Grace Writing Service

This has been an exciting week at my house – moving, changes in ministry, home repairs – all kinds of exciting things. It started out with a real bang, and has lost little momentum since.

Our family has very few heirlooms, but the one that would be the most definite qualifier is our old iron bed. My mother acquired it from my great-grandfather while she was in Bible college. He acquired it from another member of the family who had purchased it when they set up housekeeping around the time of the Civil War. Our best guess is that the bed is between 140 -150 years old. It is not especially ornate, but it has withstood the test of time. This week, as we prepared to set it up in yet another room, we realized that the years have taken their toll on our old bed. The finish, which was put on the bed some thirty-five years ago, was all but gone and rust was beginning to take its place. At first we thought we could just put a new finish on it. But further consideration convinced us that we needed to start fresh.

Monday brought a beautiful, sunny Montana day, with blue sky and warm Chinook winds to draw us into our outdoor workshop. I hauled the four pieces of the frame out into the yard and one by one sanded down every inch. It wasn't long before I was covered in rust-colored dust. The longer I worked the harder the wind blew, until at last I had to find a place that was more sheltered so that I could begin applying the finish. I spread a large plastic tarp under the bed frame to keep the grass away from the legs and went over the surface of the bed one more time. As I did so, I realized that the wind was not going to leave my tarp alone. It kept picking up the edges and blowing them against the bed frame. In no time, I had found some large rocks and a couple of boards to hold down the edges and I was soon under way.

The primer went on with no trouble, though the wind blew much of it away. Before applying the paint, I hurriedly adjusted the tarp to make sure that it would not blow up against the wet paint that I was about to apply. I was just about to finish painting the headboard when it happened. One of the boards that I had laid down on the tarp was (sadly) infested with a nice crop of nails. There were several of them, and I knew that I should either not use the board or should at least pound the nails down – but I was in a hurry. I had very carefully flipped the board upside down and had even pressed the nails down into the ground. But somehow, perhaps when I had adjusted the tarp, the board had gotten flipped over so that two inches of nail were now facing dangerously upward. I stepped backward – and that was the end of my project. An hour and a half later, I watched as nurse bandaging the wounds where two nails had gone into and through my toes, all the while dreading the Tetanus shot that was to follow. It was then that the spiritual applications began to seep into my shocked brain.

The bed is finished now. It looks very nice in its new corner. The surface is smooth and brightly finished in soft metallic gold. No one would ever know that it had such a history. But that bed is a little like a seasoned Christian. Just like the bed, he or she has withstood the test of time and served their purpose faithfully year after year. But the years have taken their toll and a few rough edges have begun to appear. It is in these moments that the One who loves His child, must take the time to smooth and prime and polish, so that they will come forth as gold. And like that bed it often takes an abrasive and un-forgettable wounds. But let not that Christian forget the piercing wounds received by the One who so lovingly sands away the corruption that has crept in –  Who first was willing to wear the dirt and dust that needed to be sanded away and then to receive the wounds which made the sinner's redemption possible.

I have a new appreciation for the nails in our Savior's feet this Easter. Let us not forget His sacrifice as we yield to His "sanding?" in our lives.

A Simple Thought For Today

Certainty –

Forget that others have wavered,
lose your inadequacies in the power of Christ and let Him guide –
then you can follow without doubting.

"Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men." Psalm 12:1

"The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net... Therefore I will look unto the Lord' I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." Micah 7:2,7

"But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well night slipped...Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." Psalm 73: 2,23,24

"For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." Psalm 116:8

"He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail." I Samuel 2:9

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficieny is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament..." II Corinthians 3:5,6a

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." II Corinthians 4:18

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work" II Corinthians 9:8

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmites...for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong." II Corinthians 12:9,10

Eating What's on My Plate, Drinking What's in My Cup:

I often hear parents, guardians and caregivers discussing the matter of whether or not it is necessary, or even good, for a child to clean his/her plate. Why should we force them to eat their food? We don't like everything, why should we make them eat things that they don't like? Sounds logical doesn't it. But is this new development a good one?

There are many reasons why a Christian ought to learn to clean their plate. What if God sends you to the mission field, even for a short time - how will you stomach Kholodets (A jelly made from boiled meat bullion) or "raw" fish, if you've never learned to eat peas? How will you go on visitation in a home that is less than clean and stomach the food set before you?

But there is one particular reason, one particular incident, that makes me very glad that Mary was an "old school" mom. It is an incident which I have used frequently in training children all over the world to clean their plates - not so that their food will not go to waste, but so that they will learn some very important lessons. It is an incident from the life of Christ - an example set for us by Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, as He prayed, Christ said "O my Father, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." In fact, He said this twice. That cup, was the cup of suffering which stood before Him - the outpouring of His blood - the beatings and murderous act that would bring it about, the separation from His Father. It was a bitter cup, full of sorrow. But He had learned to drink what was set before Him. Notice His submission - even in making His appeal His willingness to obey is evident "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt". And in that submission, we see Him later stand before Pilate with a heart at peace.

Yes, I have long been convinced of the need to learn to eat (and drink) what is set before us. If Christ had not learned this lesson, if He had not swallowed the contents of that cup from whence would come our salvation?

