On 5 January 1527, Felix Manz became the first casualty of the edict, and the first Swiss Anabaptist to be martyred at the hands of other Protestants. While Manz stated that he wished “to bring together those who were willing to accept Christ, obey the Word, and follow in His footsteps, to unite with these by baptism, and to leave the rest in their present conviction”, Zwingli and the council accused him of obstinately refusing “to recede from his error and caprice”. At 3:00 p.m., as he was led from the Wellenburg to a boat, he praised God and preached to the people. A Reformed minister went along, seeking to silence him, and hoping to give him an opportunity to recant. Manz’s brother and mother encouraged him to stand firm and suffer for Jesus’ sake. He was taken by boat onto the River Limmat. His hands were bound and pulled behind his knees and a pole was placed between them. He was executed by drowning in Lake Zürich on the Limmat. His alleged last words were, “Into thy hands, O God, I commend my spirit.” His property was confiscated by government of Zürich, and he was buried in the St. Jakobs cemetery.p
Another Year Is Dawning – Out of Date?
In 1874, Frances R. Havergal penned this poem for her New Year’s greeting cards. Many things have changed since that time and I doubt many churches will sing this hymn on Sunday – it may well be considered “out of date.” But what contemporary songs will be sung 137 years from now? Take another look at a wonderful poem which expresses a passion for serving God whatever year we are in.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.
Since I have you reading this blog thus far, how about reading “The Valley of Vision” a collection of Puritan Prayers – not as a substitute for your own praying but as an encouragement to a high and holy view of God. I bought a copy of this book just this past month. Here’s a link to Puritan Prayers if you want to see some samples online. Be blessed and be a blessing in 2012!
Here’s the opening prayer
The Valley of Vision
Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.
Who Is He In Yonder Stall?
Here’s a wonderful old Christmas hymn. Honestly I haven’t heard this sung for years! I’m always curious to know why some hymns ‘survive’ and others last only a few years. I wonder how many current Christmas ‘songs’ we will be singing in a century from you? Well unless we have unusual genes WE won’t be the one’s singing, but if the Lord has not come back, what music will Christ-followers be lifting up in praise?
Who is He in yonder stall At Whose feet the shepherds fall?
Who is He in deep distress, Fasting in the wilderness?
Refrain
’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!
Who is He the people bless For His words of gentleness? Who is He to Whom they bring All the sick and sorrowing?
Who is He that stands and weeps At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
Who is He the gathering throng Greet with loud triumphant song?
Lo! at midnight, who is He Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He on yonder tree Dies in grief and agony?
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 world alone?
Remembering Kim Jong Il – Biblically Speaking
The announcement of the death of Kim Jong Il on this morning’s news, though the death occurred on Saturday brought to my mind Isaiah 14.
“3 On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! 5 The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, 6 which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. 7 All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. 8 Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon exult over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no woodsman comes to cut us down.” 9 The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations. 10 They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” 11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. 12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.[c] 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. 16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, 17 the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?” 18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. 19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, 20 you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again. 21 Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.
On this week before we celebrate the birth of THE MIGHTY GOD, we have the death of another one of the so called world ‘leaders.’ Wasn’t Octavian renamed “the most revered one” (Augustus) by the Roman Senate after he had brought about such peace? As Christ-followers, we know the truth – Augustus was not ‘The most revered one’ nor was Kim Jong Il a mighty leader in God’s eyes! Jesus Christ is the KING of kings, the LORD of lords, the RULER of the kings of the earth. O come let us adore HIM!
The Song Angels Cannot Sing
What song can angels never sing? Though the heavenly host declares the praise of God, what well known hymn can they not express to God? AMAZING GRACE
Here are the words to a gospel song I first heard many years ago….
Angels never knew the joy that is mine, For the blood has never washed their sins away, Though they sing in heaven there will come a time, when silently they’ll listen to me sing “Amazing Grace!”
“Holy is the Lord,” the angels sing, before the throne of God continually, for me to join their song will be a natural thing, but they just won’t know the words to “Love Lifted Me.”
And it’s a song holy angels cannot sing, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound!” It’s a song holy angels cannot sing, “I once was lost, but now am found!”
