SO WALK YE IN HIM

SO WALK YE IN HIM

Just as You Received Christ C. Doug Blair, 2011Leaning, Constantly Leaning.

NOW BE IT RESOLVED…

hereafter the lovely things.

hereafter the good report.

hereafter the helping hand.

hereafter the listening ear.

hereafter the single eye.

hereafter the salted speech.

hereafter the lifting thought.

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6As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2)

hereafter the servant heart.

hereafter the dread of praise.

hereafter the fear of God.

hereafter the hope of Christ.

and all by the means of grace.

amen.

TAKING A WALK WITH HIM

Lord, unless you attend these places, visit these people, soothe these hurts, there will be little done in the way of help. May I accompany you, and partner with a fitting word or simple service? May I see the opportunity around the next corner, and respond as your ambassador?

AFFIRMATION

Line-ups. Busy people. Pre-occupied. Impatient. Disinclined to engage. Detached. Rushed.

I was in Toronto the other day and I guess that the impersonal nature of the

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place left an impression.

Yet how easy it seems to bring down those walls with a smile, a simple courtesy extended, a favour performed, a willingness to listen for a few moments. People may not admit it, but they are craving recognition, affirmation and a sense that they matter.

These are difficult economic times with looming threats of shut-down, depletion of savings, rising prices, reduction of community services and increasing irrelevance of the advertised lifestyle. Our media, politicians and business movers simply do not know what the average person faces in the "new economy". They do not speak for us or listen with pure motives.

In the midst of it all a tremendous service can be rendered by those who exhibit a willingness to stop, listen, care and render simple acts of encouragement and help.

I remember a time when the departure of children from our household left that heavy sense of the "empty nest". The old motivators and routines were gone. One day in prayer I expressed my sense of aimlessness and the response in my spirit was quite surprising.

I sensed the Lord saying "adopt the world". Not in a gargantuan way, but in simple expressions of love and affirmation. The kind of love that fired up Jesus every day. The kind of love that seemed so easy with one's children. Now to be extended, with a certain sense of adventure, to others beyond the circle.

How this might transform a neighbourhood, a community, a treadmill.

KINDNESS IN BIRDLAND

The pigeons aroundThe Old Court HouseKnow nothing of

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Issues at stake.No money nor marriageNor murderDisturbs all the cooingThey make.

The pigeons besideCity CouncilKnow not if theTax rate is high.Nor whether last winter’sWhite delugeHad pushed trafficCosts to the sky.

The pigeons whoPerch on the steepleWill flit at the Sound of the bell.A simple way,Theirs, to co-habit.With nary a Sermon on Hell.

The pigeons atCenotaph CornerWill rest on theSoldier’s bronze gun.With no sense ofWar’s devastation,Or what was the causeOr who won.

But down at thePark’s peanut corner,A woman comesDaily at four,With treats for herFine feathered neighbours,

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Who gather aroundBy the score.

GRACE AND SUPPLICATIONS

Zechariah 12:

10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

What an appropriate description of the Holy Spirit is contained in this prophecy! The gifted Holy Ghost will be the initiator and sustainer of the Church. He will also accomplish a great ingathering of Jews in the latter days, when in dreadful apocolyptic events they recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Spirit of Grace - Every aspect of grace is communicated through the Spirit:

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repentance, new birth, adoption, wisdom, love and all of its fruit, faith, equipment for service, the Word of God, intimate communion, hope for the future. All of the good things of God being made available in His sovereign disposition.

Spirit of Supplications - The Holy Ghost is also the facilitator of effective prayer that we might be heard making supplications which are consistent with the will and the heart and the Name of our Lord. He urges us to cry out our needs again and again to a capable, willing Heavenly Father (read Psalm 50). He also initiates the burden of prayer in the Spirit when our situation cannot be articulated in the words of men (Romans 8:26).

What a wonderful two-way street! What a wonderful Royal Telephone! This sensitive, wooing, generous, encouraging Third Person of the Trinity.

"Telephone to glory, O what joy divine!I can feel the current moving on the line,Built by God the Father for His loved and own,We may talk to Jesus thru’ this royal telephone.

There will be no charges, telephone is free,It was built for service, just for you and me;There will be no waiting on this royal line,Telephone to glory always answers just in time."

