tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-662111625439949732024-03-13T09:24:31.757-07:00Preaching to the ChoirOne man's humble ruminations about God's purposes and oursRobert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-11312367448099909222017-12-17T03:29:00.000-08:002017-12-17T03:35:35.640-08:00The Basement Tapes: Open Our Eyes<br />
It's been awhile again since I've posted; in the meantime I've created another couple of videos of old songs as well as released another book. More about the book in the next post; this one's about a song.<br />
<br />
Another one of my old basement tapes, this is one of the very earliest recordings I still have of my songs. It was done around 1981; all of the guitar work was performed by the admirable Mark Wilson, and all of the vocal work was done by the adequate me. It sounded a lot better in my headphones in 1981 than it sounds to me now, but I hope you'll be able to hear what I was aiming for.<br />
<br />
Theologically, I was still in a very works-oriented phase in my life, but, sad to say, the lyrics still kind of ring true.<br />
<br />
There is about a half-second dropout in the tape a few seconds into the song; I don't know why, but the problem is on my end, not yours.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2x5RH7JwHek/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2x5RH7JwHek?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-2419522325261531732017-03-30T10:05:00.001-07:002017-03-30T10:05:49.732-07:00Disease and Faith<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41zpMrDpF-L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41zpMrDpF-L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
If you take a look at the timeline of blog posts as it's reported here at Preaching to the Choir, you will notice that there is nothing there for the year 2016. That doesn't mean that I didn't write anything that whole year; it's just that I was writing for a different audience. As I'm doing my housekeeping here and getting everything back up to date, a failure to link to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disease-Faith-Robert-W-Tompkins/dp/1532873506/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1490892701&sr=8-2&keywords=disease+faith">Disease and Faith</a> would be completely remiss.<br />
<br />
Disease and Faith is autobiographical in part, relating my battles with Crohn's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. But the point of sharing my stories there was simply to establish my credibility to speak to the trials of others, and point them away from disease and toward faith.<br />
<br />
You can purchase the paperback version at Amazon.com and elsewhere; there is also a digital version for Kindle and the like. Or, better yet, <a href="mailto:robert.w.tompkins@gmail.com" target="_blank">drop me a line</a> and I'll send you a paperback copy for free.<br />
<br />
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-47129632515993688862017-03-30T09:46:00.000-07:002017-03-30T09:46:14.058-07:00The Basement Tapes: Her Eyes Dance<br />
This song is also one of my own favorites. Though I did not know it at the time, it was written for my bride-to-be, Susan, who requested that it be played as she walked down the wedding aisle to me. The first time my mom heard this song, she cried. I don't know that you can ask much more than that out of a bit of music.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://youtu.be/fdBdjx2ZJaM">Her Eyes Dance</a></b><br />
<br />
Click above to view on YouTube, or click below if you're not ready to leave this page.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fdBdjx2ZJaM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fdBdjx2ZJaM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-80670268588304309542017-03-30T09:26:00.000-07:002017-03-30T09:26:04.606-07:00The Basement Tapes: Prisoner of War<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;">This song is both one of my greatest triumphs and one of my greatest embarrassments. I never could have written it today; instead of commanding the devil to be bound, I am much more prone to think along with the Apostle Paul, "We do not know what we <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">ought</span> to <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">pray</span> for" (Romans 8:26b NIV). Still, as a piece of music, it is one of my all-time favorites (from my own catalog, of course), and out of the few songs that have survived the ravages of the years, it is probably my very favorite one.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;">I am sorry to say that I don't remember the name of the recording engineer for this piece; he also played the guitar, which added a whole new element of depth to the music. I worked hard on the drum machine for this one, and played the bass and the keyboards as well. Backup singers were Ivan and Tina Wheeler, Mark and Jayme Wilson, and Christie Tompkins. Thanks also to Dave Roff, who rescued and digitized my old cassette tape.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;">Listen on YouTube here: <b><a href="https://youtu.be/3IUja6EaU60">Prisoner of War</a>, </b>or else click on the arrow below if you don't want to leave this page.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3IUja6EaU60/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3IUja6EaU60?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-5109218707632369302017-03-30T08:49:00.000-07:002017-03-30T08:53:02.647-07:00The Basement Tapes: See Them Like You Do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-npmDMIbP4aQ/WN0lFP-2nLI/AAAAAAAAANE/9uYKGFEYUNE6wig1da5aYBd46jK-2EnRACLcB/s1600/longing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-npmDMIbP4aQ/WN0lFP-2nLI/AAAAAAAAANE/9uYKGFEYUNE6wig1da5aYBd46jK-2EnRACLcB/s1600/longing.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Two years have somehow passed by, seemingly in an instant, since I unveiled "When He Comes for You." I recently decided to finish up this music video, which I had started and then abandoned sometime back. It's not that I didn't <i>want </i>to finish it, it's just that I thought that no one would actually care whether I did it or not.<br />
<br />
Enter Jean Strothman, who had listened to the first two songs I had posted to YouTube, and liked them well enough that she asked me to do more. That was the only impetus that I needed, and I finished this one up in a couple of days. Thank you, Jean.<br />
<br />
Click here to view on YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/YBBlvZZpSy4">See Them Like You Do</a>, or tap on the arrow below to watch it here.<br />
<br />
I believe the guitarist on this song was the incomparable Todd Stratton, though my memory is hazy on the subject. Dave Roff also contributed to the production of the song, and the rest was on me.<br />
<br />
I remember sitting on a dike next to a river in Elkland, Pennsylvania, basking in the sunshine as I worked out the lyrics of the song. I confess, to my shame, that I was actually more interested in the subject of the second verse than I was in the pursuit of holiness.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YBBlvZZpSy4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YBBlvZZpSy4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-48954351110031547282017-03-29T11:27:00.001-07:002017-03-29T11:27:50.678-07:00Bible Cards!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XtNNCUuOHJw/WNvwV6zpROI/AAAAAAAAAMs/U-wuypIUJVE1ulsDWcUxYhM-fKrl0LC-QCLcB/s1600/image016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XtNNCUuOHJw/WNvwV6zpROI/AAAAAAAAAMs/U-wuypIUJVE1ulsDWcUxYhM-fKrl0LC-QCLcB/s320/image016.jpg" width="232" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jc19cCUpT6g/WNvwOMlKIhI/AAAAAAAAAMo/_zA4tS0ojWUoaWFkySn1L1IH8OMHtmOaQCLcB/s1600/image012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R62hYE845vc/WNvv3_pMzvI/AAAAAAAAAMk/GhXtDOXfviAEg3SibQ2JgZTbRXp-OTtvgCLcB/s1600/image027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R62hYE845vc/WNvv3_pMzvI/AAAAAAAAAMk/GhXtDOXfviAEg3SibQ2JgZTbRXp-OTtvgCLcB/s320/image027.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Anyone who knows me well is aware of my absolute obsession with baseball cards, especially those featuring the New York Mets. In order to redeem my collection (at least in my own imagination), I decided to make a special site for what I have called "Bible Cards," though they are actually more properly called "Sunday School Lesson Cards," I'd think. But "Bible Cards" <i>sounds</i> more like "baseball cards," and that carried the day for me.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In or around 1889 the first of these collectible lesson cards began appearing, and various publishers continued to produce them for more than fifty years. I gathered a few of them from each decade, and created a website to display them. I don't necessarily agree with the theology presented on the backs of the cards, but I decided to put my biases on the shelf in this case, and just let the cards speak for themselves. Every card in my collection is displayed, front and back, on the <a href="http://www.biblecards.online/">Bible Cards</a> website.<br /><br />Please visit the site and take a look around. Even though it seems to be an awful lot of pictures of guys in sandals and robes, you may find something there to stir your faith. At the very least, it's a glimpse into the world of our grandparents, great-grandparents, and ancestors further back in history.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.biblecards.online/">here to visit the Bible Cards online</a> site.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-14157530159226327162015-03-24T04:26:00.001-07:002015-03-24T04:27:27.102-07:00The Basement Tapes: When He Comes for You<br />
Time for another song from the Basement Tapes.<br />
<br />
This one is called "When He Comes for You," and what it lacks in mature theology, it more than makes up for with a kind of heavy-handed evangelism. It was written in the late '80s, when I was at the height of my earnest legalism, not yet comprehending the doctrines of grace.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/DPjpGJe50ok">Click here to listen to the song</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's the "Inside Baseball" if you're curious:<br />
<br />
I loved the melody of this song, and crafted the words to fit it, which is not the way I wrote most of my songs--usually the concepts of the music and the lyrics developed at the same time. In this case I had been writing on a different theme and was dissatisfied with the way it was progressing, so I crafted another lyric to fit the preexistent melody.<br />
<br />
I played all the instruments in the recording, including the electronic drum machine; in the '80s, that was the best we could do without a live drummer, even though the cymbals are a little overbearing. Backing vocalists were Mark and Jamye Wilson, Ivan and Tina Wheeler, and Christie Tompkins. <br />
<br />
Regarding the video, I knew that if I tried to find images appropriate for this song, it would probably never get finished, so it's presented here only with some changing colors and lyrics.<br />
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-595102716930234012015-03-20T03:06:00.001-07:002015-03-20T03:06:20.495-07:00Johanan<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MZsmXVFfMJA/VPnrMsXyBTI/AAAAAAAAAL0/pD48VFMgwZo/s1600/joh.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MZsmXVFfMJA/VPnrMsXyBTI/AAAAAAAAAL0/pD48VFMgwZo/s1600/joh.png" height="200" width="160" /></a></div>
I've been noticing lately the bleak historical record of how quickly God's people fall short of practical righteousness; that is, God does something spectacular on behalf of His people, after which He commands them to obey His laws, and in a shorter period of time you can imagine, they are falling--no, stampeding--away from Him.<br />
<br />
Two quick examples, though there are <i>many </i>more:<br />
<br />
God appears to King Solomon in a dream, and asks him to name anything he wants, and God will give it to him. Solomon famously asks for wisdom. And God replies, "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days" (1 Kings 3:11b-13 NKJV).<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
