It's Never Too Late to Keep Asking

Do you ever feel like throwing in the towel and just totally giving up. After all, you've been dealing with the same sins over and over again and finally you start to wonder if change is ever going to occur. John Piper had a great piece on his blog Thursday May 15th, that addressed that very issue. I found it extremely encouraging.


It's Never Too Late to Keep Asking
by John Piper

One of the greatest hope-killers is that you have tried for so long to change and have not succeeded. Now you look back and think: What's the use? Even if I could experience a breakthrough, there would be so little time left to live in my new way it wouldn't make much difference compared to so many decades of failure.
That's not true. Suppose you only had five years left to live with a new victory over some old way. Or suppose you only had a year, or a month, or an hour? Would it matter?
At this point stir the thief on the cross into your thinking. At first he was railing at Jesus (Matthew 27:44). Then he was broken by what he saw and repented and cried out for mercy: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus received this faith-filled cry and promised, "Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).
Then the former robber lived for another hour or so before he died. He was changed. He lived on the cross as a new man with new attitudes and actions (no more reviling). But 99.99% of his life was wasted. Did the last couple hours of newness matter?
They mattered infinitely. This former robber, like all of us, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of his life. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2Corinthians 5:10). How will his life witness in that day to his new birth and his union with Christ?
The last hours will tell the story. This man was new. His faith was real. He is truly united to Christ. Christ's righteousness is his. His sins are forgiven. That is what the final hours will proclaim at the last judgment. His change mattered. It was, and it will be, a beautiful testimony to the power of God's grace and the reality of his faith and his union with Christ.
Now back to our struggle with change. I am not saying that struggling believers are unsaved like the robber was. I am simply saying: the last years and the last hours of life matter.
If in the last 1% of our lives we can get a victory over some longstanding sinful habit or hurtful defect in our personality, it will be a beautiful testimony now to the power of grace; and it will be an added witness (not the only one) at the last judgment of our faith in Christ and our union with him.
Take heart, struggler. Keeping asking, seeking, knocking. Keep looking to Christ. If God gets glory by saving robbers in the 11th hour, he surely has his purposes why he has waited till now to give you the breakthrough you have sought for decades.
Desiring God Blog Posted: 15 May 2008 07:52 AM CDT

Quote from Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Today I read an excerpt from THE DEEPER LIFE by Robert Murray M'Cheyne.

I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer–confession, adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.

There is a fearful tendency to omit confession, proceeding from low views of God and His law, slight views of my heart and the sins of my past life. This must be resisted. There is a constant tendency to omit adoration, when I forget to whom I am speaking, when I rush heedlessly into the presence of Jehovah, without remembering His awful name and character, when I have little eyesight for His glory, and little admiration of His wonders. "What are the wise?" I have the native tendency of the heart to omit giving thanks. And yet it is specially commanded (Phil. 4: 6). Often when the heart is selfish, dead to the salvation of others, I omit intercession. And yet it especially is the spirit of the Great Advocate, who has the name of Israel always on His heart.

Perhaps every prayer need not have all these; but surely a day should not pass without some space being devoted to each.

I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, and then have family prayer, and breakfast, and forenoon callers, often it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ rose before day, and went into a solitary place. David says, "Early will I seek Thee; Thou shalt early hear my voice." Mary Magdalene came to the sepucher while yet it was dark. Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness; and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then, when secret prayer comes, the soul is often out of tune. I feel it is far better to begin with God, to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another. "When I awake I am still with thee." --- by Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843)

While I’m not sure I agree with his statement that it is “unscriptural” to not have your quiet time early before starting your day, I do believe that there is much truth in the rest of what he says. I agree that everyone is different. I think that quiet time with the Lord works best on an individual basis and depends greatly upon whether a person is a morning person or an evening person, and upon a person’s schedule.

