LEAST!

Nope, that’s not Dallas as in “DFW,” in Texas. This Dallas is a tiny rural hamlet in Morayshire, Scotland, close to Elgin, where I happened to be on a preaching assignment. This Dallas (pop. 200) was what apparently—and indirectly—gave rise to the name of our fair city—Dallas, TX (“where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average,” and where these men, women, and children account for a pop. of 5,700,000). Quite a far cry from this other little known locality that bears the same name. From little things ….

(When you folks in DFW suffer under watering restrictions this summer with the temps in the scorching and searing 100s, it might help to remember that “Dallas” comes from the Gaelic Dalais, which means “valley of water”!)

George Mifflin Dallas (1792–1864), for whom the 5th largest metropolitan region in the U.S. was actually named, had roots in the bonnie Dallas across the Atlantic; his ancestors hailed from Scotland. Mr. Dallas, by the way, was the 11th Vice President of the U.S., serving under James Polk. From little things ….

Dallas to DFW. From little things, great things can arise. From the humblest beginnings, glorious trajectories may be traced.

You might remember David’s choice by God to be king over Israel. Samuel, the prophet, preparing to anoint the next regent is surveying the sons of Jesse for potential candidates to the throne. Seven eminent and exemplary youths, full of vim and vigour, parade before the seer. Samuel is hopeful. But God is not.

"… God sees
not as a man sees,
for man looks
at the outward appearance,
but the LORD
looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7

The youngest, the shepherd-boy, the least, David, who described himself as “a dead dog, a single flea” (1 Sam 24:14), becomes the next monarch. The least becomes the great. There is hope for the rest of us!

This same God who looks at the heart told us through His Son that …

“… the one who is
the greatest among you
must become
like the youngest,
and the leader
like the servant."
Luke 22:26

A true recognition of self-worth, is what God is talking about. That’s what He looks for—humility. The knowledge that we wouldn’t be what we are but for the grace of God. Without God, never! With Christ, nobody! Without the Spirit, nothing! The greatest is the least!

For who regards
you as superior?
And what do you have
that you did not receive?
1 Corinthians 4:7

The greatest is the least! What an odd principle, but Biblical.

"Whoever then
humbles himself
as this child,
he is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:4

And the least becomes the greatest!

... humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you
at the proper time….
1 Peter 5:5–6

Humility! Of all the self-characterizations of our Lord Jesus Christ, this one stands out—His meekness, gentleness, humility. That, then, is surely part of what it means to be Christlike.

"… I am gentle
and humble in heart …."
Matthew 11:29

Being the “least” in heart and attitude, being gentle and humble, is reckoned as part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

… the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control ….
Galatians 5:22–23

The greatest is the least and the least becomes the greatest. Let’s be great! For the glory of God!

APPROPRIATE!

There’s me. Am I dressed appropriately for the beach, or what? Appearing in the appropriate attitude of repose? Applying the appropriate appurtenance to my aural appendage?

I confess I was ill-prepared. Not that I’m much of beach-person anyway. My goal was to keep the sun off my skin, saltwater off my body, and sand off my belongings. That’s why I go to the beach!

But I did kinda stand out amidst the solar ray-soaking and skin cancer-incubating swarms on the shore. Yup, it was hard to beat my garb and gear and gadget for gross inappropriateness. Especially considering it was close to 90° F that day.

Appropriate clothing! Believe it or not, that’s quite an important topic in the Scriptures. Firstly, the Bible makes it clear what sort of birthday suits we come in. Depraved in sin as we are, having nothing on/in us with which to find favor with God, we literally stand disgraced before Him from the start.

For all of us have become
like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds
are like a filthy garment ….
Isaiah 64:6

But the Good News is that while our own (self-)righteousness was tainted and tattered and torn and threadbare, when we placed our trust in Christ as our Savior, we “appropriated” His perfect righteousness.

God made the one
who did not know sin
to be sin for us, so that in Him
we would become
the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

The great exchange. My sin for His righteousness. So much so, when God looks at the believer He sees Christ, because now—wonder of wonders!—we wear Him!

For all of you
who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Galatians 3:27

And that’s not all. In the last days, at the final reckoning, at the consummation of our earthly existence, we get the most appropriate clothing of all.

Let us rejoice and be glad
and give the glory to Him,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come
and His bride has made herself ready.
It was given to her
to clothe herself in fine linen,
bright and clean ….
Revelation 19:7–8

(Hmm … I wonder if they’ll have cell phones over there. Oh, well, I’ll just be glad and rejoice that there’s no beach in heaven—Rev 21:1, for the curious!)

But between now and then, between our outfitting of Christ in the past and the donning of fine linen in the future, we have a clothier’s task to perform in the present. Haute couture of the hour. The trend of today. The mode of the moment. The style of Scripture.

So, as those who have been
chosen of God, holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience;
bearing with one another,
and forgiving each other, …
just as the Lord forgave you,
so also should you.
Beyond all these things
put on love,
which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:12–14

Which is simply to say, we must depict the virtues of Christ, for we have put on Christ.

Oh, and lest we forget, this costumer’s responsibility is not just focused on our own bodies. We have to return the “favor” to Christ; then, one day He’ll tell us …

[I was] naked,
and you clothed Me ….
Truly I say to you,
to the extent that you did it
to one of these brothers of Mine,
even the least of them,
you did it to Me.
Matthew 25:36, 40

Let’s be clothed with Christ. Now that’s appropriate clothing!

And let’s go and clothe one another, brothers and sisters in Christ!

COMMUNION!

It was special. Perhaps one of the most special ever for me.

Quite easy, it is, to get blasé about Communion. After all, it is a pretty commonplace affair. Some wafers, some wine. A hymn, a prayer. Perfunctory, unimpressive. It shouldn’t be.

It wasn’t. Not last weekend. That was special. As special as it ever gets.

There we were, six guys—a pastor, a couple of elders, and a few others—gathered in a hospital room, in Houston. At the bedside of one we all loved dearly and had loved for decades. The ravages of cancer were taking its toll. A shell of his former self, but his spirits were still bright, his mind alert, his faith strong, his trust in God unshaken. I, on the other hand, found it hard not to cry.

And we shared the Lord’s Supper together. Powerful! Face to face with our mortality, the meaning of that sliver of bread and that sip of wine hit home.

For as often as you eat this bread
and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26

The Lord’s death! Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. For because of His death, I don’t need to die eternally. My sin—not in part, but the whole—has been nailed to the cross with Christ. I bear it no more. Death detoxified. Devil defeated. Sin substituted. Burden banished. Sinner saved. Eternity entered.

And so we proclaimed the Lord’s death. All six of us dying men in that hospital room. But—this is incredible—all of us dying men would live, and we would live eternally!

All because of the Lord’s death. And that truth we proudly declared that day as we partook of the bread and the cup. “Hallelujah!” we cried, through the sting of tears, the pain of disease, and the grief of parting. There at the bedside of one I might never see again, this side of life.

The next time I enjoy the cup and the bread with my dear friend, I realized, might very well be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb—that glorious time of celebration with Christians of all ages, when the Lord takes us home.

Blessed are those
who are invited
to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:9

Blessed, indeed! And all because of the Lord’s death. To look at the six of us that day, one would see grieving men, afflicted men, mortal men, seemingly defeated. But, no, we were the victors, not the vanquished! More than conquerors through Christ who loved us. Men with one foot in heaven. Waiting to go. All of us in that room—sick and healthy, bedridden and standing. Ready to enter the fullness of life eternal. All made possible by the Lord’s death.

