Others May, You Cannot

Often found in tract form,  this little essay, has been around a long time. I encountered it as a teenager struggling with all that that time of life can bring. It was a wonderful means then of getting on track and staying there. Since then, just remembering the title has brought me back to one of the unchanging realities of the Christian life and ministry. Today, it continues to do this - and maybe more than ever. I commend . . .

Others May, You Cannot                                                                     by G. D. Watson 1845-1924

If God has called you to be really like Jesus He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. God’s call will put such demands of obedience on you that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by other Christians. At times, He will let other people do things which He will not let you do.

 Other Christians who seem very religious will push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans. You cannot, and if you attempt it, you will meet with failure and rebuke from the Lord.

 Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their successes, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you to despise yourself and all your good works.

 Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have a legacy left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor. God wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence upon Him, that He may demonstrate His faithful love for you in supplying your needs day by day.

 God may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden in obscurity in order to produce some fragrant fruit for His coming glory which can only be produced in the shade. He may let others be great, but keep you small. He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it now. The reward for your work is held in the hands of Jesus and you will not see it until He comes.

 The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you with a jealous love. He will rebuke you for the little words and feelings or for wasting your time. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own. He does not owe you an explanation of these mysteries. But if you give yourself to be His child, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and give you the precious blessings for those who belong, heart and soul, to Him.

 Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit. It is His option to tie your tongue, or chain your hand, or close your eyes in ways that He does not seem to use with others. And when you are so possessed by the living God that your heart delights over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of Heaven.

 What is your only comfort in life and death?

• That I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
• He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and He has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
• He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
• Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

 –Heidelberg Catechism

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 

In Need Of A New Heart

Life is the mightiest of all possessions. From death to life is the mightiest of all changes. And no change short of this will ever avail to fit a person’s soul for heaven.

It is not a little mending and alteration – a little cleansing and purifying – a little painting and patching – a little whitewashing and varnishing – a little turning over a new leaf and putting on a new outside that is needed. It is the bringing in of something altogether new – the planting within us of a new nature, a new being – a new principle – a new mind. This alone, and nothing less than this, will ever meet the necessities of person’s soul. We need not merely a new skin, but a new heart.

~ J.C. Ryle

Stay or Go?

Should one stay in churches that affirm beliefs and behaviors that stand opposed to the cross of Christ? Should we remain in such an association in order to work against their delusions and possibly help them change course?

It probably depends on the matter in question, but for those who are deciding what to do in the face of today's watershed theological and social issues, I like Dietrich Bonhoeffer's answer: “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the opposite direction.”

Know and Believe God's Word

Greg Beale's, A New Testament Biblical Theology, scores big points with his perceptive analysis of the ongoing deceptions afflicting the church today. Besides the errors of Adam and Eve and Israel, where they refused to simply trust the truth of God as He spoke, there is the church's continuing failure to simply do what we know . . . be what we profess . . . act on what we say we believe. In spite of all of our knowledge, we still prefer the lie. We still refuse to change our minds, our hearts, our lives. He concludes chapter seven with application for where we live:

The heart of the matter is this: do Christians know God's word, do they believe it, and do they do it? If not, then the lies of the evil one will slip into our lives and churches ever so subtly. When this happens and the process goes unchecked and uncorrected, then the deceptions begin to pour in like an overflowing river (cf. Rev 12:15) . . . Do Christian families make God's word the center of their homes? Do pastors set aside sufficient time to study God's word in preparation for Sunday sermons in order to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15)? If not, then the false teaching of those "who have gone astray from the truth" will make inroads into the church (2 Tim 2:18). (223)

Never grow weary of reading your Bible

Let's heed Bishop Ryle and never grow weary of the slow, steady, growth that comes from the daily, disciplined, increasing, love affair with reading the Bible.

Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.

Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading. (J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 136)

Not by sight, but by faith

By Cal Thomas

Tribune Media Services

A group of conservative evangelical leaders met in Texas last weekend and endorsed a Roman Catholic for president. Given the history of evangelical antipathy toward the theological underpinnings of the Roman Catholic Church, that in itself signals a remarkable evolution (pardon the word), along with a considerable amount of political pragmatism.

The blessing of what was once called the “Religious Right” fell on the once-married Rick Santorum and not the thrice married and more recent convert to Catholicism, Newt Gingrich.

