quite a few years ago i used to listen to harold camping on the radio. my one impression of those days was being annoyed with what appeared to me to be a good bit of arrogance and rudeness on his part in interacting with people who called in.
then, in the years leading up to 1994, i heard that hc had written a book with that year as the title in which he claimed that Jesus Christ would return to earth in 1994. being familiar with where Jesus said to His disciples that'no man knows the day or the hour, not even - i believe He says - the Son of man (Himself), but only the Father in heaven, i kind of laughed this off wondering how hc would feel when the day came and went.
late last year i heard that once again hc was predicting the return of Christ on may 21, 2011 didn't he learn the first time!? after the first reaction of incredulity and amazement at what i'll call his chutzpah...after a while i was drawn to listen to him for the first time in many years. i wanted to take a read on him. didn't he learn the first time'? wasn't he ashamed to repeat 'the monstrous' setting aside of scripture? what kind of man is this? is he a false prophet or a cult leader type? just what is he like!!!?
tuning in i was pleasantly surprised. his spirit was humble. he was earnest for the Lord. he didn't have much time for people who just wanted to argue but was very tender with those who humbly sought to understand God's word better. he seemed to have a genuine heart of an under shepherd who cared for the Lord's sheep. he saw himself as a wicked sinner deserving the eternal wrath of God. he did not claim anything for himself. although he staunchly defended his reasoning and really believed it to be correct, he did not give the least impression of trusting that HE was right, but always said on repeated occasions that only the Bible is right. he said that we who desire to follow God need to humbly but diligently study the Bible and not depend on the teaching of any man, himself included.
....a very pleasant surprise. like a drink of cool water in the shade coming out of the burning heat of multitudes of great orthodox-in-the-faith men who have all their theological t's crossed and their i's dotted but are found wanting in the above qualities.
make no mistake about it. hc is wrong on the date setting, but he is sincerely, you-need-to-trust-the-Bible-not-me wrong rather than false prophet wrong. he seems to be following hard after the Lord. as soon as he came back on the radio after may 21 explaining that he hadn't realized that the coming of the Lord was spiritual (i believe that other date setters have said the same when their dates passed) rather than in a series of great earthquakes and physical destruction around the world. he still holds to october 21, 2011 as the date of the end of the world. if he had not had a stroke in june, hc, i believe, would be earnestly and sincerely teaching this as well....and then beginning to make further adjustments on the 22nd again.
i look at hc as i look at myself and others: we all have our constitutional weaknesses. in listening into his teaching on the book of ruth and other teaching i see a man given to spiritualizing the truth. every word signifies some truth. if taken with a grain of salt...if viewed from the vantage point that all of us are fallible and the best any one of us can do is, to some degree of imperfection, try to see and try to help other men see truth which falls as close to the Truth as possible....hc's teaching for the most part is very edifying. but he does have this spiritualizing bent and it has contributed significantly to his continued mistakenness of date setting.
this has no doubt 'hurt' christians, given the unsaved cause to make fun and possibly blaspheme God. God is big enough to use all these things for His own glory in the long run. if each person who has unduly put their trust in hc rather than in the Lord takes a thoughtful look, that person will soon be 'righted' when reflecting on hc's continual pointing away from himself the Living Word and the written word His Spirit inspired.
likewise hc's teaching that the devil has entered all the local churches and that all true believers in them should get out and gather informally in their homes the pith of this seems to be his impression that the leadership of the churches is wicked...so we are to do without leadership, buildings, committees etc.
this teaching to abandon the local churches at this time has at lea this can be answered by going to hebrews 10.25 where we are commanded:
1. NOT to FORSAKE the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but
2. to ENCOURAGE one another all the more as you see the day drawing near.
my personal view of the current church in so much as i have had actual contact with different groups is that for the most part these groups have a name that they live but are dead as john writes the message of Jesus to the church of sardis in revelation 3.2. Jesus does not cast that church aside but encourages them in their dire position to WAKE UP and to STRENGTHEN THE THINGS THAT REMAIN which must otherwise die. i believe that is exactly what should happen in most local churches today. they are on a slippery slope to becoming a synagogue of satan. why?
1. let's start at the top. the leaders, be they ever so orthodox and correct in what they say they believe are not preaching to the actual sins of the people. ie. when is the last time you heard a message on greed.
