The Carpenter's Chapel

My apologies, but due to extreme temperatures here....-40....I am a little behind. I should have the devotional typed by noon.

The reading is 1 Cor 15: 35-58 and will sum up Paul's marvellous resurrection chapter.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

1 Cor 15: 35-58

“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they
come?” When a person dies, the body begins the process of decomposition and
what can be left to be raised? At best it can be but particles of that body. Now that
is true of the human body, but Paul has little patience with this lack of
understanding.

“Thou fool....” That the listeners should so soon forget that our Lord Jesus indeed
died and appeared before a goodly number in His resurrected body. It was
complete with nail-scarred hands and open side. Yet, it was complete.

The modernist, to discredit the fundamentals of Christianity, directs his attention
to science, but fails to utilize common science. He demonstrates his great
intellectual prowess with pride, but fails to apply the very basic of sciences. Paul
says, “Thou fool.” We look for the complicated in the simple and the only thing
that becomes complicated is our own duplicity. We deceive ourselves, when the
gospel is crystal clear, and Paul says, the resurrection is simple. Why do the
Corinthians continue in their blindness? It is a sure lesson for us. Do not
complicate that which is plain. When scripture makes common sense, seek no
other sense. How often do we do this in our own study? We pour over a scripture
greatly puzzled as to its meaning. Then one day, out of the blue, the facts jump out
at us. How did I ever miss that, we ponder.

Paul goes on to use natural science; the seed. When it is planted, it must die before
it will grow. It resurrects in newness of life. And so do we. We rise from the
enemy called death and live again in a new form, a resurrected body. The plant
will be the same in kind so that it can be identified. We will receive new bodies
wthout pain and suffering, but our bodies will be such that we can be identified.
“It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is
raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.....verses 42,43...then
Paul goes on to say, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There
is a natural body and there is a spiritual body.”

Dr. T.T. Shields said of the newly formed United Church’s doctrinal statement: “I
have an old Ford car out back. It takes me somewhere and brings me back. This
document takes you nowhere and leaves you there.” Paul is also crystal clear about
our hope and assurance in the resurrection. “thou fool” listen and be taught. Do
not take your people in circles. Take them directly to Jesus and what He taught.
You will be raised and death will be no more. At the last trumpet you will be
raised from clay and brought into eternal day. What a glorious truth! What great
hope! I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords to-day.

Lord lift us up that we may see Jesus afresh, and renew in us this great hope that
we too will rise in Him.

Cheers, and God bless,

Jim

 

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Psalm 147

Over the past months, my devotionals have taken me through the life of Christ up
to His glorious resurrection. I now want to read a few Psalms. Psalm 147 is full of
praise and adoration of the LORD. I often used this first verse as a call to worship:
“Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant;
and priase is comely.” In the Treasury of David, Spurgeon says of this verse: “Few
things are both good and pleasant. Medicine is good, but not pleasant; sin, to the
ungodly, is pleasant, but it can never be good. In the praise of God both the good
and the pleasant are combined.”

“The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
It is here we find great comfort. The LORD has called unto Himself the unlovely,
the outcasts. He takes the downtrodden and the student voted most likely not to
succeed. From this refuse, He changes us forever by redeeming grace and moulds
us into vessels of good and pleasant servitude. “How beautiful are the feet of those
who preach the gospel...” (Rom 10:15) Look around your church and count the
aristocrats, the wealthy, the important socialites. Then look again and count the
numbers who are just like you. In one church, I had a man who always worked a
night shift on weekends, but he never missed a Sunday morning service. Not only
did he make the morning service, but he often served as an usher. This chap
couldn’t read much, and his language was not polished, but he could be counted
on; he was always there. How many more are like this in your church and in mine?
He takes the outcasts of Israel and builds His church.

“He heals the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number
of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” Notice here that the LORD has
not promised to heal us from every wound, but he does mend the heart, and applies
dressings to the wounds. As the late J. Vernon McGee used to say, “I believe in
the Lord’s ability to heal by faith, but I have no faith in faith healers.” The LORD
often gives us grace to endure so that our witness will minister to others. We
cannot second-guess God, but we never have to second-guess that the LORD cares
for us...Now listen.....”He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by
their names.” Isn’t that a marvellous thing? God knows how many stars appear and
each one has a name. In another place, the scripture tells us that “every hair on our
head is numbered.” Now with some, it may not take long, but for others the count
would be considerable. The important thing is that each one is counted. We are so
important to God, and we think of ourselves as insignificant. The clincher which
humbles us is this: “Great is our LORD, and of great power; His understanding is
infinite.” The power to do or not to do is not ours to choose, but HIS to bestow,
and He has chosen to bestow upon us the greatest gift; the gift of eternal life with
such a magnanimous of Captains; the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.”

Lord lead us into the great halls of praise, and may we never neglect to sing our
praises unto you, combining the good and the pleasant, thus blessing your name.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Friday, January 16, 2004

Psalm 107:2

“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so...”

The Psalms are divided into five books, and this is the beginning of the fifth book,
Psalms 107-150. Some are identified as David’s and other without identification.
This is one of he latter. This is a Psalm of deliverance of God’s people.

In times of adversity, Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. It is a time to lift up
our hands and heart toward God got added strength and assurance that He is the
LORD and nothing can come between Him and His people.

For this, the Psalmists takes the people to when they wandered in the wilderness,
hungry and thirsty, but the LORD provided in the fullness of His time. It is a
lesson about disobedience. Why did the people wander aimlessly? They had a
credible leader. They had been delivered out of the hands of their enemy. They
became a people of complaint and misery and rebellion. God has a lesson to teach
and so they wandered on their own. Yet, God did not leave them alone. He
provided along the way toward the promised land. Verses 5,6..”Hungry and
thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them...”

How often does a church find itself in difficulty and trouble shows at every turn?
The people mumble and groan about everything. They find fault with this person
and that person, and the pastor can do nothing right. “Then they cried unto the
LORD.” We need to be reminded often about Israel in the wilderness, and the
remedy. The church advances best on its knees. The Christian advances best on his
knees. We need to learn how to pray. Didn’t the disciples ask this of Jesus? Lord,
teach us to pray. The model prayer begins, Our Father.....the children of Israel
began, Our Father...and they began to see the light. When the world is dumb, the
Christians need to have their wits about them. We do not need to emulate the
world, those who have no hope. We need to rally round the banner and shout, “Let
the redeemed of the LORD say so...”

Verse 7, “And he led them forth by the right way...” When we submit to the Lord,
He never fails to lead us in the right way. There may be hurdles along that way.
The path may not be as rosy as we expect, but He does lead the right way.

The Psalmist speaks of the captivity in verse 11, “Because they rebelled (The
Lord did not dictate our adversity, but we caused it.) against the words of God, and
contemned (despised) the counsel of the most high...” They turned from the very
words of God. There is a saying of old, “Sin will keep you from this book, or this
book will keep you from sin.” Time and time again, when a soul wanders off away
from the church and the path of righteousness, he has turned from the book.
Scripture reading fades away, prayer becomes virtually non-existant, and God’s
name almost becomes a profanity. If we, as pastors, can keep the people in the
book, our job becomes much simpler. The same is true of pastors. We need to be
constantly in the book. Put academics aside and just read the book for what it has
to offer for the moment. In my private devotions, I try not to read into the book the
doctrines I have learned. They are always in the background, but I try to approach
the word strictly as a spiritual guide. What is God saying to me to-day? I do not
use devotions to prepare sermons, to lead people, but to draw me nigh unto God.
This has been so important over the years. All my woes fade into insignificance as
God overwhelms me with what? Information? No, with Himself. Oh that we might
find God afresh each morning. and “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so.