(Taken from the Gospel song Royal Telephone by Frederick M.Lehman)

HEARING WITH THE RIGHT EM-PHA-SIS

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

Jesus is in the Upper Room. Leaving a parting message with his friends. Explaining the equipment which is to be forthcoming for their mission to change the world.

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It is at a time of departure that we attempt to communicate our intense feeling, our best encouragement, our most worthy advice, the particulars of our reunion.

Facing his perplexed travel-mates and students, he assures them of the soon arrival of another comforter and guide, the Holy Spirit. He then issues the marching orders abovementioned.

I wonder if we hear them right. There is a crucial point of emphasis. A world of difference between pain-staking duty of dubious sucesss, and grateful love which never fails in giving what the Master has requisitioned.

Have you heard Him say,"If ye love me, keep my commandments." If so be prepared for the long painful stretch of self-examination, frustrating set-backs and discontent in the Christian walk. This is law, and it will bring us to "wit's end corner".

But perhaps you have heard Him say, "If ye love me, keep my commandments". One's thoughts are drawn out of one's self to the object of love. His heroism. His spotless record. His many deliverances of the past. The courage and resolve which are even now quickening to the fulfilment of the will of the Beloved. We must please Him. And the Holy Spirit is the executor of this process in us. This is grace, and it is success.

Hear some of the comments of Matthew Henry on this chapter taken from his "Concise Commentary on the Entire Bible":

"Christ promises that he would continue his care of his disciples. I will not leave you orphans, or fatherless, for though I leave you, yet I leave you this comfort, I will come to you. I will come speedily to you at my resurrection. I will come daily to you in my Spirit; in the tokens of his love, and visits of his grace. I will come certainly at the end of time. Those only that see Christ with an eye of faith, shall see him for ever: the world sees him no more till his second coming; but his disciples have communion with him in his absence. These mysteries will be fully known in heaven. It is a further act of grace, that they should know it, and have the comfort of it. Having Christ's commands, we must keep them. And having them in our heads, we must keep them in our hearts and lives. The surest evidence of our love to Christ is, obedience to the laws of Christ. There are spiritual tokens of Christ and his love given to all believers. Where sincere love to Christ is in the heart,

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there will be obedience. Love will be a commanding, constraining principle; and where love is, duty follows from a principle of gratitude. God will not only love obedient believers, but he will take pleasure in loving them, will rest in love to them. He will be with them as his home. These privileges are confined to those whose faith worketh by love, and whose love to Jesus leads them to keep his commandments. Such are partakers of the Holy Spirit's new-creating grace."

DRUMMOND STILL SPEAKS

A Christian classic ranked by many in the "top seven" apart from scripture itself is "The Greatest Thing in the World" by Henry Drummond (@1880). It is a presentation on Paul's chapter of love, First Corinthians Thirteen. Consider his remarks on "kindness":

Kindness. Love active. Have you ever noticed how much of Christ's life was spent in doing kind things--in merely doing kind things? Run over it with that in view and you will find that He spent a great proportion of His time simply in making people happy, in doing good turns to people. There is only one thing greater than happiness in the world, and that is holiness; and it is not in our keeping; but what God has put in our power is the happiness of those about us, and that is largely to be secured by our being kind to them.

"The greatest thing," says some one, "a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to some of His other children." I wonder why it is that we are not all kinder than we are? How much the world needs it. How easily it is done. How instantaneously it acts. How infallibly it is remembered. How superabundantly it pays itself back--for there is no debtor in the world so honourable, so superbly honourable, as Love. "Love never faileth". Love is success, Love is happiness, Love is life. "Love, I say, "with Browning, "is energy of Life."

"For life, with all it yields of joy and woeAnd hope and fear,Is just our chance o' the prize of learning love--

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How love might be, hath been indeed, and is."

Where Love is, God is. He that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God. God is love. Therefore love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love. Lavish it upon the poor, where it is very easy; especially upon the rich, who often need it most; most of all upon our equals, where it is very difficult, and for whom perhaps we each do least of all. There is a difference between trying to please and giving pleasure Give pleasure. Lose no chance of giving pleasure. For that is the ceaseless and anonymous triumph of a truly loving spirit.

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MY FATHER WILL CARE FOR YOU

The American Civil War had ended and a banker and father of a Union Lieutenant waited for his son's return.