2. the leaders are not showing by the example of their lives what a disciple of Jesus should do. when is the last time you had a pastor who simply put a little box on the back wall into which the church could put any offerings they wanted to give for his support? do they not join us in living a life beyond food and raiment.
3. the people, including myself!, are not consistently obeying the clear commandments of scripture. ie. when is the last time time you rebuked another believer for their sin or were rebuked by another believer for yours in accordance with Jesus' command in luke 17.3?
the part of the church i have experienced in my life seems markedly like the pharisee dominated synagogue system of Jesus' day which involved:
1. the open judging of other's sins
2. an attitude of self-righteousness
3. a life of hypocrisy
4. a clinging to 'position' and power whether in the church or out of it
5. a practice of the commandments and teaching they themselves make up
6. a hatred of the truth
that is a broad brush. there is still some, spiritual life and some exceptional believers but rampant death and spiritual decay throughout.
j.l.duncan and mark r. talbot talk about 'pastoral discipline'. that is a misnomer. pastors do not discipline but rather the church matthew 18.17 teaches that and if the bible says that the church is to administer discipline...'you (spoken to the disciples) are to treat him as a tax gatherer and a sinner...then there is no such thing as pastoral discipline. if the bible says that each true believer has the anointing and is in no need for man to teach him why are pastors determining correct doctrine in the church?
hc's mistakeness is in the letter, He is true to God and His word in spirit. mistaken on the date of the consummation of the world and the local church under the rule of satan, he is right on about the fact of the church's low estate (a la revelation 3.1,2), the leadership's authority in the church apart from the Bible and the imminent possibility of the 'return' of Christ for any living man (lk 12.41-6)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
9.19.2011 PSALM 119.133 ORDER MY STEPS IN THY WORD
just had a good blessing this a.m. as the above verse came to mind as i was having time with God. i was moved to look at charles haddon spurgeon's 'treasury of david', the best commentary on the book of psalms i know of. what follows is some of what was written on psalm 119.133 - 'order my steps in Thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.'
'order my steps in Thy word' - as before he sought mercy (preceeding verse), so now he seeks grace. there are many that seek mercy to forgive sin, who seek not grace to deliver them from the power of sin; this is to abuse God's mercy and turn His grace into wantonness. he that prayeth for mercy to forgive the guilt of sin only, seeks not that by sin he should not offend God; but that he may sin and not hurt himself..but he who craves deliverance also from the commanding power and deceit of sin, seeks not only a benefit to himself, but grace also to please and serve the Lo4rd his God. the first is but a lover of himself; the second is a lover of God, more than of himself. and truly he never knew what it was to seek mercy for sin past, who with it also earnestly sought not grace to keep him from sin in time to come. these benefits cannot be divided; he who hath not the second (howsoever he flatter himself) may be assured that he hath not gotten the first - william cowper
same as above - it is written of boleslaus, one of the kings of poland, that he still carries about him the picture of his father and when he was to do any great work or set upon any design extraordinary, he would look on the picture and pray that he might do nothing unworthy of such a father's name. thus it is that the scriptures are the picture of God's will, therein drawn out to the very life. before a man enter upon or engage himself in any business whatsoever, let him look there and read there what is to be done, what to be undone and what God commands; let that be done; what He forbids, let that be undone; let the balance of the sanctuary weigh all, the oracles of God decide all, the rule of God's word be the square of all, and His glory the ultimate of all intendments whatsoever. - from spencer's 'things new and old'
'order my steps' - the hebrew, hachen = 'make them firm'. let me not walk with a halting or unsteady step. - adam clark
same as above - the people of God would not only have their path right, but their STEPS ORDERED; as not their general course wrong (as those who walk in the way of everlasting perdition), so not a step awry; they would not miss the way to heaven, either in whole or in part. - thomas manton
'my steps' - (speaking of the steps of the temple) these steps, whether cedar, gold, or stone, yet that which added to their adornment, was the wonderment of a queen. and whatever they were made of, to be sure, they were a shadow of those steps, which we should take to and in the house of God...
steps of God psalm 85.13
steps ordered by Him psalm 37.23
steps ordered in His word psalm 119.133
steps of faith romans 4.12
steps of the Spirit II corinthians 7.18
steps of truth III john4
steps washed with butter job 29.6
steps taken before or in the presence of God.