O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
… but thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55, 57

All because of the Lord’s death. If you get a chance to participate in Communion this week, would you do so with your brothers and sisters in Christ, praising God for His Son through whom we live and will live forever? Thanks be to God! Through the Lord’s Supper, let’s continue to proclaim that atoning sacrifice, until He comes. And come, He will … soon!

And then one day
I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death
gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory
and I'll know He lives.
William and Gloria Gaither, 1971

LIVING!

The last time I’d seen him was about a decade ago. A strapping young man, full of vim, and brimming with vigor. He used to write songs. We used to sing together. We went to church together. I was fixture in his folks’ house. (Free food—especially the banana pudding!) Many are the fond memories of Sunday afternoons well-spent, with laughter, song, and God. Mr. and Mrs. C in Houston have been—and still are—a blessing to me.

I had a chance to spend a night at their home a few days ago. Vic was there, back from East Coast where he now lives.

He is still strapping, vigorous, and vimmed out to the max. And still given over to God and His work. But not so young anymore … like me! A devoted husband, and a proud father. (Unlike me!!) A few—just a few—less keratinous appendages on his scalp. (Unlike me, again!!! These aforementioned fixtures on my dome are still plentiful, though I confess they are developing a distressing tendency to blanch from the shock of transatlantic travel. Or perhaps it is my JIF diet?)

Appendages disappear (or whiten). Life and limb weaken. Recollection and remembrance fade. It is downhill after the first breath outside the womb. C’est la vie. Things change. Cycles circle. Phases pass. And life goeth on.

One wonders at the bewildering pace of it all. Where has all the time gone? Kids are born and they’re off to college. We commence work and its time to retire. It’s all a blur.

Moses pondered out aloud about that long ago in a psalm he wrote.

As for the days of our life,
they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Psalm 90:10

That venerable leader was clear that the “emptiness” of life is the consequence of the Fall and the resultant judgment upon mankind by God. This was not the way it was supposed to be. The yearning for what might have been, and ought to have been (and, praise God, what will be) is palpable in his words.

Do return, O Lord; how long will it be?
O satisfy us in the morning
with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy
and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:12–14

There is an emptiness of soul, a thirst for the inexpressible, a desire in our hearts—that only God can fill, satisfy, and grant. And fill and satisfy and grant, He certainly will. One day. Soon. We shall enjoy the very presence of God.

But Moses is equally clear that that soon-coming day of Lord should prompt us to live our lives here on earth for God—wisely.

So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You
a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

A heart of wisdom. To live wisely. For God. For His glory. In all that we say, do, and think. As Vic is doing. And his folks. May we all.

Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time,
because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15–16

And how shall we walk? Even in these trying days, troubling days, tiring days, Peter urges us to live as Christ did, even through suffering.

… so as to live
the rest of the time
in the flesh [on earth]
no longer for the lusts of men,
but for the will of God.
1 Peter 4:2

Serving him. Wisely. Because the days are short. Thank God!

LEARNING!

Some time ago I came into possession of a second-hand book. Law’s Empire, by the noted legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin. (Why I am reading legal philosophy is another story.) I got it off eBay’s half.com for $6.53. I expected it to be in poor shape. It was!

It had obviously been in the hands of a reader who treated books like I did. To put it mildly, it was annotated. (“Desecrated” was the other word that came to mind.) Armed with the formidable weapons of pen and pencil and highlighters (yellow and blue), the owner emeritus of Law’s Empire had—and I’ll say this for that person—read the book thoroughly!

Oh, well! That’s what you get for six bucks, I figured, resigning myself to overwriting the other’s marginalia with my own interjections of wisdom. Perhaps I could use another color. Purple? Pink?

As I began plowing my way through the dense tome (it was written by a lawyer, after all), I realized another thing. Whoever the previous owner was, that one knew his/her stuff; probably a law student. The annotations were crisp, precise, and, to my puzzled mind, a beacon of light on Dworkin’s otherwise cryptic verbiage. It was like I was reading both RD and AA (Anonymous Annotator) at the same time. Often they agreed, sometimes they fought, occasionally AA was baffled (Whew! I wasn’t the only one!), frequently AA added comments and glosses that clarified everything.

What a blessing it was to have a commentator!

Even more of a blessing it is, to have available to us so much help with Scripture. Just this week, a trip to the library and a glance at some commentaries helped me to polish off a sermon I was working on. I am indeed thankful for all the dedicated scholarship that has gone into the making of books on the Bible. Two millennia or more of hard work by scholars. Fancy that, I get to take advantage of two thousand plus years of the Holy Spirit’s illumination of men and women wiser than I, godlier than I. We, living in the twenty-first century, are the privileged recipients of the distilled wisdom of the ages.

What a blessing, indeed! How much we learn from others!

And then there are those who labor daily in our churches—pastors, Sunday School teachers, leaders of groups (small/big; young/old), and many others of that brave ilk—to expound God’s Word to us. Their wisdom and their knowledge and their love for the flock, make the Word come alive in our hearts, as they, relying on the Holy Spirit, pour out truth that has already been at work in their own lives.

What a magnificent blessing! Praise God for their obedience to the commandment to …

… preach the word …
2 Timothy 4:2

Spare a prayer for these diligent and godly ones, won’t you? May they be given much grace to persevere in this hard work for God’s glory. These are worthy ones.

… worthy
of double honor,
especially those who work hard
at preaching and teaching.
1 Timothy 5:17

And not only that, not only are we to pray for them and honor them, we are to follow them as well.

Remember those who led you,
who spoke the word of God to you;
… imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7

We follow them, so that our lives may be commentaries on Scripture to others. Those are the best kind. Commentaries that are walking, living, breathing, and showing Christ. So that our leaders, like Paul, can affirm …

You are our letter …
known and read by all men …
a letter of Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:2–3

LIGHT!

23½°. It’s tilted 23½° off its axis. Planet Earth. Causing that strange phenomenon of seasons. And equinoxes. And solstices.

Thus it happened that last Wednesday, June 21, the day of the summer solstice, was the longest day of the year for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere. And if you live as far North as I do (Aberdeen is 57.13°N, just a few paltry degrees below the Arctic Circle), it can be long indeed. There is always an eerie glow in the sky, even past sunset, all through the night. That picture was taken last Wednesday, shortly before 10:00 p.m.; sunrise that morning was at about 4:00. Praise God for thick drapes—sleep-savers!

I wonder if they have thick drapes in heaven. I wonder if we’ll sleep at all in heaven. For in yon place of glory, it is said …

… there will no longer be any night;
… because the Lord God
will illumine them;
and they will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 22:5

An eternal solstice in the presence of the One whose robe is the light and whose canopy space—the great God of glory, pure God of light, whose angels adore Him, all veiling their sight. The resplendence of His glory and the radiance of His presence! Will we, can we, should we, sleep?

With all that reigning going on, I suppose we might be too busy to sleep? Sounds like there’s work there to be done. Might as well catch a few Z’s here on earth then?

At any rate, the thrust of the Scriptures on this issue is not the availability of snoozes and slumbers or the necessity of grabbing forty winks or taking a nap. Rather, the eternal light signifies the dissipation of darkness, the dispersion of evil, the dispelling of gloom, the destruction of the forces of Satan.

