The Pages In-Between

We know Jesus Christ to be the Author and Perfector, or Finisher, of our faith, but what about all that comes in-between?

All too often we ignore or skip over the work that is fully explained in His Word and being performed in us before it is completed to the Lord’s satisfaction.  Many things that reveal the reason for His presence in our lives cause us to delight in the beginning, but then we want to rush through to the conclusion.  This behavior can be likened to reading the first chapter of a thrilling book, then turning to the last chapter to see how it ends.  By doing so, we miss the entire storyline and have little understanding of the characters and events that bring it to its conclusion.  There is just a beginning and an end with nothing in-between.

The One Who began and will complete a good work in us (Phil. 1:6) is also the One Who will carry us through the middle, and it is usually during that part of the process where we discover we need Him the most.  After we are drawn by the Holy Spirit and repent, His enemy will often bring upon us a full-scale assault.  Angered by our rejection of the world and sin, he may attack us from all sides, relentless and determined to make us weaken and fall away.  Our only defense comes from our Shepherd Who protects us and leads us through the turmoil and trials that often occur during our walk with Him.  It is only by His strength that we are able to endure (Phil. 4:13), and it is only in His Word in its entirety that we are able to acquire His strength.

The pages in-between the beginning and the end tell a large part of the story, and it is from them we can learn the most.  For instance, we learn Who God is and why He came to us the way He did.  Our childlike faith is increased.  Our little knowledge of how we got where we are and where we are going grows as more of God’s wisdom is poured out upon us.  We learn that the shell that once encased our hardened hearts is shattered, turning that heart of stone into one of flesh, making it pliable and receptive to the outpouring of God's Grace.  We learn that nothing we do apart from Christ is beneficial or rewarding. (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:15-16)  Nor does it honor or glorify Him.  Our own works are just “filthy rags” that offend Him (Isaiah 64:6).  

As we apply all of the storyline on the pages between the beginning and the end, we spiritually mature.  The discernment we are given is reinforced, making us better able to  distinguish right from wrong and to turn away from those who would mislead us.  Our love for the story's Main Character deepens and makes us more fervently desire to serve Him.  And as we learn from the Words written in the middle of the Book, we are better equipped to run the race and finish it well, increasing the anticipation of the prize that awaits us at the end of our journey here, and causing us to yearn for its coming (1Cor. 9:24-25).  There is no end to the understanding we can glean from the pages in-between.

As we slowly read through the divine story God has written for us, we learn He is also our Provider and Sustainer.  If we had ignored the middle of the Book, we would not be as acutely aware of this fact.  His faithfulness to His children is assured as He supplies us with all our needs and often meets many of our desires.  Because of His great love for us, He sustains us in order that His perfect will is accomplished.  Everything God has done and all that He will do is intended to bring us to the final chapter of His Book, and to glorify Himself with its conclusion.

There are many who have made the mistake of only reading the first and last chapters of God’s story of Grace.  The depth of their understanding is robbed of some of the most essential elements that help keep their faith strong and increase their trust in Him.  It may be to their detriment to merely accept so little of its entirety.  There are riches beyond compare to be found between the pages; precious gems of understanding and pearls of wisdom (2Tim. 3:16; Rom. 11:33).  It is a story of mystery and intrigue, of battles and victory, and the revelation told by the Hero of the story of all that is compiled within its pages that will lead us to its glorious end (Eph. 3:8-12).

Not only is our Lord Jesus the Author of the first and last chapters of our new life in Him, but He is also the One Who wrote, teaches and upholds the integrity of the middle of the story before He brings about His finishing work (Heb. 12:1-3).  He tells us in the many pages in-between all that is necessary to sustain us through our life here and what to expect in the next one that awaits us in eternity.

I hope you will not spoil the story by failing to read all of it.  If you have, you know how the story began and how it will end, but you may have missed a very important part of the most divine story ever written.  In-between the beginning and the end is a glorious message of mankind's continued rejection and disobedience and the Lord's  plan to end it. Therein lies all  the hope, the vital instruction and exhortation we need to lead us to a conclusion  of  divine victory, forgiveness, and  eternal exaltation for the God Who wrote it.

It never hurts to start over.  Go back  to the beginning and allow Jesus to fill in the rest of His story in-between the pages.  If you do, I assure you it will make the ending even more satisfying.

A Library of One

Several years ago, I was given the privilege to witness to seven Mormon missionaries who, for fourteen months, visited our pizzeria on a weekly basis.  I was thrown into a bit of a tailspin because I was a bit of a fledgling to the process of sharing the Lord, His Truth, and His Gospel with any intensity.  My feelings of inadequacy were compounded over the limited knowledge I had of Mormonism.  Most of what I knew had been gleaned years before through personal experience and occasional material that was given to me by others more knowledgeable than myself.  So, I began gathering everything I could lay my hands on to educate myself of their religion, doctrines, and beliefs.

