Devotions for Men on the Go

Greetings All,

     Today I found a book I had laid on my desk weeks ago. It was "Devotions for Men on the Go," by Stephen Arterburn.  I opened it and it randomly fell open to this devotion. It struck me as worthy of sharing. I hope it moves and challenges you as well. Enjoy.

"Even if my life is to be poured out like a drink offering 

to complete the sacrifice of your faithful service 

(that is, if I am to die for you), I will rejoice, 

and I want to share my joy with all of you." 

(Philippians 2:17)

A Matter of Honor

     "About an hour into United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco on September 11, 2001, terrorists commandeered the cockpit, herded the passengers to the back of the plane, and turned it back toward a target in Washington, D.C.  Among those passengers were four remarkable men who didn't much like being herded around. 

     One was 31 year old publicist Mark Bingham, who had helped the University of California win the 1991 and 1993 national collegiate rugby championships. He was six foot five, rowdy and fearless.  One was 38 year-old medical research company executive Tom Burnett, who told his wife over the phone, "I know we are going to die. Some of us are going to do something about it."  One was 31 year old businessman Jeremy Glick. He called his wife, Lyz, at her parents home in Windham, New York, to say good-bye to her and their twelve-week-old daughter, Emmy.  The other was 32 year-old sales account manager Todd Beamer, who had played third base and shortstop over three seasons for Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

     These four brave men apparently came up with a plan to storm the cock-pit and attempt to wrest control of the aircraft from the terrorists.  Flight 93 never made it to Washington. Instead, it crashed into a field eighty miles southeast of Pittsburgh. All passengers and crew perished.  Nobody on the ground was killed. 

     What will you do when it is your turn to be poured out for the sake of others?

     Dear God, may I value honor more than survival." 

     Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).  I wonder if it might not be just as hard (if not harder) to lay down your life for strangers you would never meet -- like these men who's heroic act saved the lives of countless many in whatever the target was to be in Washington, D.C.  All  on board did die, but if the terrorists were allowed to continue on unchallenged, it would have been all on board plus many more in D.C.

     Self-sacrifice is never easy. It goes against our survival instinct, and with few exceptions goes against the sway of our self-focused society.  Whether it be offering one's life up to death for others, or dying to self daily, by, "considering others better than yourself" (Phil. 2:3) it does not come easy.  Yet, it is an expression of imitating Christ in His condescension, sacrificial love, and self-emptying humility (Phil. 2:5-11).

     We admire such things in Jesus, but sometimes forget that, "our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death -even death on a cross" (Phil 2:5-8).  Such humble and sacrificial love is part of following His command to, "love one another as He has loved us." 

     So, maybe I could put Mr. Arterburn's last prayer this way: "Dear God, may we value the opportunity to imitate Christ in His humility more than self-interest, self-protection and survival." 

Only as we lean on Him, Pastor Jeff

Shut in by God

Greetings All, 

     This week's "thought" is called "Shut in by God"  It comes from a book of daily devotions complied from the writings of James Montgomery Boice, who served at 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for over 30 years before his relatively early death in 2000 at the age of 61.  Boice was a  gifted and well-known Bible teacher who held degrees from Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Basel in Switzerland, and whose "Bible Study Hour" radio program can still be heard on air and online. This is the devotional entry for - January 8th (today!) -- and offers three lessons we can learn from the biblical narrative regarding Noah and his family. Enjoy.

Shut in by God

"And the Lord shut him in..." 

Genesis 7:16

     

     "Consider these three lessons.

     FIRST, when the Lord shut Noah and his family up in the ark, they were totally secure and thereby become an illustration for us of the believer's perfect security in Jesus Christ. The rains    would come. The floods would rage. But nothing would touch these who had been sealed in the ark by Jehovah.  The Lord does not place the safety of his people in the hands of others. He himself throws the bolt-lock. It is said of him, "What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open" (Rev. 3:7 NIV) The shutting in of Noah was the equivalent of our being sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).  Like him we are not only saved; we are secure as well.

