Each day ought to begin with a good gird. That's right. Girding is a great way to start your day. Not many people know it, because we don't use that word much, and modern translators of the Bible prefer to use descriptions of that word rather than the word itself, even though the Greek New Testament clearly says, "Gird."
In 1 Peter, the Apostle Peter has just explained how wonderfully God arranged for the grace and salvation of Jesus to be revealed to us through the prophets, and then he reaches this climatic application: "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13, NKJV). There it is: "Gird up the loins of your mind." Peter used Greek words for gird and loins, but hardly any English translations do, and that's because hardly anyone knows what such a phrase means anymore! But they're such descriptive and illustrative words that explain so much more than how they're commonly translated: "prepare your minds for action".
To gird (a very fun word to repeat out loud, by the way) means "to encircle or bind with a belt or band", and to gird up one's loins was like a man in Biblical times having to pull up his robe and tie it with a belt to prepare himself to run or to work. I saw men do this very thing with their robes in Sudan when we were working in the desert. So this is what Peter instructs us to do with our minds after we have received the salvation that was revealed to us: gird up the loins of your mind so that we can live our new lives in Christ in all the ways we are meant to (which Peter then goes on to describe).
But with what? With what should we gird up the loins of our mind? What comes to mind is that we might use Paul's "belt of truth" (Ephesians 6:14), but that's another context, and this is Peter's letter, not Paul's, so we ought to look to Peter's context to see how we're to prepare our minds for action (though I'm sure Peter wouldn't object to anyone using the belt of truth). Peter's context suggests that the grace of God be what we use. He says to "rest your hope fully upon the grace that is brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." In other words, put your hope totally in the great grace that we receive when we see and recognize Jesus for who He is in every situation.
That is how we prepare our mind – each and every day – for whatever God has planned for us. That is how we gird up the loins of our mind so that nothing will take us out of action. We're ready. Our mind and our thoughts are completely encircled and bound up in the hope we have in the great grace we find in Jesus! Hope in the grace of God to see us through. Fill your thoughts with that. Gird your mind with it!
So then, why don't we begin each day with a good gird? After all, it's fun to say, and girding the loins of your mind so that our hope is totally and decisively focused on the grace we see and know in Jesus is truly the best way to start a day!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Friday, November 25, 2016
Saturday, November 19, 2016
"Who is this Boy who Speaks such Things?" (A Poem about a Painting)
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Boy Jesus in the Temple by Heinrich Hofmann (Luke 2:41-51)
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At our son Nicholas' baby dedication, his grandfather, John Dean, presented us with a gift for Nicholas: a framed print of the above painting. As Nicholas grew, we kept the painting on display in our home, and to this day, I am still attracted to the earnest expressions of the five characters surrounding Jesus in the painting. Each one seems to be thinking something quite unique, and I have long wanted to attempt to write something about each of the subject's personal thoughts. Today I was so distracted by it, I felt driven to poetry! Below is my attempt to verbalize the expressions of those five men above. Each stanza is 30 lines long, and if you are intrigued enough by the painting to read the poem below, I encourage you to closely study and consider each man's face before reading the stanza about that man (you can click on the painting to enlarge it, and the stanzas begin with the man on the far-left).
WHO IS THIS BOY WHO SPEAKS SUCH THINGS?
I do not trust that boy.
How can a child so young
Speak of such things
As though he understands?
What trick is this?
How does he speak
As though he knows
Mysteries long hidden from
Our learned minds?
Surely he has been tutored
By someone
Hidden from us now;
Someone who has
Put these words upon his lips.
These words cannot be his,
As though he were our teacher.
Why do the others listen
With such rapt attention?
Do they not see through
This irreverent masquerade?
This boy pretends to be so holy
When truly he is nothing;
He must be some mere servant,
And he speaks his master's words
As though they were his own.
Why should I listen?
Why should I consider
What he has to say?
I do not wish to look upon him.
I do not trust that boy.
TEACHER #2 I have never heard such a thing;
To hear a boy so young
Able to discuss such texts
With words of such clarity
Expressed with such certainty.
Who is this child?
What is his lineage?
Is his father here among us?
I must know how this lad
Will one day be employed,
For he could be of use to us.
But this is a thought
Too difficult to ascertain:
To know if this extraordinary boy
Could someday gather with us here
And somehow help us
Find our freedom
From this wretched Roman rule.
Ah, but whatever be his fate,
I cannot help but feel
That I am but a shadow
Of the godly zeal I see in him.
I speak passionately of politics,
But he speaks so boldly
Of God's kingdom
That it causes me to ponder
If I have long been asking
The wrong questions,
And this boy knows the answers
That in my heart I truly seek.
Yes, yes,
This truly is a boy
After God's own heart.
He reminds me of David, who
As a brave young shepherd-boy
Must have been much like this.
I feel this boy's devotion,
His affection for his God,
His heart of tender worship.
What a delight to hear him
Speak of things of God.
I am blessed this day
To have heard him here,
And I cannot help but wonder
What our God may have
In store for him.
Will God choose to use him
To turn hearts
Back to Him?
Surely I wonder
How this boy,
Who is so wise
And yet so humble,
Will be used of God
In these restless days.
Yes, yes,
Surely young David
Could not have been
Much different than
This son before me now.
TEACHER #4 His questions are profound,
And then he gives the answers
That I have longed
To understand
Throughout a life of study.
He uncovers mysteries
As though they were
So simple;
Simple enough for
A mere child to understand.
I wish to discuss so much,
I have so many questions,
And am amazed at his understanding,
At the wisdom of this boy.
I have walked this earth
As though I thought
I was so wise;
As though I were
Some great counsellor,
A gift to God's children
Who esteem me so highly.
Yet now I feel
As though I am the child
In the presence of this boy,
And that he is my counsellor
Who teaches me so gladly.
He has awakened something
In my spirit,
And makes me hungry
To learn again.
I have read this book
From beginning to end
Many times over,
And I have not the insights
This boy possesses.
How did he come by
This knowledge?
Who is this lad?
He speaks as one who
Not only understands
These precious precepts
But knows the mighty One
Who spoke them
From the fire and the cloud
Upon the mountain.