Giving Thanks for What's Inside:

But this month, as I sat in a communion service I saw something new, something that shot pains of conviction to my own heart. He gave thanks for that same cup. That cup, which He held up before His disciples and said the familiar words "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many." ? that cup was the same cup from which He asked to be delivered and which He willing drank at Calvary. That cup was the same cup about which Mark says, "And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave [it] to them: and they all drank of it." He gave thanks for the sufferings that were about to befall Him! Why?! For the glory that lay beyond. For the honor of obeying His Father. For the love that God had for the World. For every soul that would subsequently be ushered into His presence. For every life that would be changed. He gave thanks.

How often do we give thanks for the miniscule sufferings that come into our lives? (For so they are in comparison to His.) His willingness to drink was not accompanied by that frustrated sigh that says, "If I have to, I will." It was accompanied by thanksgiving. But He did not drink alone that day. "They all drank of it." Have we forgotten that we have joined Him in drinking that cup?  We do not remember Him and join in communion with Him without partaking of that cup and its dregs - but do we remember to give thanks? We ask for cleansing anew at that moment. We thank Him for His sufferings. But do we thank Him for the opportunity to bear in our body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Have you given thanks for what's in your cup today?

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

O Lord, my Rock, who never fails
Put forth thy hand,
My path to guide,
Stretch forth thy wings,
That in their shadow I might hide
From tempest storm and every wind
That from the tempter’s lair doth blow,
Lest hope is lost and faith should shrink,
That peace be found and grace abound
O let me now in thee abide.

Sweetest Tower of Defense,
I run to thee,
Safe within to rest,
Held within thy grace divine
Guarded by thy love steadfast
From fiery dart and flaming sword
Which from the hand of foe is flung
To pierce the heart and cut the soul –
My will I yield behind faith’s shield,
And there is found, grace for every test.

Refuge for the breaking heart,
I rest in thee.
When shadows break
Let me n’er forget,
From whence I did awake –
When winter’s storm is all but past
With howling gail and violent blast –
True then as now, and e’re the same
That light and grace from thy sweet face
No fiend will rob, nor wind will ever shake.

Many years ago, in a Bible study in Russia, a missionary wife made a very simple, yet powerful statement. She said, “There is a lot of power in silence.” I did not realize how true it was until she and her husband began leading public prayer by bowing and waiting to speak until the whole room had become absolutely silent. Suddenly, you became so conscious of yourself, of whether or not you were making too much noise, even if all you were doing was breathing. Then, you forgot even that, and realized you were silent because you were standing before God.

It is of such a silence that Habakkuk spoke in chapter two, verse twenty. It is interesting to see that he starts out the chapter by saying, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.” But when the Lord has at last spoken, Habakkuk’s response is not to answer when he has been reproved, it is first to warn the idolater and to proclaim that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the earth and then to say, “But the Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

Others of the prophets also understood this principle. Isaiah 6:5-7 tells of Isaiah’s horror at the uncleanness of his lips before a holy God. Zephaniah had a similar message, “Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.” And Zechariah declared, “Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation.”

Praise, the Lord that we may come boldly before the throne of grace! But let us come, quietly at times – that we may hear what He has to say and not only proclaim what we have to say. Let us consider who He is, what He has done for us – how much we owe Him and the wonder that He even considers us. Let us remember that we have come to seek His will and not to press our own. Let us be silent before Him.

Nahum foretells the destruction of Nineveh and he begins doing so by describing the God of Israel. A more beautiful picture the most skilled of all writers could not have written, for in it are not only the descriptions of His consuming wrath and jealousy, but also of the grace and justice that balance the dispensation of His judgment.

GOD IS:

Jealous
And the Lord revengeth;
The Lord revengeth,
And is furious;
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserveth wrath for His enemies.

THE LORD IS SLOW TO ANGER,

And great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked:
The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers;
Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
Who can stand before his indignation?
And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.

THE LORD IS GOOD, A STRONGHOLD IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; AND HE KNOWETH THEM THAT TRUST IN HIM.

Nahum 1:1-7

“For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

The plenteousness of our Lord’s mercy is clearly seen in the pages of both Old and New Testament. When He pleads with His people to return to Him, in Micah chapter six, the carnal and perverse response of the people is reprehensible.

“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

By the mercy of the Lord, that which was reprehensible for His people was that very thing which He required of Himself – the giving of His firstborn for the transgression of the world. The taking of the life of their firstborn could bring no redemption, for he was as full of sin as they were. Therefore such an act was no more than murder, an abominable act learned through idolatry and Canaanite practices. But His Son was sinless, and it was, in fact, the giving of His firstborn that was required for the redemption not only of Israel but of all people.

Oh, the mercy of our Lord, who spared not His own Son!

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18,19

“Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11

One of the things that I have always found fascinating while on the mission field is how quickly you resort to reading anything that shows up in your own language (even the backs of hairspray cans) and how comical the translations can be (do not spout in the eye). In China, we came across one of the most comical translations I have ever seen. We were going up a very steep set of steps that spiraled around a very tight corner, when we saw the translation of an otherwise undecipherable set of Chinese characters. The translation said, “Slip and Fall Down Carefully”. Of course, this was meant as a warning not to slip and fall, but it comes across as quite the opposite.

How like Satan! While God has established those great big, yellow “wet floor” signs in Scripture; Satan walks around, taking us by the arm and with great finesse and politeness ushers us over the dangerous spot and whispers gently, “Slip and fall down carefully.”

Oh, the “wiles of the devil” – but how sweet to know that we still have the armor of God, that we may withstand his cunning. How precious to know that God’s word has set out the big yellow warning signs which guide us away from the temptations and traps set by the evil one in order to make us “slip and fall down carefully”.

Praise the Lord for souls saved