In the next verse, the Lord declares His requirement for Solomon: "... walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked...."<br />
<br />
Later on Solomon builds God a temple; the Lord appears to him a second time. "Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel'" (1 Kings 8:4-5 NKJV).<br />
<br />
Sounds great, doesn't it? Obey the law of God, and you and your descendants will be blessed forever. But Solomon, who has twice been visited by the Lord who promised that blessing, quickly turns aside.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. (1 Kings 11:1-10 NKJV)</blockquote>
God's promise to Solomon was revoked because of the king's failure to obey; most of the kingdom of Israel was snatched from the hand of Solomon's son Rehoboam and given to another.<br />
<br />
The other example I wanted to share briefly is the story of the Israelites immediately following their deliverance from Egypt under the guidance of Moses. These people had just witnessed the ten miraculous plagues sent from the hand of God; they had participated in the first Passover feast; they had passed through the waters of the Red Sea and had seen the Egyptian army covered by those same waters. Moses goes up on the mountain to receive the commandments from God, is up there only forty days, and by the time he comes down, the Israelites had <i>already</i> made a golden calf for themselves, saying, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4b NKJV). At least Solomon served the Lord for awhile; these guys departed from the truth almost instantly!<br />
<br />
These are the kinds of lessons the Holy Spirit has been highlighting for me lately. Which brings us to the topic for this post: Johanan the son of Kareah. Most of you will have no idea who this character was. I didn't, myself, until I read his story recently in the book of Jeremiah.<br />
<br />
To set the scene: Jeremiah was a faithful prophet of God, and he had been appointed to speak a harsh sentence from the Lord to Israel, namely that they were going to be taken captive by the mighty King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, because of their many sins and idolatries. Jeremiah was permitted by the Babylonians to stay behind and live with the remnant of the people who escaped being carried away from their homeland.<br />
<br />
Johanan first appears in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+kings+25%3A22-26&version=NKJV">2 Kings 25</a> in an abbreviated account of the same story told in the book of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jer+40-43&version=NKJV">Jeremiah, chapters 40-43</a>. It would be helpful for you to read this summary account after reading the Jeremiah passage, just to add some color from another viewpoint.<br />
<br />
Anyway: Because of some events that I won't bother addressing here in order to not belabor the story, Johanan makes his appearance as a kind of heroic figure in the Jeremiah account; he is called a "captain of the forces that were in the fields" in Jeremiah 40:13, and seems to be the captain of all the captains, as he is assigned the task of speaking with the officials left in Jerusalem. It's kind of a relief to read about Johanan at this point; after so much treachery and disobedience in Israel, it's refreshing to find a man you feel good about.<br />
<br />
The afore-mentioned events transpire, and Johanan makes an earnest request of the prophet Jeremiah. Johanan asks, "Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do" (Jeremiah 42:2b-3 NKJV). He doesn't stop there, adding, "Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you. Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God" (Jeremiah 42:5b-6 NKJV).<br />
<br />
So, to make an abbreviated story shorter yet, Jeremiah prays for God's direction, and speaks the word to Johanan and his followers. It was not what they wanted to hear.<br />
<br />
"'You speak falsely! The Lord our God has not sent you to say [the thing that Jeremiah said].' ... So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the Lord" (Jeremiah 43:2b, 4a NKJV). This incident, incidentally, marks the last appearance of Johanan in the scriptures.<br />
<br />
I mentioned earlier that God had impressed upon me how very quickly us humans, left to our own devices apart from the influence of the Holy Spirit, turn our backs to Him. Johanan is a whole 'nother thing. He had already determined his course, no matter what God said; he was just using his plea to Jeremiah in hopes of getting God's imprimatur stamped upon his own plan.<br />
<br />
In a sense, Johanan and his crew had <i>already disobeyed </i>the Lord at the time they made their request to Jeremiah, since they had already decided that they would obey only if the word of God was pleasing to them.<br />
<br />
We still do that today. At least I have. I <i>never</i> pray to God asking Him if He would like me to get rid of my prized baseball card collection; I fear that I already know the answer; I fear that I wouldn't have the strength of character it would take to obey. Does that make me the moral equivalent of a Johanan? Perhaps it does. But by depriving myself of the ability to ask God the question, it also deprives me of the possibility that God might answer favorably. I have already disobeyed, according to the intent of my heart.<br />
<br />
I'm sure you can think of a way this applies to you. "Should I date this girl?" "Should I buy this car?" Are you sure you're not just looking for God's stamp of approval for something you intend to do, no matter what? I don't know what to tell you about this ... I just want you to think about it, and then let the Holy Spirit do what He will.<br />
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-84058660689393011722015-02-14T06:21:00.001-08:002015-02-14T06:21:58.268-08:00Significant Passages #4: Galatians 5:2-4<div class="tr_bq">
<br /></div>
This one is for all of you out there who believe that God requires you to do good works or obey His law in order for you to earn salvation. If you trust in the hope that somehow your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds (and also hope that God is satisfied with a record of 51% obedience!), please read this carefully.<br />
<br />
In my last post we read that salvation comes by grace through faith--and that even faith itself is a gift from God. What do we bring to the table as our part of the transaction? Nothing but sin!<br />
<br />
In the passage that I've chosen from Galatians today, the Apostle Paul is admonishing believers who had at first received salvation by grace through faith, but now they were trying to complete that salvation by what they thought were meritorious works of the law. That is, certain Jews had taught them that they needed to become circumcised in order to remain in God's pleasure.<br />
<br />
This "circumcision" was a shorthand way of saying that to continue in God's favor, they must obey the Old Testament law. We don't stumble over that too much in America today, but we <i>do</i> stumble over other laws, of our own creating. Our form of legalism takes shape kind of like this: "Don't drink, don't smoke, don't dance, don't chew, and don't hang out with them that do." A thousand tiny laws to bow the backs of the ones who trust in their own righteousness, instead of that which is freely found in Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
And what's the purpose? To earn by our own works a righteousness that makes God indebted to us. This is perhaps a subtle point, but here it is nonetheless: We trust in a righteousness of our own efforts, in order to force the hand of God. "I have fulfilled Your law; now You must let me enter Heaven."<br /><br />That's a rather long preamble for this series, but finally we arrive at Galatians 5:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.</blockquote>
In trying to earn their own salvation, the Galatians found themselves in the position <i>not</i> of somebody to whom God owed a debt; instead, they find <i>themselves</i> in debt to a harsher master yet: the whole law! In trying to earn their own favor before God, they found themselves fallen from the only place of favor that <i>exists</i> before God: His grace.<br />
<br />
Please don't make this critical mistake; it's a matter of life and death. Please don't let Christ "profit you nothing." Jesus is the way--the only way--to Heaven. Repent from your sin-stained acts of self-righteousness, and take upon you the perfect righteousness of Jesus that is the clothing of all the saints. Don't try to hide your sins from the eyes of the Holy One; let Him take them from you and bear them Himself upon His Cross.<br />
<br />
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-21025051547643690022015-01-06T03:57:00.000-08:002015-02-14T06:23:08.305-08:00Significant Passages #3: Ephesians 2:8-10<div class="tr_bq">
<br />
This significant passage has become to me the bedrock of my hope for salvation--the place where my hope for eternity stands or falls. And like the other significant passages I have listed so far, I didn't discover it until many years after I first expressed faith in Jesus Christ ... but it was active in me unawares.<br />
<br />
Ephesians 2:8-9 reads thus:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.</blockquote>
We have been saved by the grace of God--the mercy, the unearned favor of God. It is His mercy, completely undeserved by you or me, that saves us.<br />
<br />
But what about works? Works of righteousness, offered to God as a form of obedient sacrifice--isn't that what God requires? In a word, no.<br />
<br />
As the reformers would say, we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Then what about faith? Isn't that the meritorious work that God demands? Again, no.<br />
<br />
We are saved through faith indeed--but see the verse again: We are saved through faith, but "that not of yourselves ... it is the gift of God," and the verse specifically declares, "not of works."<br />
<br />
So where do works come in? See verse 10:<br />
<blockquote>
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.</blockquote>
Good works are not the <i>cause </i>of our salvation, they are the <i>result </i>of our salvation.<br />
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-78286466546777886922014-12-31T06:39:00.001-08:002014-12-31T06:41:09.934-08:00Pilate's Choice<br />
This past Sunday I attended an adult Sunday School class at the local church I frequent. We happened to be studying the 18th chapter of the gospel of John, the section where Jesus is interviewed by Pontius Pilate and ultimately condemned to the cross.<br />
<br />
For some reason, the people in the class betrayed an almost desperate need to affirm Pilates's freedom of the will regarding his decision to send Jesus to the cross. "Pilate could have set Jesus free," they said. "God could have found some other way to accomplish His purpose." But is that the truth?<br />
<br />
Hadn't Christ just a night before in the Garden of Gethsemane passionately prayed three times for exactly that thing: that if there would be any other way than the way of the cross, God the Father would allow it? If Jesus the Son, well-beloved of the Father, had prayed and mourned in agony, His sweat becoming like great drops of blood, pleading for some other way ... if there had been any other way, <span style="font-family: inherit;">would not the Father have granted it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jesus had in fact been announcing to His disciples for some time that He was headed to the cross.</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. (Luke 18:31-34 NKJV)</blockquote>
<br />
The purpose of God was for His Son to hang upon a Roman cross, and the road to a Roman cross led through the Roman government, and the Roman government meant Pontius Pilate. While I would agree with my classmates that Pilate's will was in accord with the decision he ultimately made, I would also contend that his will was not necessarily "free" in the sense that 21st-century Americans mean.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