And there is love and awe
For Him in his eyes
That remind me
Of a zeal I once had
In my youth.
His voice is a sweet melody
That I could listen to
For hours;
Like an ancient love song
That reaches into my heart
And calls me back
From dry and distant formalities
To affections I once felt,
And feel again in the presence
Of this mysterious child.
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Sunday, November 6, 2016
I want this superpower!
I came across a rare superpower in the Bible that I'd like to have. This valauble but often overlooked power has even been borrowed and adapted for some Marvel comic characters, though I much prefer the true-to-life Biblical version.
It's important to remind ourselves that any superpowers described in the Bible are quite different than the superpowers imagined as part of the hugely popular DC and Marvel Comics Universes. The musclebound fictional superheroes of these comics all operate according to powers inherent in them and controlled by them. The real-life superheroes of the Bible, though, all operated according to powers belonging solely to God and controlled by God, meaning that these men and women might've appeared as scrawny, humble types of no seeming consequence. But the vast army of superheroes in the Bible did things of great consequence, and were able to do so because of God's great power at work in or through them – whether it was Moses calling up cascades of water from desert rocks, or Elijah calling down devouring flames from the sky, or Daniel sleeping unharmed among hungry lions. God's superpowers at work in God's humble servants made mighty heroes of them all. Just check out Hebrews, chapter 11 for a list of what they achieved through faith in a great God of incalculable power!
But there is one superhero in the Bible whose superpower from God is often forgotten when celebrating the Heroes of the Faith, and it is this superpower that seems so appealing to me. The hero's name is Ezekiel, and his superpower is truly the stuff of legends. The Marvel Comic Universe wouldn't have created the indestructible Wolverine or the awesome power of Ultron if it weren't for this great power. I speak of the mythical adamant stone, from which is derived the fictional alloy of adamantium. Because God knew that Ezekiel would face great opposition due to the harsh and disappointing nature of the message God gave him to deliver to His people, God transformed Ezekiel's forehead into adamant stone, the hardest substance in all the earth. "Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house" (Ezekiel 3:9, NKJV). Other translations use the word "emery" or "flint" due to the unfamiliarity of the archaic term "adamant," but I prefer the strong and illustrative connotations of the adamant stone.
To us today, the word "adamant" is a descriptive word rather than an object. It means to be firm and unyielding, resolute and determined. A person who is adamant will not give in to anything. But before it was an adjective, "adamant" was a noun: a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, its root meanings including untamable, unconquerable and unyielding. The Greek word adamas, from which it is derived, meant unbreakable or invincible. To have a forehead of adamant stone would enable a person to withstand anything that came against it, any opposition, any conflict, any warfare. (No wonder Marvel Comics latched onto it!) It is such meanings that give the word such force and make it such an excellent choice for the translators of Ezekiel's story. Ezekiel, with his super-powerful forehead of adamant stone, had been called by God to be unyielding and unwavering in the face of forceful opposition!
Ah, but of course, this is all meant to be understood in a figurative sense, and would be more accurately understood as God giving Ezekiel a resilient spirit in the face of stiff resistance, but I still love the graphic language God used to describe His equipping of His prophet Ezekiel. And it's a superpower from God that I often long for in the face of the many challenges life throws at me.
I think all of us would benefit from asking God for a forehead of adamant stone, so long as we used it wisely. I would want to use it to express my determination to trust God no matter what! But it's important to remember that it is only meant for those who are facing great resistance or strong opposition. Do I want that? Deep down, I suspect I have no choice if I want to follow Jesus. Following Jesus means entering a spiritual battle for which we need to be heavily armed with spiritual weapons that reflect God's divine enablement and protection. So I'm simply saying that having a superstrong forehead of adamant stone that reflects an unyielding, unshakable and absolutely indestructible faith in God is among my God-given superpowers of choice.
© 2016 by Ken Peters
It's important to remind ourselves that any superpowers described in the Bible are quite different than the superpowers imagined as part of the hugely popular DC and Marvel Comics Universes. The musclebound fictional superheroes of these comics all operate according to powers inherent in them and controlled by them. The real-life superheroes of the Bible, though, all operated according to powers belonging solely to God and controlled by God, meaning that these men and women might've appeared as scrawny, humble types of no seeming consequence. But the vast army of superheroes in the Bible did things of great consequence, and were able to do so because of God's great power at work in or through them – whether it was Moses calling up cascades of water from desert rocks, or Elijah calling down devouring flames from the sky, or Daniel sleeping unharmed among hungry lions. God's superpowers at work in God's humble servants made mighty heroes of them all. Just check out Hebrews, chapter 11 for a list of what they achieved through faith in a great God of incalculable power!
But there is one superhero in the Bible whose superpower from God is often forgotten when celebrating the Heroes of the Faith, and it is this superpower that seems so appealing to me. The hero's name is Ezekiel, and his superpower is truly the stuff of legends. The Marvel Comic Universe wouldn't have created the indestructible Wolverine or the awesome power of Ultron if it weren't for this great power. I speak of the mythical adamant stone, from which is derived the fictional alloy of adamantium. Because God knew that Ezekiel would face great opposition due to the harsh and disappointing nature of the message God gave him to deliver to His people, God transformed Ezekiel's forehead into adamant stone, the hardest substance in all the earth. "Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house" (Ezekiel 3:9, NKJV). Other translations use the word "emery" or "flint" due to the unfamiliarity of the archaic term "adamant," but I prefer the strong and illustrative connotations of the adamant stone.
To us today, the word "adamant" is a descriptive word rather than an object. It means to be firm and unyielding, resolute and determined. A person who is adamant will not give in to anything. But before it was an adjective, "adamant" was a noun: a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, its root meanings including untamable, unconquerable and unyielding. The Greek word adamas, from which it is derived, meant unbreakable or invincible. To have a forehead of adamant stone would enable a person to withstand anything that came against it, any opposition, any conflict, any warfare. (No wonder Marvel Comics latched onto it!) It is such meanings that give the word such force and make it such an excellent choice for the translators of Ezekiel's story. Ezekiel, with his super-powerful forehead of adamant stone, had been called by God to be unyielding and unwavering in the face of forceful opposition!
