffering.

Human kind's responsibility is to accept this offer.  We do well to chose His gift.

Prayer and meditation are two disciplines of a follower of Jesus Christ.  Prayer, that is, talking to God Whom we believe exists, builds and establishes that relationship we can have with God through Jesus Christ.  It's not for flattering God but for connecting with Him.  Certainly we can meditate on God's Word and then we can confess and praise and thank Him for all He's done for us.

We can pray and talk all we wish but it is  the genuine desire of a person's heart, guided by the mind, that willingly seeks God and submits to Him and maintains relationship with Him.  This enables the Christian to conform to God's image in character and conduct in ever increasing measures.

Casting prayer aside, the Buddhist focuses on mediation.  This will train but in essence, does not change, the mind and heart.  There is necessity of a new heart.  (You may recall this from an earlier Burning Quest - Part 16 blog entry.)

It is believed, however, that the Buddhist meditation will bring peace, as well as purification, to the mind.  A person's fears and worries diminish and are replaced by peaceful thoughts, bringing peace to the individual.

You may recall the recent incident of the twelve Thai boys, soccer team members, and their coach who got trapped in a cave in Thailand.  They were in there, in pitch blackness for about nine days before anyone found them.  It was a few more days until they were all evacuated.  An almost tragedy, that thankfully, had a happy ending.

What was it that helped to keep them calm and not bicker among themselves?  At least, as far as we were told.   The story has it that the soccer coach was once a Buddhist monk.  I believe that, because almost each Buddhist Thai male will become a monk sometime in his lifetime, if even just for a short period of time.  

It was explained that he instructed the boys to practice Buddhist meditation.  This also slows down the metabolism rate so they would not need as much food; not that they had much, if anything, to eat anyways.  This helped to give that peace and endurance so we were told.  A Buddhist monk explained that the combined strength of their meditations was like a 'magnet' (my word), guiding the rescuers to the boys' location.

On the other hand, we heard from a believer in Jesus Christ, and I know from first hand, that followers in Jesus Christ were praying, not just in Thailand but in Malaysia and likely all around the world, for the whole rescue operation to succeed.  

It just so happened that the length of the guiding rope that one of the divers had, ran out.  He went up to the surface of the murky waters and viola! The team was right there in front of him!    Many Christians were praying.  Many good people went to the rescue.  God used the experience and knowledge of the rescuers and guided and gave wisdom, whether or not the rescuers were aware of it.

I leave these two verses with you upon which to cogitate,

"In the LORD's hand the king's heart is a stream of water that He channels toward all who please him.  A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart" (Proverbs 21:1-2)

I believe the Lord guided the rescuers to where they needed to go and gave them good success on their mission as His people prayed. 

Sri Dhammananda  goes on to name another big benefit of Buddhist meditation practice.  He tells the reader that more often than not, people's fears, anxieties, and anger bring about many diseases.  For example, fears and worries bring high blood pressure and many auto immune diseases; anger precipitates heart related diseases.

True enough.  These are very major spiritual roots of diseases.  Dr. Henry W. Wright collaborates with that in his book, Be In Health.  For instance on page 5...

"But the consequences of unforgiveness may bind you to a disease resulting from this sin of bitterness and unforgiveness.  Christians, for the most part, believe we are saved by grace and by faith.  But just because you are born again and your spirit has become alive in Christ, it does not mean you have resolved the ongoing struggle with the sin issue in your life.  Otherwise, we would not need sanctification, would we?"

For the meditations Buddhists practice they hope to eradicate those "impurities" in their minds.

Followers of Jesus Christ do well to meditate, but ensure the meditations are on God's Holy Word.  God's Word is pure, and a "double-edged sword that divides bone and marrow" (Hebrews 4:12) convicting us, comforting us,  giving us true and lasting peace from Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace. 

One must give heed to those convictions and, with the Holy Spirit's help, address the problem issues. Maybe things will not magically come right overnight, but in time.  This is a process of patience and perseverance.

Dr. Henry W. Wright proclaims Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).  Meditate on Him.  Wright goes on to say, that the Bible says that perfect peace belongs to those whose minds are fixed and stayed on the LORD.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee:  because he trusteth in Thee" (Isaiah 26:3).

