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                                                               Joy and Peace

     It is usually at Christmas time that we see cards which prominently display these two words. Joy and peace were the words of the angels as they announced the coming of Christ.  In order to focus more clearly on the person of Christ during this season, I always begin a study of His life at Christmas time and continue it throughout Easter.  Deepening my knowledge of Him is not an optional exercise for my life.  It is a necessity.  We talk a lot about joy and peace during the Christmas season and we should do this.  I have come to realize, however, that joy is not the absence of sorrow, nor is peace the absence of problems.  Both joy and peace are the presence of Christ.  I read recently in a sermon that “Our joy is proportional to our trust.  Our trust is in proportion to our knowledge of God.  To know Him is to trust Him.”  The stability of our lives revolves around our depth of the knowledge of God.  Joy and peace come from knowing that He is too loving to be unkind and too wise to ever make a mistake.  They come from knowing Him as our shield and our exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1)  They come from knowing that the depth, the height, the width and length of God’s love for us can never be measured.  It is the certainty that we are in the center of His love that sustains our lives at Christmas time as well as throughout the rest of the year.  

     Christmas was different the year of 2021.  Beverly awakened the morning of August 20 unable to think clearly.  I could not get her to eat her breakfast or even get her out of the chair.  EMS was called and she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital.  It was five days before I could see her due to Covid restrictions.  She seemed pleased to see me but she did not know my name.  Despite excellent care she was unable to stand up, to swallow food or to respond to questions.  She continued to decline and was transferred to the hospice unit for the last few days of her life.   After one month of hospital care, the Lord called her home to be with him.  (September 17, 2021) 

     These thoughts were written with a heavy heart,  because my oldest daughter (Nicolle) heard the Lord’s call to come to Him as well.  Her cancer had progressed to a point where she was in Hospice care.  She and her mother celebrated Christmas together in the presence of the Lord the year of 2021.  She left behind her husband, to whom she had been married twenty two years, and their five children.  I grieve deeply with the loss of both my wife and daughter.  I know, however, that the Lord desires to help fill this void with Himself.   

     G. Campbell Morgan once wrote that joy is the consciousness of God’s love and that peace is the confidence of His love.  I am thankful that through my knowledge of God, I can trust Him, and that in trusting Him I am able to be conscious of His love and confident of His love.

     Satan once came before God and accused mankind of worshipping and serving God for the good that God did for them.  It turned out that he was right about Bildad, Zophar, Eliphaz and Job’s wife, but not about Job.  Job determined that he should worship and serve God for who He was, not simply for what He had done for Job.  I have come to realize that there is not much in this life that I can offer to God.  He has provided Salvation, His very own nature given to me in His Son, adoption into His family and an eternity to rejoice in Him.  What I can offer to Him, however, is praise, worship, service and thanksgiving to Him for Who He is, not just for what He does for me. 

     It is at Christmas that we celebrate His coming to earth to visibly reveal the nature of God Himself.  I John 3:2 assures us that when we see Him, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  Beverly and Nicolle have seen Him as He is and have been transformed into His likeness.  They are rejoicing around the throne of God.  This is the reason Jesus came into the world over two thousand years ago.  He came to take away our sin and transform us by the gift of His life in order that we could be one with God in Christ.  This was the joy set before Him as He endured the cross!  (Hebrews 12:2)  

     To those of us who have been left by the ones we love there is sorrow.  I miss Bev and Nicolle deeply.   Although I cannot see Christ visibly as they see Him, He is still my joy and my peace.  He has given Himself to me.  He will never leave me or forsake me!  

     Some dear friends gave me a verse several years ago as I was facing chemotherapy and surgery for recurrent cancer.  I start nearly every day by quoting it to myself.  “The Lord Himself will go before you.  He will be with you.  He will not leave you or forget you.  Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.”   (Deuteronomy 31:8)  It is my prayer and desire for you that His presence and His promises will provide you an awareness of His joy and His peace as you follow Him.       

In Christ,

Richard Spann                      

                                               The Depth of God’s Designs for us

     I am sometimes asked if I have a favorite verse in the Bible.  Actually, there are too many to recount.  I need them all!  Perhaps the one that most completely describes God’s plan for us is in  II Corinthians 5:21.  “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (KJV)  Another question that seems to arise is “Do you have a favorite chapter in the Bible?  Many look at I Corinthians 13, or perhaps the 23rd Psalm.  Although I cannot name a favorite chapter, I do have a favorite paragraph, seven verses which continue to amaze and astound my understanding of the vastness and completeness of God’s care and love for us from the beginning of our lives to the end, including our preparation for eternity.  They are found in the first seven verses of Isaiah chapter 43. 