He had last heard of one desperate final engagement of the regiment including his son. He knew not of the boy's state, and he waited with bated breath and repeated prayers. This was his only son.

A knock finally came at the front door of the stately home and the man raced to open and see the end of his long wait. To his surprise there was another young man in uniform about the same age as his son.

The youth introduced himself (we will call him Peter) and stated that he and the banker's son had become fast friends in the closing months of the war. In a pivotal struggle Peter had gotten trapped in the midst of a number of "Rebs" and his friend broke through the lines and carried him away to safety. The son had sustained critical injuries in the rescue.

The father could hardly ask his next question, but the youth's expression confirmed his greatest fear. Without a word, Peter handed the old man a letter. It was from the son wishing the father blessings and introducing Peter as a dear friend. It stated that injuries were of a mortal nature and that it was not likely that the son would long survive. Would the father receive Peter back into household and estate in the same fashion as he would have received the son?

The father, teary-eyed, took the young visitor into his home and life. All this was done out of love for the son.

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THE MAN WITH THE BOOK

I remember borrowing from the University of Waterloo a tiny, dusty volume entitled “The Man with the Book: John Ross of Brucefield” (1821 to 1887).

Brucefield is little more than a rural corner in Huron County west of Seaforth. This citizen was a hard working, neighbourly son of Scotland whose family had emigrated to Ontario after the Great Disruption which birthed the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

His was an agrarian life with many a hike or buckboard ride down long country roads in all sorts of weather to help neighbours. He was known for always carrying with him a pocket New Testament and Psalms. He would often stop to ask a stranger whether he might offer a word of scripture providing special blessing. The testimonies of hearts touched by such simple witness were numerous.

John Ross was privileged to offer homespun sermons in many country churches. One quote of his I copied in the margin of my Bible:

“The Lord was heard to say, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’ What are you thinking about this free gift? What is the answer you are sending back to Heaven about Him? Here is the answer the Father is watching to hear from every one of us: 'This is my beloved Saviour (Jesus) in whom I am well pleased.' Can you say it? Will you say it? He is God’s free gift to the world. If you will have Him as your Saviour, take up God’s words and send them back to Him...God and you are at one; You have come to an agreement about the most important matter in the universe; You are both well pleased with the Son of God; There is peace between you.”

John Ross, rugged forefather, perhaps another wandering soul will hear your words today.

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YEAH, BUT IS HE HAPPY?

This will be said of the pastor, the Christian witness, the parent, the neighbour, the workmate. Does he reflect honestly and realistically the joy, praise, optimism and consistency which such a purportedly good faith should yield?

How is he to attain it? By unsullied obedience and a clear conscience. By curiosity and a continuously teachable nature. By a healthy sense of humour. By unending thankfulness, as the blessings truly cannot be numbered. By an honest vision of the sovereignty of God, and that that is as it should be. By a quick willingness to forgive. By a full and personal appropriation of Christ's noble work at the Cross. By an ability to take benefit from seasons of rest and recreation. By trusted friends, intimates and prayer partners. By a refusal to become the slave of advertised fashions and lifestyles of the age.

But such a joy is not the manufactured product of the will alone. It takes grace. It takes the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control - Galatians 5).

Here I would refer to an exceptional exposition of Mark Guy Pearse on Psalm 103 and its culmination in praise and blessing:

"Serve the lord with gladness-that is the perfection of service, when obedience is a delight. It is an art to be learnt, and to be mastered only by exercise; and he who has learnt it has found the very secret of heaven's own blessedness. It is the service set forth by the vestments of the High Priest (Exodus 28) when he went to minister before the Lord. He was to be arrayed in the ephod 'all of blue'; and the golden breastplate, whereon were written the names of Israel, was borne upon the heart. And ever as he moved the music of the golden bells rang from his robes, 'Beneath upon the hem of the robe thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about...and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord.' Our gracious God is surely worthy of such service. For His sake let the heart be set with eager longing and resoluteness on this life of praise, and let there be the daily exercise and effort after a fuller thankfulness. And for our neighbour's sake let us seek His blessed life.

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Gratitude is the sweetest and most successful witness for God."