In fact, that is essentially what I said in class. "We need to remember that the cross was God's ultimate purpose for Jesus. Pilate probably didn't really have a choice."<br />
<br />
That statement was met with a rather strong outcry defending man's free will. One gentleman said, "Well, that opens up another whole can of worms, regarding free will. Pilate chose to send Jesus to the cross, but if he hadn't, God would have found some other way."<br />
<br />
My wife thinks I tend to over-analyze things like this, but here is what I heard when that gentleman offered his opinion: "That opens up another whole can of worms, and we don't want to do that. So let's just agree that I'm right, and move on from there."<br />
<br />
I figured that there wasn't any good point to pursuing the argument then and there, but the topic continued to bother me for the next several days. What was it that the class was hoping for by insisting upon man's free will? Was it just that it didn't seem fair for God to be the One who chooses? Were they of the opinion that if it had been up to them, Jesus would have been released?<br />
<br />
That opens up a whole new panorama of difficulties. Would they have a Christ without a cross? If so, then their sins would not have been paid for, and they would be without a savior. I don't think that's what they meant; I don't think they had actually ever considered the possibility.<br />
<br />
If God had found "some other way" regarding Pontius Pilate's decision, would they have had Jesus suffer the pangs of Gethsemane, and the scourging and mocking of the Romans, and the fleeing and denying of His disciples, all to no end? Would they have had Him do it twice? Again, I don't think they had ever considered the possibility before.<br />
<br />
I have spent a great deal of time pondering the freedom of man's will, for many years now. I have read Martin Luther's "The Bondage of the Will" twice, and Jonathan Edwards "Freedom of the Will" almost once, until I became quite certain that I didn't know what he was talking about. And this is the conclusion I have reached: I don't know.<br />
<br />
I don't know if man has some kind of free will that he can exercise over relatively minor events in his life such as which tie to wear or which girl to marry, or if it has all been preordained. I suspect that we are free in many of those areas. But I also know that God had purposed from before the beginning of time that His Son would suffer the pain and disgrace of the cross, and that He would turn that apparent defeat into the sole source of victory for the entire human race. And I am quite confident in saying that the purposes of God trump the freedom of man every time.<br />
<br />
Your comments are welcome.Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-2634755909329296262014-12-22T17:11:00.000-08:002014-12-22T17:12:49.454-08:00The Basement Tapes: They Were Me<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dvpRGf7l-pg/VJi--6MSt4I/AAAAAAAAALU/ynngECe84nc/s1600/phar4.jpg" /></div>
<br />
Between the years 1974 and 1997 I wrote over four hundred songs, ranging in quality from "hmm ... not bad" to "totally craptastic." I recorded several demo tapes, but lacked the strength of character to actually submit them to record companies, choosing instead to protect my fragile self-esteem by simply not trying. Through the course of the intervening years, between changing households and stuff just getting lost or thrown out, the number of recordings that still remain has apparently been reduced to twenty-one songs.<br />
<br />
These are really Basement Tapes; some of them were actually recorded in the basements of different family members and friends. Because they are quite old, some of the sound fidelity has been lost; there are mysterious drop-outs and crinkles and fuzziness. But they represent the best I could do at the time. Don't expect too much and you might not be disappointed!<br />
<br />
This first song, They Were Me, is one of my all-time favorites. I had written a brief post about it <a href="http://pr2ch.blogspot.com/2009/03/they-were-me.html">back in 2009</a> when I first rediscovered the tape, but I didn't have any way to convert the song to digital format back then. A couple of months ago, though, my friend and ex-brother-in-law Dave was kind enough to do that job for me. This week I put together a rudimentary music video for the song, just so you'd have something to look at while the music plays. <b> <a href="http://youtu.be/tEI4E03HJoY">Click here to view the result</a></b>.<br />
<br />
This song was composed and recorded in the mid-to-late 1980s, to the best of my recollection. I remember being surprised at my own lyrics; they kind of burst forth from me unexpected, revealing a truth about myself that I had not previously entertained. I am pretty sure I played all of the instruments in this recording.<br />
<br />
From time to time I'll add other songs to YouTube and link to them here at Preaching to the Choir, unless you beg me to stop.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-66798711882505282082014-12-15T02:03:00.001-08:002014-12-16T03:00:29.215-08:00Forgiveness as an Act of Worship<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is worship but a response in the human heart to the
realization of who God is, and what He has done? It is the sense of awe-struck wonder that we
have found ourselves embraced by His love; but more. It is the sense of fear and reverence that He
is holy, that we have offended Him, that we deserve Hell; but it is more than
that too. It is the act of obedience to
His righteous commands because we realize we have been bought with the price of
Christ's blood; but more. It is the
astonishment and admiration upon recognizing the glories of His creation, the
perfection of what He has made; but certainly more than that. It is all of these things, being informed by
His Word and taught by His Spirit, and recognizing in some small part the
majesty that is His, and offering to Him in some small part the everything that
is us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so I present the first of my "Acts of Worship"—Forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we forgive those who have offended us—because of God's
forgiveness to us—that is an Act of Worship.
When we set them free of any obligation that is owed us, whether known
or unknown, we offer that obligation to God and let Him do what He wills with
it, forgetting as much as possible that it was ever owed to us at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The basis of this releasing of a perceived debt is of course
rooted in God's forgiveness for our sins, which is greater by far (to say the least)
than any debt that is owed us. One thing
we have regrettably lost in the 21st-century American church is the awareness
of how massive is the debt we owed to God because of our sins. We have trivialized our trespasses, we have
lost sight of the purity and holiness of God. (Here I would refer you to the
great book <a href="http://www.ligonier.org/store/the-holiness-of-god-paperback/">The
Holiness of God</a> by R.C. Sproul.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But when we can say (whether inwardly or outwardly),
"Because of what Jesus has done for me, I release you from any sense that
you owe me something," that is an act that honors the Lord. I have written <a href="http://pr2ch.blogspot.com/2013/08/tap-shoes-r-us.html">at other times</a>
about our obligation to forgive based on the teaching of Jesus; I won't burden
us anymore today with a recasting of those words.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we realize who God is, and what He has done by pouring
His love out in us, what can we do but forgive?
When we realize that we owed God the price of an eternity in Hell, but
He has instead promised us an endless paradise in Heaven, how can we not forgive? When we see the words of Jesus written in
red, as red as blood, how can we cling to our own demands for our own sense of
justice? Answer: We can't.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>We offer to our most
holy and loving Father the injustices and injuries that have been done to us. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors. And give us the grace to
forgive continually in a way that will honor You … and bring You pleasure with
this Act of Worship.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-59984249627101234352014-11-10T09:43:00.001-08:002014-12-16T03:04:17.211-08:00The Last Trumpet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--HZxHVfaWnw/VGD10vDBJlI/AAAAAAAAALE/mJoaUqOU2oA/s1600/LTcov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--HZxHVfaWnw/VGD10vDBJlI/AAAAAAAAALE/mJoaUqOU2oA/s1600/LTcov.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
<br />
I have just released my first piece of new writing since I retired on disability several years ago. It is called "The Last Trumpet" and its purpose is to serve as a refutation of the pre-tribulation rapture theory. It costs 99 cents at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Trumpet-refutation-pre-tribulation-rapture-ebook/dp/B00PG07EZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418727670&sr=8-1&keywords=trumpet+tompkins&pebp=1418727690280">Amazon.com</a>, only existing in digital format, but if you can't afford the price or don't have access to a Kindle reader, I'll send you a copy for free. <a href="mailto:robert.w.tompkins@gmail.com" target="_blank">Just send me a note</a>.<br />
<br />
I am also at work on another similar project that I'm tentatively calling "Disease and Faith" that is kind of a summation of the things I've learned from my experiences with Parkinson's Disease, Crohn's Disease, and different expressions of faith. If my past writing speed is any indication, look for it around the year 3000.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I hope to do a little better with these blog posts, particularly the Significant Passages and Acts of Worship ideas, and I may be getting into some musical posts as well, just having been blessed by the recovery of some songs that I wrote half a lifetime ago. And finally, I hope to sometime finish "Owan's Regret," which is likely the final installment in my Hagenspan Chronicles series. Thanks for the encouragement to keep on writing. You know who you are, Harold!Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-18130389258673368482014-07-25T10:30:00.000-07:002014-12-31T06:44:42.218-08:00Dear John<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday my son John sent me a note on Facebook, asking me
to present him with some scriptures describing the character of God. I was honored and humbled by the request—honored
that he would think I'd know, and humbled because I fall so very far short of
such wisdom. Knowing God is the diligent
pursuit of a lifetime, and here I am collecting baseball jerseys. Nevertheless, I will try to provide an
answer, because my heavenly Father would want me to. Understand that these thoughts are just the
jumping-off point, not the very depths.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>God is holy. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted
up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six
wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two
he flew. And one cried to another and
said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His
glory!'" (Isaiah 6:1b-3 NKJV). The
scene in Heaven shows the angels constantly singing out to each other,
"God is holy!" This warrants
much thought; the holiness of God has been largely forgotten by this generation
in this land, which has found it much more comfortable to believe that God is
love, while ignoring the majesty of His holiness. With that said …<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>God is love.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"He who does not love does not know God, for God is
love" (1 John 4:8 NKJV). Notice
that it does not say, "Love is God," which many in the more liberal
churches would wish, but "God is love," indicating that He is
declaring His character to be that of love.