How do angels respond to Jesus Christ? In the next 3 posts, let’s reflect on the answer to this question -
1) They worship Him – Years ago a wonderful couple in the congregation we served in Thornloe invited some Jehovah’s Witnesses to come to their home with some literature. They invited me to join them and ‘discuss’ spiritual truth. Throughout the evening as we examined various texts, the Spirit of God kept prompting me with “Hebrews 1:6.” I wasn’t sure exactly what that text said, but in faith invited everyone, including the witnesses to turn to that reference. Here’s what they found, in black and white, in their own green cover NEW WORLD TRANSLATION.
I was shoc
ked and invited our guest to simply read the text. “But when he (referring to God) brings his First-born into the inhabited earth, he (referring to God) says: “And let all God’s angels worship him.”
God, the only true God, commands His angels to worship the Son of God! What clearer evidence is there for the deity of Jesus Christ?
Newer translations produced by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society have “fixed” this apparent glitch. You see, they don’t believe Jesus is truly GOD with us. They have forgotten Jesus said, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9bNWT). They have not carefully handled Philippians 2 where Paul claims “He (Jesus) did not consider EQUALITY WITH GOD something to be grasped….” or the very words of Jesus in John 5 where He indicates “that all may HONOR the Son JUST AS they HONOR the Father.”
Praise God if you can sing the song angels cannot sing! Pray for those you know (including Jehovah’s Witnesses)who can’t sing that song!
William Carey’s Muslim Encounters
I have been reading with interest, Galen K. Johnson’s article from “Baptist History and Heritage,” entitled “William Carey’s Muslim Encounters in India.
Johnson writes,
“In his Enquiry, Carey estimated that the population of India was 50 million “Mahometans and pagans,” that is, Muslims and Hindus. The suggestion that India had a roughly equal number of Muslims and Hindus was born out by Carey’s actual experience in India. The population of the villages he visited was often evenly divided between these two groups. Why, then, did Carey target only half of India’s non-Christian population, the “pagan” or “heathen” Hindus, for conversion? The reasons are several; not only do they indicate how little had changed in Christian-Muslim interaction since the Middle Ages, they also help us to understand the current attitudes of Christian missionaries toward Muslims.”
It is remarkable how populations change. The 2001 Census indicated a total population of 1,028.7 million for the country with – Hindu 80.5% Muslim 13.4% Christian 2.3% Sikh 1.8% Buddhists 0.8% Jains 0.4% others 0.7% unspecified 0.1% (2001 Census)
The harvest is still plentiful, the workers are few, let’s commit ourselves to prayer not only for the Hindus and Muslims of India, but those of Canada!
Against Idleness & Mischief
On this morning when the iPhone 4S is released in Canada and Apple ‘devotees’ have lined up for hours, consider this poem by Isaac Watts.
- How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour
- And gather honey all the day From every opening flower!
- How skillfully she builds her cell! How neat she spreads the wax!
- And labours hard to store it well With the sweet food she makes.
- In works of labour or of skill, I would be busy too;
- For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do.
- In books, or work, or healthful play, Let my first years be passed,
- That I may give for every day Some good account at last.
- May we redeem the time today for God’s glory!
Our Fathers Have Told Us
This morning, Saturday, September 17th, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of men at Grace Baptist Church, Richmond Hill. My Topic – “Passing the Faith Along” – “Our Fathers Have Told us.”
Intro – My dad loved to write down quotations. I read some of his quotes gathered in a well-worn notebook I still have in my possession since he has been with his Saviour since May 2004. Here are just a few samples -
“The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying not “What a lovely sermon!” but “I will do something.”
“Before you ask advice, explore your own head ———- there may be something in it.” (March 1957 – Tony Wons)
“Executive ability is deciding quickly what should be done and then getting somebody else to it.” Calgary Herald
“Find your niche and fill it. If it be ever so little, if it be only a hewer of wood and a drawer of water, do something in the great battle for God and for truth.” C.H. Spurgeon
From Psalm 78:1-8 I challenged us to consider 3 processes in passing on our faith.
1) RECEIVE – What have we received from our fathers? In some cases (if our parents were not Christ-followers) we received the gospel truth from God through others. We are blessed to have been taught by our fathers or others speaking of God to us.
