Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

Politicians running for office like to ask if you are better off materially than you were a year ago. I would like to ask each of you that same question with a one-word change. Are you better off spiritually than you were a year ago? Peter tells us to "beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Of course there must be life before there can be growth. A few weeks ago I wrote you about desiring the milk of God's Word like newborn babes (I Peter 3:1-3). Look it up on my blog and read it again. Now I want you to examine yourselves as to your growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How can you know if you are growing in grace?

1. FALSE WAY--A. Compare yourself with people worse than yourself (II Cor. 10:12). Make your standard low enough and you can be satisfied. B. Base it on activity--a child is more active than an adult.

2. TRUE METHOD--Base it on the tests of growth found in the Word of God. I Corinthians 3:1 speaks of those who are still babes in Christ and have to be fed milk when they are unable to eat meat. Consider the following four comparisons of physical babies and spiritual babies.

1) Unstable-II Peter 3:16 "..they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction.” I have seen this firsthand in some of you on the question of "Christian liberty,” using that to justify sinful behavior. Unstable--changeable, easily depressed, frightened, discouraged, panicky, questioning the love of God.

2) Understanding, knowledge, discernment--"tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine”(Ephesians 4:14). The first victim of the latest cult is always a babe. New teaching comes along and they are tossed like a cork on a wave.

3) Interest in self--a child likes to be the center of the circle and if not checked by parents, it will become more subtle as they get older. Talks of self, its activities, wonderful things they have experienced, what they have done, seen, etc.

4) Child loves the spectacular, exciting, Disneyland, circus, thrills, excitement, itching ears (II Tim. 4:3), video games, more interested in gifts (I Corinthians 12). Contrast the picture Paul gives us in I Corinthians 13. Measure your growth in the Lord here! Longsuffering, kind, doesn't envy, doesn't vaunt itself, is not puffed up, doesn't behave unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil,.... bears, believes, hopes, endures all things.

How do you measure up? Has there been any growth in these areas since a year ago?

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus, Dad

"Joy and Peace in Believing"

Dear Family,

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”--Filled "with all joy and peace in believing." What better hope could I have for each of you at this time of year?

About 25 years ago when my brother turned from the "faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), he gave me his copy of the Trinity Hymnal. I have used it in my devotions ever since. We also use it in our weekly meetings here in Hoonah. My hymn for today was Charlotte Homer's, "He Lifted Me.” It is taken from Psalm 40:1: "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." This has been one of my favorite hymns over the years as it describes my own experience well.

"In loving kindness Jesus came My soul in mercy to reclaim, and from the depths of sin and shame Thru grace He lifted me.

“He called me long before I heard, Before my sinful heart was stirred, But when I took Him at His word, Forgiv'n he lifted me.
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“His brow was pierced with many a thorn, His hands by cruel nails were torn, When from my guilt and grief forlorn, In love He lifted me.

“Now on a higher plane I dwell, And with my soul I know 'tis well; Yet how or why, I cannot tell, He should have lifted me."

The Refrain: "From sinking sand He lifted me, With tender hand He lifted me, From shades of night to plains of light, O praise His Name He lifted me."

Dad

"Take heed to yourselves" Luke. 21:34

Dear Kids,
You may remember as you were growing up I always preached a message about this time of year with warnings about Christmas and New Year's. I will give you a few excerpts from some of those messages. You will probably relate to them better now since many of you have families of your own and the temptation to excess will be greater.

“Take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life..." (Lk. 21:34) You don't need to let me know that Jesus is speaking here of His return and that I am taking this out of context. Even so, I want you to know there is never a time when it is safe or right to be spiritually careless. We must “take heed” to ourselves at all times, in all circumstances, and in all seasons lest at anytime our hearts be overcharged, i.e., weighed down, burdened, with the "cares of this life."

I don't think the Lord had in mind in this passage that we become ascetics. We must have legitimate contact with this world we live in. Feasting with food, drink, and the cares of this life are some of the wonderful things we see done in the midst of festivity in the Bible. The first miracle of Jesus was performed at a wedding. Matthew threw a real shindig (Lk. 5:29) and our Lord used it to make a wonderful statement (vv. 31, 32). Jesus ate and enjoyed feasting along with the publicans and sinners. Levi probably had caviar, shrimp, and lobster, and if he did, Jesus no doubt thoroughly enjoyed the feast. The devil didn't make our taste buds, the Lord did.

One time your mother and I were invited to a feast where there supposedly were 200 millionaires from New York City in attendance. We thoroughly enjoyed most of the expensive exquisite dishes that were offered, without a twinge of guilt on our conscience. Caviar was not to my liking, especially when I was dipping into it and the guy next too me said, "That's about the cost of a trip to Europe.” That night I enjoyed some delightful conversations with Deists and others as I witnessed of my faith in Christ.

