Understanding God's WORD

It's over two weeks since I posted my staggering experiences: Set nothing before ME that is not MINE! on Lux et Veritas.

The background to that night is my Church is holding a meeting to vote on whether we will discuss leaving the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) and joining the Anglican Church in North America (ANiC)

The core message seems clear: God's grave warning of humanity's tendency to gravitate towards idolatry.

I was somewhat cautious in my wording, not because I had any doubts that God had clearly and loudly spoken to me,  but I did not want to jump in and claim things that were not part of God's message. Two people from our congregation had experiences which seemed to concur with this Word (I will return to this theme in a future post). Agnostics and atheists believe in coincidences but Christians know that where God is concerned there are no coincidences.

I was cautious because I was reminded of the passage in Joshua 5, where a man appears to Joshua:

"take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. 

Joshua then went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?"  And the man said:

"No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come."

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 

I understand this man to be Jesus because He did not stop Joshua from worshiping Him – if it had been an angel from God he would have said no don’t worship me, and He also says it is Holy ground. Joshua 5:13-15 (ESV)

Joshua was clearly told: there is only one purpose and that is God's purpose. I think it is wise to be circumspect. Joshua could not presume to ask: "Are you for us, or against us" - God is sovereign.

As I wrote; some generations after receiving the bronze serpent to protect them and heal them, the Israelites were worshipping the bronze serpent, but Hezekiah broke it (2 Kings 18:4). But as my meditations continued I around those passages I was brought to the "abomination" that God gives many stern warnings which tragically were not heeded by God's chosen people. In the previous chapter 2 Kings 17:17) we see that the Israelites were offering up their children as sacrifices to to one of the gods of the region known as "Molech".

And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings 

Child sacrifice: the ultimate nadir in degrading idolatry; the people were warned but they wouldn't heed God's continued warnings. The practices of the other peoples that bordered their nation seemed more attractive than worshiping the living God.

And that is where we are today! We sacrifice our children to an idolatrous ideology called "modernism", its named: "right to chose." But it is a construct of the age.

Here's why my heart is heavy this morning as I said in my earlier post about Suzanne Collins, how she is deceived by the priests of this age.

But the heartache is magnified when I hear people tell me that our civilization has progressed so much; and we have come to the point when we kill 100,000 innocents lives in Canada every year and a million in the USA.

We have not progressed so much in several thousand years, We are still making idols - usually ideologies rather than little sculptures - but idols none-the-less; and we are still sacrificing our children to those ideologies.

The Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) officially condemns abortion but in reality the apostate church does not speak out against it because they love the ideologies of this age. I intend to show clear evidence to support that in future  posts.
A Heart Heavy from the Evil of this World

Gurth Whitaker
Calgary, Alberta

Set nothing before ME that is not MINE!

This last week we had our monthly council meeting at our Anglican Church; we call it a Vestry meeting – the committee of people that forms the council is known as the Vestry in the Anglican Church.

We had some important business to attend to; we were discussing and finalising a letter which is to be issued the congregation on a matter which affects the future of our Church. Naturally there was discussion and different ideas concerning the letter and we worked through those different ideas. We worked late to do it. As one of our members was rewording the letter in the office our Pastor started us in prayer, which developed into a time of silent prayer.

I was lifting each person in turn up to the Lord, thinking about how each person is unique and has a slightly different viewpoint and by discussion we can come to a consensus, and so achieve unity that way.

That was Wednesday and I returned home late. The next night (Thursday) I woke up at 3:00 am and was turning the meeting over in my mind and returned to the theme of my previous prayer and lifting it again to the Lord. Then I got a thought that I should get up out of bed and kneel in prayer before God, and I thought “no not now Lord” and it seemed that a voice said “Yes you must”.

I was wide awake now so I got up to kneel in prayer; continuing my prayers for our Church.

Then I heard inside a voice inside speaking to me; clearly and with emphasis:

“Set nothing before ME that is not MINE!” 

I was surprised because this did not seem to be my thoughts, but rather I thought it must be God talking to me.

I prayed: 

“How can that be Lord; because when we come before you on Sunday we bring our sins with us and we declare them first silently and then corporately though The Confession”. 

God doesn’t create sin so how could this be from God; our sins are not Godly yet we set them before him day-by-day and particularly during our Sunday worship.

What is it that we cannot set before the Lord?

Then I heard very quickly, and once again with emphasis:

“Your sins are MINE because I bore them!” 

And then again – clearly and with emphasis:

“Set nothing before ME that is not MINE!” 

And I thought yes, Jesus bore our sins on the cross [1]. But what then is it that we cannot set before God if even our sins we can bring before Him.

What is it that we cannot set before the Lord?

Then my mind turned to passages in the Old Testament. First God gave the Israelites a bronze serpent though Moses; the people were healed from snake bites [2].

Then some generations after receiving the bronze serpent to protect them and heal them, the Israelites were worshipping the bronze serpent. The king at that time, Hezekiah, was commanded by God to break the bronze serpent. God’s people were showing too much regard for that bronze serpent because it came from God; they were in effect worshipping it, and that is idolatry and breaks the first commandment [3]. 

I knew that idolatry is one thing that we cannot set before God. It seemed that the answer t my questions was in the scriptures.

I had the clear understanding that this was not a word for me only but applied to all His Church, and in particular the little branch of His Church that I attend for worship weekly.

I felt that I had to write it down, but I heard a clear:

"No not now but later!"

One word of caution. When someone tells you that God told them this or that, treat it like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 [5], and search the Word of God to see if it contravenes scripture. If it does contravene scripture, then it is clearly not a word given by God.

If it is in harmony with scripture then there is no harm in paying attention to it, provided you don’t consider the person more highly because of it. God will speak to all sorts of people: remember Jesus appeared to Paul who was persecuting Christians even to death. He called himself the worst of sinners [6].