2) EXPERIENCE – The psalmist speaks of what we have HEARD and KNOWN.” The truth we have received must be experienced before it truly penetrates our entire being.
3) SHARE – The psalmist commits himself to sharing truth with others. We are to pass on what we have been taught. What we need to declare are the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, His power and the wonders He has done.”
I cited the example in Judges 2 of an entire generation growing up not knowing the LORD or what He had done. It seems as if the generation of REBELS who wandered for 40 years in the wilderness simply taught rebellion to their children. Had they learned nothing from God’s justice and mercy to them?
I closed the devotional with a citation of the example of Isaac Watts, who showed exceptional aptitude for learning at a very early age. My sources indicated he learned Latin at the age of five, Greek at nine, French at eleven and Hebrew at thirteen. His mother taught him rhyme and verse and he developed the habit of rhyming his everyday conversation. On one occasion his father, annoyed with this rhyming “habit” reprimanded Isaac. Isaac responded “Oh father, do some pity take, and I will no more verses make.”
Raised by godly parents, Isaac learned to deeply appreciate the Word of God and the doctrines and meetings of the church. He was very disappointed and concerned about its music. He felt the church’s music was very droning, dull and lifeless and constantly complained to his father who replied, “Why don’t you give us something better, young man!”
Isaac did and penned more than 600 hymns – reflecting truth to the generations to come.
In conclusion we read together Watt’s version of Psalm 78:1-8. This can be sung to the tune of “O For A Thousand Tongues”
Let children hear the mighty deeds
Which God performed of old;
Which in our younger years we saw,
And which our fathers told.
He bids us make His glories known,
His works of power and grace;
And we’ll convey His wonders down,
Through every rising race.
Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs;
That generations yet unborn
May teach them to their heirs.
Thus shall they learn in God alone
Their hope securely stands,
That they may ne’er forget His works,
But practice His commands.
May we as fathers seek to continually pass on the faith of our fathers to the coming generations that they may not just know about God but know God personally and share their faith in Him with others!!
Lament
At the close of an article entitled “The Mark of the Christian,” by Francis Schaeffer, the following poem is printed. Thought-provoking!
Lament
by Evangeline Paterson
Weep, weep for those
Who do the work of the Lord
With a high look
And a proud heart.
Their voice is lifted up
In the streets, and their cry is heard.
The bruised reed they break
By their great strength, and the smoking flax
They trample.
Weep not for the quenched
(For their God will hear their cry
And the Lord will come to save them)
But weep, weep for the quenchers
For when the Day of the Lord
Is come, and the vales sing
And the hills clap their hands
And the light shines
Then their eyes shall be opened
On a waste place,
Smouldering,
The smoke of the flax bitter
In their nostrils,
Their feet pierced
By broken reed-stems . . .
Wood, hay, and stubble,
And no grass springing.
And all the birds flown.
Weep, weep for those
Who have made a desert
In the name of the Lord.
The Perfect Church
A new pastor friend, visiting in Toronto this summer, sent me this poem. Worth reading and remembering!
If you should find the perfect church
Without one fault or smear,
For goodness sake! Don’t join that church;
You’d spoil the atmosphere.
If you should find the perfect church
Where all anxieties cease
Then pass it by, lest joining it
You’d mar the masterpiece.
If you should find the perfect church
Then don’t you ever dare,
To tread upon such holy ground;
You’d be a misfit there.
But since no perfect church exists
Made of imperfect men,
Then let’s cease looking for that church
And love the church we’re in.
Of course, it’s not a perfect church,
That’s simple to discern
But you and I and all of us
Could cause the tide to turn.
What fools we are to flee our post
In that unfruitful search
To find at last where problems loom
God proudly builds His church.
So let’s keep working in our church
Until the resurrection.
And then we each will join that church
Without an imperfection.
Where all anxieties cease
Then pass it by, lest joining it
You’d mar the masterpiece.
Then don’t you ever dare,
To tread upon such holy ground;
You’d be a misfit there.
Made of imperfect men,
Then let’s cease looking for that church
And love the church we’re in.
That’s simple to discern
But you and I and all of us
Could cause the tide to turn.
In that unfruitful search
To find at last where problems loom
God proudly builds His church.
Until the resurrection.
And then we each will join that church
Without an imperfection.