steps butted and bounded by the divine rule.
these are steps indeed - john bunyan in 'solomon's temple spiritualized'
'let not any iniquity' - true obedience to God is inconsistent with the dominion of any one lust or corrupt affection. i say, though a man out of some slender and insufficient touch of religion upon his heart, may go right for a while and do many things gladly; yet that corruption which is indulged and under the power of which a man lieth, will at length draw him off from God; and therefore no one sin shall have dominion over us. when doth sin reign or have dominion over us? when we do not endeavour to mortify it and to cut off the provisions that may feed that lust. chrysostom's observation is, the apostle does not say, let it not tyrannize over you, but, let it not reign over you; that is, when you suffer it to have a quiet reign in your hearts - thomas manton
'let not any iniquity have dominion over me' - i had rather be a prisoner to man all my life than be in bondage to sin one day. he says not, let not this and the other man rule over me; but 'let not sin have dominion over me'. well said! there is hope in such a man's condition as long as it is so. - michael bruce, 1666
in the section 'helps to the village preacher' -
1. a holy life is no work of chance, it is a masterpiece of order - the order of conformity to the prescribed rule; there is arithmetical and geometrical order; the proportional order; the order of relation; an order of period: holiness, as to its order, is seasonable, suitable.
2. the rul of this order: in Thy word
3. the director chosen
1. order in outward life desired
2. order according to the divine idea
3. order in the government within
'order my steps in Thy word' - as before he sought mercy (preceeding verse), so now he seeks grace. there are many that seek mercy to forgive sin, who seek not grace to deliver them from the power of sin; this is to abuse God's mercy and turn His grace into wantonness. he that prayeth for mercy to forgive the guilt of sin only, seeks not that by sin he should not offend God; but that he may sin and not hurt himself..but he who craves deliverance also from the commanding power and deceit of sin, seeks not only a benefit to himself, but grace also to please and serve the Lo4rd his God. the first is but a lover of himself; the second is a lover of God, more than of himself. and truly he never knew what it was to seek mercy for sin past, who with it also earnestly sought not grace to keep him from sin in time to come. these benefits cannot be divided; he who hath not the second (howsoever he flatter himself) may be assured that he hath not gotten the first - william cowper
same as above - it is written of boleslaus, one of the kings of poland, that he still carries about him the picture of his father and when he was to do any great work or set upon any design extraordinary, he would look on the picture and pray that he might do nothing unworthy of such a father's name. thus it is that the scriptures are the picture of God's will, therein drawn out to the very life. before a man enter upon or engage himself in any business whatsoever, let him look there and read there what is to be done, what to be undone and what God commands; let that be done; what He forbids, let that be undone; let the balance of the sanctuary weigh all, the oracles of God decide all, the rule of God's word be the square of all, and His glory the ultimate of all intendments whatsoever. - from spencer's 'things new and old'
'order my steps' - the hebrew, hachen = 'make them firm'. let me not walk with a halting or unsteady step. - adam clark
same as above - the people of God would not only have their path right, but their STEPS ORDERED; as not their general course wrong (as those who walk in the way of everlasting perdition), so not a step awry; they would not miss the way to heaven, either in whole or in part. - thomas manton
'my steps' - (speaking of the steps of the temple) these steps, whether cedar, gold, or stone, yet that which added to their adornment, was the wonderment of a queen. and whatever they were made of, to be sure, they were a shadow of those steps, which we should take to and in the house of God...
steps of God psalm 85.13
steps ordered by Him psalm 37.23
steps ordered in His word psalm 119.133
steps of faith romans 4.12
steps of the Spirit II corinthians 7.18
steps of truth III john4
steps washed with butter job 29.6
steps taken before or in the presence of God.
steps butted and bounded by the divine rule.