     “But now, this is what the LORD says-he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel. (verse 1)  YHWH opens this chapter by declaring His name, the LORD, the One who becomes all we need Him to be.  He wants us to know that the following statements are His words!  When He created us, we were all like Jacob, one who wants to control his own life, make his own decisions, and go his own way.  The LORD needed to put him through a process (formed) in order to change him into Israel. (Ruled by God)  This is His pattern with each of us!  God is faithful to individually form us into those who are ruled by HIm.    

     “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. (verse 2)  This is the first of two fear nots in this paragraph.  We need not fear because the LORD knows us by name.  He has summoned us and redeemed us.  We belong to Him because we are His design, His creation, His purchased redemption and His possession.  Our position could not be more secure than this!  

     When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (verse 3)  This verse is a marvelous statement regarding the LORD’s protection.  His presence is always with us.  Each event of our lives is under His personal supervision.  Whether these issues are financial, a physical illness, loss of loved ones, or other challenging circumstances, the LORD assures us of His personal presence and protection.  

     For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. (verse 3)  Here He reminds us again of His all sufficient and mighty Name, sufficient to provide and preserve us in every situation that life may bring.  

     Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. (verse 4)  In Deuteronomy 32:9  the LORD declares that “The LORD’s  portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.”  In Isaiah 43, the LORD declares that we are to become participants with Him in His inheritance, which is the lives of people.  People are what the LORD values, and He desires that we become partners with Him in claiming His possession.  He desires us to work alongside Him with His inheritance!  “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God.”  II Corinthians 5:20.  

     Do not be afraid, for I am with you, I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.  I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Verses 5-7)   The fitting climax to this marvelous paragraph of creation, formation, personal knowledge, pardon, protection and partnership is His promise to those who participate in His grace.  He will bring with Him those with whom we have invested our lives.  How many will there be before His throne that He will reveal to us?  Isaiah 60:22 says that “The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.  I am the LORD, in its time I will do this swiftly.”  In regard to each one of these, the LORD states that they were created, formed and made.  These three words seem similar in our language, but in Hebrew they are unique and each one describes a different part of God’s work in their lives.  Created (bara in Hebrew), is the word used in Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:27.  Here it describes a unique personality with potential and possibilities.  The word formed indicates a process, while the word made refers to the final product of His work  The LORD sums up His purpose by declaring that it is being done for His Glory!   This product is referred to in Ephesians 4:13. “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 

     The above paragraph may seem like the total picture of the LORD’s work in our lives.  It is, in fact, just the beginning.  It is but the preparation for the work of the ages to come.  “Unto Him be glory in the church, throughout all ages, world without end.  Amen”  Ephesians 3:21 (KJV)  His work in us and through us will continue as we join with all tribes and tongues around His throne praising and serving Him forever!  

In Christ, Richard Spann

     

                                             If your Natural Life is Spiritual, then you                                                         

                                               can let your Spiritual life be Natural.  

     For many years, I have been to multiple conferences each year, focusing on different aspects of ministry.  The speakers have challenged me from their messages and examples of their own lives in various areas of evangelism and discipleship.  As I have compared my life to theirs, I am left with a sense of guilt at times, not measuring up to what they were doing.  Furthermore, I would at times experience a reluctance to even approach the areas of ministry the way they had done.  It has taken me some time (And I am still working on this!) to realize that I don’t need to do things the way that others do them.  I also have come to peace with the thought that I am not gifted the same as others in different areas of our ministry.  There are a  number of those in our ministry that are quite gifted in evangelism.  Likewise, there are others whose lives are very productive in areas of discipleship.  The breadth and depth of ministry of others in our team of Navigators has varied considerably.  As I reflect on this, I am led to the fact that we are all different in terms of our temperament, our personalities, and our approach to others.  The Lord’s team consisted of a Zealot and a former tax collector for the Romans.  It included the outspoken Peter and a number of others whose conversations were not even recorded.  They were expected to be different reflecting their own personalities as they followed Christ.  A Navigator speaker some years ago mentioned that if our natural lives are spiritual then we can let our spiritual lives be natural.  

