To God Be the Glory!

 

What an amazing blessing to serve at Fowler Ave. Baptist Church where Pastor Theron Chewning and His wife Elaine are models of faith, faithfulness, and Godly service! This Sunday, our church will celebrate 62 years of their leadership. Through their vision, Holy Spirit inspiration, and God's grace, the church has not only survived in times when others have closed their doors, but thrived. Praise God for their commitment to preaching and teaching God's Word, supporting worldwide missions, reaching and blessing our local community, leading souls to Him, and mentoring, encouraging and uplifting believers.

Not surprisingly, our Pastor's favorite hymn is Fanny Crosby's classic, "To God Be the Glory." This is his theme in his ministry, always praising, blessing, thanking and honoring God for allowing him and his flock to serve Him faithfully. He embodies his favorite saying that "Every day is a gift" and that we are blessed with "one more day in Paradise!"

Despite his lifetime of good works to honor and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, our Pastor has never lost sight of the fundamental doctrine that we are not saved by works, but saved by grace through faith, and saved for the purpose of doing good works during the time God has so graciously allotted to us (Ephesians 3:8-9). 

Thinking of our Pastor and his legacy of unwavering faith and faithful service led me to repost the following article from the archives, originally titled "Ask Not What You Can Do For God." 

Praise God that we don’t have to do anything to be accepted as His adopted children, because our salvation is not based on our works, but on His grace (Ephesians 2:8-10). It’s true that once we are born again, we want to keep from sin and to do good works to further His kingdom, not because we have to, but because we want to! Our good works don’t get us saved, but they flow from us once we are saved because we love Him for taking us in despite our being so unlovable. Good works are the living proof of our faith (James 2:14-26).

But the amazing thing is that God loves us even while we are sinners (Romans 5:8). And that no matter what we do, He couldn’t love us any more or any less (1 John 4:8-10;19). Even though we were God’s enemies, He adopts us as His sons (Ephesians 1:5) once we turn from our sins and trust Jesus as our Savior. He doesn’t adopt us because of anything we can give Him, because He is completely self-sufficient and needs nothing, and because all that we have He gave us in the first place (James 1:17).

He adopts us because it is His will that all should be saved and come to repentance, and our coming to Him as children gives Him great pleasure because He loves us infinitely. Parents seeking to adopt a child don’t ask whether the child can pay rent, or if he can afford to pay for his own education, or if he will work in the parents’ business. It’s not about what the child can do for them; it’s about what they can do for the child because of the great love they want to share.

It’s the same way with Our Heavenly Father – we can’t earn His love or work our way to being adopted by Him – we can only trust in His infinite love and accept His gift of amazing grace. We are accepted by God because we trust in Jesus, His Son, and His perfect sacrifice on the cross to pay for all our sins. Jesus rose from the dead to give us eternal life, all of which is reason to praise Him! (Ephesians 1:6-8).

God’s mercy is to redeem us through the blood of Jesus, forgiving our sins that deserve eternal punishment in hell. Because of His grace, He gives us what we don’t deserve – eternal, abundant life with Him beginning at the moment of our salvation and continuing through Heaven and the Millennial Kingdom throughout eternity. We can trust His wisdom to give us what we need, not necessarily what we think we want. He created us for His pleasure, and nothing pleases Him more than to see us fulfilling His perfect will for our life.

Ephesians 1: 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

God’s grace is to give us the inheritance worthy of His children, namely all His blessings including eternal life with Him in Heaven. He saved us for a purpose – which is to praise and glorify Him in all we do. So, ask not what you can do for God, but know through His Holy Word what He will do for you. And then, rest assured that as His child, you will want to spend your earthly days doing His will, praising, and glorifying Him! 

Laurie Collett

Copyright 2011

Expanded, edited and reposted from the archives

Lamprey: Lamp of the King

 

As my husband and I walked along the beach, we spotted a man standing by the waves, staring down into his cupped hands.

Our approach evidently interrupted his deep meditation, as he looked up and asked, “Are you folks from around here?”

“Well, we spend a lot of time here,” my husband answered. “How can we help you?”

He again peered into his hands, directing our attention to a tiny creature swimming in his palm. It was about 1 inch long, and narrow like a worm, silvery and translucent. It had two eyes, each placed laterally on either side of its head, and seven black dots on each side of the body in a straight line behind the eye.

“Any idea what this is?” he asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Sadly, we hadn’t either, so we weren’t able to shed much light on the matter.

“One of God’s creatures,” my husband said. The man smiled. We continued our brisk morning walk and turned around a short while later to head back to the condo, but the man had disappeared, and we did not see him again during our stay.

After returning to our home a few days later, I picked up a magazine at random from an untouched pile of mail. It fell open to a picture of exactly what we had seen – a lamprey, apparently newly hatched given its small size. I believe that with God, there are no coincidences, so I resolved to investigate the matter further.