     SECOND, there is a lesson of God's great grace. The last thing we are told in this story before the waters actually begin to come is that, 'the Lord shut him in" (v. 16).  Presumably this was done at the last possible moment.  Noah had been preaching God's righteousness, man's sin, and warning of the great flood for years and years, but no one had believed him. They were still refusing to believe. Yet the door to the ark remained open, and any who wanted to could have gone inside. What great grace!  What magnificent forbearance on the part of God!  Since Noah had believed and had gone in, no one still outside could say that the possibility of belief was closed to him. "Whoever willed" could come. So it is today. All who will may come. Many do not, but none of these can say that the possibility of repentance from sin and turning to Christ are beyond them. 

     FINALLY, there is a lesson in that there is an end to grace. Grace is great, but it is not unending. If it is spurned, the day of reckoning eventually comes. For one final week the door stood open. But the week ended, the door was closed, and the flood came. The same God who opens doors is himself the door (John 10:7 & 9).  He also closes doors and refuses to open them when the time of grace is gone.  For you it is not yet past, whoever you may be.  This is still the day of grace, and though it will end, it has not ended yet.  Won't you come while there is still time?  God said to Noah, "Come... into the ark" (Gen. 7:1). At the end of the Bible we read, "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price" (Rev. 22:17)." 

     Grace is the most wonderful thing! Nothing in all the earth compares with it!  And though it is God's nature to be gracious, and the riches and glory of His grace will be (and should already be) the source of endless praise among the recipients of it, the Bible makes clear (as Boice rightly notes), that God's offer of grace will one day end.

     Isaiah 61:2, in speaking of the ministry of Jesus, states that He was to: "proclaim the year (or time) of the LORD's favor (grace), and the day of the vengeance of our God."  And Jesus did just that. He fulfilled this prophecy about Himself by proclaiming the "year" (the time, season, or epoch) of God's grace in light of the coming day of judgment. He did not preach that grace did away with God's justice and judgment forever, but that God in His great mercy was offering grace to all now in light of the impending Day of Judgment which is to come.

     The Gospel declaration (like Noah's message to the people of his day) was, "Come for safety and salvation now!  Hurry! For the day is coming when the door of God's grace and mercy will close, and the time of judgment will begin for all who have not entered in."   Peter proclaimed that  message in Acts 2:38-41 on the Day of Pentecost.  And Paul proclaims it as well in II Cor. 5:20 - 6:2.

     It assures us that the call of the Gospel must always have a sense of urgency to it.  For it's message is not, "Grace to everyone now and forevermore," it is, "Now is the time of God's favor! Today is the day of salvation! Come to Christ for mercy now, for the day of wrath and divine judgment is coming" (II Cor. 6:2, I Thess. 1:9-10, II Thess. 1:3-10).  Yes, Scripture assures us that there will come a day when the door of God's grace -- like the door on the ark -- will one day be shut and all left outside (all who spurned His offer of grace in Jesus) will experience God's great wrath.

     So come now, says Scripture!  Whosoever will, come!  Be sure you come to Christ before the door of God's free offer of grace is closed to you forever.

     If any of you have not yet come, I pray that by God's grace you would, and without delay.

In the Service of the Gospel, Pastor Jeff

Scripture-grounded Take on Suffering in Times of Trial and Difficulty

Greetings Friends!

     Today's "thought" is taken from the daily devotional, "Streams in the Desert" by L. B. Cowman.
     In it we find an interesting, refreshing, and Scripture-grounded take on suffering that I offer to you to encourage you and nurture hope in you in times of trial and difficulty.  This excerpt appears to be a group of thoughts on the redemptive nature of suffering taken from the writings of several different people -- only two of whose names she cites.  As I was reading it on June 19th it struck me as one I would want to share with you. So please, enjoy!

“Grain must be ground to make bread.”

Isaiah 28:28

     Many of us cannot be used to become food for the world’s hunger until we are broken in Christ’s hands. “Grain must be ground to make bread,” and being a blessing for Christ often requires sorrow on our part.  Yet even sorrow is not too great a price to pay for the privilege of touching other lives with Christ’s blessings.  The things that are most precious to us today are things that have come to us through tears and pain" (J. R. Miller).

     "God has made me bread for His chosen ones, and if it is necessary for me to be ground in the teeth of lions in order to feed His children, then blessed be the name of the Lord" (St. Ignatius).

