Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Faithful in little things

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The following quotes are from today’s reading of Joy and Strength compiled by Mary Wilder Tileston:

It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
–1 CORINTHIANS 4:2

TOO many people are not faithful in little things. They are not to be absolutely depended upon. They do not always keep their promises. They break engagements. They fail to pay their debts promptly. They come behind time to appointments. They are neglectful and careless in little things. In general they are good people, but their life is honeycombed with small failures. One who can be positively depended upon, who is faithful in the least things as well as in the greatest, whose life and character are true through and through, gives out a light in this world which honors Christ and blesses others.
–J. R. MILLER

Duties retire evermore from the observation of those who slight them.
–SARAH W. STEPHEN

Great thoughts go best with common duties. Whatever therefore may be your office regard it as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of love.
–BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT

Book Review: Children of the Storm

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Some of you may remember the name of Georgi Vins. He was a Ukrainian pastor in prison for his “religious activities” in the Soviet Union several years ago. I was a BJU student praying for him in the Slavic Mission Prayer Band in the late 70s, and it was with great joy I heard years later that he had been exiled to the USA in exchange for Soviet spies.  Children of the Storm, written by his daughter, Natasha, and published by BJU Press, tells of her perspective during those years of persecution.

Natasha was about nine years old when persecution began in her school (though ridicule of Christianity had begun years before), and it seemed to increase as the years went by. Teachers would hold her up for ridicule in front of her classmates and blame her for her class’s not making it into certain competitions. She was assigned to write a report on a boy held up as a Soviet hero who turned his father in to the KGB for keeping back a little of his grain for his starving family. The other children began to taunt and threaten her or just avoid her. She was threatened with being removed from her home and “re-educated.” These things struck a chord with me when I first read this book because my youngest was at the age Natasha was when some of this was happening, and I just could not imagine him going through these things. Yet as it all struck me as so sad, the Lord reminded me that He marvelously kept her through that time. And she was not even saved yet!

In later years she had a teacher who had similar interests, befriended her, was kind to her, and then began to undermine her Christian beliefs. This time Natasha listened, thought some of what her teacher said made sense, and began to question. When her father came home from a prison camp and she had an opportunity, she talked with him. Imagine coming home from being in prison for your faith to have your own daughter question your faith. Yet he did not express anger or disappointment: he just answered her questions as best he could. Not long afterward Natasha was saved.

At this time and place one truly had to count the cost of following Christ. Natasha was denied finishing her studies in her field of choice because of her Christianity. Her father had had to go “underground” by this time and sent word that he would like her to join him in the printing ministry. She helped for many years in vital ways, and even got to see her father here and there. Once they were to meet with someone who at the last minute had to postpone meeting with them for a couple of hours. Natasha and her father used the time to walk around the city and talk. He thought it highly likely that he would be arrested again, and his talks with her that day helped her to make it through the time when he was indeed arrested. Imagine having to prepare your child not for the remote possibility but for the very real likelihood of your imprisonment…and to do so in a way that does not leave her mourning or sad or bitter or feeling sorry for you or herself, but leaves her strengthened and resting in the Lord.

Natasha’s grandmother was also arrested when she was in her sixties and thought she would die in prison, yet the Lord delivered her.

The book tells also of Natasha’s mother and siblings, of visits to her father and grandmother in prison, of the persecuted church, of struggling to maintain a Christian attitude toward persecutors, of their reaction when her father was suddenly and unexpectedly exiled, of the family’s preparing to join him, of their impressions of America: one of the younger siblings was astounded that everyone carried Bibles to church. Natasha wept upon seeing a Christian bookstore. They left Russia with sorrow because it was their homeland, but before too long they began to see how the Lord could use them in the USA.

The epilogue of the book tells of the Lord’s help through their adjustments to the US, and then opportunities for ministry by publishing newsletters and several books and establishing a mission. After 11 years of exile, in 1990, Pastor Vins was able to make several return trips to the former Soviet Union, visiting and preaching openly, discussing with church leaders how the mission in America could best help them. He passed away Jan. 11, 1998, leaving not only a continuing ministry, but a legacy of godly man and his family.

Book Review: It Happens Every Spring

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Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer coauthored It Happens Every Spring, the first of a series, in order to illustrate through fiction some of Chapman’s teachings about dealing with seasons of marriage. I don’t think I have read any of Chapman’s books, but I have enjoyed several of Palmer’s.

