The Carpenter's Chapel

Monday, 29th March, 2004

It’s good to be back doing the devotional thought for today. I want to take a little break from the Pilgrim’s Progress devotion to look at a few thoughts from Psalm 37.

Psalm 37v1-5
(1) Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
(2) For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
(3) Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
(4) Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
(5) Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.


What do you do when it seems like that all you do for the Lord is for nothing and all that the wicked do seems to prosper? Do you ever feel like saying, “It’s just not fair Lord!”? God knows that we are not beyond those kind of feelings. Habakkuk felt that way, so did Job, and so did David.

Here God gives the solution to those feelings. First if all we are to address our feelings towards those who seem to prosper. Don’t allow your anger towards the wicked to simmer, don’t envy them. There fate is determined. The will be cut down like grass and the they will wither away like a dead plant. In other words. Get your eyes off of them. What they have is fleeting and temporal.

In verses 3-5 we are given several clear instructions:

Trust in the Lord
Do good
Delight yourself in the Lord
Commit your way to the Lord

In this list of four instructions only one is something that we are told to “do”, and that is simply to “do good.” The others deal with our commitment to the Lord.

Trust in the Lord – trusting God is the basis for all else. We must first of all be willing to trust that what God does is always right. If I truly trust God I will not question what comes into my life for I will trust that He knows best.

Delight yourself in the Lord – take sheer delight in fellowship with Him. When we do this our delight comes not from comparing ourselves with others, but from resting in His refuge.

Commit your way to the Lord – literally rolling it all on Him.

Don’t we desire that our children do these same things? We ask them to trust us, want them to delight in our company, and tell them, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Isn’t God more loving than we could hope to be?

If we do this there are some promises:
You will dwell in the land
You shall be fed
God will give you the right desires
His way will come to pass

O, that we could learn to trust in Him completely, to delight ourselves in His way, and commit it all to Him! “Casting all you cares on Him, for
He cares for you” we are told in 1 Peter 5v7.

How do we handle it when it seems like we just can’t handle any more? Trust God! He loves us and He always knows what is best for us!

 

Thank you, Roger. Good to have you back.

Yes, going with God is far better than going the other way.

Cheers,

Jim

 

God just asks us to be faithful in doing the good - we must trust Him for the results!

 

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Acts 20: 1-16

"And after the uproar had ceased...."

It is to be noted here that Paul was not a coward. He did not desert those most needful when the going got tough. He remained throughout the troubles and saw them through it all. I think so often, we get into hard water and we want to abandon the ship. Sometimes it is the better part of wisdom to depart. Other times, we do a disservice to the Lord in giving in when we should be giving up God's truth...giving up in the sense of telling forth the sure word. The apostle Paul sets this example.

"paul called unto him the disciples." This is the time for assembly. The world may retreat, but the Christian keeps on going on. We are to be faithful to the Lord even when times are tough. This is the opportune time to assemble the brethren.

"and embraced them." Paul again sets the example on how we are to treat the brethren. Love ought always to prevail. We should consider others above ourselves. I am but an insignificant member of the whole, and my life is but a drop in the bucket compared to the church body. We are not to become a mere sounding cymbal and tinkling brass, but a harmony of God's nonending love. In this context, I often think of the missionaries who give up the modernity of society and minister in the wilds of the world. They give up the niceties, because the need to make Christ known far exceeds creature comforts. We know little of the deprivation of serving abroad, the little things like Christmas with family. The loneliness in a crowd. The inability to make a simple phone call to talk with family and friends. We accept the social comforts of society in fleeting fancy. It is not so for those who serve abroad. Paul embraced them, and so ought we to do always. Never let a missionary leave the church that we don't remind them that we love them in the Lord Jesus.

I am reminded of the preciousness of Christian love as I prepare for a funeral for the most popular chap in our community. Popular in life as he is in death, but the sad lack of godly knowledge. I will look over a lost multitude and there is nothing I can do, but elevate Jesus and show that God loves us so much that Jesus died for us.

May we ever look toward the cross, the sign of love, and beyond the tomb to the risen King, and find in Him satisfaction of faith.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Christ is the only provision of lasting happiness and peace!

 

Amen Jim, thank you!

 

31st March 2004

Psalm 37v23-24

(23) The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
(24) Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.


The verses for today are of great comfort, especially during those challenging, trying times.

The steps of a good man are ordering, directed, fashioned, and directed by the Lord. What comfort we can take when those steps get a little bit, or even a great deal rough. Since God orders those steps He know right where we are. When we are teaching and training our children they do not always understand what we are doing or where we are leading, especially when things do not go their way. Yet, we ask them to trust us. God does the same for us. Remember God loves His children. He knows what is best and directs our steps thusly.