     "To burn brightly we must first experience the flame. In other words, we cease to bless when we cease to bleed.”

     Poverty, hardship and misfortune have propelled many a life to moral heroism and spiritual greatness. Difficulties challenge our energy, and our perseverance, yet they bring the strongest qualities of the soul to life. It is the weights on the old grandfather clock that keep it going. And many a sailor has faced a strong headwind while using it to help him reach port. God has appointed opposition as an incentive to faith and holy service.

     The most illustrious characters of the Bible were bruised, broken, and ground into bread for the hungry.

     Abraham, because he endured affliction while remaining obedient, stood at the top of the class and found his diploma inscribed with the words, ’the father of the faithful.’

     Jacob, like wheat, suffered severe threshing and grinding.

     Joseph was bruised and beaten and had to go through Potiphar’s kitchen, and into Egypt’s prison, on his way to getting to the throne.

     Job was ground to powder like medicine, yet through his sufferings has helped untold millions find hope in their own.

     David was hunted like an animal through the mountains.  Bruised, weary, and footsore, he was ground into bread for the kingdom.

     Paul could never have been bread for Caesar’s household if he had not endured the bruising of being whipped and stoned. He was ground into fine flour for the royal family.

     Combat comes before victory.  If God has chosen special trials for you to endure, be assured that in His heart He has kept for you a special place. A soul that is sorely bruised is one God has chosen to use.”

     It is a somewhat interesting phenomena that the messages I share from the pulpit where I use illustrations from my own life (or from the lives of others) where I or they struggled with pain, hardship, or difficulty, are the ones people say they appreciate the most. Not ones where I speak of my victories, successes, or achievements, but those where I share my struggles with pain, difficulty or trials.  There is, it seems, something universally helpful, desired, and appreciated when people are transparent about struggles, which is not there when one speaks about their victories and successes.  This pattern is so pronounced in Scripture, and my own experience, that it has made me hesitant to ask God (as some do) to be "used in a mighty way."  For it seems that those who have endured the greatest suffering and struggle are the most likely to be used in such a fashion.

     If the immense popularity of the Book of Job, and the transforming power of the sufferings of Jesus tell us anything, they tell us people find one immense help from one who is a friend in suffering. It should assure us that if we as believers experience hardship, it's not because God is angry at us or punishing us, but because God is growing our faith and equipping us for useful service to others in His kingdom.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Ulster Revival

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" has to do with an amazing move of God in Ireland between 1857 and 1860.  It's a true account of what led to the "Ulster Revival" in 1859.  I have taken the majority from a devotional book I use, entitled: "The One Year Book of Christian History," by E. Michael Rusten and Sharon Rusten, but I have also woven in facts from two other sources reformationsa.org and banneroftruth.org). I send it along to encourage you to speak the truth and persist in praying for the church. Enjoy!

     "In the spring of 1856 an English lady by the name of Mrs. Colville came to Ulster, Ireland from Gateshead, England.  She began a program of house to house visitation with a view to winning souls for Christ. In November she returned to England in low spirits thinking that God had not acknowledged her labors and feeling that her work had been unfruitful. She was wrong." 

     The following account tells us why....

     "In 1856 in Ulster, Ireland, a young man named James McQuilkin was invited to tea with three ladies (a Miss Brown and two others). They were there to hear a visiting woman named Mrs. Colville who skirted the civilities of discussing the weather and spoke openly on a subject McQuilkin found uncomfortable: the condition of the soul (ie: did each have a personal interest in the Lord Jesus and had they received the new birth).  After one guest at the tea party described the nature of her Christian experience, Mrs. Colville said: "My dear, I don't believe you have ever known the Lord Jesus."  Though not addressed directly to McQuilkin, he would later write: "I knew that she spoke what was true of me.  I felt as if the ground were about to open beneath me and let me sink into hell. As soon as I could, I left their company. For two weeks I had no peace day or night. At the end of that time I found peace by trusting the Lord Jesus." 

