In The Ark

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. (Genesis 6:14-15 KJV)

I had the privilege of knowing Pastor Jason Pugh as a teen and through his college years. Even though he has moved away to take a church of his own, it remains a pleasure to read his thoughts, including one posted last Thursday:

The structure of the ark is also a type of Christ and salvation in that it was designed to float rather than sail. You see the passengers on the ark had no capabilities of sailing the ark; the ark was in the complete control of God. In like manner the way of salvation is wholly of grace and wholly of God. Man does not sail the ship of salvation. Man’s salvation is not dependent upon him skillfully sailing through the flood waters of judgment by his merited works, but rather he is called to come to the ark, he is sealed in the ark, and he rests in the ark as God shelters him.

The Bible does not mention how people spoke to Noah about his activity. It doesn’t tell us they argued with him, nor does it mention they ignored him. I wish It did, but we’re just told that Noah did as he was commanded, as did his family, and they were saved as the waters rose.

I believe that Pastor Pugh has given a beautiful analogy and it reminds me of several scriptures:

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13 KJV)

I like that John was concerned about our knowledge of eternal life. I like that he wanted us to know what happens when we believe. He repeats the thought often in his books, even in Jesus’ words:

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3 KJV)

That’s Christ, giving thanks to God before He died for us. Then there’s this one that Paul wrote to Timothy – I can’t repeat it, though, without breaking into song once I get to:  “For I know whom …..”:

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV)

My Lord has shown me over and over again that He provides – we do not earn:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

I am persuaded, too:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 KJV)

Fruit?

Ours is a strange language, isn't it? We say "fruit" and we think edible, usually sweet, sometimes acidic. As American as apple pie, orange juice or even bananas (usually in pudding in our house.) However, botany includes many culinary items, such as beans, corn, and grains - such as the grassy graphic above.

The Bible speaks of “corn”, beginning in Genesis:

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: (Genesis 27:28 KJV)

Jesus spoke of “corn”, too:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24 KJV)

I remember a Sunday School student who thought she had discovered a biblical error in such verses. She learned that what we call corn had been discovered in the Americas, not existing in the eastern continents. Corn, however, meant any cereal crop. No biblical error here.

And, an excellent lesson from our Lord about how a “corn of wheat” can “bringeth forth much fruit.” We think of a seed as dying, being buried, before a new plant grows and bears fruit, but the seed doesn’t actually die, it changes. The change isn’t much different from a caterpillar becoming a husk then changing into a butterfly, is it?

That’s what I think of when I read:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 KJV)

Dying to self is a theme in Christianity, just as living a new life:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:3-7 KJV)

Paul understood this, and explained:

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (Romans 6:4-5 KJV)

Get it? Buried, death, resurrection! We should see changes in ourselves, bringing forth new fruit – and here’s the fruit we should see:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)

That’s not a long list, is it? Where do you best see yourself?

What Is That To Thee?

Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. (John 21:20-22 KJV)

Peter had just completed a rather strange conversation with our Lord. Three times Christ had asked Peter “Lovest thou me”, translated from the Greek  ἀγαπάω (agapaō) twice, then φιλέω (phileō), the word used in all three of Peter’s answers. While there’s a message there, today I’m thinking about Peter’s question, and Christ’s answer, as Peter’s attention was drawn to “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

Did you ever feel there was someone loved more than you? A sibling, a friend, someone you could never quite measure up to in another’s eyes? That’s what verse 20 brings to my mind. Peter had just been told about his own death:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. (John 21:18-19 KJV)

There’s no sugar-coating in this description, yet Christ adds, “Follow me.” Peter could have answered with either yes or no. Instead, he points out another, one obviously close to the Lord, and asks, “What about him?”

Don’t we do that, too, as we attempt to judge our activities in the Lord’s work? Don’t we try to measure what we do against what others have done/are doing, hoping it’s enough? Well, it isn’t. There simply isn’t enough we can do to earn what Christ died to give us.

Oh, plenty of others are physically doing more than any one of us. We’ll always come up short when comparing with another, but Christ has the right response then, and perfect for us now:

Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. (John 21:22 KJV)

My concern must be to do God’s will in my life for my life. Not for yours or anyone else’s. That’s true for each one of us. I cannot make a spiritual decision for anyone but myself. Neither can anyone else.

