How was your 2008 Christmas experience? I trust that it was all you desired it to be, and more. Many of us, perhaps, have very high expectations for the Christmas season. That is more true of the young than the “experienced” among us; but, most of us are hopeful for a memorable Christmas Day. The traditional aspects of this time of the year tell us that it is magical, a time for the fulfilling of dreams and hopes. Parents often work hard, even sacrificially, to make everything just right for their kids. Each item on each child’s Christmas list is secured, if possible. Everything must be perfect for at least one day of the year. And, frequently, Providence mercifully complies in large measure with our hopes. Many of us have wonderful memories of Christmases past. If that is true, we should be most grateful; because our hopes and expectations are usually unrealistic. Thank God, that He has given us Christmas days when all the family was present and when there was an abundance of food and gifts. Thank God for the good gifts of soothing music and beautiful decorations. These are displays of His goodness which should not be taken for granted. A warm, mellow, and beautiful season should not be despised in our rather impersonal and unfeeling world.
Yet, the expectations we have attached to the Christmas season have a very unintended effect. Any and every disappointment is more painful during this season. What is more miserable than being unhappy on the one day of the year which is supposed to be the best day of the year? What is worse than being sad when everyone else is happy, or so we think? Christmas is on this account a most bitter time for some. They wish for it to come and go very quickly. Their family is not with them or if they are present they are far from cheerful. There is little food or no one with whom to share what is available. The gifts are non-existent. Instead of joy and gladness there is pain and sadness. Sadness which is all the more poignant because it is Christmas. The season that is supposed to be warm and tender proves to be cold and hard, the worst of seasons. When the blessed among us are surrounded by laughter and mirth, we would do well to remember that some whom we love are more downcast than ususal and that is in some respects due to our happiness. Perhaps we should try to figure ways for easing their sadness, at least on Christmas day.
No doubt all of us would be better for thinking more deeply and honestly about the night on which Christ was born. That is the reason for the season, right? We have brought our feelings of the magical to that night and to Mary and Joseph. But, it was probably not so magical for them, until the shepherds came. How many of us would wish to be consigned to a stable for the night? How many women would aspire to birthing their first child in such a stable with none but an inexperienced husband to assist? How many men would want to be the attending physician to our wife’s first birth, and that in a cold strange stable? How many new parents would wish to have a manger for their first born’s first bassinet? The warm and fuzzies were probably not abundant on that wonderful night. That is until the shepherds came reporting the message from the angel: there is born to you this night a savior, Christ the Lord. That must have eased Mary’s discomfort. No doubt it brought back the remembrance of the original announcement of Mary’s miraculous conception and the wonderful identity of her first born son. He is Jesus, the Savior of His people from their sins.
Regardless of our Christmas day experience, this is the best news possible. We would do well to make this our preeminent focus. It is all that really matters and lasts and brings no disappointment. Jesus saves! He forgives. He redeems. He gives life in the place of death. He will never leave us. He will never fail in His loving care of us. He is coming again.
If Christmas day was just right for you, it has long passed and the reality of the temporalness of all its family blessings has sunk in. If Christmas day simply served to accentuate your misery, that too has passed. But, if you love Christ, the reality of His coming and all that He did for you in that coming is no less real and precious now than when you first believed. There is nothing disappointing about Christ. Nothing! We would be wise to make that our focus every Christmas day and every other day of our lives. And, whatever else we might attempt to do for those who are very sad and forelorn, the best we can do is to attempt to give them Jesus.
I have been caused recently to think more closely regarding the number of people we have in our church family who are sacrificially engaged in various ministries. We are talking about hours every month, perhaps even every week, devoted to serving Christ by serving His brethren or by seeking to evangelize those who are not yet known to be His people. These dear folk could be doing the very same things that some of us do instead of serving. They could be resting and taking in innocent entertainment. They could be enjoying the company of their families. They could be taking care of various chores. Most of these precious people have the same demands and needs as others. But, they choose to spend valuable time and energy contributing to ministries–ministries which could not happen without the sacrifice and effort of someone.
One of the admirable facts involved in this kind of service is that many of these brethren labor without any acknowledgment. I do not know everyone who is engaged in various ministries. And, that is exactly the way these servants want it to be. They serve for Christ’s honor and for the good of souls, not for recognition.
Praise God for you–and you know who you are. GRBC would not be able to function without your labors. We are privileged to reach out to many within our community, showing them the love of Christ. Showing the love of Christ requires loving Christ more than we love ourselves. Numerous brethren evidence such love.