The pastor of the church we were attending at the time had a copy of the Book of Mormon.  Borrowing it, I brought it home and began to read.  But there was a glaring problem:  I was only able to get through the first two books before I had to put it down and return it to my pastor.  No matter how hard I tried to simply read it for the sake of educating myself, I was unable to do so.  The conviction I felt was overpowering and the discomfort was enormous.  I quickly acknowledged that there was no Truth in it, only borrowed and plagiarized half-truths from the wild imaginations of men.  In other words, there was just enough borrowed Truth in it to deceive the ones reading it and to make them believe the rest.

The question then became how I was going to inform myself in order to prove the Truth of God to these boys whom I had grown to love.  The solution was easy:  I enlisted the aid of former Mormons who had turned to the True Christ and the wealth of knowledge they had from a lifetime of daily exposure and influence to Mormonism.  The likes of James Spencer, the Tanners, and many others provided me with the ammunition I needed for the Spiritual warfare that ensued.  In fact, it filled a large box.  The beauty of the information that I received  from these wonderful Christians was that every part and parcel of Mormon doctrine was effectively and satisfactorily proven to be false through Biblical support.  Holy Scripture, when laid next to the teachings of Joseph Smith and his followers, burns holes in their concocted story, searing the very pages of the Book of Mormon into a flaming inferno of lies and deceptions.  As the boys came in for their weekly visit and free pizza, I found I was fully equipped with all that was necessary for the task at hand.  My Bible was a constant companion and always within reach.

This story brings me to a very important question.  In light of the market being flooded with “new and improved” Bible versions that are touted as more fitting to today’s Christian society, the growing influence of Islam and the ever-so-tiring debate over the correct interpretation of the Koran, and the infiltration of other so-called “enlightening, sacred writings” of ancient pagan religions - how far do we go to educate ourselves of these things?  Is it necessary that we fill our library with tomes of alternate ideas, philosophies, or theologies in order to gain a better understanding of their origins and the influence they are having in the world and in the church?  Or do we rely solely on the Word of God as presented in the Bible for all the answers?

In 2Corinthians 7:1, Paul makes this declaration:

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”
(ESV)

“Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit…” indicates we are to remove any influence that does not reflect God’s nature and the truth of His Word, especially false and damning religions.  John MacArthur, in the ESV study notes on this verse, says:

“While some believers for a time might avoid succumbing to fleshly sins associated with false religions, the Christian who exposes his mind to false teaching cannot avoid contamination by the devilish ideologies and blasphemies that assault the purity of divine truth and blaspheme God’s name.”

He further goes on to say that “bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” means to finish that which one first started.  “’Holiness’ refers to separation from all that would defile both the body and the mind.”  We are to seek Christ, to pursue His holiness, and that cannot be found in the writings of those bent on perverting His Word.  By exposing oneself to the corruption they contain is apt to cause it to spill over into the mind of the Christian, making him doubt God’s Word, or add to or take away from its purity.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon concluded his musings over the vanities of life by encouraging his son that the most meaningful thing in life was having a relationship with God, knowing Him, and applying all of His wisdom to it.

“The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.  My son, beware of anything beyond these.  Of making many books there is no end, and much study [of them] is a weariness of the flesh.”  (Ecclesiastes 12:11-12, ESV)

Solomon was saying that true wisdom, the wisdom required to live ones life for God, is in God alone.  To wander into the dangerous territory of false religions, worldly philosophies, or twisted ideologies puts one in the position of possibly questioning the sovereignty and holiness of God.  “Books written on any other subject than God’s revealed wisdom will only proliferate the uselessness of man’s thinking.”  (MacArthur).  The more we read that is not in line with God’s wisdom and Truth, the more susceptible our minds become to believing it.

In Acts 17, we are told of the Jewish Bereans who lived among those Greek philosophers who were always ready to hear something new.  However, Paul’s account in Acts 17:11 reveals to us that they did not run straight out and consult others with differing philosophies.  Instead, after “they received the message with great eagerness”, the Bereans “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIV)  It was not necessary for these “noble” men to compare Paul’s message with the writings of others that may have contradicted what he was telling them.  They went to God’s Word, and it is there that they found the Truth - “...and many of the Jews believed…” (v12).


We can apply Paul’s exhortation to his protégé, Timothy in 1Timothy 4, to further understand the importance of with what it is we fill our minds.  Paul uses the analogy of physical training and its temporary benefits to the body, but impressed upon him that its value was limited to the body’s endurance or duration.  He encouraged Timothy to avoid all the mental things, the false teachings, “the godless myths, and old wives tales” that lead men astray (v7).  Instead, Paul told him to put more emphasis on the training of himself in the Spiritual exercises that held eternal benefit - “…devoting [himself] to the study, the preaching, and the teaching of Scripture” (v13).  By doing so, he was assured that through this self-discipline he would stay on the path to Godly living.