The group of ladies in different stages of marriage meet in the “Just As I Am” beauty salon (though I love the truth of the song by the same name, I thought it was kind of ironic for the name of a place where people go to change something about themselves) which also has a tea room where the ladies chat while waiting for their appointments.  Though we see glimpses into all of the marriages, the main focus of this book is on Brenda and Steve, a middle-aged couple whose children are grown and gone, one to the mission field and two to college. Brenda’s dreams of spending their empty nest years doing things together are dimmed when Steve finds a second wind in a new career and is gone from the house most of the time, even taking clients out to eat most evenings a week. They both know that they have problems, but they both withdraw and inwardly blame the other, until the resulting vulnerability of Brenda brings the marriage to a crisis.

I thought the subject was handled well and the changes in point of view illustrated how each other’s behavior looked and was interpreted by the other. The conflicts and feelings were realistically expressed and handled. The other ladies show a great range in ages and personalities as well as seasons in relationships. Even though in some places it seemed obvious that the plot was fitted around Chapman’s teaching points, overall if flowed well and the book was a good read. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

This book review is being linked to Semicolon’s Saturday Review of Books.

When someone tells me I am doing something wrong…

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…what should my response be?

Well, my usual (inward) reaction is to think, “Who do you think YOU are?” or to think of their flaws. Not a very spiritual reaction, is it?

On the one hand we all know we are far from perfect, but on the other hand, we bristle when anyone points out an imperfection. Really, we should just be grateful it doesn’t happen as often as it could.

These days we feel that if anyone tries to reprove us about anything, they’re judging. But what does the Bible say?

As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. Proverbs 11:12.

Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Proverbs 9:8.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. Proverbs 12:15.

A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. Proverbs 13:1.

The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. Proverbs 15:31-31.

A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. Proverbs 17:10.

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 26:12.

What if the reprover isn’t very kind about it? Though there are instructions throughout Scripture about how to rebuke someone in a right way, there is also throughout Scripture the principle that I am supposed to do what’s right regardless of what the other person does. In all of the instructions in Ephesians 5 and 6 about relationships, it does not say, “You do this IF he does that.” No, each person is responsible for the instructions given to him or her whether the other person fulfills his or her responsibilities as instructed. And in this, too, just because someone doesn’t correct us in a “right” way doesn’t mean we’re off the hook and can write off whatever they’re saying.

But what if the person really is judging? We just can’t please everyone. Wherever our convictions are, someone will always be more conservative, and usually in a heartfelt rather than a Pharisaical way, even if that might be what they sound like — usually they do have some reason for the convictions they have. Romans 14:3 does say, “Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him” in regard to the disputations over eating meat, and we can extract that principle of not judging the one whose convictions are looser than ours or despising the one whose convictions are stricter than ours and apply it to other areas of difference where the Bible doesn’t give clear instructions. But Paul does go on in the rest of that chapter to make the case that sometimes we need to restrain ourselves even from something we might feel it is all right to do if it offends someone else. Paul says in I Corinthians 8:12-13, “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”

How unlike the spirit of many Christians in this age, in which the attitude is often, “If you’ve got a problem with something I am doing, it is YOUR problem and you’re being a judgmental hypocritical Pharisee.” And then often each side creates schisms by trying to drum up supporting opinions from others.

Christ did have harsh words for true Pharisees, but if you study out those instances in Scripture, it was a far different situation than what we have today when one earnest Christian approaches another about something in his or her conduct. The Pharisees were not true believers and were basing their acceptance before God on their excessive works, rituals, and rites that went far beyond what God outlined in the Old Testament law. It is totally uncalled for to name another Christian brother among their ranks just because he has a different view of things than we do.

So how should I respond if someone tells me I am doing something wrong? In meekness, not anger and defensiveness, I should assume they have the best intentions and examine what they say, bringing it before the Lord to see if it is something truly wrong, or if it is something that is all right, but I should refrain myself for the sake of that person’s conscience. If it is something I still free to do, I should still react kindly to the person doing the rebuking. Maybe they can accept that the issue is an honest and allowable difference of opinion; maybe not. But they are a lot more likely to if we handle the matter with grace (even though it stings) than if we react harshly.

If we’re truly in the right, we have the example of Christ to emulate in I Peter 2:

19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

What shall we do?

