Remove Not The Landmarks

Man is obsessed with spiritual innovation. Doing things God's way seems to be one of his greatest problems.  He constantly seems to be trying to re-invent the spiritual wheel.  Any way, but God's way, seems to be the best way, as far as man is concerned.  He seems to want to row his own canoe upstream against the will of God.  He doesn't hesitate to seize the initiative at every opportunity and try to become the master of his own fate and captain of his own soul.

The scriptures are replete with examples of those who have gone down this  road of rebellion to their own sorrow and destruction.  Nadab and Abihu, two priests of the Mosaic order,  offered strange fire before the altar of the Lord and were consumed by it.  As far as we can ascertain, their innovative attempt at fire making was not based upon any lack of the proper combustibles, but upon their insistence upon doing things their  own way. Uzzah, a servant anxious to please King David,  was the sort of fellow most would admire.  He saw a potentially great disaster developing right before his eyes and heroically leapt into the breach. He  reached up to steady the God's Ark of the Covenant as it tottered on the jolting ox cart, risking being crushed or run over,  but the culmination of his noble effort came when he fell  dead upon the ground.  Simply because he didn't do it God's way.  No man was permitted to touch the Ark of God no matter what the provocation.

I read of a demolition firm doing  a grand job demolishing a building worth tens of thousands of dollars.  There was just one problem.  In spite of their sincerity and dedication to the task, they had the wrong address. I read of home owner who in a moment of panic grabbed a can he assumed was filled with water and dashed it upon a small fire that was threatening to destroy his home.  Undoubtedly he was very sincere in his effort and had nothing but the best of intent.  But there was just one problem.  Someone had filled the can with petrol.

Man is much like that.  He is often sincere and dedicated in his attempts to please God.  But he does not feel it important to do it God's way.   God has said, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death."   Jesus spoke of man's broad way versus God's narrow way and the tendency of the masses to go down the broad way to destruction.  Paul emphasised the necessity of God's people doing everything strictly according to the pattern given by God.  Moses and then Solomon cautioned against moving the landmarks of faith that God has set in the land. 

Many times it would be  better to do nothing at all than to fail to do things God's way. But neither error is necessary.  God has settled His Word in the heavens forever and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  It is a lamp to the path of a Christian to show him the right way in the world today.  "Remove not the old landmarks..your fathers have set."  Proverbs 23:10

Why Worry?

Our modern day English word worry comes from an Old English word wyrgan, that means "to choke," or "strangle." How clearly descriptive of the essence of worry! Worry not only chokes people up at times and even leads some to a panic attack, but it can also strangle our thoughts and our actions. It can choke out the positive beauty of our surroundings. We can become so absorbed in futile worry that we never seem to take the time to stop and smell the roses along life's way.

It would seem people today share some of the same attitudes of those whom Jesus addressed in His sermon on the mountain. After all, is it not important to be concerned about essentials such as food and clothing? Can we not clothe our worry in acceptability by saying, "After all, I'm not worrying about or coveting luxurious and extravagant things. I'm just concerned about my basic needs and the daily welfare of my family."

But this is exactly what Jesus says we cannot do. Such worry reflects a daily distrust of God. Such illogical rationalisation is reflected in the story about two men who were discussing their relationship with their wives. One asserted loudly that he was the head of his house, carried all the important concerns upon his own shoulders and made all the major decisions. When asked to explain he said, "I am the one who is concerned about world and national affairs. I am the one who worries about inflation and recession and other major economic matters. My wife takes care of the relatively unimportant concerns and decisions such as buying a house or car. She decides about the school our children attend and small things like that.

Remember the history of Israel wandering in the wilderness? How He fed them with the miracles of the manna and then the quail? God would only give them a limited supplies of food and water. The reason is obvious He wanted them to glorify Him by trusting Him implicitly and absolutely for their daily provisions. They were not to worry. When they did so, the result was ungrateful murmuring and complaining that ultimately led to the loving, but severe, chastening hand of God falling upon them.

I heard once of a rich man who was known to be a chronic worrier. He finally came to recognise just how futile and destructive his worry habit could be. He advertised in the local paper for someone to do his worrying for him. He told the man his major concerns and worries. He then assigned him the task of worrying about these things each night. He rationalised that he then could get a good sound night's sleep. The man went to his assigned place and, sitting at his desk, began to worry. Just after midnight he heard his employer creep into the room. He asked him, "What are you doing here?" The chronic worrier replied, "I couldn't sleep. I was worried that you were not really worrying about my worries!"

Learning Patience

Were you ever told by your parent, “Be patient!”? Or did you ever say the same thing to our children? It’s much easier said than done. I well remember being counselled to be patient as I anxiously awaited the coming of Christmas, annual school holidays or some other long anticipated joy. But even more memorable was waiting for a cast to be removed from a broken limb or a bandage from an injury. Even at the earliest age many of us learned the truth of James’ statement, “tribulation works patience!”

At times like these we get an inkling of the patience of Job and how he acquired it. A patient once asked a doctor as he lay immobilised by a very serious accident, “Doctor, how long will I have to lie here?” The doctor answered, “Only one day at a time!”

Learning Patience Sometimes Requires Us To Go Through The School Of Hard Knocks, Then The College Of Crisis In Order To Graduate From The University Of Adversity!

What a lesson. Isn’t it tremendous that sufficient for each day is God’s provision of grace? When we are worried and anxious about the long term, God ministers in the short term, providing grace and endurance for every moment. Patience is a very practical requirement for those who would serve the Lord. How often we encounter problems that no amount of human energy or ingenuity can solve. How frequently we face apparent failures that no amount of knowledge or human wisdom can fix.It may be a relative or a friend we wish to see come to the Lord. When we run up against the stubbornness of self-will, no amount of personal burden, desire, or cleverness on our part, will bring them one millimetre closer to salvation. The time comes when we must concede that only faith, prayer and patience can be brought to bear in the situation.

It may be a relationship conflict in life. Again, a situation in which another’s will is involved. A time when we must ultimate concede that no matter what we do we cannot change another person. We can only allow God to change us and our response to the problem or other person as we submit ourselves to His Holy Spirit working in our lives. If the other party is to be changed, it will have to be the Holy Spirit using us to help them or working directly in their life to bring about the desired changes in attitudes and outlooks and responses. The time comes when we can but rest in the promises of the Lord and lean upon His strong arm to uphold us in the day of our testing and trouble.

It may be a personal trial or thorn in the flesh. A problem or condition that is just beyond our human capacity to cope. A time when we, as Paul, must turn to Him and listen to His voice and accept his promise of sufficient grace. It is then in our resultant infirmity that we may learn patience to keep going on for the Lord.

Yes, we all learned at an early age that patience is related to waiting. Waiting is the common element. For the Christian the critical concern is not just waiting, but how we wait and what waiting works in us. The prophet Isaiah says to those who have exhausted their patience in the work of the Lord, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles: they shall run and not be weary: and they shall walk and not faint.”