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
Isaiah 9:2

And it has, praise God! The end has begun! Matthew 4:16 cites that verse from Isaiah as being fulfilled in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. The Light of the world has arrived on planet Earth! The One who stepped out into darkness to take away the bleakness of night from our lives.

But true it is, that while we yet live on earth, while we are yet shackled to bodies flawed and desires fallen, while we are yet bound to the ticking of time, we are not yet in solstice. All is not complete daylight … not yet. But solstice is coming, a perpetual one! Soon we’ll be so far “north” that …

… your sun will no longer set,
Nor will your moon wane;
For you will have the LORD
for an everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning will be over.
Isaiah 60:20

No more mourning. No more the sequelae of sin. No more the laments of loss. No more the woes of wickedness. Only rapture, joy, and bliss ... and LIGHT!

But the Lord expects us, despite our temporality and our fallibility, to walk with the Light in our days here on earth, in anticipation of our eternal days there in heaven.

… you were formerly darkness,
but now you are Light
in the Lord;
walk as children of Light ….
Ephesians 5:8

May His Spirit strengthen us to do that, until that day when …

… in the heav'nly country bright
Need we no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There for ever may we sing
Alleluias to our King.
William C. Dix, 1860

FATHERS!

I’ve always been a bit miffed about it. Proverbs 31:10–31. The fact that it has been appropriated exclusively (and rightly, I grant) by women. What a terrific chapter of the Bible! But not for us 46XY-ers. (Or, for that matter, us singles.)

After all, the word that is translated “excellent” or “of noble character” (Proverbs 31:10, 29) is a masculine noun usually used to describe valor and might.

Through our God we shall do valiantly
And it is He
who will tread down our enemies.
Psalm 60:12

No question. However you translate it, valor and excellence and might and nobility, all cometh from the Lord. It is through His grace we are able to excel—both women and men. So just you wait. One of these days, I’m going to preach Proverbs 31 … to men! On Father’s Day. One way or another! (“Homiletical acrobatics” you could call it.)

All the good stuff in there about dependability, tenacity, loyalty, charity, capability, … I want to use some of that!
Oh, and that power-packed pronouncement on her comportment concerning coming days …

And she smiles at the future.
Proverbs 31:25

Isn’t that terrific! I love it!

But there’s no reason why all of those remarkable qualities should remain the exclusive domain of the other gender. Why, did King Lemuel (and/or his mother) think there weren’t any men around who exhibited these characteristics?

I know of one.

With a hearty interest in life. Devoted to family with intensity. Still carrying himself with dignity.

From playing cricket with his kids (and quite well, too, I might add) to meeting every need of his terminally ill wife in her last years, from leaving the comforts of homeland for places foreign in the late forties, to being the twenty-first century globetrotter that he is today, he has ever been the model of stability and solidity.

I speak of my father, of course.

Impeccable morality. Comfortable with frivolity. Thoroughness in practicality. Loves to laugh. Delights in banter. Quick to forgive. Tolerant of all.

Utter dependability. Sacrificial generosity. Exuding encouragement. Exhibiting contentment.

All with an eye on eternity. Like the other lady. For his future is secure.

For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven …
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain
will be caught up
together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air,
and so we shall
always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17

It is not often we of the old school and old country talk about love. There’s nothing in Proverbs 31 about love either. But one does not doubt its pervasive presence in that chapter. So also in our home. Never a question. Never a moment to doubt this faithful man’s heart for his own. And without the blessings of his love, all of us (and I speak for family, near and extended) would be severely impoverished.

Every good thing given
and every perfect gift
is from above,
coming down from the Father ….
James 1:17

He is most certainly one of those gifts. And so we thank our Father for our father. Would you remember to do that for your own as well?

It says …

Her children [and grandchildren]
rise up and bless her …
Proverbs 31:28

We do, too. We bless you! We love you! Happy Father’s Day!

DISPLACED!

Last week I preached at the Baptist Church in Elgin, about 65 miles northeast of Aberdeen. Elgin (57°N 3°W; pop. 21,000) is a quaint town in Morayshire, not too far from the North Sea, with a history (and the ruins to prove it) dating back to the 11th century.

Sunday morning, one of the good folks at Elgin Baptist had the name of my hometown pasted prominently on a bulletin board in the Sunday School hall, with a map of India showing the location of Thiruvananthapuram (8°N 76°W; pop. 1,000,000).

There I was in Elgin, about 7000 miles away from Thiruvananthapuram. And I got there via Dallas, TX, and Aberdeen! Along the way I also managed to hit Houston, TX, and Boston, MA, for a few years. Oh, and Charleston, SC (that’s another story). And did I mention I was born in Kuwait?

Talk about displacement. Someone asked me the other day where “home” was. On a plane, I said. In between continents. 36000 feet above terra firma. Eating airline food. (Don’t they serve any peanut butter?)

I kinda know what the original recipients of Peter’s First Letter must have felt.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
to those who reside
as aliens,
scattered throughout
Dallas, Aberdeen,
Thiruvananthapuram,
Elgin, and Kuwait …
Abe’s exceedingly unrestrained paraphrase

And then those glorious words …

… who are chosen …
1 Peter 1:1

Alien I might be, but I’m chosen. Displaced? Perhaps. But I’m chosen. Disoriented? Disquieted? To be sure. (And oft the suggestion has been made that I add “Disturbed” to the list!) No matter. I’m ...

… chosen
according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father,
by the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
that you may obey Jesus Christ
and be sprinkled with His blood….
1 Peter 1:2

And, therefore, I am no longer “alien-ated”; I am no longer landless; I am no longer displaced.

For our citizenship
is in heaven ….
Philippians 3:20

What a remarkable truth! Believers in Jesus Christ of all stripes, makes, and brands, from every tribe and tongue and nation, in every era, age, and day, united as one body by virtue of the One whose name they bear and by whose Spirit they are indwelt.

So then you are
no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens
with the saints,
and are of God's household.
Ephesians 2:18–19

And so, like my namesake, we believers exist in these intervening moments between the “already” and the “not yet,” awaiting our restoration to the polis where we truly belong.

By faith [Abraham] lived as an alien
in the land of promise,
as in a foreign land …
for he was looking
for a city
which has foundations
whose architect
and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:9–10

May those days soon be here! But until then, Peter continues, we have a responsibility, as those bearing “alien” status here on earth.

Beloved, I urge you
as aliens and strangers
to abstain from fleshly lusts
which wage war against the soul.
Keep your behavior excellent
among the Gentiles,
so that … they may
because of your good deeds,
as they observe them,
glorify God ….
1 Peter 2:11

An ambassadorial, testimonial, witnessing responsibility. May our lives speak for the land from which we hail, to which we are headed, for which we hope. For the glory of God, may we be faithful in doing so, till He call us HOME.

We are not Home yet
Keep on looking ahead
Let your heart not forget
We are not Home yet.
Steven Curtis Chapman, 1997

GOTCHA!

They came for me the other day. Knock. Pause. Knock-knock-knock. Pause. Knock-knock. Pause. Etc. Pretty official sounding. Two guys. Flashing badges. Somber. Polite. Clean-shaven. Dark jackets. Opaque shades. Oily. Wiry. Drab. Grim. May we take a look, sir? Oh, and one question, sir. Was I watching TV, sir?

Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men
and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;

He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
The Bard
J.C. (Julius Caesar, that is, not our J.C.)
Somewhere in Act I

I couldn’t have said it better. Dangerous. Messrs. Cassius and Clay.

They were the Television Police. (For those who missed the scoop on those nefarious characters, click here.) These men, with the l. & h. look, were representatives of that august body known as The TV Licensing Board of the United Kingdom. Probably armed. Who knows? These intrepid door-knockers toiling faithfully for H.R.H. E.R. II may have had to mow down a whole tribe of recalcitrant, obstreperous, bellicose couch potatoes who refused to give Her Majesty, Her Majesty’s due. TV addicts who think nothing of watching the tube for free! Free? How dare they? BBC for nothing? What impudence! The gall!

So there I was, my liver all a-quiver. Sometimes it causes me to tremble. Where was I gonna run to? What would they do to me? Confiscate my Bach? Or, God forbid, my peanut butter?

That got me thinking.

What’s the worst thing that can happen on earth? Dreadful torture, life imprisonment, horrible disease, death itself? Take your pick. The good thing is that all of these will come to an end. Sometime. None of these can last for ever. It might be death itself that provides blessed release from these agonies. But they will all end. That’s why eternal punishment is so unfathomable. Eternal! ETERNAL! Never ending! Eternal separation from God. With no end in sight. Ceaseless condemnation. Perpetual perdition.

And so I thank God for ETERNAL salvation. For Jesus Christ who died for me on the cross to pay for all my sins, past, present, and future. His resurrection proves the efficacy of His sacrifice. Now sin is no longer an issue between me and God. Where once sin separated me from my Creator, now a Savior has provided access to Him. No longer need I fear the eternal and dreadful consequences of sin. Instead, I’m assured of an eternity with God. Saved! And this salvation is free. FREE! (Unlike BBC!) And all it takes to partake of this free gift is to place one’s trust in Jesus Christ, believing in Him as one’s only God and Savior, who paid the price for one’s sin, fully, finally, forever!

For God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

I don’t know where you stand on this issue. But if this act of faith is something you haven’t undertaken yet, may I urge you to do that as soon as possible. The most important decision of life. But simple. Believe! In the quietness of your heart. Take that step of faith. Place your trust in Christ for your eternal salvation. Would you?

PS: They left. The TV militia. The unsung knights of the United Kingdom. Peacefully. No guns drawn. No daggers unsheathed. No blood spilled. They agreed that I didn’t have time to watch TV. Enjoy your Bach, they said. And don’t overdo the JIF, they advised. No TV either, they warned. I saw them out. Jail will have to wait. For I still have to dissertate.

GIFT!

Today, folks, is Ascension Sunday. Actually, the Ascension is forty days after Easter and always falls on a Thursday (last Thursday), but is usually celebrated the Sunday thereafter (today). And, while we are on the topic of the Church Calendar, I might as well make mention that next Sunday is Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Christ, thus marking the birth of the Church.

And that’s what started me thinking of gifts. Not just Pentecost and Holy Spirit, but Ascension as well, for Ephesians 4:7–11 links that event also with gifting—the spiritual kind.

When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives
And He gave gifts to men.
Ephesians 4:8

Mentioned several times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12ff.; Romans 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4—two 12’s and two 4’s), the gifts of the Holy Spirit are described as being granted to all believers, a consequence of their indwelling by the third Person of the Trinity from the moment they place their trust in Jesus Christ as their only God and Savior from sin.

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

How does one recognize one’s spiritual gifts? In another context, I was just discussing this the other day with the Gibsons (a fellow-student and his wife). How does one figure out what one’s gifts might be?

This is, admittedly, not an easy question to answer. Beyond encouraging those seeking to discover their gifts to study, prayerfully, the Biblical passages that deal with this subject, allow me to share what has helped me in my own search. Not just for inquiring about gifts, but even for assisting me in making decisions in life, these three areas of investigation have been exceptionally profitable: Head, Heart, and Hands.

Head: Who am I? What is my personality like? My talents? Qualifications? Experience? What am I capable of? Where am I in my spiritual pilgrimage now? And my station in life? How has God sovereignly led me thus far?
Heart: What am I passionate about? What gives me great joy to engage in (or great grief, for that matter!)?
Hands: What am I good at? What exploratory activities in the direction of the gifts have borne the most fruit? What, according to my fellow-Christians, has been effective in my “experimental” ventures with gifts?

Of course, none of these criteria are absolute determinants of what our gift(s) might be; I offer them in the hope that they might lend as much help to you as they have to me in making a reasonable assessment of the trajectory of my gifting.

On that last point (Hands) let me add one thing—the use of these spiritual gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:7 explicitly demarcated their employment for “the common good”, for the edification of the church, for the building up on one another.

As each one
has received a gift,
employ it
in serving one another,
as good stewards
of the manifold grace
of God.
1 Peter 4:10

Spiritual gifts are expressly for the benefit of the church. Employ them. Enjoy them. Edify others, your brothers and sisters in Christ.

By the way, I’m exercising (what I think might be) my gift this morning in my church—I’m preaching. So if you read this before noon today GMT, please whisper a prayer for me. If you don’t peruse this by then, do pray nonetheless—it will stand me in good stead when I’m in the pulpit again next Sunday, at another church. Thanks!

SIGHT!

The other day my brother told me he had started wearing eyeglasses for the affliction of aging eyes, presbyopia. That word literally combines the Greek words for “old man” and “sight.” Isn’t it amazing how some people age so quickly?

Did I have any trouble focusing on things? he asked me. “Who, me? Of course, not,” I asserted, brimming with youthful exuberance and adolescent confidence.

He looked at me skeptically. “Here,” he said, handing me his pair of old man’s spectacles. “Try these,” he advised.

I did. To shorten a sorrowful saga and to spare the reader an account of the agonies that followed, allow me to jump to the conclusion of that infelicitous incident: I am getting old!!! The cruel caprices of the clock of life have caught up with me. In other words, I have finally qualified to become a presbyteros, an elder! To borrow the utterance of another whose windows to the soul were opened, “I was blind, but now I see.” That guy at least knew he was blind. I didn’t.

Blindness. An allegory for our depravity. Drenched in sin. Every part of us, including our eyes. And sin does a number on us, blinding us to our own faults, foibles, failures, augmenting our inability to perceive.

My iniquities
have overtaken me,
so that
I am not able to see ….
Psalm 40:12

Only God can lift the veil. Only His Spirit can enlighten us. Only His Word can dispel the darkness. And it is only in the radiance and effulgence of His glorious truth that our hearts are illumined.

In Your light
we see light.
Psalm 36:9

For those who have seen the light, Jesus pronounces a special blessing:

But blessed are your eyes,
because they see ….
Matthew 13:16

The first operation of opening the ophthalmic apparatus is, of course, the placing of one’s trust in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior, believing in His accomplished work on the cross for our salvation. And yet, though we who have placed our trust in Christ now have our eyes opened, the deleterious effects of sin continue to skew our sight. Not until the age to come, when our unwarped bodies are unwrapped will our perception be perfect.

For now we see
in a mirror dimly,
but then face to face;
now I know in part,
but then I will know fully ….
1 Corinthians 13:12

And then, when we are freed forever from the presence of sin, when our hearts are as pure as they were intended to be by their Maker, then we shall see indeed!

