That Dog and Wandering Stars

I have to admit, I enjoy a good figure of speech. Things like aphorisms fascinate me and usually make me chuckle. By aphorism I mean a pithy quote wrapped in homespun wisdom. Take for example, that fella there is like a ‘hen on a June bug’ when it comes to solving a problem. In other words, he’ll be tenacious and get it done. You likely have heard about the guy that is ‘all hat and no cattle.’ He’s the fella that puts on a good show, but at the end of the day cannot deliver the goods. One of my favorites is, ‘That dog’ll hunt.’ In three and a half words you get the picture. In my mind I can see a bird dog on point and ready for the flush. The bird dog is doing what bird dogs do best…they hunt. However, some bird dogs look like bird dogs, but they don’t know a chukar from a skunk. When using that phrase the listener understands that whatever is being spoken of is going to accomplish it’s intended purpose. Aphorisms are like that. They bring an earthy and unpretentious (and often humorous) truth to light. 

 

The Bible often uses simple language by analogy to get our attention. They are figures of speech…aphorisms of a sort. There are a couple that have caught my attention this week. There’s a story in the Old Testament about the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 18. In the telling of the story, Yahweh’s prophet is showing the impotence of a false god, and in an earthy and less than winsome manner he begins to taunt the worshippers of the false god. The writer says, “And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” The prophet’s pointed analogy makes the incisive statement, ‘Perhaps your god is going to the bathroom.’ A bit crude, but he makes an excellent point. When comparing the one, true God with anything else, the false gods may as well be indisposed. Truly, false gods are no god at all. I appreciate the plainspokenness of the prophet. He had a point to make and he didn’t waste any time gussying up his language because the true God’s reputation was at stake. Perhaps there’s a lesson for us all here.

 

The second example is from the New Testament letter of Jude. Jude is a short note filled with pithy wisdom and warnings about false teachers. Jude gets after the false teachers by using pointed figures of speech. Here’s what he says about them, “These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.” (Jude1:12-13) By way of analogy and hyperbole Jude calls the false teachers out. He uses figures of speech that are relatable and pointed, and he exposes these dangerous persons by using highly effective language. Here’s what he calls them – hidden reefs, having no fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds, swept along by winds, fruitless trees, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves, and wandering stars. In both examples, Elijah and Jude have spoken plainly using figures of speech to make important points. 

 

With rare exception the best way to say something is without equivocation or nuance. Let your yes be yes, and let your no be no (Mt. 5:37). Plainspokenness, when talking about important matters such as the character of God and the danger of false teaching, is critically important in a day when language and its plain meaning have been tortured and twisted. And, that dog will hunt.

- DJM

April 2024

The Last Enemy

‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.’ – 1 Cor. 15:26

 

In the cold and dark of an obscure Judean hillside tomb a decisive blow has been dealt to that singular nemesis, a fiend before whom all men forced grimaced obeisance.  On that Sunday morning at the first rays of dawn death itself has met its indomitable match.  In the wee hours, death, that proudest of enemies, has died. A new day has dawned, a new life has begun, a new creation has been called forth to be, and a new Adam has arisen to take rightful place. Death, once the merciless and unfaltering conqueror has met its match. The gears and grind of a grand reversal could be heard over the faint lilt of sparrows regaling the new day with Talitha’s* song.  At the ope’d rolling of the immense stone effusive life spilled out brighter than the noonday sun, never more to be held captive by darken’d fate. Grave-clothes folded neatly, to be used…nevermore. In the distance a serpent grasped and gasped for Life. Simultaneously death has been cast into that gaping sarcophagus while the stone rolled back, and further back, and finally ever-sealed, oathed and stamped with bloodied crest.  Death, alas, where now is your victor's cry? Death, the mocker, lies silent. The slender greened bud pierced through the ebony loam. That long-cursed Curser has been finally and forever cursed. Death, the once-reigning king, has become the servant-pauper now in ever-bended stoop before the new crowned Prince of Life. 

Death be damned. 

The long-awaited Resurrection morning brought Life, and death itself has now become entombed.

  

DJM 

 

Resurrection Sunday, 2024

*Mark 5:35-43

A Life Transformed

 

 

Several years ago, on a Saturday evening, I received a phone call.  The person on the other end was informing me that a mutual acquaintance had passed away and his funeral was being held later that day.  When I heard the news, I shuddered as a cold chill ran up my spine.  The man who had died was a leader in a church.  He was a leader in the community, and he had run for political office.  He had given money to the poor.  His contributions to the church were substantial.  In my last conversation with him, which would have been several months prior, the thrust of the conversation revolved around his good deeds.  He spoke to me of his giving, and his contributions to the community.  He could speak religious language, but nothing was spoken by him about Christ or of his need for Christ.  There was no mention of a relationship with Christ that involved repentance and faith. In fact, he wanted me to understand that he was a good man.  Unless things changed in the last weeks of his life there was no indication that he was a man who had been born again.  He had not been transformed.

 

There’s a story in The Gospel of John about a man named Nicodemus. He had every indication of a man well-heeled; a sophisticated man, educated, able to hold his own in the court of public opinion. His exemplary life could have been awarded a gold star. He was the pride of the community. When meeting others on the street there was always a smile and a nod of self-assurance…and yet there was a problem. He was a man not yet transformed.  

 

In John 3 Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night.  There is no need to think that Nicodemus was trying to avoid detection.  This could be the case as a Pharisee and teacher, but it could very well be that he was looking to talk with Jesus undisturbed.  He addresses Jesus with civility and respect.  He calls Him a rabbi and affirms Jesus is sent from God.  Nicodemus points to Jesus’ miraculous signs as a confirmation that Jesus was no ordinary man, but perhaps one sent from God.  Notice the sobriety of Jesus’ language, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." By using the words ‘truly, truly’ Jesus is making this statement as a declaration of truth.  Jesus is inferring that His statement carries with it authority and the burden of truth.  It is if He is saying, ‘This is to be believed, you must be born again to see the Kingdom.’  If Jesus is to be believed then the new birth is necessary to see the Kingdom of God.  No new birth, no kingdom.  It is that simple.  To avoid any confusion for Nicodemus, the original language carries the sense of being born from above.  Again, it is like this, ‘I declare to you the truth, unless you are born from above, you will not see the rule and reign of God.’ This is not natural generation.  This is not birth that comes about by a natural relationship between a man and a woman.  Nicodemus did not get this from being born into a nice Jewish family.  Nicodemus had every natural advantage for being a shoo-in into the Kingdom.  He had lineage, he had theological training, he had recognition, he had years in temple worship, he had everything going for him, and yet Jesus speaks to him plainly…you must be born again.  Something must take place in Nicodemus that is akin to the earthshaking significance of childbirth.  

 

In other words, Nicodemus, you must be made new.  To see Jesus Christ for Who He is you must become a new man.  Jesus was not impressed with Nicodemus’ civility or his appearance of religion.  He was not impressed with Nicodemus’ recognition of Jesus’ sign producing capabilities.  Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus.  This ought to be very sobering for us.  What Jesus is looking for is a complete revolution.  To see the Kingdom of God was to see God’s King in the person of Jesus Christ, and up until this point Nicodemus was still blind.  He was willing to confer niceties on Jesus and His ministry, but He could not see who Jesus truly was.

 

Much of what passes for acceptable Christianity is not really Christianity in the true, biblical sense.  Much of what passes for acceptable Christianity is Christianity that has not experienced the transforming work of the sovereign Spirit of God.  We’re tempted to settle for much less, but God wants to make us new.  His desire is that we are truly reborn.  What does God want to do in Crook County?  He wants to make us new.  What does God want to do in our homes?  He wants to make them new.  What does God want to do in our interactions with our neighbors and friends?  He wants to plant us as regenerated, transformed members of the Kingdom square in the middle of it all to show the transforming power of both the Kingdom and the King.  But first it won’t come without a radical, pervasive, and transforming work of the Spirit. We must be born again. 

 

         

    

 

Dan and Judy Morse live near Prineville, Oregon. Over the years Dan has done bi-vocational work, church planting, and served as a senior pastor in several churches. He now serves with InFaith, a ministry that assists small and rural churches. He can be reached at danjmorse@icloud.com  

The Significance of Insignificance

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

-       Micah 5:2

 

A recent Advent message at our home church got me thinking about some things. In an obscure Old Testament passage foretelling of the coming Messiah a description is given of where He will be born. The location given above in the prophecy of Micah is that His birthplace would be small. In other words, a backwater village. There will be no fanfare and bright lights. There will be no red-carpet rollout. There will be no passing along of the key to the city. The Messiah will be born in obscurity and insignificance, and His birth will be to a young, betrothed virgin and a day laborer that works with his hands; a bit ironic and not exactly the epic grand entrance that one would expect for a King.  

 

There’s something here that bears consideration and here’s the premise…many times God chooses the out-of-the-way, the long-forgotten, and the insignificant to accomplish His redemptive purposes…and that includes both places and persons. Consider the recorded stories of Ruth, a Gentile widow in great need, or Gideon, a young man with limited resources, or Zacchaeus, a diminutive and despised tax collector, and there are many more. And yet the stories often recollect a common thread - apparent insignificance. Each of these persons have a vital role to play in God’s redemptive plan, but obscurity and relative inconsequentiality seem to carry the day. After all, can anything good come out of Nazareth (John 1:46)? And consider the most profound and significant figure of all…the reason for our Advent festivities…is born an infant, and born, of all places, in Bethlehem. The God-man takes on human flesh in relative obscurity.

 

The interesting thing is that this seems to be a pattern. God takes pleasure in making something out of nothing. He surely could’ve chosen more spectacular people and more grandiose places to make Himself known…but He doesn’t.

 

20^th Century pastor and theologian, Francis Schaeffer, said it this way, "We must remember throughout our lives that in God's sight there are no little people and no little places." Schaeffer understood the significance of insignificance. He understood that what the world sees as criteria for success and notoriety are not on par with God’s criteria. Note the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:

 

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 

 

The Apostle Paul gives us a clue as to why God oftentimes chooses the insignificant to reveal Himself – so that we might not boast. When God’s glory and credit are on the line He gets to be first to receive the homage.  

 

Judy and I recently had the privilege of visiting a small congregation that gathers on Sunday mornings in Ashwood, OR. The meeting place is at the end of the paved road in an old converted tavern, complete with a woodstove and an outhouse. And, talk about obscurity, there were eight of us in attendance to be exact. We gathered for prayer and instruction, and at the end of it all we thanked God for accomplishing His purposes in small places.

 

This Christmas season, and when our thoughts are turned to Bethlehem, may we remember that God does the significant with the insignificant. In an announcement of that magnificent event the angelic host sang out in their loudest voice…Gloria, In Excelsis Deo. In other words, glory to God in the highest…because a long-anticipated infant Son has been born in a place of obscurity, and one day His name will become known far from Bethlehem...to places like Ashwood, Oregon, and even to the ends of the earth. Rejoice, because what was hidden and obscure and seemingly insignificant has become news to be shouted from the rooftops - a King has been born. His name is Jesus, and He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

 

Thankfulness Becomes Us

 

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

-Psalm 106:1

 

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

- Colossians 3:16

 

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

- Revelation 7:9-12

 

“There is no sacrifice in which God takes greater delight than the expression of our gratitude.”

- John Calvin, commenting on Psalm 135:1, Calvin’s Wisdom, p. 135

 

“Praising God is one of the highest and purest acts of religion. In prayer we act like men; in praise we act like angels.”

-Thomas Watson, A Puritan Golden Treasury

 

What is it that sets us apart from other created beings? Apart from the obvious, some have said that only man has the capability to think God’s thoughts after Him. It also follows that intentional thankfulness separates us from brute beasts. We are those who declare gratitude to God for His manifold kindness. We contemplate God’s mercies and then verbalize thankfulness. The character of the Christian is intended to be one of pervasive and effusive gratitude. When we consider what God has done we simply cannot help it. In the great work of the gospel thankfulness is an important and necessary work of the Spirit of God in the heart of the Christian. In fact, an unthankful Christian is a contradiction in terms. The Christian’s thankfulness is to be declared to God and others, and the Christian’s thankfulness is to be genuine, demonstrative, and infectious. Paul’s exhortation to the Colossians is this, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7) Receiving Christ and walking in Him, rooted and established in the faith, is to provoke us to great thanksgiving. In a world where thankfulness is often a rarity, and murmur and complaint often carry the day, the Christian recognizes that thanksgiving is not simply a holiday in November, but abounding thanksgiving is a way of life.  Everything we have is a direct result of the kind beneficence of our Creator. In everything give thanks, because as those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord, thanksgiving becomes us.

- Dan Morse, Thanksgiving Day 2023