However, for my life, there is just something about getting up and giving those first morning hours to God. Getting my life and thoughts right with Him, before you spend time with any one else or tackle any task. If I don’t do that, my entire day seems out of kilter, I’m ill prepared for emergencies, and I have nothing to give in counsel but my own thoughts and opinions. Like he says, “I can do no good to those who come to seek from me.” The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then, when secret prayer comes, the soul is often out of tune. I feel it is far better to begin with God, to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another. Of course, you know what that means --- going to bed early! No late night movies or talk shows. For me it is staying up to work on the computer.

Last night I found another marvelous source of old puritan sermons and writings. Last night it was Robert Murray M’Cheyne and Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones that kept me up. The time before that it was Arthur W. Pink and A. W. Tozer. I can always find a reason to stay up. I guess that’s why the Bible refers to “training” and “disciplining” ourselves, and bringing our body under control. My devotions today are pretty much a loss. I hope I’ve learned something. Staying up late at night is not only is unwise for someone with FMS it’s devastating to my devotional life and that definitely is not negotiable.

True Diamonds

Recently I've been working on a bible study on the topic of "pain and suffering." I've also been reading through some sermons by John Piper and J0hn MacArthur on the same subject. One sermon by John MacArthur has been especially interesting to me, it's called "When Healing Doesn't Come." In this article, MacArthur compares the true children of God to genuine diamonds when he tells about the "water test" that jewelers occasionally use as a means for identifying true diamonds.

An imitation stone is never as brilliant as a genuine stone, but sometimes the difference cannot be determined with the naked eye. So jewelers immerse the stone in water. A genuine diamond continues to sparkle brilliantly while the sparkle of the imitation is virtually extinguished. By way of analogy, the faith of many people underthe water of sorrow or affliction is nothing but an imitation. However, when atrue child of God is immersed in a trial, he will shine as brilliantly as ever.

MacArthur reminds us that, when being tested, the way to shine brightly is by prayer and by leaning on the strength of God rather than your own weakness. When we turn from ourselves and place our faith in the infinite strength of the One who is working all things out for our good and His own holy purpose (Romans 8:28), we will have good results.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Poetry of Martha Snell Nicholson

Last week I did the eulogy at the funeral of a very close friend of mine. While in the composing process, I had an opportunity to raffle through some of the poetry I’ve been collecting down through the years and review several of the poems written by my favorite poet, Martha Snell Nicholson.

Margaret Snell Nicholson is one of my idols. She was a godly Christian woman, who knew what it meant to praise her Lord in the midst of physical and emotional suffering. For more than thirty-five years she endured almost constant pain, increasing weakness and helplessness from four incurable diseases that held her confined to her bed. In spite of her pain and suffering, Mrs. Nicholson did not give in to self-pity or dwell on her suffering, instead, she focused on her Savior. Thus, she grew strong in her faith and radiated beauty and cheerfulness to all who would come near her. She loved people and she loved and lived closely with the LORD. As a result, she wrote some of the most excellent Christian poetry which has ever been written. From seven volumes writing, Her precious verses bless all who reads them. Her words are filled with hope and inspiration and lift the soul, bringing great blessing. Each poem abounds with a beauty, truth, and thanksgiving which greatly exalts and honors the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Below are three of my favorite poems. I hope they mean as much to you as they have to me.

(a "mendicant" is a beggar)

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, "But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me."
He said, "My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

--Martha Snell Nicholson



Treasures

One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.

And I walked earth's highways, grieving.
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
"Lift your empty hands to Me!"

So I held my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
Till they could contain no more.

And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God COULD not pour His riches
Into hands already full!

--Martha Snell Nicholson



Guests

Pain knocked upon my door and said
That she had come to stay;
And though I would not welcome her
But bade her go away,
She entered in. Like my own shade
She followed after me,
And from her stabbing, stinging sword
No moment was I free.
And then one day another knocked
Most gently at my door.
I cried, "No, Pain is living here,
There is no room for more".
And then I heard His tender voice,
" 'Tis I, be not afraid".
And from the day He entered in --
The difference it made!
For though He did not bid her leave,
(My strange, unwelcome guest,)
He taught me how to live with her.
Oh, I had never guessed
That we could dwell so sweetly here,
My Lord and Pain and I,
Within this fragile house of clay
While years slip slowly by!