Blessed are
the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8

Until that time, the important sense is really not our sight, but God’s. The imperative for us is to live our lives in a manner pleasing to His sight, accomplishing what is good in the eyes of the Lord.

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation
of my heart
Be acceptable
in Your sight,
O LORD,
my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

May His grace and strength be with us all, enabling us to do exactly that.

Now the God of peace …
equip you in every good thing
to do His will,
working in us
that which is pleasing
in His sight,
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20–21

Oh … and get your eyes checked, will you?

FAMILY!

It’s always a joy to be with loved ones. This time was no different. As you can probably tell, I’m having a good time with my father and brother and his family in SC. Outside of the obligatory gastronomic celebrations in festive Indian fashion (Thanks, Susan!), we just hung around, took in some sights on S. Carolina’s Atlantic coast, ate out, saw a movie, and generally vegetated (conserving innumerable precious heartbeats in the process, of course).

Article 16 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the U.N.) says: The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

This kindred unit called family is a strange thing, isn’t it? The Bible recognizes the family as special. While proceeding to give his benediction in the middle of the letter to the Ephesians, Paul throws in a cryptic little “aside”…

… the Father [patera],
from whom every family [patria]
in heaven and on earth
derives its name ….
Ephesians 3:14

Clearly those key words are similar. But one would suppose that Paul’s interest in the matter was more than etymological. The family, he seems to suggest, has its basis in the Fatherhood of God, and thus in the very concept of the Trinity. The family is special? You bet! And then Jesus radically expanded the boundaries of this earthly kindred, making it even more special in character, when He declared, looking around at His followers …

“For whoever
does the will of God,
he is My brother
and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:35

For those who have taken the first step in doing the will of God by placing their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior, that momentous step of faith has brought them into a new family relationship. This one is not anthropological, biological, or sociological. This one is spiritual!

For by one Spirit
we were all baptized
into one body ….
1 Corinthians 12:13

The Holy Spirit that indwells every believer is the DNA, so to speak, that links us all in unity. And just as (ideally) we are to go through the experience of life with our biological families, the Bible assumes as a norm that we live our spiritual lives only in communion with our spiritual families, the body of Christ. For instance, that same benediction of Paul in Ephesians 3 exhorts us ….

… to comprehend
with all the saints
what is the breadth and length
and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ
which surpasses knowledge ….
Ephesians 3:18–19

With all the saints. It might not be too far off to say that a believer cannot experience the love of Christ in its plenitude outside of the family of God, without all the saints. Such an understanding commits us as members of that family to depict to one another the love of Christ in the magnitude of its breadth and length and height and depth! What an overwhelming responsibility we have towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Experiencing Christ’s love. Showing Christ’s love. The function of family!

This is His commandment,
that we believe in the name
of His Son Jesus Christ,
and love one another,
just as He commanded us.
1 John 3:23

Bear one another's burdens,
and thereby fulfill
the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

So then, while we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people,
and especially to those
who are of the household
of the faith.
Galatians 6:10

GRADUATION!

It would’ve been nice if the graduation had been mine. But it wasn’t. (I’ll be sure to let y’all know when I’m done with my current educational enterprise.)

One of the daughters of the Morgans (my good friends) was the one who was graduating this weekend in Dallas, going on to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy. And I happened to be the speaker at the ceremony.

A joyous occasion. A moving one. It was a delight to share in the general exhilaration of the moment. Proud parents. Relieved graduates. Elated family. Well-wishing friends. Graduation. Success. Approbation. Reward.

As I enjoyed myself at the celebrations, rejoicing in the triumphs of those students, and partaking in the festivities, I wondered about that most important Graduation Ceremony of life, the last one, the final one, the ONLY one of eternal moment and significance. The day when believers will stand before Jesus Christ, their Savior, for the final accounting of their lives. For those who have placed their trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, this is an occasion when the Lord will assess their deeds, not for condemnation, but for the disposition of rewards to believers—our Graduation and the handing out of Honors.

After I gave the commencement address yesterday, I wondered: Will I hear from the Speaker on that Graduation Day to come …

“Well done,
good and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.”
Matthew 25:21

Faithfulness in a few things, little things, in what we’ve been allotted in this life, qualifies us for Graduation with Honors. With rewards. What exactly they might be is not very clear. The New Testament also refers to such rewards as “crowns,” which, in 1 Peter 5, for instance, appears to be the prize for an exemplary lifestyle of humility, especially for those who’ve been leaders …

And when the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive
the unfading crown of glory.
1 Peter 5:4

The Bible unabashedly touts rewards as incentives to faithfulness in our service to God; of course, rewards are not the only incentives to a godly life, but they certainly are valid ones; Scripture does not shy away from using them to motivate believers to maintain a consistent walk with God.

Run in such a way
that you may win.
Everyone who competes
in the games
exercises self-control in all things.
They then do it
to receive a perishable wreath,
but we an imperishable.
1 Cor 9:24–25

Living faithfully for God, in Christ, by the Spirit. A life in step with His Word, in line with His precepts, in accord with His demands. One way of conducting such a faithful life (training for spiritual athletics?) is, as Paul tells us above, by exercising self-control in all things. Immersed in a culture as we are, bombarded on every side by the slick messages that pander to instant self-gratification, this call for self-control is, to put it mildly, strange!

But not so in God’s view. Self-control now; satisfaction later. Restraint now; rewards later. Discipline now; deserts later. It is a fight to the end, a race to the finish, a fulfillment of obligations, a stewardship of life, for the glory of God!

I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith;
in the future
there is laid up for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord,
the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day.
2 Timothy 4:7–8

Let’s get ready for graduation. Summa cum laude!

MAPS!

Wasn’t difficult. And I did. Many times. Get lost, that is!

Today, I was preaching at Kirkcaldy, close to Edinburgh, about 100 miles south of Aberdeen, at a friend’s church. I decided to drive myself down Sunday morning. My first long road-trip in the U.K.

Therein begins my tale of woe. Unfamiliar road-signs. Bewildering “roundabouts”—sometimes two of them back-to-back! I saw the entire city of Dundee from every possible angle and explored every available street without any clue as to what I was doing and where I was headed. Thankfully, I’d given myself enough time, anticipating this waywardness in my journey!

And I was armed with a map as well; as a matter of fact, I’d several of them, in varying amounts of detail. To top it off, I had printed off directions from Mapquest! All to no avail. I went adrift many a time, meandering from the curved and crooked path into sidetracks and goose-chases after red herrings I should have known better to steer clear of.

It’s not much use having maps and road-signs and directions, if one doesn’t know how to use them. One word comes to mind—“competence.” Competence in reading maps.

However, I’d no trouble returning, for my friend, Dave, gave me a tutorial and coached me on the intricacies of negotiating the whimsical streets of Scotland and their traps for the unwary (read “ignorant”) driver. He was a competent map-reader.

How about The Map of life?

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105

Competence in reading this Map of Scripture is incredibly critical in our journey in life. That’s exactly why there is a science that looks at such competencies—“hermeneutics” (the science—and art!—of interpretation, my current field of interest).

(Incidentally, “hermeneutics” comes from Hermes of Greek mythology, the messenger of the gods, associated with the function of transmuting what was beyond human understanding into a form that is comprehensible. More questionable is this shady character’s standing as the god of rogues, vagabonds, and thieves!)

How do we learn to read The Map of God, His Word, competently?

