The Testimony of God in the life of David Wood

Absolutely incredible story of God's work in a sinners life, David Wood's testimony:
http://youtu.be/DakEcY7Z5GU?list=UUy5H0uunC2qMk0iOF4SHKUw

Glory & Virtue

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,  as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

Grace and peace are granted in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, but this is not some formulaic to grace and peace.  It is a simple factual statement. Peter, in the verses which follow, explains how this is.  Verse 2 is like a thesis statement which he is setting out to prove.

as - indicates the explanatory nature of what follows further strengthening Peters assertion in verse 2.

His divine power - Life and godly living are not possible apart from the divine Hand, which is shown to us by knowledge of the One who called.

by glory & virtue - What glory and virtue do we have in this life?  What beauty and moral purity do we have which could have revealed to us Christ or the Father? None!  We know there are none righteous, not one among men. Yet Peter here maintains knowledge of Him who calls us is possible by glory & virtue?!  How is this so?

The glory & virtue Peter speaks of is that of Christ's and is, if received, the way to knowledge of the Holy One.  Proverbs 3:1-7 expound on this very well!

By which - that is to say by the virtue and glory of Christ.  Promises have been given.  Blessings have been bestowed in Christ.  These promises have been described as 'exceedingly great' and 'precious'.  Without speaking of the promises themselves Peter tells us what they lead to - a godly life and demeanor.

the divine nature - when Peter says this, it is in accord with all nature.  We are not suddenly turned into some part of the Godhead when we die.  That is not Christianity!  There is only one God-Man, Jesus Christ our Lord. We never take to ourselves divine attributes such as immutability or omniscience.  They are reserved for Him alone - indeed, the very idea of say, immutability to a man, is logically impossible, for man is mutable.  Perfection is not attainable by imperfect man.

How is this so? Couldn't a man, if possible, attain it? No - for God does not reside in time and space.  He sees reality as it is.  In Exodus 3:14 He is described as the great I AM.  Not I was or will be.  Hebrews 13:8 speaks of this, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday today, and forever. God is described to Moses as being the God of Abraham Isaac & Jacob (though they be dead, physically). 

Since this is so- Man could not attain in time (if it were possible) something which is by nature not bound to time.  God sees us as we are - not as we were or will be - for He sees outside of time and space and nothing escapes His gaze. 

Peter further explains when he says, 'having escaped the corruption in the world through lust' - If a man could escape the corruption in the world he might be free from the outside influences of sin - but his evil heart is within him and he cannot escape that!  You cannot escape corruption by leaving the world - for we need a heart transplant (see Jer. 31:31-34).  This is only available through the gift of righteousness in Christ, which Peter has been telling us about since verse 1. 

 Glory be to the Father

Glory be to the Son.

Glory be to the Spirit.

Glory to the 3 in 1.

The Precious Faith

"Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained like precious faith with us

by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" 2 Peter 1:1

a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ  -  Peter opens this letter with his credentials, yet it is not as though he is flaunting them, for right away he ties such a faith as he has to all other Christians. Even the order suggests humility.  A slave has no authority of his own - it is derived from the master and Peter's apostleship lays plainly to us that the authority is Christ.  (In saying this, I realize that this argument is true of all believers, however – we make no such claim that apostleship is based on our relationship to Christ – Apostleship is more than acknowledging Christ as Lord & master)

To those who have obtained like precious faith  -  Peters first letter was to pilgrims and strangers in the dispersion who were elect.  In this epistle he identifies his audience as those who have the same faith.  Peter is writing to Christians. 

by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ  -  Here Peter reveals that the gospel is obtained by the righteousness of another, Christ.  We are not made perfect by our good deeds, but we stand before God in Christ’s works - He is the only righteous one, and He alone will stand.  Apart from Christ, no man will see the Lord.

Peter describes how we get our faith - by Christ's righteousness. It is not by faith we come to know our condition and claim Christ. Rather by His work and righteousness he is afforded a people. And having chosen them, He quickens (or wakes) them.  They, having been made aware of their sorry state, trusting not at all in their deeds, evil as they are, trust in the finished work of Christ by faith in those works.  This is the gospel.  Such a wonder this book is!

Post script: Wednesday (the 3^rd) our dog, Sunny died.  We had him as a pet 10 years, 9 months. So although he was sick for a time, the loss is real. I was not so apt to study that morning.  But putting aside my morose state I took up the task.

And I was blessed. 

Grace to the Humble

I have been studying 1 Peter and have been ruminating on a very familiar passage- 5:5-7, "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

Submission requires humility. Peter tells us how to be rightly submitted one to another - in humility.  Humility requires a faithful trust in one another, and God most of all.  We are given motivation for this in the statement, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Often times it is said that the wife is to be submissive to her husband.  And while that is true (and we'll not go off in the direction of egalitarianism or complementarism) Peter is saying much more.  Peter says believers ought to be submissive one to another - Elders and young people, Husbands and wives, masters and slaves. Each to the other.

Humility is a grace toward each other.  But as regards God it is the grace given to humble people.  Toward God our humility is evidently due - few would question that (though today some might).  In the light of His presence we all do shrink back.