Bells (joyful focus and sacrifice of praise). Pomegranates (gifted fruit of the Spirit, bursting with reproductive seed and adaptable to all of life's conditions). Blue, purple and scarlet (arresting colours of the curtains of the Holy Place, found also on the worshiper, and suggesting a theme of heaven, sovereignty and atoning blood).

"Bless the Lord, O my soul."

DISAGREEMENTS DO COME

(Taken from Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush by Ian Maclaren)

“"So they sat down together beside the brier bush, and after oneglance at Marget's face the minister opened his heart, and told herthe great controversy with Lachlan.

Marget lifted her head as one who had heard of some brave deed, andthere was a ring in her voice.

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"It maks me prood before God that there are twa men in Drumtochtywho follow their conscience as king, and coont truth dearer thantheir ain freends. It's peetifu' when God's bairns fecht throughgreed and envy, but it's hertsome when they are wullin' tae wrestleaboot the Evangel, for surely the end o' it a' maun be peace.

"A've often thocht that in the auld days baith the man on the rackand the inqueesitor himself micht be gude men and accepted o' God,and maybe the inqueesitor suffered mair than the martyr. A'mthinkin', Maister Carmichael, that it's been hardest on Lachlan."

The minister's head was buried in his hands, but his heart was withMarget.

"It's a strange buik the Bible, and no the buik we wud hae made, taejudge by oor bit creeds and confessions. It's like a head o' aits inthe harvest time. There's the ear that hauds the grain and keeps itsafe, and that's the history, and there's often no mickle nutrimentin it; then there's the corn lying in the ear, which is the Evangelfrae Eden tae Revelation, and that is the bread o' the soul. But thecorn maun be threshed first and the cauf (chaff) cleaned aff. It's abonnie sicht tae see the pure grain fallin' like a rinnin' burn onthe corn-room floor, and a glint o' the sun through the windowturning it intae gold. But the stour (dust) o' the cauf room is mairthan onybody can abide, and the cauf's worth naethin' when thecorn's awa."

"Ye mean," said the minister, "that my study is the threshin' mill,and that some of the chaff has got into the pulpit."

"Yir no offended," and Marget's voice trembled.

Then the minister lifted his head and laughed aloud with joy, whilea swift flash of humour lit up Marget's face.

"You've been the voice of God to me this day, Mrs. Howe, but if Igive up my 'course,' the people will misunderstand, for I knoweverything I gave was true, and I would give it all again if it wereexpedient."

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"Nae fear, Maister Carmichael, naebody misunderstands that luves,and the fouk all luve ye, and the man that hauds ye dearest isLachlan Campbell. I saw the look in his een that canna be mista'en."

"I'll go to him this very day," and the minister leaped to his feet.

"Ye 'ill no regret it," said Marget, "for God will give ye peace."

Lachlan did not see the minister coming, for he was busy with a lambthat had lost its way and hurt itself. Carmichael marked with agrowing tenderness at his heart how gently the old man washed andbound up the wounded leg, all the time crooning to the frightenedcreature in the sweet Gaelic speech, and also how he must needs givethe lamb a drink of warm milk before he set it free.

When he rose from his work of mercy, he faced the minister.

For an instant Lachlan hesitated, and then at the look onCarmichael's face he held out both his hands.

"This iss a goot day for me, and I bid you ten thousand welcomes."

But the minister took the first word.

"You and I, Lachlan, have not seen eye to eye about some thingslately, and I am not here to argue which is nearer the truth,because perhaps we may always differ on some lesser matters. Butonce I spoke rudely to you, and often I have spoken unwisely in mysermons. You are an old man and I am a young, and I ask you toforgive me and to pray that both of us may be kept near the heart ofour Lord, whom we love, and who loves us."

No man can be so courteous as a Celt, and Lachlan was of the pureHighland breed, kindest of friends, fiercest of foes.

"You hef done a beautiful deed this day, Maister Carmichael; and thegrace of God must hef been exceeding abundant in your heart. It issthis man that asks your forgiveness, for I wass full of pride, anddid not speak to you as an old man should; but God iss my witnessthat I would hef plucked out my right eye for your sake. You will

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say every word God gives you, and I will take as much as God givesme, and there will be a covenant between us as long as we live."

They knelt together on the earthen floor of that Highland cottage,the old school and the new, before one Lord, and the only differencein their prayers was that the young man prayed they might keep thefaith once delivered unto the saints, while the burden of the oldman's prayer was that they might be led into all truth.