     The following year McQuilkin felt burdened to pray for his neighbors. He asked three friends to join him. Once a week the four men gathered at the village schoolhouse to pray for each person in their community by name. The town was Ahogill, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland. The date: September 1857.  They studied the Word and prayed for three months before there were any visible results. Two more men joined their group, and then on New Year's Day, 1858, the first conversion took place as a result of the prayer meeting. By the end of 1858, about 50 young men were taking part in the weekly prayer meeting.  Many people ridiculed these young men praying for Revival. Others criticized their determination not to allow women in their prayer meeting. The young men responded that they did not believe it advisable to allow women in their prayer meeting, as the world would have said that the meetings were being held only for the purposes of flirtation. As it happened, young women started their own prayers meeting, which were also greatly blessed.

     Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, God was laying the same burden on many hearts, and similar prayer groups started throughout northern Ireland. Pastors began to preach about revival. In December of 1857 McQuilkin's group rejoiced to see the first conversion in Ahogill. But widespread revival did not come. Still, God's people prayed -- for nineteen more months they prayed. Then in March of 1859,  in the city of Ballymena, just six miles from Ahogill, a thirty-year-old man fell prostrate one morning in the crowded marketplace and called out, "Unclean! Unclean! God be merciful to me a sinner!"  There was an overpowering conviction that a great Revival had come at last. The night of March 14, 1859, the McQuilkin group responded by inviting Christians to a prayer meeting at Ahogill Presbyterian Church. The church was so crowded that they moved the meeting out into the street. There hundreds of people knelt in the mud and rain, confessing their sins and praising God. They were the first of 100,000 people God called to himself in 1859 in what became known as the Ulster Revival. Men who had been previously unaffected bowed in earnestness and sobbed like children. Churches were crowded. Family worship became almost universal. There was joy unutterable.

     In Coleraine, in Antrim County, at the local school, a school teacher seeing one young boy clearly under the conviction of sin, advised him to go home and call upon the Lord in private. He sent with him an older boy who had found peace the day before. After these two boys had travailed in prayer for some time, the young boy was blessed with sacred peace and rejoicing he returned to the school, and with beaming face, reported to his teacher; "Oh Sir, I am so happy, I have the Lord Jesus in my heart!"  The attention of the whole class was arrested.  One boy after another silently slipped out of the classroom and after a while the schoolteacher looked out to see boys on their knees throughout the playground, each one in earnest prayer. He turned to the two boys and asked them; "Do you think you can go and pray with these boys?" They did so and kneeling down with one after another, they began to implore the Lord to forgive their sins for the sake of Him who had borne them all upon the Cross.  There was a great spiritual movement among young people. It was not uncommon for teenage boys to hold street meetings to reach their peers for Christ. At one such meeting an Irish clergyman counted forty children and eighty adults listening to the preaching of twelve-year-old boys.

     The results were remarkable. In 1860 in County Antrim the police had an empty jail and no crimes to investigate. Judges often had no cases to hear. With their owners converted, pubs closed and alcohol consumption fell so drastically that whiskey distilleries were sold. Gambling at horse races fell of by 95%. A visitor to Ulster reported: Thronged church services, abundant prayer meetings, increased family prayers, unmatched Scripture reading, increased giving, converts remaining steadfast."  The Ulster movement touched off similar revivals in England, Scotland and Wales. Edwin Orr wrote of the 1859 Revival: "This Revival which originated in a prayer meeting of four young men in the village school house of Kells made a greater impact spiritually on Ireland, than anything else known since the days of St. Patrick."  Or to take it back a step further, God drew hundreds of thousands of people to himself through a movement which all began with a woman unafraid to speak spiritual truth over tea." 

     Don't ever give up praying or speaking Gospel truth.

     God's richest blessings on you and your churches, Pastor Jeff

Streams in the Desert

Greetings All!

     After three fruitful weeks of doing ministry with my wife Nancy in India, I am finally back!  Therefore I'd like to get back on schedule and pass on what I found to be an encouraging thought for your spiritual edification. It is taken from the devotional classic, "Streams in the Desert," by L. B. Cowman.  It struck me as a story (or analogy) containing much truth in regard to those difficult times in life when we cry out to God from the depth of our being and he seemingly remains silent, distant, or fails to respond to our cries.  May her words offer encouragement to your soul.  Enjoy.

