43,800 Days

Based on 365 days a year and thinking of 120 years, I come up with 43,800 days.  That's alot of days.  And going a bit further, it's 1,051,200 hours.  That's how many days (and hours) Noah worked and witnessed from the time God told him about the coming destruction until it came.

I'm struck by a phrase from 1 Peter 3:20 in regard to that time in history: "the patience of God kept waiting"!!  Only eight people were saved!  EIGHT!  In 43,800 days of Noah's faithfulness to build and preach, prepare and preach, pray and preach, eight people were saved!  "the patience of God kept waiting" and then "God shut the door!" (Genesis 7:16)

Again, since that time, "the patience of God [keeps] waiting".  God is still patient, "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)  We are to work and witness, prepare and witness, pray and witness all the days of our lives.  "The patience of God kept waiting"!

Bride and Groom

A wedding is a beauty to behold.  Let’s set aside for a moment the ugliness with which our society has covered this event and view the wedding with the eyes of our desire.  We go as a guest, and watch with delighted emotion two young people expressing the beauty of their love for each other.  They stand out among the crowd regardless of the number of that crowd.  They alone have the attention.  They are clean, innocent and dressed their best on the most glorious day of their life.  Of course, it’s the bride with the flowing white delicacy of her dress and the sweetness of her face that our real attention is focused.  But her groom, with his face full of admiration and desire completes this perfect picture that brings tears to every woman’s eyes.  The bride takes time and effort with great anticipation to present herself to this groom to whom she has committed herself; that she will reflect to him the beauty she desires to be for him all the days of her life.  Every detail of her appearance is polished to perfection that she might honor and delight with pride her groom.  He has chosen her for life to be by his side as his companion.  She puts at his feet the reward of his choice. 

Christians, also, are brides in preparation.  We must be standing out in the crowd.  We must command attention not just with the things we do not do but also with the beauty of right responses to the problematic issues of everyday life.  We take time and effort with great anticipation to present ourselves to our Groom.  He has chosen us!  We’ve committed ourselves to Him!  Let us reflect the beauty of that choice in every detail of our appearance, polished to perfection.  It’s to His honor and glory that we be faithful to express through our appearance, actions, and attitudes our desire for Him.

Though God refers to the Israelites in the following passage, all believers can glean from the exhortation: “All who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.  I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation; He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as the bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  Isaiah 61:9b-10

Malnutrition

I saw an old acquaintance today.  I have had many conversations with this person over the years, and it seems the story of their life remains the same: problems, multiplying problems without solutions; no hope!  They know the truth, know the answer, know the steps to freedom, but there is slackness on their part to implement.  They will not pursue God even though they know He can and will break the chains!

I ask, "Are you in the Word?"  The answer is "no".   Many words, much truth shared, problems discussed in light of the Word, thank you, and goodbyes.  And I'm left wondering and most of all praying that "hopefully, this time...".

I began thinking of the conversation (with a growing headache) and wanting so badly to see change and growth.  But as I thought of all that stress, I know that their life looks just like you'd expect from one going their own way.  Thinking of it in terms of food:  what would a person look like who only ate once a week or not at all?  Why will it be any different for those who will not enjoy a steady diet of the Word of Almighty God?  We cry out that we're sad and distressed.  But like a person who will not eat food is going to have pain and ultimate sickness to death, so the Christian, who will not be nourished daily on the truth; truth that our Father has given us.  We say, "He seems silent.  He's not hearing my prayer."  But He has given us divine, inspired words to live by that will bless us all our days.   We've just got to "read it" and "do it!!"

Spiritual nourishment is mandatory to maintain our walk.  "God has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him." (2 Peter 1)  He even spoon feeds us for a time.  But then we must pick up that spoon and feed ourselves.  He provides both the "spoon" and the "food"!  Just do it!

Buddy

Buddy wandered up one day, needy, fearful and non-trusting.  The family showed him love and fed him with consistency.  Buddy stayed with the family, and over time I watched the scared dog love and trust the family back!  He was protective of "his" family who cared for him.  He loved his masters and became a faithful, obedient pet.

Buddy died this week and the family grieves the loss.  As I reflected on their grief, the lonely grief of losing a pet, I thought of what a good illustration Buddy is of the Christian.  We, too, are wandering aimlessly with needs, fears, and very little trust in anything.  People have hurt us and let us down.  No one seems to care!  And then we hear God say, "Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest!"  We come!  He shows us love with consistency and feeds us consistently.  We grow as we are nourished and cared for.  We learn to trust and love and obey.  We, too, serve our Master out of the loving and thankful heart with which He has blessed us.  And we continue to grow, progress and remain faithful to the end.

Grace

 I am reminded of a graphic picture sketched by a young man grappling with the truth.  It showed a long line of people with happy faces.  They were waiting on their turn for an activity that looks like the ultimate in fun.  The activity is at the edge of a drop-off and near the edge reads a sign: “The Fall of Fun: Try it!”  There are people jumping off as though they are going into a swimming pool by dives, cannonballs, etc.  Everyone looks happy, eager, and controlled by their desire for pleasure.  However, what the viewer sees is quite another story.  The bottom is covered with ugly spikes of varying heights.  Many have already landed and the gruesome sight sheds new light on the line of happy faces. 

I’m not sure exactly where the artist was spiritually when he sketched the unsettling scene:  anger at sin or anger at God.  But for me, as I thought on it this morning, I found myself berating the unbeliever for such stupidity:  “observe, think, don’t be so sure of your philosophy.”   Piously, I made myself sick at their unbelief and then the thought hit hard:  “By grace you have been saved.”  Why am I so slow to remember this?  (It’s not the first time!)  I WAS in the line of happy, eager people with their mind bent on pleasure.  God, in HIS GRACE and MERCY, snatched me from the line before it was too late.