Lachlan's portion that evening ought to have been the slaying ofSisera from the Book of Judges, but instead he read, to Flora'samazement--it was the night before she left her home--the thirteenthchapter of I Corinthians, and twice he repeated to himself, "Now wesee through a glass darkly, but then face to face."

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A STUDY IN PERSEVERANCE

I am back at my old haunt for a Sunday afternoon. University of Waterloo Porter Library. This used to be a favourite pass time for Hilary and me. It was free and stimulating and launched many a venture into missions, Christian biography, history and topical Bible study.

The topic today is, of course, my recent about-turn from the Calvinist doctrine of eternal security.The scripture which "gave my head a shake" is James 5: 19, 20:

19Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

20Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

My research today puts me on a surer rock of resolve to acknowledge the importance of personal responsibility and perseverance.

The "arguments against" in a nutshell are as follows:-God could never dis-adopt.-God's "gift" of a soul to His Son is never revocable.-Salvation is all of grace.-James' epistle is all about works and effort and never should have made the Canon cut.-The one among the brethren erring from the truth was a pretender, without real assurance of salvation.-The word "converteth" is to be likened to the quote of Jesus to Peter at Luke 22:32. Jesus had prayed for Peter, and it was inevitable that as one of the believers God had given to Jesus, Peter would turn about from his error.-Saving a soul from death does not refer to spiritual death again, but rather to the chastening consequences of intentional sin leading to illness and premature physical death. Reference is made to 1 Corinthians 11: 29, 30 and the consequence of partaking of the Communion meal unworthily.-The soul being saved from death is, in keeping with Jewish thinking on good works, the soul of the rescuing brother and not the erring one.-The New Testament admonitions to persevere all have to do with quality of fellowship and ultimate "crowns" for the one who overcomes and

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perseveres. The wavering saint may find himself saved "yet so as by fire". (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

Full in the face of these arguments I find the passage in James 5 and another at 1 Timothy 4:

16Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

An old reference Bible with good marginal notes suggests other New Testament entries on perseverance as a continuing exercise and responsibility:

Mat. 24:13; Mk. 13:13; Lk. 9:62; Acts 13:43; 1 Cor. 15:58; 16:13; Eph. 6:18; Col. 1:23; 2 Thes. 3:13; 1 Tim. 6:14; Heb. 3:12,13; 6:6; 10: 23,38; 2 Pet. 3:17; Rev. 2:10,25

I fear that our friends of Reformed persuasion have played loosely with the concept of "fear of the Lord".

Hear me clearly on the following, however. Our greatest success in upright living will come from the love response and a thankful heart. Dutiful undertaking will only lead us to the poor showing of the elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal (Luke 15: 25-30)

THE ROAD HOME

The land looks much the sameAnd the peaceful country lane,Winding gently past the fields my youth had known;And again I feel the breeze,Hear the birds, smell the trees;But I wonder if a welcome waits at home.

Much too long ago it seems,

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I had yielded to false dreamsAnd embarked a self-sufficient prince, I thought;On a pleasure-seeking quest,With a yearning for life’s best.Oh what woe and waste my birth-right soon had bought!

All the women and the wineAnd the friends I thought were mineQuickly stripped my purse and pride down to the bone,.Then, quite destitute of aidIn the mire my ways had made,I remembered bye-gone family times, alone.

How the father of my youthHad displayed a love for truth,And for righteous work and ways to chart one’s course.And no doubt reports had comeOf the folly of his son,Of the family riches lost without remorse.

Could I somehow still return?Could I live and lose and learn?Could I yet retrieve the joy which I once had?But, unworthy as a son,Let me just return as oneWho will toil at servant’s chores and still be glad.

As I pace the final mile,I am haunted all the whileBy the thoughts of how to say what must be said.It seems much too much to meTo expect their sympathy,And the look upon my father’s face I dread.

But my homecoming is this!First my father’s hug and kissAnd his ring and robe placed on my wasted frame.Ere I barely can repent,All the house-servants are sentTo prepare a lavish feast held in my name.

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Oh, the depths of mercy shownBy my father for his own;And what patient faith and prayers had led to this.I just had to turn aroundAnd abandon wayward groundTo receive such sweet forgiveness and such bliss.

