LAST LESSONS #121 – LAST THINGS – PART 10 – NEW YEAR

“He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3

For the New Year, my thoughts turn to a book written by my friend James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000). It’s called Come to the Waters. It’s a year-long devotional compiled from Jim Boice’s writings by D. Marion Clark who was one of the pastors who followed Dr. Boice at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. I intend to use this book as my morning devotional for 2023.

I can call Dr. Boice “Jim” because he was a close friend. I was privileged to know him and his family and his teaching influenced me tremendously.

I was involved with the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy that Jim and others initiated. He also invited me to be part of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Then I insisted that he become a Bible Study Fellowship board member. During those years he often traveled to Africa with us. He loved to travel. I remember one trip when he left our party in Africa and traveled alone to see the penguins at the tip of South Africa. He loved God’s creation and wanted to see all of it.

But it was Jim’s teaching of the Bible that endeared him to all who knew him. Besides being pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, his radio program The Bible Study Hour and his conferences known as the PCRT (Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology) have helped thousands of people know the Bible. Jim was a brilliant Christian and wrote more than 60 books.

Jim died in June of 2000 at the age of 60 (incidentally the same month I retired as Director of BSF). I remember well the day he called me to tell me that he had pancreatic cancer and had only a short time to live. When I was sufficiently over my shock to utter a word, I asked him what he wanted me to pray for him. He said, “Just pray that my death will glorify God.” It did.

That is why when P&R published Come to the Waters, a whole year of Jim’s teaching, I decided to use it for my devotional for 2023.

I hope you will too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

LAST LESSON #120 – LAST THINGS – PART 9 – MERRY CHRISTMAS

LAST LESSONS #119 – LAST THINGS – PART 8 – REFUSE TO AGREE

 “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:32

I am sure you have observed that today those who practice sin want everyone to agree with them that their sin is not really sin. They call it something else, and they want you to agree with them. Adultery is no longer sin, it’s freedom to love; murder of the unborn is no longer sin, it’s a woman’s right to choose; same-sex marriage is no longer sin, it’s who I love. Even destruction of government property is no longer crime, it’s the right to protest. Furthermore, those who commit these sins are not satisfied unless you agree with them.

Christians know that we must call sin sin. We also know that we must not give our approval to those who practice sin. It doesn’t matter how many laws are passed that legalize sin, Christians must not agree with them. Just because there is no law against the use of marijuana does not mean that we must use drugs nor approve its use by anybody. Just because the government has recently passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage doesn’t mean that the Bible says it’s OK. Just because abortion is legal in many states now, that doesn’t mean that Christians may kill babies. Nor does it mean that we agree with organ harvesting in China. Christians must not agree with murder, and we must do everything we can to prevent it. Destruction of other people’s property is wrong, stealing is wrong, lying is wrong. It doesn’t matter what the society calls these things, they are still wrong and we must not agree with them.

When you do not agree with today’s culture, you are likely to be cancelled, banned, or persecuted. They persecuted Jesus too. Jesus reminded his disciples that, “Remember the word that I said to you; ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” John 15:20

The question for you and me today is whether or not we are willing to refuse to agree with those who sin. We all know of the woman who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage, and the woman who refused to allow same-sex posts on her website, and Chick-fil-A who lost money because they refused to agree with what they believed was sin. We should applaud them.

When a country begins to say that wrong is right, and that right is wrong, that country is doomed to fail. It has begun the spiral down to destruction. This spiral down to destruction has happened throughout history and it will happen to the United States too unless God in his mercy raises up enough Christians who refuse to agree that sin is not sin.

Please do not cave-in to the culture. Politicians cave-in. Unbelievers cave-in. Liberal churches cave-in. But mature Christians do not cave-in. There are enough mature Christians in the USA to turn this country around. We simply need to be brave enough to refuse to agree with those who have been deceived by the devil into believing that wrong is right and right is wrong.

Who do you believe? Do you believe the culture and the devil? Or do you believe the Bible?

LAST LESSONS #118 – LAST THINGS – PART 7 – STAND UP

 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

When I was a teenager in church, we often sang the hymn written in 1858 by George Duffield “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus”. I loved it because it made me feel so strong and so brave and I wanted to stand up for Jesus. I still want to stand up for Jesus, but it is not as easy now as it was then. When I was a teenager going to church talking about Jesus was expected of Christian young people. My sister Cecil and I made our parents proud when we both married doctors and went to the mission field. No one ridiculed or persecuted us. Things are different today. Today Christians who want to talk about Jesus are banned in schools and colleges. Students are taught to “discard your parents’ religion so you can be free to be yourself.” But not all Christians have fallen for that lie. There are some who know that we have a right to stand for Jesus and are willing to exercise that right.

