Tag: Bible

“Rock, Sand, and Storms”

Rock, Sand, and Storms

Oftentimes what lies beneath is fundamental, for it determines the final outcome of the visible structure standing on top of  it.  I think of the roots that support the life of plants and trees; I think of the foundation that undergirds the construction of houses and buildings.

Jesus tells a story of two men who built two houses, one upon the rock, and the other upon the sand. One man was wise, the other was foolish. If the teaching we draw from this story is that the difference between these two men and two houses is revealed when the storms of trials come, the lesson would have little value, for it would have been too late to do anything about it.

But Christ’s purpose in telling the story is to enable us to detect the fundamental differences between two principles of living, so that we may be able to safeguard ourselves against the consequences of a false grounding, while there is still time. Hence, the decisions and actions enacted at the very beginning are crucial to eventual outcomes.  It is said that at the outset, the wise man dug deep before building his house, whereas the foolish man did not take the trouble to lay a foundation.

Let us consider the particular outlook of the man who built his house upon the sand:  (1)

First, he was impatient, in a hurry, compelled to take short cuts to achieve quick results.

Second, because he was impatient, he did not take time to listen to instruction, in this case, to the principles involved in constructing a house. He considered it unnecessary, and deemed his ideas better than established methods.

Third, he possessed a mentality of not thinking things through, of not considering possibilities and eventualities.  He wanted a beautiful house in a particular location, and put it up quickly on the sand, without considering the environmental hazards that could topple the house down.

Indeed when the winds and the rains and the floods came, the house built upon the rock stood firm, but the house upon the sand fell, and great was its fall.

Note that this story does not stand by itself:  it is sobering to recognize that Christ relates it to how people handle his teachings.  A house can be thought of as one’s life structure, and all of its related external outgrowths.  Christ claims that putting his teachings into practice is like digging deep and building a sure foundation to enable us to withstand the storms of life.

And Christ likens one who simply hears his words and does not do them, to the man who built his house upon the sand, with a stern prediction of a great fall, when the storms of life arrive.

Scripture Reference:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27, New King James Version

***(1) Reference on the characteristics of the foolish man:  Martyn Lloyd Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Connecticut, Martino Publishing, 2011, pp. 298-299

***Photography by Dmitri Moronov

Of Sparrows, Swallows, and Altars

Group of Sparrows by Jimmy Palma Gil
Of Sparrows, Swallows and Altars

 “Yea the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they who dwell in thy house: they will still be praising thee. Selah. ”  Psalm 84:3

Endowed with the gift of flight, birds have such freedom of motion that they are capable of traversing thousands of miles across continents, soaring to the heights of the skies, plunging to the lowest depths of earth’s dry places.  These creatures possess the rare liberty of pushing the limits of height, depth and distance.

In much the same way, on a grander scale, mankind is gifted with these capabilities.  But inherent in this sense of latitude is a kind of restlessness and constant movement, of migrations prompted by the search for food and shelter and climates of well-being,  a sense of fear of things and circumstances beyond one’s control.

King David likens his soul to the restless, homeless creatures of flight that have finally found a dwelling place in God’s house. He declares that those who find their rest in God are blessed, whose hearts are full of praise.  And that happiness stems from knowing God.

In this psalm, there is a designated place for approaching and knowing God — “even thine altars”, referring to the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense in the Old Testament. 

There is a new and living way to know and find God, to come to the altars that God Himself has appointed: the shed blood of His own Son Jesus Christ upon Calvary’s cross for the remission of our sins and shortcomings.  The Great High Priest of the Altar of Incense is the Person of Jesus Christ Himself, who is the pathway  to our Heavenly Father.

As the sparrow found a house, and the swallow, a nest to lay her young, it is at the altars, it is in and through Jesus Christ that our souls find true happiness, rest, and fulfillment of purpose in this life and beyond.

D. G. Vachal ©2013

*** Photography by Jimmy Palma Gil

The Voice of God


The Voice of God

“Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.” Genesis 28:12-13

Since childhood, Jacob heard about the God of Abraham and of Isaac his father, and now, for the first time, and at a crisis point in his life, he sets on a journey to leave his home at Beersheba, and heads towards Haran.  When the sun set, he stopped at a certain place to rest, arranged stones on the ground for his pillows, and fell asleep.

Jacob had a dream:  he saw a ladder that reached to heaven, and angels were ascending and descending on it. And he heard a voice at the top that identified Himself as the Lord God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac.

For the very first time, Jacob realized the Presence of God: he had lived over forty years without realizing that God was with him all along. And now, in a deserted place, far from the comforts of home, he hears God’s voice, a voice that assures Jacob: “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Genesis 28:15

The son of Isaac and Rebekah discovered that he was not alone: a new life in his soul began when God told him that He would be with him everywhere, to bless him, and to protect him. At that lonely place, the God of Abraham and of Isaac became the God of Jacob. In that strange place, Jacob caught a vision of God’s purpose for his life.

God has been calling us from the very beginning, and we have a way, a ladder, to reach Him: His Son Jesus Christ.  In the words of Jesus to Nathanael: “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”  John 1:51  

Angels ascending and descending, not upon a ladder, but upon Jesus. An open heaven because of what Jesus Christ accomplished by His death on the cross to pay for all of our shortcomings.  For all of our sins.

Through Jesus Christ, we have a perfect link of communication between God and ourselves, and the way in which we can avail of this communion is so simple: it is by faith — that is all.

Reference: Louisa Clayton, The One Great Reality, “The Voice of God”, electronic book in the public domain, courtesy of Gutenberg.org, pp. 114-134

The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:3

… a synopsis of A.W. Tozer’s writing

Before God created man, He prepared a world filled with things for man’s use and enjoyment; however, within the depths of man’s heart was a shrine where only God was worthy to inhabit.

With the entrance of sin, a perversion occurred that made those very gifts of God a potential ruin to the soul.  Problems began when God was forced out of His central shrine in the heart and “things” were allowed to enter and control.

“There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets “things” with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns my and mine are verbal symptoms of our deep disease.  Things have become necessary to us, God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by this monstrous substitution.1“

 Jesus Christ shone the light on this “tyranny of things” when He called upon His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.  “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

There is a “self-life” whose chief nature is its possessiveness, and to allow this adversary to live is to lose everything in the end.  To conquer and relinquish it for Christ’s sake is to lose nothing, but to preserve everything unto life eternal. And the only effective way to vanquish this foe is by the Cross.

Abraham’s heart was put to the test when God asked him to offer his son Isaac for a burnt sacrifice.  By his obedience in not withholding his son, Abraham removed Isaac from the temple of his heart, and allowed God to reign there unchallenged.  He became a man utterly surrendered and obedient to God.

Wealthy in worldly riches, Abraham had everything, yet he possessed nothing. After that bittersweet experience on Mount Moriah, the words “my” and “mine” never again had the same meaning for him; the sense of possession which these words connote was removed from his heart.  Abraham realized that his real treasures were unseen and eternal.

The blessed ones, the happy ones, are those who have renounced every external thing from their hearts, so God can reign there unrivalled. And though free from all sense of possessing, paradoxically, they gain all things because God is their treasure:  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Reference:  A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God,  in the Public Domain in the United States, Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, Gutenberg.org electronic book, pp.30-45

 Footnote:  1 Ibid, p. 31

*** Photography by Sergey Ivanov

Finding Rest in a Restless World


Finding Rest in a Restless World

“ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your soul.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

One of the greatest needs of mankind is simply just to rest. In spite of the economic and technological marvels of the modern era, never has life been so hectic and restless as it is today.  At the same time, the pursuit of pleasure has intensified like never before, pleasure that gives a false sense of rest, a temporary relief at best.

Into a weary world that is stressed beyond exertion, comes an invitation from Jesus Christ to come to Him for rest.  It is a call to all who labor and are heavy laden with burdens too heavy to bear.  Christ confronts us with an offer:  He will give us the rest we seek. 

But we need to come to Him, and take His yoke upon us. Absolute allegiance is required.  If we are to be yoked to Christ, we are to put ourselves under His instruction and teaching. A yoke takes only two — the teacher and the follower, so to be yoked to Christ is to forsake other teachings, to cleave to Him, and learn from Him.

How does Jesus give us this rest?

First, there is the rest of forgiveness. When we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are justified by faith and obtain peace with God.  When confronted with our past failures, shortcomings and sins that are beyond our own ability to rectify, we have the assurance that Christ has borne our guilt and sinfulness by His death on the cross, and paid the price for it all. He gives us rest from our conscience, rest from within. The rest of forgiveness.

Second, Christ gives us a new life as a result of being born again into the Kingdom of God.  The new birth is not simply a moral teaching or moral effort: it is a miracle wherein Christ gives us His own nature; we become like Him.  Christ gives us the rest that comes with a new nature, a new understanding and outlook in life, and a renewed mind.

Third, Christ promises to give us the Holy Spirit through Whom we receive the power and the strength to live this new life.  We become partakers of the divine nature: God dwells in and within us, transforming and enabling us to do even those things that may seem impossible to the outside world.

True rest comes when our souls are at rest.  Jesus Christ gives this true rest as our souls find our rest in God, a rest which Christ alone can offer as a free gift.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ only asks you one thing. Do you need rest? Have you failed to find it, are you desperately in need of it? Well if so, come!” 1

References:

 C. H. Spurgeon, “Rest, Rest”, A Sermon delivered on the Lord’s Day January 8, 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, UK

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Heart of the Gospel, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1991, pp. 154-192

 Footnote: 

1 Ibid., p. 186

*** Photography: Heron by Preston Manning