Faith - not so unreachable

It is ever so frustrating to have someone say to you, “I wish I had your faith”, when you know perfectly well there is nothing stopping them!

People of firm Christian faith are not a different species from anyone else, nor do they live on a different planet. They are not saintly Olympians who can strain every muscle to achieve world records in some hugely daunting spiritual discipline.

Persons of weak faith and those of strong faith all share a common humanity and are all alike created in God’s image. God thinks of unbelievers in exactly the same terms as He thinks of Christians: 

“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23 ESV)

Two war veterans were responding to their experience of the Vietnam conflict. One declared, 

“I do not believe in God, because God couldn’t allow something so appallingly bad.” 

The other declared, 

“I believe in God, because there has to be something better than this.”  

Here, I would suggest, is the difference. Both men had endured the same things. On one level the viewpoint of the second man was just a hair’s breadth away from that of the first. On another level it was a world away. He had some faith. The other had none.

The following very thoughtful description of faith is from a Lebanese Christian who chose to stay in her own country, at great personal risk, instead of leaving to seek peace and security abroad. It comes down to five straightforward affirmations she makes about God.

Faith is:

• Expecting God to accomplish miracles through my five loaves and two fishes. He can use me.
• Rejecting the feeling of panic when things seem out of control. He is in control.
• Confidence in God's faithfulness to me in an uncertain world. He holds the future.
• Depending on the fact that God loves me, not on my ability to figure out how or why. He can be trusted.
• Thanking God for his gift of emotional health, not assuming it all stems from my ability to cope with stress. He provides.

'… I do believe; help me to overcome my unbelief' (Mark 9:24).

From “Day by Day With the Persecuted Church” (ed. Jan Pit)

Are you willing to believe 

• that God can use you? 
• That He is in control? 
• That He holds the future? 
• That He can be trusted? 
• That He provides? 

 All of these follow from the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and the fact that He continues to show a prayerful interest in sinners who throw themselves on His mercy. Surely it is worth giving it a go.

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6)

In hope, against all human hope,
self-desperate, I believe;
Thy quickening word shall raise me up,
Thou shalt Thy Spirit give.

Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
and looks to that alone;
laughs at impossibilities,
and cries: It shall be done!

Charles Wesley, 1707-88

Miracles

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines "miracle" as "an act or event that does not follow the laws of nature and is believed to be caused by God". Today, experts seem determined to exclude the miraculous when trying to explain the universe. I believe it is a huge mistake to banish miracles. If you do so, explaining the universe becomes like putting together a jigsaw with some important pieces missing.

The Lord Jesus Christ made use of miracles so that intelligent observers could form a clear picture of who He really was. The Gospel of Mark describes how He did this. A thoughtful Our Daily Bread Ministries writer shows how Mark puts it over for us. The section from chapter 4 verse 35 to chapter 5 verse 43 records four miracles. After the first, the disciples are "very much afraid" and ask one another, "Who then is this ...?" (Mark 4:41 NASB). This is exactly what Jesus means them to do, so they can learn the truth about Him.

The first in this series of miracles is the stilling of the storm (4:35-41). It demonstrates Jesus’ absolute power over nature. Incidentally, it also shows He is completely human too, with a human being's weakness. He was so tired that even the violent tossing of the waves did not wake Him at first, so that the disciples were scared at first that their boat would capsize before He could help!

The second miracle shows Jesus' total command of the spiritual world (5:1-20). It is the healing of a man who was so profoundly deranged as to be beyond all human help. However sceptical you may be about demons leaving the man and entering an enormous herd of pigs, the simultaneous jumping of the pigs into the sea would only have added to the onlookers' sense of how awesome the miracle was.

Not only did wonders never before seen occur during Jesus' ministry, wonder often followed wonder in quick succession. Jesus' reputation for healing the sick was growing apace. A woman with a haemorrhage testified to having tapped into healing power from Jesus (5:33). The Saviour was already on His way to lay healing hands on a desperately sick small girl. After the previous healing incident, word came that the girl had died. Undaunted, Jesus went on to reveal that He had power even over death: He raised the girl back to life.

"Who then is this?" Each miracle shows Jesus as the Omnipotent Sovereign God. To a first century Jew who knew his Bible, these works echoed Old Testament stories which would have been familiar to him. The days of Moses who parted the seas, and Elijah who breathed life back into the dead, were back. It was as though God's ancient power had returned to earth and gone into overdrive. "In Jewish minds," says our thoughtful writer, "the power to control the sea and the waves was exclusive to God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 65:5-7; Isaiah 51:10; Nahum 1:3-5)."