This competency, like all others, is a function of practice. It is not enough to practice good reading (of the Bible, of commentaries, of Christian books, articles, and magazines). Neither is it enough to practice good listening (to sermons, to lectures, to testimonies). All of those are important in their own way and essential for the body of Christ. But there is one form of practice that should take precedence—the practicing of the Biblical commands and imperatives. Practicing what we already know from the Bible. Practicing what we’ve already read from and about the Bible. Practicing what we’ve already been taught. It’s almost paradoxical: We improve our reading competency as we put into practice what we’ve already learnt.

For everyone who partakes
only of milk
[elementary Biblical doctrine]
is not accustomed
to the word of righteousness,
for he is an infant.
But solid food
is for the mature,
who because of practice
have their senses trained
to discern good and evil.
Hebrews 5:13–14

What did we hear preached from the Word of God at church today? What was the application in the sermon? Let’s determine to practice it. Let’s give our preachers a shock! Let’s practice what we were taught from the Scriptures.

REUNION!

They’re fun. Reunions. Especially if you haven’t seen the others for a long time. I hadn’t. For over 18 years! The last I saw the Mathews was in India in the late eighties, when they were my neighbors. Almost two decades later, I saw them again last weekend, over Easter, in Sheffield, England.

Reunions! We chatted, laughed, sang old hymns (in English and Malayalam), ate (Indian food, of course!), went sight-seeing, took walks, attended church, listened to Mozart’s Krönungsmesse, discussed theology, talked medical stuff (both husband and wife are physicians) ….

Reunions! Delightful! There is a sense of restoration, akin to finding some part of yourself that was missing all these years. There is the joy of recognizing the growth in Christ, both in your own self and in your reunited compatriots. There is the pleasure in sharing what God is doing in each other’s lives.

But you know what? These are but mere reflections, evanescent shadows, of another grand reunion to be effected in the future, soon and very soon. Loved ones who have gone on before us, saints of all ages, brothers and sisters in the Lord—all physically reunited on that great and glorious day of Christ’s appearing.

For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again,
even so God
will bring with Him
those who have fallen asleep
in Jesus.
Then we who are alive
and remain will be caught up
together with them in the clouds …

[And, of course, that awesome reunion between Redeemer and redeemed:]

… to meet the Lord in the air,
and so we shall always be
with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:17–18

Always! ALWAYS!! We shall always be with the Lord! This is a perpetual reunion, unceasing, irreversible, eternal!

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
Eliza Hewitt, 1898

A day of ecstatic rejoicing, exhilarating rapture. A day that will never end! No more parting, no more death, no more grief, no more tears ….

And that’s not all, there appears to be a special reward for those who await that magnificent reunion with their Lord …

… in the future
there is laid up for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day;
and not only to me,
but also to all
who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8

May we love His appearing, as we eagerly await our Savior and the blessed reunion that is coming. O may these days go by fast. After all we don’t belong here, pilgrims that we are, and bound for another kingdom, existing in another space-time continuum, governed by another constitution, ruled by another King—THE KING—our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord!

For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also
we eagerly wait for a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ ....
Philippians 3:20

Even so, Lord Jesus, come! Maranatha!

SABBATH!

The other day, a good friend, Dan, emailed me a question about the Sabbath that got me thinking about that whole concept ...

Right after the six days of Creation, Genesis 2:2–3 tells us, God sanctified the seventh day when He rested from His creative work (the word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew root that means “to rest, cease, desist”). God had done it all. Not that God had stopped working; He desisted only from His creative endeavors. Jesus affirmed in John 5:17 that the Father still works. Indeed, it is because God is still working—God’s still doing it all—that the Sabbath found its meaning for the Israelites: if He’s still doing it all, they didn’t need to sweat. So on that day, enshrined as a holy day of rest in the Decalogue, the Israelites were prohibited from gathering manna, working, lighting fires, etc., all at the risk of capital punishment. Here’s the rationale, part of the Ten Commandments:

You shall remember
that you were a slave
in the land of Egypt,
and the LORD your God
brought you out of there
by a mighty hand
and by an outstretched arm;
therefore the LORD your God
commanded you
to observe the sabbath day.
Deuteronomy 5:15

Why the Sabbath? Not only had God created, He had also redeemed the Israelites—once again, God had done it all.

There were other Sabbaths for the Israelites—other than the seventh-day Sabbath, that is. The particularly notable ones were, of course, the Sabbatical Year (every seventh year), and the Year of Jubilee (every fiftieth year, after seven rounds of seven years each) (Leviticus 25). In both of these celebratory years, the Israelites were to abstain from agricultural work—the sole means of livelihood and sustenance in their economy—for the entire year (two consecutive years every 49th and 50th year). How would they survive? Yahweh specifically addresses that fear, assuring His people that He would provide during these years (Leviticus 25:20–22): God would do it all.

So what does this mean for the believer today? Simply this: God has done it all. Not just Creation. Not just redemption from Egypt. Not just provision during years of rest. But something bigger, something grander, something … awesome! God’s (re)Creation of the believer in Christ into a new person, unto a new community, under a new covenant, indwelt in an incredibly new way by the Holy Spirit. God’s Redemption of us from the bondage of sin into liberty in Christ, from the kingdom of darkness into His glorious light, from death to life! God's Provision for all our needs (Matt 6:31–32; Eph 1:3) . That’s what we celebrate especially today, the day of our Lord’s Resurrection. For God has, indeed, done it all! (See me enjoying my “Sabbath”?)

Jesus paid it all,
All to him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Elvina Hall, 1865

There can be only one response:

Come, let us worship
and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord
our God and Maker.
Psalm 95:6

Therefore the Church—both in the New Testament (Acts 2:4:42; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2) and thereafter—chose Sunday, the day of the Resurrection as the day of worship to commemorate this fact—God has done it all. Let us join the saints of yesteryear and celebrate, not just today, on Easter Sunday, but every day of our lives that blissful and blessed truth. Praise God! He has done it all!

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

IMAGE!

They say that fools and their money are soon parted. The rest of us wait until income tax time. And it’s almost here. Next week!

(Hey, did you ever notice that if you omit the space “The IRS” reads “Theirs”?)

We’re also in Holy Week, the last week of Lent. Apart from those ecclesiastical lunar cycles and vernal equinoxes that juxtapose tax week and Holy Week, any connection between cash and Crucifixion, possessions and Passion, lucre and Lent?

Lots! There is more than one episode in the Gospels that connects dough with a donkey ride, moola with Maundy Thursday, and loot with the Last Supper.

Indeed, even taxation figures prominently in the accounts of this final week. Soon after Jesus rode into His capital city on Palm Sunday, one of His adversaries asked Him whether the local version of Uncle Sam (His “Divine” Eminence Tiberius Caesar) deserved the Jews’ tribute. “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s,” was Jesus’s rejoinder, pointing out that the coinage of the realm bore that entity’s image. “And,” He added, “render unto God the things that are God’s”—meaning, evidently, the things that bear God’s image. Now what would that be? Or, rather, who might that be?

God created mankind
in his own image,
in the image of God
He created them,
male and female
He created them.
Genesis 1:27

Thus, Abe’s paraphrase of Mark 12:17: “Fine, give back to that character Caesar these bits of metal he claims are his—these trinkets with his image embossed on them. But, give God everything that carries His image—all of Y’ALL!”

