by Tim Hall

"If the Lord really loved me . . ." So begins a statement people sometimes make in response to bad things that come into their lives. From their perspective, the Lord ought to level the path before them. The presence of obstacles, however, means that the Lord said "No" to their happiness (they think). If He really loved them, shouldn't His answer always be "Yes"?

Mark recorded incidents in which Jesus did not grant what others requested. Considering those instances should give insights into why the Lord sometimes says "No".

A man of the country of the Gadarenes had been horribly enslaved by a legion of demons. Jesus blessed this man by casting out the demons, thus restoring his ability to lead a normal life. As Jesus prepared to leave, the former demoniac "begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him . . ." (Mark 5:18,19, NKJV). Why not? What could it hurt to allow this man who had been so stigmatized by his neighbors to leave those hateful people and travel with Jesus? But, no, the Lord would not permit it.

Jesus' reason for denying his request is given: "'Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.' And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled" (Mark 5:19,20). If Jesus had approved the former demoniac's request, many others would not have heard the good news about Jesus. Jesus had a higher good in mind, and that was accomplished by saying "No".

In chapter 6, Mark told how Jesus sent out the twelve to preach the good news of the kingdom. When Mark notes that "He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts . . ." (v. 8), it was another instance of the Lord saying "No". To these disciples, the Lord's plan may have seemed unreasonable. "Lord, this will be a hardship. Why can't we take a little money for emergencies?" Yet the Lord was clear in His directions, and they set out on their journeys with virtually nothing in hand.

Why would the Lord refuse a reasonable request for these men to carry provisions on their journeys? The answer is found in Luke 22:35: "And [Jesus] said to them, 'When I sent you without money bag, sack, and sandals, did you lack anything?' So they said, 'Nothing.'" Obviously Jesus was teaching His apostles a lesson. They learned through this experience that God would provide all they needed as long as they kept their focus on the kingdom. By saying "No", Jesus was pointing to a higher good.

A favorite verse of many is Psalm 84:11: "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." What we must understand is that the "good thing" is determined from God's long-range perspective. My temporary discomforts and deprivations may actually be working for me a much greater good. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," affirmed Paul (2 Corinthians 4:17).

When the Lord says "No", we should learn to give thanks to Him. We are confident He sees something better for us than what we have requested.

by Tim Hall

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105, NKJV). It's one of the most fundamental truths in the Bible. Humans do not have within them the wisdom necessary for successful living (see Jeremiah 10:23 and Titus 2:11,12 as examples). If it is possible for us to find our own way without God's help, then why waste our time reading the Bible?

But sometimes even good people turn away from God's light as they give more emphasis to their own understanding and insight. And what is God's reaction to such? Surely He is tolerant as He judges our good intentions, right?

Job was an upright and blameless man (Job 1:1), yet he treaded on dangerous ground by speculating on matters about which God had said nothing. The first words of God's response surely caused Job to shudder as he realized what a mistake he had made: "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2).

"Counsel" in this statement refers, of course, to God's counsel. God does not counsel us on every detail of life, but when he does speak, his pronouncements ought to be held with great respect. Instead, Job had "darkened" God's counsel. How had he done that? "By words without knowledge." By speaking where God had not spoken - attempting to explain issues God had not explained - Job had inadvertently thrown a drape over the shining words of truth. It's one of the greatest mistakes a person can make.

Those who are wicked try hard to snuff out the light God has given. Paul warned them against their attempts to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). But Job was not a wicked man. He was well-intentioned. Nonetheless, he also drew the wrath of God for daring to speak where God had not spoken.

Isaiah faced a different situation. People in his day were turning from God to seek guidance from mediums and wizards. God's warning through His prophet is timeless: "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). How sad to turn away from light to non-light when illumination is what we desperately need!

Don't focus merely on the messenger. Yes, the tone of his voice and his reassuring smiles are comforting. But if the words he speaks are not based on God's revelation, there is no light in what he says. Those who follow such empty messengers are darkening the light God has given.

by Tim Hall

When it comes to rose-gardening, I'm obviously a novice. It's usually the bush and the blossoms that get my attention, for I know how much my wife and I love freshly cut roses. On this occasion, though, my focus was on their roots. These plants needed a new location, and my job was to carefully dig them up and move them. The bush I had planted a year ago was no problem; it was the older bushes that challenged me. Their roots were deep into the ground.

The Bible uses the image of roots. As I occasionally work with plants, both vegetable and ornamental, my appreciation for roots deepens. The benefits of well-developed roots to a plant are significant. The same is true for spiritual lives.

Properly-developed roots are the plant's assurance of water, even in times of drought. Jeremiah used this image in Jeremiah 17:7,8: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit" (NKJV). "The year of drought" inevitably comes into every life. Our task is to be prepared for such times. Those who take the time to nourish their roots will find the water that is scarce to others. Shallow-rooted plants wither and die (see also Matthew 13:20,21).

A second reason for developing our roots is found in Colossians 2:6,7: "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." Paul's thought is not about drought or moisture; he spoke of the need to be established. That fact was impressed on me as I transplanted the rose bushes. The year-old bush was easily removed from its spot; the older bushes clung more tenaciously to their positions. Christians who have dedicated themselves to maturing in the faith will not easily be moved from where the Lord plants them.

Roots are therefore vital to a plant. But how does one develop spiritual roots?

The first psalm holds the key to growing more stable in our faith. After warning against evil pursuits, the writer pronounced this blessing: "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:2,3). Here is a tree that is fruitful because it found the moisture it needed and because it was not moved by the storm. Here is a picture of what God expects of His people.

Reading and studying our Bibles – it's not a novel or exotic idea. But David identified it as the key to proper development of spiritual roots. In those quiet moments of reading God's word, development is taking place. It can't be seen, and it's not as exciting as cutting and displaying prize-winning roses. But without those roots, there will be no blooms.

by Tim Hall

It's a detail about my past of which I am not proud. When I was a teenager, the company I sometimes kept persuaded me to drink beer on two or three occasions. Though that was long ago, I vividly remember my reaction to the taste: Repulsive! "It's an acquired taste," I was told, an affirmation I've heard several times since. Thankfully, I abandoned the stuff before my taste buds were altered.

In his Galatian epistle, Paul wrote to Christians whose spiritual taste buds had been altered. In the beginning, their response to the gospel was enthusiastic. "You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus" (Galatians 4:13,14, NKJV).

When these Gentiles heard about Jesus and His death upon the cross, they saw the "good" in the "news" Paul preached. They were also grateful to Paul for his part in preaching it to them: "What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me" (Galatians 4:15). Paul had preached to them the pure truth of the gospel, and they had happily received that.

Things changed after Paul resumed his journey. Some followed Paul with a different twist on the gospel: A Christian must first be a Jew, submissive to all the regulations of the Law of Moses. Throughout the letter, Paul attacked such thinking as foreign to the truth of the gospel. In Galatians 1:6-9 he wrote: "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

As the Galatians' spiritual tastes changed, so did their esteem of the one who had first taught them. Paul pleaded in 4:16, "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" Like silly teenagers who allow "friends" to turn them against the parents who nurtured and disciplined them, these Christians had turned against Paul. Instead of testing the claims of the Judaizers against the truth of Christ's gospel, they trusted the charismatic and sincere-sounding speeches. What a mistake they made by loosening their grip on the truth!

History's cycles continue to turn. People in all eras and cultures respond enthusiastically to the simplicity of the truth (see Randal Matheny's article from March 22, "These People Can't Exist"). They can see for themselves the concept of undenominational Christianity and the necessity to base beliefs and practices on the word rather than on whims and feelings. Along the way, though, tastes change. What was once repulsive to the taste is made to sound delicious. "We can't practice those things," the deceivers argue. "Such views pose insurmountable barriers to people seeking the truth." And so Christians are persuaded to turn away from those who first taught them God's word. Anyone who tries to speak only truth is viewed as an enemy.

We have long argued that God's word can be understood by the layman. Have we changed our view? Must we now rely on the intellectuals to tell us what God's word teaches? Or is it not still the case that honest students of God's word can discover God's will? "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him" (Psalm 34:8). I have a tongue; I can taste for myself. I also have a functional mind; I can interpret for myself.

by Tim Hall

If any one concept could capture the essence of religion, it would likely be worship. Most will admit that "religion", according to God's word, is more than worship, but this event is certainly the most dynamic aspect of our faith. It is our opportunity to approach God in a powerful and life-transforming way. It is for good reasons that we seek to make our worship more personal and real.

Perhaps we can learn more about the experience of worship by looking at two towering figures of faith in the Old Testament, Abraham and Moses.

Abraham - Worship In All Life's Situations: In Genesis 22, God presented Abraham with one of the hardest demands given to any human being. Isaac was the son of whom Abraham and Sarah had dreamed for decades. Having to wait so long for his arrival only made their bond with him stronger. Now, however, God's command was confusing: "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (Genesis 22:2, NKJV).

What a long night that must have been as Abraham wrestled with the prospect of killing his own son! But "early in the morning" (v. 3) he arose and set off on the three-day journey to Moriah. When the site of the sacrifice was in view, Abraham told his servants, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship; and we will come back to you" (v. 5).

Here is a lesson about worship worth contemplating. Though God's order was hard and seemingly inconsistent with the Divine nature, Abraham obeyed. He did not tell his servants that he must "obey that command", or "go do his religious duty". Abraham's purpose was worship, humbling himself in the presence of the Almighty, though his soul probably considered rebellion. God is always worthy of our worship - even when we can't understand his will. We should imitate the example of this man of faith who said with his actions, "Your will, not mine, be done."

Moses - The Intent To Worship: "Please, show me Your glory," was the request Moses made of God (Exodus 33:18). Though humans are not capable of seeing the full glory of the Lord, Moses was given a glimpse. The account of God revealing Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:1-8 is dramatic as well as revealing of the nature of Jehovah.

When the Lord descended in the cloud to show His glory to Moses, the man was understandably overwhelmed. But note this statement in Exodus 34:8: "So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped." Worship did not take place until Moses intended for it to be offered and then delivered it.

Our ideas of worship are often different. It is sometimes said that we worship God at all times, in everything we do. That's not the idea in this passage (nor in any other in the Bible). Instead, worship is something that is deliberately intended and then performed. Elsewhere (e.g. John 4:20-24) we learn that worship must be offered according to God's directions. But even when we act according to His pattern, is it worship if it does not arise from the intent to honor God and glorify his name? Mindless ritual has never been God's desire.

But, really, should we be looking back thousands of years to learn how to worship? According to God's word, it is appropriate (not to mention wise): "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).