There’s a strange word-picture—God exhaling—but the Bible really does report at least two instances. The first is in Genesis 2:7—the Lord God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” In other words, God took that pile of dust, breathed into it, and gave it life and a soul.
The second time God exhaled may be even more wonderful because it isn’t just physical life to a lump of clay, it’s spiritual-life-giving breath to anyone who inhales it. In 2 Timothy 3:15, the apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed.”
This means that as life came into Adam from God, in Eden, so spiritual life is flowing to us from the Scriptures. As we read the Bible, we are inhaling that life into our soul—it is the very breath of God coming at us. That is why Paul goes on to say that all Scripture “is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”—it is God speaking directly to us.
This is why words written two or three thousand years ago are still relevant. God can take statements, questions, comments or commands straight from the Bible and, in His infinite foresight, apply them directly to our lives, as if they were new and unique to us. Author Jan Karon, for one, knows this. She put these thoughts into her character Father Tim’s mind in In This Mountain:
“Though he’d known for decades that the exhortation was there in First Thessalonians and had even preached on it a time or two, it came to him now as if it were new, not ancient wisdom. It came to him with the utterly effulgent certainty that this Scripture was his, and he might seize upon it…”
How about you? Has a verse of Scripture ever come home to you in power and meaning, aside altogether from the original Bible context? Again, Paul expresses it well—“the word of God, which is at work in you.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) It gives you spiritual oxygen and revitalizes your soul.
Two or three more examples should suffice to show how the original context of a scripture can be re-interpreted hundreds of years later with even greater depth of meaning:
Isaiah 7:14-16 — “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel…before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.” A girl of Isaiah’s day would marry and have a son as a sign to Israel. This is taken up and refined in the New Testament to show the true virgin birth of the Saviour and His lack of any need to “learn” right and wrong.
Psalm 69:9 — “…Zeal for your house consumes me.” This is a psalm of David’s, and who wanted more desperately than David, to build the Lord’s temple? Yet how much deeper is the second application of these words when Jesus is the subject, as in John 2:17. The sentence may well be true of many since His day too, including the Wesleys, George Mueller, Nate Saint, and countless others.
Psalm 22:7, 8 — “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: He trusts in the LORD? let the LORD rescue him.” This is another psalm of David and it seems to re-tell either his life on the run from Saul or his exit from Jerusalem when Absalom rebelled. This is the first application of the words; the next, and deepest, application is the Lord on the cross in His hour of greatest suffering. A Christian suffering today could also find some of these words true of himself.
So, the conclusion of the whole matter is that we want to keep God’s breath coming at us in all its sweetness and purity, refreshing and invigorating us daily. Lord, help us to inhale deeply!
Friday, January 15, 2010
My Red Letter Old Testament
Subtitle: “The Eternal Existence of God the Son”
One of the most basic beliefs of all Christians is that Jesus is God, that He is one of the three Persons of the Trinity. This truth was being obscured in the 3rd and 4th centuries by heresies like “Arianism”, teaching about the Word of God that “once He was not.”
One of the most influential of Christian books since New Testament times is The Incarnation of the Word of God written by Athanasius, about 318 AD. The belief outlined and defended in that book has some amazing corollaries, which we don’t often think of. For instance, it means that Isaiah was absolutely right when he said “unto us a son is given.” (Isa.9:6) The Baby born in Bethlehem that night had existed far longer than nine months—in fact, infinitely longer, since He was the eternal God.
We know from Paul’s writings (1 Tim. 3:16) that Jesus is “God manifest in the flesh.” We know too that “no one has ever seen God [in His unveiled glory].” (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12.) This means that any visible appearance to man by God has to be in Jesus. And this means that as we read through the Old Testament, wherever the “Angel of the Lord” or a “Man” appears Who is acknowledged as God, it has to be Jesus.
Quotations of the Lord in the New Testament are fairly straightforward and easy to identify. I’ve been working my way through the Old Testament with a red highlighter, marking what I believe are also the words of Jesus.
Moses, at the burning bush, may or may not qualify as an example but, for now, I’ve confined myself to physical appearances that the viewers reported. Several examples should get us on our way:
One. Genesis 3:8-19. “The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden…’Where are you?’ [red letter]…’Who told you that you were naked?’ [red letter]…’He will crush your head.’ [red]” This seems to be a visible Person in Eden with Adam and Eve.
Two. Genesis 16:7-14. “The angel of the Lord found Hagar…’I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count’ [red letter]…she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ “ Hagar saw the Lord. It seems to have been Jesus in pre-incarnate form.
Three. Genesis 18:1-33. “The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord… The Lord said, ‘If I find fifty righteous people…’ [red letter]” One of the men who appeared to Abraham was Jesus, again in pre-incarnate form, and visible as a man.
Four. Judges 6: 11-26. “The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel…’ [red letter]” Gideon was hiding his wheat and threshing it in a winepress when the Lord—I believe it was Jesus—appeared and gave him instructions.
I’ve had a fun time working on my “red letter” Old Testament. I hope this encourages you to think about the eternal significance of the Baby of Bethlehem. Since He really has come to us from “before the dawn of time”, we owe Him our utmost attention.
One of the most basic beliefs of all Christians is that Jesus is God, that He is one of the three Persons of the Trinity. This truth was being obscured in the 3rd and 4th centuries by heresies like “Arianism”, teaching about the Word of God that “once He was not.”
One of the most influential of Christian books since New Testament times is The Incarnation of the Word of God written by Athanasius, about 318 AD. The belief outlined and defended in that book has some amazing corollaries, which we don’t often think of. For instance, it means that Isaiah was absolutely right when he said “unto us a son is given.” (Isa.9:6) The Baby born in Bethlehem that night had existed far longer than nine months—in fact, infinitely longer, since He was the eternal God.
We know from Paul’s writings (1 Tim. 3:16) that Jesus is “God manifest in the flesh.” We know too that “no one has ever seen God [in His unveiled glory].” (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12.) This means that any visible appearance to man by God has to be in Jesus. And this means that as we read through the Old Testament, wherever the “Angel of the Lord” or a “Man” appears Who is acknowledged as God, it has to be Jesus.
Quotations of the Lord in the New Testament are fairly straightforward and easy to identify. I’ve been working my way through the Old Testament with a red highlighter, marking what I believe are also the words of Jesus.
Moses, at the burning bush, may or may not qualify as an example but, for now, I’ve confined myself to physical appearances that the viewers reported. Several examples should get us on our way:
One. Genesis 3:8-19. “The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden…’Where are you?’ [red letter]…’Who told you that you were naked?’ [red letter]…’He will crush your head.’ [red]” This seems to be a visible Person in Eden with Adam and Eve.
Two. Genesis 16:7-14. “The angel of the Lord found Hagar…’I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count’ [red letter]…she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ “ Hagar saw the Lord. It seems to have been Jesus in pre-incarnate form.
Three. Genesis 18:1-33. “The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord… The Lord said, ‘If I find fifty righteous people…’ [red letter]” One of the men who appeared to Abraham was Jesus, again in pre-incarnate form, and visible as a man.
Four. Judges 6: 11-26. “The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel…’ [red letter]” Gideon was hiding his wheat and threshing it in a winepress when the Lord—I believe it was Jesus—appeared and gave him instructions.
I’ve had a fun time working on my “red letter” Old Testament. I hope this encourages you to think about the eternal significance of the Baby of Bethlehem. Since He really has come to us from “before the dawn of time”, we owe Him our utmost attention.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Testimony of Glenn
I was born in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, where my childhood, youth and early adulthood were spent in the midst of a protective and loving Christian family. God’s salvation was expounded from the pulpit week after week.
One spring day I was helping a friend build a packed snow and ice dam across a small creek. Sure enough, the dam gave way and in plunged my friend. Fortunately, he could swim and I was able to reach his hand and help him out. But I couldn’t swim and I was later horrified at what might have happened to my soul!
A new birth
About three years later, in the summer of 1959, an itinerant preacher, Bert Scott, was talking to me after a children’s meeting. I suddenly realized that, because of my sins, I deserved to die but Jesus had died instead—I committed my life to Him then and there. The theme of Christ as the Divine Substitute has been priceless to me ever since. Years later I learned that if I had been the only person in the world, Jesus would still have died for me.
A logical outcome of my Christianity was a love of reading the Bible, branching out to theological works by such outstanding writers as C.S.Lewis, J.I.Packer, John Stott and others.
Chemistry and refractories
The best time of my school life was my first year at Lakehead University, even if I often had to walk four miles there (and sometimes back as well). After my bachelor studies, I headed for Toronto and, I hoped, a career in a science discipline. A few weeks later I had a call from an unknown company called Plibrico, who manufactured refractories. Refractories? Who ever heard of “refractories”? Over the next thirty years my standard answer became “high temperature linings for furnaces”.
Love and marriage
In the last months of 1968, I settled into a church in Mimico and was thrilled to meet and eventually marry Joy – the only girl I ever dated. My all-time favourite hymn (sung at our wedding) was appropriate in more ways than one – “Love divine, all loves excelling…”
The next five years were relatively quiet but Joy and I managed to buy a little house and, in 1973 and 1974, daughters Rebecca and Betty-Lou arrived. Then suddenly, in 1975, my employer moved to Burlington to be closer to the big “refractories” users in Hamilton (the steel companies). Of course, we moved to Burlington too and, in 1980, son Andrew arrived.
Spiritual journey
This was also a time of spiritual concern, with serious questioning of many of the values I had been raised with. Although my Christian associates were good-hearted, faith-filled and utterly reliable, I was uneasy about some of the intense legalism. As a consequence, Joy and I were welcomed into Shoreacres fellowship and were happy to raise our children here for the next decade-and-a-half.
Career
For over 33 years I worked for Plibrico and its successor companies. It really was true that I sat at the same desk, in the same office, and worked for five successive companies. For most of this time I was the laboratory manager so I enjoyed great learning opportunities in quality control, statistics, and especially some R&D. For many years I represented the Canadian lab in intra-company technical meetings all over the world— the U.S., England, Germany, Austria, and Japan.
Hardship and hope
Joy’s and my life together was badly shaken when, in May 1997, Joy was involved in a head-on collision by someone running a stop sign. Now began countless doctors’ visits and treatments. But God held us together through it all.
With daughters and son now safely and happily married in the Lord, with four charming little granddaughters and two inquisitive little grandsons, the main theme stirring in my heart has been, “Lord, I don’t deserve it but thank You for these great gifts!”
A new birth
About three years later, in the summer of 1959, an itinerant preacher, Bert Scott, was talking to me after a children’s meeting. I suddenly realized that, because of my sins, I deserved to die but Jesus had died instead—I committed my life to Him then and there. The theme of Christ as the Divine Substitute has been priceless to me ever since. Years later I learned that if I had been the only person in the world, Jesus would still have died for me.
A logical outcome of my Christianity was a love of reading the Bible, branching out to theological works by such outstanding writers as C.S.Lewis, J.I.Packer, John Stott and others.
Chemistry and refractories
The best time of my school life was my first year at Lakehead University, even if I often had to walk four miles there (and sometimes back as well). After my bachelor studies, I headed for Toronto and, I hoped, a career in a science discipline. A few weeks later I had a call from an unknown company called Plibrico, who manufactured refractories. Refractories? Who ever heard of “refractories”? Over the next thirty years my standard answer became “high temperature linings for furnaces”.
Love and marriage
In the last months of 1968, I settled into a church in Mimico and was thrilled to meet and eventually marry Joy – the only girl I ever dated. My all-time favourite hymn (sung at our wedding) was appropriate in more ways than one – “Love divine, all loves excelling…”
The next five years were relatively quiet but Joy and I managed to buy a little house and, in 1973 and 1974, daughters Rebecca and Betty-Lou arrived. Then suddenly, in 1975, my employer moved to Burlington to be closer to the big “refractories” users in Hamilton (the steel companies). Of course, we moved to Burlington too and, in 1980, son Andrew arrived.
Spiritual journey
This was also a time of spiritual concern, with serious questioning of many of the values I had been raised with. Although my Christian associates were good-hearted, faith-filled and utterly reliable, I was uneasy about some of the intense legalism. As a consequence, Joy and I were welcomed into Shoreacres fellowship and were happy to raise our children here for the next decade-and-a-half.Career
For over 33 years I worked for Plibrico and its successor companies. It really was true that I sat at the same desk, in the same office, and worked for five successive companies. For most of this time I was the laboratory manager so I enjoyed great learning opportunities in quality control, statistics, and especially some R&D. For many years I represented the Canadian lab in intra-company technical meetings all over the world— the U.S., England, Germany, Austria, and Japan.
Hardship and hope
Joy’s and my life together was badly shaken when, in May 1997, Joy was involved in a head-on collision by someone running a stop sign. Now began countless doctors’ visits and treatments. But God held us together through it all.
With daughters and son now safely and happily married in the Lord, with four charming little granddaughters and two inquisitive little grandsons, the main theme stirring in my heart has been, “Lord, I don’t deserve it but thank You for these great gifts!”
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Memorial Window to Anne Ross Cousin
This window is in the vestry of Melrose Parish Church
This is a mix of what I hope is "mere" Christianity, as well as poetry, history, and a little bit of science-- all from a Christian perspective. Also, here's an assortment of pictures from places I've enjoyed visiting. The title itself is from Anne Ross Cousin's poem:
"Immanuel's Land"
Fair Anwoth by the Solway,
To me thou still art dear!
E'en from the verge of Heaven
I drop for thee a tear.
Oh! If one soul from Anwoth
Meet me at God's right hand,
My heaven will be two heavens
In Immanuel's Land.
"Immanuel's Land"
Fair Anwoth by the Solway,
To me thou still art dear!
E'en from the verge of Heaven
I drop for thee a tear.
Oh! If one soul from Anwoth
Meet me at God's right hand,
My heaven will be two heavens
In Immanuel's Land.
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