Here is another example of training your mind with the power of God's Word and His Holy Spirit's help.  Wright explains...

"The antidote to fear is fellowship with the Godhead.  Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that  "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind..." 
"Power represents the Holy Spirit, love represents the Father and a sound mind represents the Word of God, Jesus.  If you are filled with the fellowship of the love of God the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, fear does not have a shot at you.  If you are listening to fear you are not listening to God"  (Page 195).

And that is when diseases can pop out of the woodwork and wreck havoc in your body and life.  To get somewhat scientifically technical here, allow another quotation from Wright.

"...the hypothalamus gland is the facilitator and the originator of the following life circumstances:  all expressions of fear, anxiety, stress, tension, panic, panic attacks, phobia, rage, anger and aggression.  These are all released and facilitated by this one gland.  It only responds to you emotionally and spiritually.  The hypothalamus is called the "brain of the endocrine system," but it is not a brain.  It is a gland.  It is a responder to thought. It is a responder to the environment of your life.  It will only produce what is happening deep within the recesses of your soul and your spirit" (Pages 193-194).

When Jesus says, "Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28); "Cast all your anxieties on me" (1 Peter 5:7); "Get rid of all roots of bitterness" (Ephesians 4:31); and "Forgive as I have forgiven you" (Matthew 6:14-16); He's not kidding.  He wants you to be well:  spirit, soul and body.

Bring all your worries and strife to Him.  Lay it at His feet.  May peace flood your whole being.

As one reads, meditates on God's Word and obeys it, one will have that peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).   In addition there will be peace of mind; the righting of our character and conduct; a continual process of sanctifying until we are called home to be "with Christ".

How blessed we can be when we humbly accept His help.

The difference between Buddhist and Christian meditation is the motivation behind it; what one wishes to achieve.  For the Buddhist it is to attain peace, yes, and purifying thoughts and behavior; but more than that, merits are gleaned towards self-salvation and Nirvana Enlightenment (Page 264 of What Buddhists Believe).

The Christian already has salvation through Jesus Christ, therefore does not need to earn anything towards salvation.   He or she is already justified.  However as he/she meditates on God's Word and sees where he/she is not living accordingly, they will know who to rectify the situation.  If they are obedient, and out of gratitude to Jesus and God the Father, he/she will align his/herself to God's will and way.

This is the process of progressive sanctification.  The motivation is to develop relationship with God through obeying His Word and life with Jesus.  God's love and peace envelops us enabling us to continue on.

Meditation takes time and even practice.  Patience is needed.  The busyness of our lives doesn't allow for much of this but everyone has choices.  Choose to delete some of the busyness in favor of quiet time and embed it into your schedule.  Don't deviate therefrom.

More choices...Choose a portion of God's Word relevant to your current life situation, or if no specific situation is afoot, find  Bible verses regarding Bible characters who did meditate.  David said, 

"Oh, how I love your law!  I meditate on it all day long.  Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.  I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.  I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts..." (Psalm 119:97-100 NIV).

Memorize the verses as much as possible so that even when driving in a car, or lying sleeplessly in bed at night, God's Word will come naturally to you.

In fact, a friend of mine has done a seminary essay on memorization of Scripture.* 1 She says even the last five minutes or so prior to light's out at night will create greater memory retention of the Scripture.  The next morning repeat the verse (s).  This is a "power bank" from which to meditate on God's Word.

Even if you have a specific time to read and meditate on God's Word; you will have "spill over" as you go through your daily routine.  That is, enough to be able to think about during the day.

You know about cows, right?  They chew the cud.  Ruminate.  Have you ever seen them "ruminate"?  It appears that they are "chewing over something of great import" out there in the meadow as they nibble the grass; chew and swallow; regurgitate; chew and swallow again...  Be like a cow...read God's Word and thoughtfully "ruminate".  Routinely go over and over God's Word absorbing truth and dwelling on its implications for your lives.  It can be a rather moo-ving experience.