It is evident to us how rapidly a false message can gain ground in the church.  Many false teachers have infiltrated the sacred confines with their destructive heresies and are leading multitudes away from divine Truth.  The weak minds of the congregants are more than happy to receive a more palatable and appealing message that fails to speak against, but rather legitimizes, their sinful behavior.  These wolves in shepherd’s clothing have spread their false messages to the point that it has permeated the body of Christ like the “gangrene” Paul warned of in 2Timothy 2:16.  Their corrupted gospel lines Christian bookstore shelves and lures the eye with tempting words and phrases that sound so right.  Colorful splashes of Godly-sounding advice and encouragement leap from their covers, prompting the buyer to take it home.  Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life (or Purposeful Drivel, as I like to call it) is one such example.  It all looks and sounds good on the outside, but it is what is found on the inside of the pages, or between the lines, that matters.

I do occasionally read books written by trusted authors, those I know are firmly grounded in God’s Word and have no ulterior motives to pervert it.  There are many fine Christian men and women who write their prose with a strict adherence to the purity of Scripture, and the evidence is in their works.  Each morning I consult the writings of men like Charles Spurgeon and Oswald Chambers, and I am currently anxiously awaiting a devotional by John MacArthur, a well-known and trusted Pastor, to show up in the mail.  These are divinely inspired and validated by God, for they never deviate away from His Truth as set forth in the Bible, and their intention is to instruct us in His Word with His Spirit of Truth, not to deceive us.

I learned a valuable lesson while witnessing to the Mormon boys who visited me each week.  With eager willingness, they would tell me what they believed without my having to ask.  It was not necessary for me to study their book of tales.  The Lord had already convicted me of its deception.  As they attempted to address specific points of their theology, the Holy Spirit through the Word of God supplied me with everything I needed to refute it.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and useful [profitable] for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped [competent] for every good work.”  (2Timothy 3:16-17, NIV, with ESV alternate translation in brackets)

I know there are others whom the Lord has better equipped to delve into the dark world of false religions.  Perhaps it is one of those things that is necessary in order for us to be warned of their deception.  It is clear, however, that I am not one of them.  The Holy Spirit that dwells in every believer will let us know when a false message is being presented.  If you are unable to feel that conviction of unsettled discomfort, I suggest you reevaluate your position with God.  The Spirit of God stands ready to protect us from being “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Eph. 4:14, ESV)  It is good to be informed of destructive deceptions and heresies.  But it is not necessary to attempt to climb to the top of  the mountainous stack of worldly wisdom based on lies, only to find it ready to topple and bury you.

I would prefer to have my library of reading material sparsely lined with the writings of others and at the center of them, standing one well-used Tome from which they have all derived their words.  It is from that Book where we can find all of the answers to the questions that arise, even those that might throw us into a tailspin.

Within the eternal pages of Scripture is the very essence and complete nature and will of our God.  After all, it is a story about Himself, from beginning to end, and nothing has been added to or left out of it.

Looking Beyond the Obvious

When we are called by the Holy Spirit to witness to individuals, we are often blinded by the conditions in which they live and to see only their outward needs.  Many have gone into the mission field with the idea of working to better the lives of poverty stricken nations.  At first glance, the peoples’ overwhelming living conditions strike first at a heart full of compassion, driving the fledgling missionary to insure their physical needs are met.  Water wells are dug.  Houses are constructed.  Trades are taught to bring them an income.  Livestock is donated and crops are planted to feed them.

The same practice is applied even in nations of prosperity and freedom.  Each of them have mean streets crowded with souls that are burdened with poverty, homelessness, addiction, crime, disease, and sexual promiscuity.  And there is no shortage of those who attempt to use ways to assist them out of these conditions.  Foundations are established, drug clinics are built, intercession groups gather, and billions of dollars are poured out upon these communities of damaged people in the form of social welfare.

All of this is altruism at its worst.  Mind you, this does not mean that compassionate generosity for the poor and needy is a bad thing.  What it does mean is that most, when applying a solution, put the cart before the horse.  When we see the deplorable conditions in which others live, our first instinct is to open our wallets, buy them a meal, or hand them our coat.  We only see what is on the surface.  To pause and look deeper would only make us uncomfortable.  So we hand out instead of offering to them something that can not be purchased or materially provided:  a hand UP to Jesus Christ.

Before you draw and quarter this humble author for thinking I am hardhearted towards others, let me say that God will often position us and reveal Himself through our benevolence.  But it should not always be considered by us as our first action.  When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount before a sea of people (Matthew 5-7), He looked beyond their physical needs and straight into their hearts where their real need was obvious.  Each time He was confronted with illness, physical deformities, or demon possession, He first looked into the heart, searching for genuine faith.  Although it is commonly known that He healed even unbelievers seeking relief and never refused their request, most often He prefaced His actions with questions aimed directly at their heart.  His desire was to first find within them a faith and a trust that would remain, even after the miracle was performed.