Please note that I “praise God” for you and for your service. That is not a mere cliche. While there is a mysterious relationship between the sovereign operations of grace and the exercise of human initiative, the fact is that all good works originate with God’s grace in Christ. You who serve are denying yourselves. You are choosing to serve Christ and others rather than yourselves. At the same time, it is the Spirit of Christ Who enables such choices. So, all praise be to Jesus. Yet, honor is due to you who serve for using the grace you have received.
Thank you. May God bless and strengthen you to persevere in service. Your labors are exceedingly valuable.
December 18th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
Paul’s warning against “philosophy” and “empty deceit” should force Christians to think seriously regarding all that we have accepted as truth. It should also prompt us to analyze our own statements of proported truth. What makes something true?
Foundational to the correct answer of that question is the conviction that truth, all truth, originates with God. God is truth. Truth is from God and from all that God has decreed. The speed of light is 299, 792, 458 meters per second. At least, that is what I am told. Assuming that is accurate, why is that so? It is so simply because that is what God determined and built into the creation of the world. It did not simply work out that way accidentally. This is one part of God’s perfect creation.
What if it is true that a person is proud in their heart, is that also God’s work? It is not God’s fault. However, God in His Providence has permitted that person’s sin to express itself in this way. God’s control extends even to the various expressions of sin in His world. The fault for the pride belongs to the sinner; however, that particular expression of sin in that person is a complex, mysterious outworking of Divine Providence. Thus, Judas the ’son of perdition’ was so controlled by God that his personal sin was caused to express itself in ways that contributed to God’s plan for the redemption of the world. God did not in any sense make Judas a sinner. The sin and treachery were entirely the outworking of Judas’s evil heart. However, God so controlled the voluntary outworking of his heart as to bring to pass His holy will.
We could multiply the examples over and over. The point is that what is true (what is reality) is so because God either created it or ordained it. Truth is of God. Truth belongs to God.
How does man know truth? We may know truth either by the humble, Holy Spirit enabled study of what God has revealed or by the humble Spirit aided study of what God has done in Providence. In either case, disciplined effort and testing are required. The study of Scripture involves a close examination of statements (even words) within their immediate context (both in the Bible and in history) compared with the over-all witness of Scripture. The study of Providence demands the scrutiny of facts as they are accessible to us. For example, God has enabled fallen men by common grace to design and build automobiles. There is one automobile that is the best, perhaps. If that is to be known, extensive testing must be conducted on all the automobiles that are in existance or representives of such. Until adequate testing is accomplished, no one can say with certainty which car is best. The truth about what God has done or permitted in His Providence requires study and examination. In this regard we must understand that some aspects of truth are beyond our reach. We do not and cannot know why God chose Judas to be the betrayer of Christ leading to our redemption and Judas’s final destruction. There is a truth here. God had a wise and righteous reason. But, He has not revealed that to us. It is part of the secret things that remain exclusively His, Deut. 29:29. This truth is beyond our reach. Thus, if you ever hear someone say, “This is the true reason that Judas Iscariot was the son of perdition” and that statement is followed by something other than that it seemed good to God to use Judas’s sin in this way, you must understand that that truth claim is in fact untrue. It has not been revealed. In a less crucial sense, when you hear someone say that such and such a car is the best car made in the world, you must understand that that person cannot know that as truth unless they have access to the kind of testing referenced earlier. This assertion falls short of a valid truth claim.
Here is the concern. As the children of God, we must be people who love truth. When we say something is true, our words must be accurate and reliable. It is our duty before God to be trustworthy and reverent in speaking truth. The same is said about making the claim that something is truth in the earthly and natural realm. If we come to be known as those who make exaggerated or prejudicial claims about cars, for instance, that may lead to the conclusion that we are doing the same when we speak dogmatically about Christ. How much better for us to be known as those who are forever saying, “this is what I think about cars and this is what I have read; but, I have no way of actually knowing.”
I am very concerned about the dogmatism with which Christians speak about all sorts of issues. Over the years I have heard and read dogmatic statements about everything from the damage caused by feeding infants from a bottle to the absolute sanctity of homeschooling. All such claims were based on opinion and/or antedotal accounts. None of it could be verified as truth!
Friends, let us reserve our dogmatism for that which God has revealed in Scripture (and can be demonstrated as sound interpretation) or that which has been proven in verifiable ways. For the credibility of our witness concerning things of eternal importance, let us abandon our pretense of knowing absolute truth regarding things which we simply believe, even strongly. Making truth claims is a serious matter. We do not want to be those who misrepresented truth or who lead people to believe a lie or who by our unwarrented dogmatism created stumblingblocks to the conversion of souls.