And that’s not all …

At the end of that chapter (Mark 12), Jesus proceeds to show us one who did exactly that—give herself to God. After pointing out that blessed woman to His disciples, He says:

“Truly I say to you,
this poor widow put in more
than all the contributors
to the Temple treasure;
for they all put in out of their surplus,
but she, out of her poverty,
put in all she owned,
all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:43–44

She gave her heart, her soul, her mind, her strength—her everything to God. The tinkling of those two mites tumbling into the coffers of the Temple was the sound of her life being poured out to the Almighty.

He demands it. From you. From me. All of it. All of our lives.

In fact, Jesus had just said so. Quoting from Deuteronomy 6 (Sh'ma Yisrael) …

“And you shall love
the LORD your God
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.”
Mark 12:30

There’s more …

After a didactic interlude, Mark 13, Jesus returns to this theme. Another anonymous woman (at least in this Gospel). She is “wasting” a gallon of perfume (a TON of $$, a year’s salary) on Jesus. But Jesus’s opinion?

“Truly I say to you,
wherever the gospel is preached
in the whole world,
what this woman has done
will also be spoken of
in memory of her.”
Mark 14:9

And Mark fails to give us her name! She is “everyone”! … Or should be.

Divine-image-bearers that we are, God claims what is rightfully His. Let us, as we approach the end of the season of Lent, resolve to give God His due. All of our selves.

Therefore I exhort you,
brothers and sisters,
by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies
as a sacrifice—
alive, holy, pleasing to God ….
Romans 12:1

Imago Dei. All of us. His. For Him. Pour out.

SUNSHINE!

I saw it! Indeed, I did! For the first time in six months! The sun. That spectral type G2V yellow star at the center of the Earth’s solar system. I spotted it! That ball of plasma 90 something million miles away from most places on earth; about ten times that distance away from Scotland!

Well, I don’t know what happened or how, but I just happened to catch a glimpse of this elusive planet (see me basking in the effulgence of its radiations!). Last Wednesday. And, for the first time in six months, the temperatures hit a searing 51°F. But, alas, all of this lasted just one single day! Since that glorious morn, the situation has reverted back to the perpetual solar eclipse that prevails in these parts. The chariot of Helios has gone into hiding again. And mercury has dipped: they say it will snow tomorrow!

Oh, Spring, where art thou?

Not an easy task to echo the sentiments of Elizabeth Clephane penned in 1872 …

I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding-place:
I ask no other sunshine than
The sunshine of his face;
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain nor loss;
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory, all the cross.

No other sunshine? I need that kind of contentment! But truly, His is the only Sunshine that will never be eclipsed, obscured, or otherwise dimmed. His is the only Sunshine that can thaw cold hearts, enliven dormant souls, rejuvenate captives in the dark and dreadful dungeons of sin. The heavenly lights? They won’t shine long (Isaiah 13:10). The celestial hosts? They wither away (Isaiah 34:4).

Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heav'n can boast.
Joseph Seiss, 1873

And in the new creation, at the end of time, it seems that the grand new city, the New Jerusalem, might not even have any more light-generating bodies in the sky for …

… the city has no need
of the sun or of the moon
to shine on it,
for the glory of God
has illumined it,
and its lamp is the Lamb.
Revelation 21:23

No life without the sun, we’ve been taught. But in God’s economy, there is no life without the Son. The Son who gave Himself for us and for our sin, accomplishing our redemption through His work on the cross. So it is appropriate in these last weeks of Lent to reflect upon a Lutheran Easter hymn (Christ lag in Todesbanden, which has also been wonderfully wrought into a cantata by Bach—BWV 4) that enjoins believers to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection.

Therefore let us keep the Feast
With heartfelt exultation;
The Lord to shine on us is pleased,
The Sun of our salvation.
On our hearts, with heavenly grace,
Beams the brightness of his face,
And the night of sin has vanished.
Hallelujah!
Martin Luther, 1524

Hallelujah, indeed! Hail, the Sun of Righteousness! Jubilate! Fling wide the gates for the Savior.

Light of the world,
You stepped down into darkness …
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for our sake …
So here I am to worship …
Tim Hughes, 2000

Let’s take time in the next two weeks to attend especially to worshipping God for having brought us out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light. For opening our eyes and letting us see ….

Sun of my soul, thou Savior dear,
It is not night if thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide thee from thy servant's eyes.
John Keble, 1820

FEAST!

I got a threatening letter last week.

“Please respond to this letter by 21st March to avoid your details being passed on to our Enforcement Division for investigation” it said. They wanted to extract £130 (about $200+) out of me. “They” meaning The TV Licensing Board of the United Kingdom.

What in the world did they want with me, I wondered.

Oh, and “in accordance with Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984” I could be risking a £1,000 (about $1600+) fine if my transgression and felonious malfeasance continued unabated!

Some kind of joke? It looked authentic. There was a phone number. I called.

The scoop: The only TV channels one gets in the U.K., if one doesn’t have cable or other such devices, are BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3 … (about four or five such, I am told). The thing about BBC—it is commercial free. So everyone pays a licensing fee. Hence the screw being tightened on yours faithfully in an attempt to extort some pounds sterling out of this starving student (subsisting entirely on imported JIF!).

I confess there is a TV on the premises—I live in a furnished flat, which comes with everything (linens, cookware, and … a TV). But beyond turning it on to see if it worked when I moved in 6 months ago, I have not watched TV at all; neither do I intend to in the future.

The folks I talked to accepted my excuse; however, they are going to send an “inspector” to visit me! (I’ll let you all know if I need to be bailed out of jail or something!)

I have nothing against TVs. I never used to watch it in the U.S. either. Many years ago—a totally personal resolution—I decided to exercise some serious caution on what went in through the eye-gates of my soul. One of those vigilante measures included passing up on TV. (Of course, not having time to sit before the box helped as well.)

This is not to say there aren’t other ways I could get into trouble with my eyes. I do have internet. But the presence of a “history folder” that maintains a log of every site I visit keeps me accountable.

It’s an ongoing battle. And it’s something we all struggle with, I’m sure: What enters our souls? What are we to keep thinking about? What must we be feasting our minds upon?

Good things. Godly things.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:8

God’s truth is everywhere, certainly, even in secular material (and on TV, I’m sure). All truth is God’s truth. He owns truth. He has a monopoly on it. He is Truth!

But the example nonpareil of truth is the Scriptures. Unadulterated. Unfailing. Unparallelled. Trustworthy. Tried. Tested. TRUTH!

How blessed is the one
who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight
is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law
he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1–2

Let’s keep on reading it. Dwelling upon it. Meditating in it. Treasuring it.

Your word I have treasured
in my heart,
That I may not sin
against You.
Psalm 119:11

In these Lenten days, let’s go for a feast, shall we? Of Scripture. Undertake to dig in. Do a bit more than usual. If it’s not a habit, make it one.

Engorge! It's sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10) ... and its fat free!

GOOD?

Friday: I ate a slice of pineapple. Big deal, you say. Yes, BIG DEAL, I reply. You see, I used to be allergic to that species of fruit as a child. And over the years, I had gotten over the allergy … or so I thought! Two days ago, I decided to go for a piece of that plant product after a nice dinner at a fellow-student’s. Bad choice! I will spare you the embarrassing and morbid physiological details. Suffice it to say, a few hours later, I was confined to a certain room in my flat. For a long time. In several spells.