Ah, but of course, this is all meant to be understood in a figurative sense, and would be more accurately understood as God giving Ezekiel a resilient spirit in the face of stiff resistance, but I still love the graphic language God used to describe His equipping of His prophet Ezekiel. And it's a superpower from God that I often long for in the face of the many challenges life throws at me.
I think all of us would benefit from asking God for a forehead of adamant stone, so long as we used it wisely. I would want to use it to express my determination to trust God no matter what! But it's important to remember that it is only meant for those who are facing great resistance or strong opposition. Do I want that? Deep down, I suspect I have no choice if I want to follow Jesus. Following Jesus means entering a spiritual battle for which we need to be heavily armed with spiritual weapons that reflect God's divine enablement and protection. So I'm simply saying that having a superstrong forehead of adamant stone that reflects an unyielding, unshakable and absolutely indestructible faith in God is among my God-given superpowers of choice.
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Desert tracks
North Kordofan, Sudan, 1987
Often the sand was so deep that it created enough resistance to our vehicle's momentum that we could not keep moving unless we followed the path of a bigger and stronger vehicle that had gone before us. Those paths in the desert were literal life savers for us as we roamed a dangerous and inhospitable wilderness in our little Land Rover.
That's why I feel that Psalm 85:13 is so well stated in the New King James Version: "Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway."
I'm so grateful that the footsteps of someone bigger and stronger than us has actually created the pathway on which we walk, or we would surely get bogged down in the toilsome badlands we often travel through. Psalm 85:13 tells us that whatever we're going through, God has prepared a path of righteousness for us to walk along. And God even assures us in the previous verse that "the LORD will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase" (85:12).
I believe that means that, metaphorically, the terrain we desperately need God's help to travel through lest we get stuck amidst life's difficulties, is the very same ground that He promises will also provide a blessing to us and yield an increase in our lives. We can be sure that because God has gone ahead of us in righteousness, the path He has prepared for us is good, no matter where we find ourselves along the way!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Behold!...
There are verses in the Bible that really capture my imagination! Some produce striking images in my mind, and others leave me in wonder at the depth of their meaning. Among the many examples, I've always been fascinated with the final phrase of 2 Corinthians 5:17... "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Imagine with me on this one. Our union with Christ is a mysterious concept, but what the Apostle Paul reveals here is that if we are "in Christ", we are a "new creation." I can't help but wonder if Paul's mind is harkening back to Genesis 1-2 where we find the original creation story in which we're told of God creating the first man and woman amidst the grand backdrop of Him speaking the earth and the universe into existence. What a wonder as Paul imagines glorious light displacing the darkness, stars flung into space in every direction, and the formless void on the surface of the earth suddenly taking shape and growing a lush green carpet of vegetation with creatures of all varieties roaming its hills and plains. To crown it all, a man and a woman are created to bear the image of God in this beautiful new world. The creation story captures the imagination in its everything-from-nothing life-explosion like no other Bible story!
And then, Paul picks up the language of that wonderful story in 2 Corinthians as he seeks to give us a picture of the Christian's union with Christ. "...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation..." But this is not like some new craft project to put on the shelf with one's previous crafts. The old creation from that beautiful story in Genesis is tainted. Sin has spoiled it. Something has died in us due to sin corrupting our hearts. So when Jesus came 2,000 years ago – just as we know he was there in Genesis 1-2 – He came to replace something old and broken with something fresh from heaven! He came to make new creations, providing a life-explosion of resurrection life to supplant the old creation that was dead in its sins. This doesn't mean our personalities are replaced, but that our sin-stained spirits are made alive! And as wonderful as it must have once been to be created in the image of God and to sometimes walk side by side with God in the garden, it's now possible to be born again into a life of right-standing with God and to walk with Christ continually living in our hearts by God's Spirit every moment of every day!
But it's the final phrase that personalizes this verse for me... "The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!" When I read, "Behold, the new has come", I visualize a plush stage curtain slowly opening, bright lights shining on what will soon be revealed, and a packed audience waiting in hushed anticipation to see... you. Yes, you! You're just standing there on that big stage, wearing your usual jeans and favourite t-shirt, looking a little awkward from all the attention. But you've got a slight smile on your face that you just can't hide because Jesus is inside you and wants everyone to see that you are His new creation! You see, as ordinary as we think we are, and as often as we feel we fail Him, we live our Christian lives by the life and power of God, and can be encouraged that "we are His workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10) and that He loves us with "the immeasurable riches of His grace" (Ephesians 2:7). We're what He wants to show off to the world with the word, "Behold!" Because Jesus then wants us to show everyone that He is the one who made us new!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
In Memory of Consumers Distributing
Some of you may remember Consumers Distributing. It was a store that operated from 1957 to 1996 in which customers selected items from a store catalog instead of from store shelves, and employees would then go to a warehouse behind their counter to get any catalog items requested. I loved Consumers Distributing, and was sad when they closed. I used to eagerly page through the Consumers catalog, wishing I could afford so many of the things that I saw. I can fondly remember random items that I bought there: a baseball glove, a wall clock, a microwave cabinet, a floor lamp. And so many other things. I think I enjoyed shopping there because it was so easy to browse their entire stock as you just stood in one place and paged through their colourful catalog, knowing that whatever you found could immediately be brought out and presented to you like a gift (that you then had to pay for)! It was like Amazon before the internet and without the shipping fees! And just as Amazon aims to provide us with all that we want all on one website, Consumers Distributing tried to provide whatever any consumer might want all in one catalog.
All of these memories occurred to me this morning as I read Proverbs 23:23. "Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding."
These are all invaluable items! Much more precious than baseball gloves and floor lamps. And it occurred to me that they're all readily available in the pages of one beautiful book that contains the words of God: the Bible! I can eagerly read my Bible knowing that every page is filled with truth and wisdom, instruction and understanding, and all of it is affordable because it's free! Isaiah wrote, "...he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). The food Isaiah spoke of was spiritual food. He went on to mention an "everlasting covenant" with God (55:3) in which we know that wine is symbolic of the shed blood of Jesus and milk represents the rich nourishment of God's Word. And it's all explained and made available in a book that has no product pictures, and yet is full of pictures for those who have eyes to see!