December 17th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
You can learn a lot of spiritual lessons from your garden. One thing we learn is that a little soil preparation goes a long way. Even just a little bit of weeding, a little tilling of the ground, a little compost worked into the soil prior to seeding and the yield is greatly enhanced. Preparation produces good fruit.
It will be our privilege this Sunday evening to celebrate the Lord’s Table. What a means of grace this ordinance is to our souls! Only heaven will reveal how our Savior blessed, helped and kept us through its ministry to our souls. But please note the emphasis on the word means. As highly as we regard this ordinance, it does not impart grace to us. What good is it, then? In the words of the Larger Catechism, it is a means through which believers “to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace have their union and communion with Christ confirmed”. It cannot save us, but it strengthens our tie to the One who can. It cannot take away one sin, but it confirms our faith in the One who does. It cannot take us to heaven, but it increases our love for the One who will.
Now means of grace may be used well to great advantage or poorly to much lesser advantage. What makes the difference? With regard to the Lord’s Supper, the difference is preparation. We greatly increase the spiritual fruit of the Table to our souls when we take some time to prepare our hearts and minds in advance. In order to encourage spiritual preparation for the Lord’s Supper, I commend to you setting apart some time for two things: examination and meditation.
We don’t need to be convinced of the benefits of self-examination to have a motive for it. This aspect of preparation for the Table is commanded (1 Cor. 11:27-28). At the very least, we must examine ourselves in preparation for the Table, lest we take the elements in an unworthy manner. But as is always true, obedience is accompanied with blessing. The Lord’s Table provides opportunity to take stock of our souls and our sins. I wonder if that’s one of the purposes Christ intended for the regular practice of this means of grace- that we might have a “built in” occasion for self-examination. Perhaps few of us have the spiritual resolve of Jonathan Edwards, who purposed, “to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,- what sin I have committed,-and wherein I have denied myself;-also at the end of every week, month and year.” But we all come to the Table monthly. Before we do, we should pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…and see if there is any wicked way in me.” (Psa. 139:23-24). Consider just one benefit of engaging in self-examination before coming to the Table: we are then free during the Supper to focus on Christ and not on self.
The other key component of our preparation for the Table should be meditation. Take some time, prior to the Table, to meditate upon the significance of the ordinance. Here’s just a few ideas for fruitful meditation taken from the phrases of Scripture itself:
1) In the Supper, we “proclaim the Lord’s death.” It is a memorial supper. That means we not only commemorate the historical fact of His death and the importance of His death. We also celebrate His death as the hope of our eternal souls.
2) We participate “in remembrance of” Jesus. The contemplation of Jesus’ death should never be separated from the contemplation of His person. Take some time to meditate on the glory, beauty and majesty of the One who died in our place on the tree.
3) What does it mean that “this cup is the New Covenant in My blood”? It means that we must not only think of blood spilled for remission of sins. The cup also represents the shed blood of Christ which seals for us all the glorious blessings and promises of the New Covenant. John Murray said, “When we partake of the cup in faith, it is the Lord’s certification to us that all that the new covenant in His blood involves IS OURS!” (emphasis mine). Now there’s fuel for faith-building meditation! On Sunday afternoon, read the promises of the New Covenant from passages like Jer. 31:31-34. Surely the cup will be more meaningful to us if those precious promises of God are fresh in our minds.
4) Think of the words “until He comes” and meditate on His second coming.
5) Read the words of 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and consider what the Table means for our relationships in the church. Perhaps some examination and confession needs to take place there prior to the Table! (Matt. 5:24)
Our Lord is very gracious and patient with His children. We often benefit much from the Table though we have prepared little. He knows the demands on our time, energy and attention. Sometimes our preparation takes place in the few quiet moments we have before the elements reach our hands. And in those moments, we sincerely examine ourselves, confess our sins, and remind ourselves of the Table’s significance. And despite our weak efforts, He lovingly meets us there, warms our hearts, strengthens our faith and deepens our love. But the question is this: how much more benefit would we reap if we made some preparations of soul in advance?
Even just a little weeding and plowing up the soil (self-examination). Just a little fertilizer and water (meditation). And a little preparation will go a long way.
Those who attend Grace Reformed will no doubt find this a scary thought: the Sunday morning sermons could be LONGER–gulp! Believe it or not, exclusion is practiced in an effort to make the sermons more tolerable in length. One hopeful aspect of this blog may be to provide an outlet for that excluded material. This writing is an attempt to summarize a point that was omitted from this morning’s message.
