Return and give thanks!

     One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”  Luke 17:11-19.

        Several months after Joy and I were first married, we went to a park in the west end of Toronto. The swimming hole was just a widening of the river and there had been a heavy rain the night before so it was pretty murky. As she and I walked into the water, we noticed a few bubbles coming up to our right. We walked on in and swam for five or at the most ten minutes.

        We came back out and Joy’s foot touched something.  “There’s a body down there, there’s somebody down there!”, she shouted. So I reached down right to the bottom of the river—it was about three feet deep—and pulled out a seven or eight year old boy. I lifted him up and shouted for the lifeguard. The two young lifeguards who were on duty went to pieces, but the master lifeguard came, got the child over his shoulder and drained the water out of his stomach and his lungs; the ambulance came and they took care of him; they took my name and address and phone number. And as the ambulance left they said over the loud speaker that the little boy would be okay.

        The next morning we called the hospital and couldn’t get any information. We tried to find something of the story, but nothing—absolutely nothing. So in the end, we know how Jesus felt—we saved that boy—he was as good as dead—we saved his life—nobody ever thanked us, we never even found out any more of the story.

        That takes me back to this story of Jesus and the lepers. I was thinking that in the Breaking of Bread, we’ve done what Jesus wanted us to do. He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” And in doing this, we return to give Him thanks.

        There were ten lepers, and if we look around at a typical Lord’s Supper there are not huge numbers. Are there nine more out there somewhere, who have never come and given Him thanks? I believe there are.

ROMANS:

ROMANS: Encountering the Gospel’s Power

By John Stott with

Carol Nystrom

InterVarsity Press

©1998

112 pp.

       “Romans is a kind of Christian manifesto of freedom through Jesus Christ.” This is the first sentence of Stott’s Introduction to this Bible study, and it sets the tone for the entire book. A manifesto is “a written statement that describes the policies, goals, and opinions of a person or group.” I had never looked at Romans in that light before but after working my way through this study, I can see how Paul covers all the bases.

        For instance, Paul’s first six verses tell us that the message is from God, it was promised long ago, it concerns Jesus and His resurrection, and it comes to Jews and Gentiles.

        Stott’s second chapter talks about “A Downward Spiral”. Mankind has become godless and wicked. Until we see our sin, we’re not ready to hear about justification. Other chapters (not corresponding with the chapter numbers of the book of Romans itself) look at “Misplaced Confidence”, “Forgive Us Our Debts”, “Peace with God”, “Battling Sin”, “Understanding God’s Purposes”, “God’s Grief”, and “Unity, Liberty & Charity”, among others.

        Stott’s progression through the basics of the gospel is very clear, and wonderful to experience. His comments are a joy to read and his questions for study are exceptionally perceptive. For instance, in the chapter “God’s Grief”, he asks, “Make a mental review of what you have said and done in the last week. In what ways have you confessed that Jesus is your Lord?”

        Two more questions—The chapter on “God’s Fairness”, asks, “How might God’s judgment be a kindness?” and later, “What can we do to cultivate a healthy conscience?” Good questions for thought and action, not just questions of fact.

        I first came across Stott’s Bible studies in Jesus Christ: Teacher, Servant & Savior. After working my way through it twice now, I recommend it first, before Romans. You’ll worship Jesus all over again. You’ll learn more about Him than you could imagine possible. Then you’re ready for Romans, because it shows where you’ve come from, how to live now, and where you’re going.

        John Stott is a man very much worth reading. Many years ago I enjoyed Your Mind Matters, hardly more than a tract. Recently, I’ve worked my way through The Cross of Christ, 350 pages of fine print. And in between is Why I Am a Christian. Stott was a deep thinker, with a very broad base of historical and theological knowledge; above all he was a devout and conscientious Christian. He will make your appreciation for Christ grow like no author before him.

Five Words:

“The most important advice you will ever hear!”

        Recently while I was in the grocery store, I walked up to the Deli Counter. I stood there beside a large man, as I was waiting for my turn. The server behind the counter was a young girl in a white apron. She did not even notice me, because she was deep in conversation with the gentleman. They were mid conversation, and she was telling him that she was now a diabetic. “I always keep a few candies in my apron pocket,” she said, “that way if I don’t feel well, I take one and it gives me enough sugar so I don’t pass out.” He seemed to know a lot about the condition, and the conversation became quite long and deep and involved.

        I suppose I shifted rather impatiently, because I was waiting to finish shopping. They both became aware of my eavesdropping, and she attempted to wrap up his purchase, and the conversation. However, just as he seemed to be leaving he leaned over the counter, made eye contact with her, and said, “And now I am going to tell you the most important thing you will ever hear in your entire life!” I wondered, “What could this possibly be?”  I was overjoyed as I heard him tell her, “True life is in Jesus!” 

        He smiled at us both and said, “That is my five-word sermon,” and he left. But not before I smiled back at him and said, “Amen.”

Joy Wilson

How can you be punished for disbelieving something that is “unprovable”?*

*Question raised on a “Christmas” website!   

 

    Unprovable!? How can Jesus be unprovable? Over 500 people saw him alive and many were still alive when Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 15:6. His resurrection was proved then, and a 2000-year gap doesn't disprove it or make it necessary to prove it again.

     But for the convinced Christian, there is better proof. The Bible says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psa.34:8)

     A child learning to bicycle knows exactly when she “has it”. So does a new swimmer when he changes from sinking to successfully staying up and breathing. We sometimes call this an “epiphany”.  The new cyclist may need to learn other types of bicycles and even motorcycles. The swimmer needs to learn new strokes and different conditions of water, such as a pool or open sea.

     It is the same with becoming a Christian---what we know within us confirms that we are in the right place. We don't get all the answers. The new Christian “just” needs to learn more of Jesus. But the initial step has been taken—Christ is proved— and there is no going back.

Why? Tell me, why??

         On vacation recently, my wife and I sat through a Sunday morning sermon in which the main point was, “Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour!” After thirty minutes and twenty repetitions, we did indeed get the point. The preacher used all his authority as a pastor of 50 or 60 years’ standing, to enforce the command, over and over. But his reasons were vague or non-existent. Why not, “Accept Confucius”, or “Accept Joseph Smith”?  I accept only Jesus! But to avoid any doubt or confusion, I want to lay out a few reasons for accepting Jesus.

Some background is necessary, however, so here are a few scriptures to set the scene:-

·         “Anyone who comes to [God] must believe that he exists.” Hebrews 11:6. There are many false gods but only one true God.

·         “You created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11. That ‘true God’ created us.

·         “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. We have failed him.

·         “The one who sins is the one who will die.” Ezekiel 18:20. Because we have failed we have to die.

·         “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:3. Unless we turn back to God we will perish.

·         “There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5. Jesus is the only connection we have to God.

·         “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31. Only Jesus will make things right.

With these seven scriptures as a basis, here are three reasons to accept Jesus Christ as Lord:-

1.      To avoid punishment for our sins. Since God is infinite and one sin is infinitely evil, the punishment must be infinite, that is, eternal! Trusting Jesus for this reason is good, but sometimes we just call it “fire insurance”. The rich man in Luke 16 never trusted the Lord and ended up in Hades.

2.      Because we are desperate, and don’t know what else to do. This was Peter, sinking in the sea: “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:30. This was my own position—I reached out for Christ like a drowning man.

3.      Because we love him. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. This is worship—Jesus loves us enough to die for us. We want to say thank you and give ourselves back to him.

There are wonderful and profound reasons for trusting Jesus. He rescues us from punishment and great loss, but he also comes to live with us and puts his Holy Spirit inside us. We will never be alone again. And one day we will see him face-to-face. As the second last verse of the Bible says, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Blessed be Your Name!

      Paul says, “No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed’.” (1 Cor.12:3) Do you get tired of hearing the Name of Jesus Christ trampled in the dirt like that? No one ever does that with Allah or Buddha or Confucius. I can only believe that Satan doesn’t care about these other names.

      I sometimes think that if an alien landed in Burlington and heard the name of Jesus, even in blasphemy, he would wonder, “Who is this Jesus?”; and he would inquire until he found out. Except for that curse, he might never hear the Name.

      And so is fulfilled (by ways we would never choose), the apostle Paul’s blessing, “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” (Phil.1:15-18).

Great News and Really Good Choices!

 

       “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”—an amazing announcement from an angel of the Lord, then an amazing choir in the night sky. (Luke 2:11) Nothing was commanded; perhaps nothing was expected of those shepherds. But they knew a promise— “You, Bethlehem Ephrathah…out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.” (Micah 5:2)

       In that moment, Bethlehem became the centre of the universe, and those shepherds were spectators at the central event of the ages—the incarnation of the Son of Man. What would they do? After the first shiver of awe and joy, would they turn back to their sheep? They conferred—and without any compulsion, they decided— “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” (Luke 2:15) A Child had been born who was the Mighty God and the Prince of Peace. And they got to meet Him in the flesh.

       Thirty years later some Greeks in Jerusalem came to His disciples and said, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” We believe they DID see Him. (John 12:21)

       How can we bring this into our own day? How can we meet Jesus? He said, Himself, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) The prime meeting place for us now is in the Scriptures. Sometimes we will see Him there, sometimes in prayer, sometimes in worship, sometimes through a godly speaker, sometimes most blessedly, in one of His own, standing right beside us. As the apostle Paul said, “I want to know Christ…becoming like him…” (Phil.3:10)