"With His stripes we are healed."

At home we have an updated revision of Spurgeon's most popular work, Morning and Evening. As indicated by the title, each day has two devotionals - one for the morning and one for (you guessed it!) the evening. This morning's devotional was especially moving in light of this being Holy Week, as our thoughts are centered on Jesus' death and resurrection.

In meditating on the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53:5, "With His stripes we are healed," Spurgeon writes,

Pilate delivered our Lord to the Roman officers to be scourged. The Roman scourge was a most dreadful instrument of torture. It was made of the sinews of oxen. Sharp bones were intertwined here and there among the sinews, so that every time the lash came down, pieces of bone inflicted fearful lacerations and tore the flesh from the bone. The Savior was, no doubt, bound to the column, and thus beaten. He had been beaten before, but this beating by the Roman soldiers was probably the severest of His flagellations. My soul, stand here and weep over His poor stricken body. Believer in Jesus, can you gaze on Him without tears, as He stands before you the image of agonizing love? He is at once fair as the lily for innocence and red as the rose with the crimson of His own blood. As we feel the sure and blessed healing that His stripes have worked in us, do not our hearts melt at once with love and grief? If ever we have loved our Lord Jesus, surely we must feel that affection glowing now within our hearts.

See how the patient Jesus stands,

Insulted in His lowest case!

Sinners have bound the Almighty's hands,

And spit in their Creator's face.

With thorns He temples gor'd and gash'd

Send streams of blood from every part;

His back's with knotted scourges lash'd.

But sharper scourges tear His heart.

We would gladly go to our rooms and weep; but since our business calls us away, we will first pray for our Beloved to print the image of His bleeding self on the tablets of our hearts throughout the day. At nightfall, we will return to commune with Him, and grieve that our sin should have cost Him so much.

"Just kill the bugs, Jerry."

Actually, my friend's name is spelled Gerry, but I thought the two J's in the title looked better. Gerry is a member of our church who came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ a number of years ago.

On the spur of the moment, Gerry joined me and a couple of other men in our church for lunch. The other two guys work about an hour away, so on our way out to see them, Gerry and I enjoyed a good conversation. He shared with me how he came to know Christ, and how his life was forever changed. So much so that Gerry switched jobs. Previously he was in a managerial position that pretty much required him to work every Sunday morning. Corporate worship became such a priority to Gerry, that he switched jobs, taking a cut in pay. At least in this new job, Gerry didn't have to work Sundays, for the parent company was founded by Christians who did not conduct business on the Lord's Day.

Gerry is an exterminator. He kills bugs for a living. And he loves it. Not because he has anything against bugs, but because Gerry loves people. He enjoys getting to know his customers and taking care of their "pesty" problems. Most of all, Gerry looks for opportunities to share the gospel with them. Some folks are interested in what Gerry has to say; others aren't.

One time, Gerry attempted to share the gospel with a woman who was dying of cancer. Apparently she wasn't interested in listening, nor was her husband. After a moment or so he said, "Just kill the bugs, Gerry." So Gerry courteously continued his work.

Gerry could have given up, figuring few if any of his customers would be interested in hearing the gospel. They would probably just get offended or think he was weird. But Gerry knew better than that. Gerry is fully persuaded that the gospel "is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom. 1:16). So as Gerry goes about his business killing bugs, he continues to share the gospel wherever the opportunity presents itself.

On another occasion Gerry got to talking about spiritual matter with another customer. As he opened his Bible, the client said, "Man, I wish I had one of those!" Gerry said, "Here, take this one! I've got three more at home!" Maybe we'll see that man in heaven someday.

The more I listened to Gerry, the more I perceived and appreciated his love for God and for people. It was so encouraging to know that this brother was being so faithful in sharing his faith with others. I was challenged and motivated to be more consistent in my own gospel witness.

Gerry just doesn't kill bugs. He tells people about Jesus. I love that. Don't you?

A Peek at Saint Patrick

A few days ago I received via e-mail this wonderful article on Saint Patrick posted by Jim Elliff, founder and president of Christian Com-municators Worldwide (CCW). How much do you know about this missionary to Ireland named Patrick? Read on!