these are steps indeed - john bunyan in 'solomon's temple spiritualized'
'let not any iniquity' - true obedience to God is inconsistent with the dominion of any one lust or corrupt affection. i say, though a man out of some slender and insufficient touch of religion upon his heart, may go right for a while and do many things gladly; yet that corruption which is indulged and under the power of which a man lieth, will at length draw him off from God; and therefore no one sin shall have dominion over us. when doth sin reign or have dominion over us? when we do not endeavour to mortify it and to cut off the provisions that may feed that lust. chrysostom's observation is, the apostle does not say, let it not tyrannize over you, but, let it not reign over you; that is, when you suffer it to have a quiet reign in your hearts - thomas manton
'let not any iniquity have dominion over me' - i had rather be a prisoner to man all my life than be in bondage to sin one day. he says not, let not this and the other man rule over me; but 'let not sin have dominion over me'. well said! there is hope in such a man's condition as long as it is so. - michael bruce, 1666
in the section 'helps to the village preacher' -
1. a holy life is no work of chance, it is a masterpiece of order - the order of conformity to the prescribed rule; there is arithmetical and geometrical order; the proportional order; the order of relation; an order of period: holiness, as to its order, is seasonable, suitable.
2. the rul of this order: in Thy word
3. the director chosen
1. order in outward life desired
2. order according to the divine idea
3. order in the government within
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
9.14. 2010 FEAR VS. CONCERN -MOISHE ROSEN 1932-2010
during the dark days of world war II the free world was on the edge of panic. hitler seemed invincible. through the blitzkrieg technique, he amassed victory after victory.
the blitzkrieg worked - not because the german bombers carried such a great load of potential destruction, nor because, as rumor had it, artillery shells would literally bounce off the german panzer tanks. the blitzkrieg was effective because it was calculated to strike terror in the hearts of germany's opponents.
it was a war of nerves. special equipment had been attached to the otherwise slow stuka dive-bombers to produce a bone chilling shriek as they dived. similar whistles were also attached to the bombs themselves. upon hearing that sound, potential victims would tend to freeze rather than run for cover hitler's armies hit hard and fast in the most vulnerable and visible places and the press was always on hand with movie cameras to show the disheartened prisoners, the decaying dead and the jovial, victorious nazi legions.
roosevelt was quoted time and again. in his inaugural address in 1933 he had said, '..first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed effort to convert retreat into advance'. that simple insight, which surely helped the allies through the dark days of world war II, should reassure us as it applies equally to the spiritual warfare of the christian life.
hitler might have learned the blitzkrieg technique fro satan himself. that's just the way satan attacks God's people. he demoralizes us. he shows his hideous strength, our horrible inadequacies, and makes himself appear invincible. the scriptures call satan 'the father of lies'. he is the originator of the proverbial 'snow job'. his tactic is to produce a storm of lies that buries us to the neck in a drift of freezing fear. flecks of fear fly in our faces and quickly pile up until we find ourselves immobilized, too paralyzed with fear to realize that it is all a cold mirage.
there is a difference between ungodly fear and christian concern. ungodly fear - the emotion produced by satan's blitzkrieg -enervates. it dulls our awareness. it makes us 'react' to problems that may never even arise. it robs us of peace, productivity and relationships. finally, it robs us of god's blessings as we deal with the real or imagined problem in our own strength rather than trust God to see us through.
ungodly fear in the christian life often stems from feelings of guilt. most of us have a conscience, and to have a conscience is to have the capacity for fear. one of satan's lies is 'you deserve to be unhappy. you are not good enough for good things to happen to you'. on the screens of our minds he flashes close-ups of our sins and bad attitudes that merit god's judgment. reacting to this fiery dart from the evil one, some christians live a continual horror story of exaggerated perils and imaginary threats in order to punish themselves for sin. they plod through deepening drifts of dread that could be melted by god's warm love - if only they could accept the amnesty he offers at calvary.
satan's accusation of unforgivable guilt is designed to make us lose confidence in the future through losing our confidence in God. yet god answers the accusation in just one word - one name - one act that has forever established His love and forgiveness: Jesus!
in Jesus we are not only good, we are great. we are not only strong, we have the entire arsenal and might of heaven for our defense. so why carry a load of guilt when we can repent and be forgiven? why worry when we can pray? when we know that Jesus has made things right, that He has given us the power to do right, that in the final settlement all will be right, we can rest in Him. we can rest in His love and rejoice in the midst of the transient troubles of our himan existence.
in contrast to ungodly fear, christian concern is based on our relationship with Jesus. it sharpens our awareness and enables us to grapple with unpleasant reality. it strengthens us to meet every challenge and to do whatever must be done.
the key to overcoming fear is to replace it with godly concern. both fear and concern have their causes. yet only concern stems from reality. the anxious or fearful person does not struggle with realities, but with his or her own feelings of inadequacy.