So as eager as I was to browse the Consumers Distributing catalog (and as eager as I may sometimes be to browse Amazon), I have so much more reason to be excited about reading God's Word. In the pages of my Bible are truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding; they are always in stock and always free. And the Holy Spirit is continually available as our teacher in these things (John 14:26), though He doesn't wait behind a counter to receive our requests as we find things – He comes right into our hearts to enlighten and encourage us as we read. So read eagerly, looking for all that is available and always free!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Friday, August 19, 2016
Lessons learned from Japanese Economics
The other day, I was put
in my place by such an accurately cut, well-fitting remark, that it left me
with the feeling that I could see myself in a mirror in a brand new suit that I
didn't want to buy. And yet I kept staring at it, fascinated by the fit.
It all happened on Facebook (oh-oh, some people are thinking). I made the mistake of commenting on someone else's comment on a news article on Japanese economics. Yes, that’s right, Japanese economics. Well, needless to say, my comment generated many comments aggressively contrary to mine, and yet I kept right on commenting, defending my little contribution on Japanese economics (yes, Japanese economics) until it began to feel like I was digging a hole for myself. It was then that the oh-so-fitting cutting remark was made. Just as my hole was approaching a depth of about six feet, someone replied with a few rebuttals, concluding with, "I don't mean to be rude, but your lack of clarity seeing the big picture is astounding."
Astounding.
I was dumb-struck. And embarrassed.
And rightly so. My first impulse was to beat a hasty retreat from the
conversation and hide in the digital bushes by temporarily putting my Facebook
account to sleep. Ha! They'll never find me! I actually went through with that
as though I thought that hiding my account from all those meanies would help
somehow. It was then that, in my flustered embarrassment, I finally heard the
Holy Spirit amidst it all. "That was Me," He said quietly.
What? "That was
Me." Oh. I paused as that sank in. The next thing He said was,
"Wouldn't it be better to repent and apologize rather than to put your
Facebook account to sleep?" I cringed. But back I went, re-activating my
account, and writing an apology for being so strident about something I clearly
didn't understand.
Then I began to reflect
on what I needed to learn from this! For example, don't mistake the few measly trees that I may know something about for the more complex forest that a discussion is actually about (or put more simply, don't profess to know something about something I know very little about).
But then the Lord widened
the lens of this lesson by suggesting that perhaps this little episode is a reflection
of how I approach life itself sometimes. He reminded me of a proverb I had
recently felt inclined to memorize: "A man's steps are of the Lord; How
then can a man understand his own way?" (Proverbs 20:24). Basically, what
this verse tells me is that we don't see life from as good a vantage point as God does. We can't see
as clearly as God can where our steps are leading or why things happen the way they
do on any given day. And when we act as though the few circumstances we’re focused on must be indicative of His
overall plans and intentions, or when we go so far as to insist on knowing more about His overall plan for our lives, we get into trouble. God simply doesn't feel obliged to always inform us of why He allows certain circumstances, or why He takes so long to answer certain
prayers. As the God who oversees our steps, He doesn't feel the need
to fill us in regarding every detail, or expect us to fully understand why
everything happens the way it does in our lives. He simply expects us to humbly trust
Him. But at times, we get anxious or frustrated or even upset with God regarding
certain outcomes or timelines, and when we do, we’re basically telling God that we must understand what’s
going on – He must give us details! That’s not how God Almighty operates. He
doesn’t tell us everything, and not only can we not see the “big picture” of
all that He's doing in our lives, but we’re not meant to. That’s why life with
God is called a walk of faith. And that's why God can say to me (on various
levels), "Your lack of clarity seeing the big picture is astounding – and you
should get used to that."
Proverbs 16:9 is another
verse that seems applicable: "The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord
directs his steps." That means that whatever we have in mind regarding the
big picture of our life and however we want our life to go, it’s valuable to
remember, if we're His son or daughter, God will be sure to direct our steps to
what's best. That’s an encouraging thing to be assured of when living amidst
circumstances that we don't understand!
So with that in mind, if
the suit fits, wear it!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Monday, July 25, 2016
THIS is the Prosperity Gospel we need!
Today I was reminded of how fabulously wealthy I am. I mean loaded! Like some carefree billionaire, I am so incredibly rich that I couldn't possibly spend all that I have! But unlike most billionaires, I'm capable of sitting among my piles of treasure while forgetting how incredibly rich I am.
Here's how I was reminded of all this: I was reading my Bible in Romans, chapter 10, and felt startled as I read the NKJV translation of Romans 10:12... "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him." The ESV translates it as, "...bestowing his riches on all who call upon him." In other words, God makes us rich! It's as simple as that. So why aren't I rolling in dough?
Paul follows that verse with a clarification: "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (v.13). Those are the "riches" he's talking about! Any other riches this world has to offer don't matter too much to Paul. The world's finances are fickle and fleeting; here today, gone tomorrow. But the riches of salvation aren't like that. They're eternal, untouched by unstable economies and well guarded from greedy thieves.
After pausing at that verse, I wondered to myself, what are these "riches"? I felt forgetful of how extravagantly rich God is toward those who call on Him. So I looked around, and what I was reminded of left me feeling like a man standing among huge sparkling piles of gold coins and precious gems! Check out a few examples of how Paul describes the riches God bestows to us...
But just like the riches of this world must be pursued to be accumulated, so too must we pursue these spiritual riches if we want to enjoy them. Otherwise we end up as C.S. Lewis describes us in his book "The Weight of Glory": "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." If we do want to pursue spiritual riches, Paul is quite clear in the verses above about precisely where we can find them: in Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossisns 2:3).
To enjoy the riches of heaven means to pursue Jesus. He is the treasure we're blessed with; He is the Good News of the Gospel. And just like those who have accumulated the world's wealth are intentional and decisive with their resources, we too must be disciplined in seeking Jesus each day in prayer and by reading God's "living and active" Word (Hebrews 4:12), routinely storing it in our hearts by memorizing strategic Bible verses. But we don't do such things to simply tabulate how wealthy we are – we pray and read and memorize so that we can enjoy the very One who is our Treasure and who wants to lavish His treasures upon us.