(What had started out so fineBut had left me tending swineWas a selfish heart beguiling me to roam.Thank you, Father God aboveFor the chastening of your love,That I might find celebration in your home.)

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THE BEST POSSIBLE SPIN

"What is the best possible spin on the facts in your face?"

That's a paraphrase of a portion of the love chapter (1 Corinthians 13:5).

5(Charity) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

We have all heard ourselves or friends saying things like the following:"I think he has it in for me.""Was she trying to ridicule me with that remark?""I think he misunderstood completely what I was trying to say.""Seems as if my input was ignored completely."

In this world of push and shove it is apparent that we try too hard to get inside other people's heads. We are concerned about our appearance, our influence, our due respect.

We remind ourselves that we have been told to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." But with little effort the serpent aspect takes over and we are fostering all kinds of suspicious and un-Christian thoughts. We call it "discernment" when in fact it is much more like common nastiness, posturing and slander.

Down the road, in most of these situations, we will discover that there were facts unknown to us which explained away most of the difficulty. The worry and the adrenaline were wasted. It would have been wiser to "put the best possible spin on the facts in your face." To regard the other person's situation or intent charitably, sympathetically. "Love never fails."

The struggle, after all, is motivated by that dark horse called pride. He whispers in one's ear, "You shouldn't have to put up with this. You deserve better. Don't let him get the upper hand. The nerve of him, after all!"

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PATIENCE, PILGRIM!

There is such a need for patienceIn the army of the Lord;When to sit, and pray, and listen,When to stand and wield his sword.

All around a world is hungryFor the seed we have to sow,And our hearts are fixed on serving,Once the Lord will let us go.

But some common task compels us To a tiny post or trade,Where the eager harvest-workerSeems quite useless and waylaid.

Where the daily round of testingIn a market-place of sin,With its callous cuts and curses,Often wears our patience thin.

Was it not the same for Jesus,Though he felt an early call,To be toiling in the sawdustYears, with rule and plane and awl?

To be bearing with the wickedIn their lust to get ahead;To be praying for their cleansing,But to see their filth instead.

Yet the patience which he practicedHad her perfect work to do,In the shaping of a servantWho would see God’s purpose through.

Comes a day, oh faithful warrior,

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When the chiseling is done;When the perfect path is openedIn your mission for God’s Son.

And you may be quite astonished,In reviewing by-gone days,At the hearts and lives affectedBy your patient Christ-like ways.

THE BUS FARE

Years ago I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Hiding Place" and "Tramp for the Lord", books written by Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) and telling of her itinerant life both during and after the Second World War.

Her family of clock-makers in Holland were arrested by the Nazis for harbouring Jewish people in their home. In the camp Corrie proved a real blessing to the women around her, conducting Bible studies and talking through problems. Her sister became ill and was denied crucial medical care. Corrie remembers discovering her dead body stacked with others like so much cord-wood. In the closing days of the war Corrie miraculously escaped one final truckload of prisoners destined for the gas ovens.

In the post-war years she became convinced that her major purpose was to assist in establishing forgiveness, trust and cooperation between the ravaged peoples of Europe. Upon simple invitations she travelled extensively to tell her story in small community halls, hospitals and churches. Jesus had been her hiding place.

Arrangements always seemed to be last-minute and Corrie would jokingly tell friends that "God never provided the bus fare until she was about ready to take the trip."How often have I thought of this quaint saying when considering an imminent trial, challenge or difficulty. Corrie's experience and wisdom have helped.

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The story is also told of her visit to a crippled patient in a hospital ward. Anger and self-pity consumed the man. He would hear none of her Jesus. Undeterred, Corrie reached into her purse and produced a nearly completed work of needlepoint. She held the underside of the piece toward the man, all twisted, knotted and seemingly messy. "My friend, this must be your point of view on your life. But remember two things: 1) It is unfinished and 2) You do not have God's point of view on the project."Corrie then turned the needlepoint over to reveal a beautiful still-life image.

Another incident involved the aftermath of a town-hall meeting when she was approached by a man whom she recognized as one of the most senior and brutal of guards at the prison camp. Smiling awkwardly, he advised that he had turned his life over to Christ and had repented of all the evil done during the war. Could she find it in her heart to forgive him?

