MINISTRY!

Room 317 on the third floor of Todd Building on Dallas Seminary’s Main Campus. And the Fall Semester begins this week. What a delight to be back in the teaching saddle! And the thrill of interaction with fellow-faculty members and students! A foretaste of these, at the Faculty Workshop and Student Orientation last week, whetted my appetite for more. And there will be more, God willing.

It is with a great deal of eagerness that I embark on the next phase of my spiritual pilgrimage. Yet another opportunity to serve God and His people with what He has entrusted me with. While I’m thankful for the special place I’m in and the unique community I’m now part of here at DTS, opportunities for all believers to serve God with our spiritual gifts, for the edification of the body of Christ, are constantly available. In some capacity or another, in some venue or another, we are called to exercise faithful stewardship of God’s gifts. Let us make use those opportunities enthusiastically.

As each one
has received a special gift,
employ it in serving one another
as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God.
… so that in all things
God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs the glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10–11

All for the glory of God. Indeed, whatever we do must seek to glorify God.

Whether, then, you eat or drink
or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

While the glory of God remains the ultimate goal, the proximal goal in the use of our gifts and talents is the building up of the church, the fellowship of believers in Christ. With all the different gifts operating, and as team members play their individual positions, together we all serve to strengthen and profit the community of God.

To each one is given
the manifestation of the Spirit
for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:7

For the good of all, for the benefit of all. There is obviously no place for boast or conceit in the distribution or exercise of gifts. They are all equally the manifestation of God’s Spirit. And all equally gifts, i.e., given to us, received by us.

For who regards you as superior?
What do you have
that you did not receive?
And if you did receive it,
why do you boast
as if you had not received it?
1 Corinthians 4:7

This is an act of God—His sovereign distribution of gifts, His sovereign placement of each unique individual in the body of Christ. Dallas Seminary’s Annual Faculty Workshop is highlighted by reports from those responsible for the many facets of the Seminary’s operation—finance, academic, information technology, etc. Obviously the logistics of running such an educational institution is clearly a team effort. So also is the functioning of the church, designed by God to operate as a team effort.

For just as we have
many members in one body
and all the members
do not have the same function,
so we, who are many,
are one body in Christ,
and individually members
one of another.
Romans 12:4–5

Body parts with different functions. It truly matters not what exactly the gift(s) is (are) that each of us has. What is important is our faithful exercise thereof for the glory of God and the edification of the church, for …

… it is required of stewards
that one be found trustworthy.
1 Corinthians 4:2

And so, let’s plunge in, giving of ourselves to God and His people, serving faithfully.

SOUND!

In Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace in northeast France, is the grand Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg, the Roman Catholic seat of the bishop. But when I visited the city (with Tom, a fellow Aberdonian, and my nephew, John), we were fascinated by the corresponding Protestant edifice, Église Saint-Thomas. While the site where the current church is located had been used for worship since the sixth century, this new, magnificent building with its imposing steeple was completed in the early 1500s. An important church in the history of the Protestant Reformation. The German Reformer, Martin Bucer (1491–1551), who makes a cameo in my dissertation, ministered here.

But what really caught our attention was the sound. The church has two wonderful, historically significant instruments: the 1741 Silbermann main organ and the 1905 choir organ built by Haerpfer. The latter was designed in 1905 by the noted educator, physician, sociologist, and musicologist, Albert Schweitzer. The former was actually played by Mozart in 1778 (the console is in the background of the picture above). One wonders why Mozart, with his Catholic persuasion, chose to play the organ in a Protestant Church. One does not wonder long.

Somebody began to play Bach while we were in St. Thomas that morning. Any Bach is amazing as it is, but the sound of the organ and the acoustics of the church were magnificent. We just sat there and listened, entranced, soaking in the ambience, awash in some of the greatest music ever written. Mozart, understandably, made a beeline for this place.

But there is a more exquisite sound that should be listened to, joined in, and put out ….

We have heard the joyful sound;
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land,
Climb the mountains, cross the waves;
Onward! ‘tis our Lord's command:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Sing above the battle strife;
By his death and endless life
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout it brightly through the gloom,
When the heart for mercy craves;
Sing in triumph o’er the tomb:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Give the winds a mighty voice;
Let the nations now rejoice:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout salvation full and free;
Highest hills and deepest caves;
This our song of victory:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Priscilla Jane Owens, 1892

This is a God worthy of praise, for out of the greatness of His love, grace, and mercy, He has saved believers in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
proclaim good tidings
of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds
among all the peoples.
For great is the LORD
and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
Splendor and majesty
are before Him;
strength and beauty
are in His sanctuary.
Psalm 96:1–4, 6

Eternity will be full of that joyful sound. And entranced we will be forever.

Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
praise Him according to
His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him
with timbrel and dancing;
praise Him
with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150

Come, let us worship this great God!

POWER!