"A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Jesus crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!  My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.' Jesus did not answer a word." Matthew 15:23

     

     "Are you reading these verses as a child of God who is experiencing a crushing sorrow; a bitter disappointment, or a heartbreaking blow from a totally unexpected place? Are you longing to hear your Master's voice calling you, saying, "Take courage!  It is I. Don't be afraid" (Matthew 14:27)?  Yet only silence, the unknown, and misery confront you -- "Jesus did not answer a word."

     God's tender heart must often ache listening to our sad, complaining cries. Our weak and often impatient hearts cry out because we fail to see through our tear-blinded eyes that it is for our sake that He does not answer at all, or that He answers in a way we believe is less than the best.   In fact, the silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His words and may be a sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and His way of providing a deeper blessing for you...

     Let me relate a beautiful old story of how one Christian dreamed she saw three other women in prayer. When they knelt the Master drew near to them. As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her with tenderness and grace. He smiled with radiant love and spoke to her in tones of pure, sweet music.  Upon leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed head and gave her one look of loving approval. He passed the third woman almost abruptly, without stopping for a word or a glance. The woman having the dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first woman. The second gained His approval but did not experience the special demonstrations of love He gave the first. But the third woman must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all, not even a passing look."

     She wondered what the third woman must have done to have been treated so differently. As she tried to account for the actions of her Lord, He Himself came and stood beside her. He said to her, "O Woman!  How wrongly you have interpreted my actions!  The first kneeling woman needs the full measure of my tenderness and care to keep her feet on My narrow way.  She is weak and needs My love, thoughts, and help every moment of the day, for without them she would stumble into failure. The second woman has stronger faith and deeper love than the first, and I can count on her to trust Me no matter how things may go or whatever people may do. Yet the third woman, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the purest quality.  I am training her through quick and drastic ways for the highest and holiest service. She knows me so intimately, and trusts me so completely, that she no longer depends on my voice, loving glances, or other outward signs to know of my approval. She is not dismayed or discouraged by any circumstances I arrange for her to encounter. She trusts me when common sense, reason, and even every subtle instinct of the natural heart would rebel, knowing that I am preparing her for eternity, and realizing that the understanding of what I do will come later."

     "My love is silent because I love beyond the power of words to express it and beyond the understanding of the human heart. Also, it is silent for your sake -- that you may learn to love and trust me with pure, Spirit-taught, spontaneous responses.  I desire for your response to my love to be without prompting of anything external."  Learn, then, the mystery of His silence and praise Him every time He withdraws His gifts from you. Through this you will better know and love and trust the Giver."

     I must confess I have seen something of this truth actively played out in my life.  I am not by any means a giant in the faith, and have a long way to go (as those closest to me will affirm).  But I have often wondered why it is that when I first came to Christ I had far more intense, tangible, faith-building spiritual experiences where I tangibly sensed God's presence, witnessed startling answers to prayer, and received what could only be called profoundly clear guidance attested to by others and confirmed by God's grace in providentially bringing certain things to pass.

     Yet, as I grew in the Lord I noticed the number of them diminish significantly.  Initially (for the most part) God seemed to answer my cries more quickly, and in ways that seemed more tangible and dramatic, even stunning this newly born-again child on many occasions. But as I continued to walk with the Lord I found He was slower to "rescue" me from trials.  Rather, He started to let me weather them. Instead of the former hand of help offered quickly to usher me out of hardships, He left me to endure hardships, go through heartbreak, and walk through dark nights of the soul where my path led through valleys so deep it seemed to my impatient soul the darkness would never be dispelled by the light!

     And though at first it was very unsettling and sometimes frightful (feeling God had abandoned me), I soon realized that the spiritual life is in many ways like a parent teaching it's new child to walk.  At first you are there with arms outstretched ready to grab the wobbly-legged 9 or 10 month old at the slightest sign of them going down, often keeping a grip on their arm or shirt, or grabbing them before their diaper-lined rear end ever hits the ground!