The article in which the photo appeared was from a creation science magazine, citing the lamprey as an example of a jawless fish (Agnatha). The seven gill slits, corresponding to the seven dots visible behind the eye, are separated from each other internally by cartilaginous arches, which are uniquely hinged and engineered skeletal features allowing the gills to pull in oxygenated water so that the lamprey can “breathe.”

There are no transitional forms linking the lamprey to jawed fishes or to armored jawless fish, and all three types of fishes are equally complex, supporting intelligent design of all three types at the same time and arguing against evolution. As is the case so often in nature, whether in a vast galaxy or a diminutive sea creature, God’s creation declares His glory, wisdom and creativity (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20).

So what might God be saying to me through this little lamprey, revealed to us by divine appointment?  I learned that the etymology of “lamprey” is obscure, but it may derive from the old French words meaning “lick rock,” referring to the raspy tongue of this parasite that allows it to attach to and feed off other fishes. So this worm-like parasite seems ignoble at best, much like man (Job 17:14; 25:6) in his unregenerated, sin-cursed state (Romans 3:10-23) before he is saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6).

When Christ died to pay our sin debt, the Holy, sinless Lamb of God took on the whole weight of all of mankind’s sin, past, present and future (Hebrews 9:28; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He was so disfigured by this putrid burden that all were revolted by His appearance (Isaiah 53:2-12), and even His Holy Father could not bear to look at Him (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46). The King of Kings, Lord of Heaven became as a lowly worm (Job 25:6; Psalm 22:6), just to save us from the penalty of sin while we were yet His enemies (Romans 3:25; 5:6-11).

Before I researched the etymology of “lamprey,” which turns out to be unclear anyway, the word brought to mind a combination of two words: the English word “lamp,” and “rey,” the Spanish word for “king.” God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet (Psalm 119:105), and the Lord Himself is our lamp, lighting the darkness (2 Samuel 22:29). God’s commandment is a lamp, showing us the way we should go (Proverbs 6:23). His salvation is likened to a burning lamp (Isaiah 62:1). The prophet Daniel’s vision of Jesus Christ revealed His eyes to be like lamps of fire (Daniel 10:6).

So “lamprey” reminded me of the Lamp (Word, commandment, law) of the King, Who is our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). He will reign over His coming kingdom with perfect righteousness, justice and peace (2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Peter 1:11, Revelation 1:5, 11:15, 12:10).

And yet, born-again believers (John 3:3-8) could also be considered to be lamps of the King, for Jesus said that we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). He is the true Light (John 1:9), and once we are saved, His light shines through us and is reflected from us.

The same morning that I spotted the magazine article, one of our daily devotional readings was about the need to keep our lamps filled with oil and burning brightly as we await the return of Our Lord and King. Like the wise virgins whose lamps were prepared (Matthew 25:1-13), believers should be filled with the Holy Spirit, ready for Christ’s imminent return for His Bride, or the Church, at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

That same afternoon I listened to a prophecy TV broadcast, which “just happened” to compare the Rapture to the Galilean wedding tradition. Like the betrothed Hebrew bride, we do not know the day nor the hour when Our Lord will return for us (Matthew 24:36), flying us up to His Father’s house for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:9).

The number seven in Scripture is God’s perfect number of completion, preceding the number eight, which marks new beginnings (much like the seven notes of the musical scale, with the eighth marking the beginning of a new octave). The seven gill slits of the lamprey, appearing as seven dots behind the eye, is a reminder of God’s perfection, with the eight “dot” surrounded by the silvery orb of the eye suggesting the new beginning we have in Christ.

The seven dots also suggest Christ’s warnings and encouragement to the seven churches, depicted in Revelation as seven lamps, or candlesticks He holds in His right hand (Revelation 1:20; 4:5). Those exhortations include not forgetting our first love, Who is Christ; rejecting false doctrine; seeking spiritual rather than material blessings; and being on fire for Christ with zeal rather than indifference (Revelation 2-3).

God prescribed that His tabernacle should be lit with seven gold lamps (Exodus 25:37; 37:23), to be filled continually with olive oil (Exodus 27:20; Leviticus 24:2-4), which is a foreshadowing of how Jesus would be crushed for our sins like an olive put through the press to extract the life-giving oil. At the Garden of Gethsemane, which means “olive press,” He agonized so fervently in prayer over His imminent work on the cross that He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

It is amazing how God speaks to His children through His creation, and through divine appointments. May we always be attuned to His still, small voice! (1 Kings 19:12). May we follow His Word and law and keep our lamps burning brightly, radiating His Holy Spirit as we await the return of our Bridegroom and King!

© 2021 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Just Passing Through

 

Photo by Nheyob 2014: God Feeds His People Manna in the Desert

I recently had a dream in which my husband and I were staying in a refugee camp for an unknown period of time. The facility was a rundown, dingy barracks with long corridors and large, drafty rooms in which many people were sitting on the floor.

We had heard that a pastor we knew, and his wife and daughter, would be arriving at the camp later that day, and that they were hoping that we could show them around and help them navigate the system. I suddenly realized that I was embarrassed to meet this family here, as they were always impeccably dressed, and I only had one pair of shoes – house slippers, actually, that were dirty and threadbare inside.