Praise His holy name!!  It is “grace that has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”

Rhetoric

 I was praying today.  Struggling to maintain order in my prayer time has become a way of life.  It didn’t use to be this way but now a battle rages like tug-o-war.  What ever I happen to be praying about becomes the thought, the side road instead of the continued conversation with my Father as I had set out to have.  So it seems I am back and forth from frivolous thought to conversation with God topped with apology for straying.  Not very fun, but Oh, so fulfilling, if I just persevere.

Today as I persevered, I began to try to find the right words to express to Him, words that were more in line with His high thinking.  Then I had to laugh at myself.  “This is God you’re talking to!  He’s never going to be impressed by your words.  Remember He has heard the best: Peter, James, John, Spurgeon, Tozer, Schaeffer.  You’re never going to make it to measure up to them much less Him.  He created the universe, every detail and manner of life and beauty with order and function…(I’ve been watching Planet Earth and Life produced for BBC so I’m pretty blown away right now with creation).”  He simply wants a pure heart, one that sincerely loves and seeks Him.  He has provided the access through Jesus and the “rhetoric” through the Holy Spirit.  Just relax, love Him, run to Him, lie down before Him and rest.  He wants to hear all about it just the way you would talk to a bosom friend.  “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words.”  Romans 8:26

Sorrow for Sin

I took down my Christmas tree yesterday.  I have done this now for many years.  It’s always bitter sweet but for many years, I have had a little ritual to help me enjoy it:  A cup of some wonderful hot drink and Andrea Bocelli singing Christmas songs in the background.  It didn’t work for me this year.  No, this year there was no sweet, just bitter.

This year was different for many reasons.  So, every ornament seemed to make me sad.  They all screamed, “LIFE HAS CHANGED…YOU”RE GETTING OLD…EVERYTHING IS GOING TO DIE!”  Happy thoughts, huh?  Every Andrea Bocelli song made me sob.  I sat down trying to get a grip when a thought hurled through my mind: When have I been this sorrowful over my sin?  When have I been this sorrowful over the fact that Jesus suffered more than I could ever imagine for my sin?  Have I wept over that lately?  No, I’m crying over Christmas ornaments and children growing up and wrinkles showing up and energy giving up.  Why?  Because I’ve come to love the world more than I should.

Here’s what Jesus says about the world: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”  And what does the Word say about the world?   “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.  The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”  (John 17:16 & 17; 1 John 2:15-17)

Calm down now!  Remember you were bought with a price.  Honor God with your very being.  Enjoy life but don’t cling to it as your “Forever”.  Cling to Jesus.  He loves you so much He died to be with you.  Be cleansed by the Word, refreshed, renewed.  It’s a new year full of wonderful possibilities of use by the God of all creation!  Think like you believe that.  And if you’re going to be sorrowful, be sorrowful by the fact that you stray from right thinking!

Tools

Hand-mixer beaters, screwdriver, hammer and the list goes on.   All these tools have one basic thing in common: Without hands, they lay worthless, devoid of their intended purpose.  They all have names that designate their use.  The beaters blend, sometimes gently and sometimes rigorously, different ingredients to make one smooth batter.  The screwdriver fits right into place in order to drive a screw to its designated assignment in order to make yet another object (probably full of purpose itself) secure.  And then there’s the hammer, a stick of wood and a glob of iron put together to drive with accurate and deliberate force the nail with much the same effect as the screw.  I could go on and on with all the wonderful outcomes of just these three tools.  Yet, without the hands, there will be no outcome.

How like the Christian are these tools!!  We can no more produce a good work for the glory of God on our own than the above-mentioned tools.  I began thinking about this as I evaluated my life and what I look at as failures.  I was asking God what I DID wrong.  When will I ever learn??  I am a tool.  Praise God!  He is the power, the Hands, the Force.  The outcome is no more my business than how the cake turns out, or the furniture or house turns out to the beaters, screwdriver or the hammer.  They just do what the hands guide them to do.  Let us do the same!  The Hands that guide us are capable beyond our best thought!

"I'll be praying for you."

Does it really mean anything to hear or say those words?  If we believe the God of the universe…if we understand the power behind the Hearer of prayer, well, I should think those words mean everything!  We can do, and think, and read, and speak, but to pray… that makes all the difference in our walk and the walk of others.

There are more verses about prayer than can be shared here.  But consider these two:

“pray without ceasing” and “…so that your prayers will not be hindered”.  The latter one is what set my mind in motion this morning.  The first one from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is self-explanatory and goes along with the words from a song that will follow. 

The second one from 1 Peter 3:7 is a verse instructing husbands how to be treating their wives. Peter issues a warning from God of the importance of following these instructions “so that your prayers will not be hindered”.  It’s the reasonable act of a Christian to talk to God throughout the day and to expect Him to act.  So honor Him in your very being, inward and outward so as not to have “hindered” prayers.  EVERYONE!  While this verse is addressed to husbands, we can all learn from the same principle.  PRAY!  And keep yourself in line with God’s word.  Pretty simple!

After I read this verse and considered the implications of the act of prayer being the very life and breath of a Christian, the following song came to mind.  While I’m not a lover of gospel music, the lyrics to this song, taught to me over 30 years ago, resonated with these morning thoughts:

How long has it been since you talked with the Lord and told Him your heart’s hidden secrets?  How long since you prayed?  How long since you stayed on your knees till the light shone through?  How long has it been since your mind felt at ease?  How long since your heart knew no burden?  Can you call Him your friend?  How long has it been since you knew that He cared for you?

“I’ll be praying for you!.”  These words mean everything!  Not because we’re anything but because Christ is all and in all.  And He has granted access to the One Who hears and moves in and through us!