Corrie's thoughts raced over the next few seconds. She saw the camp. The young women in despair. The indignities. The seemingly endless menial labour. Her sister's dead body. The deadly truck departures. In an unspoken prayer she confessed that she did not have the grace to forgive. Would God provide it. A sensation of warmth passed through her right arm and it was extended by reflex for the handshake. Both individuals were then teary-eyed and the kiss on the cheek and the embrace were soon accomplished. No longer enemies. But family.

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THE MEEK WIN

Psalm 37: 11 – But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. (NIV)

Who are these meek? Moses was called the meekest of all men (Numbers 12) yet he was wise and accomplished in all the wisdom of Egypt. You saw the movie! Charlton Heston was amazing at science, mathematics, architecture, construction, horsemanship, warfare, plant science, leadership of men, diplomacy, etc.

Jesus described himself as meek and lowly (Matthew 11). He was clearly an accomplished craftsman, an outdoors-man, a man instantly attractive to rugged fishermen and other tradesmen, a captivating storyteller, a tamer of storms, an attention-getter able to arrest and fascinate large crowds, etc.

I have heard meekness described as controlled strength, channeled to God-ordained purposes. Imagine a busy farm-yard and a mighty Clydesdale work-horse gently moving his way through numbers of chickens and ducks and harming none with his huge feathered hooves. Talk about controlled strength!

The Beatitudes affirm that the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5). The Spirit offers the fruit of meekness (Galatians 5). Isn’t it astonishing that simply because our Lord encourages meek ones to turn the other cheek, they are perceived by the world as weak and somehow un-manly? This seems very far from the truth.

LAWYER UNGER

I can remember him perched happily in his corner window office on a Saturday morning, surrounded by his beloved law books, smoking a prized cigar, relaxing in short-sleeved shirt and flipping through some corporate

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minute books for a client.

Or chatting cordially across a table at the Registry Office with another solicitor, title abstracts, deeds and closing documents all around, going through the agenda of a house purchase transaction.

Or walking briskly with signature pork-pie hat over to St. Peter's Basilica (London) for a mid-day meditation and possible exchange with the Monseigneur.

This was Mr. Unger (Edward G.), my mentor for law articles, following three years of law school. He was the definitive gentleman sole practitioner. One of the last in that strange breed who would presume to practice it all. (Now all is specialty and large departmentalized partnership with ranks of conveyancers and para-legals on the payroll.)

Mr.Unger also traveled once weekly to the small farm community of Lucan (of Black Donnelly fame) to serve his long-time country clients with wills, loans, land severances and new acreage purchases.

There had been a time when he donned the court room gowns. Even a murder trial back "in the day when the loser got the rope". He won. Latterly he would try to add a mediatorial or comforting touch to divorce cases. Otherwise court work got handed over to the new breed of "black or white" advocate.

Many of these attributes - general practice, single-man office, hands-on conveyancing, mediation in conflict made my boss the brunt of gentle jokes from the leaner, meaner community at law. The brethren. To them he seemed sort of "old-womanish".

It was evident to me that his life's priorities were large family, Church, law, baseball, cigars, the army and a men's service club. I had just gotten married. No children yet. This he referred to as "scoring a run". We had talks, I remember, about a stimulating television series hosted by Malcolm Muggeridge, agnostic journalist turned thoughtful Roman Catholic man of faith. (the series featured Bonnhauffer, Blake, Wilberforce, Pascal, Kierkegaard and their experiences of Christ).

Post bar exams I went to practice with one of those leaner, meaner groups.

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But Mr. Unger's contributions in profession and in life remain with me as things of value. Treasured memories. Thirty-five years later.

KNOWN BY HIM

Known by Him and claimed by Him. That is the path to victory, to overcoming.

Not healed by Him; prospered by Him; promoted by Him; given acclaim by Him.

Simply known...and we know Him. The original word suggests an intimacy, as in marriage.

The chapter on the Good Shepherd (John 10) suggests that the sheep know His voice and will follow Him and none other.

Have the under-shepherds caught this intense affinity? They are caregivers in every sense of the word and not just teachers or cheerleaders. They must have time to attend upon and not just to preach to their charges.

Feel this intensity of care in Ezekiel chapter 34:

13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

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16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

I found my attention drawn recently to the Passover Psalms (the Grand Hallel, Psalms 113-118). At a late point in the reading one encounters the verse " 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? "

And that is all our confidence.