But we do not regularly think like this toward one another.  Why?

In a word - Pride.

We think we know better, or are stronger, or that our experience is greater than the person before us.

And our deceitful heart will not tell us differently.  We become deluded and deceived so much to the point that we dare not question our motives.  And the only time we do admit weakness - is when it is too painfully obvious: We are too short or weak or some other malady which we evidently cannot hide and our ability for the task is lacking.

Brethren - Peter does not say submit when you have no choice, like an army does when confronted with defeat.  He simply says be submissive to one another.

Humility is not often displayed because we think it exposes us AS weak wimpy or too stupid to fully grasp a thing.  Who likes to present themselves this way?!

But oftimes isn't this actually the case? Aren't we? 

Now look at Christ.  He was not in any sense weak, wimpy or stupid.  Paul tells us how He voluntarily gave up all His heavenly prerogatives to go to the cross for our sakes in Philippians 2:5-11. 

But, we object, I have gifts!  I want to share! I don't want to be misunderstood!

What!  You don't want to be thought of as stupid? or weak? or wimpy?

Then think of it as laying down your giftings for a time - like as Christ did that He may do His perfect work in you.  For isn't it true that it's not us who works but Him?  Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

Don't let pride in your abilities or your great strength or your mental prowess get in the way of the work of God in your life or that of another.

Paul tells us of the work of God in a most beautiful passage in Ephesians chapters 1-2.  We are very familiar with verses 2:8-9.  But look at verse 10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Let the motivation of the use of any gift of strength, mental prowess, or artful creation be used in the glory of Him who gave us the very gifts themselves that He gets all the glory!

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Amen

A short testimony of God’s grace in the life of [Uncle] Dave, age 48.

Often one is asked, How did you come to believe as you do?  I would like to give such a testimony here.  Though likely somewhat longer than one might think according to the title, I have sought to only bring to bear those life events and activities, which seem to have had a spiritual bearing upon my upbringing.  I believe the length to appropriate to my age. (It prints at 6 pages!)

Dave Cox, October 2014

I was born in northern Illinois in Rock Island to David & Marjorie Cox in 1966.  Mom was an only child whose parents had both passed before I was born.  She had a nominally protestant background.  Dad was the youngest of 7 and was born nearly deaf.  His was from a practicing Catholic upbringing.  I am the oldest of 5.  We moved a lot while growing up, and by the time we had finally settled in the Northwood’s of Wisconsin, I had lived in Milan, Il., Menominee, MI., Abbeville, SC., Ashland, WI., Phelps, WI., and 3 different houses in Eagle River, WI. 

Spiritually, we were active practicing Catholics, and for I while I was even an altar boy.  Early on I felt as though I was being drawn to God.  Though not a true believer in Christ, as a child I did believe that Christ died for me, but I could not understand why.  Yearly I would make resolutions only to note the following year I did a lousy job keeping them.  After a while I wondered what was the point.  I recall a poster on a teacher’s desk in the 6th grade, "God helps those who help themselves". This was a horrible thing to read - but I did not know it at the time.  I did not realize what a works based statement it was, and it made good sense at the time.  I also was deeply into hard rock music.  The Sony walkman allowed me to escape the world into my own private place.  As an adult I have never completely felt comfortable with headphones since it reflected that anti-social behavior in me.

As a teen I became involved with pornographic magazines and this was a problem for many years.  By God's grace and a sanctified life, I rarely face this temptation. But I would not be honest to say the issue was ever over with.  However, as I walk with the Lord, He keeps me and this has never been the temptation it once was when a teen.  My other besetting sin was a terrible tongue.  I was so foulmouthed when my parents were not around.  Friends would talk to me just to hear me swear.  Once, after a particularly loud string of expletives the Principal of the High School turned me around and grabbed me by the shirt collar and threatened me (he never said with what but I knew well enough) and I was ashamed to be confronted publically in the hallway.

Apart from ordinary sibling rivalry and the other mentioned items, I was a good kid, morally.  And I had the self-righteous attitude to show for it.  While I knew my own sins well enough, I was always better that those druggies over there and I would never drink!  And it was when I was about 14 our neighbor Mr. Bagwell invited my brother and I to their church.  His kids were going and we were friends.  I was glad to go, since my parents had lapsed in their Catholic attendance.  For a while I even went to the Catholic Church on my own, and once even to confession.  So church was a good thing, in my mind.  I knew I needed some way to make it up to God for my flaws and going to church made sense to me.  Mr. Bagwell went to a fundamental Bible church, the Community Bible Church of Eagle River and it was only 3 blocks from home right on my street. 

The church gave regular altar calls, but not by walking down the aisle.  The Pastor (Len Johnson) would simply ask us if we wanted him to pray for us and if so, raise your hand.  I raised my hand every time.  I knew I could use the prayer, and the Pastor did pray.  After a number of weeks of attendance one day after church he asked me if I'd like to talk with him.  So we went to the basement of the church building where he led me through his version of the Romans road, though I wouldn't have known that then! 