God answers the problems posed by anxieties with one word: TRUST! trust is a decision. it involves taking a stand, remembering that commitment, and behaving accordingly. it means that in the midst of an anxiety attack, we must call upon God, our defender and advocate, who just 'happens' also to be in control of the universe.
when blitzkrieged by satan, the most important thing an anxious child of god can do is make a reality check. the evil one would have us believe that the forces arrayed against us are invincible. but remember: his power is limited. his bark is worse than his bite. the shrieking threat of his attack deceives us into thinking that he can do more damage than god will allow. it's just not so.
we must confess and confirm our trust in the midst of trouble. faith and trust are inextricably bound, and you cannot have one without the other. here are some pointers in applying faith and trust in the Lord;
-take a stand that god is good, that he loves you and that He will not let any test befall you that He will not give you the strength to overcome (I corinthians 10.13)
-feed your faith with frequent scripture readings, memorizing the 'trust' passages. a favorite that comes to mind is isaiah 26.3: 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee'/ don't be afraid to say the verse out loud often and ponder its meaning.
-remember that perfect love casts out fear (I john 4.18) God's perfect love that culminated at calvary banishes satan's power and his arsenal of accusations against the child of God. it is not our love for God, but His love for us that accomplishes this.
- gGod Himself is our defense and our defender. when we take shelter in him, truly we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
the blitzkrieg worked - not because the german bombers carried such a great load of potential destruction, nor because, as rumor had it, artillery shells would literally bounce off the german panzer tanks. the blitzkrieg was effective because it was calculated to strike terror in the hearts of germany's opponents.
it was a war of nerves. special equipment had been attached to the otherwise slow stuka dive-bombers to produce a bone chilling shriek as they dived. similar whistles were also attached to the bombs themselves. upon hearing that sound, potential victims would tend to freeze rather than run for cover hitler's armies hit hard and fast in the most vulnerable and visible places and the press was always on hand with movie cameras to show the disheartened prisoners, the decaying dead and the jovial, victorious nazi legions.
roosevelt was quoted time and again. in his inaugural address in 1933 he had said, '..first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed effort to convert retreat into advance'. that simple insight, which surely helped the allies through the dark days of world war II, should reassure us as it applies equally to the spiritual warfare of the christian life.
hitler might have learned the blitzkrieg technique fro satan himself. that's just the way satan attacks God's people. he demoralizes us. he shows his hideous strength, our horrible inadequacies, and makes himself appear invincible. the scriptures call satan 'the father of lies'. he is the originator of the proverbial 'snow job'. his tactic is to produce a storm of lies that buries us to the neck in a drift of freezing fear. flecks of fear fly in our faces and quickly pile up until we find ourselves immobilized, too paralyzed with fear to realize that it is all a cold mirage.
there is a difference between ungodly fear and christian concern. ungodly fear - the emotion produced by satan's blitzkrieg -enervates. it dulls our awareness. it makes us 'react' to problems that may never even arise. it robs us of peace, productivity and relationships. finally, it robs us of god's blessings as we deal with the real or imagined problem in our own strength rather than trust God to see us through.
ungodly fear in the christian life often stems from feelings of guilt. most of us have a conscience, and to have a conscience is to have the capacity for fear. one of satan's lies is 'you deserve to be unhappy. you are not good enough for good things to happen to you'. on the screens of our minds he flashes close-ups of our sins and bad attitudes that merit god's judgment. reacting to this fiery dart from the evil one, some christians live a continual horror story of exaggerated perils and imaginary threats in order to punish themselves for sin. they plod through deepening drifts of dread that could be melted by god's warm love - if only they could accept the amnesty he offers at calvary.
satan's accusation of unforgivable guilt is designed to make us lose confidence in the future through losing our confidence in God. yet god answers the accusation in just one word - one name - one act that has forever established His love and forgiveness: Jesus!
in Jesus we are not only good, we are great. we are not only strong, we have the entire arsenal and might of heaven for our defense. so why carry a load of guilt when we can repent and be forgiven? why worry when we can pray? when we know that Jesus has made things right, that He has given us the power to do right, that in the final settlement all will be right, we can rest in Him. we can rest in His love and rejoice in the midst of the transient troubles of our himan existence.
in contrast to ungodly fear, christian concern is based on our relationship with Jesus. it sharpens our awareness and enables us to grapple with unpleasant reality. it strengthens us to meet every challenge and to do whatever must be done.
the key to overcoming fear is to replace it with godly concern. both fear and concern have their causes. yet only concern stems from reality. the anxious or fearful person does not struggle with realities, but with his or her own feelings of inadequacy.