Yes, there are physical activities I can do and prayers for others I can pray, but that does not bring about a change no matter how hard I work at it. Their change comes after seeing God’s gift of life for themselves. Yet, we’re told, “Follow thou me,” as though that could make a difference – and it can for us as it did for Peter when he followed.

That last chapter in John was a beginning for Peter as he testified for Christ as he followed. Pick up the story in Acts, read the letters he wrote to believers. Take time to see how he followed, still learning along the way. Do not worry about the ones who may tarry – or the ones working harder. Our job is to follow, accomplishing God’s will in our own lives.

Her Children Arise Up

I’ve been reading my aunt’s obituary. She passed away October 24, the last of my mother’s eight siblings, her youngest sister. I keep returning to a couple of things:

Joni was born in the state of Oklahoma to John and Lella Harrison. As a young dairy farmer and a school teacher, they had come from Tennessee as Sooners. John and Lella Harrison had a rich heritage of Christian faith. The church was the center of social life as well as spiritual life.

I have a copy of the letter John wrote to the contractor who was to build the sod home he and Lella moved to in the Oklahoma Panhandle. I have a photo of their first son, and Lella’s cousin (Margaret Turner) in front of that home. They eventually moved to Jackson county, Oklahoma, where John’s parents had settled. For both families, the church was the center of their activities.

My youngest daughter has asked about their testimonies – their personal stories of their faith. I have a tape where Lella’s sister-in-law is speaking of Lella’s joining the Friendship Baptist Church after their move. How she was very clear to the congregation that the decision to move her membership from one denomination to another was a personal choice, not determined by her husband but by her reading of the Bible and her understanding of God’s word.

Joni’s daughters wrote of her testimony:

It was through the arrival of her daughters that God broke through Joni’s spiritual complacency. She had asked Christ to be her Savior as a child but as she experienced an overpowering love for her daughters and how she wanted to care for them, she began to understand God’s love for her. It was at this time in her life that she made her commitment to serve Him with her whole heart and life.

I see that overwhelming love as an understanding of God’s love for us, too. It is when salvation ceases to be a personal comfort but a moving need to share God’s love with another. Yes, we can see it first with our children, but it is important to see it in the eyes of the unlovable, too. The person that irritates and frustrates us. God loves them just as much as He loves our adorable children (who will – as they grow up – frustrate us, too.)

I have no idea what God has in mind for you to do in His service. I don’t need to know that for anyone, except for myself. No one can tell me what God has in mind for my service, except our Lord Himself. He has chosen His word to be the light for my path:

NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalms 119:105 KJV)

Christ, the light of this world, allows us to share that light:

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (2 Corinthians 4:2-3 KJV)

Our commitment to His service should be for one, single, purpose:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 KJV)

What better example of a Proverbs 31 woman can there be than to read her children recognize her good works in service to our Lord:

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. (Proverbs 31:28 KJV)

Which One Would You Prefer?

Albrecht Dürer - Head of St Mark

We know Mark’s mother was named Mary:

And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. (Acts 12:12 KJV)

Peter felt comfortable heading for this home after the angel led him out of prison. Saul and Barnabas felt comfortable with Mark, too:

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. (Acts 12:25 KJV)

But that didn’t last long. Too soon John, whose surname was Mark, was the cause of a split between two great missionaries:

And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. (Acts 15:36-41 KJV)

Paul’s disappointment in Mark was not only evident, it is translated as “contention”, enough to separate the two missionaries. Please note that it did not deter either one of them from continuing their ministry. They did not turn their backs on the mission Jesus set forth for all of us to share His teachings. It did, in fact, double the area covered since both Paul and Barnabas took someone with them. Barnabas and Mark sailed for Cyprus; Paul and Silas went through Syria and Cilicia.

I had the pleasure of visiting Cyprus and visiting a church that I was told had been started by Barnabas. Very possible, since Cyprus was his home:

And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, (Acts 4:36 KJV)

He certainly was a consolation to Mark! Which brings me back to the title question – Which one would you prefer? Paul or Barnabas?

Paul had every reason to not include Mark – he had failed them on a previous trip. Mark had not fulfilled Paul’s expectations and Paul was not willing to take another chance with him. Barnabas was willing, and did.