A small difference, perhaps, but it implies that there are more facets
to the divine character (such as justice, truth, mercy, and grace) than only
love, which can be twisted to create unbalanced doctrines (such as
universalism).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>God is sovereign.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another concept largely overlooked in our time is the idea
that God is ultimately in charge of everything, that He rules over the affairs
of men by His own wisdom and authority.
For this attribute I would turn to the writings of Moses, where he
relates his mountaintop experience with God and asks the Lord to show him His
glory. Here is God's answer: "Then
He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the
name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and
I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion'" (Exodus 33:19
NKJV). Here God reserves the divine prerogative
for Himself; no man by his own works or wisdom can save himself—it is the Lord
who will be gracious and compassionate to whomever He chooses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>God is just.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways
are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He"
(Deuteronomy 32:4 NKJV). God has a
perfect standard of justice, which cannot be denied or defied. "God is a just judge, and God is angry
with the wicked every day"; so says Psalm 7:11. This theme is carried over into the New
Testament, where Paul declares, "[T]he wages of sin is death" (Romans
6:23a NKJV). Either God's justice is
satisfied on our behalf at the Cross of Jesus … or we can pay for it ourselves. But God's justice will prevail in either
case.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>God is merciful.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The holy justice that we rightly deserve, which has been
endured and absorbed by Jesus, is now dismissed on our account by His great
mercy. Another Old Testament scripture
to that end: "So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the
Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness; and He relents from doing harm" (Joel 2:13 NKJV). A longer passage from the New Testament, but
very rich in spiritual treasure, and worthy to be read more than once: "And
you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among
whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
just as the others. But God, who is rich
in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were
dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians
2:1-7 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>God is a Father.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God's wrath no longer abides on us who are Christians, but
He has not made us only to be His servants; He has adopted us as sons and
daughters. "For you did not receive
the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father'" (Romans 8:15 NKJV). "But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name"
(John 1:12 NKJV). "Beloved, now we
are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we
know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He
is" (1 John 3:2 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To my son John: I hope you can learn from God your Father
all of the things that I, your small-letter father, was unable to teach
you. As you continue on in this, the greatest
journey of your lifetime, understand that the best ways to know God are the
same old things that you've heard your whole life long: Spend time in prayer,
and read your Bible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
And let's keep this conversation going.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-64217766405832108282014-05-21T04:25:00.003-07:002014-05-21T04:25:45.481-07:00Intro to Acts of Worship<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For years I have been troubled by the contemporary American
Christian view of what "praise" is and what "worship"
is. This is grossly oversimplifying the
problem, but I trust you will understand: "Praise" is when the music
is fast and "worship" is when the music is slow. The first is hand-clappy; the second is
hand-raisey. "Praise" makes
you feel excited and glad to be a Christian, whereas "worship" fills
you with gooey emotions as you imagine yourself being in the very presence of
God. I meekly submit the possibility
that we are being manipulated by musicians in our quest to find and do true worship.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Full disclosure: I spent more than a decade of my younger
years as a piano player and worship leader for several charismatic/pentecostal congregations,
trying like crazy to produce exactly the same effects as those which I have
just described. So my discomfort may
very well be tied to my intimacy with the issue. What honest cigarette-smoker wants to be
around someone who has just quit? The
evangelistic fervor of the new non-smoker is a disagreeable pain in the
backside for those who have no thought of cessation. Maybe it's the same with me; I grant the
possibility.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what happens when you don't like the style of music
played at your church? Someone very dear
to me dislikes modern worship choruses and loves the old hymns. That person has said to me, "I just
can't worship with that music." My
children (at least when they were young) loved modern worship music and despised
hymns, thinking any hymn-singing crowd to be the hallmark of dead religion. I find myself falling in the middle; I like
some of the new songs, but hate the lazy song-writing most of the new lyrics exhibit. Some of them seem like random slap-togethers
of religious-sounding phrases. And some
of the old hymns bore me, and some of them are a little questionable theologically
too. I find myself feeling a lot more
"worshipful" when there's a song being played that I like, and the
drummer executes a particularly clever and innovative fill (the drummer at our
church is very talented). I instantly
realize that my emotions are being manipulated by the music … but I didn't
recognize that when I was younger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As far as "being in the very presence of God" is
concerned, though … whenever were you <i>not</i>
in the presence of God? It is a staple
of the Christian faith to believe that God is omnipresent; He is everywhere. Though He may choose not let you <i>sense </i>His presence, there is no place
where He is not. "In Him we live,
and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28 NKJV). Where do we live? <i>In Him.</i> If our very existence is in Him, where can we
be that He is not? Our problem is our perception; our problem is
that we don't recognize Him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Romans 12:1 says this: "I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (NKJV). Normally I dislike using multiple translations
in order to cherry-pick the one that best supports the point I'm trying to
make, but the fact is that the "reasonable service" mentioned in this
verse does bear looking at in other versions.
The ASV presents it as "spiritual service"; the CEB as
"appropriate priestly service"; the ESV as "spiritual
worship." The Amplified, which is
useful for wringing every possible nuance out of the scriptures, presents
Romans 12:1 as this: "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, <i>and</i> beg of you in view of [all] the
mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all
your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated)
and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent)
service <i>and</i> spiritual worship."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here we get to the heart of the matter: Our "spiritual
worship" of God has little to do with our feelings. It has much to do with our <i>actions</i>.
There may be emotions that are stirred by the recognition of what God
has done for us—indeed, one would be astonished if there were not—but the act
of worship is a living, obedient, sacrificial thing that we <i>do</i>, not that we feel. I stumble a bit at my own characterization
that it is a <i>living</i> thing that we do,
for in a sense it is also a <i>dying</i>
thing that we do. It involves a death
to selfish pleasures in order that someone else may live, in clear-eyed recognition
of who God is, and what He has done for us.
It involves a death to our reputations and our fortunes and our comforts
in order that someone else may live, in clear-eyed recognition of who God is,
and what He has done for us. And it is
in this dying that we find ourselves more completely alive at a different
level.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the coming posts, I will offer three or four examples of
what I call Acts of Worship. Please feel
free to debate or offer suggestions or examples of your own.<o:p></o:p></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-17191239088139125662014-04-30T06:00:00.000-07:002014-12-31T06:47:35.520-08:00Bends in the Road<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’d
like to introduce you to some fine boys—four of them, in fact: Hananiah,
Mishael, Azariah, and Daniel. These boys
were good-looking and smart, but they weren’t vain about it; they also honored
and served God faithfully. They were the
golden boys, they were the Rat Pack of their time and place, with Daniel
playing Sinatra, and the other three assuming their proper lesser roles. Their potential was unlimited, their future
bright. It would be tempting to believe
that these good times would never end, that if they just followed the road they
were on, it would lead them to a lifetime of prosperity, honor, and respect. It would be tempting to trust in the natural
gifts the Lord had bestowed upon them, their good looks, their charm, their
intelligence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But
then: a bend in the road.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It
wasn't their fault, they had done nothing to deserve it, but suddenly the road
they were traveling took an unexpected and unavoidable 90-degree turn to the
left. Jerusalem was besieged, overrun,
and conquered by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. The boys were given over
as prisoners, spoils of war, slaves to this terrible foreign king. They would never see their beloved homeland
again in their lifetime. They were
probably made eunuchs, which meant they would never have families of their
own. It would be tempting to despair, to
doubt God, to doubt their position as God's chosen people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And
then: a bend in the road.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the
master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the
king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no
blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick
to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they
might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily
provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three
years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve
before the king. Now from among those of
the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names:
he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael,
Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But Daniel purposed in his heart that
he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with
the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs
that he might not defile himself. Now
God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the
eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs
said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and
drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who
are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So Daniel said to the steward whom the
chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Please
test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and
water to drink. Then let our appearance
be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion
of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants." So he consented with them in this matter, and
tested them ten days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And at the end of ten days their
features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the
portion of the king’s delicacies. Thus
the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to
drink, and gave them vegetables.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As for these four young men, God gave
them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had
understanding in all visions and dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now at the end of the days, when the
king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought
them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the
king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and
understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times
better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Daniel 1:3-20 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ah,
there you go: a happy ending at last for the boys. Even though they had been taken from their
homes and had suffered the indignity of being made eunuchs, they would at least
still enjoy privilege and prosperity as the ministers of the king.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And
then: a bend in the road.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
king, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream. It
disturbed him greatly; he sensed correctly that this dream meant something
significant, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure it out. He demanded the interpretation from his
counselors (the "magicians and astrologers" we read about a minute
ago) but won't tell them what it was that he had dreamed. This was actually a pretty shrewd
move—Nebuchadnezzar was nobody’s fool.
He was clearly aware that his counselors were prepared to lie if they
had to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Chaldeans answered the king, and
said, "There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore
no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer,
or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing
that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king
except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For this reason the king was angry and
very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing
the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel
answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the
wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, "Why
is the decree from the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the decision
known to Daniel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So Daniel went in and asked the king to
give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the
decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they
might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that
Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of
Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to
Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Daniel answered and said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Blessed be
the name of God forever and ever,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">for wisdom and
might are His.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And He changes the
times and the seasons;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He removes kings
and raises up kings;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He gives wisdom to
the wise<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and knowledge to
those who have understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He reveals deep
and secret things;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He knows what is
in the darkness,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and light dwells
with Him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I thank You and
praise You,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">O God of my
fathers;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You have given me
wisdom and might,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and have now made
known to me what we asked of You,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">for You have made
known to us the king’s demand" </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Daniel 2:10-23 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Daniel
goes on to correctly explain the dream to the king, both the content of the
dream and its meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his
face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an
offering and incense to him. The king
answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of
kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret." Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him
many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and
chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon;
but Daniel sat in the gate of the king</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> (Daniel 2:46-49 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So
there you have it: A happy ending at last for the people of God, who reign in
honor and power until …<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Another
bend in the road.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image
of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up
in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather
together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the
treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the
provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had
set up. So the satraps, the
administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the
magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the
dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood
before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud: "To you it is
commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the
sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds
of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar
has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast
immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So at that time, when all the people
heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds
of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the
gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Daniel 3:1-7 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You
probably know the story. The boys refuse
to worship the idol, and are called before the king to plead their defense. They give one of the most bold and beautiful
answers recorded in Scripture: "[O]ur God whom we serve is able to deliver
us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O
king. But if not, let it be known to
you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image
which you have set up" (Daniel 3:17b-18 NKJV). Such courage!