As Attila the Hun prepared his first attack on Roman provinces and Augustine secluded himself in his study writing The City of God, Patrick's parents worried about their son. At almost 16 years old, he hadn't professed faith in Christ, even though his father Calpornius was a deacon and his grandfather Potitus was a pastor in the church. Something of a rebel, Patrick had already committed a serious sin that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

One night shortly before his 16th birthday, Patrick stayed at his father's country estate in Britain with the household servants while his parents traveled to a nearby town on business. While everyone slept, a party of Irish slave traders surrounded the estate. All the able-bodied members of the household were kidnapped, bound with chains and loaded into boats to be transported to Ireland. Those who resisted were killed outright.

After a two-day journey in an open boat, chained to the other captives, Patrick was sold to a farmer and given the menial task of watching the sheep. Three days before he had been a nobleman's son commanding slaves, now he was a slave. Patrick wrote about this time in hisConfession:

But it was here in Ireland that God first opened my heart, so that—even though it was a late start—I became aware of my failings and began to turn with my whole heart to the Lord my God. For He looked down on my miserable condition and had compassion for me, young and foolish as I was. He cared for me even before I knew who He was, before I could tell the difference between right and wrong. He protected me and loved me even as a father does his own child.¹

Patrick prayed constantly during these years, alone with the sheep, and remembered the Godly teaching of his parents and his pastor. Patrick also learned to speak the language of the Irish people, gradually learning their customs and about the gods they worshipped. In learning to protect and care for the sheep, Patrick was for the first time forced to think of something other than his own selfish desires. Patrick said:

God used the time to shape and mold me into something better. He made me into what I am now—someone very different from what I once was, someone who can care about others and work to help them.

After serving as a slave for six years, Patrick twice had a dream in which he heard a voice say, "Your ship is ready." Taking this as a sign from God, Patrick ran away from his owner and traveled "maybe 200 miles" on foot as a fugitive. Patrick was utterly alone for weeks and yet said he was never afraid until he came to the port city. There, he summoned up his courage and asked a ship's captain if he might sail with them to Britain as a member of the crew. The Captain initially refused his request, but as Patrick breathed a prayer for guidance, the officer changed his mind. Patrick was going home.

Can you imagine the celebration as Patrick walked into the courtyard of his home in Britain? The son they had thought twice lost, both to this world and the next, was twice found. Patrick said, "They took me in—their long-lost son—and begged me earnestly that after all I had been through I would never leave them again."

We know little about the next few years of Patrick's life—how long he stayed at home or what plans his parents had for his future. We do know that as a result of a series of dreams, Patrick was convinced that God wanted him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Patrick's parents would lose him yet again.

After receiving the proper training and the blessing of the church, Patrick obeyed God and returned to the land of his captivity, preaching among the people there for the next 40 years. Thousands of people came to know Christ and the church in Ireland was established. InConfession, a letter Patrick wrote late in his life, he said:

My final prayer is that all of you who believe in God and respect Him—whoever you may be who read this letter that Patrick the unlearned sinner wrote from Ireland—that none of you will ever say that I in my ignorance did anything for God. You must understand—because it is the truth—that it was all the gift of God.

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¹ Quotes from Patrick's Confession were taken from the translation of Philip Freeman, St. Patrick of Ireland (Simon and Schuster, 2004), pages 176-193.______________________________

Copyright © 2006 Susan Verstraete
Permission granted for not-for-sale reproduction in exact form including copyright. Other uses require written permission.

Kirk Cameron's Testimony

Here's a great presentation of the Gospel through the personal testimony of Kirk Cameron (of "Growing Pains" fame) with comments by John MacArthur. It's a great clip to pass on to your unsaved family members and friends.

"The Humble Will Rejoice in the Lord"

In The Spirit of Revival, pastor-theologian R. C. Sproul wrote, "A study of both Scripture and history shows that God usually brings revival through 'nobodies from nowhere,' humble people who lived in little-known places who in their own time were not considered celebrities."

Does this thought encourage you? It does me! It coincided perfectly with what Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers:

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who thing they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

- 1 Cor. 1:26-29, NLT

Sunday after the morning worship service, I was talking with a Christian brother who was sporting a T-shirt that communicated a biblical truth (offhand I can't recall exactly what it was). I mentioned a few ties that my wife had gotten me for Christmas in years past. One had the Lord's Prayer written on it; another had a beautiful script of John 3:16 (I wore that tie just yesterday, in fact); another shows the books of the Bible. My friend mentioned another T-shirt he owns that says,

I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody

about a Somebody who can save anybody.

