that i may know him

 

Over the new year period of 1984 I went with friends to Capernwray Hall in Lancashire for a week’s break. I didn’t know it then but I would return just over three months later for the Spring Bible School having been given a two month leave of absence from work (I still wonder at that provision). However, the one abiding memory of the week was turning in my copy of “Our Daily Bread” on New Year’s Day. The verse for that day had an immediate impact on my thinking. Five simple words combine to form what has become my life verse - “That I may know him…” (Philippians 3:10). Those words, it seemed to me, were the heart cry of the Apostle Paul. And yet how utterly incredible that he should aspire to such knowledge! That I (a finite creature) may know HIM (the infinite Creator).

I turned 60 the other week and my family gave me a beautiful leather bookmark with those words etched on it. “That I may know him…” 40 years have passed since I first read that sentence. It has challenged me, inspired me and urged me to keep going over the years. It has rescued me in my failure and motivated me in my service for God. It has taught me that life is intended to be a journey towards one great and glorious goal...“That I may know him…”

Last week I read Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The central teaching of this letter could be summed up in one small phrase in chapter 3 - ”Christ is all, and is in all” (3:11). Nobody and nothing is great than him. The letter is simply full to overflowing with the character of Christ and the desire to know him.

Two grand truths stood out to me across the four short chapters of Colossians. They have brought me back to that defining reality of the Christian life that first captured my heart four decades ago.

Firstly, Christ is unequalled (he is the world’s sovereign) 

There is an ocean’s fullness of truth in Paul’s vision of Christ’s greatness:

He is the image of the invisible God, 

the firstborn of all creation.  

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

And he is the head of the body, the church. 

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 

that in everything he might be preeminent. 

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, 

making peace by the blood of his cross.

(Colossians 1:15-20)

It is no wonder then that Paul having been caught up in such a wonderful vision of the person of Christ should remind us that in the stuff of life we can know this one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:3)

And second, he is personally present (the Christian’s supreme focus and rest).

Herein lies the great mystery of Christian experience. The world’s sovereign is personally present with his people. “Speak to him, thou, for he hears, and spirit with spirit can meet - closer is he than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet” (Tennyson).

Or as Paul, under the Spirit’s inspiration, describes it so succinctly, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27)

I have come to understand that this knowledge of Christ doesn’t just happen as we acquire more information about him, read more books or listen to more sermons. It’s a knowledge that is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this revelation only comes through a life that’s immersed in the Scriptures and absorbed in prayer. We get to know Christ by walking with him and living out all that he teaches us on that journey. 

I think the essence of this knowledge is expressed in a song called “The Cause of Christ” by Kari Jobe:

It is not fame that I desire

Nor stature in my brother's eye

I pray it's said about my life

That I lived more to build

Your name than mine

(Picture - Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe)

dare to be a daniel (pt. 2)

 

Daniel chapter one ends with a sentence that is very easy to pass over. After Daniel’s radical choice (“Daniel resolved not defile himself with the royal food and wine”, verse 8) and its favourable outcome we read, “And Daniel remained there (in the king’s palace) until the first year of King Cyrus” (verse 21). A statement of fact? Yes! But dig a little and you discover that this meant he held a position in the royal court for nearly 70 years under the reign of four kings and likely saw the exiles begin their long journey back to the Israel. Dig deeper still and you discover that Daniel remained faithful to God over these seven decades.  

Around the age of 20 I was asked by my youth leader, Ian Wallace, to join him in leading a church service in Stenhousemuir. At the end of the service an elderly lady shook my hand and said, “Keep going, son, and that will make two of us.” I was deeply touched by that comment and by God’s grace I’ve continued to do just that for 40 years now. 

What do we need to build into our lives to be like Daniel and the elderly lady from Stenhousemuir and remain faithful and true to God?

I believe we need:

1. The Word of God in our mind 

God has given his word as a beacon to guide us.
The Bible is the most precious physical possession we have in life. Therefore, treasure it, read it and live by it.

With little or no access to the Hebrew Scriptures, Daniel chapter 9 informs us that Daniel “understood from the Scriptures…that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (verse 2). What an example of a man who invested time in reading and meditating on Scripture.
We ought to follow the advice of Paul to Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). 

2. The Holy Spirit in our heart

As believers we are promised the presence of the Spirit in our hearts. “Having believed in him you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:13). 

The Holy Spirit helps us in two key areas. 

Firstly, he takes God’s Word in our mind and plants it in our heart in order that it would grow and bear fruit (Galatians 5:22). 

And secondly, he helps us to pray perhaps when our spirits are flagging. Over several decades, Daniel committed himself to praying three times a day. ”Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, JUST AS HE HAD DONE BEFORE” (6:10).

3. Bread and wine in our hand 

Daniel was cut off from regular temple worship. However, we have the great privilege of being part of regular communion services in the local church. And just as food nourishes and strengthens our body so the Lord’s Supper nourishes and feeds our soul. 

4. Fellow believers by our side 

Daniel had three close friends who stood with him, encouraged and supported him. Together they formed a strong partnership and over the years they know doubt spurred one another on to be loyal servants of God.  

Let’s be a community that encourages and supports each other. “Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters” (Romans 12:10). 

Understanding these four realities will help us to set a steady pace and enable us to keep going over the long haul.

Dare to be a Daniel.

Dare to…stay the course. 

(picture - Dumgoyne, Campsie Fells)

dare to be a daniel (pt.1)

The book of Daniel has been a beloved part of Scripture for generations of believers, many of whom will have sang with great enthusiasm…

Dare to be a Daniel

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose firm

And dare to make it known 

Daniel’s life is actually set against the background of national failure and the resulting tumultuous upheaval of the exile. The Babylonian army marched into Israel with irresistible force, taking the people captive and looting the temple of all its sacred treasures. 

Daniel is part of that sorry line of slaves who are taken at least 500 miles round the Fertile Crescent to the city of Babylon.

How would this young man fair amidst Babylon’s bright and alluring lights? Well, chapter one of the book gives fascinating insights into how Daniel handled this period of his life.

It quickly becomes apparent that long before Daniel arrived in Babylon, he had settled the central matters of life and faith. In a time of national upheaval he found rest in God. And so he had the necessary resources in God to enable him to navigate life in that pagan environment.

He exemplifies the wise life set out in Proverbs 1-9. ”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). 

 

With that background reflect on what the king of Babylon sought to do in Daniel’s life - he tried to indoctrinate him at 'King’s College, Babylon' where he was taught the language and literature of the Babylonians. The key phrase here is, “the king ordered” (1:3). He attempted to influence Daniel with human power and it did not work - “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (1:9).

The king ordered…Daniel resolved…

His stand is deeply impressive. 

Consider then what the God of heaven did for Daniel - he provided insight beyond mere human intellect. The key phrase at this point is, “God gave” (1:17). “God gave knowledge and understanding…” God moved in Daniel’s life in divine grace to equip him to maintain a faithful walk with him.

God gave…Daniel trusted… 

His faith is a powerful example for us today (See Proverbs 3:5-6). 

Dare to be a Daniel…

Dare to…trust God even when life’s circumstances suggest otherwise.

(picture - Bellahouston Park, Sept. 6)

with a little help from my friends

 

A wee song (from back in the day) has been circling round my mind over the last week: 

Life is wonderful, yes it’s wonderful,

Life is wonderful now to me.

I let Jesus in, he changed everything,

Life is wonderful now. 

How many of us would truly align with that sentiment? 

The chorus came to me because I have been reflecting a great deal on a brief comment that the apostle Paul made to the Corinthians about how he viewed his life at the moment he ‘penned’ what we know as his second letter. Between the letters that we refer as First and Second Corinthians he wrote his “anguished letter” (2 Corinthians 2:4), dealing with the mountain of problems in the Corinthian church. Paul felt the enormous burden of all this pastoral ministry when he wrote the following comment:

“…when we came to Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn - conflicts on the outside, fears within” (2 Corinthians 7:5).

CONFLICTS WITHOUT, FEARS WITHIN. 

Not quite the rosey sentiment expressed in the 1970s chorus above. However, it is surely a truer and more authentic expression of the Christian faith.

The author Phillip Yancey definitely believes so. He introduces us to his father-in-law in his book, “Reaching for the Invisible God”. As a servant of God he faced personal and family health challenges as well as other crises in life. They combined to shake his faith. In the midst of all this trouble he asked himself what he could believe with certainty. He settled on the following:

Life is difficult.

God is merciful.

Heaven is sure.

Those three affirmations are attested by Paul across the letter of 2 Corinthians. 

However, returning to Paul’s conflicts without and fears within, we discover he adds two words that make all the difference - “but God” (7:6). It is at this point that hope enters Paul’s desperate situation…

“BUT GOD, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever” (2 Corinthians 7:6-7).

God is the God who comforts the downcast. That is who he is. And he comforted Paul by the coming of Titus.

I have given a lot of thought to what it was that Titus brought to Paul in this troubled season and I have settled on the following:

Much needed companionship (support)

A dose of healthy conversation (stimulus)

A sense of clarity about his current circumstances (perspective)

The church desperately needs people like Titus, who move in the slipstream of the Spirit, to bring hope and reassurance to the Pauls of this world. In such circumstances we still might not describe life as ‘wonderful’ but joy will once again surface in our hearts ♥️ 

(Picture - The Blue Lobster cafe, Stornoway)