While visiting a fellow-Dawg, I toured the Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Europe, located in northern Switzerland, close to the German border. Quite a spectacle. 26,500 cubic ft of the good stuff flows through per second! The water cascades down to the cataracts, 490 ft wide and 80 ft high. Descending from the top of the falls, one can walk down the rock face to a point where you are only a few feet away from the powerful torrent. The mighty liquid wall is not only tremendously impressive from that distance, but also ear-shatteringly loud. You literally have to yell in order to be heard above the onrush of water. And it’s been flowing and roaring like this for several millennia. Powerful!

And to think of a God who caused all this to come into being!

Fear God, and give Him glory …;
worship Him
who made the heaven
and the earth and sea
and springs of waters.
Revelation 14:7

A God who separated the waters to cause dry land to appear!

Then God said,
“Let the waters below the heavens
be gathered into one place,
and let the dry land appear”;
and it was so.
Genesis 1:9

A God who could cause a universal flood!

“Behold, I, even I am bringing
the flood of water
upon the earth ….”
Genesis 6:17

He is the one who parted the Red Sea to redeem His people!

The LORD swept the sea back
by a strong east wind all night
and turned the sea into dry land,
so the waters were divided.
Exodus 14:21

Truly, this God is awesome!

He stretches out the north
over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps up the waters
in His clouds, and the cloud
does not burst under them.
Job 26:7–8

Mightier than the mightiest cascade!

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice,
the floods lift up
their pounding waves.
More than the sounds
of many waters,
than the mighty breakers of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty.
Psalm 93:3–4

This is a God that must be feared.

By the word of the LORD
the heavens were made,
and by the breath of His mouth
all their starry host.
He gathers the waters of the sea
together as a heap;
He lays up the oceans
in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD.
Psalm 33:6–8

But this same God of might and power is the one whose arm is tender.

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down
in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
Psalm 23:1–2

This is the God who cares.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth should change
and though the mountains slip
into the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains quake
at its surging.
Psalm 46:1–3

And this is the God who satisfies the thirsty.

“Ho! Every one who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money
come, buy and eat.”
Isaiah 55:1

The God who provides water that satisfies eternally, that gives life forever. The Water of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, said:

“Whoever drinks of the water
that I will give him
shall never thirst;
but the water that I will give
will become a well of water
springing up to eternal life.”
John 4:14

Have you tasted His power?

ABODE!

I’ve joined the ranks of proud homeowners once more. All over again. Which is to say, it’s back to living in an empty dwelling, at least for a while. Before leaving for Scotland two years ago, I had gotten rid of most of my stuff, including my bed (I kept my books, though).

Come to think of it, not a bad idea sleeping on the floor. Better than having to deal with the agonizing choice between Sealy Posturepedic Crown Cruciatus Ultra Plush Youbetcher Microtek Pillowtop and Simmons Royal Kedavra Brookmere Boyoboy Fiberlux Plushier. To be or not to be with silk damask ticking? Like buying a used car … and almost as expensive.

All this to say … I’ve moved.

What a pain to get settled in! Here I am, working on my laptop, in—of all places—my bathroom. No internet yet, and the only place in the house where I can latch on to a neighbor’s wireless network (with his permission) is in my bathroom on the third floor, in one particular corner, next to the sink.

Yup, I’ve moved alright. But I’m not home yet!

That old song says it well:

This world is not my home,
I’m just a-passin’ thro’;
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me
From heaven’s open door;
And I can’t feel at home
In this world anymore.

Just over in Glory Land
We’ll live eternally;
The saints on every hand
Are shouting victory
Their song of sweetest praise
Drifts back from Heaven’s shore
And I can’t feel at home
In this world anymore.

Albert E. Brumley, 1965

It’s probably a good thing not to get too comfortable in this temporary worldly abode. For if we’re just a-passin’ thro’, then really we’d better be preparing for our permanent heavenly dwelling. Right here, right now, getting ready for our homes there and then.

Therefore if you have been
raised up with Christ,
keep seeking the things above,
where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind
on the things above,
not on the things
that are on earth.
For you have died
and your life is hidden
with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life,
is revealed, then you also
will be revealed
with Him in glory.
Therefore consider the members
of your earthly body
as dead to immorality ….
Colossians 3:1–5

Getting ready for the new home: settling in to its priorities, living by its principles, oriented to its purposes.

And that “day of closing” on our new home is soon coming.

You too be patient;
strengthen your hearts,
for the coming of the Lord is near.
James 5:8

The keys are as good as in our hands. Jesus said:

Do not let your heart be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house
are many dwelling places;
if it were not so,
I would have told you;
for I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again
and receive you to Myself,
that where I am,
there you may be also.
John 14:1–3

And so this life goes on, unsettled, uncertain, and often unstable. Fraught with the pains of sin and the pangs of a yearning for a better land.

But we will be home … soon. Hang in there!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
John Newton, 1779

Home! Amazing grace!