Week Twenty-Seven - Keep Your Head

Beside The Well 

           There’s a commercial on English television that references a poem by Rudyard Kipling.  It begins, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…You’ll be a Man my son!”  The idea of keeping your head means to stay calm in the face of difficulty and to maintain your composure.
            In a world full of fear and uncertainty, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain unruffled and self-controlled.  The news is depressing and tends to heighten our anxiety. Opinions are flying about without discretion oblivious to the consequences.  Our history is being re-written to appease the persuasion of the few and it seems good men have stuck their heads in the sand.
            I was reading the response of one young woman, fully educated and self-sufficient, who was so moved by the world around her that she could find no resting place for her heart and mind.  She was beginning to even fear her commute to work for the chaos around her and she lives in a “safe” country.
            I sat listening to missionaries working in difficult, unsafe circumstances and saw the concern in their eyes, as they knew they would soon be returning to the field.
            Then, I stopped and considered a few things.  Wars and times of unrest are written on every page of history.  Today’s news is purposely miserable because that sells more papers.  Loudmouthed people have always been among us trying to force their will on the masses. There have been worse times in history than today, and there will probably be awful times yet to come.  So what are we to do?  Hide behind our doors?  Become nervous wrecks?  Lose our heads?
            I had to rope in my emotions and take a deep breath.  Finally, I came to the assurance that fear is not the answer. We have a promise of quiet rest amid the storms of politics, wars, and earthly situations. 
            John 16:33 “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  I John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
            We need to keep our head; not in the sand, but in the Man!  I love the way L.B. Cowman puts it in Streams in the Desert, “You can trust the Man that died for you.”
            Psalm 3:3 “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.”

Gail Gritts

Beside the Well
rggritts@gmail.com

ggritts.blogspot.com              

Week Twenty-Six - Rebel Rousers

Beside the Well

            Sometimes, my Bible makes me laugh out loud!  As I was reading through the Psalms enjoying David’s poetry, I came to Psalm 59.  Like many of the Psalms, David asks God to defend him from his enemies, but when I got to verse six and seven, my visual mind kick in and I started to laugh.
            It reads, “They (the wicked) return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.  Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?”
            I’ve seen them before, haven’t you? Not only was I laughing at the image in my mind, but according to verse eight, God is also laughing.  “But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them.”   I don’t think God is laughing because He thinks they are funny.
            I pondered a while and then read on until my attention was again captured at verses 14 and 15.  “And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.  Let them wander up and down for meat, (look for something to eat) and grudge if they be not satisfied(stay out all night).
            To keep the verse in context, we must remember that David is describing his enemies.  They snarl and bark like dogs on the hunt, wretched words come out of their mouths, and they have no dread of man or God.  They are always on the prowl and keep up the hunt at any cost.
            My mind went to the yobs that hang around town at night.  They bark and howl using foul language due to intoxication and drugs. They wander around all night getting more and more frustrated as they look for some sort of satisfaction.
            I laughed because I had never noticed these verses before and I was amazed that God’s portrayal could be so remarkably visual and descript. 
            Sadly, these verses describe a good portion of society today.  Not just the unruly youth, but also the attitude and actions of political parties and business leaders.  Whatever happened to character?  When did it become okay to be base and disrespectful? 
            I find these sorts of actions fearful, but David was not afraid.  He decided to continue singing of God’s power and mercy aloud each morning because he knew God was his defense and refuge. (vs. 16, 17)
            And that made me laugh again.  After a night of rebel rousing, the last thing these folks want to hear is someone singing, and especially singing about the Lord.
            Isn’t God cool?  We don’t have to be afraid of barking dogs or noisy politicians; we can sing our hearts out to the Lord and enjoy our day for God is our defense!

Gail Gritts

Beside the Well
rggritts@gmail.com
ggritts.blogspot.com  

Week Twenty-Five - Fake News

Beside the Well

            Fake news, we hear it all the time.  It is getting harder and harder to determine what is true in the press.  With Photoshop and all sorts of other techniques, anything can be made to look real.  I even saw a picture the other day of the skeleton of a mermaid.  Now, don’t fall for it!  It was photo-shopped, but the article sounded very convincing.
            Sadly, the same thing happens in the church.  As searchers look for truth, they are left grappling with all sorts of fake news like promises of prosperity, healing, and supernatural power. 
            Rev. S Martin painted the picture this way: “Like the old tower on the plain of Shinar.  A stranger draws near to see what the children of men are building.  He inquires.  He is answered by a confusion of sounds and incongruous voices.  Each voice may have some tones of Paradise; each dialect may have numerous signs and sounds of Eden; but the effect of the whole upon the ear of the stranger is this one impression—Babel.” (p 79)
            How sad when the voice of the church gives an indistinct sound; when the word of life is dimmed or distorted by issues, opinions, and fake news.  How are men to determine truth when they cannot hear it plainly?  How are they to listen to the good news of the saving grace of Christ when each herald sounds his own trumpet?
            Rev Martin went on to discuss the effect of the church’s fake news on society.  Men no longer trust each other—in business, in writing, in art, they all criticize and have no leader.  They laugh at our faith but demand we have faith in them, while in secret they are unfaithful.  When the truth is not clearly proclaimed, men make their own truth.
            Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish philosopher and historian in the 1800’s who had a robust remedy for fake news—to cut out the tongues of one generation. Imagine that!
            But, Rev Martin makes note, “the clipping of the tongue, as Carlyle forgets, would only make maimed men; and God’s way of redeeming a man, is, not to maim him, but to make him whole.” (p 78)  This blessed my heart!  Our Lord doesn’t maim us; He corrects us in love for our benefit, speaking directly to our hearts to mend the flaw. 
            But I got to thinking, “How can a man be made whole if he cannot succinctly hear the instruction of the Great Physician?” “Would the clipping of the tongue change the wickedness of the heart?”  Hardly.  So what is to be done?
            The difference between the Christian and his opponents is the object of belief.  Faith must be in Christ alone, and in His truth—not fake news. Fake news obstructs truth.  We are warned against following fables and useless questions
(1 Timothy 1:4) and admonished to blow our gospel trumpets with an intelligible sound (1 Corinthians 14:8).
            If men are to be made whole, they need to hear a genuine, honest message of God's love that avoids the babble of fake news.

Gail Gritts 

Beside the Well
rggritts@gmail.com
ggritts.blogspot.com

Week Twenty-Four - When a Worm Speaks

Beside The Well             

            One of my favorite ways to read Scripture is aloud as if I were reading a letter from a friend.  That way, I hear distinctive messages and find intonations that escape me with silent reading.  As I read Psalm 39 aloud, I found some warnings and real encouragement.
            Verse 1 – remember that tongue?  Keep it shut when you are in the company of your enemy.  “I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.”
            Verse 2 – Holding your tongue is very hard to do.  It is troublesome. “I was dumb with silence, I held my peace…and my sorrow was stirred.”
            Verse 3 – It will burst forth as it burns to speak. “My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned…”
            I was surprised to read what words came out as the psalmist continued. They weren’t words to defame the enemy; they were words speaking of his personal vanity.  Look at this!
            Verse 4 – Lord, I am frail.  Help me to remember I am but human. “Make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days…that I may know how frail I am.”
            Verse 5 – I may be an adult, but my age is not a trump card.  In my best state, I am still empty.  I cannot use seniority to beat down others. “Mine age is as nothing before thee; verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.”
            Verse 6 – My wealth and riches are nothing when compared to you, Lord. “Surely every man walketh in a vain shew…he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.”
            Verse 11 – No matter how good looking I am, or confident, it all pales when you correct me.  You see right through me. “When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth…”
            Verse 7 – My hope must lie in the Lord.  “My hope is in thee.”
            Verse 13 – My cry or plea must rise to You alone.  You are the only one who can give me strength and mercy.  “O spare me…” me, who am nothing, me who is unable to secure anything—“that I may recover strength”—humbled by my inadequacies, only You can breathe encouragement and strength—Your strength into my guilty, deflated heart.
            It reminded me of David’s plea in Psalm 22:6, “I am a worm, and no man.”  And, of Isaiah 6:5 where the prophet said, “Woe is me! For I am undone”as they saw the vanity of their humanity. “Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.” (Psalm 39:5)
            Verse 8 – Deliver me, Lord from my sinfulness. “Deliver me from all my transgressions.”
            Verse 12 – Hear my prayer and see my tears. “Hear my prayer…give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears…”
            Only God’s word has the power to expose the vanity (emptiness) of our humanity and reach deep enough to reveal the pride and deceitfulness of our crafty hearts.
            When we are tempted to open our mouths and annihilate others, we are best to turn those words back toward ourselves and see that we, too, are only human. 

            “Lord, I am nothing.  You are everything. Secure my heart and my tongue that I might remember whose I am.  Help me to humbly stay in my place. Amen.”

rggritts@gmail.com

Week Twenty-Three - The Evil I

            Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India who wrote many books, but one that keeps circulating is called If.  Short and sweet by name, and short and sweet by nature, her book points the reader to think about the consequences of attitudes and decisions not based on Calvary love.  My use of the word sweet is a probably a poor definition.  I’d encourage you to get a copy and see for yourself because some of her ifs are very poignant and direct.
            One of them that caught my attention was “If I myself dominate myself, if my thoughts revolve round myself, if I am so occupied with myself I rarely have a heart of leisure from myself, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” (p 38)
            Scripture began to flood my heart as I pondered her thought.  We are to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39).  We are called to deny self (Mark 8:34).  We are to think others are more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). Sadly, most of our thoughts revolve around what we think we need, deserve, plan to do, what others think about us, what we look like, wish for or want.
            Be honest.  Do you wake up each morning wondering if your neighbor had a good night’s sleep?  Do you direct your day’s plans according to what will be best for the other people on their way to work?  Or do you start with thinking about getting yourself out of bed, dressed, fed, and to the workplace without any thought of others who are doing the same?  I am fairly confident that most of us take care of self first.
            Do you weigh up decisions based on the best outcome for all concerned or what will benefit you?  Do you take the larger slice of cake?  Do you serve yourself first?  Do you resist helping others because it might cost you something or take your valuable time? Do you find yourself getting angry when other’s needs get in your way?   Do you resent authority?  Do you think only of yourself?
            This trait of “me first” seems over prevalent today but if Amy Carmichael, way back in the 1800’s, was impressed to notice, and the Bible makes note of it too, then narcissism is a sinful trait to be repented.  There is no excuse for selfish behaviour.  Common courtesy still has its place.
            Elizabeth Elliot, in her devotion book, Keep a Quiet Heart, speaks of teaching self-denial to our children. “The earlier the parents begin to make the laws of order and beauty and quiet comprehensible to their children, the sooner they will acquire good, strong notions of what is so basic to real godliness: self-denial.  A Christian home should be a place of peace, and there is no peace where there is no self-denial. (p 250)
            So, true.  People who demand are taxing. People who give are a joy.  People who only think of themselves cannot be trusted.  They are looking out for self, and you are not in their equation. Self-focus causes short tempers, resentment in relationships, and does not make for a peaceful home or life.
            God’s way is different.  Give and it shall be given unto you (Luke 6:8).  Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought (Romans 12:3). Condescend (Romans 12:16).  Do you know what condescend means? It means to come down off your self-appointed perch to do a service for someone else even if they don’t deserve it or haven’t earned it.  It is to humble yourself to meet the need of another regardless of rank.  Sounds like what Christ did for us, huh?
            He took on the form of a servant; made Himself of no reputation that He might save us. By loving others so much that He gave it all, He becomes our prime example of unselfish behaviour.
            Let’s not stop there.  The Bible goes on to instruct us to share what we have with those in need (Hebrews 13:6). We are to look for opportunities to help others, not for gain, but to be a blessing (Philippians 2:4).  Oh, many more instructions in God’s word call us to share Calvary love by the way we live, and all of them warn us to watch out for the evil “I.” 

Gail Gritts

Beside the Well
rggritts@gmail.com
ggritts.blogspot.com

Week Twenty-Two - What Ya Doin' in There?

Beside the Well

            Most mothers would agree that when kids go quiet, they were up to something.  This is true with toddlers and teens.  God knows the same thing happens with His children.
            In 1 Kings 19 we find Elijah hiding in a cave having himself a good pout. God comes to check on him whispering, “What ya doin’ in there, Elijah?”  Well, that probably wasn’t how God said it, but I can imagine God’s tender voice calling for an answer.
            Do you remember the story?  God tries to get Elijah’s attention by a strong wind and an earthquake, but only His gentle call brings Elijah to the door of the cave.  I’ve heard this account used to address depression, and no doubt Elijah was depressed as he hid from Jezebel but I got to thinking about other types of hiders.
            Some sit quietly in our churches living two lives.  They are Christians on Sunday, but not the rest of the week.  They hide in church hoping no one will find them out.  They are deceivers in the cave of hypocrisy.
            There are sinners who think no one knows their addiction, but they cannot avoid the voice of God that calls them by name.  God knows they are in the cave of secrecy.
            There are those who feel locked in the cave of gloom. Despair has overtaken their lives, and they cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Why are they hiding there when God’s grace and mercy are so strong?
            Others are in the cave of non-confession.  They know the Lord but are so entangled with the world they fear making their faith public. They don’t have the courage to break away from their worldly friendships, so they sit trembling as God calls their name.
            Some have lodged in the cave of complaint.  They are content with themselves and discontented with everyone else. Complaining has become such a way of life they see nothing positive.  If they could but leave the cave, their pent-up energy might produce some good.
            And, there are those who have settled into the cave of comfortable seclusion. They have served their time, found a cozy place, and do not want to shift.  They hear God call but find it easier to make an excuse for their inactivity than leave their cave of isolation.  All the while, they wonder why they feel so lonely.
            “What ya doin’ in there?” God asks.  And most usually, just as children, we answer, “Nothing.”
            And that is precisely the problem.  We aren’t doing anything.  We aren’t doing anything about our situation.  We aren’t doing anything for God or in obedience to His word.  We aren’t doing anything to get out of the cave.
            When Elijah heard the voice of God, he came out (1 Kings 19:13).
            Which cave are you hiding in?  What ya doin’ in there?
            

Week Twenty-One - It's Gonna End in Tears

Beside the Well

            I remember the day four colossal cypress trees in our back garden were chopped down.  They had grown taller than the house and were casting such a shadow the grass could not grow, but I loved them!  The final clincher came when the extension on the house began to crack, and the surveyor said it was because the roots from these trees were sucking the moisture out of the ground.
            House or trees? House, I guess, but that didn’t stop my tears, as my beautiful trees lay chopped to pieces in the back garden.
            I was reminded of this tree story as I read a devotional based on 2 Corinthians 4:18.  “for the things which are seen are temporal.” My trees were definitely temporal. It hurt to see them go.  But the writer of the devotion was not worried about my trees.  He had more profound things to consider.
            As he wrote to engage the reader’s thoughts on the things that are temporal, he mentioned these:

            1.  The good things we see are not enough.  They are temporal, for within us is eternity.  All that we see, the beauty around us, the creature comforts we enjoy, our wealth, our poverty, our clothing, food, and possessions, all of it is temporal.  It will all be left behind.  Things and people can never give us the peace and joy we seek in our inner man.  Only God can do that.

            2.  Our trials, tests, and afflictions are temporal. Trials come and trials go. That is the nature of life.  In glory, there will be no trial, no affliction, no more testing.  These things are for this life only.  They are temporal. 

            3. Emotions are temporal.  We change all the time. Joy follows sorrow; fear dashes hope. These spring from what we see around us.  The writer said,  “Great joy is dangerous and deep grief is unnecessary.”  (p 91) Governing our emotions is the key.  Don’t let them get too firm a hold of you.  Tomorrow you will feel different because feelings are temporal.

            4.  Life here, though hard or glorious, is temporal for our hope, and our damnation lies beyond this realm.  “And none can find heaven here.  This is not your rest.  (Read that again.  I love that thought.) Fullness of joy, pleasures forevermore, perfect peace, undisturbed rest—these are not to be derived from things temporal.  All here is transient.” (p 89)  

            It made my heart start singing, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through…”  No matter what my life consists of on earth, it is temporal.  In heaven, I have an eternal inheritance waiting for me (I Peter 1:4).
            If all is temporal, why then do we bother?  I think the answer lies in Ecclesiastes 2:24, “There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.  This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.”
            Life comes from God.  The beauty around is evidence of His creation.  All we enjoy is from His hand, but when we start to cling to the creation more than the creator, that is when the temporal becomes problematic.
            We will best enjoy life when we hold all things lightly with an attitude of gratitude. Our affections are to be set on things above, not on what we gain in this life.
            “The things that are seen are temporal.”  Oh, if we would write this on our hearts and renew it every time we find ourselves getting attached to temporal things and clinging to or crying over something lost. We can enjoy all God has given when we learn to discern between the temporal and the eternal.  

Westminster Chapel Pulpit, Rev S Martin