Such faithfulness! And it earns
for them the reward Nebuchadnezzar's herald had promised—they were thrown into
the fiery furnace. A sad ending for the
boys, it seemed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Or
not. For then</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">another bend in the road.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury,
and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was
usually heated. And he commanded certain
mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats,
their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was
urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men
who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then King Nebuchadnezzar was
astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did
we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">They answered and said to the king, "True,
O king."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Look!" he answered, "I
see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt,
and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth
of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came
from the midst of the fire. And the
satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered
together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the
hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the
smell of fire was not on them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed
be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and
delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s
word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god
except their own God! Therefore I make a
decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their
houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver
like this."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then the king promoted Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> (Daniel 3:19-30 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A
happy ending for the boys? Well, maybe,
but it is certain that this wasn't the end.
Their roads probably had more bends after that (I know of at least one
adventure concerning a lions' den), and somehow or another, I'm pretty sure
they all eventually died. And <i>that</i>, of course,<i> </i>was their happy ending.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So …
what does this story mean for you and me?
Most of us are not at the happy ending portion of our stories, are
we? Most of us, right now, somehow or
another, are at the point in our adventures where we're faced with the choice
of whether or not we're going to bow down to the idol. Or maybe we've already made our choice, and
now we're faced with the prospect of a fiery furnace. Maybe we chose wrong, and now we're kneeling
in front of a golden idol, wondering what on earth do I do next? Am I even saved? Could God still love me? Or maybe, wonder of wonders, we're just
sailing along on smooth waters and nothing seems particularly threatening right
now. That probably won't last. Whatever our circumstances, here is the
question: How does it go with our hearts?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If we
are happy, let us not forget God, who holds our times in His hand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If we
are sad, let us remember God, who offers us comfort and hope and a future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If we
are content, let us not become complacent and self-satisfied.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If we
are hopeful, let us remember that even if our hopes are dashed, God remains.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">May we
seal in our hearts and minds the words of Romans 8:18: "For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">May we
seal in our hearts and minds the words of Hebrews 12:1-2: "Therefore we
also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-66044354171343169012014-03-10T05:17:00.000-07:002014-12-16T03:27:02.801-08:00Significant Passages #2: John 6:28-29<br />
Another one of my favorite passages of scripture—one that I discovered relatively late in my life—is John 6:28-29. When I say "discovered," I really mean "was uncovered for me by the Holy Spirit," because I had certainly read that passage several times previously, without it having made the least impression on me. Here it is:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."</blockquote>
Let me set the stage for you. Earlier in John chapter six, Jesus had fed five thousand men (and their families, presumably) with five loaves of barley bread, and two small fish—a notable miracle. Later that same evening, He had walked upon the sea—another notable miracle. The next day, those who had been miraculously fed sought Him. When they found Him, they asked, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"<br />
<br />
It's not totally clear to me exactly what they were asking. Were they saying, "What can we do, so that we can work miracles like You do?" It seems to be a faint possibility—that they thought that Jesus was just a man like them, and the "works of God" were something to which they could aspire. But it seems much more likely to me that they were asking Him how they could satisfactorily obey the Law—a noble question, worthy to be asked: "What works can we do that will make us pleasing and acceptable to God?" (The famous Bible commentator Matthew Henry says that they were asking what works they could do to make them worthy to receive "the food which endures to everlasting life," which Jesus had just told them about (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+6%3A27&version=NKJV" target="_blank">John 6:27</a> NKJV); this is of essentially the same substance as my conjecture.)<br />
<br />
Jesus' answer is the answer to any and all who have tried to satisfy the holiness of God by a strenuous obedience to His Law. "This is the work of God," He says. "This is what you must do to satisfy the requirements of God Almighty: <i>believe</i>." Not tithe; not give to the poor; not be patient with your wife or be a good father—<i>believe</i>. Now, we understand that anyone who truly does believe in Jesus will want to tithe and give to the poor and be patient and everything else that he thinks will please the Father; but that's not where his salvation lies. His salvation lies in his faith—in his belief in the Gospel, that Jesus died on the cross for his sins (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+cor+15%3A3-4&version=NKJV" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 15:3-4</a>) and was raised for our justification (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom+4%3A25&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Romans 4:25</a>). Believe the Gospel—not trust in your own works. Believe in Jesus—not believe in yourself.<br />
<br />
There is another sense that can be given to the words, "This is the work of God," with which I once again find agreement with Matthew Henry: "This is the work that God must do; this is the work which Man cannot do."<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The work of faith is the work of God. They enquire after the works of God (in the plural number), being careful about many things; but Christ directs them to one work, which includes all, the one thing needful: that you believe, which supersedes all the works of the ceremonial law; the work which is necessary to the acceptance of all the other works, and which produces them, for without faith you cannot please God. It is God's work, for it is of his working in us, it subjects the soul to his working on us, and quickens the soul in working for him (Matthew Henry, <i>Commentary on the Whole Bible</i>).</blockquote>
I'm not sure which of the petals of Calvinism's tulip this would fall under: unconditional election or irresistible grace, but it informs us regarding both. We do not work to obtain salvation; it is God Who provides. And when God creates in us the faith of His working, we do believe indeed. In any case, the glory belongs to Him.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-45256738906322010332014-02-28T08:26:00.000-08:002014-12-16T03:26:09.599-08:00Significant Passages #1: Luke 22:31-32<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon the startling discovery that I actually have a reader,
I pledge to post a little more consistently.
You can expect posts about once a week, on Friday or Saturday. At least that's the plan!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here we go.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes a Bible verse or passage seems to practically leap
off the page and attach itself to my brain (or my heart, maybe; I can't decide which). In the old days, they may have said something
to the effect of one's "bowels being moved with compassion," but in
our times, "bowel movement" has come to mean something entirely different. In today's culture, what used to be
represented by the bowels has come to be referred to as the heart, but that's a
little too weak and emotional for my meaning, whereas the brain has come to
mean (in many church circles) something cold and clinical, lacking
passion. What I mean is something
between the heart and the brain, taking the best parts of both and maintaining
a balance that is proper and good. At
least that's what I think I mean. All of
that to say this: Sometimes a Bible verse or passage becomes <i>important</i> to me, in a way that nails
together my theology, and—more importantly—anchors my faith more upon God and
His Word.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is such a passage.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
And the Lord said, "Simon,
Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith
should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren"
(Luke 22:31-32 NKJV).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The setting is this: Jesus is in the upper room with His
disciples, having just finished the Passover meal. He has just instituted the Lord's Supper,
which we now know as the Eucharist or Holy Communion. Some of the disciples are now arguing over
who's going to be the greatest. Then the
Lord drops this bombshell on Simon Peter: "Satan has asked for you, that
he may sift you as wheat." Then
Peter says, all bluster and wind, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both
to prison and to death," to which Jesus replies His famous words, "I
tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three
times that you know Me."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two things I take away from this passage that are
very precious to me: First of all, that Satan has to ask permission before he
can do anything to one of God's chosen.
It's like the throne room scene in the book of Job all over again. Satan can accuse, but he can't touch—not without
God's permission. There is no attack or
temptation that can touch us without the direct knowledge and consent of our
Father in Heaven.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secondly, regarding what is sometimes called "the perseverance
of the saints," Jesus tells Simon Peter, "I have prayed for you, that
your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your
brethren." Notice that Jesus does
not say "<i>if</i> you return to
me"—He says "<i>when</i> you
return to Me." There isn't any
"if!" The prayer of Jesus does
not return to Him unanswered. If Jesus
prays for you, you're in a good place.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Therefore He is also able to save
to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to
make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25 NKJV).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently, Jesus continues to pray for His chosen ones—He always
lives to make intercession for them.