In Colossians 2:6-7 the Apostle’s purpose was to assist the Colossians in resisting the insidious intrusion of erroneous teaching. To that end he directed the saints to walk in Jesus with the same eager faith by which they laid hold of Him at the beginning of their sojourn. At the end of verse 7, he teaches them that the overt result of walking in Christ will be an abounding thanksgiving. Consistent, desperate communion with Christ will fill their souls with gratitude and their mouths with praise.
One question that arises in this regard concerns the relationship between an abounding thanksgiving and protection from false doctrine. How does a thankful heart and life contribute to our spiritual safety?
I suspect that you are already answering that question in your minds. It is not that difficult. Nonetheless, I want to make a couple of observations in this regard.
Thankfulness is protective in that it prevents a spiritual cancer to which most of us have a genetic predisposition. That cancer is discontentment. Some of us are always ready with a word of complaint. We have a pain somewhere or another that prevents us from being content with our health. The weather is never right. It is almost always too hot or cold or dry or wet–always. The people in our lives are never just right either. They do not appreciate us enough or they expect too much of us or they talk too much or not enough. Complaint after complaint–that is our predisposition. We need to think about the One against Whom all of our complaints are ultimately directed. It is the One Who commands us to be thankful for all things all the time. He controls and decides our health. He sends the heat and cold, the dryness and precipitation. He places people in our lives and calls us to serve Him by loving them–all of them. Our complaints are in fact expressions of rebellion against His Providential control of our lives. We need to think seriously about that!
But, beyond that, complaining opens us to all sorts of supposed “helps” and “remedies”. This can become an open door to falsehood. When we allow ourselves to be peeved at Providence we are more susceptible to the assaults of God’s enemies. We are more accepting of the idea that Christ is not the only way to God–after all, we are supposedly trusting Christ and God is still sending plagues into our lives. Perhaps there is something more that we need to do or have in order for God to be really pleased. So, whatever is suggested as an additional help, we are at least willing to give it a hearing. Inevitably this leads us to some form of legalism. That was the danger in Colosse and that is the danger still.
On the other hand, the maintenance of a thankful heart protects us against the insenuations of the enemy. When we walk happily in Christ, seeing every event in the light of His intercession and all wise control as our Lord, we are content! We are unwilling to entertain suggestions that some action on our part might make us more secure in God’s favor than trusting Christ and living life following Him. Thankfulness is indeed an important security for our souls. Watch people given to discontent. Watch how they are yanked about following first this and then that new emphasis or insight. That is dangerous. It is also very unsettling.
Pray for more and more grace to hold ever more tightly to Christ. Pray for greater faith to see in Him and in His will perfect safety and guidance. Resist every rival resting place or security. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. He is Head over all things for His Church. Jesus is the King of Providence. Whether it is the uncomfortable weather or difficult people (including spouses and children), He set them in our lives. Trusting Him involves accepting what He sends and responding according to His Word–which Word commands us to be thankful for all things.
One last thought, Beloved, reject a conspiracist mentality! Some dear brethren are consumed with the thought that there is a sinister conspiracy behind virtually everything. Conspirators manipulate our national elections and the decisions of government. Conspirators are behind the present economic distresses. Conspirators prevent us from receiving correct information about the things most essential to our lives. Conspirators are even trying to seize control of Christ’s church. Therefore, you cannot really trust anyone. You never know who may be in on the conspiracy!
Such thinking virtually disallows thankfulness. How can you be thankful when your life is being manipulated by unseen conspirators!
Well, the fact is that there is a great conspiracy at work in the universe. It has been at work since creation when Lucifer rebelled. The conspiracy reached its peak when God became man and entered this world. The church in Jerusalem were entirely correct when they prayed:
Acts 4:24-27 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 “who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’ 27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ….
But, now focus on the next statement:
Acts 4:28 28 “to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
Our Lord was fully aware of the conspiracy against Him. Yet, He joyfully fulfilled His Father’s will. He knew that He would win over all those who conspired against Him, both angels and men.
Beloved, our Lord rules over the conspiracy (wherever and whatever it is). Our responsibility is to trust Him completely. Whatever occurs, including the work of conspirators, is ultimately what He permits for the fulfillment of His own eternal counsel. Therefore, we are required to be thankful. We are not allowed to be eaten up with suspicion and cynicism and fear. Christ has won the day and we are more than conquerors in Him. The conspirators lose. Therefore, we are to trust Christ and not fear the conspiracy. We don’t have to figure it out. We don’t have to out maneuver the conspirators. Christ controls all. We must rejoice and be thankful for His control, however it manifests itself.