But what a feeling!  I felt the sins wash away and was so free in my heart!  So after the meeting, I hurried home to get some money.  Then I hurried back to church and got back just before they closed the doors for the afternoon.  What did I hurry back to do with that money?  I asked if I could buy a Bible!  For 7 dollars they 'sold' me a new hardback Scofield 1917 edition Bible.  I spent the rest of the afternoon reading that Bible!  And God brought me to Jeremiah 31 and the new covenant.  While I didn't understand everything, this was mine!  I also recall specifically selecting Isaiah 40:31 as a life verse at that time.

But the besetting sins of my life did not go away.  While I had some knowledge of salvation, I needed to understand the work of sanctification in a believer’s life.  Living one way at school and another at home, I began compartmentalizing my life in neat little boxes.  But I never once would have thought that I was hiding anything from God - just other people.  That was ok, right?  So when I sinned and recognized it, I felt sorry about it, even if not caught.  That was enough, right?  But what I did not understand was feeding the flesh through my besetting sins was not the way for a Christian to become more sanctified.  And it certainly didn't make it easier to overcome.  So I was trapped.

In my final year of High school the hospital my parents worked at was acquired and both of them lost their jobs.  It was a terrible situation.  Only a few months before that we had moved into a new house and my brother suddenly became ill.  Eventually we discovered he was diabetic, but the new mortgage and all those medical bills caused us to be on a really tight financial situation.  When the jobs were lost the family was, temporarily divided.  There was about a month were we lived in rental cabins, the kind people rent for a week or two up north.  We lived in them.  My parents had each of us move in with a family friend and so I went to Kirk & Barb Andersons’ home for the remainder of the school year, about 4 months

Shortly before this I turned 18 and though I was not graduated yet (my birthday is in January) I was now an adult.  My life in neat little boxes was coming apart and my besetting sins went to the background as new ones sprang up.  I was 18 so I reasoned I could now drink if I wanted to, and I did so, just to say I did.  Also, I reasoned that as an adult, I was now on my own.  I didn't even live at home, and while I respected the Andersons, they were not my parents. I began shoplifting junk food and booze from the store I worked at. 

And then I graduated High school.  My friend Fred threw a graduation party complete with booze and I went for the hard stuff.  But since school was over Mom & Dad wanted to get the family back together and they had been working very hard in Crystal Falls, Michigan to do so.  So the day after graduation I moved to Crystal Falls leaving all my friends and the town I had spent the past 6 years in.

School was my social outlet and having graduated I didn't know where or how I was to meet friends. But my brothers & sisters were in school, and so I began meeting people through them.  However the reason I became friends with many of them was that I could buy beer in Wisconsin.  I became a beer supplier for people and thereby gained certain status.  Then it was on to pot and amphetamines.  I was never what you would call a junkie, but I did use frequently.  It was just another point of rebellion.  During this 4 year period I remember a handful of notable items.

One was that I remembered God only in a dire need, praying for my brother Scott once when he had a major medical need, going into a coma.  He made medical history surviving without brain damage the largest overdose of tegretol ever to that date.  I also prayed when I myself overloaded on speed.  I was awake for nearly 40 hours and in great paranoia.  I also recall a man named Ron Hefner who was probably in his 40's working for Burger King - not as manager, but as a general worker like myself.  This man tried befriending me, and I was ok with it.  He was a Christian, and when he found out my birthday was near, he bought me a small pocket Bible.  That Bible became a precious possession, though I still did not yield to the Savior.  I have prayed for Ron occasionally and look forward to meeting him again, if not here in heaven!

In 1987 I began trying on my own to clean up my life, and finally quit pot after 3 attempts.  I moved back home during this time and began a close relationship with my Dad that remains to this day. A year later I had left the drinking scene.  I had begun considering college and was looking into Gogebic Community college when my parents discovered an opportunity to move back to Eagle River and took it.  I rapidly changed my college plans to Nicolet College and Tech in Rhinelander, WI.  But I was home - really home.

For those who have never lived in a small town, Eagle River is that town - about 1500 people in all, perhaps 10,000 in the whole county.  I knew I had to be in church come Sunday morning.  And so I was - feeling like the word Guilty was emblazed across my forehead.  A lot of people have this idea that a fundamental church can be mean and unloving, and while I am aware of this, the Community Bible church was never like this to me.  I felt horribly guilty, but not horribly judged.  Nevertheless I wanted to make my heart right once again, whatever it took, and after 3 weeks of bugging Pastor Len, he stopped over one evening.  That evening I made my peace with God and each of the others around the table did so at that time, Dad, Mom, Scott, and Kriss.  Charlie & Sandy were both in the military and were not there. 

After this I began to grow like crazy in the things of the Lord.  I rode in to college with either of two older Christian men, Dave Johnson - son of Pastor Len, and Bill Campbell - owner of the two local Christian bookstores.  These men discipled me, even if they didn't know it.  I was forever asking challenging theological questions of them during our daily rides to and from school.  At some point during this time I got my hands on a mission’s magazine, and was persuaded to go into the ministry.  How that would look would change over the years. 

I felt the need to prepare like never before and had heard of a small Bible college in Chicago.  My expectation was the Moody would be a small school, perhaps smaller that the community college I went to in Rhinelander.  If I had known how big it was, and how diverse in doctrine I likely would have looked elsewhere.  I know I looked seriously at a small school in Minnesota known for missions training at this time, but free tuition sounded like a better deal so I applied at Moody and was accepted!