Hopefully, that number includes you and me, who have put our trust in
Him, who have come to God through Him … and He is able to save us to the
uttermost.<o:p></o:p></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-66893985385284101232013-11-28T06:06:00.000-08:002013-11-28T06:06:10.324-08:00Thanksgiving Day 2012<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Yes, 2012. I wrote this last year on Thanksgiving morning.)</span></i><br />
<br />
The least of Your kindnesses would have proved to me that You are good,<br />
for the least of Your kindnesses is more than my merits should have earned.<br />
But You have given me multitudes of kindnesses, kindness upon kindness,<br />
to me, the enemy of You.<br />
<br />
And not only this, but once upon a time You clothed Yourself with flesh,<br />
came down to see me, Your enemy, and took pity upon this poor man.<br />
Suffered the shame that had been decreed for me, took my works as Your own,<br />
and gave Your works to me.<br />
<br />
This is the greatest kindness that could ever be; it was enough and more.<br />
Yet still You shower me with multitudes of kindnesses, kindness upon kindness,<br />
to me, once the enemy of You.<br />
How shall I not be thankful?Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-28708761989736721992013-10-15T03:08:00.004-07:002013-10-15T03:08:57.548-07:00At 54<br />
This morning I had a significant thought.<br />
<br />
It escapes me now.Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-40070889344938590102013-10-13T06:02:00.001-07:002014-12-31T06:49:31.597-08:00A Biblical Perspective on Suffering<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Once
upon a time there was a successful businessman named Joseph B. Saintly. He was remarkably well respected by both his
peers and his employees. He offered the
finest low-cost health plan to his workers, and when they came up short, he
paid their bills himself. He was the
director of The Saintly Foundation to Aid Widows and Orphans, and his anonymous
gifts to other charities were thought to be almost scandalously generous. Joseph B. Saintly was a good man, in all the
ways people mean that word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He had
a wife Mildred, who occasionally disapproved of his generosity, but to whom he
was utterly faithful. He had a son Bill,
who enjoyed the comfort provided by his father's wealth, but was by no means a
playboy. He had a daughter Jill, who had
married well and was expecting Joseph B.'s first grandchild. Mr. Saintly was a happy man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He was
a deacon in his local Baptist church, head of the building committee, teacher
of the teenage boys' Sunday School class, and he provided scholarships for kids
to go away to summer camp. His views on
religion were both orthodox and correct, focusing rightly on the glory of God,
but not neglecting a life of good works.
Joseph B. Saintly was a faithful man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One
Thursday night, Joseph B. was at the church, meeting with the building
committee, and just about to suggest that there was no need for a special
offering for an upcoming project, because he could just cover it, when the
phone rang in the church office. The
church secretary came in with a hastily scribbled note, and whispered something
to Joe B. for a moment that left him visibly shaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"What
is it, Joseph B.?" asked the pastor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"It
seems that the chief accountant at The Saintly Foundation to Aid Widows and
Orphans has been suspected of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. The police have led him off in handcuffs, and
they've seized all our records and put a padlock on the doors." He ran a hand through his hair, and said, "I'm
sure it will work out all right in the end; I've always tried to do things
honestly and above board."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"We
know you have," said the pastor.
"In fact, let's say a prayer for you right now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While
the pastor was still praying, the church secretary came into the room again,
apologizing and saying, "Mr. Saintly, you're needed at the hospital. It's your daughter."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fear
clutching his heart, he asked in a pale voice, "What is it?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"There
seems to be some difficulty with her pregnancy."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He
stood up, excused himself, and strode briskly but unsteadily to his car. With tears blurring his vision, he prayed as
he drove, never seeing the stop sign that he drove through, or the police car
parked at the corner with its lights off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A few
moments later, as the officer was reading the information on his license and
registration, he said, "You're Joseph B. Saintly? Of the Saintly Corporation? We've been looking for you, sir. It seems that there's been an explosion at
your factory, and the whole building is in flames. There are fatalities."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Joseph
B.'s heart was saddened at this, of course, but his only thought was for his
daughter and grandchild. Upon telling
the officer where he was going in such a hurry, the officer replied,
"Sure, I understand. Come on, I'll
escort you there myself."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Joseph
B. and the officer hurried to the hospital, where he found Mildred his wife
waiting, wringing her hands and pacing.
"Thank God you're here," she wept. "Bill is on his way, too. Jill is in surgery right now. They think they've lost the baby!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
police officer was waiting politely at the nurses' station as he watched Joseph
B. try to comfort his wife, when his radio crackled at his hip. He listened for a moment and then walked
softly over to the Saintlys and tapped Joe B. on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, sir, but it's about your
son. There's been a traffic
accident."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">At the
same moment, a doctor came through the operating room doors, his blue smock
spattered with flecks of blood, catching Mrs. Saintly's eye and shaking his
head sadly. "The baby?" she
whispered. The doctor said, "I'm
afraid we weren't able to save either one of them."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mildred
wailed with grief as Joseph B. slowly sank to his knees, asking heaven just one
word: "Why?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
officer walked back over to the nurse's station, where one of the nurses said,
"He must have gotten God awfully mad somehow."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
cop said, "Well, all these rich guys are bound to make some powerful
enemies--it's bound to happen."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Another
nurse said, "It's corruption. You
wait and see if that isn't it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Joe B.
heard them say these things through his agony, and didn't even bother to tell
them that it wasn't true. He <i>knew</i> it wasn't true. He was a good man, a happy man, a faithful
man. He just kept on asking the one word
over and over: "Why?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">*****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm
sure most of you recognized that Joe B., the protagonist of this little story,
is actually the Old Testament saint Job.
While we don't have enough time this morning to study the story of Job
exhaustively, a brief recap of the main events would perhaps be helpful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You
will remember the scene in the throne room of heaven, where Satan comes to give
an account before the Lord Almighty, and God says to him, "Have you
considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a
blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Satan
basically says to God, "Why wouldn't He serve You, when You've set him up
so good? He's as rich and comfortable as
anyone in the whole world."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So God
says, in effect, "Well, have at him, then." And so the disasters begin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A
couple of things to note about Job: He really was, apparently, the most
righteous man on earth. He didn't know
about the scene in heaven. When disaster
befell him, he asked God to answer him: "Why, Lord? Why me, Lord?
Why?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And
finally, after more than 35 chapters consisting mostly of accusations from
Job's friends, Job's complaints against God's justice, and utter silence from
the throne of heaven, God does answer Job.
But does He say, "There, there, Job, it's not really so bad. I'm desperately sorry that you had to undergo
such harsh treatment. I never intended
you to endure such hurt; I'll make it all better, so you can start living Your
Best Life Now."?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's
look:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Who is this who darkens counsel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">By words without knowledge?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now prepare yourself like a man;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I will question you, and you shall answer Me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tell Me, if you have understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Who determined its measurements?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Surely you know!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Or who stretched the line upon it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To what were its foundations fastened?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Or who laid its cornerstone,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When the morning stars sang together,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And all the sons of God shouted for joy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Or who shut in the sea with doors,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When it burst forth and issued from the womb;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When I made the clouds its garment,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And thick darkness its swaddling band;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When I fixed My limit for it,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And set bars and doors;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When I said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘This far you may come, but no farther,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And here your proud waves must stop!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And caused the dawn to know its place,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And the wicked be shaken out of it?” <i>(Job 38:1-13 NKJV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
Lord continues on in this vein for several more chapters, asserting His
authority in creation, the splendor of His power, and His right to do with all
creation whatever His will decrees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So how
did Job respond to this? When the Lord
finished His holy tirade, listen to what Job says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I know that You can do everything,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without
knowledge?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Listen, please, and let me speak;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But now my eye sees You.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore I abhor myself,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And repent in dust and ashes.” <i>(Job 42:2-6 NKJV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When
Job saw the splendor, the magnificence, the utter holy majesty of God, he had
no further question; in the light of God's sovereign will and mighty power, he
was silenced; he was satisfied. He had
no further complaint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To
recap: Job suffered. Job demanded to
know why. God answered: "I am God,
and you are not." Job answered,
"That's right; You are God, and I am not."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">*****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Why is
there suffering in the world? Why is
there war and violence, flood and famine?
Why is there failure of health, failure of families, failure of
finances? Why are there tears and
sorrows and pain and, at the end of it all, death?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Is it
a partial payment for man's record of sin in the world? Is it the devil wreaking havoc upon
unsuspecting mankind? Is it the hidden
counsel of God, working out His own ineffable purposes? My answer is this: I don't really know,
except to acknowledge that, in fact, God's inscrutable purposes will ultimately
be accomplished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">*****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For
most of us, though, the question isn't so much why is there suffering in the
world, but rather, "Why is there suffering for <i>me</i>?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We
like ourselves awfully well, don't we?
We feed ourselves the choicest foods, we pamper ourselves with every
luxury we can reasonably afford, we primp and preen before our mirrors, and
whenever we get into arguments, we always award ourselves the victor's
laurels. After all, who could be more
reasonable and just than <i>us</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Think
back again to Job. He was the most
righteous man in his generation, yet he suffered, and he questioned God
"why." Now there are three
things that I think I know about you, brothers and sisters in this
congregation. You have all experienced
suffering in your life; you have all almost certainly asked God, at least once
in your life, "Why is this happening to <i>me</i>?" And you are
clearly not the most righteous person in your generation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I
won't presume to tell you how to handle your own suffering, whatever that may
be. I don't want to tell you that you're
doing it wrong, or come off as sounding arrogant or unsympathetic. I know you're hurting, somehow--we all are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So,
what are we to do with this question of our own personal, private, and very
real suffering? Like so many themes
introduced in the Old Testament, which show themselves as types and
foreshadows, we must look to the New Testament for the fulfillment, for light
and clarification.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What
did Jesus say about suffering? What did
the apostles have to say about pain and disappointment? What we find in the pages of holy scripture
may surprise us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">… you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you <b><i>greatly rejoice</i></b>, though
now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that
the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory
at the revelation of Jesus Christ … <i>(1
Peter 1:4b-7 NKJV, emphasis added)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but <b><i>rejoice</i></b>
to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is
revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. <i>(1 Peter 4:12-13 NKJV, emphasis added)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My brethren, <b><i>count it all joy</i></b> when you fall into
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that
you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.<i> (James 1:2-4 NKJV, emphasis added)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man
is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are
temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. <i>(2
Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with
Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us. <i>(Romans 8:16-18 NKJV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Did
you hear what the Bible has to say to us as followers of Jesus Christ? There were words like these sprinkled
throughout those passages: Rejoice!