Not only are our steps directed by the Lord, but He delights in our way. Spurgeon says this in the Treasury of David – “As parents are pleased with the tottering footsteps of their babes. All that concerns a saint is interesting to his heavenly Father. God loves to view the holy strivings of a soul pressing forward to the skies. In the trials and the joys of the faithful, Jesus has fellowship with them, and delights to be their sympathising companion.” In verse four we were told to delight in the Lord, here we see that He delights in our way.

Notice the next verse – “though he fall.” Falling is commonplace. “When he falls” may be a better sense of the verse. The godly life will not be one of constant mountaintop. There will be fallings, so can take comfort that we are not the only one to fall.

Yet, he will not be utterly cast down. Falling is not permanent. Why? The answer should cause each of us to respond in praise – “For the LORD upholds him with His hand.” A young toddler learning to walk falls over and over again. No loving parent would shout “Stay down, you are no good anyway!” No, the parent reaches down, takes the child by the hands and puts him back on His feet. “Try it again, you’ve almost got it!” the parent says. O, what joy to know that when I fall, my dear, heavenly, Abba Father reaches out His hand and says “Get up Roger, you’ve almost got it!

Praise God for His upholding hand!!

 

Great analogy - Roger.

To often we Christians (unlike Christ) devour those who have fallen - instead of helping them back to their feet!

 

It is rather frightening that God is interested in our baby steps and our giant leaps. So often our baby steps are our learning experiences and our giant leaps are our short-comings. Would to God they were reversed.

Cheers, and thank you,

Jim

 

Thursday, April 1, 2004
Deut 9:7

“Remember and forget not.”

Do you remember your first sweetheart? Do you remember your first kiss? What a
wonderful memory. I have two older sisters and for most of my youth I thought girls
were meant to be someone’s sister. Certainly they weren’t meant to be kissed. They
have been a great source of memories. Life is like that. It is filled with memories;
some lasting and some fleeting, then some we would rather forget. In the mind of
God, our lives are but a wink. In the scriptures we are told that at best we are
offered three score years and ten and if by reason of strength, ten more. In light of
eternity, 70 years is indeed a wink.

As a people we wabt to be remembered. And, we want to remember. We all have
our own reasons. But to be sure, we want to be remembered. The dying thief on the
cross next to Jesus said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” If he
truly believed that Jesus had the power to afford him a place in heaven, then surely
he could have asked Jesus to save him from death. He wanted to be remembered.
All his life he had been a bloke of ill repute, a thief, a robber, a blight on society. At
the time of his death, he wanted to be remembered.

The word “remember” is used some 200 times in the Bible:

“Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.”

“Remember and forget not.”

“Remember the days of old.”

“Remember me.” (Samson after he had been blinded by the Philistines...remember
me, and then strength...

To-day, we are here to remember Kevin, who surrendered life far too early in his
earthly journey. He will be remembered by all. You see here his lovely wife and
children, his parents and other family members. They will remember. To mourn
with them, almost the whole town has come to remember Kevin.

Kevin was one of those men you want to remember. An honourable man who kept
his word and did what he proposed. He loved his wife and family. He went out of
his way to serve his community and his customers. Not to trouble, we will
remember and forget not, this one who walked among us and gave so much of
himself. His life is taken from us in death, but his life is ever before us in our
memories.

When Jesus died on the cross, he was even younger than Kevin, at only 33 years.
That life was given with purpose. Without the shedding of blood there is no
redemption. We don’t always know the purpose of death so early on, but we do
know the purpose for the death of Jesus. It was to provide salvation for all who
believe. In this respect, we are to remember and forget not. Never give up; never
slack off. Draw night to God, and He will draw night to you. He will be your peace
in the mosr frightful storm of life, and He will calm the troubled sea. Remember,
and forget not....Remember God, and forget not.

Let us pray.

(This was a portion of the funeral message to-day.)

Cheers,

Jim

 

Amen.

Thank you Jim.


God Bless

Sheila

 

Jim,

Thank you for sharing that portion of the funeral message with us.

May God use that message - may the hearers "remember" what was said - and find their way to one such as you - who can show them the only way to eternal life.

Dan

 

Friday, 2nd April, 2004

We return today to a segment from Pilgrim’s Progress which actually ties into Psalm 37 which we have looked at the last couple of days.

(Psalm 37v9) For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

(Psalm 37v34) Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

The concept of waiting in the Lord is one which runs through scripture. In Pilgrim’s Progress we see Christian after he has passed though the wicket gate and is being instructed by Interpreter. They enter a room where there are two children:

Start quote
The name of the eldest was PASSION, and the name of the other PATIENCE. PASSION seemed to be much discontented; but PATIENCE was very quiet…

Then I saw that one came to PASSION and brought him a bag of treasure, and poured it down at his feet: the which he took up and rejoiced therein, and withal laughed PATIENCE to scorn. But I beheld but awhile, and he had lavished all away, and had nothing left him but rags.