Going to MBI was the biggest thing to happen to me.  I was this naive, small town, small minded boy with the whole world around me.  And apart from ministry I had another goal - to find if God would permit, a ministry partner for life.  And here I was, after all, in the place where there were more Christians around than we had in my whole town!  (Moody's undergrad population was equal to Eagle River's population)  I did indeed meet my wife Julie here and we married in August of 1991.

As for the general student population, I was older than most of them - even many of the seniors, having wasted 4 years.  And so I was a 23 year old freshman. I had not realized that many of these students themselves had never surrendered to Christ, some never would.  I also did not realize what a breadth of theological belief was to be found at Moody.  And while I do believe that it is very important to be challenged in my beliefs, Moody was a bit more liberal in general than I was actually. 

However - I did not realize this at that time, and as I would encounter certain students that were in a different land theologically I would challenge them and was challenged a little by them.  What challenged me more were the differences among the professors!  Here I expected orthodoxy and while many times it was clearly I that needed to learn a thing or two - there was a couple notable Profs which I believe were in the liberal left field theologically!  These men in particular, since they were professors challenged me more than my peers did, because I respected them! 

I took off from school in Dec 1990 to pay down debt, and get married.  I had heard the rumors - those who leave early - most never return.  This only pushed me harder to return.  So after a 2½ year hiatus I was back in classes as a married student off campus in the fall of '93. I had heard of a new returning missionary/teacher from the field of Central America and I eagerly signed on to as many classes as I could with Ken Hanna.  I was not disappointed.  It was he who became one of the solid foundational men in my preparation.  In 1995 I went on a 6 week mission’s trip to Nicaragua and México with him. 

At the same time as I was preparing to take this mission trip, Julie and I began applying to CAM International missionary organization.  We also discovered in January of 1995 that we were to be parents later that year!  While this was very exciting I struggled for quite a time about the trip.  How could I leave my wife of 4 years, immediately before the baby was to be born?  And what if there were complications and she had to go in early?!  So much to trust the Lord for!  My trip was to start in June but in May we had to travel to Texas for candidate school with CAM.  It was a two week time of meetings and classes and even meeting Dr. Charles Ryrie in his home.  Then we had the final day.  This was the day known as sticker shock - when the organization would show you what you would need to have in order to go to the field.  I was overwhelmed.  How was it we would have to raise more money to live in México than Julie and I lived on in Chicago?!  We must have faith I thought.

But I didn't have the time to consider this at all, as my mission trip was to start in just a few days!  Mr. Hanna had become so close as a professor he was a friend and He and I had coffee many times a week.  But I had such a culture shock after arriving in Nicaragua I had forgotten to even drink coffee for 3 days!  And it was a good thing I had taken Spanish.  There were 2 native Spanish speakers in the group beside Mr. Hanna but they were frequently busy.  So the team had heard I took it, and now I was put into the test.  I had to become the translator many times and boy was I inadequate.  And though I butchered the language (and still do) by the time the trip was over I was at least able to have rudimentary conversation with some of the bilingual nationals who helped me as I did them. 

I returned home from my trip and while we jumped into ministry opportunities as often as possible- Vacation Bible Schools, ESL, and church planting in Maywood -we had one special event - becoming parents!  I was 29 when Benjamin David was born.  Life would never be the same again!  And the work in Maywood was significant, so much so that we began attending the Host church, Woodside Bible Chapel, a brethren assembly.  And here I was reminded that I had been moving away from my fundamental roots.  This congregation was far more conservative than Forest Glen was and I really loved it!  I particularly loved the breaking of the bread service.  It was a great blessing!   But the church was having difficulties and since we were not members we felt it best to return to Forest Glen. 

I completed my studies and graduated in June of 1996.  At once I was faced with a dilemma.  Do I go to work full time and work on raising support on the weekends?  Or was taking a fulltime job a compromise in itself?  The trouble was, Julie was home with the baby and we had become convicted that this was where she should be.  So I did have to work.  So the plan was before us.  And I really today believe that it was my plan and not the Lords.  It did make the most sense - but we were moving so fast.  Did we pray enough or even at all?  I watched as Paul Somsel, and Mark Swensen, fellow Moody grads and good friends who I knew go to the field.   And though we did have supporters, we never were able to raise more than 25% of the $4250.00 monthly salary CAM had determined we needed.   I personally struggled with the idea that we could live on far less in the city of Chicago, so why should we need so much to live in México? 

In 1998 CAM asked us to step down from the support raising as candidates.  I began a soul searching time as I considered what the Lord would have for us.   So I went to the men of the church, deacons and former deacons who knew me and asked them to pray for us as we considered what the Lord might have for us.  One man, Tom Rice, had an immediate answer, “Dave – you have a family now, and I think you should focus on raising them up”.  Our daughter Christina Eva was newborn that August so the family was indeed growing!  

So we continued in the various lay ministry opportunities as they came along.  I took a short 6 week class on hospital visitation with the Swedish covenant hospital.  It was a ministerial certificate to allow me to minister to those who were sick.   I was a deacon for a total of 6 years at Forest Glen.  This was a spiritual exercise which I loved to do.  But it occasionally grieved me.  I did have to participate in church discipline two times, once there was repentance, and the other time a hardening.  It was a terrible thing to go through, but I knew it was necessary work.  In 2000 our son Jonathan Lyle was born completing our family.

In 2002 I began working for my current employer.   The following year we purchased a house in Woodstock, and had to leave our church family of 14 years.  We have never believed in Church hopping so it was unreal not to have a church home.  We first attended the Crystal Lake Evangelical Free church, having friends from our days at MBI there, but the church was too large with 700+ in attendance.  It was 3 months before we met the Pastor!  I needed a place where I could serve and this was not the place.  In December of 2003 we received a personal letter from Pastor Fred of HG(not the real name) church. 

This was a much smaller church and we fell in love with the people there!  And they did have needs especially in music ministry.  We began the membership process after we had been attending for nearly 8 months.  After several classes with the pastor we were to sign the doctrinal covenant and become members.  Yet I was immediately challenged since the church had codified their eschatological belief into the membership.  The belief in an imminent pre-tribulational rapture was not new to me, and though I had not yet fully determined my position on all things eschatological I knew I did not subscribe to it. But people don’t typically divide over eschatology I reasoned, and the Pastor did not at all seem to be alarmed that I had an issue with this doctrine, so I signed.

Yet it did matter as you will see.  Being members and apt to teach, I was teaching and even occasionally preaching.   I also began to minister in the area of music.  I was relating some of these matters to a friend, Curt Audet, when he cautioned me to consider where this all might lead.  Since I was active in the ministry it was likely that I could be a candidate for elder, and if chosen, be a leader who didn’t wholly subscribe to the doctrinal statement.  His advice was sound.  So we pulled our membership.  Nevertheless, we remained in attendance there – seeing I was still encouraged to teach and minister in various places. 

Sometime during this period I also discovered that the doctrine of repentance (in relation to salvation) was particularly eschewed by the church.  This raised red flags but I was still focused on the eschatological teaching.  I was still concerned that someone would pose a question regarding these items, and since I was in a teaching position I would have to tell them to speak to someone else (which did not seem to be the right thing to do) or tell them my conviction, which, did not seem appropriate conduct as one being under the authority of the Church.  Sadly – I even participated in the Purpose Driven church promotion, though I had my doubts.  Due to my desire to be under the authority, and be a team player, I chose not to question this aspect of church life.  Eventually we had to leave.  This was the 1^st time I have ever left a church over doctrinal matters and it was grievous to me.  We had been at HG for almost 5 years.

On August 3, 2008, we began attending Heritage Baptist Church.  For nearly 2 years we simply sat under the sound teaching, and began a slow process of restoration and learning.  We have since become members and have again become active in the ministry.  

I have written this not to glorify the sin in my life – but to shout from the rooftops that God is good, and is willing, because of His sons sacrificial death in my behalf, to forgive even me.  I trust He will become as precious to you as He’s become to me!  Amen.

God Save the King!

This morning I was contemplating Psalm 21.  I try to meditate upon a psalm every Friday morning.  As I read and re-read it, thinking about what it says about the king as an office and the king himself I began to think.

In today’s world the thinking of men, especially in America, is the dread of having a king.  We think of the great evil he would or likely could do with none to stay his hand.  But it is not right to think like this..  Is not God over the king?  Will not He who has all power be able to stay an evil ruler?  Yet one will ask, 'Why does He not move against the evil of our day?  But I ask, have we given Him any reason to do so? Have we honored Him with Godly lives and prayers? Is not the government which is there, by divine appointment? (Rom 13:1-10)

Oh there is a truth that even such a wicked king will be made to lie low in God's providential plan - so I do not mean to promote a passivism.  But if we were a godly holy people - we would have claim, but we are not.  Corruption is found at every point.  Every office, and court, and place of authority, operate as fits them and not according to law. 

We allow abortion and right to die.  Tomorrow we will take up involuntary euthanasia calling it death with dignity.  And in this climate we think to oppose the president on moral grounds?!

Ha! Such is the fools plan.

Psalm 21 is all about the Lord blessing the king and being on the side of the king.  But not any king, he who is saved (vs. 1) and who trusts in God (vs. 7).  The vision of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2) is all about pointing to a monarchy as being a better government - because it paints a truer picture of the reality of the One true and right King, Jesus.  And while we cannot expect THAT kind of perfection in our rulers, dare we expect a better moral ruler than we ourselves have been?! 

Better - a people like us repent and seek again God in tears and ask the Lord to save those who are over us in authority.  It is true that they over us who exercise authority outside of the God given mandate will have to give account, as we all do.  Perhaps we need to begin to honor the Lord and His Word first, before He will answer us regarding our leaders.  And while it is a true statement, "The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes" (Pro. 21:1)  It may be the case that we ourselves ought to turn first to righteousness & peace and then ask Him to turn our leaders...

Let those who trust in the Lord wait for the deliverance of their God - and while we wait, call upon Him!  In the ashes of a contrite heart and repentance let us wait – knowing that he who waits upon the Lord will not be disappointed.