But then I remembered that there was a general store of sorts, where supplies might be handed out if needed. Because inventory was limited, you might or might not be given what you requested, and once you took an item, it would be a long time before you could ask for anything again.

I walked down the long hallway, noticing the drab green paint peeling off the moldy walls, and entered the room that served as the supply station. In the corner a large Middle Eastern family huddled together, each sitting on an old-fashioned suitcase that resembled some that my mother used to keep in her attic.

A grumpy old man, bald and with glasses, peered out from behind the counter. I asked if he had any women’s shoes in size 8. He disappeared and returned carrying a large pair of quilted fabric tubes, which he threw at me.

These could hardly be considered shoes, I thought in despair. The fabric exterior, in an odd print of purple, gray and brown, would soil and wear out almost instantly on the rough, damp cement flooring. The padded quilting would keep my feet hot and sweaty, and there was nothing to support or protect my feet. Even worse, I would surely trip and fall if I wore them, for they were nearly six inches longer than my foot!

I felt chagrined that my vanity and pride had led me to make such a foolish request, for at least my old slippers fit me and had a rubber sole that protected my feet. At least they were cool and comfortable, even if ugly. Even worse, I had wasted an opportunity to get something else that the pastor's family  might have needed, or perhaps the Middle Eastern family that seemed so dejected.

As I awoke and thought about the symbolism of the dream, I realized that in a sense, we are all refugees in a foreign land. Once we are born again (John 3:3-8) by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), earth is no longer our home.

We are just passing through, pilgrims headed homeward to Heaven (Hebrews 11:13-16; 1 Peter 2:11), where He is preparing mansions for us (John 14:1-3) in the glorious Holy City with streets of gold, gates of pearl, and walls of precious stones (Revelation 21). Compared to that infinite beauty and glory, this world is like a detention camp.

Abraham, patriarch of God’s chosen nation Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Himself, wandered through the wilderness for forty years along with his compatriots. They were refugees from the pagan land where Abraham was a man of wealth and power, yet they left it all behind as Abraham set out on a great journey of faith. God safely led them through the desert so that Abraham’s descendants would ultimately reach the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-3; 13:1-3; 15:18-21; Deuteronomy 1; 27:3; Joshua 23:5; (Hebrews 11:8).

God provided for Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham’s illegitimate son, when Abraham’s wife Sarah banished them from her household. God guided them through the wilderness of Beersheba and Paran, promising to make Ishmael the father of a great nation (Genesis 21:8-21).

Once again the Hebrew people became refugees from Egyptian bondage, led by Moses out of Egypt as God parted the waters of the Red Sea for their safe passage and escape from the pursuing Egyptian army (Exodus 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Then He led them through the wilderness of Shur, showing them the way by the brilliance of His Shekinah Glory, providing manna for them to eat and sweet water to drink (Exodus 13-16).

The Old Testament describes cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6-28), where those who had inadvertently killed someone could flee and be safe from family members of the departed who wished to avenge the death of their loved one. We are all sinners deserving eternal punishment in hell (Romans 3:23; 6:23), yet once we have trusted Christ, He is our Refuge (Psalm 9:9; 91:9), in Whom we can hide and rest assured that we will not receive eternal death that our sins deserve.

Instead, He has clothed us with the white robe of His perfect righteousness (Job 29:14; Isaiah 61:10), so that when His Father looks at us, He sees the righteousness of His Son (Romans 3:22) rather than our sins. Instead of hell, our eternal destination is now Heaven. 

Even Mary, Joseph and Jesus were refugees, led by God through Joseph’s dream to flee Israel and to stay in Egypt until Jesus was old enough to escape the infanticide Herod had ordered (Matthew 2:13). If God provided for the Hebrews, the Holy Family, and others who were refugees, surely He will guide and protect us as we pass through this journey to our eternal home with Him!

While we are here on earth, He has appointed us to be His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), spreading His Word, light (Philippians 2:15), truth, and love to a lost and dying world, and encouraging and uplifting one another by bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) and can apportion resources as He sees fit, yet He wants us to be good stewards (1 Peter 4:10) and to put the needs of others ahead of our own (Philippians 2:4; Romans 12:10; 15:1).

In the dream I was selfish, not wanting to appear shabby before my friends, having my priorities completely misplaced. I should have been thinking about how to make my friends, or others who appeared to have recently arrived, more comfortable in their unfamiliar, frightening, and distressing surroundings.

I should have been a good steward, waiting to use my opportunity to request an item on something they would need rather than on something I thought I wanted but couldn’t even use. I should have had faith that you can’t outgive God, and that He will provide all your ministry needs according to His riches in glory (Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:19).

As we wander through this earthly life, may we set our minds and hearts on heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6) where we are already seated with Christ! While we are still here, may we use our time, resources and talents wisely to do His work, spread His Word, and encourage one another!

© 2019 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives