The Woman And Her Water Pot

It did not seem like all that extraordinary of a day.  The woman awoke and began her chores as she did every other day.  There was much work to be done and much of it required water.  So she grabbed her water pot, just like always, and walked down to the community well.  The weather was not uncommon that day although it was already getting hot.  She reflected upon many memories of an unsettled and troubled past.  As she approached the well, she saw a man sitting by the well but he had no water pot.  He asked her for a drink, and she realiz ed he was a Jew.  He simply said, “Give me a drink.”  No formalities, no howdy, just “give me a drink.”  She asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask me, a Samaritan, for anything?  Everybody knows you have nothing to do with my kind.”  This was odd.  The man said He had a fountain of water, a gushing river, that springs up into everlasting life.  This was extremely odd.  But something in the woman desired to know more.  She had been through a tough life, she was tired and her soul was thirsty, so she replied, “I would sure like some of that kind of water.”  But Jesus would not make it easy.  He first had to deal with the root of her unsettledness in life.  He called her out and asked her about her husband.  She said, “I have no husband.”  He knew that already, and told her that she had previously known 5 different husbands and the man she currently lived with was not her husband.  He cut straight to the heart.  Got right down to issue.  Can you imagine a man, a stranger, piercing to the heart of her sin without even a warning?  This is more than odd, beyond ordinary.  How could He know such things?  The woman tried to change the subject by discussing where was the proper place to worship.  As with most people, when His truth pierced her heart she tried to talk about religious things without actually dealing with her sin.  She said, “Samaritans say one should worship at Mt. Gerizim, but the Jews say one must worship in Jerusalem.”  He wasn’t persuaded.  He didn’t buy into the debate.  He said, “True worship is in spirit, not bound by location. And true worship is in truth, not dictated by traditions.  He told her that true worship is coming and now is.  She started to feel something inside.  A stirring, an unfamiliar and extraordinary emotion.  She said, “I know that when the Messiah comes he will explain these things.”  He said, “I am He.”  Now there was more than a stirring.  Rivers of life began flowing into her soul.  She began to know life in a way she had never known possible.  Her heart was transformed.  She thought, “He knew my sin, and He dealt with it, but He was merciful and kind.  I tried to discuss religious things, but He met the need of my heart.  I went to the well to get water, I received so much more.”  She ran back to town to tell everyone about whom she had met, completely disregarding the fact that she left her water pot at the well.

Reflecting Upon Jonathan Edwards

I don't remember who provided this summary of the famous sermon, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God" but I give them thanks.  This is always worth reflecting upon.

Edward’s Eleven Points - “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” 
Most of the sermon's text consists of eleven “considerations.” They are:

1. God may cast wicked men into hell at any given moment.
2. The Wicked deserve to be cast into hell. Divine justice does not prevent God from destroying the Wicked at any moment.
3. The Wicked, at this moment, suffer under God's condemnation to Hell.
4. The Wicked, on earth - at this very moment - suffer the torments of Hell. The Wicked must not think, simply because they are not physically in Hell, that God (in Whose hand the Wicked now reside) is not - at this very moment - as angry with them as He is with those miserable creatures He isnow tormenting in hell, and who - at this very moment - do feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath.
5. At any moment God shall permit him, Satan stands ready to fall upon the Wicked and seize them as his own.
6. If it were not for God's restraints, there are, in the souls of wicked men, hellish principles reigning which, presently, would kindle and flame out into hellfire.
7. Simply because there are not visible means of death before them, at any given moment, the Wicked should not, therefore, feel secure.
8. Simply because it is natural to care for oneself or to think that others may care for them, men should not think themselves safe from God's wrath.
9. All that wicked men may do to save themselves from Hell's pains shall afford them nothing if they continue to reject Christ.
10. God has never promised to save us from Hell, except for those contained in Christ through the covenant of Grace.
11. The wicked shall not escape the wrath of God unless they repent.

Trusting God With Yesterday's Sins

Many times the evil one whispers to us that we cannot trust God with our sins of yesterday.  The deceptive accuser brings up accusations of past transgressions and we are tempted to be devastated by the condemnation of past failures.  It is in these times that we must firmly grasp the promises of God and trust Him with our yesterdays.  The following promises provide hope for the ones with ears to hear.  Psalm 103:12 says God has removed our transgressions as “far as the east is from the west.”  In Jeremiah 31:34 God promises those with repentant hearts, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  The prophet Micah reminds us that God “will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.”  One may wonder how God, who is perfectly just, could accomplish such infinitely merciful acts.  The answer echoes clearly through the pages of holy Scripture.  Romans 8:1 assures us, “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”  God has granted His infinite mercy to us through Christ Jesus.  This is why Ephesians 1:7 trumpets eternal mercy with these words, “In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (yesterday, today, and tomorrow).”  We can trust God with our past sins because Christ has done away with the sins of those who trust in Him.  The Bible says that Jesus “bore our sins in His body” (1 Pet. 2:24) and that He “nailed our sins to the cross” (Col. 2:14) and that He buried our sins in the tomb (Rom. 6) and that on that glorious Sunday morning when He rose from the dead, He rose victoriously over our sin (1 Cor. 15).  These promises of hope will not provide excuses for irreverent living, but rather strength for the journey for the broken and contrite, who know by faith that God has forgiven them of yesterday’s sins through Christ Jesus.    