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

A review of "A Conservative Christian Declaration"

When I first set out to read this short declaration (it’s only 98 pages), I wasn’t particularly excited about it.  It was for me, a freebie – and who doesn’t love a free book!  In addition, having heard a number of the authors give messages, I expected a solid message.  So I did expect to agree, with it and thereby enjoy it, to that extent.  However, it was another declaration and I wasn’t exactly sure that we needed still another declaration on the horizon.  Too many have been written in our day, I think.  When men of old took time to formulate such documents it was taken upon with such gravity, and took so much time, literally years, the outcome of such was a solid theological statement – which many could subscribe to. 

In our day, we find everyone and their dog making declarations – frequently ecumenical in nature (which is not always bad – many of the aforementioned confessions or creeds were ecumenically driven) the net result is a cheapening of the work.   The individual is king in the culture of the day, and few declarations have meaning which the majority could or would be compelled to subscribe to.  So I was not too excited about the exercise.  I took it on, out of a respect of the men who were party to the making.

I also expected to find some rather difficult to grasp and thereby to ascribe to statements which I would be critiquing.  This I was delighted to find was not the case.  In fact as I was reading through, I became more excited.  You see the style of the piece is plain, even ordinary, but not flat.  The language, though at times novel to my eyes, was edifying to my soul and lifted my spirit.  It actually began to teach me.  Let me clarify, because one can learn in many ways.  What I mean to say is not that I was learning new prescribed doctrinal points (although that is one of the express goals and that did happen with me).  Rather the very use of the language added to the declaration.  It was sweet to my soul.  It communicated eloquently, simply, and at times powerfully ideas which have at times been fleeting around my little brain so fast I never quite got them down out of the ether and into words!  A wonderful statement.  And all this to say that it was engaging to the core.  Never overbearing in the point, most articles were only 2 or 3 pages in length. 

While there are a total of 15 articles – The theme is to address today’s excesses without creating much which might be construed as new.  Pointedly this is only an addendum to what has already been written creedal-ly and confessional-ly (sp.?) over the centuries.  So it is not a new catechism as it were.  Just a fine-tuning of what we already know, particularly dealing with what our modern or even post-modern minds have been grappling with over the last 100 years. 

I don’t want my own review to end up being more than a page so I will end with a few choice quotes and strongly urge you to get a copy and read it over and over – it’s that good!

In the preamble, “We object to this religious reductionism and desire to reclaim the entire heritage of Christian doctrine, obedience, and adoration.”

Speaking of the gospel, “To deny the historicity of the events of the gospel is to deny the gospel.  To deny the biblical interpretation of those events is also to deny the gospel.”

Speaking of harmony and variety in ordinate expression, “[T]his delightful variety must not be exploited as a rational for aesthetic agnosticism.  Both ordinate and inordinate expressions exist in great variety. Truth can be communicated in hundreds of languages, but so can lies.” 

Speaking of the works of popular culture, “Their ephemeral nature precludes them from reflecting the weighty, the profound, the transcendent, and the enduring. ...Immediate gratification cannot cultivate profundity”

Speaking of Christian tradition, “We insist that a Christianity that must change with each wind of fashion is confessing that it has nothing permanent to say.”

Didn’t I say it was that good?!

Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Conservative-Christian-Declaration-Scott-Aniol/dp/0982458290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410186969&sr=8-1&keywords=conservative+christian+declaration

http://religiousaffections.org/publishing/a-conservative-christian-declaration/

A tale of two Uncle Dave's

...or When technology goes awry

Yesterday, on my last day of vacation camping in northern Wisconsin as we traveled we stopped in Wausau.  After getting gas, we went to a large local park to have a picnic lunch and stretch.  Julie thought we should try and contact Sami or Scott, my niece & Nephew who live in Wausau.  Not having Scotty's number I texted Sami, "We are visiting Wausau"  22 minutes later she asked, "Who is this?" and I replied about 7 minutes later "Uncle Dave"

Here is the transcript of our texting...

Sami - Awesome! When?
Dave - We are here in the park
Dave - Fern Island
Dave - Now
Sami - You gonna be there for a while.....carter and I will walk down?
Dave - We can.. How long?
Sami - Be there in 20
Dave - The whole family is waiting!
Dave - We're by the clubhouse (I guess that's what it's called)
Sami - Ok see you in a bit

24 minutes later...
Dave - Near the skate park

5 more minutes...
Sami - Almost there

4 minutes later...
Sami - where you at?
Dave - We have the blue van with the car top carrier

At this point I am noticing a fellow pushing a baby carriage looking around and slowly walk by our van.  I was wondering if perhaps Carter was her boyfriend and that maybe they walked from 2 separate directions to meet us, so I asked him is he was looking for someone.  He said he was looking for Dave and I thrust out my hand, "I'm Dave, is Sami on the way?" At least I think that's what I said... 

Carter said (that's who I thought he was) "I have an Uncle Dave in Aurora" and suddenly we both realized - Sami wasn't Sami.  She had let her cell number go and I was texting a random guy, named Rich, with his baby, Carter!  Oops!