--Martha Snell Nicholson

Ice Storm: the Beauty and the Tragedy

It might be that you've never experienced an ice storm, at least one that has lasted for several days. Its Sunday and we are currently into our sixth day since all nature (in our area) was coated with the crystalline substance. The storm first began with a rain, which over a time froze on the ground, trees and buildings. Had the rain stopped or had the upper atmosphere become colder, turning the rain to snow, the results would have been less spectacular. Instead, it continued to rain off and on for at least a day and a half until everything was coated with an 1” of ice. I think this is the worst ice storm my husband and I have ever seen and that is because of the heaviness of this super thick layer of ice, but yet there is nothing more beautiful than ice covered fences and trees. The world glistens like glass, it's brilliant, stunning, but the damage it can do and the hardship it can cause is tragic.

We live right in the middle of the area hardest hit by the storm, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Not too far from where we live, a fairly large community claims that 10,000 of its residents are without electricity. Four other smaller communities near us are totally without power.

Since ice storms are not a rare occurrence in the Midwest, many people are trying to ride it out. It's hard to imagine coming home from work to no heat or lights, no stove or microwave, no refrigerator, and no shower or bath unless you like them ice cold. By 5:00 or 5:30 in the mid of December the sun has gone down and night has settled in, so if the children happen to arrive home from school before mom and dad get home from work, it's cold, dark and spooky. A lot of people get through the outage by using kerosene or propane heaters to heat small spaces instead of an entire house. One family we know uses a propane space heater to heat their kitchen. They hang blankets over the doors to hold the warm air in. They have brought a portable TV from one of the bedrooms to the kitchen where the entire family sits around the table cozying up old time family style. In earlier times the kitchen was the central hub of the family, even more so than today. Often times the only room that was heated was the kitchen because they had to keep the cook stove going and so family, friends and neighbors alike gathered round the kitchen table for conversation and family fun.
Even today land line telephones require electricity for switching and various other things so without electricity often entire areas are without phone service unless you have a cell phone, but without electricity where are you supposed to recharge it? Generator sales have hit an all-time high since the Y2K scare and plugs, outlets and other fittings for wiring and hooking up are in short supply. Stores sell out as soon as their trucks unload and their shelves are stocked. I saw on television a few days ago that over a million people are without power from Oklahoma to Wisconsin. We've been told that in our area, all electricity should be restored by December 22nd. That's still over a week wait. Electric crews have come in from Arkansas, Colorado and other states to help with the overwhelming task of restoring power. The news announced last night that while several of these out of town crews slept in a motel after a hard days work, an organized group of "lowlifes" robbed them of their tools and copper line. Can you imagine! We also hear reports that municipal and utility companies uses generators to power some of their equipment, since the power outage effects them too. Thieves have walked off with their generators if they weren't chained down.

Still, there is a brighter side, we've heard of entire neighborhoods where power is shared. Some people have power, while others don't and so heavy electric cords run from house to house so everyone can benefit. People helping people, shoveling snow, cutting up and moving tree limbs that block entrances and driveways, caring, cooperation and looking out for your fellow man.
We are among the fortunate few because we live on a farm and many farmers, especially those with livestock have generators. Because the livestock has to be watered and fed and we benefit too. We have had heat, light and all the modern conveniences that electricity brings all provided by a tractor driven generator. Of course, that means double fuel, we pay the price of the propane the house as well as the diesel to run the tractor. The generator is large enough to run everything on our farm as well as everything in my husband's parent's house which sets adjacent to our farm. It's close enough a power cord can run from one of the farm buildings to their house. They are elderly and would not be able to stay in there home if there were no heat or electricity.