May we lift up empty hands and open hearts to hear Your voice to-day, then will
we be strong in ur spiritual lives.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Monday, January 20, 2004

Psalm 107: 23-43

Early in the Psalm, the writer is talking about the pilgrims and their wanderings.
Then he dealt with a Lord’s goodness to prisoners, and the sick. We open this
portion of the Pslam dealing with sailors in troubled waters. In each case the
remedy is the same. They turn to the Lord in prayer, seek forgiveness and are
blessed of God.

Vse 27 “The reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’
end.” This is always the state of man without God. Sometimes believers fall into
the same state. Almost without exception, it is caused by a frail relationship with
the Lord, and always a lack of trust that God will do what He says He will do. The
solution remains the same; repent and draw night unto God in prayer. We greatly
desire to have fellowship with our fellow men, but why are we so reluctant to just
as easily turn to the Lord. What happens when we put our total trust in the Lord?
Vs 29 “He maketh the storm calm...” He calms our disquieted heart and sets our
minds at ease. Safe in the arms of Jesus. We are told, “Then are they glad because
they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

The psalmist turns to the many changes in human life. He talks about the Lord
turning the fruitful land into wilderness and the desert into a garden of blessing.
The Lord shows us what things can be, the desolation and lonliness, and then
pours out a blessing and reverses things. It seems that man is a stubborn being and
hard lessons are the order of the day. The result of turning to God is to “prepare a
city for habitation.” vs36. We are turned into creative beings by necessity. We see
the conflict in vs 39-41 “Again, they are minished (old word meaning brought low
in numbers)and brought low by oppression, afliction and sorrow. He pours
contempt upon princes and causes them to wander in the wilderness, where there
is no way. Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families
like a flock. The Lord cast down the high and elevates the low. This is not because
one is a prince and the other a pauper, but is indicative of the attitude of the
various peoples. Remember, it hard is for a rich man to enter the kingdom? Not
impossible, but hard. Why? Because the rich man puts all his faith in his
possessions and station in life. The poor man has nothing to lose, and tends to turn
first to God. It is not always the case. We ought not to find content in poverty, but
we should not take ease in our wealth.
The psalm closes off with: “The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and ALL
iniquity shall stop her mouth.” In essence, we should find the love of God in
everything around us, and we should continually praise His name. Nothing
replaces a life of prayer, praise and adoration in the presence of an holy God. This
is how our entire lives should be lived.

Lord, help us always to remember that wherever we are, You are there.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I missed the date..Should have been the 19th

Sorry,

Jim

 

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Psalm 119:81-104

"My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word." vs 81 We want a "feeling" about our relationship with God, but it fails us at times. Feelings are fickle at the best of times. The come and go, and depend totally on our current state of mind and circumstance. The psalmist reminds us that our salvation is in the word. The word never changes. It is not a fleeting fancy, but an anchor even in a tumultuous sea, and the word always has a calming effect.

"Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?" This verse compliments verse 81. Here we have before us the very word of God. We read it and read it and reread it, but they are just words. What hte psalmist is saying, is that the word is but print on a page. What we need is the Holy Spirit to activate the ingredients. Something like the preacher who forgot his sermon notes one morning. He told the congregation that he had forgotten his notes. He would have to trust the Lord, but he would be better prepared in the evening.

My friends, we cannot be better prepared than trusting in the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us with His word. The Holy Spirit takes the same words, applies them to our needs, and heaven opens and He pours us out a blessing.

Whilst pondering a sermon, I have often scanned the Bible for a text. Nothing seemed to strike my fancy. I laid my books down and did something else. When I returned to the study, those same verses I had early perused, jump out and I wonder why I didn't see it before. The word is like that. Until the Holy Spirit activates the word, we tend to skip over the intent of the writer, and that writer is the Holy Spirit Himself.