After some further exploratory statements we went our way.  I gave him a coke and a granola bar for his trouble, though the walk out to the park was probably a good thing! 

Moral of the story - If you haven't texted someone for a while, you might want to verify who you're chatting with!!!!

Our Great Commission

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

In many respects this is the final teaching which Christ gave to his disciples. They went to the mountain in Galilee where they had frequently been taught, and waited for Him.

All Authority

And He begins with 'All authority'.  Why?

Wasn't Christ the God-man before the cross?  Did He not have this authority before the cross?  Yes, He did - but before the cross sin was not yet defeated.  Death was not yet defeated. Satan was not yet defeated.  Though it was a certainty and would without question be the fact, it had not yet passed, until the cross.  And Satan still had something of an authoritative place in this world. 

Consider Mathew 4:8-9 where he tempts Christ to worship him...  And look at what he says to Christ in Luke 4:6, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."  Yet Satan's authority extended to all the kingdoms of this world.  Nothing is said of heaven.

Christ is here telling us that all authority has been given to Him in heaven and on the earth.  He won this authority by the cross.  Satan has been defeated.  May we never forget this!

We keep Satan aware of this fact, as we live in the light and under the command of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has not told us to take dominion over the devil or to take dominion in this world.

By the trickery of Eve in the garden Satan usurped Man's authority.  And when men yield not to the Lord, it is the default position that we yield to Satan.  So there is even a sense in which his authority was not even legitimate to begin with.  No, we are told by Christ to make disciples, not to take dominion. 

And how are we to make disciples?  We preach Christ. We preach His victory over sin.  Why then do we see suffering?  Is this now the evidence of Satan's authority? No!  To think like this is evidence of a faulty understanding of God's sovereignty.

Remember Job?  How that Satan had to gain permission of God to do those wicked things? (Job 1:6-12; 2:4-6)  Remember Joseph & his brothers?  Joseph tells us, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Gen 50:20)

Go!

From the Authority question, let us delve into the commission itself.  First we see that we are to go.  Our evangelism is not to be passive.  Friendship evangelism ought not to be the primary place in the life of the Christian.  It may have its place, but we are to be actively engaging those around us.  This is a challenge to me and I suspect to you also.

Make disciples of all nations.

I believe the import is not nations as we think, but rather all the various people groups.  The word ‘all’ is not meant to be understood as in all people everywhere, but rather in all KINDS of people everywhere.  How can this be? 

The Scripture is plain and clear, that not all will believe.  Universalism may have nice sentiment on its face, but it is anti-biblical and ends up making God into an unrighteous judge who cares not for justice. (If this bothers you, think of Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan,& Attila the Hun and ask yourself if it is right for God to justify the sins of such unrepentant people).

‘All’ does not mean all in totality, but all as in every kind and in every place.  We are to be promiscuous in our evangelism.  No one is outside the sphere of our commission!

Teaching them

What of the content of our evangelism?  Christ!  His teachings are central, however I would remind you that it is not Christ's teachings alone which are at hand.  He Himself is our peace and it is by His stripes we are healed - so we see that it is more than the moral teachings and commands of Christ.  How?  In the statement, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  It is Him we preach and as Paul mentioned, Christ crucified! (1 Cor. 1:23)

Baptizing them

One thing I have left to discuss is baptism.  I left it to the end deliberately.  It is the first step of obedience in the life of the believer, yet by the first step I do not mean the door into salvation, which is repentance & faith, I mean that it is the command given to us to do upon repentance and faith.  It is a thing which is of an outward act reflecting such inward faith as made the Christian.  It is a public act.  It is a confessional act.  It is a declarative act that one stands by repentant faith in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, holding on to His gracious loving act by Christ of redemption.

By grace you have been saved... Praise the Lord!!

Peter & David

Recently as I read the account of Peter's denial of Christ, I was struck a similarity between him and David.  Often we forget that these great men of the faith were but men, after all.  We read of David as King, as a mighty man of war, and as a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22).  We read of Peter as the chief among Christ’s apostles, even of the 3, Peter, James & John; Peter is also the one on whom Christ will build His Church.  Yet we sometime elevate them too far, beyond the Scriptural descriptors.  Soon they are more than men to us.  Yet both Peter and David had as great a series of failures as they had successes.  David in his murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba; Peter in his denial of Christ and of the truth of the Gospel in Galatians 2:11-14.

These great men were of the same cloth as I am.  In a moment I may be found in grave sin - even to the denying of my Lord.  Yet He knows our frame, that we are but dust (Psalm 10-3:14).  And Christ indeed knows the danger we face - Look at what He tells Peter in Luke’s Gospel, "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail" (Luke 22:32) In the same verse where He predicts Peters failure, Christ offers encouragement to Peter, beforehand, that he will be of use to his Lord when he does return to Him, to be an encouragement to his brothers.

Finally, an oft quoted verse of Scripture in 1 Peter is made all the more incredible, and encouraging - when we consider it in light of what we've been discussing here.  Recall that it was through this very trial Peter writes us an encouraging note, "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you".  Peter, saying this to us, upon the furnace of such trials as his very denial of Christ, reminds us that God indeed cares for us.  Peter's faith having been strengthened, now strengthens us and many others throughout the millennia since his letter was sent.  Verse 75 (of Matthew chapter 26) tells us that he went out and "wept bitterly".  I am reminded of the Psalm 126:5-6,

Those who sow in tears, shall reap in joy.