Much later, in Paul’s later letter to Timothy, we discover that Mark proved himself:

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. (2 Timothy 4:9-11 KJV)

The contention was gone. Mark is looked upon as being profitable to Paul for the ministry. Possibly because Barnabas took responsibility for him and mentored him during that contentious time. I appreciate that in a minister, even though I know full well that Paul had good reason not to trust Mark.

Can we be Barnabas to another’s Mark? Is there someone who has failed us so badly that there is contention – in families, between friends – and we could justify leaving them behind? If so, please consider being their Barnabas. I wish I knew how Mark felt, but that’s left untold. He may have been contrite, or he may have been contentious himself. But, after this mission trip, we do know that he was profitable for the ministry, to the very man who left him behind.

Ever Moved A Mountain?

A spoonful of mustard seed isn’t necessary – just one:

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20 KJV)

That came to mind when I read a friend’s post:

Frustration comes in all sizes -- but regardless of the actual size, it always seems like it's as big as a mountain!

When I was a teen I had a necklace – a plain chain with a glass ball that contained one tiny mustard seed. I’m afraid that it didn’t serve as a good reminder that even the smallest faith can bring mountains down to size. And, I have that same problem today.

My Lord not only created mountains, He is fully capable of moving them,  but He never promised He would keep them out of my path. Although many people think, spell and say “straight and narrow”, the actual words are:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14 KJV)

That gate is limited and cramped, and the way could be over hills, twisted around mountains or even through the Valley of Death. No where are we told that we need to make changes to His path:

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. (Psalms 119:35 KJV)

We are told His word will light that path:

NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalms 119:105 KJV)

Isn’t that the real mountain movement? Following His path, where ever it takes us. He has promised to be with us:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)

That wasn’t accepted by just the disciples – all through the New Testament we read of people going, teaching, baptizing then teaching what is to be observed. It didn’t stop there, either, which is why we continue to hear the Bible read in pulpits and preached from street corners today. We have excellent examples from centuries before us.

We do need to be aware of the generations to come. What will they hear from us? Not much, I believe. They need to hear God’s word, not ours. They need to see His word alive as faith in our lives. That is so much more important than what we say we believe.

Lord, help me

If I am to be

The only Bible

Someone will see.

We probably won’t be the only Bible someone will see, but we will be the first when we are parents. We may be the first for others, too. Wouldn’t it be a blessing for everyone if what they see takes them to:

We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 KJV)

Can You Hear The Stones?

I think that’s because we aren’t holding our peace:

Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. (Luke 19:38-40 KJV)

If we did hold our peace, we’d be hearing from the stones, wouldn’t we? There is too much to tell in a short length of time. The Bible doesn’t hold the whole story:

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. (John 21:25 KJV)

What the Bible does tell us is what God inspired:

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:15-16 KJV)

Paul used those very same scriptures – the Torah, the Old Testament, to explain the salvation through faith in Christ. Not the New Testament, which he and the other apostles were in the process of writing.

Not everyone believes this.  From AnswersInGenesis.org:

I didn’t realize the importance of this question until I saw a statistical analysis of young people who had walked away from the church. Out of 1,000 young adults who have left church, 44% of them said that they did not believe the accounts in the Bible were true and accurate. When asked what made them answer this way, the most common response (24%) said that the Bible was written by men (not God, albeit inspiring men).

This article explains how the acceptance of humanistic beliefs affect one’s view as to whether the Bible was inspired by God, or was the journals of more than forty men who just happened to believe in the same Creator, Lord, Judge and inspiration of their prophesies and writings.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12 KJV)

It is against these principalities and powers that continuously seek to deny God that we need to be aware. It is not necessary to take the Bible solely on faith, we only need to have faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. The Bible does not provide salvation, it only introduces us to the concept. Our acceptance – or rejection – of God’s gift is our decision. Just as spending time with the Bible, which tells us:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)

And, where will we hear the word of God? My best choice is a worship service that includes a sermon given from God’s word. Fortunately, there is such a church nearby available for me to attend. Just as unfortunately, there are churches where one will hear sermons containing more humanism that Bible verses.

Listen closely to sermons. Do the preachers speak of the inherent goodness of mankind while striving to be better? Or of God’s provision for eternal life? Thank you, but I believe God did inspire men and they wrote the words we are to study. Share that, before stones cry out.