No, Jesus is not teaching asceticism here; He is warning about excessiveness:

>eating too much until your mind becomes dull and your prayers lifeless, your feasting becoming gluttony, crippling your spiritual life;

>going into debt or spending more than you can afford on gifts
your heart becoming "overcharged" or “anxious” (same root word) about "many things" like Martha in Lk.10:38;

>wives and mothers losing out in the next 10 days by being weighed down with cooking, baking, and serving being careful that what is a legitimate concern does not become promoting your reputation as I remember it often was among my Pennsylvania Dutch mother and her relatives;

>husbands and dads making an innocent pastime into an occasion to sin by watching too much football which can make make eternity less real or desirable.

My prayer is that on January 2 we will all be able to say that this has been a wonderful holiday season and that we are closer to the Lord than when it began.

“Be careful lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged…with the cares of this life."

Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Dad

Appetite Spoilers

Dear Kids,

Your mother and I are safely back in Hoonah. Cheyne and family are busy building our "mansion on the hill.” Carey is doing the wiring, and today the in-floor propane heating system is being installed. Since the people in town can look up and see the lights at this dark time of the year, many drive up the mountain to "gawk." We hope to be in it by April. We have to be out of our rental by then.

While in Tucson I brought three messages from I Peter 2:1-3 on desiring the Word of God and appetite spoilers. I'm sure you will remember my concern about eating candy, etc., before mealtime and spoiling your appetite for the good meals your mother had prepared. I'm wondering how many of you do not "as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word"--I mean a real desire to read your Bible because it is a living word and not just words lying dead on the page. Perhaps the problem is that you may not have "tasted that the Lord is gracious."

Just before I left for Parris Island in 1952, my great grandfather, Mennonite bishop James Saylor, came to see me and had me promise to read the Bible every day while I was serving in the Marine Corp. Then before I boarded the bus in Johnstown my mother handed me an armor-plated New Testament to wear over my heart to stop bullets in Korea. Then we were all issued New Testament Bibles by the U.S. government in boot camp. Plenty of encouragement to read wouldn't you think? I would pull out my New Testament, and since I didn't smoke (we were also issued cigarettes which I traded for candy), I read my New Testament when the "smoking lamp was lit." I had no desire or liking for it but read it to keep my promise.

On September 2, 1954, while returning home on the troopship General A. E. Anderson, I tasted that the Lord was gracious" (1 Peter 2: 3). I read the Bible all the next day--it had become a living book! I was "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which LIVETH and abideth for ever" I Peter 1:23. It has been my delight to read every day these 54 years since that day. If you know you "have tasted that the Lord is gracious" but don't have a desire to read your Bible, it may be you are having a problem with one or more of the appetite killers in verse 1. This has gotten long or I would expand on each of the five listed there. Any of those will spoil your appetite for the Word of God.

By His Grace, Dad

Prayer and Debt

Dear Family,

Your mother and I are about to get back in the air. We are scheduled to fly back to Hoonah on Thursday, Dec. 4. Adam is much better than he was when I arrived five weeks ago. He has gone from about 135 to 155 lb, There is no more sign of infection and the fever is gone. He still has to receive nutrition through an IV for 10 hours a day, but he is able to prepare messages and preach again. He will have to have tubing hooked up on the inside in the near future but that should be minor compared to what he has already gone through. Your mother has been taking a great deal of the family responsibility in helping Becky for over 4 months, counting the birth of Samuel in April, and she needs a rest. There are 7 children ranging from 7 months to 9 years. Both Adam and Becky will need your prayers as the healing continues.

Yesterday I preached here for the last time. I preached on a familiar theme to you. "Praying according to the prayers in the Bible". Laying out your arguments before the Lord. My text was Numbers 13 and 14 and how Moses interceded for Israel when the Lord said that He would "smite them with pestilence, and disinherit them" in 14:12. I also told how, back in 1960, your mother and I decided not to go in debt and only let the Lord know our needs. I gave 2 or 3 examples of the Lord's faithfulness over the last 50 years. I'm sure this was a new concept to many of them but it should not be to you. When you were still "in the nest" I read many of the Christian classics to you in our family devotions. The one that influenced us the most on the fore mentioned topic was by A.T. Pierson on the life of George Mueller. If you don't have it, buy it and read it again. Although much of our country seems to think the government (taxpayers) should bail them out when their debts exceed their ability to pay, that is not Christian. The Lord will not bless you if you take that route. If you can't pay for it you don't need it! "My God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Too often our wants have become our needs. If you have lost funds recently don't let that rob you of peace. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

With Prayer and Thanksgiving, Dad