There are many in the church who are willing to stand for Jesus but don’t really know who he is. We cannot stand for what we do not know. If we want to know Jesus, we must know him through the Scriptures. It’s in the Bible that we learn who Jesus is and what he has done for us. And it’s in the Bible that we learn that finally Jesus will win over all the evil in the world. So it’s important to know what you are talking about when you exercise your right to free speech. But when you do know who Jesus is, you must stand up and speak for him.

Where I live, there are some who say that in the dining room we should not talk about religion or politics. Since I believe I have first amendment rights, I tell them that I will speak of Jesus and whatever else I believe to be right. If I don’t stand up for Jesus in such little ways, then the devil will win in little ways. When he wins in little ways, eventually all those little ways become the norm and we begin to believe that we can’t speak of Jesus anywhere except in church. We are constantly told by the party in power that we can’t speak about Jesus in the secular world. Yes we can!

Eric Metaxas said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.” When we should speak up for Jesus but are silent out of fear, we are complicit in evil. We still have freedom of speech in this country, but we may not have it long if Christians become afraid to stand up for Jesus with our words.

When your teacher (either in school or college) tells you that you may not speak or write about Jesus, you need to say, “I will speak of Jesus because I have free speech.”

When your workplace tells you that you may not speak about Jesus, you need to say, “I will speak of Jesus because I have free speech.”

When your club or your friends tell you that you may not speak about Jesus, you need to say, “I will speak of Jesus because I have free speech.” If we do not exercise our free speech while we have it, we may lose it.

If the disciples had been silent instead of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, where would we be today?

It’s easy to be discouraged as a Christian to live in today’s world. We need to remind each other that we are to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). We know that in the end, Christ will win, and if we are in Christ, we win too.

Stand up for Jesus today!

LAST LESSONS #117 – LAST THINGS – PART 6 – WORK

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4 

All I know is that night is coming pretty fast for me now that I am 93 years old. I want to do as much as I can before it gets dark, but “as much as I can” is not much these days. I have a little RBS in the “old folks home” where I live, and I am reorganizing the RBS into Sunday school lessons for the churches in Africa, and I manage the RJBF that sends out Bible commentaries along with the Sunday school lessons, but a younger person could do what I do in half the time it takes me. I am willing but not able. What concerns me these days is that there are too many people who are able but not willing. I’m speaking about doing the work of the Lord. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). Why is that? Why do Americans these days not send out missionaries or involve themselves in mercy ministries? I recently heard a missionary to Japan speak and he told us that in Japan there is only one Christian missionary for every 78,000 people. No wonder there are so few Christians in Japan. In Japan the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 

But what about mercy ministries like Samaritans’ Purse or Mercy Ship that take less of your life than being a full-time missionary to Japan or Africa? There are many Christian mercy ministries in the United States today. But what about those works that are not organized? Could you consider taking in foster children or cooking food to take to the sick or visiting nursing homes?

There are many “works” that we can do in the name of the Lord. But the laborers are few. Why is that?

I believe one reason is because there are many people who are not willing to work at all! If the government, or their parents, or somebody else will subsidize them, then why should they work? Why? Because God expects us to work. God gave us work to do way back in Genesis. God created us to “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis1:26). Exercising dominion over all the animals in the world takes work. Just ask anyone who raises cattle or chickens.

Furthermore, God “took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Planting orchards and raising vegetables sounds like work to me.

If God wants us to work, why do we not work? Perhaps it is because we do not know that one of the greatest gifts God has given us is the gift of work. Work is satisfying. Unhappy people are the bored ones who are not doing anything productive. Work gives a person a sense of purpose. I am familiar with some young people today who do not understand the value of work because their parents did not teach them nor model a work ethic for them. How can children understand work when their parents (or usually one parent) are on welfare? It’s interesting that in Genesis God did not suggest that mankind should work. He commanded it! Furthermore, Paul said, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).

Finally, Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34).

That is what I want to do. I want to do God’s will for me and accomplish the work he has for me to do in the short time I have left in this life.

What work does the Lord have for you to accomplish at your age? If you do it, it will feed your soul.