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I am in the book of John for my devotions just now, and this morning I came across this passage, a conversation that took place when the people among the 5,000 who were miraculously fed came looking for Jesus the next day:

26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

That last verse is one of the most precious to me. There is no other “work,” no ritual, no hoping the good things outweigh the bad that will make me acceptable to God.

No merit of my own His anger to suppress.
My only hope is found in Jesus’ righteousness.

For me He died, For me He lives,
And everlasting life and light He freely gives.

(Words and music by Norman J. Clayton)

Green Leaf in Drought

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In 1950, Arthur and Wilda Mathews and their 13 month old baby, Lilah, traveled to Hwangyuan, China. China had fallen to Communism, and other missionaries were leaving, yet the Chinese church had invited them to come, with the approval of the Communist government. They felt this was a miraculously opened door God would have them go through.. Yet, when they arrived, they could sense that all was not well. The Christians pastors who met them were strained, and they discerned that between the time of their invitation and arrival, the Chinese learned that association with the white people would be a liability under Communism, not a asset. The Mathews thought perhaps then that, if they could not be a help to the church, they could endeavor to evangelize the unreached Mongols in the area and nearby. They had a few weeks in which to minister, but soon found that they were restricted in ways they could help. They endeavored to set up an inn with which to reach the Mongols, but Chinese troops took it over the day before it was to open. Arthur protested, but soon found it would have been wiser to have said nothing. In two days a policeman came to the mission compound to announce that no one there could do village work without permission, and the white people were forbidden everything: they could not have meetings outside the compound, they could not give out tracts or dispense medicine. They were restricted to the mission compound.

They finally decided that since they were more of a hindrance than a help, they would apply for exit visas. They thought, since the government did not want them, they would be allowed to leave quickly, and so gave away or sold dishes, curtains, etc., keeping just the bare minimum to function until they could leave. Arthur was summoned to the police station and asked to sign a statement that he was for world peace. He had heard of another missionary having to sign some document before leaving, so he signed without thinking much of it. The government official then asked what contribution Arthur was then willing to make toward world peace, outlining a plan in which Arthur would go to India and essentially be a Communist spy. Arthur realized that the Communist definition of world peace was a world dominated by communism, and of course could not consent.

A government official called Arthur in and promised his exit visas if he would do something for them, like write a report of five other missionaries. At first Arthur did write glowing reports of the missionaries in question, but someone told him he dare not turn that in: the Communists would change what he had written but keep his signature. So Arthur threw his report in the fire and told the official he could not be a Judas. The official then told him that he could have given him a pass, if he had cooperated, but now a charge had been laid against him which must be investigated, and “investigations take a long time.”

Thus began a two and a half year ordeal. Their provisions from their mission were frozen by the government, which made Arthur submit a report of what he would need, and then they doled out to him much less than what the report said he needed. Every victory they mentioned in a letter seemed to be immediately challenged by the enemy of their souls: once when they wrote what a blessing Lilah was, she then came down with scarlet fever, and they almost lost her. All of them had turns being ill. Eventually they were told that no one could speak to them, and they could only leave home to draw water from the creek and get food.

They wrestled with the “what-ifs” and the frustration of what they called “second causes,” finally coming to the conclusion that they had to trust that the Lord was in control and had them there for a reason, though it was hard to discern that reason when they were so restricted. Yet the Lord did use them even when they could not speak to the people. The few weeks they had had to minister before restrictions set in, people knew their hearts and saw their love. When the Mathews could no longer speak openly, the people saw them in tattered clothes, persecuted, attacked by illness without much medical aid, laughed at, jeered, humiliated, doing menial, degrading work just to survive, tantalized by the government offering release and then not giving it or doling out money that was theirs in the first place. They saw the Lord provide miraculously for them in many ways. Yet more than that, they saw them endure graciously and joyfully until, finally, the Mathews became the last CIM missionaries to leave China.

How the Lord provided for them and ministered through them in unexpected ways are some of the most exciting parts of the book Isobel Kuhn wrote of their story titled Green Leaf in Drought. She says,

But most amazing of all was their spiritual vigour. Whence came it? Not from themselves: no human being could go through such sufferings and come out so sweet and cheerful. As I was in a small prayer meeting… one prayed thus: ‘O Lord, keep their leaf green in times of drought!’ I knew in a moment that this was the answer. Jeremiah 17:8: “He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” That was it! There was an unseen Source of secret nourishment, which the Communists could not find and from which they could not cut them off…That is needed by all of us. Your drought may not be caused by Communism, but the cause of the drying up of life’s joys is incidental. When they dry up — is there, can we find, a secret Source of nourishment that the deadly drought cannot reach?…Is it possible for a Christian to put forth green leaves when all he enjoys in this life is drying up around him?