83 "For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes." The wine cask or skin was hanged in the smoke of a fire to dry. In the process, it clouded over with smoke. Our lives are like that. We are hung up to dry by our own failings. This is when the word committed to memory comes alive..."I do not forget thy statutes." A very good reason for committing much scripture to memory. My problem is sometimes recalling chapter and verse, but I do remember the words and context. Hence, I can apply the word to my needs for the moment. "I do not forget thy statutes." Further, the psalmist is saying, regardless of how I feel at the moment, or in what circumstances or turmoil I may find myself, I remember the word and it comforts me. The content of the Book overrules the emotion I feel, and guides my soul in the right direction. I am saved whether I feel saved or not because the word says I am saved. What a blessing. I feel for those who have no assurance of their salvation. For those who would be blown by every wind of emotion and left in that sorry state of not knowing. The word remains the same, and I can claim the word as my assurance that I am His and He is mine.

In verse 83 we have one of the shortest prayers in scripture: "Help thou me." When all else fails we do well to remember this prayer, "Help thou me." The Lord is a very present help in time of trouble." "Help thou me." We need to pray this prayer, and pray it often. Our lengthy soliloquies
often echo off the ceiling, if they reach that far, but when we pray, "Help thou me," it never fails because we have requested divine attention to our cry.

Let us seek to know God and His words, so that our hearts will never know desperation in our greatest hour of need.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Psalm 119: 105-128

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path...I am afflicted very much: quicken me, o LORD, according unto thy word."

Anyone who has wandered in the darkness of night whilst camping in the woods will appreciate what a lamp guiding the way means. During the war years, we often had no lamps. We stumbled in the darkness, banged our toes as we walked, and used our hands to feel for everything. It was a horrendous time, and filled with fear. When power was restored one dim light was absolute delight. It restored our faith and brought a measure of peace. So it is with this "lamp unto our feet." It not only guides the way, but assures us there is a way. The Lord promises us this by his word.

When in a time of distress many folks tend to forget their religious duties and their faith. They don't lose it, but forget it. There is panic over every little thing and we see our physical surroundings in a different light. All is doom. The children of Israel were no strangers to this time of distress. They fell into great sin and above all denial of the Lord.

The psalmist assures us that the word of God is a "lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path." The way is clear, and all we need do is continue to trust fully the word.

Mr. Spurgeon says, "Our greatest need in times of trouble is more spiritual life." How true this becomes as we learn to walk in the light. Anyone can be a man of great faith when things are pleasant. It takes a giant in faith to walk in the light of the word regardless of circumstance. Easier said than done, but not impossible for all things with God are possible. What do we do when we walk in fear? We diminish our view of God. It is that simple. We disregard all that we have been taught and we lean on our own frail understandings. We put more faith in a bridge built by the hahnds of man, than we do in the bridges built by the hands of God. Step out in faith; trust and obey, for there is no other way. Yea though I walk in the valley of darkness, Thou art there. Just how much do we really believe the word?

In verse 114 the Psalmist confirms this: "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." In verse 115, the Psalmist urges us to not only keep good company, but to shun bad company. The bad company incites evil in us, and drives off holy living. We tend to compromise to the world of darkness, rather than stand firm in faith.

The thing I keep in mind when reading the Old Testament is that they did not have the presence of the Lord Jesus. They had the promise of Messiah, but not the physical fact of the Christ. Yet they were a people of great faith. So often we ask for signs and miracles, and there is a plethora of preachers who follow this path. We are not to act foolishly, but we must learn to step out in faith believing that this same Jesus will be the "lamp unto our feet." The resurrection gives us added impetus to walk with Him. He conquered all that can overcome us, and we can be overcomers in Him.

In verse 124 we have an interesting thought. "Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes." We beg for the mercy of God because we are at best unworthy servants, but at the same time we do not have license to sin. We are safe in the arms of Jesus, but we have an obligation to obey His holy laws.

"therefore I love thy commandments." vs 127. We ought to love the commandments of God. We ought to love walking in Him. We ought to love the holy life. We have a fear of the Lord, not in the sense that we are afraid of Him, but that we respect Him fully.