The Gospel is like a lottery in which every person who has bought a ticket – the price being our lives (Galatians 2:20) – wins the jackpot: a new and abundant eternal life with Jesus! Riches are awarded to all! And it's okay to flaunt our wealth as long as it's by lavishly scattering the love and grace and kindness we've received among the people we're surrounded by! Our riches are not meant to be accumulated in heaps all around us. We ought to spend, spend, spend, with lives of kindhearted love, because there's no end to the incredible riches we've been blessed with!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Here's how I was reminded of all this: I was reading my Bible in Romans, chapter 10, and felt startled as I read the NKJV translation of Romans 10:12... "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him." The ESV translates it as, "...bestowing his riches on all who call upon him." In other words, God makes us rich! It's as simple as that. So why aren't I rolling in dough?
Paul follows that verse with a clarification: "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (v.13). Those are the "riches" he's talking about! Any other riches this world has to offer don't matter too much to Paul. The world's finances are fickle and fleeting; here today, gone tomorrow. But the riches of salvation aren't like that. They're eternal, untouched by unstable economies and well guarded from greedy thieves.
After pausing at that verse, I wondered to myself, what are these "riches"? I felt forgetful of how extravagantly rich God is toward those who call on Him. So I looked around, and what I was reminded of left me feeling like a man standing among huge sparkling piles of gold coins and precious gems! Check out a few examples of how Paul describes the riches God bestows to us...
- "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)
- "In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished on us" (Ephesians 1:7-8a)
- "so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7)
- "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)
- "that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ" (Colossians 2:2)
But just like the riches of this world must be pursued to be accumulated, so too must we pursue these spiritual riches if we want to enjoy them. Otherwise we end up as C.S. Lewis describes us in his book "The Weight of Glory": "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." If we do want to pursue spiritual riches, Paul is quite clear in the verses above about precisely where we can find them: in Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossisns 2:3).
To enjoy the riches of heaven means to pursue Jesus. He is the treasure we're blessed with; He is the Good News of the Gospel. And just like those who have accumulated the world's wealth are intentional and decisive with their resources, we too must be disciplined in seeking Jesus each day in prayer and by reading God's "living and active" Word (Hebrews 4:12), routinely storing it in our hearts by memorizing strategic Bible verses. But we don't do such things to simply tabulate how wealthy we are – we pray and read and memorize so that we can enjoy the very One who is our Treasure and who wants to lavish His treasures upon us.
The Gospel is like a lottery in which every person who has bought a ticket – the price being our lives (Galatians 2:20) – wins the jackpot: a new and abundant eternal life with Jesus! Riches are awarded to all! And it's okay to flaunt our wealth as long as it's by lavishly scattering the love and grace and kindness we've received among the people we're surrounded by! Our riches are not meant to be accumulated in heaps all around us. We ought to spend, spend, spend, with lives of kindhearted love, because there's no end to the incredible riches we've been blessed with!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Monday, July 18, 2016
A Brand New Day
He arrived for his pre-op appointment in a hospital he'd never
been to, in a city totally unknown to him, having no idea what to expect. And
after quickly running through some introductory questions from a friendly
receptionist, who obviously seemed much more at ease in this unfamiliar place
than he was, off he was sent for various tests and samples. Basement level,
turn left, then right, take a number, 2nd floor, another left, show your card,
"did they call my name?", and everyone he met was new, necessary, and
never to be seen again. It already felt a blur and an hour hadn't even passed.
Now to get back to the pre-op unit. What floor was it on again? Everything was
so new. And everything was turning out to be a lot.
Once back at pre-op, he and his wife were taken to a sunshiny room, where plenty was asked about the past and about lately. It was a relief that amidst so many questions and directions, the people he met were so friendly. This time, he stayed in one place longer. Lots was explained. More than he'd remember. It was good his wife was here; she seemed to be following along better than him. Though they got his attention when there was talk of postponement! It seemed that there was an unusual backlog of patients in the hospital waiting for heart surgery. All non-urgent cases must wait! And a postponement could mean months. This was alarming. But as the orientation continued, there was not even time to send friends a prayer alert, for before he had the opportunity, the surgeon himself came in.
This was something - to meet the man who might be exploring the inside of his heart tomorrow. What was he like? Throughout the conversation, this world-renowned surgeon's manner was gentle and kind, unhurried and curious. Yes, curious. He seemed genuinely interested in his new patient, asking questions that made him feel cared for as a person rather than just another mitral valve to be repaired. What had been a blur until then suddenly took on the nature of a snapshot - of a face, a smile, a handshake. Before the doctor left, he mentioned the pressure to postpone. He wouldn't allow it, he explained. We had come too far, and it wouldn't be right, he said. He was not only a surgeon; he was the CEO of the Heart Institute, and his word was final. We would proceed as planned. God had made a way.
As the doctor finally left the room, his next morning's patient felt in good hands. How much time the entire appointment had taken in all of its components was hard to say, as the length seemed better measured in details and subjects rather than the racing units of an unseen clock. But eventually it seemed that there was no more left to explain, and he was expected back early tomorrow for surgery. He needed to be back at 6:00am.
His mind spun as he walked with his wife back to their lodgings. Things that had once seemed so far away and theoretical were now very real and imminent. He was about to have open-heart surgery. "Thank you, Lord" was all he could think of quietly praying. Yet they now had time on their hands, and their daughter was there to do something fun with. So it seemed sensible to use the remainder of the afternoon to see a bit of the town. After all, it was the nation's Capitol. So off they went, catching a bus, wandering about to find a lunch spot, then tromping up the hill to take a few pics of the parliament buildings. But he had no energy for tours or for too much time in the hot sun; so before long, they were back at a bus stop waiting for their ride "home."
They took the evening to get settled and to complete a few preparations for the surgery, but getting to bed early seemed the highest priority. He and his wife prayed together before bed. This was all in God's hands - they both knew that. In fact, it was because of that fact that sleep came easily to him, unhindered by any nerves about what might come of all this. The only thing that was going to come of it was God's will being done. And as he went to sleep, he felt fairly sure that God had made it clear to him that He had more for him to do in this world on the other side of this surgery. He was certain that God wasn't going to let him get away with not living in the good of all He had been teaching this son of His throughout the many months of waiting for this surgery to come about. God would see him through.