The answer, by God’s grace, is yes!

Poetry Friday: To a Waterfowl

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I have always enjoyed poetry, but I have neglected it in recent years. I have enjoyed seeing Poetry Friday selections at Findings and Semicolon, but this is my first time to participate.

I probably first read William Cullen Bryant’s poem “To a Waterfowl” in college, but the first time it really stood out to me was when Elisabeth Elliot quoted some of these stanzas in her book The Savage My Kinsman after her husband’s death.


Whither, ‘midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?

There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,–
The desert and illimitable air,–
Lone wandering, but not lost.

Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.

He, who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.

As a young wife then I empathized with Elisabeth’s picking up and going forward in the comfort of God’s care after the loss of her husband and was comforted with the thought that, if the Lord should ever ask me to “tread alone,” He would lead me and care for me, too. Even within 28 years of marriage, there have been many days of treading alone while my husband traveled, and I have been comforted to know that I am never truly alone.

The rest of the poem, which describes Bryant’s observation and thoughts of the bird’s activity, can be found here along with some instructive links. Becky’s Book Reviews is hosting Poetry Friday today.

I think frumpiness can sometimes be in the eye of the beholder

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(Forewarning to male readers, of which I have a few: some of this is more explicit that what I usually write here, so you might want to bypass this one).

Let me say at the outset that I don’t think stylishness is a sin. Like so many other things in life, there is a balance. We don’t have to look like we stepped out of the Little House on the Prairie books to be godly and modest. But on the other hand, chasing after and striving to keep up with “the latest” fads and fashions can be too time-consuming and expensive and can be a misplaced priority.

It seems like lately on many fronts I have seen parts of or references to shows, blogs, and assorted experts who take it upon themselves to tell women what’s “in” and how to dress. I guess in one sense it’s nothing new, but the multiplicity of media available these days makes this topic seem like it’s everywhere.

I started watching some of the fashion-advice shows on TV that I had seen reference to. Usually the people involved really benefit from the help. Often they’re either stuck in sloppy over-sized t-shirts and jeans, or they are at the opposite end of the spectrum and, in an effort to be flamboyant and different are too revealing, and the stylists do help to achieve some balance. I was actually pleasantly surprised that they do advocate classic rather than trendy styles generally, and a lot of their tips for camouflaging certain body flaws and making the most of your best features do make sense.

However, as a Christian I object that the goal (or at least one main goal) on these shows seems to be sexiness. Now, of course, I know these are not Christian shows and don’t operate under Christian principles, but I am evaluating the principles as a Christian viewing them after seeing so many Christians advocate them.

I don’t believe a Christian woman’s goal in dress and appearance should be sexiness. If the Bible warns men not to lust, I think it’s implied that women shouldn’t dress in a way to entice lust. I don’t think a Christian woman should ever show cleavage publicly. After all, what is cleavage but showing parts of one’s breasts? No one needs to see that but a husband and the doctor.

I Timothy 2:9a says, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety.” I know modesty is a complicated issue: I’ve read various Christian message board discussions where people try to hash out exactly what it means, and good people differ on exactly where to draw the lines. And, as I said earlier, I don’t think modesty means a woman should always wear turtlenecks or prairie dresses. Nor does modesty equal dowdy. But I think we can agree there should not be an over-emphasis on certain womanly body parts in our dress.

Even on those shows, I have a problem with a man discussing a woman’s chest or bottom and waving his hand around those areas to demonstrate what he’s talking about.

This post is not about modesty per se: I am going to link to some good posts on that subject at the end. But it has to be mentioned when Christian women consider fashion.

At the other extreme, I don’t think it honors the Lord for us to be sloppy. Look at His creation. I mentioned recently in regard to decorating that I used to struggle with wanting things to look pretty and thought maybe I should just concentrate on functionality, until I realized that God could have made the universe just functional, but He also chose to make it beautiful. The same is true in our dress: it’s not wrong to want to look the best we can within our means. The Proverbs 31 woman “maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple” (verse 22). An unkempt appearance seems to indicate that no one cares, and that’s not a good testimony.