Such a perspective quells pride, promotes holiness, exalts Christ, and enhances our Gospel witness.

We are in the midst of a Week of Prayer at my church. Our theme for this week is repentance. One verse we've considered is Isaiah 57:15:

For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

C. J. Mahaney got it right when he wrote, "God is decisively drawn to humility.... This is the promise of humility. God is personally and providentially supportive of the humble." I close with the following prayer taken from the Puritan devotional classic, The Valley of Vision:

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;

Let me find Thy light in my darkness,

Thy life in my death,

Thy joy in my sorrow,

Thy grace in my sin,

Thy riches in my poverty,

Thy glory in my valley.

Self-Denial, Prayer, and Fasting

The following article was written by Pastor Paul Tessari, in preparation for our upcoming Week of Prayer (March 7-13):

There are several things which might facilitate prayer and fasting in God’s people. Most notable in Scripture are those exhibiting repentance for sin[1] and those who are seeking God’s help, guidance and protection in a given situation.[2] No matter the cause, the believer seeks to move the heart and hand of God to action on their behalf. We are, as Isaiah 58:4 states, trying to “make [our] voice heard on high.” These petitions are to be done in humility knowing that God only looks to the one who is humble and contrite of spirit.[3] God, Scripture attests, does not hear the prayers of a sinful man.[4]

So what is the posture of fervent prayer? How do we make known to Him the importance of our prayer? Surely, as Scripture teaches we should “pray without ceasing.” We should be active in our daily lives communing in prayer to the Almighty King. But what of those special circumstances, when we run to Him in emergency, when our need is dire, our hearts heavy, and our hope slim? Times like that of Esther the queen who discovered a plot by Haman to murder her people and wipe them off the face of the earth. Or times like that of Jonah when he preached to the wicked people of Ninevah and proclaimed the impending judgment of God upon them. How did they pray then? In what way did they emphasize the degree of their prayer? They did it with fasting! The people willingly denied themselves life sustaining nourishment in an appeal to make known to the Lord the serious nature of their petition. “We shall deny ourselves and seek the Lord,” they said.

The concept of self denial is not new to Scripture. Indeed, Scripture is filled with its references. As a Christian it is foundational to our faith, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24).

The apostle Paul, ever the impassioned writer, compares the Christian to a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Each of these vocations conjure images of self abstention. Can you imagine a soldier who fights only when he wants to? Or breaks for lunch whenever he’s hungry? What sort of athlete stops when he’s tired or quits when he’s behind? What befalls the farmer who wakes up at mid day when the notion suits him?

Be assured that this soldier will never win the battle, this athlete will not see victory, this farmer will never enjoy the fruit of his labor nor eat of its bounty. Winning the battle, seeing the victory, enjoying the fruit of your labor never comes without first laying aside self. And neither does the Christian walk.

Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 9 when he says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

When we fast we are denying our body the very thing it needs to survive. In so doing, we are subjecting the desires of the flesh to the will of the spirit. In earnest humility we are appealing to our heavenly Father and making known to Him the importance of our petition.

Such commitment in prayer is rare today. In an age where we are encouraged to yield ourselves to our flesh, Scripture exhorts us to deny ourselves and pray to a holy God. This goes contrary to everything our culture embraces. At every turn, our society incites us to submit to the appetites of our flesh and “just do it.” Satisfy your every impulse and “Go for it.” Yell from the rooftops, “It’s my money and I want it now!”

Yet, this is not the way of Christ.

Self denial should be a distinguishing mark of all those who name the name of Christ. We are bought with a price. We are not our own. As bondservant of our Lord Jesus Christ we do not do our own will, but the will of Him who has saved us.

In a little over a week, First Baptist Church in Weymouth will be having our week of prayer. O, how beautiful and encouraging it will be to see brothers and sisters in Christ united in prayer. How “counter culture” it will be to band together and deny our earthly impulses and present ourselves before the throne of grace in humility. I, for one, am looking forward to it.

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[1] Jud. 20:26; 1 Sam. 7:6; Neh. 1:4, 9:1; Dan 9.

[2] 2 Chr. 20:1-4; Ez. 8:21; Est. 4:3; Ps. 109:19; Dan. 6:18; Acts 13:2, 14:23

[3] Ps. 35:13; Is. 66:2

[4] Jer. 14:12