All three seemed to find it easy to wake up around 5am the next morning. Though it was still a dimly-lit summer morning, there was plenty of light and activity in their small apartment. Soon they were ready to walk over to the hospital. Everything seemed a little less new than yesterday, as they now knew their way through the many halls and tunnels without needing directions. But it still felt like newness was unfolding before them as they walked and arrived and prepared for this amazing experience that only God could have ever given man the ability to pursue.
Eventually, the patient was ready, lying on a bed, waiting for a call from the operating room that all was ready. His wife, sitting beside him, asked if she could pray for him now. There was time to once again give everything over to their Father, asking Him to oversee the surgery and to guide the doctors' thoughts and hands. And then the phone rang. It was time. As they wheeled his bed out, they paused under a domed mirror in the ceiling above his bed. This was "perfect for a selfie," he said, and asked his wife for her phone. Feeling relaxed after clicking his silly shot, they headed for the elevators and down to the O.R. There was time for no further pauses now; just enough to kiss his wife, hug his daughter, and to wave as he was rolled away through one last set of doors.
Here everything was busy, everyone bustling about a spacious room, each with a specific roll in that operating room. He did his best to look around and take it all in before he knew what would inevitably...
To say he awoke in the ICU would be an overstatement. It was more like he gradually regained a state of consciousness, and yes, he was eventually awake. But it took some hours. During the initial stages of this regaining of consciousness, although the able staff around him were all contentedly sure that everything was going well, it would be fair to say that the patient more or less resembled poor Jacob Marley breathing his last breaths in "A Christmas Carol", right down to the detail of whispering his words so softly, his eyes barely open, that his wife had to lean in with her ear next to his mouth to properly hear him. Out of this present-day patient's mouth came shaky heartfelt utterances like, "D'you have my wallet?", "Wow," and "Hi Amy (his daughter). I love you" repeated over and over.
Once again, everything became a blur for the next 24 hours. They kept wanting his blood, or to print his heart rhythms, or to refresh one of the myriad I.V. bags. And always, the staff were pleased with how he was doing. His head felt more and more clear hour by hour as he took in his surroundings, yet never so clear as to be able to ever properly remember that room or its routines. There were too many beeping machines and busy people coming and going to recall it all. But once again, the blur became a snapshot when the surgeon came to visit. He wanted them to know that he was very happy with how it went, the valve was repaired, the patient was doing fine.
There was so much to thank God for; so much to be pleased about. He had a new heart. He wondered at the wonder of it all. He pondered how this might impact his everyday life. Would the new strength he'd have mean new direction from the Lord? He didn't know yet, because before the everyday came today. For now, he simply needed to get stronger, to recover. This was only the beginning of his recovery, which would soon open the door to a brand new day of possibilities.
Once back at pre-op, he and his wife were taken to a sunshiny room, where plenty was asked about the past and about lately. It was a relief that amidst so many questions and directions, the people he met were so friendly. This time, he stayed in one place longer. Lots was explained. More than he'd remember. It was good his wife was here; she seemed to be following along better than him. Though they got his attention when there was talk of postponement! It seemed that there was an unusual backlog of patients in the hospital waiting for heart surgery. All non-urgent cases must wait! And a postponement could mean months. This was alarming. But as the orientation continued, there was not even time to send friends a prayer alert, for before he had the opportunity, the surgeon himself came in.
This was something - to meet the man who might be exploring the inside of his heart tomorrow. What was he like? Throughout the conversation, this world-renowned surgeon's manner was gentle and kind, unhurried and curious. Yes, curious. He seemed genuinely interested in his new patient, asking questions that made him feel cared for as a person rather than just another mitral valve to be repaired. What had been a blur until then suddenly took on the nature of a snapshot - of a face, a smile, a handshake. Before the doctor left, he mentioned the pressure to postpone. He wouldn't allow it, he explained. We had come too far, and it wouldn't be right, he said. He was not only a surgeon; he was the CEO of the Heart Institute, and his word was final. We would proceed as planned. God had made a way.
As the doctor finally left the room, his next morning's patient felt in good hands. How much time the entire appointment had taken in all of its components was hard to say, as the length seemed better measured in details and subjects rather than the racing units of an unseen clock. But eventually it seemed that there was no more left to explain, and he was expected back early tomorrow for surgery. He needed to be back at 6:00am.
His mind spun as he walked with his wife back to their lodgings. Things that had once seemed so far away and theoretical were now very real and imminent. He was about to have open-heart surgery. "Thank you, Lord" was all he could think of quietly praying. Yet they now had time on their hands, and their daughter was there to do something fun with. So it seemed sensible to use the remainder of the afternoon to see a bit of the town. After all, it was the nation's Capitol. So off they went, catching a bus, wandering about to find a lunch spot, then tromping up the hill to take a few pics of the parliament buildings. But he had no energy for tours or for too much time in the hot sun; so before long, they were back at a bus stop waiting for their ride "home."
They took the evening to get settled and to complete a few preparations for the surgery, but getting to bed early seemed the highest priority. He and his wife prayed together before bed. This was all in God's hands - they both knew that. In fact, it was because of that fact that sleep came easily to him, unhindered by any nerves about what might come of all this. The only thing that was going to come of it was God's will being done. And as he went to sleep, he felt fairly sure that God had made it clear to him that He had more for him to do in this world on the other side of this surgery. He was certain that God wasn't going to let him get away with not living in the good of all He had been teaching this son of His throughout the many months of waiting for this surgery to come about. God would see him through.
All three seemed to find it easy to wake up around 5am the next morning. Though it was still a dimly-lit summer morning, there was plenty of light and activity in their small apartment. Soon they were ready to walk over to the hospital. Everything seemed a little less new than yesterday, as they now knew their way through the many halls and tunnels without needing directions. But it still felt like newness was unfolding before them as they walked and arrived and prepared for this amazing experience that only God could have ever given man the ability to pursue.