The endorsement came on the same weekend when Tebow-mania was at its height, as were the ratings for CBS, which carried the Denver Broncos-New England Patriots football game. Tebow’s Broncos were crushed by the superior and less openly religious Patriots.

Despite evidence that politics (and sports) cannot deliver America from its collective sins, evangelicals repeatedly search for an earthly savior. So desperate are they to find this deliverer that they have glommed onto the Catholic Santorum, a man whose religion many of them vilify and hold in utter contempt, in hopes of trumpeting their conservative values and faith-based initiatives in the coming election. In so doing, they make a mistake their Scriptures warn against.

The Kingdom of God functions best, said the One who ought to know, when it is invisible, or hidden. In his numerous parables, Jesus spoke of it being like a treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44), or as tiny as a mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32). As for prayer, He said to do that privately, not in public “…like the hypocrites...” (Matthew 6:5-6)

Those who spend a lot of time arguing for the inerrancy of Scripture seem to gloss over these instructions when it comes to politics and football.

Why do many evangelicals feel the need to see their faith on public display? Are they that insecure about the One in whom they claim to believe? His Apostle, Paul, said, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) Was he kidding?

I’m sure Tim Tebow is as fine a man as everyone says he is; everyone except Bill Maher and other “apatheist” detractors. But the Jesus about whom Tebow frequently speaks and to whom he drops to one knee to publicly praise, said to go into your closet and pray in secret and then your prayers will be heard.

The point has been made by several commentators that God also loves players on the losing side of games (and elections), so why don’t losers praise Him and we them? Just asking.

Something else evangelicals gloss over. Scripture says all authority comes from God and He puts people in power who serve His purposes, not ours. There are too many verses to cite here. Look it up.

For those who claim to believe the Bible is “the Word of God,” it means God has a purpose for President Obama being in office. Evangelicals may not like it and many may not vote for him, but they can’t credibly deny this truth. In the ultimate church-state moment, Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus responded that Pilate would not have that power had God not given it to him. (John 19:11) Case closed.

American Christianity is unique and the antithesis of what the faith looks like in much of the world. Elsewhere, Christians pay a high price for their faith. Some are denied their freedom, some are denied jobs and still others are denied their lives. Christian missionaries labor for low pay, receive little recognition and are often persecuted. Jesus said those who are greatest on Earth will be least in Heaven and vice versa. (Matthew 19:30)

Righteousness doesn’t come from the top, but from the bottom. A nation that focuses on money and pleasure will get political leadership that reflects that idolatry. The list of great nations that have collapsed throughout history is a long one. Self-indulgence toppled most of them. Invading armies merely finished the process.

Instead of intensely focusing on football and the next election, perhaps evangelicals ought to pray more; in private, of course, and with the right motives.

(C) 2012 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

Heartbeat

I do not count my life . . . as precious to myself,

if only I may finish my course and . . . testify to the gospel of the grace of God. — Acts 20:24

Quoting someone: “The world cannot be reached in absentia. Sooner or later somebody has to go.” But now it's time to add, “. . . and sooner or later somebody has to stay there!”

Going means little unless missionaries stay where they go. That should be obvious, but herein lies a possible danger. It is the idea that short-term—that is short-stay missions is some sort of magical, new-found key for reaching the world for Christ. It is the idea that individuals and churches have somehow discharged their Great Commission responsibility with their short-term people and programs. There are now those churches who have almost completely stopped sending or supporting career missionaries opting instead for short-termers.

In reality, short-term missions is not even the key for evangelizing Jamaica! And Jamaica is reached a lot more easily than most. Consider that short-term missionaries are not even an option for many of the unreached three billion people in almost 7,000 people groups. And with many hidden away in approximately 60 “closed” countries, we know that these will remain in darkness without something more—a lot more.

That “something more” is people who finish the course . . . people who begin at the starting line and go all out until they complete the race. They will go by every available means and will stay there, all for the main purpose of testifying to the gospel.

TEAMS in Jamaica is primarily about full-time, lifelong, missionary presence. This describes each of our missionaries. By God’s grace these and those who join them will indeed give their lives for the cause of the gospel. May some who read these lines be among them.

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by Ray Shive. Taken from the current Fall 2011 TEAMS for Medical Missions Vital Signs newsletter. TEAMS missionaries serve in Jamaica, West Indies to strengthen the church through . . . 

Teaching  ~ Evangelism ~ Aid and ~ Medical Services.

Read the entire issue at http://www.t4mm.org/Newsletters.lsp.