God answers the problems posed by anxieties with one word: TRUST! trust is a decision. it involves taking a stand, remembering that commitment, and behaving accordingly. it means that in the midst of an anxiety attack, we must call upon God, our defender and advocate, who just 'happens' also to be in control of the universe.
when blitzkrieged by satan, the most important thing an anxious child of god can do is make a reality check. the evil one would have us believe that the forces arrayed against us are invincible. but remember: his power is limited. his bark is worse than his bite. the shrieking threat of his attack deceives us into thinking that he can do more damage than god will allow. it's just not so.
we must confess and confirm our trust in the midst of trouble. faith and trust are inextricably bound, and you cannot have one without the other. here are some pointers in applying faith and trust in the Lord;
-take a stand that god is good, that he loves you and that He will not let any test befall you that He will not give you the strength to overcome (I corinthians 10.13)
-feed your faith with frequent scripture readings, memorizing the 'trust' passages. a favorite that comes to mind is isaiah 26.3: 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee'/ don't be afraid to say the verse out loud often and ponder its meaning.
-remember that perfect love casts out fear (I john 4.18) God's perfect love that culminated at calvary banishes satan's power and his arsenal of accusations against the child of God. it is not our love for God, but His love for us that accomplishes this.
- gGod Himself is our defense and our defender. when we take shelter in him, truly we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
9.8.2011 HENRY MARTYN 1781-1812
this man was one of the first to go to india. he went as a chaplain paid by the king of england. educated at cambridge, he produced a first rate hindustani new testament and was a brother in the work to william carey and his group. they all had a far flung vision for reaching all asia for Christ, doing, as they were so led, as much as possible to get the bible into as many languages as possible. this is drawn from a book by constance padwick who draws heavily upon martyn's journal.
in what is reported of him he seems to have functioned most effectively by reasoning with those in the opposition. (i have noted the same exact thing in carey but not with quite the sweetness, it seems, as was martyn's way.) he ended his life alone in the midst of muslims in persia while seeking to produce a first rate persian new testament. the incident shared here occurred in persia and i was struck by and very much attracted to how he handled himself. many sought him out privately and he was treated royally from an official perspective while considered publicly as a persona non grata and had boys throw rocks at him as he would go out on his horse.
padwick notes that 'martyn's serenity, his friends soon learned, was never the calm of an unfeeling deadness. they could touch him to the quick by anything that concerned the honor of his Lord', and follows from his journal, 'mirza seid ali told me of a distich (couplet) made by his friend in honour of a victory over the russians. the sentiment was that prince abbas mirza had killed so many christians that Christ from the fourth heaven took hold of mahomet's skirt to entreat him to desist. i was cut to the soul at this blasphemy. mirza seid ali perceived that i was considerably disordered and asked what it was that was so offensive? i told him that "i could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified; it would be hell to me, if He were to be always thus dishonoured". he was astonished and again asked "why?" "if any one pluck out your eyes", i replied, "there is no saying why you feel pain; - it is feeling. it is because i am one with Christ that i am thus dreadfully wounded."
i noticed that martyn used an 'i' statement rather than a 'you' statement and that there was no attack upon the position of the other. although i have unfortunately not conducted myself in this vein regularly i remember very special times at the arab festival in dearborn, michigan and the muslim day parade in new york city several months later in october 2010 where God very definitely led in the same way. the result was that He opened up many very special opportunities to lift up the name of Christ. my prayer is that i would become more like henry martyn as, i believe, he was like Christ. blessed be His humility, His meekness and gentleness, though He is King of all.
in what is reported of him he seems to have functioned most effectively by reasoning with those in the opposition. (i have noted the same exact thing in carey but not with quite the sweetness, it seems, as was martyn's way.) he ended his life alone in the midst of muslims in persia while seeking to produce a first rate persian new testament. the incident shared here occurred in persia and i was struck by and very much attracted to how he handled himself. many sought him out privately and he was treated royally from an official perspective while considered publicly as a persona non grata and had boys throw rocks at him as he would go out on his horse.
padwick notes that 'martyn's serenity, his friends soon learned, was never the calm of an unfeeling deadness. they could touch him to the quick by anything that concerned the honor of his Lord', and follows from his journal, 'mirza seid ali told me of a distich (couplet) made by his friend in honour of a victory over the russians. the sentiment was that prince abbas mirza had killed so many christians that Christ from the fourth heaven took hold of mahomet's skirt to entreat him to desist. i was cut to the soul at this blasphemy. mirza seid ali perceived that i was considerably disordered and asked what it was that was so offensive? i told him that "i could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified; it would be hell to me, if He were to be always thus dishonoured". he was astonished and again asked "why?" "if any one pluck out your eyes", i replied, "there is no saying why you feel pain; - it is feeling. it is because i am one with Christ that i am thus dreadfully wounded."
i noticed that martyn used an 'i' statement rather than a 'you' statement and that there was no attack upon the position of the other. although i have unfortunately not conducted myself in this vein regularly i remember very special times at the arab festival in dearborn, michigan and the muslim day parade in new york city several months later in october 2010 where God very definitely led in the same way. the result was that He opened up many very special opportunities to lift up the name of Christ. my prayer is that i would become more like henry martyn as, i believe, he was like Christ. blessed be His humility, His meekness and gentleness, though He is King of all.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
9.4.2011 PROFESSOR OR POSSESSOR?
in the last few years the above question has slowly taken shape in my mind regarding myself and others. am i (is he) merely a professor, it may be, of either being a christian or of having the more correct form of christianity (ie. knowing THE correct doctrine in areas where many others who would call themselves christians are doctrinally incorrect), or a possessor of the lived out Life of Jesus Christ.
george macdonald, a scottish writer was surrounded by people of the former type (in this case calvinists), people who saw themselves as very doctrinally correct and yet near totally lacked the aroma of Christ in their lived out lives, were not at all focused on obedience but only on correctness of doctrine mentally assented to. i, for one, have been there and done that for most of my life and still probably do it on an unconscious level to a far greater degree than what i am aware of. i jotted out some snippets from a biography on macdonald that have something to do with this. they appear below..
the author summarized macdonald's thot:
1. man's business is to do the will of God
2. God takes upon Himself the care of man
3. therefore man must never be afraid of anything, and so
4. he is left free to love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself.
life with God is to be LIVED in relationship to Him and to one's fellow man and not to be DOCTRINALIZED..the God of mac's pen was infinitely more personal and demanding than any vague liberal deity, more human and warm and tolerant than calvin's harsh heavenly taskmaster. mac was not interested in doctrinal disagreements but unity...had friends all along the spectrum of doctrine.
God is easy to please and hard to satisfy..
the calvinism he rejected paralleled classic OT legalism, a system based on works in which the least doctrinal incongruity was noted and swiftly dealt with and in which the faithful had to be constantly on guard for heretics poisoning the flock.
mac's God was a father of infinite love, not displeased with man's very move but delighted with man's feeblest attempt to respond to Him.
mac was called a heretic but what heretic was so insistent upon the very premises of orthodoxy which calvin stressed - repentance from sin, salvation, death of the old man and obedience to the Spirit of Christ.?
mac wanted to revive personal religion not attack the church..he was at war upon the faithlessness of the officially faithful. ..'i doubt if wickedness does one half as much harm as sectarianism. (on which see lloyd-jones 'the puritans')
meet doubt with action
'doctrine' in the bible means teaching of DUTY not theory..
..'we are far too anxious to be definite and to have well polished, sharp edged systems forgetting that the more perfect a theory about the infinite, the surer it is to be wrong and more impossible to be right. (ie. isaiah 55.8-9) i am neither arminian nor calvinist. to no system would i subscribe..theology is not my origin but God, nor do i acknowledge any theology but what Christ taught and has to teach me..
..'never say "i have faith", always say, "i need more faith:..the open hearted and open minded quest always for more truth, more wisdom, more understanding, more humility, more brokenness, more love, more knowledge, more compassion...humble, open growth whcih is rooted in CARRYING OUT God's word'
learning more of the truth and obeying God so as to know Him better is the great delight of life. ..'there is in the man who does the truth the radiance of life essential'..
mac shrank from debate, always afraid that the justifying of one's opinions in argument might out run the desire to find the truth at the bottom of whatever question was under consideration.
openness indicates humility, a willingness to admit oneself ignorant..it has a lack of airs, an absence of defenses.
