Tell Me Your Name, Again

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14

There was once a young man named John who came to know his Savior Jesus Christ.  As he matured in stature, so did his zeal grow for his Lord.  His desire to serve Him became so great that he made the decision to take the Gospel message to the earth’s dark corners where it had never before been heard.

“I will become a missionary!” he exuberantly proclaimed to his family and friends.

And so, with his satchel containing only bare essentials in one hand and his King James Bible in the other, John set out on his journey.

Upon reaching his destination, the news of John’s arrival spread quickly among the native people who resided there.  They had never seen a man like John and their curiosity drew them to his humble dwelling.  Before long, trust was established, the language barrier was broken by a translator John employed, and he began to attempt to fulfill his purpose for being in their midst.

Many months went by, until one day as John was sitting under the shade of a tree, he noticed a small gathering of people observing him from a distance.  They stood  in a small circle with one man in the center who, because of his great age, appeared to hold prominence in their group.  John could sense excitement in their conversation as they gestured towards him and then back to their apparent leader.  Breaking from the group, the old man boldly approached John and sat down beside him.

John quickly motioned for his translator, excited over the prospect of finally being able to share what he knew.  Slowly and painfully, but not to be deterred, John began his first conversation with the people to which he had come to bring salvation.

“I am John,” he said, pointing at his chest.

Understanding John’s gesture, the man spoke his name, pointing with his finger at his own chest.

John quickly realized he could not pronounce the man’s difficult name and said, “We must give you a Christian name.”  Pointing to him, John said, “I shall call you ‘Moses’, for you led your people to hear me.”

Puzzled after hearing the interpreter relay John’s words, the man repeated the name he had first given John, this time pounding his fist on his thin chest.  Undeterred, John insisted on the leader’s new name, ‘Moses”, until the man sighed and simply shrugged his shoulders.  Turning his head back to his people who still huddled a distance away, he was once again encouraged as they nodded and gestured with their hands.

“We have come to hear about the One God,” he said with boldness through the interpreter.  Motioning to the Bible John held, he continued, “You carry with you His talk.  We were told long ago He would come and explain His talk.  Please tell it to us.”

Taken aback by the man’s words, John hurriedly opened his King James Bible and began to read from the Book of John.  This sudden development and his familiarity with Scripture swept him along for several minutes, unmindful of the silence that surrounded him.  Suddenly coming out of his euphoria, John realized his translator had not conveyed anything he had read.  Looking up to the face of the man, he saw only confusion.  The tribal leader anxiously glanced back and forth between the two men, waiting to hear an explanation from the interpreter.

“What is wrong?  Why are you not translating?” John demanded.

“It is too difficult to translate,” John’s servant replied.

“What do you mean, ‘too difficult’?”  John exclaimed.  “It is the Word of God in the King’s English, which you understand!  It should not be ‘too difficult’ to tell this man what it is saying!”

“But there are no words in their language that equal what is being said in the King’s English.  It must be translated differently.”

“Well, then!  We will teach them the King’s English so that they can understand it,” John declared.

“What am I to tell him and his people now?  Are they to wait longer for what they have come today to hear?” the servant asked.

Leaping to his feet, John angrily replied, “Tell them that they must wait to hear it!  It would be an abomination to God to have it translated in their language!  The King James Bible is the only authorized and inspired Word of God and to change it would be heresy.   They must learn the King’s English for it to be given to them!”

Glancing at the village leader’s expectant face, the interpreter quietly said, “Then allow me to read it so that I may tell them of the One God and explain His talk to them.”

John was unexpectedly and abruptly overwhelmed by what was occurring, and the words his interpreter had just spoken pierced his heart.  What he had desired and waited for so long was being barred from happening by his own arrogance.  Looking down at the Bible he gripped in his hand, he realized how foolish he had become and how he was also preventing these people from hearing what they were told would be spoken to them.  He had no idea how long they had waited; how many generations had passed on the promise to other generations as they sat around a fire, recalling the oral stories that their elders had also been told.  At last, the time had come for them and John saw he was stubbornly standing in God’s way.

Convicted, John slowly sat back down under the tree’s shade.  He looked into the eyes of the two men who patiently waited to hear from the Book he held in his hands.  One was waiting to receive it in order to pass it to the other who was there to hear it in his own language.  He raised his head to gaze upon the people who had accompanied their elder and who anxiously waited to hear what he had been told so that they could carry the long-expected One God’s talk back to others in their village.

Turning his attention back the old man who patiently waited, John softly said, “Please.  So that I may be able to speak it, tell me your name, again.”

~~~~~~

Additional reading:

1Cor 1:4-6
1Cor 2:1-3
Col 4:5-7

Hallowed Flame

God’s children have been drawn from darkness into His light.  He has lit the flame of repentance and stoked the tinder of faith.  Like Moses, our eyes have beheld Jehovah’s presence in the burning bush, and we have removed our soiled sandals because we now stand on holy ground that is cleansed by God’s purifying fire.  (Ex. 3)

Although, in our sinful state, we do not always see His burning lamp, God’s presence is ever before us.  In a brilliant “pillar of fire” He leads us through the world’s barren deserts (Ex 13:21-22).  Our footsteps are made sure as He lights the way that has been marked by His sacrifice.  His righteousness clears away the stones and obstacles that threaten to cause us to stumble, for His glorious Light shines ahead of us and our footsteps are made sure.

If we stray, the glory of the Lord appears like a beacon to guide us back onto His straight and narrow way.  In His jealousy, He feeds the furnace of His love for His children with His holiness, causing it to blaze brightly in the wilderness. He erects a flaming wall of protection that divides His foes who abide on the side of darkness and His children who rest on the other side in the Light of His safety (Ex 14:19-20).  His mighty hand plucks the feet of His faltering children from the licking flames of sin, and His own purifying fire heals their wounds.

Oh, to at last be led to His throne room where His eternal Light burns brightly!  For the darkness of sin to be forever consumed by His eternal flames!

Oh, to see the Lord’s glory!  His eyes blazing like a furnace, burning white with righteousness and holiness! (Rev 1:14-15)

“Arise, shine, for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you!” (Is 60:1)  “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory!” (Is 60:19)

“Though [you] now sit in darkness, the Lord will be [your] Light..”  He will make you a brightly lit lamp so that those who come in can see the Light (Lk 8:16) and long to be in its cleansing rays!  (Matt 6:22)  For behold!  “The true Light that gives light to every man [has] come into the world” to lead men from the death of darkness and bring them into the glorious Light of Life!

"O beloved, do not be slow to return the hallowed flame of His love."  (C.H. Spurgeon)

Throw It Overboard

 Psalm 139:23-24

When man first fashioned vessels to carry him across the seas, the necessity to dispose of accumulated garbage became a problem.  Because of the length of time that was required to sail across the vast waters in search of distant shores, leaving his refuse on board would have created health problems, not to mention the stench that would accompany him on the long trip, or the inconvenience of piling it out of the way, to name just a few.  Something had to be done with it, and his only reasonable option was to throw it over the side of the ship into the briny deep.

Today, our shorelines are littered with the centuries of flotsam that the birds and sea creatures found inedible and which they ignored.  But the evidence that this is a continued practice is obvious to any serious beachcomber who spends hours poking through the twisted piles of kelp and seaweed that line the surf.  Treasures can be found among the trash, but it takes a diligent soul to strike out following a storm to see what the turbulent waves have carried onto land.

To most, there is a twisted logic in casting trash into the sea; mainly because there is a vast difference between the trash of the past and the garbage of today.  The creatures that inhabit the sea become entangled in the plastics and other materials that do not break down in the earth’s elements, and toxic wastes that deform or kill have done a huge disservice to the environment.  Man is unmindful of their inability to rot and decay, or to disperse.  I once saw photos of islands of plastic debris floating along the ocean’s currents and filling the harbors and lining the shores.  It was not a pretty site, and it did bring to light a growing problem.  But as with every problem, there is usually a solution.  It is not necessary to become a raging environmentalist to know that the problem can be taken care of.  It only requires education, reason, thought, and ingenuity to bring it about, rather than constant complaint and finger-pointing, which is more in line with the earth-first crowd.

There is a similarity to what is found floating on the surface of the earth's waters and the practice of surrounding ourselves with unnecessary stuff that we amass in our spiritual lives.  Each is capable of creating a pile of refuse that eventually will become overbearing.  The items in our trash heap can be as seemingly benign as complacency, or as poisonous as heresy that comes about by embracing false teaching and deception.  Add to the mounting trash pile bad doctrine, our own reasoning, legalism, pride, and arrogance, and the fumes given off by us become increasingly offensive.  As the pile grows, it begins to create a stench that spreads and permeates everything about us.  Before long, the pile of garbage we have created begins to become a huge problem, taking up the space that should be reserved for sound Biblical teaching, and threatening to bury us forever in its filth.

Like the mariners of old who realized the importance of ridding their ship of unwanted garbage, the Christian should also keep a wary eye on  what may be polluting his own spirituality.  Whatever he finds among it that may be affecting his walk with Christ, or  that which is offensive to God, is a trash heap that should be thrown overboard.  There should be within him a desire to dispose of anything that threatens to infect or damage the relationship he has with Him.  In doing so, he rids the atmosphere of his walk and his talk of any unpleasant aromas; the scent of his faith more pleasing to God.  And as the Lord combs through the surf of our faith, He will find His treasures on the surface instead of buried among worthless trash.

Have you taken the time to survey the possibility of a growing mound of garbage in your spiritual life?  If not, it would be a good idea to check and see if there is debris that needs to be eliminated.  And do not be afraid to throw it overboard.  The sea will not be damaged by it.  Rather, it will consume it and disperse it to its depths, never to be seen - or smelled - again.

Once done, the voyage will be unencumbered of the excess weight the world brings, and the sweet and pleasant winds of Truth will fill your sails as the Lord carries you safely to His clean and undefiled harbor.

Happy Anniversary Counting the Cost!

Psalm 89:15-17

As I was checking my blog this morning, the sudden realization struck me that it is now entering its third year of existence in this vast, seemingly endless sphere called the internet.  It has definitely been a challenge to keep it fresh with new posts that reflect its purpose and encourage readers to come back for another visit.  And when I would think that my limited ability had reached an end to its creativity and my few visitors were bored to tears with repetitious or redundant themes, another idea, another topic would pop into my head and find its way onto this page.

Some of the posts you have read sat idle for a while in the draft file, waiting for inspiration to make them worthy of your time.  And when they were posted, my obsessive nature over editing for grammatical and punctuation errors would send them flying back into the "Edit Posts" stage for a brief moment to be "fixed" so your eyes wouldn't be offended.  Others were so clear and precise in their context and form that they didn't have to suffer through much proof-reading; the spell- and grammatical-check option would gleefully pop up telling me it was near-perfection - and that made me happy.

When I first set up this blog, I added a traffic counter that shows me how many visitors I have had on that particular day.  At first, it was the number of readers who showed up that I was most interested in, and the number of them that continued to "follow" it, or return often to see what else has been posted.  As any fledgling writer will eventually admit if they are honest with themselves, they desire recognition for their efforts.  After all, it's a lot of hard work, and if no one is reading that work, they feel disappointed.

Also, I wanted to see, but seldom did, comments from those who dropped in; their thoughts or whether or not they liked it.  But, it wasn't long before I was convicted that my focus was misplaced.  I needed to return to its original purpose: to glorify Jesus Christ.  I started looking at not the number of visitors, but where they were coming from, what country they lived in, and it opened up a whole new perspective on the possible reason this blog has continued to exist.

I began keeping a list of the "hits" I was receiving outside of the United States. The counter also shows me a map and a URL of the one searching, and I am able to visit their own blogs or websites, if they have one.  How they managed to find my blog is something for which I have no answer, nor is it necessary for me to have one.  Whether by mistake, through a Google image search, the hyperlink I have on my email, a recommendation from another reader, Facebook, or a multitude of other possibilities, they had come.  The most surprising are those who visit from nations that are known for their intolerance and/or hostility towards Christianity: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan and other parts of Africa, Nigeria, Iran, China, nations from the former Soviet Union, and believe it or not, North Korea.  I would wonder what risk they may have had to take to search the web for a glimpse of what their hearts yearned for.

How wonderful it was to think that the LORD may have led them to my humble blog to find Him.  This thought made it more imperative that I allow Him to be its Administrator, rather than myself.  It wasn't the number of visitors that was important.  It was who these people were that were being directed here, perhaps Divinely so, that became my focus.

Once I placed control back in the LORD's hands, I was encouraged to visit my readers' blogs, if they had one.  Needless to say, the variety of thoughts, philosophies, religions, or purposes I found among them was staggering.  Although I have discovered some amazingly wonderful Christian blogs this way, most of the blogs I find using this method are from Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, Satanists, New Age spiritualists, evolutionists, and every other form of false religion or ideology that would pop up on my computer screen.  I must admit that some were received with discomfort or misgiving because of their content and I struggled not to comment on their own posts or, more often, hurriedly left their site.  However, it presented me an opportunity to  leave a rare comment of encouragement or, better yet, to pray for them and to also ask others to pray.  And it delighted me that perhaps they were searching for an answer they couldn't get from the darkness they currently resided in and, instead, found it on my blog.  After all, nothing is accidental or by chance - even if it wasn't their intention to land here.

With another year looming before me and many empty pages lying in wait to be filled, I look to the One Who has faithfully kept this blog up and running for the last two years.  I must be doing something right.  Right?  As long as I let His hands rest on mine that are poised above the keyboard, or hold the pen hovering over my notebook, the words that show up here will be His.  And if you're searching for an answer and He directs you here to my humble blog, as long as you are willing to pause a few moments and read from these pages, you will find the answer somewhere within them.

I would like to extend a BIG "THANK YOU!" to all who have come here the past two years.  Whether this is your first visit, or you return often, my gratitude is sincerely given for dropping by.  I hope that you found what you were looking for, and that you have been fed, renewed, or encouraged by the words that are posted here....and I hope you come back again. 

Oh!  And don't forget to leave your thoughts after you have read what you find here. Just click on "Post a Comment" at the bottom of the post and follow the instructions.  We writers appreciate them more than you think and really do want to hear from you.

To celebrate this blog's anniversary, I will be re-posting from time to time some favorites of mine that were written over the course of the last two years.  It is my hope that you will re-read them, perhaps with new eyes, and that they speak to your heart as they did mine when I wrote them.  Better yet, however, is that I pray we will one day meet when we are all gathered together with the LORD, and that you will tell me you found Him here on my blog.

Until that glorious day, may the Holy Spirit continue to draw you closer to your Savior Jesus Christ, to make you His own for eternity, and to pour out His blessings upon you.

In Christ's Service,

Karen

 

Are You Dead Yet?

John 11:25-26

"When you're forgiven, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you sting and hurt with the insult of the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ -- that is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence -- that is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it -- that is dying to self.

When you are content with any circumstance, any food, any offering, any clothing, any climate, any society, any solicitude, any interruption by the will of God -- that is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or record your own good works, or itch after any commendation from others, when you can truly love to be unknown -- that is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and your circumstances more desperate -- that is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart -- that is dying to self.

Ask yourself a question:   'are you dead yet?' "

(Borrowed from "What It Means to Die to Self" - by John MacArthur)

A New Year Prayer

(From former Berean Call board member, William MacDonald, deceased 2007)

 

"As we come to the beginning of another year, we would do well to make the following prayer requests our own:

 

Lord Jesus, I rededicate myself afresh to You today. I want You to take my life this coming year and use it for Your glory.

 

I pray that You will keep me from sin, from anything that will bring dishonor to Your Name.

Keep me teachable by the Holy Spirit. I want to move forward for You.   Don't let me settle in a rut.

May my motto this year be, "He must increase; I must decrease."  The glory must all be Yours. Help me not to touch it.

Teach me to make every decision a matter of prayer. I dread the thought of leaning on my own understanding. "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23).

May I die to the world and even to the approval or blame of loved ones or friends. Give me a single, pure desire to do the things that please Your heart.

Keep me from gossip and criticism of others. Rather, help me to speak what is edifying and profitable.

Lead me to needy souls. May I become a friend of sinners, as You are. Give me tears of compassion for the perishing.

Lord Jesus, keep me from becoming cold, bitter, or cynical in spite of anything that may happen to me in the Christian life.

Guide me in my stewardship of money. Help me to be a good steward of everything You have entrusted to me.

Help me to remember moment by moment that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. May this tremendous truth influence all my behavior.

And, Lord Jesus, I pray that this may be the year of Your return. I long to see Your face and to fall at Your feet in worship. During the coming year, may the blessed hope stay fresh in my heart, disengaging me from anything that would hold me here and keeping me on the tiptoes of expectancy. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"