     But at some point (out of love and a desire for them to learn and grow) you must let go of the shirt, pull back, and refrain from helping them.  As they grow you must let them learn to stand (and even fall) so as to realize the consequences of their actions and the need for wise choices and good decision-making. God does the same with us. As infant Christians he responds more quickly, and in more tangible ways, realizing how frail we are in the faith and how much help we need initially in order to make it past those first hurdles in our new life.  But imagine how absurd it would be to see a parent cautiously hovering over their six or eight year old in the same way, holding on to their shirt and ready to grab them before they ever fall.

     No, as a child grows into an adolescent and then into adulthood, the parent steps back further and further and gives more space, freedom, and responsibility.  Why would God, as the perfect parent, do any differently with us as we grow spiritually? 

In the Bonds of Christian Charity, Pastor Jeff

Holy Sonnet XIV - John Donne (1572-1631)

Greetings All!

Today's "thought" comes from a rather thick book (I'm estimating it has over 1000 pages since it's almost 3 inches thick and the only recent book I have where the pages are not numbered)!  It's called "A Poem a Day -- 365 Devotional Readings Based on Classic Christian Verse" by Philip Comfort and Daniel Partner.  Though I'm no poet, I have found it quite intriguing.

     Today's selection includes a poem by John Donne (1572-1631) followed by a meditation on who he was and why he wrote it. The poem (which is autobiographical) deals with Donne's yearning yet rebellious heart which he knew well enough to know that God must either possess him completely, or he could never be chaste or satisfied -- something which may sound odd to some.
     Even if you're not a poet either, I encourage you to read on.  Consider not just the poem, but the devotional thought that follows -- a thought which reveals the heart of a man who could not settle for complacency or meager handouts in his relationship with God. Enjoy.

Holy Sonnet XIV

"Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you as yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; that I may rise and stand.

  Overthrow me, and bend your force to break, blow, burn and make me new.

  I, like a usurped town, to another due, labor to admit you, but O, to no end.

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, but is captived, and proves weak or untrue. 

 Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain, but am betrothed unto your enemy.

Divorce me!  Untie or break that knot again.

 Take me to you and imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

 Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me."

     John Donne was one of the greatest English poets and preachers of the 1600's. His deep intellect and fiery emotions are evident in both his poetry and sermons. A descendant of Saint Thomas More, Donne was raised a Roman Catholic, but in the 1590's became a member of the Church of England. In 1597 he became secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton and fell in love with Egerton's niece, Ann More. They eloped in 1601. Ann's father disapproved of the marriage and caused Egerton to dismiss Donne from his job.  Thereafter, Donne accepted the king's invitation to become an Anglican priest.

     These experiences of poverty and failure caused Donne to rely on God and cherish His love. This poem expresses the poet's desire for God -- the entire Triune God -- to take over his being. Donne compares himself to a captive town that can never be free unless God captures the capturer (the enemy) and sets Donne free. And with pungent, dramatic irony, Donne declares that he can never be "chaste" -- or a spiritual virgin -- unless God ravishes him. Wooing had not worked.  Donne needed God to take violent action and batter down his heart and take it over completely.

     Sometimes we need to ask God to take over our heart and mind in a radical way. In doing so, He will not enslave us or seize us without right, but rather, He will free us. Until God completely occupies us, we will be occupied with everything but God.

     As the prophet says: "I will make you my wife forever, says the Lord. I will show you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord." (Hosea 2:19-20)."

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     I would have loved to sit under the preaching of a man so passionate to know and experience the love, presence, and grace of God. It reminds me of another person who also spoke of God in such terms. It brings to mind another person, Annie Dillard, who was also discontent with the common and somewhat apathetic views of God held in the church. For after surveying the contemporary church scene in the 1980's she wrote in her book, "Teaching a Stone to Talk":

     "On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions.  Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of Power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are like children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake some day and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return."

     Isaiah would have preferred her understanding of God to that which is sometimes put forth in the church.  For very much like her, Isaiah conceived that if God were to, "rend the heavens and come down," then the mountains would tremble before Him, the waters would boil as when a fire is lit beneath them, and the nations would quake in fear before His presence (Isaiah 64:1-5). 

     What a difference it would make to us as individuals, and Christ's Church as a whole, if we captured even the smallest glimpse of God's true greatness and grandeur and majesty.  Even the smallest glimpse of the God we worship would make us, like Donne, passionate to know and be possessed completely by Him.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff