Wisdom from a Ghost

 In general, I am not a fan of Charles Dickens. Most of his works have bored me and, therefore, I did not finish them. However, this is not the case with the Dickens stories written for the Christmas season. “The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home” is a fun little Christmas work. But the Dickens’ account which caught my soul early on is “A Christmas Carol.”

 The short story has been turned into film and television renditions. I’ve watched most of them, enjoyed a few, but each one deviates from the novel in some way. So, each year as December 25^th closes in, I pick up one of my copies of the novel and read it. There are only five chapters (or staves), and the overall story is very brief. Normally, I read one stave a day. Apart from some of the English vocabulary and terms used by Dickens, it is an easy story to read.

 SPOILERS AHEAD. If you have NOT read the story, I suggest you do so first.

 Yesterday I finished the opening stave. That chapter ends with the visit of Marley’s Ghost appearing to Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge reminds the ghost that he was a good man of business. The ghost then replies with one of the many classic lines from Dickens.

 “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

 When I read that brief paragraph, it fits well to describe every human walking this earth but especially on believers. Mankind is our business. They need the Gospel and, apart from us sharing it with them, they will remain lost. Yes, mankind is our business. We, as Christians, are to be about charity and mercy and longsuffering and benevolence towards others. What we do for a living, whatever our trade may be, we should perform that task spirit of the goal: rescuing humanity. Opportunities to share the Gospel arise in every workplace. Grab those opportunities and share Christ. Use some of your financial gain to support your church and other ministry organizations for the glory of Christ. Use the skills you developed in your trade to help others and, in so doing, minister to them with charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence. In this way, you may proclaim Christ to a lost soul.

 From what I know of Dickens, he was likely not a true believer. Also, there is no indication he wrote “A Christmas Carol” to glorify Christ. However, quotes like the one above certainly have value for the reborn Christian. Marley’s ghost is right. Mankind is our business.

 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...”

 

The Kingdom of God

Being Sunday, I have a brief article today. My thoughts were spurred by a post I saw on Facebook. The entry contained a quote from R. C. Sproul.

“The kingdom of God is not of the people, by the people, or for the people. It is a kingdom ruled by a King, and God does not rule by the consent of His subjects but by His sovereign authority. His reign extends over me whether I vote for Him or not.”

What a tremendous statement teaching the sovereign rule of our great God! With humility I would add just a few more words to Dr. Sproul’s final sentence.

“His reign extends over me whether I vote for Him or not or whether I believe in Him or not.”

I know some people who were raised in the church, professed Christ, were baptized, then strayed and now confess they do not believe God’s Word, nor do they believe there is a God. Obviously, they were never born again. These are true apostates, always separated from God and will be forever separated from Him unless they repent and trust Christ.

Learning of such a betrayal causes me to ponder why. What could have led to this complete denial? Well, it’s their sinful nature. Though they knew God’s truth, they never surrendered to Him or His Word. But why do they remain so firmly against God now? They are comfortable living in their sin, know, from their earlier teaching, it is sin, but enjoy that sin so much, the only way they can continue to live is to deny it is sin. And, to accomplish that trick, they must deny the Word and even deny God’s existence.

Oh, my prayer is that Christ have mercy on them over this Christmas season. May the Spirit draw them back towards the Lord and may they finally and completely repent of their sin and turn to Christ in true saving faith.

 May the Lord Jesus be exalted for His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His forever reign as a merciful, gracious, and just King!

 

How Many Does It Take?!

Moving on to Matthew 14:33, I find this verse humorous, interesting, yet also quite profound. Using the English Standard Version translation, we read:

“And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

 “Those in the boat” are his disciples of course. I haven’t done any in-depth research on which of the disciples were present, but my assumption is that all twelve were there. These closest followers of Jesus perform two actions: (1) they worship him and (2) they pronounce him to be the Son of God. Why do I find this to be humorous?

Several events have occurred in Matthew 14 before this verse. Briefly recapping them, his disciples had seen Jesus take five loaves of bread and two fish and feed five thousand. When they picked up the scraps, they filled twelve baskets. The only words recorded in the Gospels concerning this event are spoken by the crowd. “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14). If the disciples had any response, it was not recorded.

Next, the disciples take the boat and begin their journey across the Sea of Galilee, battling the wind for several hours. Jesus suddenly appears walking on the water. Scripture records the disciples’ response to this sight. They are terrified and they believe Jesus is a ghost.

Peter requests to walk on the water with the Lord and the request is granted. So, not only could Christ walk on water, but he could enable others to do likewise. The eleven in the boat would have witness this, but, once again, no response from them. Peter does cry out to the Lord to save him once he begins to sink.

Jesus and Peter finally enter the boat and the winds immediately cease. Even more miraculous, recall the disciples were about two-thirds across the lake when Jesus arrived. John 6:21 adds to the ceasing of the wind. “... and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” IMMEDIATELY!

A chapter like this one causes me to briefly chuckle. Miracle after miracle and no response. These men must be blind and stupid! “Why, if I had been one of the twelve, I would have fallen at Christ’s feet after He fed the five thousand!” Sure, I would! I am just as blind and stupid as they were. Why? Because of sin.

How many miracles must Jesus perform before the disciples respond to Him? Oh, as sinful beings, our hearts and minds are hardened by sin. These disciples have been eyewitnesses to these events and only now do they finally acknowledge Christ’s uniqueness.

Many throughout history have witnessed miracles in their own lives, attesting to the existence of God and His Divine Son. But sin has them in bondage. Perhaps they narrowly escaped a vehicle accident or survived one. Maybe they were overcome by some illness, weren’t responding to treatment, yet survived. Or they were persecuted by some entity and almost gave in. But strength came from somewhere to enable them to endure. There was a time when they had little money with bills overdue and suddenly they received an anonymous gift of cash. How many of us have experienced similar incidents and failed to recognize the God who was performing them? Well, the disciples appear to have missed them as well.

Here in verse thirty-three, the story changes. NOW they worship Him. NOW they call Him “the Son of God.”

We can’t know another man’s heart. Certainly, the worship offered by these twelve men was not pure worship for at least some of them (maybe all). Judas Iscariot is among them. Maybe he sincerely dropped to his knees and admired this amazing man before Him. But, apart from the indwelling Spirit of God, there is no true worship (John 4:24). I doubt if any of the twelve Scripturally worshipped Christ that day.

Again, how many of us do the same? Our churches are filled with followers of Christ who are not born again and do not possess the Spirit. They come to church and offer “worship,” but their worship is not received by the Lord. Furthermore, I fear there are times when true believers also perform worship out of habit but separated from their heart. Sin and Satan continue to work against even the believer.

And, as noted, these twelve also call Jesus “the Son of God.” Perhaps they sincerely meant what they said. The things they had witnessed that day convinced them Jesus was unique among men. The only explanation was He must be God’s Son. But, as with worship, you might genuinely believe Christ is “the Son of God,” but remain a lost soul. Your head has accepted that truth. But your heart has not yield, you have not repented, and you have not turned to Christ with saving faith, trusting Him with your eternal soul. You are just like the demons. They believe in doctrine, but shudder before God (James 2:19).

My call to those who read this post is to make certain you are a true believer in Christ. Do you truly worship Him? Is He truly the Lord of your life? To believe in Christ is to trust in Christ and to trust in Christ is to follow and depend upon Him. Is that you?

Do you truly believe He is the Son of God, God in the flesh? The Creator, the Redeemer, the Intercessor, the Judge; do you truly believe these things? Have you bowed your knee and put all your trust in Him? If not, please do so today. Confess your sins to Him. Ask Him to forgive you. Turn from your sinful ways and trust Him to do so now and for the rest of your life.

Praise the Almighty, Jesus the Messiah IS the Son of God!

 

The Wind Ceased

 Yesterday, my daily translation exercise brought me to Matthew 14:32, a brief verse which reads:

 “And when they got into the boat the wind ceased.”

 Working out the translation was simple and straightforward so that was not what grabbed me. I’ve read this verse many times over the years, but never felt the impact of those words until yesterday.

 The flow of the chapter includes Jesus feeding the five thousand. After that pericope concludes, Jesus immediately sends his disciples via a boat across the Sea of Galilee. Once they have departed, he goes up on a mountain and prays.

Bringing the various Gospel accounts together, we find the disciples are making little headway because of the strong, stormy winds flowing over the sea. These men are professional fishermen, familiar with boats and intense winds. According to John’s account and the geography of the sea, we can estimate the disciples had only gone about two-thirds of the distance despite rowing for several hours.

 Suddenly, they see a figure walking on the water. They are terrified. Jesus calms His followers by calling out to them. Peter, in a moment of faith and courage, requests Jesus to let him walk on the water. We know the story, of course. Jesus does so, Peter steps out and briefly walks on the water, notices the wind and the waves, and begins to sink. He cries out to Jesus to save him, and the Lord graciously does. The next scene brings us to Matthew 14:32.

 “And when they (i.e., Jesus and Peter) got into the boat THE WIND CEASED.”

 Amazing! After battling the wind for hours, it suddenly ceases when Jesus and Peter are in the boat. I’m convinced it is a miracle performed by Christ. Whether or not, though, that is not what struck me. Let me explain.

 The Christian walking in this world is constantly battling the winds. These may be financial winds, employment winds, relationship winds, or a combination of various winds. Life, even for the believer, is difficult while he lives in this sinful society. He has the indwelling Spirit. He has the forgiveness procured by Christ. He has the love of God revealed by our regeneration. Nevertheless, he must battle those winds every day. There are days when the winds are stronger than other days. He is one of those disciples in the boat struggling against the winds. Then Jesus comes. He comes through our meditation of Scripture. He comes as we call out to God in prayer. He comes as we hear the Word of God proclaimed. The believer remembers all Christ has done on his behalf. He came to save sinners and the believer is one. That salvation required Christ’s death on the cross. The Lord’s death guarantees the believer’s forgiveness of all sin, payment for all sin, and assurance of a future home in glory where there will be no more sin.

 As he reflects upon these truths and Christ’s promises, the winds cease. He becomes more calm and more confident. Considering Christ even for a moment during such troubles will bring joy and peace to one’s soul.

 Yes, the winds will return. They may take a different form (e.g., car breakdown, unexpected illness) but they will be back possibly with even more fury. When they come, let us consider our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and experience a respite from the storm.

 “And when they got into the boat the wind ceased.”