Lord, help me always to have a fear, a respect for You, that I am afraid to walk in sin. Cleanse my heart, O LORD and restore in me a right spirit.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Owing to an unexpected snowstorm, the devotional will be late to-day....blowing snow most of the day, with apologies.

The reading is Psalm 42

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul unto thee, O God."

Cheers,

Jim

 

Friday, January 23, 2004

Psalm 42: 1-11

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee. O God.”

On the way from the village one day, I came across a deer heading straight at me.
It was early evening and it seemed in quite a hurry. I wanted it off the road before
another vehicle came along. It turned with my car, leaped a fence and headed off
into the fairground and relative safety.

Not 20 seconds later I realized the imminent danger. Two wolves were chasing
this deer. I swerved my car the other way, forcing the wolves to take the upper
boundary road.

I turned around and headed back toward the village to make sure the wolves had
not crossed the road. Just before entering the village the Salmon River passes
along. Here was the deer, in the shallow of that river, drinking the clear cool
water. What a sight to see, and instantly this psalm comes to mind. The psalmist
knows something about the chased deer, and he likens this experience to the soul
of man; the persecuted soul pants after the Lord. And the poets repeats and
reiterates his longing desire: “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when
shall I come and appear before God?”

The Psalmist sets this as the standard. Nothing short of this desire will suffice.
When we come before God in our daily devotions, Do we thirst after God? This is
not the time to wax eloquent, to theologize, but to actually pine after God. The
writer goes onto elaborate; the living God. This is not some foreign deity, a statue
of stone, but the living God. Our devotions should be that vibrant. Our entire lives
should be that vibrant. We should desire constantly the taste of the living waters of
our God. We might also compare this to our approach to Sunday worship. Do we
attend unto God? Or do we attend unto man?

In this psalm we have the duality of the human soul. On the one hand, it expresses
the fears of the daily life; “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” How often do we
say we trust in God, yet our souls are at unrest? We say that our God is
exceedingly able, and yet we go about our daily tasks as if He didn’t exist. The
writer’s faith reasons with his fears. As Trapp writes: “David chideth David out of
the dumps.” So we should talk out our troubles before God. This might be the best
surgery we could face. We should surgically remove all doubts and fully realize
the presence of the living God in our lives. Walk with God. It is a long walk, but
worthwhile because He is a very present Help in time of trouble.

Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Monday, January 26, 2004

Psalm 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear/ The LORD is is the
strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

David draws upon his vast experience and here declares that the LORD is
everything. Nothing else really matters. We all know that David came through
great trials, failures and victories. Experience can be a great teacher, and we ought
to draw upon our experiences, but everything fades into insignificance when
compared with the Lord. In his experiences he learned that great enemies have
been overcome and hence he has no fear in battle and circumstance. Throughit all,
David recognizes the mighty hand of God. Indeed, why should he fear what
destiny has in store for him?

In our personal lives we can say the same thing. We have crossed the bridges of
fear and found the Lord to be a very present help. Why should we insist on living
in fear of what man may do? And yet, that is what many of us do. We fret and
worry about things; about events that have not happened. We lose a job and we
instantly fear what will happen to us. The Lord has promised to provide. Why do
we not trust Him and step out in faith, believing He is abundantly able?

There are four or five deer that visit our front garden under the apple tree. When
they first came, any sight of us and they would run off, white tails waving
goodbye. After sometime, they came to trust us, that we would not bring harm.
They linger awhile, and even when the dogs howl, they look about and carry on
feeding off the apples on the ground. It is a peaceful sight. And so it is in our lives.
As we learn to trust the Lord all sense of danger passes and we feed in peace.
There is nothing like seeing the child of God in full trust of the Lord. “The LORD
is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?”

We must believe to see, not see to believe. We must learn to walk in His light all
the days of our lives. Our vision must be of that place He has prepared for us and
enjoy the peace that brings.

Lord, help us in our fraility, that we might grow in your strength.

Cheers,

Jim