You can refuse, if you like, to believe in miracles or to see through the eyes of His onlookers what Jesus did. Some did indeed refuse to believe. But surely you, like these nay-sayers, will be missing the whole point!

Who is He, in yonder stall,
At whose feet the shepherds fall? ...

Who is He that from the grave
Comes to heal and help and save? ...

Who is He that from His throne
Rules through all the worlds alone?

'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story!
'Tis the Lord, the King of Glory!
At His feet we humbly fall;
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all.

Benjamin Russell Hanby, 1833-67

A lifelong learner

The apostle Paul mentored a young protege called Timothy. As he came to the close of his life, Paul saw it as an urgent matter to encourage Timothy to be a lifelong learner.

Timothy had clearly got off to a good start. Paul reminds his young reader in 2 Timothy 1:5,  

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well." (ESV)

In chapter 3 he goes on,  

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

In many different places, the Bible has been associated with learning. At schools in the developing world, it is often used not just as a textbook for teaching religious studies but also for teaching English (or the local language).

I think of the story of Mary Jones in Wales at the dawn of the 19th century. Christians who hear of the remarkable account of this young Welsh girl often travel to visit Bala, in central Wales, where she walked barefoot 26 miles to buy a Bible.

Mary was of humble stock and lived in a remote Welsh village. As a small child of nine years old, she had to help her mother with many of the household chores. Her father, a weaver who had previously supported the family, had died. She attended her local chapel and used to love looking at the Bible that the minister used. Being unschooled, though, she was unable to read it.

Then a schoolmaster, Mr Evans, moved into the village and she learned to read. Wouldn't it be wonderful, she thought, to have a Bible of her very own! But books were a costly item in those days. Mary saved and saved, doing odd jobs for people in the village. Finally after six years she scraped together enough money to buy a Bible.

Rev Thomas Charles was the nearest agent for the purchase of Bibles and he lived in Bala. Having progressed thus far in her quest, Mary was not to be daunted by the huge walking distance. Now aged fifteen, she set off, not daring to keep her shoes on in case they wore out.

When she arrived, Thomas Charles was not able to give her a Bible there and then, but after a couple of days he gave her not only one for herself but also two more copies for her family!

How happy Mary Jones was to have a Bible she could read and learn from! I hope she continued all her life to be just as keen to learn. Sadly I meet Christians who think they know it all. They may be willing to absorb ever more Bible facts but do not want anyone to suggest to them how they could work better and be more effective for their church.

I regard myself as a disciple, and I love to see others being disciples too, willing to learn. I think that would be the mind of my Master, because the Lord Jesus had sharp words for those who thought they knew it all. His story of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer is familiar to many people. It tells of the Pharisee who thought he was well in with God and the tax-gatherer who simply asked God's mercy on him, a sinner. Luke tells us explicitly that Jesus  

"told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt" (Luke 18:9).

God forbid we should be found among those who reckon they have no more need to learn! Incidentally, there is a footnote to the Mary Jones story. Rev Thomas Charles was so inspired by Mary's keenness to read the Bible that in 1804 he helped set up the British and Foreign Bible Society, which still exists today as the Bible Society.

"The Size of Wales"

As I write, I am enjoying one of my frequent visits to North Wales, a delightful part of the country that I never tire of visiting.

Welsh people must think their country has somehow become the universal point of comparison. Land areas are often described as being "as big as Wales", "half the size of Wales", "double the size of Wales" or whatever. The Welsh must surely puzzle over the reasons for this.

Like most countries with a long coastline, Wales does not have a clear overall shape, but it is easy enough to size up roughly the area it covers. With the arrival of major roads where you can drive (relatively) fast, it is a measurable size. You can comfortably cover the length of it - assuming you drive parallel to it up the west of England - and the breadth of it in one day. This done, the statement that the Holy Land is "roughly the size of Wales" becomes meaningful.

This sparks off a number of points to ponder. It was a revelation to me when I realised that the events of the biblical Book of Ruth took place within a small segment of this Wales-sized country, extending a little into foreign territory, Moab, a few miles to the east. The character Ruth looms large in salvation history. This vulnerable Moabite foreigner, who needed a helping hand to gain a foothold in Israel, became the ancestor not only of the great King David but also of the Messiah Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Massive spiritual beginnings - in such a small slice of land!