A suspicious mind is a major hindrance to thankfulness. And, for that reason, a suspicious mind is exceedingly dangerous.
Well, I hope these thoughts are helpful. There are many reasons that we must labor to be thankful, even abounding in thanksgiving. And, the secret to that is to walk in Christ, even as we received Him in the beginning. May God help us to do just that!
December 7th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
Psalm 69:29-32 29 But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. 30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. 32 The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
Hopefully none who read this find yourselves subjectively or objectively in a place comparable to David when he wrote this Psalm. He was sorrowful, very sorrowful in fact. Note the opening words of the Psalm:
1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. 3 I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
David was being oppressed by men, unjustly. He was being falsely accused. People hated him and wanted to kill him. Moreover, no one seemed to care. David’s friends and kindred alike forsook him. There were no sympathizers. His life was in danger and he was alone with no one to pity him or help him. Sounds miserable!
Do you feel much the same? Not that anyone is trying to kill you; but, you feel as if your life is collapsing and that no other person is really in tune with your pain. People around you seem happy while you are fearful and morose. How can they be laughing? Don’t they understand how deeply you are hurting? Don’t they care? Is that where you are deep inside your secret most thoughts?
Is it due to the economy and the losses you have suffered? Is it by reason of a serious health problem that as turned all of your life into black and white? Is it because people are wronging you and seem determined to do you serious harm in some way? All such problems and pains are real and serious! No question about it.
However, things are not entirely as they seem–not if you have committed your soul and way to the Lord Jesus Christ. The 69th Psalm is a messianic Psalm. It is expressive of the sufferings of Christ in the place of His people. It declares to us in vivid terms that He was the Man of Sorrows and that He took our griefs upon Himself. He knows poverty: though He was rich yet for your sake He became poor so that you might become rich. He knows suffering, physical suffering. He knows the prospect of death looming before Him, the most horrible and excruciating death possible. In fact, from a child, He lived with that prospect before Him. Yet, He was determined to be about His Father’s work–which work was ultimately to lay down His life a sacrifice for sin. Christ knows abandonment and hatred. All He ever did was to speak truth and perform acts of mercy. Yet, He was hated and pursued. Whatever the reason for people hating us, it won’t be because we so perfectly displayed the glory of God that they could not stand it. That was why Jesus was hated and murdered. What you must grasp by faith, what you must believe, is that you are completely safe in your sufferings because Christ suffered in your place, as your Mediator and Advocate. Your sufferings are all mediated sufferings. That means that the Divine Wrath has been removed. Even if some of your discomfort is due to Divine chastening, the wrath has been spent on Christ. God is not expressing His just and holy anger in your sufferings; because that anger was used up in your behalf on His Son. Therefore, whatever purpose and end God intends for where He has you now, it is a good! That means it is good for you! God has great plans for you and your trial is part of that. This is Gospel reality. The proof is in the cross and resurrection of Christ. The proof is in God’s express determination to raise you up in the last Day and to make everything work together for your good.
With these facts before you, you must determine to do what David determined to do (with inferior understanding of his Lord):
30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves.
David did expect to be delivered; but, he did not enjoy the perspective that we are privileged to enjoy with respect to the substitutionary sufferings of Messiah in his place. We know that Christ was tried in all points as we are, without sin. We know that He is touched by the very feelings of our infirmities. We know that He is interceding for us. We know that He is with us, strengthening us. However desolate and forgotten we may feel, it is not true. Christ is with us. Not only has He not forgotten us, He understands every grief and fear and confused thought that we experience. Most of all, Christ Himself controls our trials and will bring them to a triumphant end.
By faith, we must praise Him. We must be filled with thanksgiving to Him. We must thank Him in the confidence that whatever we are experiencing is good for us, or will prove to be good for us. There is a glorious deliverance. God will not withhold strength and mercy and blessing and deliverance. We know that because He did not withhold His Son. Surely in giving Christ for us and to us, He has demonstrated His willingness to give us all good. We must call on Him in this confidence. We must worship Him in this confidence. God wants us to rejoice in His purposes and promises. He wants us to be thankful, today, every day.
So, if you are reading this on Thanksgiving Day as family and friends gather round and you simply feel yourself incapable of getting in the mood to be sincerely thankful, ask Christ to make you freshly convinced of all His has accomplished for you! Ask Him to fill your soul with excited anticipation for what He is about to do for you! Ask Him to increase your faith and to forgive your unbelief! Shift your thinking from all that seems to be against you, and focus on all that is for you in Christ! Be thankful and rejoice. Your family and friends will be made to glorify God when they see you rejoicing:
32 The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
Let your heart by glad. For God is good and His mercy endures forever.