Living in the country has it's benefits but it has it's disadvantages. Being without electricity usually means you're also without water as water well pumps can't operate without power. It also means lots of extra work. Domestic animals can't take care of themselves in a storm, they need plenty of feed and water that isn't frozen and their young need a warm and dry place protected from the wind and elements. City people will usually have their power restored before rural people. One power line in the city might service several blocks of houses or businesses while one line in the country may only service a handful of families. What that means is, people who live in rural areas will most likely have to wait longer before their electricity is restored.

Whether you are getting by with the help of friends, neighbors or family, a generator, space heater or just waiting it out in the cold, storm times are good times to reflect on the mercy and goodness of God and to consider the many things there are to be thankful for. Today was such a day. We weren't able to go to church, something that seldom occurs at our house. On Sunday morning, going to church is a given, something everyone does, but this morning was different, we had problems with the water. We had turned off the generator during the night to conserve on fuel and the pressure tank or water line to one of the buildings froze. If that wasn't enough, because it was so cold, the tractor didn't want to start (it finally did), and the pressure tank for the water in the house was losing it's pressure and making the water pump cycle over and over again. That's not something you want to happen because it could burn the pump out. My husband has been doing the chores, which I am grateful for, as I'm just getting over a bout with a sinus infection and bronchitis, but this morning he got an extra work out. He has to check on his parents every morning to make sure everything is working fine at their house and then he takes care of the animals and checks all the machinery. There are lots of buildings and equipment to check as well as close to 100 animals to look after. While he is choring, often a neighbor will call or come by, needing help. This morning chores took and extra length of time. My husband operates the road grader for the township which means that he has to keep the roads graded and cleared of snow, so that was something else he had on his “to do” list today. With school being out last week for several days because of the ice storm the administration was not going to let the weekend snowfall postpone school any longer, so roads must be clear and passable for the buses to travel bright and early Monday morning. By noon today he was gone and I was alone, alas, a quiet opportunity to reflect on God and His goodness. More on my reflection next time.

The Gap Explained

Much has happened since my last post, my computer has been down twice and is still down (I'm on our other computer which does not have MS Word to do my spell and grammer check), Thanksgiving came and went, I was ill for two weeks, and a tragic suicide occured in the family. I apologize for not writing, but, for the most part, it was definitly not one of the top ten on my priority list. There still is much on my mind but little I am ready to talk about.

Yesterday, in church, the sermon was thought provoking. We have been going through the book of Genesis. Currently we are near the book's end, and have reached the part of Joseph's life where he is reunited with his brother's after being separated from them in Egypt for 22 years. Our pastor, Dr. Rick Goertzen, continued his morning message in his evening sermon. It was one of those messages you don't want to miss, you don't want to end and you can't wait to get back to. In the morning the point of his focus was "why bad things happened to a good Joseph" and in the evening the heart of the message was forgiveness. Here, in this blog, I have neither the time nor the space to go into everything that he said, but concept of forgiveness keeps popping up in my mind so I've chosen to write about that. Let me give you a little background.

Two years ago, I took a class on how to teach, ("Blueprint for Teaching," by John MacArthur and staff at Grace Community Church) offered by one of the pastors of our church.
At the end of the course, our assignment was to choose a passage from preselected passages and teach a ten minute lesson on that passage. Silly me, my memory is so faulty, I have to write everything down or I forget it. I looked through the passages and chose several passages I thought I would like to teach and listed them on a piece of paper. I listed more than one just in case some of the other students chose the same passage, thinking it would be rather boring to listen to all 12 students teach on the same passage. I had also written down the one passage I absolutely didn't want to do, Matthew 18:21-31, marking beside it in big, bold letters "DON'T TEACH. This passage is often called the parable of the wicked servant and I knew it would be difficult, as it is a parable and I hadn't dealt with parables much in my own personal studies. The day we were to officially announce our passages, I forgot to bring my paper with my chosen passages, so I tried to select one from memory. As it turned out, which one do you suppose I picked? You guessed it, the one I didn't want to do. I was totally dumfounded when I got home and looked at my list. The next two weeks, As I worked though the verses of Matthew 18:21-35, I realized why the paper had been left at home, the passage choice was not mine, but God's. God had much he wanted to say to me about forgiveness and he chose this passage to begin my training. I had thought I understood all I needed to know about forgiveness, but I soon became aware that there was much that I needed to learn. So I began, what now seems, to be my life-time study of forgiveness.