Chr. Then said CHRISTIAN to the INTERPRETER, "Expound this matter more fully to me."

Inter. So he said, "These two lads are figures: PASSION, of the men of this world; and PATIENCE, of the men of that which is to come. For as here thou seest PASSION will have all now this year, that is to say, in this world; so are the men of this world: they must have all their good things now; they cannot stay till next year, that is, until the next world, for their portion of good. That proverb, 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, 'is of more authority with them than are all the divine testimonies of the good of the world to come. But as thou sawest that he had quickly lavished all away, and had presently left him nothing but rags--so will it be with all such men at the end of this world."

Chr. Then said CHRISTIAN, "Now I see that PATIENCE has the best wisdom, and that upon many accounts: 1. because he stays for the best things; 2. and also because he will have the glory of his, when the other hath nothing but rags."

Inter. Nay, you may add another, to wit, the glory of the next world will never wear out; but these are suddenly gone. Therefore PASSION had not so much reason to laugh at PATIENCE, because he had his good things first, as PATIENCE will have to laugh at PASSION, because he had his best things last; for first must give place to last, because last must have his time to come: but last gives place to nothing, for there is not another to succeed. He, therefore, that hath his portion first must have a time to spend it: but he that has his portion last must have it lastingly. Therefore it is said of Dives, "In thy lifetime thou received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented" (Luke 16v25).

Chr. Then I perceive 'tis not best to covet things that are now, but wait for things to come.

Inter. You say truth: "For the things that are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4v18). But, though this be so, yet since things present and our fleshly appetite are such near neighbours one to another; and again, because things to come and carnal sense are such strangers one to another: therefore it is that the first of these so suddenly fall into amity, and that distance is so continually between the second.
End quote

Waiting on the Lord is a lesson which Patience had learned, but Passion had ignored. There is a key to waiting on the Lord. It is found above in 2 Corinthians 4v18 – “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Waiting on God means taking our eyes off of the here and now. It means looking to the future. Psalm 37 is all about living in the midst of a wicked people. Patience involves the intertwined acts of resting, trusting, committing, and waiting.

As you face today are you more like Passion, waiting to live for the day? Or are you like Patience, resting in the loving arms of your Heavenly Father?

 

Thank you Roger - certainly a lesson we all need to learn!

 

Monday, April 5, 2004

Acts 20: 17-38

The Apostle Paul decided to miss visiting Ephesus on his journey to Jerusalem. The best plans, however, of man and beast is thwarted by the plans of God. "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church." Certain events happened around Paul and Ephesus was only about 14 miles off.

What follows is Paul's farewell speech to the Ephesians. Ever thought you would know what to say if you knew your death was at hand? I have departed from a few churches in my lifetime, and as I thought over what I said, the prevailing thoughts were that of missing the brethren. We would miss them, but we are moving on. Rather odd isn't it? We generally attribute our departure to the call of God in new directions. Did our former call suddenly end? Few men remain at the same church forever. In the past, ministers moved, on average, every four or five years. I think it has to do with our sense of freshness. We have reached the end of being fresh in our presentation. Familiarity. We become too familiar with certain people and we have reached the end of our abilities to teach. You know the old saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." We can also become comfortable in a long pastorate. I think a parish deserves a fresh pastor, and a pastor deserves a fresh people.

Just last week, my wife was told about friends of some 40 years, had sent their greetings. No, they were not members of former parishes. Just neighbours where we lived. This chap had moved from Nova Scotia to a village just ten miles from us here and he was also a friend of these folks. I must say, it was a surprise that they remembered us, and more surprising that they would send along their greetings.

The Ephesians were always in Paul's mind and memory, as was Paul in theirs. Isn't this the way it should be in the Christian family? Shouldn't we remember the brethren with kind thoughts all the time? It is a warm thought, but doesn't always relate to reality. There are some we would just as soon forget, and I am sure the feelings are mutual."See how they love one another." That is the signal that God wants us to display. In this passage, Paul expresses that love relationship and the Ephesians respond accordingly.

Paul reminds the elders of what he demonstrated. Going house to house, preaching the word to all people and ministering grace and love to all. Paul goes on to admonish the elders to continue this ministry. None of us are indispensable, and there ought to be those disciples who will carry on the work.

Paul says, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to FEED the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, no sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Verses 28-30

The flock must move from the pablum of the gospel into the hard food of the word, grow and develop into mature men and women of Christ.