May God richly bless your efforts at thanksgiving! And, may His benediction rest on your time of relaxed fellowship and feasting with those whom you love! Remember, God is glorified when you enjoy His good gifts with thanksgiving filling your heart.
November 27th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
I woke up at 3am in Haiti this past Monday night. The mattress was hard and the pillow harder. But at least I had both. That was more than my Haitian brethren were enjoying. They slept on blankets on the floor of their separate quarters. I was there to minister to them. But already they had ministered to me (Rom. 12:1).
I stumbled across the very sparse, pitch-black cinderblock room I shared with two other Americans and two Canadians and went outside. It was lighter outside under a bright moon. I found one of the Dippers and Orion easily on this cloudless night, though positioned a little differently in the sky. It’s a comfort so far from home to find the stars right where they’re supposed to be- God is God in Mebane and in Haiti (Isa. 40:26).
Earlier, I thought I had heard singing. When I got outside it was confirmed. From across the grassy yard about fifty yards away, I could now clearly hear my Haitian brethren singing together in harmony- at 3am. I couldn’t understand their Creole. But I recognized something of the pathos of their songs. “Negro Spiritual” might be the most familiar way to describe it. As seemed to be their custom in corporate singing, the song leader’s voice was distinguishable above the others. But it sounded as if all 150 Haitian men, women and children were joining in. Of course, it was pitch black in their rooms and they didn’t have songbooks. They all knew the words by heart. When one song ended, a brother would lead out in passionate prayer, the others joining in with loud affirmations. When prayer ended, another song would begin.
I sat alone in the shadows and listened for about thirty minutes. I felt very far from them and from their experience. I wondered about their lives. I wondered about the sufferings that fueled such worship in the middle of the night. I thought about how rare and precious such a corporate gathering must have been for them- a few short hours with brethren from many parts of very dark Haiti with whom they share a common love for the Light of the World. I thought about the simplicity of their faith. I thought about how much they must long for heaven and how little this world must hold their affections. I envied them very much.
I thought about how poor they are materially, but how rich spiritually (Jam. 2:5). I considered how rich I am materially, but how poor spiritually. Not here to American-bash. Just don’t ever recall being moved to participate in a 3am worship and prayer session with my American brethren in any context. Lack of hunger? Self-deceit? (Rev. 3:17) Just wondering.
I thought about our “worship wars” back home and felt ashamed. I wondered if Christ regards our “well-ordered” gatherings nearly as much as we think He does, when humble brethren like this worship Him from their hearts, in spirit and truth, all over the developing world (Psa. 138:6). I took comfort in the fact that He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust.
And I wondered how much more they have learned of God through their many pains than we have through our many privileges. Do we not have much to learn from these brethren? I wondered if someday soon we will call one of those Haitian pastors to preach to us about perseverance in trials. I wondered if true Christian missions should be much more give and receive than it has been historically (2 Cor. 8:13-15). We must be the poorer for our condescending views of Christ’s church in foreign lands. Where Christ does a genuine work in the hearts of men, the Spirit of God is active, teaching them just as He has taught us. Surely they know something of theology from their vantage point that I cannot learn from Calvin’s or from mine.
My private moment was interrupted by some of the women passing by in the dark to begin preparation of the morning meal- at 3:30am. Once again, they ministered to me.
My dear Granddaughter,
I cannot believe that you are 2 1/2 years old. Yet, you are such an unique little person that I find it difficult to remember life before you. God most certainly knows how to bring spice and excitement into our lives!
McKenna, the Creator has been pleased to make you with a marvelous mixture of natural qualities. You are independent and yet dependent. You are content to go your own way at points. At the same time, you do not want your Mommy to be too far away. There is both good and bad in that. You have your own way of lighting up a room and capturing the hearts of all who are there. However, you are very quick to register your unhappiness and disapproval if your circumstances prove disagreeable. That is a “quality” that your Dad and Mom are working very hard to harness. The sense of humor and wit that God has imparted to your personality is striking and entertaining, especially in one so young. You are a fascinating little person. And, I am so extremely thankful that our Heavenly Father chose to give you to us.