Count it all joy! This is good
for you! This is God's will for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay,
so that's what the apostles said. So,
what about Jesus? What words of comfort
did He have for those who suffer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then He lifted up His eyes toward His
disciples, and said:<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Blessed are you poor,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For yours is the
kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Blessed are you who hunger now,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For you shall be
filled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Blessed are you who weep now,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For you shall
laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Blessed are you when men hate you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> And when they
exclude you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> And revile you,
and cast out your name as evil,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For the Son of
Man’s sake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For indeed your
reward is great in heaven,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For in like manner
their fathers did to the prophets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“But woe to you who are rich,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For you have
received your consolation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Woe to you who are full,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For you shall
hunger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Woe to you who laugh now,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For you shall mourn
and weep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Woe to you when all men speak well of you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For so did their
fathers to the false prophets.” <i>(Luke
6:20-26 NKJV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These
passages represents a way of thinking that just does not compute for us as
21st-century American Christians. We have
been taught to pursue the "American dream" and all of its attendant
luxuries, but Jesus says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Our bumper stickers proclaim that "he
who dies with the most toys wins," while Jesus says, "Whoever desires
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find
it." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Suffering
is part of the balance to that paradoxical equation. "He who has suffered in the flesh has
ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the
flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." So says 1 Peter 4:1-2. When we suffer, we learn to love our lives a
little bit less--and that's a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Suffering
has the power to focus our attention, to let all of the peripheral clatter and
clutter of our lives fade into obscurity, to the point that it's just me and my
pain … and God. Suffering also reveals
to a Christian what he's made of.
Anybody can smile and bless you when they have no pain, no worries, no
fears. But when all of our comforts are
comfortless, when our health or security is snatched from our grasp, then we
see the true measure of the Christian.
Are we ruled by our fears, or do we exhibit that wonderful quality we
call "peace that passes understanding," by the Holy Spirit's help?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">*****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I
titled today's sermon, "A Biblical Perspective on Suffering." There are many other scripture passages I
could have referenced, such as Hebrews chapter 12, which tells us that when we
suffer in this world, it is proof that our heavenly Father is disciplining us
as His own children, or Revelation chapter 21, which tells us of our eternal
reward: "God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes; there shall be no
more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former
things have passed away." But the
few that I selected seemed sufficient for their purpose, at least in that the
sermon didn't end up being two hours long.
In two words, a biblical perspective on suffering would be:
"trust" and "rejoice."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I
don't mean to misrepresent myself: I have not attained this perfectly, not
nearly. But at least I know it's the
mark I'm aiming for. And if these
thoughts have never been introduced to you before, now they have. Ask the Holy Spirit to weed out the truth
from the deception, and bring forth His fruit in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One
thing seems to me to be certain--and here I break ranks with the Norman Vincent
Peales and Robert Schullers, the Kenneth Copelands and Joel Osteens of the
world: Somehow, sometime, some way, you're going to hurt. In fact, Jesus promised it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our
Lord Jesus, the meek and lowly Lamb of God, who was called "a Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief"--Jesus said, "In this world you
will have tribulation. But be of good
cheer; for I have overcome the world."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-60751227095267200772013-09-11T06:33:00.000-07:002013-09-11T06:36:44.813-07:00Morning Glory<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Glory to God in the highest!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bless the Lord, O my soul;<br />
let all that is within me bless His holy name!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My mind gropes for words to express something bigger than it
can grasp:<br />
the glory, the majesty, the wonder of the Most High.<br />
Something I can't see, something I can only faintly imagine.<br />
Something that I fear I do not love, because the only things I love<br />
are earthly, sensual, things I can touch and see.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet I find hidden in the folds of my heart something
curious, something wonderful:<br />
I <i>do</i> love God.<br />
I am frankly amazed to find it there, but there it is:<br />
I do love God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me, stupid, foul and filthy me—<br />
and He, great and glorious Creator, Redeemer, Justifier,<br />
Saver of the foul and filthy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My heart overflows,<br />
for at least as long as I can keep it from wandering away among the dandelions.<br />
But while I have it here, captive for a moment,<br />
let me pray.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happily I find that God Himself has provided words I may
use,<br />
provided them in the text of His holy Book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Father in Heaven:<br />
Holy is Your name. Holy!<br />
May Your kingdom come, Your will be done<br />
in the frail dust of my life just as before Your throne.<br />
Give me what You know I need to survive this day.<br />
Forgive me, O Lord, forgive me my sins!<br />
For Jesus' sake I forgive others too.<br />
And lead me not into temptation—<br />
(yes, Lord, I'm praying that again)—<br />
but deliver me from evil:<br />
the evil of the world, the evil of my own flesh,<br />
the evil of Satan himself.<br />
You can do this, and to You all praise and obedience is due;<br />
for the kingdom is Yours,<br />
the power is Yours,<br />
the glory, all glory, is Yours—<br />
both now and forevermore.<br />
<br />
Amen.<o:p></o:p></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-33596519585683080342013-08-20T08:02:00.001-07:002014-12-31T06:50:24.613-08:00The Beginning of Wisdom<br />
There are dozens upon dozens of Bible passages that refer to something that has become increasingly foreign to our modern society, something called "the fear of the Lord," or "the fear of God." Here is just a small sampling:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. (Psalm 19:9)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalm 33:8)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. (Psalm 34:9)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:11)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13)</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children. (Psalm 103:17)</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom—so says the Bible in three different passages, and a fourth is like it: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. That says to me that before we can make any real, substantive advance toward the worthy goals of wisdom or knowledge, our starting block must be that exalted place called the fear of the Lord. If we don't begin with the fear of God, our wisdom is doomed to be the wisdom of man, which is not the wisdom of God at all. Romans 1 offers these words in reference to those who trusted in worldly wisdom: "… although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools … Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind."<br />
<br />
If the fear of the Lord is truly the beginning of wisdom, then these people who sought after wisdom from a different starting point became not wise, but fools. According to God's Word, it could have had no other result.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
So: The fear of the Lord—just what does that mean, anyway?<br />
<br />
Well, most of the time, us modern folk try to soften the apparent definition of this holy fear as merely being respectful, awestruck, or reverent—all good things, to be sure. And those aspects are certainly true and often capture the flavor of what the scriptures intend. But there is another aspect of this word in the original languages which turns out to be precisely what you would expect: to<i> fear</i> means to <i>be afraid</i>. And not just any old "afraid," either. It means to be in terror or in dread.<br />
<br />
Terrified of God? That somehow doesn't sound right, does it?<br />
<br />
Witness the reactions that were revealed in our two scripture passages this morning (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%206:1-5&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Isaiah 6:1-5</a> and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%201:12-18&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Revelation 1:12-18</a>). Isaiah, who would go on to become perhaps the greatest of all the Old Testament prophets, has a vision of God sitting on His heavenly throne. The angels are crying, "Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord of hosts!" The place was shaking and filled with smoke—scary enough by itself—but the thing that utterly terrified the prophet was the fact that he was beholding the face of the Holy One, the King. When Isaiah understands that he is seeing God Himself, he wails, "Woe is me—I am undone!" In the face of such beautiful, terrible holiness, he is immediately aware of the stark sinfulness of his own unclean lips; it's as if his very life was unraveling before the majesty of God.<br />
<br />
In the New Testament passage, we see the Apostle John, the one whom Jesus loved (as he called himself), and he is granted a vision of the Christ revealed in all of His fiery, shining glory. His reaction was not to say, "Jesus, my old friend! How Ya doin'? It sure is good to see You again!" Instead, he passes out in terror, collapsing to the ground as if he were a dead man.<br />
<br />
Now Isaiah and John were not your casual Sunday-morning churchgoers. These guys were the greatest of the great, the all-stars, the heroes of the faith. If they were in utter, stunned mortification at their first glimpses of God in His glory, what do you think it's going to be like for you and me? If we stand before His judgment throne clad in our filthy rags, our half-hearted obedience, and He shines forth in all of His majesty and glory, pure and holy to an unthinkable degree, don't you think we'll be scared? I will be. And yet, that's just what I long to see: the face of God in His glory.<br />
<br />
One other quick reference: a story about an early experience of Simon Peter as Jesus enters the scene:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Luke-5-1">So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, </span><span class="text Luke-5-2" id="en-NKJV-25110">and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. </span><span class="text Luke-5-3" id="en-NKJV-25111"><span class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.</span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span class="text Luke-5-4" id="en-NKJV-25112"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, <span class="woj">“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”</span></span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Luke-5-5" id="en-NKJV-25113">But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” </span><span class="text Luke-5-6" id="en-NKJV-25114"><span class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span>And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. </span><span class="text Luke-5-7" id="en-NKJV-25115"><span class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span>So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. </span><span class="text Luke-5-8" id="en-NKJV-25116"><span class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span>When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:1-8)</span></span></i></blockquote>
<br />
You will notice that Peter does not say, "Boy, what a catch! You can come fishing with me any time!" No, at his awareness of his proximity to holiness, his reaction was to say, "Please get away from me, for I am full of sins." He was experiencing the fear of the Lord, and though he did not yet know it, he was also experiencing the beginning of wisdom.<br />
<br />
