Three ‘strange’ analogies by Jesus

        By ‘strange’, I mean comparing himself to what I would call bad, or evil things. The first is the snake. John 3:14 says, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up.”

        The Lord is referring to the plague of venomous snakes in Numbers 21:6-9. It was snakes that bit the people so Moses made a bronze snake image that they could look to for healing. The “uplifting” is on the cross, not glorification. For mankind, it is sin that destroys us. A snake is not a pretty thing—a snake is a frightening thing. And so, Jesus was made a frightening thing— “He was made sin for us”! See 2 Corinthians 5:21. The power of sin is destroyed once Jesus has been “lifted up”. Notice, too, the imperative “must be lifted up”. In both pictures, the key ingredient for healing is faith.

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        The second is the man who went to a far country to be made king, then returned and killed all those who opposed him. See Luke 19:12-27. This type of plotting included King Herod the Great, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Herod Philip, and Herod Agrippa I. They all spent time in Rome hustling and plotting to establish their kingship back in Palestine. At the specific time Jesus told this parable, it would have been Herod the Great’s son, Archelaus, who had most recently made these moves, albeit over thirty years before. Remember that when Joseph was returning from Egypt, he was afraid to go into Judea because Archelaus was the new ruler.

        The parallel here is that Jesus left us for heaven. Sadly, there are those who don’t want him as king and have no reason except that they hate him. Because he is God, he knows they will never change and therefore he can only destroy them. His kingdom was not of this world, but one day he will return, as the true King. And we should be longing for that day.

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        The last analogy I want to look at right now is the thief. “If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming he would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready…” See Mathew 24:42-44, and Luke 12:39-40.

        There seems to be no other life situation where a person keeps their arrival time secret to keep their friends “on their toes”. The thief, of course, wants his target to be lulled to sleep. For Jesus’ return, God alone has this right to secrecy for our best interests, and our spiritual growth.

Reserved for YOU!

   

      Not long ago, we went to a formal outing. As suppertime approached, we made our way down to the dining room. The tables were all laid out and beautifully prepared on terraces. We stood at the top of the stairs, slightly stunned, and looking around, until we saw a table with a sign on it that said, "Reserved. Wilson. Party of 4". Our mood changed from feeling confused to one of welcome and warmth.        

      In Revelation 19:9, the angel said, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” 1 Peter 1:4 talks about a place “reserved in Heaven for you.” How wonderful to have a spot reserved for us in Heaven!

Joy Wilson  

Book Review: Seasons of Clear Shining

  

         Seasons of Clear Shining

by Meg Sharpe and Arthur C. Dixon

Fountaria Canada,

Brampton, Ontario 2016

Hardcover, 151 + 9 pages

     When I first set eyes on this book and its cover, I didn’t know just where it was going. But because I know Arthur Dixon, I was glad to take the chance and buy it. My wife and I had just suffered what looked to be a grievous financial loss. We were reeling from what seemed like a let-down by God himself. How wonderful to read on page 4, an appropriate quotation from Brother Lawrence (1605-1691): “Let all our employment be to know God…and if our love for God were great, we should love him equally in pains and pleasures.”

        I was well into the book when the thought struck me, “I’m full! I’m overflowing! How much more of this wonderful stuff can there be?” And I looked and there were eighty more pages! Don’t do as I did, though. It’s a devotional— read only one or two pages at a time.

      The title is based on a poem by William Cowper, quoted in the preface:

“When comforts are declining,  

      he grants the soul again,

A season of clear shining,    

      to cheer it after rain.”

To Dixon and Sharpe, “clear shining” comes after “rain”. And just as the subtitle says (rediscovering Jesus in great songs of the faith), they have seen this clear shining in their selection of hymns. The clear shining is far more than just the knowledge that the believer is safe for eternity. The clear shining is learning more about Jesus and seeing him more clearly “after rain” (or even after hurricanes). A beam of God’s light illuminates something for our spirit, in each poem, that we might never have noticed without the commentary.

       Encouragement and blessing pour from every page. A few examples:—(p.47) "the primary mandate of our triune God” is “to love him with our heart and soul and mind and strength”, not to “check our brains at the church door [A.C.Dixon]”; (p.53) “Jesus’ hands were kind hands [Margaret Cropper]”; (p.73) “nations… civilizations—these are mortal…it is immortals whom we joke with, work with… [C.S.Lewis]”; (p.74) “take thou my cup, and it with joy or sorrow fill [Horatius Bonar]”; (p.79) “deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to—a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song [Helen Keller].” I could go on, because there are scores of examples. Instead let’s turn to some of the technical aspects of the book.

       For starters, one of the most noticeable changes, and one that might upset some traditionalists, is the discontinuance of capitals on pronouns referring to Deity.  However, this is in keeping with KJV and NIV (Cf. John 3:32-35). I learned at least two new words: “misotheist” and “fluffernutter”! And what can I say of the pictures? —a perfect complement of detail and illustration to satisfy the reader’s need for visual commentary as well. 

        Finally, something that may be just a matter of taste, but a practice that, for me, occasionally removes the book from “timelessness” and sets it down in our very limited and changeable “now”. This is the mention of certain people and organizations. I would rather not hear of Dawkins or Sarfati, of Nye or the Vineyard Movement, of abortion atrocities, or ICR, or Randy Guliuzza. I would rather, as the vast majority of the book does, keep my eyes on Jesus.

        Let me finish with two quotations that every Christian needs to apply to their own life—that I need to apply to my life. “We read the apostle Peter’s exclamation in Acts 10:14, ‘By no means, Lord!’ No, Lord?” (p.74) The other quote is on p.60: “Young kids love to shout, ‘Daddy, look at me!’…In the same spirit we ought to say, ‘Lord Jesus, look!’ in every action, every thought. If we can’t, we need to ask, ‘Should I be involved in this at all?’”