He who continually goes forth weeping,

bearing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

bringing his sheaves with him.

 

Lord - Help us to love you always and obey - but when we fail - help us to be brought back again to You and to encourage our brethren.

Amen

Three proofs of Jesus being the Messiah

As I was studying Matthew 26:57-6, the trial before Caiaphas the High Priest, I was faced with a verse that has always left me unsatisfied.  Yet after thinking about it, I was tremendously blessed.  Here is that verse:

'Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”'

As all good translations do, the first sentence is shown to be only 2 words, You say or you said, as the other words are in italics, and therefore supplied by the translators to make the meaning clearer.  Sometimes this works, but sometimes it is really not necessary, as I think in this case.

But here is what has troubled me.  Christ has an ideal opportunity to answer the High Priest with a direct and irrefutable answer, given the particularity of the question, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God?"  Why does Christ squander such an obvious opportunity? 

Because it was no opportunity!  Over and over throughout the 3 years of His ministry they had already been shown the truth and rejected it.  Consider the following 3 proofs...

Proof #1  Christ's Healing ministry

John the Baptist, in a moment of weakness while in prison, sent his disciples to ask, Are you the One, or should we look for another?  Christ told them go and tell John what you see and hear, the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matt. 11:4-5) Luke records in chapter 4, when Christ read Isaiah 61:1-2a while he was in his home synagogue in Nazareth, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" He stated, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (4:21). They could not accept this and wanted to cast Him off a cliff. 

Proof #2  He is the great "I AM"

In John chapter 4, the witness of Christ to the woman of Samaria is bold and teaches us.  In verse 25 the woman brings up a suggestion that the Messiah would answer all their questions. Christ answers her, "I who speak to you am he" with the last word He, being again a supplied word in italics.  Christ is effectively claiming the divine phrase, I AM (Ex 3:13-15), for His own.  In fact this was not the only time he did so.  In John 8:48-59 the Jews were accusing Him of possession by a demon and He responds in verse 58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” For that they tried to stone Him.

The point of this is that over and over Christ does plainly say who He is and what He came for.  So His answer in Matthew 26:64, "You say" is clear enough.

Proof #3  Even the dead being raised will not persuade the unbeliever.

They will not believe Him, even if one is raised from the dead as we learn from the parable of the Rich man & Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31, as well as from Mary & Martha's brother Lazarus who was dead for 4 whole days and then raised up.  Christ even tells us plainly through His prayer to the Father before He raised Lazarus, that it was for our belief that He is the Christ. “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” (John 11:41b-42)

Amazingly Christ, having broken His silence thus far, now gives them another true statement, but this one enough to convict on(vs. 64) - and the High priest stops the proceedings.  They had their testimony, and it would stick.

Lord - It is amazing to think of how much you put up with to save some of this wicked bunch.  Thank you for your great love!

Amen.

30 Pieces

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. (Matthew 26:14-16)

It really bugs me. To read of the matter of fact way Judas went after Christ....

I want to find in him some wicked way not found in me, yet what charge can I make against him which does not, at some point suit me as well?!

Sometimes a question, all by itself is a committal, or perhaps in this case it may be better to say a betrayal, to a fact not yet apparent to the one asking.

Asking forces one to form an idea in the mind, an idea which may not be such a good one.  (On a side note, I am always the one asking questions in classes I attend... Yikes!)

And a question can be answered in ways that reveal the hand of both the questioner and the questioned.  In this case, the Pharisee's 'could' have rebuked Judas for such a wicked request.

Instead they played right into it.  Counting out the silver revealed that they were on Judas' side, against Christ.

Had they rebuked him, I wonder how he might have acted?  Perhaps he'd have played the hypocrite for a while longer and returned to Christ & the Apostles to see what more he might pilfer.

But now he returns, not to pilfer more - he's got 30 pieces of silver burning in his soul... To do nothing would be stealing, but to betray Christ...?!  What a dilemma he had... Yet he asked the question, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" betrayed to the Pharisee's (and to Judas, if he would admit it) that he knew from the start what he planned to do.  He was waiting for the price to be right.

Would the Pharisee's have paid anything for such a betrayal, if Judas had made such a request a year earlier?

And 30 pieces of silver - how did the Pharisee's come to such a price?  In Zechariah 11:4-17 there is the prophecy of the shepherds.  Most certainly the Lord, in His providential care established such a price.  John MacArthur says it was God's sarcasm which had this fulfilled in such a manner.

In the prophecy the shepherd asks what his wages are and the price offered was equal to that given in Exodus 21 for a slave who was gored by an ox.  Again MacArthur, "The Jews of Jesus day, who offered that amount, were saying He was worth no more than a common slave."

"Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.  And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter." (Zech 11:12-13)

All this from a simple question.

We have a saying - be careful what you ask, you might just get it...  

Indeed.

 

Lord - help me to be true with you and your people.  Amen.