Was it God speaking to me? Or was it just my imagination that conjured up this message? I am sure it was God but I ask you neither to believe it, nor to disbelieve it, but rather to consider this word with circumspection like the Bereans.

Bible references:

[1] 1 Peter 2:24 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

[2] Numbers 21:6-9

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

[3] 2 Kings 18:4

He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan).

[4] Exodus 20:

"You shall have no other gods before me.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

[5] Acts 17:11 

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

[6] 1 Timothy 1:16

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

All texts are taken from the New International Version (NIV) Bible

Gurth Whitaker
Calgary, Alberta

New Resource Added

I have added a great resource for the Christian readers of Lux et Veritas; it is the well-loved daily devotional written by Oswald Chambers: "My Utmost for His Highest." Read Chambers bio here.

It is published by RBC (Radio Bible Class), that long-lived and outstanding organisation which publishes and mails millions of Our Daily Bread (ODB) to readers all over the world.

 "My Utmost for His Highest." is available as a topical link from the Our Daily Bread page. RBC have done an amazing job to produce cross-links on the topic of the day.

For example today's ODB is about faith in God and resting in Him, by building a deeper relationship with God. At the right side of the page RBC have provided several links for further study on this theme (that's what I mean by "topical" references). There are 2 ODB links, 2 for My Utmost, and 2 for what RBC call the "discovery series". 

This is a great resource because if the devotional for the day resonates with the reader, and it is something that they want to go deeper into, then RBC has provided links . 

I find that Our Daily Bead is generally lighter than Spurgeon and Chambers, who both usually require a little more time and reflection.

Here's a list of the resources available:

Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Charles Haddon Spurgeon:
♥ This Evening's Meditation
♥ This Morning's Meditation
My Utmost for His Highest
Our Daily bread
the Barnabus Fund
Desiring God
Faith Freedom International

Lord's Day Meditation

Spurgeon's writings are imbued with scripture, he writes as one who is taught by the Holy Spirit.

Last evening's (Saturday) devotion speaks to the very heart of the Gospel, and to the true desires of a Christian.

These words speak of my conversion from unbeliever some 12 years ago:

How gently did he gather me to himself, to his truth, to his blood, to his love, to his church! With what effectual grace did he compel me to come to himself!

Since my first conversion, how frequently has he restored me from my wanderings, and once again folded me within the circle of his everlasting arm!

... and I believe they speak to every true follower, and I hope they shed some light to those who are genuinely trying to know more about Jesus and His true Church.

A true believer's prayer:

Great Shepherd, add to thy mercies this one other, a heart to love thee more truly as I ought.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Evening Devotional for October 17, from Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

"He shall gather the lambs with his arm." - Isaiah 40:11

Our good Shepherd has in his flock a variety of experiences, some are strong in the Lord, and others are weak in faith, but he is impartial in his care for all his sheep, and the weakest lamb is as dear to him as the most advanced of the flock. Lambs are wont to lag behind, prone to wander, and apt to grow weary, but from all the danger of these infirmities the Shepherd protects them with his arm of power. He finds new-born souls, like young lambs, ready to perish-he nourishes them till life becomes vigorous; he finds weak minds ready to faint and die-he consoles them and renews their strength. All the little ones he gathers, for it is not the will of our heavenly Father that one of them should perish. What a quick eye he must have to see them all! What a tender heart to care for them all! What a far- reaching and potent arm, to gather them all! In his lifetime on earth he was a great gatherer of the weaker sort, and now that he dwells in heaven, his loving heart yearns towards the meek and contrite, the timid and feeble, the fearful and fainting here below. How gently did he gather me to himself, to his truth, to his blood, to his love, to his church! With what effectual grace did he compel me to come to himself! Since my first conversion, how frequently has he restored me from my wanderings, and once again folded me within the circle of his everlasting arm! The best of all is, that he does it all himself personally, not delegating the task of love, but condescending himself to rescue and preserve his most unworthy servant. How shall I love him enough or serve him worthily? I would fain make his name great unto the ends of the earth, but what can my feebleness do for him? Great Shepherd, add to thy mercies this one other, a heart to love thee more truly as I ought.

In everything give thanks.

"In everything give thanks"

This verse comes form Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 18.

How can we give thanks in everything? Is the Bible presenting an unrealistic ideal for us to adhere to?

On this Thanksgiving day we have much to give thanks for living in Canada, especially as we look around the world, and the amount of cruelty and persecution there is, and particularly persecution of Christians (largely unreported in the western media). But there's always suffering wherever you live, so how can people who are suffering hardship and loss give thanks?

Speaking The Truth

"Our Daily Bread" has a notable meditation today:

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a respected small-town lawyer in the segregated South during the 1930s. When he takes on a case that pits an innocent black man against two dishonest white people, Atticus knows he will face terrible prejudice from the jury. But his conscience compels him to speak the truth boldly in the face of opposition.

The Old Testament prophets were often sent to preach the truth to a stubborn people. “[God] sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen” (2 Chron. 24:19). Their message often resulted in persecution and sometimes even death (Heb. 11:32-38).

Read the whole thing, or listen to the narrated version at Our Daily Bread here.

You will also find many excellent resources at the Our Daily Bread site.

Have a blessed day.

What is a Cursillo Commissioning?

Last Saturday (13th) I was at the Cursillo Commissioning, when I told my son, he asked "what's a Cursillo?"

"I know," he joked: "you bought a boat called 'Cursillo', and you are having the launching & naming party."

Embracing the Dance of Eden

I am just starting a new book called "Embracing the Dance of Eden". Just published in June this year and written by Charles Alexander who preaches at St. Augustine's Anglican Church Ogden, where my wife and I worship.