Now, some folks have tried to dial back the import of the word—"fear," that is. Perhaps they think that they are doing God a favor by helping out with His P.R. campaign. "Oh, <i>my</i> God would never make anyone afraid of Him. He is too gentle and loving and kind." Wait a minute—<i>your</i> God? How many of them are there? The truth is, that without some kind of revelation of God <i>about</i> Himself <i>by</i> Himself, we are open to the tyranny of as many different gods as there are human beings living in the world.<br />
<br />
Some have likened the way we ought to understand "fearing the Lord" to this: Imagine we have an encounter with someone we really, really respect. If, for example, we were to be invited to appear before the president of the United States, no matter how much we happen to approve or disapprove of the current occupant of that position, we would undoubtedly be impressed, we would be awestruck, we would be reverent and respectful and polite, quite likely feeling more than just a little intimidated.<br />
<br />
That covers most of the definitions of "fear," and in our current cultural understanding of who God is, most of us would be happy to stop there.<br />
<br />
However, I think the following illustration may provide us with a more accurate portrayal, though: That we are indeed summoned to appear before the leader of a country, but not our own. Instead we find ourselves kneeling before a king who is our most terrible enemy, and we find ourselves accused of trespassing in his land, and flagrantly breaking all of his laws, which in fact we have done. This king is not only powerful and righteous—he's angry. Now, before this king, we would not only feel respect and admiration … we would tremble; we would be afraid. Do you think that's an unfair characterization of God? Do you think that's an unfair characterization of <i>us</i>?<br />
<br />
Several times in scripture, it is said that the carnal mind is at enmity with God; that means that, in our natural human state of understanding, we are at odds with God, that we are His enemies. In fact, Romans 5:10 says that while we were still God's enemies, God reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son. Now that's some kind of amazing love, but I don't want us to miss the point here—apart from the work of Christ, we are God's enemies.<br />
<br />
In America today, I believe we've mistaken God for someone else. We imagine God to be a kindly old gentleman with a long white beard, who smiles benignly upon all the little children of the world, presents us with all of the good gifts we long for, and does nothing too terribly threatening when we are bad. We think that God ... is Santa Claus. What's the worst that could happen—a lump of coal in our stocking? The fear of the Lord is not in us.<br />
<br />
We are all of us guilty in lesser or greater degrees of creating a God in our own image. Some of you may recall a rather famous episode that occurred a few years back when television personality Oprah Winfrey said, "I was raised a Baptist and we were too hung up on traditional ways. I was sitting in church and heard that God is a jealous God. I asked 'Why?' Come on--let's get over it!" She had created a God of her own imagining, a God who would not possibly be jealous, making her own sense of approval the litmus test for who could or could not qualify as "God." In doing so, she willfully ignored the scriptures, which do in fact state many times that our God is a jealous God. Just one instance out of the many will suffice to illustrate: Exodus 34:14, which reads as follows: "You shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Now you are free to debate as long as you like just what the scripture means by "jealous," but one thing you can't deny is that the Bible says that God is a jealous God. Miss Winfrey, with her careless "let's get over it," declares that the Word of God is not the source of authority for her life, but rather her own exalted sense of propriety. The fear of the Lord was not in her.<br />
<br />
When I became a Presbyterian deacon awhile back, I took a vow before God and the congregation, and part of the installation ceremony included this question: "Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice?" I answered "yes," as did all of the other celebrants with me—there was no other way of becoming a deacon or an elder unless you answered "yes." I suppose there were hundreds of other Presbyterian churches across America that asked the same question that morning, and thousands of other candidates to be deacons who answered similarly. Now do you think they were all telling the truth? For we have reason to believe that there are some people in the Presbyterian church who apparently do not believe that the scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. And they initiated their term of service to the church in a very singular way—by standing in front of the congregation and lying before God. How can this be, you might wonder? There is no fear of God within them.<br />
<br />
And this is not just a modern problem; in my research for this sermon, I came upon an article from The Presbyterian Journal written in 1960 that illuminates this very issue; that is, lying when you take an oath before God. I quote: "This is so direct a violation of sincerity, that it is astonishing to think how men can set their minds at ease in the prospect, or keep them in peace after the deliberate commission of it. The very excuses and evasions that are offered in defence of it are a disgrace to reason, as well as a scandal to religion. What success can be expected from that man’s ministry, who begins it with an act of such complicated guilt? How can he take upon him to reprove others for sin, or to train them up in virtue and true goodness, while he himself is chargeable with direct, premeditated, and perpetual perjury?" End quote.<br />
<br />
If you have no fear of God, then you cannot possibly perceive your need for a Savior. If you have no awareness of God's unrelenting holiness and your own abject sinfulness, why did Jesus have to die? If the God you worship is marshmallow soft, with no provision for a final eternal justice, then the Cross of Christ loses all meaning. In today's progressive society, though, we have insulated ourselves from every sense of the fear of the Lord that might disturb or threaten our fragile self-esteem. "God loves everybody," you have heard people say. "God's love is unconditional," say others, including those who fill pulpits. When some unrepentant scoundrel dies, someone will inevitably say, "Well, at least he's in a better place," and we nod our heads solemnly, afraid to even hint that there might exist someplace else where he's at.<br />
<br />
While it's true in a certain sense that God does love everybody—after all, scripture says that "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust," and days of health and laughter and friendship and beauty are available to all—the notion that God loves everybody unconditionally in regards to salvation is simply not true. God saves people on one essential condition: that the blood of Jesus Christ has been applied to your sin, and His record of perfect obedience credited to your account.<br />
<br />
Do I say this because that's what I feel God must be like? Do I say this because I want it to be true about God? No, if it were up to me, I probably would have voted for Santa Claus. Instead, I am compelled to take my stand on something far sturdier than my own foolish musings: the Word of God. And not just any abstruse part, either, but a red-letter passage, the very words of Jesus Himself. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by Me."<br />
<br />
God has chosen to reveal Himself through the scriptures. The holy Creator of all that is has created for us ... a Book. Is it hard to understand? Kind of. Is it boring? Sometimes. Do people have different interpretations of it? Yes.<br />
<br />
But one thing the Bible offers us is this: It is what God has declared about Himself. He has not left us to our own imaginations about what He is like. He has said that He is jealous, like it or not. Redefine "jealous" if you will, but do so at your own peril.<br />
<br />
He has said that certain actions are forbidden—we call them sins. If you want to argue that we have outgrown our old parochial taboos, you may, but you do so at your own risk, for what He has said, He has said.<br />
<br />
If you believe that the Bible is not the true revelation of God, then we're talking about a whole 'nother kind of problem, and this sermon probably doesn't apply to you. But then your god, if you still have one, is probably a product of your own wishful thinking. The fear of the Lord is likely not in your eyes.<br />
<br />
Now, I offer a word of balance: the fear of the Lord is not the end of wisdom. Let me say that again: the fear of the Lord is not the end of wisdom; it is the beginning of wisdom. The end of wisdom, I would propose, is <i>love</i>. 1 John 4:18 says this: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment…. he who fears has not been made perfect in love."<br />
<br />
You could visit ten thousand churches this morning and hear sermons about God's love. Some of you are wishing right now that this was one of them! But one of the disadvantages of only filling a pulpit once every six weeks or so is that you need to choose a topic; you don't have a chance to build upon what's gone before, line upon line, precept upon precept. And the fear of the Lord is a subject not all that palatable to our modern American, politically correct, inoffensively bland religious culture.<br />
<br />
God is love, to be certain! I rejoice in God's love, for His love for me has been the most important thing, the hallmark of my entire life. But before I understood His love, I was afraid of His justice, for He had already opened my eyes enough to see that I was a sinner, and that He was holy. I was a lawbreaker, and He was the judge. I deserved Hell, and He was the One who could rightly send me there.<br />
<br />
Thank God for Jesus, for His sacrifice on the Cross, for His obedient life that I now count as my own obedience, for the great exchange which He initiated, which He accomplished, and which He will ultimately fulfill. He has become, by His own will, my friend. And yet, when I finally see Him face-to-face, I will most certainly fall dead at His feet, blinded by His brilliance, deafened by the angels crying, "Holy!", struck mute because there will simply be no words to say. And it will be up to Jesus to say, "Be not afraid," and it will be God who wipes the tears from my eyes, because there will be tears. Tears for my half-hearted efforts to love Him, tears for my wasting of so many days, tears for the choices I made that showed how little I feared Him.<br />
<br />
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear the Lord, you His saints! For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66211162543994973.post-8255179479399947532013-08-16T03:06:00.000-07:002013-08-23T11:15:56.066-07:00The Vision of Faith<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;">This week at the Bible study I have just started attending, the pastor brought up the famous verse Romans 8:28 ("And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose"). This has long been one of my favorite verses of scripture, and while many pages could be written about the Reformed perspective of the second half of that verse (more later, Lord willing), there is treasure to be wrung out of the simplest understanding of the first half as well.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;"><br />
The reason I am posting now is that there actually seemed to be some doubt among the participants about the credibility of the scripture on that point; that God wasn't necessarily <i>able</i> to work <i>all</i> things together for our good. This frankly surprised me a bit, though perhaps it shouldn't have. Maybe there are lots of folks out there that are unsteady regarding the sovereign power of our omnipotent God, the all-encompassing purposes of our loving heavenly Father. If you count yourselves among the vaguely skeptical here, maybe this little illustration will be of some value to you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;"><br />
All of us have had situations in our lives where we have suffered most severely. You know the roster here: death of a loved one, divorce, disease, etc. We thought about our affliction that no possible good could come from it. But ten years past the suffering, we all have looked back from our advanced perspective and confessed that the situation actually did provide some benefit for us. We say things like, "Now I see that God was in it all the time; I never would have learned a particular lesson were it not for that time of hardship; I grew to depend upon the Lord so much during that time of trial." And you can be sure that if we in our limited perception can discern some good result from our suffering, then God is His perfect wisdom has done much more for us than that which we can see. He has actually worked <i>all</i> things together for our good, though we perceive it only fractionally.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;"><br />
The vision of faith is this: We take that perfect hindsight--that God has worked through our suffering for our good--we take that understanding, turn it around 180 degrees, and apply it to the future. We say, "God has not only worked all things together for our good in the past, but He will continue to do so in the future." And we step boldly into the unknown, trusting in God's care. This is an act of worship: trusting God to do what He has said He would do. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).</span>Robert W. Tompkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15277230415506178173noreply@blogger.com0