God has not yet cleansed and humbled me completely away from the pride of debate, but He seems to be putting within me a growing concern, even fear, concerning my lack of actual obedience to His written will. one of a myriad of examples would be luke 17.3 which says, 'if your brother sins rebuke him'. i see and hear other professing christians sinning quite often but rare has been the time i have responded by telling them of their sin and exhorting them not to do it! will Jesus answer me in the judgment when i say 'Lord, Lord' by saying 'not everyone who says to Me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven..depart from Me you wicked into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels'...and that is only one command. may God have mercy on me and change me from a professor to a possessor, from one who intellectually knows correct doctrine to one who obeys what He is telling me!
george macdonald, a scottish writer was surrounded by people of the former type (in this case calvinists), people who saw themselves as very doctrinally correct and yet near totally lacked the aroma of Christ in their lived out lives, were not at all focused on obedience but only on correctness of doctrine mentally assented to. i, for one, have been there and done that for most of my life and still probably do it on an unconscious level to a far greater degree than what i am aware of. i jotted out some snippets from a biography on macdonald that have something to do with this. they appear below..
the author summarized macdonald's thot:
1. man's business is to do the will of God
2. God takes upon Himself the care of man
3. therefore man must never be afraid of anything, and so
4. he is left free to love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself.
life with God is to be LIVED in relationship to Him and to one's fellow man and not to be DOCTRINALIZED..the God of mac's pen was infinitely more personal and demanding than any vague liberal deity, more human and warm and tolerant than calvin's harsh heavenly taskmaster. mac was not interested in doctrinal disagreements but unity...had friends all along the spectrum of doctrine.
God is easy to please and hard to satisfy..
the calvinism he rejected paralleled classic OT legalism, a system based on works in which the least doctrinal incongruity was noted and swiftly dealt with and in which the faithful had to be constantly on guard for heretics poisoning the flock.
mac's God was a father of infinite love, not displeased with man's very move but delighted with man's feeblest attempt to respond to Him.
mac was called a heretic but what heretic was so insistent upon the very premises of orthodoxy which calvin stressed - repentance from sin, salvation, death of the old man and obedience to the Spirit of Christ.?
mac wanted to revive personal religion not attack the church..he was at war upon the faithlessness of the officially faithful. ..'i doubt if wickedness does one half as much harm as sectarianism. (on which see lloyd-jones 'the puritans')
meet doubt with action
'doctrine' in the bible means teaching of DUTY not theory..
..'we are far too anxious to be definite and to have well polished, sharp edged systems forgetting that the more perfect a theory about the infinite, the surer it is to be wrong and more impossible to be right. (ie. isaiah 55.8-9) i am neither arminian nor calvinist. to no system would i subscribe..theology is not my origin but God, nor do i acknowledge any theology but what Christ taught and has to teach me..
..'never say "i have faith", always say, "i need more faith:..the open hearted and open minded quest always for more truth, more wisdom, more understanding, more humility, more brokenness, more love, more knowledge, more compassion...humble, open growth whcih is rooted in CARRYING OUT God's word'
learning more of the truth and obeying God so as to know Him better is the great delight of life. ..'there is in the man who does the truth the radiance of life essential'..
mac shrank from debate, always afraid that the justifying of one's opinions in argument might out run the desire to find the truth at the bottom of whatever question was under consideration.
openness indicates humility, a willingness to admit oneself ignorant..it has a lack of airs, an absence of defenses.
God has not yet cleansed and humbled me completely away from the pride of debate, but He seems to be putting within me a growing concern, even fear, concerning my lack of actual obedience to His written will. one of a myriad of examples would be luke 17.3 which says, 'if your brother sins rebuke him'. i see and hear other professing christians sinning quite often but rare has been the time i have responded by telling them of their sin and exhorting them not to do it! will Jesus answer me in the judgment when i say 'Lord, Lord' by saying 'not everyone who says to Me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven..depart from Me you wicked into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels'...and that is only one command. may God have mercy on me and change me from a professor to a possessor, from one who intellectually knows correct doctrine to one who obeys what He is telling me!
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