I thought it would be fine, but it wasn’t.

Saturday: Mark (another “Dawg”) and his wife, Dawn, and I took a trip to the outskirts of Aberdeen looking for good food! We found it in lush Victorian settings at a place called Tor-na-coille (Gaelic for something like “house among the trees on the hilltop”). Brave soul that I am, I ordered—for the first time in my life—haggis. For you of non-Scottish inclinations and proclivities, here’s how the recipe for this gastronomic delicacy starts: “Take the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys of a sheep, chop them up, add suet, onions, oatmeal, cayenne pepper and other seasonings, stuff all of that into the stomach of a sheep and boil it for 2 hours.” Nice, huh?

Yup! That’s what I ate. I know what you are thinking. One evocative and emotive word: Yuk!

But I have to confess, folks, it tasted pretty good! (And, for those concerned about the subsequent state of my intestines—they’re still discharging [ahem!] their responsibilities quite well, thank you!). So much so, I might actually go for it again! Haggismaniac, you can call me henceforth!

I thought it would be horrid, but it wasn’t.

What I figured I’d like, I didn’t! What I expected to hate, I liked! Strange! I don’t know what’s good for myself … and it seems like I don’t know what’s bad for me either.

On the other hand, maybe not so strange.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me,
that is, in my flesh ….
Romans 7:18

I am easily fooled by my own prejudices, my own sins, my own depravity. I don’t know what I should be doing, and what I should not; what is good for me and what is not! I don’t! You don’t! Nobody does! But God!

When 1 Thessalonians 5:21 urges us to “hold fast to that which is good,” it presumes upon the truth of these Paul’s words to Timothy:

All Scripture is inspired by God
and profitable …
so that the [wo]man of God
may be adequate,
equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16–17

What is good for us is what God decides. His will.

And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove
what the will of God is,
that which is good
and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2

And God’s will is sufficiently portrayed for us in His Word. Let us learn therefrom to “love what is good” (Titus 1:8). Pausing for a moment as we journey towards Holy Week, let us recommit ourselves to the Scriptures, to study it and to practice it.

But solid food is for the mature,
who because of practice
have their senses trained
to discern good and evil.
Hebrews 5:14

Haggis, anyone?

EXCHANGE!

There is a ritual I go through before and after my trips to the U.S. from the U.K. Wallet-switching! I don’t carry a lot of cash with me, but what little I do is mismatched in size. The British pound notes are wider and shorter than the American dollar bills. Simply for that reason alone I use separate wallets in each country.

Moreover, I have no use for my University of Aberdeen ID card in Texas and neither do I need my DTS ID in Scotland. Those copy-machine cards I use here won’t function there, and the DTS and SMU copy-cards are unrecognizable at the U of A. My U.S. medical licenses are inconsequential here in the U.K. And so on ….

All of this mandates a ceremonial exchange of material from one pocket receptacle to another as I make the Atlantic passage back and forth between different worlds. Different requirements. Different laws. Different systems.

Jesus once said: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Different dimension. Different time. Different space. And those of us who believe in Him are already citizens of that different kingdom.

For He rescued us
from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us
to the kingdom of His beloved Son ….
Colossians 1:13

Calls for an exchange, doesn’t it? Different kingdoms. Different King. Different priorities.

As we continue our pilgrimage through Lent, reflecting upon the redemption Christ achieved for us—our exchange from one kingdom to another—let us, in turn, ponder upon exchanges we can commit to, as we seek first His kingdom.

Do not love the world
nor the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes
and the boastful pride of life,
is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1 John 2:15–16

The world we live in is so unlike the kingdom we’re part of that the exchanges we can (and must) make are diverse and myriad. But all this talk of wallets reminds me of one thing, though. Money. What currency should I hang on to? What coinage? And of which realm?

Ringing gold is hard to relinquish. Lucre is hard to leave. Mammon bids us mutiny against heaven. But you know what?

For we have brought nothing into the world,
so we cannot take anything out of it either.
1 Timothy 6:7

Nothing. NOTHING! “Life is but a pilgrimage from one point of nakedness to another.” This life certainly is. But we can prepare to be clothed in glory in the next life by exchanging our earthly funds and saving in the vaults of heaven.

But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys,
and where thieves do not break in or steal;
for where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19–21

Where is my heart? Here? Then I must exchange! And my treasure? In this world? Exchange!

How can we begin to exchange “treasure”?

Tax time, folks, is just around the corner. We know how much we gave to the Lord’s work in 2005. Let’s seriously consider increasing our giving in 2006 and let’s plan accordingly.

Let’s ensure our treasure (and our hearts) are in the right place. Then, and only then, can we pray sincerely …

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

EXAMINATION!

It snowed … and snowed … and snowed. So much so, the plane I was to travel on from Aberdeen to London last week was delayed coming in and delayed going out. I was pretty sure I’d miss my flight from London to Dallas.

About two hours late, I finally land at Gatwick. For some reason, we taxi to the international terminal to park at gate 61 in the North Terminal … right next to gate 63 and a shiny, silver 777 flying machine with the letters “AA” emblazoned in blue and red—my plane to Dallas, American Airlines flight 79.

We get to the gate, the pilot turns off the seat-belt sign and, as if on cue, and to my immense chagrin, AA 79 begins pulling out of gate 63. My nose is glued to the window, as I dejectedly watch the aircraft leave. That’s my plane! So near and, yet, so far!

Because we had arrived at the international terminal, they had to bus the passengers to the domestic end of things. To make matters worse, our bus kept shadowing AA 79 on the tarmac for the next several minutes. I couldn’t bear to look. That is (correction: “was”) my plane! So near and, yet, so far!

The long and short of it was that because I was a few minutes late, I had to spend the next 20 hours in a London hotel (I did get to see part of the England v. India first cricket Test on cable, though!). So near and, yet, so far!

That happens far too often in the spiritual life. For those of us who are believers, of course we will not miss heaven, secure as we are in the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. But there is something we might miss out on—and usually not by far … rewards in heaven. So near and, yet, so far.

Especially in this Lenten season, periodic self-examination is called for, to make sure we are on the pathway to moral excellence in the power of God's Spirit; this kind of introspection is quite a pervasive theme in the New Testament.

… each one must examine one’s own work ….
Galatians 6:4

… so that the [examination] of your faith,
being more precious
than gold which is perishable,
even though [examined] by fire,
may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ ....
1 Peter 1:7

Let’s pay especial attention to our communal partaking of the Lord’s Supper, utilizing that dominical ordinance as an opportunity to examine ourselves, and of course, taking steps to correct our courses as necessary.

But one must examine oneself,
and in so doing one is to eat
of the bread and drink of the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:28

… [examining] what is pleasing to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:10

The goal of that self-examination? To live as He would have us live. To qualify for His rewards. To hear His words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” To please God. To excel for His glory.

Finally then, brethren,
we request and exhort you
in the Lord Jesus,
… that you excel still more.
1 Thessalonians 4:1

Now for this very reason also,
applying all diligence,
in your faith supply moral excellence,
and in moral excellence, knowledge,
and in knowledge, self-control,
and in self-control, perseverance,
and in perseverance, godliness,
and in godliness, brotherly kindness,
and in brotherly kindness, love.
For if these qualities are yours
and are increasing,
they render you neither
useless nor unfruitful
in the true knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5–8