So, as I said at the beginning, there is a balance.

However, I don’t see that what is sometimes considered frumpy or “old” actually is.

Holiday sweaters are considered big frumpy age-adding garments, but I don’t know why. Even on a game show recently they were mentioned scornfully. Sure, they can be overdone and over-embellished, but I don’t see what’s wrong with them as a general concept. It wasn’t that long ago that everyone was wearing them, from children to young moms and all the way up. How did they get relegated to senior-only wear in the eyes of the fashion world?

I even heard a beautiful floral jacket referred to as “old” or “granny wear” just this week.

I’ve also heard and read “granny panties” mentioned as frumpy. Well, you know, what kind of underwear anyone wears isn’t really the fashion industry’s business, but I’d much rather have granny panties than the kind that come halfway up the bottom leaving an indention that can’t help but draw attention to one’s derrière (which is actually why some people wear them). And thongs….let’s not even go there except to say that unless you’re very young and firm, if all you have is a piece of fabric from your dress or pants between you and the world, you are going to jiggle, and, in pants especially, you’ll reveal much more than you want to. I’ll take granny panties over that any day.

The following list of clothes that supposedly should be removed from closets is from How Not To Look Old by Charla Krump, which I have not read but I have seen reference to in various places:

  1. Holiday sweaters with bells and appliqués (reindeers, teddy bears, bumblebees, pumpkins).
  2. Granny necklaces that tell how many grandchildren you have.
  3. Souvenir T-shirts.
  4. T-shirts with meant-to-be funny sayings.
  5. Overalls.
  6. Acid-washed jeans.
  7. Ripped jeans.
  8. Shoulder pads.
  9. Flannel shirts.
  10. Muumuus.
  11. Photo handbags (the older you get, the more sophisticated your accessories should be).
  12. Flesh-colored hose.
  13. Penny loafers.
  14. Oversize blazers.
  15. Mommy robes.
  16. Thin gold chain necklaces.
  17. Elastic-waist pants.
  18. Granny undies.
  19. Baggy sweats.
  20. Bearlike, full-length fur coats.
  21. Short shorts.
  22. Cargo pants.
  23. Stockings with reinforced toes.
  24. Three-piece suits with vests.
  25. Backpacks.

Now, some of this I agree with: baggy sweatpants, unless you’re doing laundry or jogging, short shorts, ripped jeans, muumuus. But flesh-colored hose? So what do the fashion mavens advocate instead? Some years back it was stylish to wear ivory colored hose, which I thought made ladies’ legs look like they had no circulation in their lower limbs. And I always thought it looked kind of funny to wear “suntan” hose when no other part of the body looked suntanned. I always thought flesh-colored hose looked the most natural and least noticeable. Actually I don’t know too many ladies who wear hose any more.

And thin gold chains make one look “old”? So I am supposed to dispose of my beauitful, delicate, feminine jewelry and get big, clunky stuff, even though I don’t like it, just to be “in”? Does that not seem silly to anyone but me?

Really, though, my purpose is not to nitpick all of these points or to rant against any one program, author, or expert. I just want to caution us against this judgmental, condescending attitude that certain neutral items — and the people who wear them — are frumpy. To me frumpy means sloppy and unkempt. It’s ok to strive not to be frumpy, but I don’t think we need to strive to be fashionistas who chase after every fad and live by what the current fashion experts say, either. It’s not wrong to wear something that is currently in style, but it’s not right to think of everyone else who does so as “in” and anyone who doesn’t as somehow defective.

Balance. It all comes back to balance.

And grace.

Other good blog posts abut dress and modesty:

How Shall We Then Dress by Mrs. Wilt at The Sparrow’s Nest.

Three Cheers For Modesty at Biblical Womanhood.

Dress Codes by Nancy Wilson at Femina.

Clothing and the Christian Woman at Faith and Family.

“Thy Calvary stills all our questions.”

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The following is excerpted from Rose From Brier by Amy Carmichael, a book compiled from letters she wrote to those in the hospital on the Dohnavure compound after she herself had been bedridden and in pain for many years. This is from the chapter “Thy Calvary Stills All Our Questions.”