Bujumbura, Burundi 2011

After I preached God's Word to the Senate and Parliament of Burundi, my friend Pastor Andre Dugger of Grace BC in Nashville, TN prayed for the Mayor of Bujumbura and the nation of Burundi.  GateWay East Africa is being used by God in many ways as we seek to minister to the people in the region.

Some Gems From Tozer:

These excerpts are taken from A.W. Tozer's "The Knowledge of the Holy" (1961):

"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

"Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech."

"The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him."

"Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous."

"The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God."

I would love to have written something original, but these words were so well chosen that I felt I must share them as is.  -RG

Worship Is More Than Music

It is a very unfortunate pattern of thought which has developed among our churches.  The thought expressed in language that describes the music of a church worship service as "worship".  It is the same thought that entitles music ministers as "worship leaders".  Music can and should be a part of worship but worship does not equal music.  Consider Abraham as he takes his son Isaac up Mt. Moriah for the great test of faith.  Wood and knife in hand, he is ready to make a fire and offer a sacrifice of faith.  Isaac notices that they are without an animal and asks, "where is the lamb?"  Abraham responds, "God will provide."  Abraham gave his servants directions to stay there with the donkey because he and his son were going to "worship".  He is about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice in obedience to God's command, believing that God would take care of them.  There was no praise team.  No power point projector.  No 5 piece band.  No dimming of lights.  Just a man offering his life in faithful service to his Lord.  This is worship.  Worship is obedience to the word of God.  Worship is walking by faith, not by sight.  Worship can include music, but more important than the emotions felt during musical performance is the question, "How do you respond to God's Word?"  Are you just as worshipful at the time of invitation as you are during the music?  The desire of the worshipful heart must be obedience to God's word as one leaves the parking lot and enters the week.  I have noticed many people lusting after the emotional experience that music can provide instead of concentrating on the depth of Scripture.  Therefore, there is a common act of idolatry present among us.  Many are bowing their hearts to an emotional experience rather than concentrating on God's word and will.  In John 9:31 is the testimony of a man Jesus had cured of blindness reminding us that "a worshiper of God does His will."  I like power point and hymnals.  I like every musical instrument (when played well with right spirit) under the sun.  I appreciate other people helping to lead us in singing.  But these are only a part of worship.  The manifestation of true worship is a life lived out for the glory of God in submission to His word.

Christ's Power and Presence

I have just returned from Burundi which is a small country in east Africa.  Burundi borders Rwanda and Uganda and is one of the three poorest countries in the world.  The average person in this war torn country makes approximately 300 dollars per year (US).  The people have experienced over 20 years of civil war and are now only in the sixth year of peace.  We worked in the capital city of Bujumbura as well as the Bujumbura Rural and Cibitoke provinces.  Many of the areas in which we worked were under travel warnings due to recent violence and although we were sometimes escorted by armed guards we never felt unsafe.  The Lord used us to start 7 new churches in these areas and to establish the fifth campus of the Busia Baptist Bible College which is based in Kenya.  One may wonder how we could feel so safe in a completely unknown land with an unknown language in a country that has recently experienced such intense violence.  How could we have such certainty in the safety of our mission?  The answer is found in Matthew 28:18-20.  Jesus commissioned His disciples to “Go and make disciples” but first He made sure that they knew that as they were going they would be doing so in His power.  In verse 18 Jesus says that He has “all authority in heaven and on earth.”  When we go to make disciples (students, followers) of Jesus Christ, whether we go next door or across the seas, we are going in the authority of the resurrected Christ and He has all authority.  Jesus also promises that as we are going to fulfill His Great Commission He “will be you always, even unto the end of the age.”  When we go to make disciples of Jesus Christ we are going with the presence of Christ.  It is the presence and the power of Christ that compel us to go.  It is the presence and power of Christ that provide us peace, faith, safety, and contentment.  No matter the environment in which we find ourselves we can be certain of the power and presence of Christ as we are obedient to His words.