As I said, that was two years ago. Yesterday's message acted as an evaluator, a check on how I was doing. From the Genesis 45 passage, Dr. Goertzen, our senior pastor, made three points about forgiveness:

1. Forgiveness extends full favor


2. Forgiveness withholds no emotion


3. Forgiveness begets forgiveness

Just so we are clear, since I cannot remember his exact words, what follows below is not an exact quote, it's only a paraphrase that I've constructed of what I remember he said. If you're interested in an exact representation, in time, this sermon will appear on the Grace Bible church's website either on the radio broadcast or in the sermons.

http:/www.gbc-hutchinson.com

Forgiveness extends full favor

Forgiveness shows no limits whatsoever on any earthly goods. This is take from verse 9 of Genesis 45. Joseph has fully forgiven them. He intends to put them in the land of Goshen which is in the northeast of the land of Egypt, near him. He pledges complete care and safety, and he promises to sustain them for five years. He is making every provision for they safety and their care. He withholds nothing.

Forgiveness withholds no emotion

When the forgiver does not withhold his love and his kindness toward the person he is forgiving, it eases the relationship and a there can then be a full and free exchange of emotion with no barriers whatsoever. In verses 9-15, Joseph is in no way pretending to forgive, keeping up airs, so that his brothers will think that he has forgiven them. He has truly forgiven them. He holds no ill will toward them. He has used the last 22 years to draw close to God. Drawing closer to God is what allowed Joseph to forgive his brothers. If you can't draw close to God, you can't forgive. If you can't forgive, you can't draw close to God. During those 22 years, God was sufficiently enriching his soul. Only a sufficiently enriched soul can forgive. Love melts the heart and Joseph's love of God melted his heart toward his brothers. In order to forgive, we must love God first. If we've chosen bitterness over forgiveness, we are withholding from God. God forgave us when we were his enemies. How dare we not forgive someone else. We must forgive them as God forgave us. We must love them as God loved us.

Forgiveness begets forgiveness

In the story, Pharoah takes his cue from Joseph and extends favor to his brothers as a direct result of his affection for Joseph and as a result of Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers. When others see you forgive, they will forgive as well. Ephesians 1:3 says we "have received every spiritual blessing." God has withheld nothing spiritually, we have every spiritual blessing there is. God has shown favor to us, not because we have a natural claim, we were his enemies but because we are in his Son. We don't have a claim on a portion of his blessing, we have a claim on every spiritual blessing.

Forgiveness has to begin with our release. We have to be willing to forgive and willing to release our bitterness towards the other person. We also have to trust God. We have to see him as the primary source of everything that happens in our life, even the hurt or pain inflicted by the person we have chosen not to forgive. We have to trust that it was God who has allowed it in our life for good (Rom. 8:28) to conform us to the image of Christ. As we relinquish our anger and bitterness toward those who have wronged us, we must trust that God, who loves us and allowed these circumstances in our life, will continue to work his good purpose in us until we are raised in glory.

I can't begin to relay the impact with which he deliverd this message. It was spell-binding. However poorly I conveyed it to you, I hope you gain something from it. Along side of that, I want to say, I am convinced forgiveness is a major requirement of the Christian faith. We could not be saved without God's forgiveness. It is one of his attributes and a closely connected to his love. We cannot love without forgiving. We are commanded both to love and forgive. We cannot exemplify Christ without forgiving and it is Christ's example we are to follow. Unforgiveness permeates every part of our natural self. It's closely related to selfishness and pride. It's a deceptive and an ugly foe we must fight to overcome every single day that we live on this earth.