Yet listen now,
Oh, listen with the wondering olive trees,
And the white moon that looked between the leaves,
And gentle earth that shuddered as she felt
Great drops of blood. All torturing questions find
Answer beneath those old grey olive trees.
There, only there, we can take heart to hope
For all lost lambs – Aye, even for ravening wolves.
Oh, there are things done in the world today
Would root up faith, but for Gethsemane,

For Calvary interprets human life;
No path of pain but there we meet our Lord;
And all the strain, the terror and the strife
Die down like waves before his peaceful word,
And nowhere but beside the awful Cross,
And where the olives grow along the hill,
Can we accept the unexplained, the loss,
The crushing agony – and hold us still.

Children who love their Father know that when He says, “All things work together for good to them that love God,” He must mean the best good, though how that can be they do not know. This is a Why? of a different order from that of the little mosquito. It is immeasurable greater. It strikes at the root of things. Why is pain at all, and such pain? Why did God ask Satan the question which (apparently) suggested to the Evil One to deal so cruelly with an innocent man? Why do the innocent so often suffer? Such questions generally choose a time when we are in keen physical or mental suffering, and may (the questioner hopes will) forget our comfort. They seize us like fierce living things and claw at our very souls.

Between us and a sense of the pain of the world there is usually a gate, a kind of sluice gate. In our unsuffering hours it may be shut fast. Thank God, it is shut fast for tens of millions. But let severe pain come, and it is as though the torture in us touched a secret spring, and the door opens suddenly, and straight upon us pour the lava floods of the woe of a Creation that groans and travails together….

O Lord, why?

…I have read many answers, but none satisfy me. One often given is our Lord’s to St. Peter: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” And yet it is not an answer. He is speaking there of something which He Himself is doing, He is not doing this. “Ought not this woman whom Satan hath bound be loosed?” That was always His attitude toward suffering, and so that blessed word is not an answer to this question, and was not meant to be.

There are many poetical answers; one of them satisfied me for a time:

Then answered God to the cry of His world:
“Shall I take away pain,
And with it the power of the soul to endure,
Made strong by the strain?
Shall I take away pity that knits heart to heart,
And sacrifice high?
Will you lose all your heroes that lift from the fire
White brows to the sky?
Shall I take away love, that redeems with a price,
And smiles at its loss?
Can you spare from your lives that would climb unto mine
The Christ on His cross?”

But, though, indeed, we know that pain nobly born strengthens the soul, knits hearts together, leads to unselfish sacrifice (and we could not spare from our lives the Christ of the Cross), yet, when the raw nerve in our own flesh is touched, we know, with a knowledge that penetrates to a place which these words cannot reach, that our question is not answered. It is only pushed farther back, for why should that be the way of strength, and why need hearts be knit together by such sharp knitting needles, and who would not willingly choose relief rather than the pity of the pitiful?

No, beautiful words do not satisfy the soul that is confined in the cell whose very substance is pain. Nor have they any light to shed upon the suffering of the innocent. They are only words. They are not an answer.

What, then, is the answer? I do not know. I believe that it is one of the secret things of the Lord, which will not be opened to us till we see Him who endured the Cross, see the scars in His hands and feet and side, see Him, our Beloved, face to face. I believe that in that revelation of love, which is far past our understanding now, we shall “understand even as all along we have been understood.”

And till then? What does a child do whose mother or father allows something to be done which it cannot understand? There is only one way of peace. It is the child’s way. The loving child trusts.

I believe that we who know our God, and have proved Him good past telling, will find rest there. The faith of the child rests on the character it knows. So may ours, so shall ours. Our Father does not explain, nor does He assure us as we long to be assured… But we know our Father. We know His character. Somehow, somewhere, the wrong must be put right; how we do not know, only we know that, because He is what He is, anything else is inconceivable. For the word sent to the man whose soul was among lions and who was soon to be done to death, unsuccored, though the Lord of Daniel was so near, is fathomless: “And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.”

There is only one place we can receive, not an answer to our questions, but peace — that place is Calvary. An hour at the foot of the Cross steadies the soul as nothing else can. “O Christ beloved, Thy Calvary stills all our questions.” Love that loves like that can be trusted about this.

Repost: The Claims of Christ

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I first posted this on October 5, 2006, and for some reason it has been on my heart to post it again. Perhaps someone reading needs the truth of these verses.