And then there is the power of song.  You can even make up your own tunes as you go.  I've another friend who routinely does this and "produces" for Sunday School children to sing and learn and recall God's Word.  Songs of praise to God uplift our souls and keep us in tune with Him.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable --if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard...put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you"  (Philippians 4:8 NIV).

What a wonderful promise from God.

However one chooses, do choose to meditate and put God's Word into practice.  In this we will find peace and healing, and of ever greater moment, we will draw nearer and nearer to God.  He is ever waiting with outstretched arms for us.

Buddhists meditate on the various "writings of Buddha in the Pali language" (Page 269 of What Buddhists Believe).  They also use chanting.  Different 'sutras' (verses) will use a different tone or rhythm of chant.  According to Dr. k. Sri Dhammananda, in this way the chanter will ward off "evil spirits," "sickness," and "other misfortunes" (Pages 269-270).  This chanting aids and abets the chanter's "spiritual development to produce significant psychological states of peacefulness and serenity in the minds of ardent listeners" (Page 270).

This chanting...

"...invokes three great and powerful forces...the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha" (Page 270).

These purportedly bring peace and blessing to devotees (Page 273).  Together, the chanting plus the devotion of the devotees brings about "supernatural effects of people being healed of sicknesses and many other mental disturbances" (Pages 273-274).

In like manner, God's Word, in James 5:13-16 (ESV), asks the sick person to call the elders of the church to come, anoint and pray over them and to confess any sins they all may have, so... 

"...that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

"God's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV).

Are we followers of Jesus Christ willing to meditate upon God's Word?  Are we willing to keep short accounts with God about our sins and wrong doings, confessing them, seeking His forgiveness and being healed from the effects of our fears and anxieties, etc?

To conclude, the Buddhists meditate by fixing their minds on Buddha and his teachings.  By contrast, Christians "fix and stay their minds" on the Lord Jesus Christ and things related to God (Colossians 3:2), and His words in the Holy Bible.  The Buddhist mediates to purify the thoughts and actions to earn their own salvation, towards "enlightenment and Nirvana," while Christians meditate, NOT to gain salvation, they already have it through Jesus Christ, but to gain peace of mind, comfort and guidance for daily living, and to realize where they need to correct their behavior towards being ever more sanctified and having a closer relationship with Jesus Christ their Savior.

May anyone who does not belong to Jesus Christ as yet, weigh these two scenarios carefully.  Know that Jesus cares about you and your final end.  He knows it's a tough struggle to go it on your own  He has earned salvation for you.  Strive no longer.  Come to Jesus, just as you are.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Titus 3:5 tells us a similar fact,

"..He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth (i.e. being born again into God's family as explained in previous Burning Quest blog entries) and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

We can put our faith and trust in God with confidence.

                                                               ~ERC  July 2018~

* 1. Scripture Memorization and It's Influences on the Psychological Well-being of the Rungus, An Indigenous People Group of Sabah-Borneo by Hong Mi Sook.

2. An article by David Mathis on Christian meditation that is very good is Warm Yourself at the Fires of Meditation in conjunction with Desiring God. Org.

Lord's Day Devotion - The Furious Wrath of God

Great, awesome and almighty are You, Father God!  Majestic and all powerful, full of love, and righteousness.  You are blameless and just.

Father, God, because of Your being righteous and just, You reveal Your wrath "against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1 :18 KJV).

We also know from Your Word, that those who do not have Your Son, do not have everlasting life, "but the wrath of God."  Your wrath, Father, "abideth" on those persons (John 3:36);  that is a fearsome phenomenon on which to ponder!

Your wrath has been described as being "furious" and of "great vengeance" (Ezekiel 25:17 & Nahum 1:2-6 KJV) like that of grapes being trampled in a wine press (Revelation 14:10 & Isaiah 63:1-6).

Great and terrible is the force of Your wrath, Father!  Indeed in Revelation there are several terrifying accounts of the wrath of God being meted out upon the wicked.  As angels unseal seals allowing the judgments' full sway, we read of torment with fire and sulfur (Revelation 14:10).  Your wrath, oh Father God, "poured full strength" as if in a "great wine press of the wrath of God".