One of the reasons that I am writing this letter is to underscore to you how much you are loved and how blessed you are. Hopefully, I will be around when you are mature enough to read this letter for yourself. When that time comes, in God’s goodness, I pray that you will pause and ponder what you are reading. One of the great tragedies of these times is that so many children and young people are deprived of adequate parental love and care. There are numerous reasons for this and it would not be profittable for me to get into all that now; but, it is very, very sad. Your parents love you so much and are so involved in your life. Every day someone is talking to you, not talking beyond you, but to you. Every day someone is endeavoring to teach you good and necessary things. Almost every day, someone reads to you. Your understanding of the real world where God rules and His law is determinative of right and wrong is being developed every day. You are learning that there is a right way to go and speak and think. You are also learning in various ways that there are consequences to choices, both good and bad. When you are corrected, it is always with love and purpose–not in anger and passion. When you are older, you will recognize what an incredibly good gift such correction is. Moreover, you are being reared in the context of an extended family where people love each other very much and love you very much. Increasingly, that is rare for children your age. God is being so very good to you. McKenna, I hope you can see God’s goodness from an early age.
The best thing that God is doing is the exposure you are receiving to both His law and His Gospel. His law is expressed in the Ten Commandments which you are learning. His law is also expressed in the commandments of your Father and Mother. The fact that you find it both difficult and, at points, disagreeable to obey these commandments is indicative of a most important reality concerning you. That reality has to do with something bad that has happened within your nature (along with the natures of every other human). You are not as God originally created mankind. Our first parents rebelled against God and sin entered into their hearts. From that point forward, all of us have resisted against obeying God, even though all His commands are good and safe. We have all gone our own way against God. And, there is neither the desire nor the ability to change. This would be our destruction, except that God is good and full of mercy. He graciously determined that He would save rebellious humans from their sins and from His own judgment which they so much deserve on account of sin. That is why He sent His only begotten Son into the world. That is why Jesus died on the cross, namely, so that God could justly forgive sin. McKenna, you are blessed to know the Good News that Jesus Christ delivers little people and bigger people from their sins when they believe upon Him and call upon Him in faith. Your life is filled with these realities. You are being continually exposed to God’s good and holy law. In reaction against that law, you have many occasions for recognizing the waywardness of your own heart. But, supremely, you are being taught the Gospel. You are seeing Gospel power in your parents and you are being taught Gospel truth from God’s Word. Of all that God has given you, this is best.
McKenna, please call on Christ for His deliverance from sin while you are still young-before sin has scarred your conscience and filled your mind with painful memories!
Thank you for considering these words from Pop. Pop and Grammy love you very much too. We are so thankful for you and for the joy of knowing you. God works through you to bring much delight to our lives.
Please ask your parents to explain anything in this that is unclear.
And, by the way, cut Avonlea and Jack some slack, they are trying to learn how to be older siblings to someone as remarkable as you.
Love,
Pop
(Explanation: Since the birth of my firstborn in 1973, I have written public letters to each child and grandchild. These letters were published in connection with newspaper columns sponsored by our church. Because that ministry is no longer in place, there has not been a suitable opportunity to do this with our most recent grandchild until now.)
November 19th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
Surely a major factor in the hardening of the American heart against the Gospel of Christ has been the unchristian behavior of professing Christians. In close connection with this has been the establishment of standards of expectation for Christian behavior by non-Christians. Too often believers have silently nodded their heads in agreement with unbelievers as they mock the sins of professing believers. When real sin has been committed in public view by brethren or professing brethren, we should not be reluctant to acknowledge the sinfulness of the deed. At the same time, we must labor to acquaint unbelievers with the fact that Christians are pilgrims traveling toward perfection; but, do not claim to have achieved anything approaching perfection. Thus, we endeavor to confess our sins and to repent of them. We cannot be shamed into silence by the sins of believers (unless those sins be our own and be of such a nature as to require a period of restoration). Truth remains unchanged by the faults of those who hold to it. Righteousness remains righteous, even when we are not. God’s Word must be heard notwithstanding the failures of its professing adherents.
At the same time, we must refuse the unscriptural definition of what is right and wrong by scoffers. Nowhere is that definition more pronounced than in the often heard accusation that we are judgmental, as though that is universally forbidden. Believe me, I realize that sinful judgments are made by professed Christians: I have been on the giving and receiving end of such judgments. That ought not be. There is no excusing such. Nonetheless, we must not abandon our responsibility to rebuke the unfruitful works of darkness.