Jesus preached for three days before His compassion for 5,000 hungry people, plus women and children, drew Him to increase five loaves of bread and two fish to feed them (Mark 6:35-44); and, on another occasion, with seven loaves of bread and a few fish (Mark 8:1-10), feeding another 4,000 men, plus hungry women and children.  Many came back the next day because they had their fill of bread and fish the day before and wanted more.  But Jesus made it clear to them that His purpose was not to first fill the people’s stomachs with food to sustain their physical lives, but to feed them the Bread of Life that would truly satisfy their spiritual hunger (John 6:22-40).

Scripture is full of examples like these.  “Jesus did many other things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”  (John 21:25)  But the miracles themselves were not the primary reasons for Jesus life here on earth.  The physical and temporal needs of the people were secondary.  There was an eternal purpose and one purpose only:  He came to seek out and save those whom had been given to Him by the Father.  As He looked beyond the obvious, His message was clear, “But seek first [God’s] kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 7:33)

Jesus words should instruct us as we witness to others.  We should look below the surface of desperation and need in those who are placed before us; never ignoring their physical plight, but placing it secondary to the purpose for which we are sent.  The temptation to satisfy their physical needs first is similar to the one Satan used against Jesus in the desert.  In his human state, Jesus could have succumbed to Satan’s cunning and turned the stones to bread to satisfy His immediate need, but His reply silenced His tempter.  “Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:2-4) - and neither can the lost and those dead to Christ.  We may also succumb to the temptation to feed the lost and downtrodden with bread from our own hands, but they will only go away hungry unless they are first fed the true Bread - the Word of God.

I would like to conclude with something that happened to me shortly after giving my life fully to Christ.  Following the funeral of a loved one, a large group of family gathered at a local restaurant for breakfast before heading home.  The restaurant was crammed with hungry people, the atmosphere was loud, making it hard to hear even the person seated next to you, and the wait staff was overwhelmed.  After eating the cold food that I had not ordered, I became a bit cranky and uncomfortable and stepped outside into the rain to smoke a cigarette and wait for the rest of my family.  Seated on the dry cement under the adjoining building’s awning was a clean and seemingly well-dressed young man.  He asked if he could have a cigarette, and after a comment or two about how I should give them completely up, our conversation took another course.

The young man began to tell me about his life as an immigrant and the misfortunes that had drawn him to that particular sidewalk.  He was hungry and looking for someone to feed him.  Although I believe he greatly embellished parts of his story, I felt compassion and the need to meet his physical hunger.  But before I did, in my clumsy, baby Christian way, I fed him first with Christ’s desire for him to give up his old life and follow Him. 

As my family flowed out of the restaurant with bewildered looks while I led the young man back in through the crowded door, I felt an overpowering sense of humbleness.  The reward was not my ability to hand the restaurant host a ten dollar bill, asking him to feed the young man.  Not even in the wonder I felt as he was seated ahead of those who were waiting for a table.  Nor the many thanks the young man uttered before I left.  The reward was in the response I received from my Savior for looking beyond the young man’s obvious outward need of a meal, and  looking inwardly into his heart, instead.  The boy was fed that day to fill his stomach, but the first Bread he received was the one that could give him true life.  In a sense, Jesus Christ was the Appetizer before the meal that would sustain him another day.  I recall this event often, hoping the young man left the restaurant hungrier than he was before he entered it.

When we are called by the Holy Spirit to witness to others, may we look beyond the obvious and search for the real meaning as to why He has placed them before us.  The problems on the surface are only the result of a deeper and more urgent need.  Let us first address it by pointing them to Jesus Christ.  Once they are fed His Bread and led to drink from His bottomless well, the rest will come easily and they will never hunger or thirst again.

If Only

“O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it,
How, ‘til He bringeth you where I have been?”

If only I could find the words that would help you believe.  If the mouth of my heart could pour forth speech soaked in the dew of understanding and carried on the breath of God to the door of your own heart.

If only I could open your eyes wide to the wonders of God.  If you could soar with me to the heavens above and circle the starry hosts on angel’s wings, climb with me to snow-capped heights reaching up with outstretched arms, and walk the green meadows arrayed in verdant hues of splendor.

If only I could reveal to you the strength of our Almighty God.  If you could lift your eyes and feel the radiant sun upon your face, let the heavenly rain cleanse you, and hear the thunder of His voice as He opens the heavens and lets loose His power and might upon the earth below.

If only I could take you to where I have been, to His royal throne where your eyes could behold the majesty and glory of His being, the hosts of heavenly angels attending Him, and His children worshiping and singing eternal praises to their King.

If only I could do these things, then surely you would believe.