Some years back I read that someone said that Jesus Christ never claimed to be God. I was astounded that anyone would say or think that. Sure, He never stood on a mountaintop and said, “I am God” in those exact words. But He did proclaim His Deity. The next time I read through the New Testament, I put a “C” (for “claim”) next to every verse I found where Christ claimed something about Himself. Here’s what I found:

1) When the devil tempted Him to throw Himself off the pinacle of the temple if He was the Son of God, Jesus answered, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” I think He was referring not only to the situation of doing something foolish and expecting God to intervene, but I think He was also referring to Himself as God who should not be tempted. (Matthew 4:5-7)

2) He claimed the authority and the ability to forgive sins.

Matthew 9:6: But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. (In Mark 2:5-11 and Luke 5:18-25, those listening to that claim acknowledged that only God can forgive sins, but they did not accept that Jesus was God: they thought He was blaspheming. His subsequent healing of the man was to give them something they could see that demonstrated Who He was.)

3) He claimed to be greater than the temple.

Matthew 12:6: But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

4) He claimed to be greater than Jonah.

Matthew 12:41: The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

5) He claimed to be greater than Solomon.

Matthew 12:42: The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

6) He confirmed that Peter’s proclamation of Him as the Christ, the Son of God, was revealed to Peter by the Father.

Matthew 16:15: He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

7) He claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath (in response to the Pharisees fussing about his activities on the Sabbath).

Mark 2:29: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

8 ) He proclaimed His purpose in coming was to give Himself as a ransom.

Mark 10:45: For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

9) He claimed to be the Christ.*

Mark 14: 61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

10) He claimed to be the One whom Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms foretold and the One in whose name repentance and remission of sins should be preached.

Luke 24: 44-47: And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

11) He claimed to be in heaven even while He was speaking to someone on earth, indicating omnipresence.

John 3:13: And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

12) He claimed that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:14-16: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

(Also John 6:47; 10:28-29)

13) He claimed to give “living water.”

John 4:10, 13-14: Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water….Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 7:37-39: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

14) He claimed to be the Messiah.*

John 4: 25-26: The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

15) He claimed to be the Son of God many times over: here are two examples:

John 5: 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

(The reaction He got indicates they understood what He meant in claiming to be the Son of God.)

John 9: 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

(See also John 10:36)

16) He claimed that whoever heard His word and believed on Him that sent Him would not come into condemnation, but would pass from death unto life.

John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

17) He claimed that the Scriptures testified of Him.

John 5:39: Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

18 ) He claimed to be the bread of life.

John 6:35: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:48: I am that bread of life.

John 6:51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

19) He claimed He would raise up those who believe on Him at the last day.

John 6:39-40: And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

20) He claimed to be the light of the world.

John 8:12: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

(Also John 9:5)

21) He claimed to be from above and not of this world.

John 8:23: And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

22) He claimed that if whoever does not believe in Him would die in their sins.

John 8: 24: I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

23) He claimed to be not only before Abraham but to be the “I am” who spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:13-14):

John 8:58: Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

(The reaction to this statement shows they knew exactly what He meant [though they did not accept it] and to me this statement is one of the strongest proofs of Christ’s deity.)

24) He claimed to be the door of the sheep.

John 10: 7-9: Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

25) He claimed He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.

John 10:10: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

26) He claimed He is the good shepherd.

John 10: 11, 14: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

27) He claimed to be one with the Father.

John 10:30: I and my Father are one.

28 ) He foretold His betrayal so that when it happened they would know who He was.

John 13:18-19: I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

29) He claimed to be the true vine without Whom we can do nothing.

John 15: 1, 5-6: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

30) He claimed that we have peace in Him and that He had overcome the world.

John 16: 33: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

31) He claimed that eternal life is knowing the Father and Himself.

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

*For an explanation of what is meant by the terms “Messiah” or “Christ,” please go here and put the term “Messiah” in the search box. (I couldn’t get the direct link to the definition to work.)

Well, I think that adds up, don’t you? If I have overlooked any, please let me know in your comments. Some of these make more sense and have greater meaning in context. There are other things that attest to Christ’s Deity: the fulfillment of prophecy (something I did at the same time as this study was to also put a “P” in the margin beside every verse in the gospels and the first few chapters of Acts which spoke of some prophecy being fulfilled), His works, the testimony of others, the testimony of the Father (”This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased.” )

I hope and pray that any of you who have not recognized Him as Lord and Saviour would believe on Him even today, and I hope that the faith of believers will be strengthened by these truths.

(I am submitting this to Thursday Thirteen for the day though there are more than thirteen claims.)