The seven angels, each with a golden bowl of God's wrath gets poured out one by one.  Look at the list of God's fury as the bowls are poured out onto the earth:  the people who have the mark of the beast and have worshiped it suffer harmful and painful sores; another bowl is poured into the sea and the sea becomes blood causing every living thing to die; rivers and springs of water become full of blood; the sun is so hot the people get scorched with its fierce heat; another bowl is emptied onto the throne of the beast and its kingdom and all are plunged into darkness causing the people to gnaw their tongues in anguish; the Euphrates River is another recipient of an angel's bowlful and the water dries up preparing the roadway for the armies of Armageddon; and the seventh bowl is poured out into the air, a catalyst sparking  thunder, lightning, earthquakes that cause the city to split into three parts, and great hailstones weighing about 100 lbs each (45 kg) [Revelation 16].

Yet the people still curse God and are unrepentant!!  Can you imagine all that terror and then rebellion?  God is definitely justified (not that He needs our permission) in what He does. "Your wrath, oh Father God, "poured full strength" as if in a "great wine press of the wrath of God" is formidable."

That wine press becomes so full and as a result, the level of blood is "1,600 stadia" high (Revelation 14:20).  One stadia being about 607 feet or 185 meters.  That's so sickening to think of; appallingly horrific!

"If it were not because of Your mercies, Father, we all would be consumed!  We praise You and thank You for Your overwhelming mercies; those mercies that are new and abundant every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)!

You continue to tell us, and we are so glad you did, in the revelations You gave to John on the Isle of Patmos, that there will be an end to Your wrath poured out on Earth.  Revelation 15:1 says,

"Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last for with them the wrath of God is finished."

Then we read of how those angels did pour out the "wrath of God" and that it must have been so very awful!  There was lots of smoke as Your power came out to fill the sanctuary, obliterating the sight until the "seven bowls full of the wrath of God,"..."was finished" (Revelation 15:7-8).

Father, God, no wonder there is such a parenthesis of praise and worship with harps and song, giving adoration to You! (Revelation 15:3-4).  Your holiness always fills and reveals to us Your righteous acts.  Thank-You, Father!

Most of all, on Lord's Day, as we break the bread and drink from the cup of wine, symbolizing our rescue plan through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection,  we, too, thank, praise and worship You for giving us the gift of faith to accept your gift of salvation extricating us from the "wrath of God"!    

We give you praise that this is a very different cup.  It is not a cup of Your wrath upon the people You were rescuing but upon Your Son Jesus Christ.   For Your Son, it was Your wrath he endured on our behalf; for us it was, and still is, a cup of your mercy and love and forgiveness and LIFE!

One of the stanzas of Keith and Krystin Getty's song In Christ Alone, sums it up so succinctly... 

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,Fullness of God in helpless babe!This gift of love and righteousness,Scorned by the ones He came to save.'Til on that cross as Jesus died,The wrath of God was satisfiedFor ev'ry sin on Him was laidHere in the death of Christ I live.

In Jesus Name, we give You thanks and praise.

Here is another song of praise to help fill our hearts with gratitude; Oh the Mercy of God by Geoff Bullock.

                                                         ~ERC  July 2018~

Burning Quest - Part 29

Some years ago I read a great little book called Neither Poverty Nor Riches by author Craig Blomberg.  His title was taken from the verse in Proverbs 30:8 which reads,

"Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me..." (emphasis mine). (ESV)

Blomberg states on pages 53 & 63 of his book that,

"God's people may at times be enormously wealthy, but a major purpose of God granting them wealth is that they may share it with those in need..."  

He couples that with other verses from Proverbs; Proverbs 3:9-10, 27-28; 29:7), to be precise.  

"Righteous rich give generously to the Lord and the needy."

Righteous Job of the Old Testament is a capital example of such philanthropy (Job 1:21).  He was very wealthy and he gave freely of his resources to those in need.  

Contrast that to Ananius and Sapphira of the New Testament who sold a plot of land and pretended to give all of the proceeds for the poor (Acts 5:1-11).  They appeared to have had their heart in the right place but their greed got the better of them.   However, the Holy Spirit knew falsehood and alerted Peter to the insincerity.  Ananius and Sapphira paid for that with their lives.

This puts me in mind of what Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda says about daily necessities in his book What Buddhists Believe on page 255.  He says,

"And it is not wrong to satisfy these needs (physical desires and needs) on a limited scale.  When Buddha advocated the Middle Path, he said that we should neither indulge ourselves in luxury nor completely deny ourselves the basic necessities of life."

He goes on to explain that the more one becomes "detached" from these needs, especially the material ones, a person will be able to lessen the greed within, and be more generous towards others who need help with the basic necessities of living on earth.  The more one makes a habit out of this, reflects Sri Dhammananda, the more they will squash their desires and heap up merits.  In turn, the closer to nirvana they will become.

Keep in mind, though, the many "rebirths" this requires,  according to Buddhist thought, to "develop one's understanding" (page 255) and as they... 

"crave less and less for the pleasure of the senses"...

over many lifetimes, they'll become truly "self-reliant".

For the follower of Jesus Christ, we are told in Romans 12:13 to "practice hospitality".  This not to earn any merit points towards our salvation, but to show our thankfulness and gratitude to God  and to pass on the love of God to others where there is a need.  

Certainly this has potential to teach one generosity and compassion for others and is good for the individual to practice often.  There may even be healing in the actions.  In her book, I'm So Glad You Told Me What I Didn't Wanna Hear, Barbara Johnson quotes another from page 155,

"When you help others you heal a little yourself."

The following famous saying has been attributed to John Wesley and sums things up tidily,

"Do all the good you can,  By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,  At all the times you can, As long as ever you can."

The apostle Paul told the Galatians to, 

"Do good to all especially to the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10).

Blomberg refers to this verse, as well as from verses 7-10, and writes that Paul,

"...generalizes people reaping as they sow and encourages Christians to "do good to all people especially those who belong to the family of believers"

saying that,

"...it is probable that Paul is thinking, primarily of the financial principle of reaping as one sows and of doing good to fellow believers with one's money" (Page 179 of Neither Poverty Nor Riches). 

There is an anecdote saying that a pastor once prayed,

"Protect us from members of the church who, when it comes to giving, stop at nothing." 

Sounds amusing but there is a great serious element to the story.  We do well to examine ourselves to see which category of people we are from and rectify as needed.

Jesus said,

"By this all men will know you are my disciples when you show love to one another."  (John 13:35).

In showing such love and care to others, others can be helped, not only in daily living necessities but helped and encouraged on in their life with Christ and even to find salvation in Christ.  That is the Christian's aim.

Certainly, greed is extremely undesirable.  As we practice hospitality, the blessing of diminished greed in our hearts and minds can become a treasure.  May generosity spring up and flourish as we share with others in need.

This is all part of the sanctification process alluded to in earlier blogs.  This process is only for this lifetime of the one and only individual.  Rebirth, or in Christian terminology and connotation, being "born again" (John 4:4) is something to happen in this present life in the land of the living and NOT a phenomenon that triggers at the moment of death of the physical body and the conception of another in many cycles til perfection is reached.

Being born again into God's family is something to seek, accept and live by.  Justification happens first, then the progressive sanctification of daily living with that "new heart" given by God through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and the further gift of His Holy Spirit.  

As a born again individual practices hospitality and helping the needy, greed, lust and many other negatives will be lessened to the degree the person is walking in step with the Spirit of God, being obedient to His convictions, leading and guidance.

Craig Blomberg also cites the following in regards to 2 Corinthians 9:12-15, that...

"...people will thank God because of people's generosity."

Talking about the Middle Path moderation for Buddhists begs similar mention that we followers of Jesus Christ are to... 

"...let our moderation be known unto all men" (Philippians 4:5-7).  

It behooves us to live moderately and then have more to share with others.

There's a pastor named Rick Warren, a well-known author of the much sought after book, The Purpose Driven Life, who did a remarkable thing.  It was said that with the proceeds of this book he was able to relinquish the salary his church was paying him and return what he had earned thus far from them.  That offering no doubt freed up his church to channel the funds to needs elsewhere.

That is what he felt he must do.  Others may have kept the proceeds and salary and given to needy elsewhere.  What is right for one person is not necessarily what God wants for you.  He may want you to use what you have in a different manner.  The point is to use as directed by the Holy Spirit of God as needs arise and are made known.

There are many missionaries who have turned from lucrative jobs to do God's work.  For instance the World Vision leader Richard Stearns took a big cut in income when he became CEO.  God did supply his needs in many ways beyond his imagination.  (This I read in his book A Hole in the Gospel; you can also go online and check it out).

A scary step to take especially if one has a brood of children to feed and clothe.  My parents did that and God never let them down; He supplied all their needs and more even though they never knew how much money to expect each month.  They were willing to do this so that others could hear the message of the love of Jesus with the noble desire to bring "many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10) for God and make disciples of Jesus Christ out of them.  

Wealth can bewitch and spawn greed.  Let us don the armor of God with the overcoat of prayer to guard against the fiery darts as well as the subtle deceptions of the evil one.  May our desire be for God, living to please and serve Him, and to serve others as we are able.  Recall...

"Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31).

Keep perspective.  Live moderately.  Love as God loves and store up treasure in Heaven (Mark 6:19-20).

As an Arabic Proverb exhorts,

"The best generosity is that which is quick."

                                                       ~ERC  July 2018~

Lord's Day Devotion - Life and Immortality

People yearn for longevity.  They generally do not want to talk about death.   They also talk about wanting a variety of types of power.  There is a way to have more than that; to have life and immortality and the impact of power coursing through their life.   The Way is through our Savior Jesus Christ.    It is through the power of God at work in us Who provided the way to be saved through Jesus Christ.  

That is double-pronged though:  He saved us and called us to holy living.  All this He made possible for us through His own purpose and grace.  The power of God in us and through us by means of His Holy Spirit guides and helps us to that holy living.  

Take a look as these verses from 2 Timothy 1:8-10 (ESV)...

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel..."

Jesus' suffering and death wrought life for all who have accepted this gift of salvation.  We don't like to think of death but His death can bring us life.  That life is not just long life here on earth; it is longer than long...it is immortality and it is everlasting life!  

This is about the most awesome impact of God's power that we can experience.  Let us remember this most wonderful and powerful redeeming act of God's love in sending Jesus for our eternal benefit as we partake of the bread and wine on Lord's Day.    Thank Him.

                                                        ~ERC  July 2018~

Lord's Day Devotion - Preparing a Room

The other day during school devotion's time, the teacher read from John 14:1-4.  He read about God, Jesus's Father having many rooms and how He, Jesus, was going to go prepare a place for the disciples.  Jesus told His disciples not to worry; not to be "troubled" in their hearts.  He would come back for them.

The teacher explained that Jewish custom was for the bridegroom to prepare a room for the newlyweds-to-be and then some day when all was in readiness, that he would go to the bride's home and bring her to his house to live in marital, hopefully, harmony and togetherness.  The bride would not know which day the groom would come, so she would have to be ready. 

Jesus has indeed prepared us a place through His death and resurrection.  He has earned our salvation for the "whosoever who believe in Him" (John 3:16).  We await our Bridegroom.  We await in confidence with hearts at rest and peace that He will do as He has promised.

"Surely I come quickly" (Revelation 22:20).

As we pass the emblems of the bread and wine one to another on Lord's Day morning, remember this analogy Jesus wanted His disciples to understand:  He is coming back for us; be ready.  Furthermore, let us be glad and rejoice and live in expectancy of our Bridegroom's return for us; all made possible by His sacrifice for us.

                                                        ~ERC  July 2018~

Burning Quest - Part 28

Kids will be kids.  Which of them would want to just simply balance the see-saw when one, usually the heavier child, can keep the other up high and dry in the air, make them bounce, bounce and have to hold on for dear life?  That would be far more entertaining, at least for the one in control.  

There is talk about two sentences that can bring balance into a person's life to keep the jostling see-saw of life from getting too much out of control; if that be possible.  But more on that a bit later....

Many talk about being a good example to others, especially an older child for younger siblings, or even parents for their children.  To behave circumspectly for others is a mighty and noble task; however, there are those who would dispense with the  responsibility.  Why must they always be so goody-goody?

Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, in his book What Buddhists Believe says, on Page 248, there are,

"...two sentences that complement each other and should not be taken...separately."

They are:

"Protecting oneself one protects others" and "Protecting others one protects oneself."

Sounds like he is saying, our example should be for ourselves first, then branch out to others while maintaining our 'goodness' for ourselves.

Ezra, a scribe from Old Testament times, was an excellent example of this (Ezra 7:1-6, 8-10).  Focus on verse 10...

"For Ezra had devoted himself to the study of the law and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel."

Did ya notice that?  He not only "knew" the law, he "observed" it.  He obeyed it; lived by it.

Because he "protected" himself by these observances, he had integrity.  Others knew of his practice and were ready to listen to him as a result.

When you read the book of Nehemiah you will see this 'Ezra the Scribe' reading the

 "Book of the Law of Moses which the LORD commanded for Israel" (Nehemiah 8:1) 

 The assembled people had asked him to read (Nehemiah 8:1-8).  The further result, as you'll see in verse 6 is,

 "all the people...bowed down and worshiped,"  NOT Ezra, but "the LORD with their faces to the ground."

Others of the leaders then helped to explain the words read (vs 8).

A ripple effect can be seen here; that ole proverbial pebble thrown into the lake idea-the ripple rings radiating outward in ever increasing radii.  

Bring this into today's Christian arena...we need to follow God's Word especially as laid out in the New Testament with all the "love one another's, forgive one another's," etc.

Of course the Buddhist "protection" is gained from Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha; their Three Gems.  Part of this protection is to look after ones' health.  Logical, as, if one needs to be responsible for others, they need to be fit and healthy to enable them to do so.  Besides health, there is watching ones's morals; forsaking greed, hate, lust and the like.

We get this connotation from the Scriptures which say 

"Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:21 NIV).

When we do not love ourselves we will not love others much.  With low self-esteem it becomes a downward spiral often leading to depression and needing others to care for one.  When we do not love ourselves our eating habits likely would not be very healthy.  Our health may well deteriorate.  Others may go in the vice direction.    So there is precious little protection of self and definitely minimal protection of others coming from ourself.

This loving of self is not to be confused with being selfish or arrogant, thinking one is superior to others.  No.  This is to be able to accept oneself as one is:  big nose, big ears; family connections, or whatever.  This is to accept oneself, yet not to the point of believing one does not need to improve one's character or conduct, but to have confidence in who one is.

God made us "fearfully and wonderfully" (Psalm 139:14 NIV).  We can praise Him for that.  When we accept who we are, we can love ourselves.  Once that is settled in our minds then we can be accepting of others.   We can accept them and show them loving care.

Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda says this is balance and harmony.  Like the sea-saw balanced on the fulcrum at level plane.  This is an essential responsibility to keep "loving our neighbor and ourselves " on even keel.  God in His love and matchless grace reached out to each of us alike.  We could do no better thing than to imitate His example.  

Our motivation, however, is not to earn merit for ourselves, but to honor God out of gratitude, an outpouring from thankful hearts for all He has done for us through Jesus's death and resurrection.  He secured our salvation for us and all that entails.  All merit and praise belongs to Him!

Let us find our protection in Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us (Ephesians 5:2).  We learn to live a healthy and holy life as He did and as the example of Ezra's life.  Reach out then to others remembering a key is to learn that He loves us just the way we are and He accepts us as we are.  If the Almighty Living God, the God of all the universe loves and accepts us, then we can accept ourselves and be under His care and protection.  Come to Him just as your are.

In turn we can reach out with God's divine love with care and acceptance to others even as we maintain our own integrity in God's sight.   As we show this love and care we can introduce God's ways as Ezra did in his time aiding others to go in the way God has mapped out for them.   Although we do not do this from a selfish motivation, this could come back full circle and we may receive the care and acceptance from others as well.   This is the leveled plane, with Christ our "fulcrum," that we do well to attain.

                                                         ~ERC  July 2018~