LOVE’S CLEANSER

Henry Drummond, Scottish bachelor, professor, naturalist and lay evangelist has been given credit for one of the most widespread of Christian writings apart from scripture. It is his message on “The Greatest Thing in the World”, thoughts on “1 Corinthians 13” love. Delivered with minimal preparation, when he was asked to substitute for D. L. Moody one evening during the great English/Scottish revivals of the 1880’s. Here was a man always willing to lend an ear, a word of wisdom or a

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comforting bit of scripture to any troubled or inquiring student. Many would testify to their rescue by the grace, meekness and message of Professor Drummond.

Recently, from my devotional, "Show Me Your Love" (Barbour Publications, 2004), a quote from Drummond caught my attention:

“There have been times when I have had an unspeakable heart-hunger for Christ’s love. My sense of sin is never strong when I think of the law; my sense of sin is strong when I think of love. It is when drawing near the Lord Jesus Christ and longing to be loved that I have the most vivid sense of unsymmetry, of imperfection, of absolute unworthiness, and of my sinfulness. Character and conduct are never so vividly set before me as when in silence I bend in the presence of Christ, revealed not in wrath but in love to me.”

I am reminded of Jesus' conversation with Peter on the shore of the lake after the resurrection. The question which he asked repeatedly was, "Peter, do you love me?"

Peter answered essentially the same question three times, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” He is being allowed to undo the shame and regret of his three denials with a simple expression of love. Where are you at now friend? The rest is let go.

PETER WENT OUT

"And Peter went out, and wept bitterly."

Read these seven words from Luke 22 and realize that they contain the kernel of sanctification.

Peter had had all of this exposure to the power and promise of Jesus but he was still tempted to warm himself in the early morning chill at the fires of the world. Jesus had prophesied his three-time denial and it was happening.

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Peter had felt that his loyalty to the Master was unshakable, even to the death. But here he was quaking and swearing before women and strangers that he did not even know the Galilean.

Believer, when Jesus gives you a candid look at the evil still within your own heart, pray that you will have the grace and the opportunity to do as Peter did. It will happen alone. It will be a Godly sort of repentance. It will be a milestone marking supernatural change.

And what is going on in that world which you are renouncing? It is still inclined to mock and to crucify Jesus and His "little ones", and to consider it entertainment. It does this in the face of the following:

Luke 21:

25And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

PETER’S LAMENT

He has prayed for me,And often while with us,Upheld me by his power;Though I would storm and fussAnd rush and fret and glower.

He has prayed for me,While I refused to thinkThat any wicked plan Would cause my heart to sinkIn fear of any man.

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He has prayed for me,Yet I too quickly slept,When asked to pray with himIn darkness while he wept,Awaiting capture grim.

He has prayed for me,And all I did to helpWas lash out once with sword,A useless little whelp,While troops removed my Lord.

He has prayed for me,Who sought the High Priest’s home,His fate to better view;But fearing Jews and Rome,Denied him, ere cock crew.

He has prayed for me,‘Though I fled in the nightTo luxury of tears,Not knowing how to fightMy frailty, flesh or fears.

He has prayed for me,And all has come to be.The tomb now holds my friend.Has Satan sifted me?Is infamy my end?

But Jesus prayed for me,His eager little rock.Did any prayer get through?Will I yet tend his flock?Oh, if I only knew!

LUKE 22: 31, 32, 33, 34And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail

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not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

I PUT THEM ON YOUR ALTAR (JOHN 17)

Father, I have watchedOver these men.Have taken them your imagesOf community free From retaliation.Of joy in the Rendering of mercy.Of good reportOn those who struggle,With only the half known.Of fulness of daysFree from fear of supply, From fear of man.

I have set themTo wandering.Ambassadors of a realmNot yet seen.Sporadically meeting the test.Boiling often in self-hurt.Turning, of times,To look back from the plough.Vying for place.Vying for glory.Missing often the real gemsDelivered with No special fanfare.

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And now I leave,So much so seeminglyIll-prepared.But You have given them me.Persevering to theirAppointed destiny.All but the one with the purse.I trust YouFor their well-being.I trust You for the propheciesWhich speak of me.Quickly now...To my offering.

Amen.

(Picture by Patsy Arrington Dorset)

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