Paul goes on to admonish the elders of Ephesus, "Therefore WATCH and REMEMBER." Watch for those thieves that will steal from the flock. They will take the immature; the pablum feeders, the Christian who never seem to grow beyond a certain level. He also tells them to remember, not only the word that was taught, but the fact that Paul taught them day and night with tears or compassion. There is but one way to preach and that is with compassion. I have little use for preachers who preach with limp hands and weak minds. I am not saying to pound the pulpit and shout, but pound the lecturn if you must and shout when it fits. Show compassion always, and for all humankind.

Lord, teach us to have compassion about all we do and say, that we may be remembered as having compassion for Jesus, and compassion for the people.

If I want to be remembered for anthing, it is that "he cared".

Cheers,

Jim

 

Tuesday, 6th April, 2004

With the week that is in it I thought it appropriate that we turn to Christian’s encounter with the cross. Interpreter has given Christian instructions on the Christian battle, backsliding, and judgment. He then sends him out the door.

We see here the joy of Christian’s salvation. Before he had adopted Christian as a name, but here it becomes his nature. He receives three gifts: 1)Forgiveness of sins, 2) The filth of the world is shed for a change of raiment, and 3) The seal of the Holy Spirit for salvation.

For those who are truly saved this is gives pause to reflect on what was given to us at salvation. If we are not careful we can become “used to salvation” and forget what had been done for us.

Are there reader who are in the position of Christian before the cross. The burden of sin that you can only be lifted by accepting the free gift of salvation offered by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

 

Wednesday, April 7, 2004

Acts 21: 13

“Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart?”

Paul is resolute that the Lord is leading him to Jerusalem. The local believers have
an idea what is in store for Paul. Impending imprisonment and even his very life is
at stake. The believers weep and try to dissuade Paul from going. “What mean ye to
weep....” or “What do you achieve by weeping and by discouraging me? (Berkley)

When the servant of the Lord is totally convinced that God is leading him down a
certain path, he is not put aside by human demonstrations. I want to consider the
calling to ministry. One only enters upon ministry because he can do nothing else.
By this I do not mean he is not qualified to do other things. Many of us in ministry
have been fully trained and experienced success in other fields. The call to ministry
so overwhelms personal accomplishments that we can do nothing else but preach
the word. There are temptations at times to abandon ministry for the joys in that
other field. It is the overwhelming desire to serve the Lord than keeps us stonefaced
in our resolve to minister.

This should be the resolve of every Christian. We work in secular society to finance
the ministry. Far too many make social gain the end all of their lives in society and
the church is a secondary function. If we had a people who were totally given to the
Lord and to the work, we could not handle the success we would experience.

Paul will have nothing of this...”and to break mine heart” Try as they may, they
cannot turn Paul’s heart away from his mission. The believers finall give up...”And
when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.”

Oh that we would fall prostrate before the will of the Lord. Is this not what is meant
in the model prayer of the gospels, “Not my will, but Thine be done”. Even the Lord
Jesus Himself bent to the will of the Father. So we ought to bend and surrender our
lives to the will of the Father.

When we fully believe that our pastor is called of God, and Spirit-filled, and we
follow his leadership, then will we hear from heaven and He will pour us out a
blessing. And let every pastor be convinced that he is in the centre of God’s will and
lead the people in that path of righteousness.

Lord, help us always to be in the centre of your will, and determined to do that
which is right in your eyes.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Thursday, 8th April, 2004

Here we read Christian’s great song of salvation. O what joy to read these words this week when we commemorate the week of our Saviour’s great sacrifice.

As Christian sang in praise “Bless the cross, bless the grave, but even more bless the Man Who was put to shame for me.” How can we look at the cross and forget that He died on our place? I should have hung on that Old Rugged Cross! Instead “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way nailing it to the cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them!” (Colossians 2v14-15)

My favourite verse of my favourite hymn is a stanza from “It is Well With my Soul.”
“My sin, o the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin – not in part – but the whole. Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul.” Notice the songwriter did not use the phrase “My sins, o the bliss.” No, he biblically chose “MY SIN” not in part but the whole!

Praise God this Holy Thursday for His most precious gift of taking my sins to the cross with Him. Indeed, “Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!”

 

Jim,

I've often heard people say that God hadn't called them into the ministry - so they felt free to chose their own occupation. My belief is that we should yield to the leading of God (be called) to any occupation we may aspire to.

Jim & Roger - great devotionals - all week!

 

Indeed, Dan, a person can be called of God to be an engineer, architect or store clerk. The point is to be in the centre of God's will whatever that may be for that person.

Cheers,

Jim