Much of what I have read of the Puritans has been of real spiritual benefit to me (though I confess to sticking with those Puritan writers who put the cookies on the lower shelf). They often say profoundly helpful things in memorable ways. For example, Samuel Rutherford, the great Scottish preacher said, “When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for God’s choicest wines.” That’s a good one. And so, when we are in a trouble, it is a good thing to remember: look for God’s blessings in the affliction.
But sometimes we can elevate these great quotes from the Puritans to the level of “super-law” in our minds. We get hit hard with an affliction, and try as we might, we can’t find the wine. All we are doing is fumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch. And so we begin to think that we are pretty pitiful Christians if we can’t do better than this. We conclude that we are being punished for our lack of faith if we are not laying hold of the vintage wine. And this can lead to introspection and self-condemnation which are the last things needed in the midst of a hard providence.
Yes, the Bible tells us we should rejoice always, that we should count it all joy when we meet various trials. And of course, this is right and true. But rejoicing doesn’t always involve balloons and confetti and popping the champagne. Rejoicing in the Lord in the midst of suffering means thanking God for all things, even when it is hard things. Rejoicing may mean singing a song when we don’t necessarily feel like it, reciting a psalm, counting our blessings, giving thanks, remembering God’s promises, waiting for God’s deliverance, or doing our duties as we wait for healing and help.
So as we read the Puritans, and other writers like them, we ought to keep from laying heavy burdens on our consciences that God did not mean for us to bear.In other words, don’t beat yourself up if you can’t find the wine bottles in the basement. Don’t assume that you are a lousy Christian if you are feeling weary, lonely, or sad. These feelings are not sinful in themselves. We are to steward these feelings by the grace of God, make the most of our afflictions, and turn a profit on them by faith. But one of the things that will hinder that process is imposing a false standard on ourselves and then grieving over our inability to attain to it.
What do you do when your duties seem to outweigh your abilities? Or your to-do list is looming over you like a big black thundercloud? You’re starting the week out with more work, activities, plans, assignments, and commitments crammed in than seem humanly possible to fulfill. And you don’t have enough help. I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there, and you may even be at this very tight spot right now.
First off, go ahead and acknowledge that it is humanly impossible. You are going to need great supernatural strength and help. Then humbly ask God to be your help. Ask Him to organize and guide your week. Commit it all to Him and then set your alarm clock by faith, committing Monday morning to Him, and go to bed.
Then, when the alarm goes off, turn to what can be done on the human level. We can ask for strength and wisdom and grace, but we still need to get it all done. God isn’t going to actually do it for us; He is going to enable us to do it with our own feeble brains and His mighty arm. It really does help to take one day at a time. Maybe just one hour of each day at a time. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Continue reading ‘Heavy Duties’
Freely you have received, freely give. This is a great principle of the Christian life. We do not protest when God gives to us, when He loads us with blessings and mercies. That would be unnatural. We receive His gifts freely without a fuss. This is the way we are to give to others: freely (and without a fuss).
I have always thought of this verse in terms of financial and material blessings: God gives to me, and I in turn give to others. So it startled me the other morning when I noticed the context of this statement in Matthew 10. Jesus has called His disciples, and He is giving them instructions as He sends them out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (vs. 8).
The giving that the disciples will be doing is not in the form of financial gifts. They will be giving themselves away, laying themselves out for sick, unclean, dead, and demon-possessed Continue reading ‘Giving the Gospel Freely’
I have a great deal of admiration for Mary, the mother of our Lord. I do not pray to her, or through her, or any such thing. That is idolatry. But I admire her like I admire Sarah or Elizabeth or Abigail. One of the striking things about Mary is her courageous loyalty. Consider her famous response to the angel Gabriel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
Mary’s first allegiance is to the Lord. She submits to the angel’s message, calling herself the Lord’s handmaid. And this is no minor thing. She has been greeted in a startling way with startling news. And no sooner has the angel departed than she “arose” and went “with haste” to her cousin Elizabeth. She obeys quickly, loyal to God and to His messenger. She is teachable, responsive to God’s leading, loyal to His command.
Later she is loyal to her husband Joseph who is himself a loyal man, faithful and responsive to God. He is “raised from sleep” and “did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife” Continue reading ‘Mary’s Loyalty’
Here is a verse in Proverbs (4:18) to give the elderly a hopeful outlook:
“But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” The elderly may feel their age very acutely; their strength and life may seem dimmer each day. But the truth is their path is shining brighter with the passing of each day. Sounds a bit like 2 Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
God turns things upside down. The body starts wearing down, but the spirit of the Christian grows newer and newer, the path ahead brighter than ever. The eye of faith sees the unseen and has hope.
On the flip side: “The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” (Prov. 4:19)
We all think that giving offense is a bad thing, right? Well, not always. It depends. You may give offense unknowingly just by walking into a room, and that is not (usually, anyway) culpable. But we seldom realize that taking offense can be a sin we really do need to confess. We usually assume that if we are offended, that is the moral high ground, and whatever caused it must be a sin. But that is not true.
Jesus offended the Jews like crazy, and of course He was not guilty of any sin. They were the guilty ones, guilty for taking offense at the Messiah, for having their pride wounded, for being angry that their toes were stepped on. They stumbled over the stone which was Continue reading ‘Taking Offense’
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