Then the Lord Jesus also limited His earthly work mostly to this small east Mediterranean country. How true it is that Jesus was

"Our God contracted to a span,
incomprehensibly made man"

as Charles Wesley put it! We see in the Gospel record the breathtaking energy that results from the universal might of God being focused on one individual in that small patch of land.

But to return to my talk of comparisons. How boldly we boost our image in this day and age when we have achieved so much! Of course, every age has produced its mighty works. The British Isles bear witness to the gigantic construction projects even of Stone Age man. The story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) is testament to a nation who presumed to create a city containing a structure that would end up as high as heaven. But God laughed at their puny efforts.

"Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech,” He resolved (Genesis 11:7, ESV). Then He "dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city."

The God of the universe bears no comparison.

"To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him?" says the Holy One.
"Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God'?"

Isaiah 40:25-27

We can never get the measure of God. It is a sobering thought that He has got the measure of us. But it is comforting that He notices those who call on Him, pleading the merits of Jesus whom He has sent into our little space.

God's greatness in me

Where should we expect to see the greatness of God in evidence?

"Everywhere," you might instinctively reply. But isn't this too vague? By looking for it in a number of different areas we may see sides to it that we would otherwise overlook.

The magnificent nineteenth psalm shows the greatness of God in a variety of different settings. The third is less obvious than the first two.

The first six verses show forth God's glory in creation.

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork"

goes the first verse (ESV). The celestial bodies are pictured as chattering away to each other constantly about the majesty of God in creation, in "words" which we pick up only spiritually, not by our organs of hearing. Human beings may boast of their own or someone else's greatness, but the manner in which creation glorifies God is of a totally different order. You cannot hide from it any more than you can hide from the heat of the sun.

All of a sudden, from verse 7, the psalmist takes a different tack and praises the greatness of God in His law. Even when stressing the limitations of God's law, the apostle Paul claims that

"... the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12).

This is despite the fact that God's commandments put us under a death sentence because we can never keep them perfectly! The law is

• perfect
• sure
• right
• pure
• clean
• true
• altogether righteous
• desired
• sweet.

It has many effects as well as qualities:

• reviving
• making wise
• causing rejoicing
• enlightening
• warning
• rewarding
• exposing secret thoughts
• vindicating

- though, as I say, Paul struggled to make spiritual progress precisely because nobody is entirely innocent before God's law. As the Law sheds light on our inmost being, so it gives us the opportunity to reform. Of course, we can only be reformed in God's strength, not our own.

For Christians, the whole of God's written word, not just the Law of Moses, shows forth His greatness. The wisdom writings are profound. The words of the prophets are majestic and challenging. They show forth God's grasp of history because He uses them both to make sense of the present and to foretell what is to come - often in astonishing detail. Then the crowning expression of the greatness of God is found in the gospels, where it is recorded how He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die a cruel death and rise again to bring salvation to all who trust in Him.

The wonder of creation and God's wise and perfect written word declare His greatness in different and remarkable ways. But have we exhausted the list in Psalm 19?

No, because at the very end of the psalm comes one further verse. It is a prayer which has often been used by preachers before embarking on their sermon:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

It says in effect, "When I think and speak, may my thoughts and words be mirrors reflecting your greatness back to you". God's greatness shown in creation; God's greatness shown in His word; God's greatness shown ... through me!

You cannot show forth God's greatness if all that God and others see is your own self-promotion. His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and in our life submitted to Him. Could someone else gain a glimpse of God's greatness through seeing your devoted life?

Wonderfully Made

There are many arguments in favour of the existence of God. Yet in a way we need look no further for evidence than the human body. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14 KJV).

Christians believe that creation was an immensely powerful and yet warmly personal act by the Creator. All of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - was fully involved and fully committed. There was a definite end point to this glorious first phase of the divine work: we are told in Genesis 2:2

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work” (NIV).

The legacy of the original creation remains breathtaking to this very day.

At the beginning of each day I have a clear reminder of the differences in efficiency between humans created by God and artifacts created by man. Not everybody is instantly alert on waking up. Some are downright drowsy. They moan and groan and turn over, longing to snooze on. They resist getting up until the very last minute and take quite a while to get into the day. Others are morning people. They bounce out of bed, alert and ready for anything straight away. I am somewhere in between. When I wake up, I may not feel refreshed, but at least I still become quickly aware of myself and my surroundings.