In this regard, it is most disheartening to hear equivocations on the issue of abortion by those claiming to be Christians. Abortion is murder. It must ever be denounced as such by all who reverence God- Who created us in His image and demanded that human life be protected on that account. Those who waffle on this and other matters of plain moral law hazard sharing condemnation with those who actually commit the deed without repentance. Romans 1:32 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
I am fully committed to the principle that as the disciples of Christ we must ever strive to be conspicuously loving and humble. Yet, we must not mistake love with silence on matters of righteousness. On account of unrighteousness the wrath of God is coming. How is it loving to be silent in the presence of that reality? Such silence is both unloving and unfaithful.
My purpose is not to unleash a barrage of “hate speech” or of hateful speech. But, it is my desire to stir up broken-hearted pilgrims to speak with tenderness of things which we know to be true while it is day before night comes when we cannot.
November 12th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
It seemed best on Sunday morning not to continue the sermon to cover the last prepared point. So, without expanding at great length upon what I had hoped to say at that time, I will try to state the essence of that point now. Please do not think that the choice to omit this material on Sunday suggests that it is of small importance. That is not the case at all. The decision was due to a commitment to preach less demanding sermons in terms of length.
The text in Col. 2:6 reads: “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him”. Without reviewing the material previously covered with respect to “walking in Christ”, the final point speaks to the radical difference Christ makes in those whose living is vitally connected to Him. No one can live in a conscious, even desperate, dependency on Christ and be the same as before. He makes His people new creatures. Those who abide in Him bear much fruit. You will recall that in the earliest portion of this epistle Paul prayed that the Colossians would have this kind of walk: Colossians 1:9-11;” For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy“. Walking in Christ brings us toward behavior that fully pleases Him, behavior that is fruitful in every good work.
Consider just 3 aspects of such Christ-empowered behavior:
1. it is behavior marked by love: Ephesians 5:2 ” And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” One of several crucial distinctions between moralists (people who endeavor to obey God’s commands without Christ) and Christians (those whose behavior is in Christ) is that Christians are marked by love in all that comprises their conduct. That means that they are kind and gentle and patient, even when they are required to rebuke unrighteousness in others. Moralists are sometimes harsh and mean-spirited in their “righteousness”. Frankly, that is a mark of not walking in Christ. Walking in Christ enables us to be loving.
2. It is behavior that is holy: Galatians 5:16 ” I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. “ Other texts point to the same effect. Vital connection to Christ, a deliberate dependency upon Him and submission to Him, leads us in paths of righteousness. It is here that we especially encounter conflict with our flesh. The flesh strives for its own satisfaction in things contrary to God’s law; but, Christ does not allow His people to behave according to their natural lusts. Rather, Christ supplies power by His Spirit to mortify the deeds of the flesh and to live. Does this mean that those who walk in Christ are never carnal in their behavior? No, sadly, it does not. Too often in the crunch of temptation we do not call upon Christ or trust Christ for grace to deny ourselves and we fall. But, those who are endeavoring on the whole to walk in Him will be made very sad by their falls. Christ will produce in them Godly sorrow leading to repentance. Christ is committed to the development of holiness in His people. Thus, holiness and purity are fruits of walking in Him.
3. It is behavior marked by witness. Walking in conscious reliance upon Christ eventuates into a constraint of soul toward witness. Consider what Paul writes later in Colossians, 4:5-6 “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. “ God willing, we will come to this passage in due time and then we will attempt an exposition of it. For now, a walk in Christ will be a walk that involves sensitivity to those “outside”. That is those who are outside the church and outside Christ. This sensitivity will impact the way we use our time, especially time spent in their presence. And, one concrete result will be the choice of our words. We will, through trust in Christ and talking to HIm, endeavor to choose words “seasoned with salt”. That means, I believe, words that speak to the issue of their relationship to God and their need to be reconciled to God through faith in Christ. In the effort to make this point, we will find it necessary at times to talk about their behavior and how their behavior betrays their need for grace. But, the target of our speech should be to direct their attention toward Christ and the Gospel.
I will conclude by applying this last point to those who are connected to social web sites like Facebook. The use of social sites is a personal liberty. However, I urge those of you who use them not to waste the opportunities for witness they provide. Please don’t just talk about trivia. Please talk, sweetly, about issues of righteousness. Talk about God’s holy will. Talk about things which by God’s blessing might cause readers to recognize that their way of thinking and acting really is at odds with Scripture and thus with God. Time is too short to waste such opportunities. Let your conversation be seasoned with salt that you may know how you ought to answer each one for God’s glory and the good of their souls.
Well, I am certain you are thankful that I did not try to say all this at the end of Sunday’s sermon. But, I hope you have read it and will pray over it. Walking in Christ makes us different people.
November 11th, 2008 by
Gary Hendrix |
Uncategorized
