Life as a Vapour

"How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?" - Habakkuk 1:2 (NIV)

I recently got news that a friend's brother was mugged and seriously assaulted with a knife in Singapore. This just reminds me of the fleetingness of life.

"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." - James 4:13-14 (NIV)

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapour in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

"Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."" - James 4:15 (NIV)

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)

"He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen." - Revelation 22:20-21 (NIV)

Link: More on Life as a Vapour (3 Oct 10)

Trust and Obey

Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey

But this is not a matter of trusting and then obeying. It is also a matter of obeying and continuing to trust in God, even when we cannot understand his ways with us. Abraham trusted where he could not see (Hebrews 11:8). But even when trust wavered, obedience was the only way into the perfect will of God for his life (Romans 4:18; Hebrews 11:17-19)...

Here is an immensely important lesson to learn as early as we can in the Christian life. Be obedient even when you do not know where obedience may lead you. It will guard you and protect you. Always trust God's word and live by his commands rather than by circumstances, providences or opportunities alone. Only in obedience, in a trust which clings to the promise that God is working everything together for those who love him, can there ever be safety. For only in obedience can we discover the great joy of the will of God.

- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God's Will

A pattern of deliberately choosing to obey the Word of the Lord is the very heart of a life of principled obedience. Where obedience is rendered in this fashion habitually (ie. as a pattern of life), a life of principled, conscientious obedience exists. Where obedience is left to manifest itself according to any other principle than deliberate choice to obey, a pattern of conscientious conformity to the will of God will not exist. The reality of the Christian life is just that simple.

The Christian life is not, 'Let go and let God.' It is true that in all our obedience we are to seek and depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit; yet if we 'let go' (ie. become passive nonparticipants in the war against remaining sin), God will not do for us what He has commanded us to do. God will not obey for us.

We must not permit a life of principled, conscientious obedience to be overturned by unprincipled feelings or by the fact of remaining moral corruption. If our obedience is accompanied by good feelings, wonderful. May God be praised! But if we feel rotten, our duty does not change. If our remaining sin resists us in the path of obedience, we are not excused from our obligation to obey God. And until we embrace this perspective with all of our soul, we will go limping and halting all of our days. Unless we vigorously battle unprincipled emotions and remaining sin, we will know very little of a real life of obedience to God.

- A. N. Martin, A Life of Principled Obedience

Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forever more

Links: The Obedience of the Will (26 May 10), Genesis 24 (3 Jun 10)

Wait

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." - Psalm 62:5 (KJV)

We do not see what the Lord will finally bring about. We sometimes think we have learned what his ultimate purpose is for our lives, only to discover that we are like climbers who thought the next peak was the final summit. Only when we reach it do we discover that there is still some further height to scale in the purposes of God.

I have sometimes thought that there are few more testing experiences than that of walking according to the light which God has given, only to discover that everything seems to be crumbling to dust in one's hands. Then there may come days of doubt, disillusionment with oneself, perhaps a tinge of bitterness, like that the psalmists sometimes record. Much later on we may be in a position to see how all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have fitted perfectly together. We can say 'Hitherto has the Lord helped us' (1 Samuel 7:12). But how we need patience, and how impatient we often are! Those who would submit to the guidance of God will need to pray for patience.

- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God's Will

"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him." - Isaiah 30:18 (KJV)

There are many illustrations of this Divine method in the Word of God. The Angel at the Jabbok-ford waited till Jacob could wrestle no more, being completely exhausted by his struggles; and then, as his helpless antagonist clung to Him for support, He whispered in his ear His mystic name and blessed him there.

Our Lord waited till the Syrophoenician woman fell helpless at His feet, with the cry: "Lord, help me!" that He might grant to her the boon she craved for her child. From His throne in Heaven He pursued the same method, waiting to be gracious till the apostles and others in the upper room had reached such a condition of helplessness that He could give them their Pentecost; waiting till the little group of disciples had exhausted every other expedient, that He might release to them Peter from his prison; waiting till Paul had renounced all creative energy, that He might take him strong in His almighty power, while He whispered: "My grace is sufficient for thee; My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Too often we have misinterpreted God's dealings with us. When He has tarried beyond the Jordan, in spite of our entreaties that He should hasten to save Lazarus, we have concluded that He was strangely neglectful. But, in fact, He was waiting, at no small cost to His heart, till we had come to the end of ourselves, and the way was clear for Him to work a more astounding miracle than we had dared to hope.

God's delays are not denials; they are not neglectful nor unkind. He is waiting with watchful eye and intent for the precise moment to strike, when He can give a blessing which will be without alloy, and will flood all after life with blessings so royal, so plenteous, so divine, that eternity will be too short to utter all our praise.

- F. B. Meyer, Our Daily Walk: Volume Three

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart

Links: Thus far has the LORD helped us (1 May 10), Here I raise my Ebenezer (2 Jun 10), Hither by Thy help I've come (9 Aug 10)

O Great God

O GOD OF THE HIGHEST HEAVEN,

Occupy the throne of my heart,
take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebel lust,
let no vile passion resist thy holy war;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make me thine for ever.

Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favoured, clothed,
adorned me,
when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no ears to hear thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a new creature,
has given me spiritual perception,
has opened to me thy Word as light, guide,
solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,
for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,
and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,
of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,
hold converse with thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth
and a blessing to all.

- The Valley of Vision, Regeneration

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forever more

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven's joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me

But for the Grace of God

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

- Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)

The Obedience of the Will

The supreme example outside that of our Lord himself, of a man willing against his own will, in obedience to God, is Abraham. He was asked to sacrifice Isaac, his only son - and this, in the face of all God's promises about descendants. Abraham was to tie the boy down on top of a pile of kindling on an altar. This he did (with what anguish we can only imagine), and only then, when with the knife poised he had triumphantly passed the hardest test of faith, did God show him that his son's death was not finally required.

- Elisabeth Elliot, A Slow and Certain Light

When I'm faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I'll stand on every promise of Your Word

Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on every promise of Your Word

And You've promised to complete
Every work begun in me
So I'll stand on every promise of Your Word

Links: Trust and Obey (30 May 10), Genesis 24 (3 Jun 10)

The Gift of Singleness

"I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." - 1 Corinthians 7:7 (NIV)

In context, Paul is writing about the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage). Taking a stab at the widespread sexual immorality of the Corinthians, he (sarcastically) wishes that all men were single like him.

[I believe that in the first part of verse 7 Paul is being sarcastic, not serious, because just a few verses earlier he suggests that 'since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband' (1 Corinthians 7:2, NIV).]

At the same time, in the second part of verse 7 Paul affirms that some have the gift of singleness and some have the gift of marriage. The question, then, is not whether there is the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage). The question is who has the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage).

Either everyone who is single has the gift of singleness (singleness is a status - and opportunity - which all single people have), or not everyone who is single has the gift of singleness (singleness is a spiritual gift which some have and some don't have).

To say that not everyone who is single has the gift of singleness implies that there are single people who are not supposed to have the gift of singleness. However, what about single people who are not supposed to have the gift of singleness but do not get married (for whatever reason)? Furthermore, what about single people who are supposed to have the gift of singleness but decide to get married?

In my judgment, it is more helpful to think of singleness as a status - and opportunity - which all single people have, rather than a spiritual gift which some have and some don't have.

Gifts and the Giver

The temptation we have is that of treating all this [thinking about God's gifts] as a zero-sum game, assuming that any time spent on the gifts is necessarily time away from the Giver. But though this sometimes happens, it does not need to happen.

Rightly handled, a gift is never detached from the one who gave it. Wrongly handled, a gift can be the occasion of selfishness, which is a common problem. But it can also be the occasion of a higher form of selfishness, one which pretends to be above the whole tawdry field of "gifts in themselves".

Picture a particularly "pious" little child who as impossible to give gifts to, because he would always unwrap it, abandon it immediately, and run up to his parent and say, "But what really counts in my relationship with you!" A selfish child playing with a toy ungratefully is forgetting the giver. This pious form of selfishness is refusing to let the giver even be a giver...

When we think about the gifts in exclusion of the Giver, it is because we are being prideful, or selfish in some way. If we think about the Giver only, we are trying hard to be disembodied spirits - which is not how the Giver made us, and if we were paying all that much attention to the Giver, we ought to have noticed that He didn't want to make us that way.

If I turn every gift that God gives over in my hands suspiciously, looking for the idol trap, then I am not rejoicing before Him the way I ought to be.

- Douglas Wilson, A Full Tank of Gas and Lots of Wyoming Ahead

A Fresh Outpouring

A friend recently sent me Barker Road Methodist Church's 7-day prayer guide for this week (leading up to Pentecost Sunday today). The following is from the reading for today.

Sunday, May 23

Like the early church that waited in the upper room, we need to wait upon the Lord for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit over our lives. It is with this that we can go forth in power to set the captives free. But are we willing to let the King of glory come into our lives, fully and unreservedly, to fill us?

We need to nail our will on the Cross and open our hearts to all that God has for us in this life. We will experience His transforming love and power, as we are open to His prompting and direction in our lives.

As we spend time with the Lord and depend on the Holy Spirit everyday, God can use us to touch others around us. A stream of living waters that flows from us to others, touching lives, changing hearts.

Arise and shine, let us rise up from every area of darkness and walk in freedom into light (Isaiah 60:1-3). Let this be a year of breakthrough into a dynamic relationship with our God, not based on head knowledge or habit, but in spirit and in truth!

- Barker Road Methodist Church, A Revival of Our Hearts: A 7-Day Prayer Guide in the Season of Eastertide 2010 (17 to 23 May)

May 15 to 21

May 15: "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."" - John 8:31-32 (NIV)

May 16: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." - John 9:3 (NIV)

May 17: "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." - Psalm 62:11-12 (NIV)

May 18: "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." - 1 Samuel 2:6 (NIV)

May 19: "When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."" - John 11:4 (NIV)

May 20: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."" - 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)

May 21: "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." - John 12:25 (NIV)