With my mobile phone, however, it is quite different. I leave it switched off completely overnight. When I turn it back on in the morning, it takes ages to come into full operation again. Partly this is because its contents are encrypted for security’s sake. But basically, like any computer, it has to remind itself each and every time what it is, what its different parts are for, and how they all work together. Only then can it even begin to burst into life. You would think the computer marks a high point in human creative ingenuity. Yet compared to humans it is comically slow and stupid.

You will now understand why I smiled when I read this extract from an evangelistic booklet by John E. Davis:

Have you ever stopped and marvelled at the wonder of the human body? When was the last time you woke up and had to remind your heart to start beating or your wounds to start healing? The Bible says "… in him we live, and move, and have our being …" (Acts 17:28). Have you considered the workings of the human eye or the complexity of the human brain, which is far beyond the capabilities of any computer? The human body is truly amazing, beyond our comprehension, no wonder David in the Psalms wrote "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works”.

(Remember, this is simply a comment on the first creation! It says nothing about how, in Jesus Christ, God has a long-term programme of re-creating us spiritually following the fall from grace of our first ancestors.)

Science goes on making amazing discoveries about the human body, some of which unfortunately lead a number of scientists to think they can “play God” with the physical matter that constitutes us. This has potentially disastrous consequences.

A bit of due humility is called for here. I once asked a scientist, a committed Christian  to address a church Men’s Supper Club gathering on Creation. I fear this audience was sceptical, even hostile. But what stuck with me was the faithful scientist's parting comment.

“The most we can do,” he affirmed in his closing sentence, “is think God’s thoughts after Him.”

Bible Man

Thinking back, I have always been a Bible man.

I once remember being quizzed by our church minister. I was probably not even converted by that time. “What do you believe?” he asked. “I believe in the Bible,” was my decided reply. An unmistakable frown of concern crossed his face. I have often wondered about it since. He surely wouldn’t have thought that I treated the Bible as God. Obviously, what I meant was, “My faith is based on the reliability of the Bible”.

So why would he have looked so troubled? Maybe his whole training led him to believe that there were flaws in the Bible, as in any other “human” book. He would have been warned that there were naive “fundamentalists” out there hoodwinking others into believing that the Bible was infallible. This supposed menace needed putting straight, along with the victims of such warped ideas.

This is guesswork, of course. The minister didn’t say why he looked worried. He may simply have found my prompt and clear answer to his question rather disconcerting. He would not want to let any faulty thinking I had go unchallenged. On the other hand, was it the right time to be putting roadblocks in the way of a young man starting out on Christian service? It was a dilemma for the clergyman, and no mistake.

It seems I carried on being a thorn in the side of the Bible’s liberal critics. I understand that, many years later, my old arch-liberal ex-college tutor commented ruefully, “I never was able to bring Timothy Demore round to my way of thinking”. I continue to believe today that the Bible is on a different plane from ordinary human writings.

I’ve been exposed in my time to the whole sweep of French literature. French is the language with probably the longest continuous literary output of any in the world. Yet nothing in it compares with the challenge, the riches and the truthfulness of the Bible. A single verse may say more than an entire book of secular writing. What book is there on earth that can communicate more than these twenty-four words:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV)?

The work of the Gideons worldwide is greatly to be admired. This long-established organisation is named for the Biblical character Gideon, who won victory over the Midianites in Judges chapter 7. It is dedicated to distributing Bibles round the world. The count, amazingly, is now fast approaching two billion!

Sadly, this worthy cause finds itself battling opposition where there was none before. Schools, hospitals and other organisations are now frequently timid about the placing of Bibles on their premises and bold in placing obstacles in front of the Gideons. Sometimes opposition gives way in answer to much prayer and persistence, sometimes not.

The tragedy of this opposition is that lives may be lost that would otherwise have been saved! There are frequent stories of suicidal people in hotel rooms who have picked up the Gideon Bible and been transformed. One man climbed up onto the window sill in his room and prepared to leap to his death. He steadied himself by putting his hand on a wardrobe. That hand came down on a Bible which was perched up there. Reading God’s word, the man turned away from his intended self-destruction and accepted Christ.

Surely a book by which God spares even one life, for time and eternity, should be allowed into the spaces where people gather.