Eventually, the patient was ready, lying on a bed, waiting for a call from the operating room that all was ready. His wife, sitting beside him, asked if she could pray for him now. There was time to once again give everything over to their Father, asking Him to oversee the surgery and to guide the doctors' thoughts and hands. And then the phone rang. It was time. As they wheeled his bed out, they paused under a domed mirror in the ceiling above his bed. This was "perfect for a selfie," he said, and asked his wife for her phone. Feeling relaxed after clicking his silly shot, they headed for the elevators and down to the O.R. There was time for no further pauses now; just enough to kiss his wife, hug his daughter, and to wave as he was rolled away through one last set of doors.
Here everything was busy, everyone bustling about a spacious room, each with a specific roll in that operating room. He did his best to look around and take it all in before he knew what would inevitably...
To say he awoke in the ICU would be an overstatement. It was more like he gradually regained a state of consciousness, and yes, he was eventually awake. But it took some hours. During the initial stages of this regaining of consciousness, although the able staff around him were all contentedly sure that everything was going well, it would be fair to say that the patient more or less resembled poor Jacob Marley breathing his last breaths in "A Christmas Carol", right down to the detail of whispering his words so softly, his eyes barely open, that his wife had to lean in with her ear next to his mouth to properly hear him. Out of this present-day patient's mouth came shaky heartfelt utterances like, "D'you have my wallet?", "Wow," and "Hi Amy (his daughter). I love you" repeated over and over.
Once again, everything became a blur for the next 24 hours. They kept wanting his blood, or to print his heart rhythms, or to refresh one of the myriad I.V. bags. And always, the staff were pleased with how he was doing. His head felt more and more clear hour by hour as he took in his surroundings, yet never so clear as to be able to ever properly remember that room or its routines. There were too many beeping machines and busy people coming and going to recall it all. But once again, the blur became a snapshot when the surgeon came to visit. He wanted them to know that he was very happy with how it went, the valve was repaired, the patient was doing fine.
There was so much to thank God for; so much to be pleased about. He had a new heart. He wondered at the wonder of it all. He pondered how this might impact his everyday life. Would the new strength he'd have mean new direction from the Lord? He didn't know yet, because before the everyday came today. For now, he simply needed to get stronger, to recover. This was only the beginning of his recovery, which would soon open the door to a brand new day of possibilities.
© 2016 by Ken Peters
Monday, July 4, 2016
I'm having heart-surgery!
I'm about to have heart surgery! Go figure. I'm leaving town for heart surgery in a week, and the truth is, I've hardly thought about it. Don't get me wrong. I've been doing plenty of reflection these past six months. I haven't been to work since late December (!!), and yet, despite my physical limitations, I haven't wanted to waste this precious gift of so much time off. So I've been reading some really good books that I've felt God direct me to read. I'm presently on my 11th devotional book since February, and I'm journaling what I learn from each one. God's been touching lots of character stuff. Click here if you'd like to see my 2016 reading list.
But lately I've felt as though the Holy Spirit has been nudging me – trying to get my attention – wanting me to reflect a little more on what's been happening with my heart. I've gotten the feeling that He's been wanting to emphasize a specific lesson I'm meant to learn from this health issue, as though there's more going on than what I see with my eyes and see in my schedule. So I decided to look some things up. Feel free to be amazed that I hadn't done this sooner, but I went to a couple websites to check out how they described what my cardiologist said my problem was. Here's what I found:
Mitral valve regurgitation is a condition in which your heart's mitral valve doesn't close tightly, allowing blood to flow backward in your heart. As a result, blood can't move through your heart or to the rest of your body as efficiently, making you feel tired or out of breath. If regurgitation is severe, increased pressure may result in congestion (or fluid build-up) in the lungs, and the heart may become enlarged in order to maintain forward flow of blood. This may produce symptoms ranging from fatigue, shortness of breath during exertion, coughing, congestion around the heart and lungs, heart palpitations, and arrhythmia, and can potentially lead to heart failure.
Treatment of mitral valve regurgitation depends on how severe your condition is, whether it's getting worse and whether you have symptoms. For mild leakage, treatment may not be necessary. For severe leakage or regurgitation, you may need heart surgery to repair or replace the valve. Left untreated, severe mitral valve regurgitation can cause heart failure or heart rhythm problems (arrhythmia) that will create an increased risk of blood clots that may cause a stroke.
Wow. Sounds pretty serious. And I've experienced all of those symptoms since December, and would be considered in the "severe" category. Yet those details fill me with gratitude, because if it hadn't been for the endocarditis I had this past winter – an infection in the lining of your heart that will either damage or (as in my case) worsen previously damaged heart valves – we may not have discovered that the regurgitation in my heart had become life-threateningly severe until it was too late. Thank you Lord!
But I sensed that the Holy Spirit wanted me to look beyond what's been happening to my physical heart. I feel like He's been helping me to see how there's more going on than meets the eye, and how I'm receiving more than one kind of heart surgery during this time off.
It was then that I wondered – if you'll permit the analogy – that if we all have physical heart valves that receive life-giving blood for our bodies, what would be our spiritual heart valves that receive the life-giving blood of Jesus? And what would it mean if our spiritual heart valves were regurgitating, or resisting, the life-giving blood that was meant to be flowing through them? What would cause that?
The Gospel of John has many references, from start to finish, to the spiritual "life" that Jesus came to bring. In chapter one, we see that "In Him [Jesus] was life..." (1:4), and near the end we see that "these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (20:31). The many references to the life found in Jesus that occur between those two verses frequently mention what we see in John 20:31, that it is by "believing" in Jesus, and in what He has done for us, that we experience the spiritual life flow He wants us to enjoy both now and for eternity (see 3:15; 5:24-26; 6:35, 40, 47 for some examples). But John also mentions another aspect of how we receive life from Jesus, and that is to "come" to Him (see 5:40; 6:37, 44). John 6:35 mentions both: "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'"
That would mean then that the spiritual life flow of Jesus would be restricted when we fall prey to unbelief and unwillingness. So according to my analogy, spiritual heart valve regurgitation would be unbelief and unwillingness. And that would mean that the valves of our spiritual heart would be our mind and our will. You can also be sure that the symptoms of this heart condition would also lead to death if left untreated.
If this analogy is valid, then for anyone experiencing severe spiritual heart valve regurgitation, it is imperative that we give attention to our mind and to our will. We may even need the Lord to do surgery on them. And that is why I believe that the first passage that came to my mind (without any sense of context) when I first began sensing the Holy Spirit nudging me regarding all this was Romans 12:1-2, which says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." This speaks of both our will and our mind being totally surrendered to God for His purposes, which is what Scripture teaches us is truly living.
I believe there are two clear applications from all this, and they just happen to be the very same two things that God has very lovingly been persuading me to focus on these past six months. By God's grace, both my prayer life, and my reading and study schedule have flourished since recovering from the endocarditis in February. Prayer and reading/study.
It is by prayer that we repent of our independence and submit our will to God. John Piper wrote that “Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence.” It is the act of "waiting for God – acknowledging our helplessness and His power, calling upon Him for help, seeking His counsel.” An active prayer life allows God to operate on the spiritual heart valve of our will. It is how we can increasingly "come" to God, presenting ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, flexing our will to continually wait on God.
And it is by reading and studying and memorizing God's Word, as well as reading books by godly writers, that we can grow in our knowledge of God and His ways, so that our mind can thus be transformed. A well-planned reading schedule of both the Bible and of other books allows God to operate on the spiritual heart valve of our mind. It is how we can increasingly "believe" God, our mind being transformed by His living word, as we fill our mind with His truth.
So please join me in receiving spiritual heart surgery every day as we wait on the Lord in prayer and learn from Him in His Word. It will save our lives, as well as give us His life!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
But lately I've felt as though the Holy Spirit has been nudging me – trying to get my attention – wanting me to reflect a little more on what's been happening with my heart. I've gotten the feeling that He's been wanting to emphasize a specific lesson I'm meant to learn from this health issue, as though there's more going on than what I see with my eyes and see in my schedule. So I decided to look some things up. Feel free to be amazed that I hadn't done this sooner, but I went to a couple websites to check out how they described what my cardiologist said my problem was. Here's what I found:
Mitral valve regurgitation is a condition in which your heart's mitral valve doesn't close tightly, allowing blood to flow backward in your heart. As a result, blood can't move through your heart or to the rest of your body as efficiently, making you feel tired or out of breath. If regurgitation is severe, increased pressure may result in congestion (or fluid build-up) in the lungs, and the heart may become enlarged in order to maintain forward flow of blood. This may produce symptoms ranging from fatigue, shortness of breath during exertion, coughing, congestion around the heart and lungs, heart palpitations, and arrhythmia, and can potentially lead to heart failure.
Treatment of mitral valve regurgitation depends on how severe your condition is, whether it's getting worse and whether you have symptoms. For mild leakage, treatment may not be necessary. For severe leakage or regurgitation, you may need heart surgery to repair or replace the valve. Left untreated, severe mitral valve regurgitation can cause heart failure or heart rhythm problems (arrhythmia) that will create an increased risk of blood clots that may cause a stroke.
Wow. Sounds pretty serious. And I've experienced all of those symptoms since December, and would be considered in the "severe" category. Yet those details fill me with gratitude, because if it hadn't been for the endocarditis I had this past winter – an infection in the lining of your heart that will either damage or (as in my case) worsen previously damaged heart valves – we may not have discovered that the regurgitation in my heart had become life-threateningly severe until it was too late. Thank you Lord!
But I sensed that the Holy Spirit wanted me to look beyond what's been happening to my physical heart. I feel like He's been helping me to see how there's more going on than meets the eye, and how I'm receiving more than one kind of heart surgery during this time off.
It was then that I wondered – if you'll permit the analogy – that if we all have physical heart valves that receive life-giving blood for our bodies, what would be our spiritual heart valves that receive the life-giving blood of Jesus? And what would it mean if our spiritual heart valves were regurgitating, or resisting, the life-giving blood that was meant to be flowing through them? What would cause that?
The Gospel of John has many references, from start to finish, to the spiritual "life" that Jesus came to bring. In chapter one, we see that "In Him [Jesus] was life..." (1:4), and near the end we see that "these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (20:31). The many references to the life found in Jesus that occur between those two verses frequently mention what we see in John 20:31, that it is by "believing" in Jesus, and in what He has done for us, that we experience the spiritual life flow He wants us to enjoy both now and for eternity (see 3:15; 5:24-26; 6:35, 40, 47 for some examples). But John also mentions another aspect of how we receive life from Jesus, and that is to "come" to Him (see 5:40; 6:37, 44). John 6:35 mentions both: "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'"
That would mean then that the spiritual life flow of Jesus would be restricted when we fall prey to unbelief and unwillingness. So according to my analogy, spiritual heart valve regurgitation would be unbelief and unwillingness. And that would mean that the valves of our spiritual heart would be our mind and our will. You can also be sure that the symptoms of this heart condition would also lead to death if left untreated.
If this analogy is valid, then for anyone experiencing severe spiritual heart valve regurgitation, it is imperative that we give attention to our mind and to our will. We may even need the Lord to do surgery on them. And that is why I believe that the first passage that came to my mind (without any sense of context) when I first began sensing the Holy Spirit nudging me regarding all this was Romans 12:1-2, which says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." This speaks of both our will and our mind being totally surrendered to God for His purposes, which is what Scripture teaches us is truly living.
I believe there are two clear applications from all this, and they just happen to be the very same two things that God has very lovingly been persuading me to focus on these past six months. By God's grace, both my prayer life, and my reading and study schedule have flourished since recovering from the endocarditis in February. Prayer and reading/study.
It is by prayer that we repent of our independence and submit our will to God. John Piper wrote that “Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence.” It is the act of "waiting for God – acknowledging our helplessness and His power, calling upon Him for help, seeking His counsel.” An active prayer life allows God to operate on the spiritual heart valve of our will. It is how we can increasingly "come" to God, presenting ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, flexing our will to continually wait on God.
And it is by reading and studying and memorizing God's Word, as well as reading books by godly writers, that we can grow in our knowledge of God and His ways, so that our mind can thus be transformed. A well-planned reading schedule of both the Bible and of other books allows God to operate on the spiritual heart valve of our mind. It is how we can increasingly "believe" God, our mind being transformed by His living word, as we fill our mind with His truth.
So please join me in receiving spiritual heart surgery every day as we wait on the Lord in prayer and learn from Him in His Word. It will save our lives, as well as give us His life!
© 2016 by Ken Peters
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