     Have you ever had the experience of being in a situation where you were into some aspect of ministry that was not a natural reflection of your spiritual life?  Tim Downs describes such an experience in his book “Finding Common Ground.”  He related that his group in college was told one evening to go find someone and share their faith.  He states that he met that announcement with “the same enthusiasm he would have in looking forward to a root canal!”  He and a friend spotted a solitary figure who seemed to have nothing to do and asked if they could share the contents of a little booklet.  The man turned and walked away, his eyes glued to the sidewalk.  He said nothing in response to the question so they began reading the booklet.  As they continued to read, the man began walking faster, his eyes never leaving the ground before him.  They plunged ahead with the reading “Man is sinful and separated from God so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.”  They came to an intersection.  Without waiting for the light to change, he darted across.  They were right behind him, reading fast.  “Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin.  Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience His love.”  By this time, they were almost at a dead run.  They arrived at his dormitory just as the presentation was finished.  He was out of sidewalk.  They were out of laws, and everyone was out of breath.  As Tim recounts the experience, it was clear that this was not a natural expression of their spiritual lives! 

     For some individuals, their gifting and personality leads them to naturally share Christ with others wherever they go.  A friend of mine once had the opportunity to go door to door with Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.  He related to me later that Bill had a gift for making people comfortable in his presence and moving naturally to the gospel presentation.  I have known others in my lifetime which have that natural God given ability as well. To me, that is not a natural expression of my spiritual life.  I am more accustomed to developing relationships and then asking about their interest in looking at the Bible together.  God will ask us to move out of our comfort zones, but he will not ask us to do that which is an unnatural expression of our spiritual lives. 

     What is meant by the statement, “The natural life is spiritual?”  The simplest definition would be a life ruled by God.  The life of Christ would be visible in words and deeds before others.  An example of what this looks like can be found in I Timothy 4:12.  “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”  If this is true of our lives, then our natural conversations, our business dealings, and our relationships with others will allow the spiritual life to be natural.  We can comfortably be ourselves as we seek to deepen relationships that will bear the weight of God’s truth.  The fragrance of a naturally spiritual life is unmistakable!  It is described in Ii Corinthians 2:14.  “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”   

     Our Lord states the following to us in Luke 9:23.  “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”  These are the basic requirements for our natural life to be spiritual.  The denial of self is inward and hidden; the taking up of the cross is outward and visible.  To follow Him is to trust and obey.  If our natural life is spiritual, then we can rely on His promise to us in Matthew 4:19.  “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  If our natural life is spiritual, “Follow me,”  then we can let our spiritual life be natural, “I will make you fishers of men.”  The Lord Himself will take the responsibility for letting our spiritual lives be natural.  We can trust Him to do naturally in our lives that which demonstrates what Eugene Peterson describes as “the unforced rhythms of grace.”  

In Christ, Richard Spann 

     Webster’s dictionary describes motive as “any emotion or desire operating on one’s will and driving it to action.”  No one wills anything without a prior cause.  This is true of all our actions, our speech, and our decisions every day.  Our will responds to motivations which may come from many sources.  The Lord, who created us with this will, also uses motivation to guide us in our walk with Him.  Years ago, a Navigator speaker, whose name I cannot recall, listed the motivations that the Lord uses in our lives.  I have found these to be beneficial over the years and trust that they will be helpful to you as well.  There are nine in number and are found in II Corinthians.  

     II Corinthians 5:1-9 describes a motivation based on the knowledge of our future dwelling place with the Lord.  At the moment we take our last breath we enter into an eternal house in heaven!  We are assured of this because the Holy Spirit is given to us as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  The certainty of our eternal destination is a powerful motivation for us as we labor with Him for the lost.  

     II Corinthians 5:10, a motivation by judgment, reminds us that the Lord takes careful note of our entire lives, remembering all that He has done through our lives as we have relied, by faith, on His Spirit to work through us.  Nothing that He has done through us is overlooked.  The judgment seat is a seat of rewards!  Our sin was judged at the cross and is remembered no more.  The motivation of judgment encourages us as we labor in anticipation of receiving our praise from Him!  

     II Corinthians 5:11 refers to the fear of God as a motivation to serve, to worship, to love and to trust Him.  It is not characterized by being fearful, but rather a worshipful awe, respect, and wonder because of who He is.  Our hearts should be stirred to please Him with all of our thoughts, words and deeds.     

     II Corinthians 5:13 introduces the motive of unselfishness which we also find in the life of our Lord Jesus.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”  (II Corinthians 8:9)  Here in II Corinthians 5, Paul states that he is willing to let others think less of him so that they might come to Christ.  He refers to this in II Corinthians 4:12 as well,  “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”  

     II Corinthians 5:14-15 describes the motive of love, “For the love which Christ has for me presses on me from all sides, holding me to one end, and prohibiting me from considering any other, wrapping itself around me in tenderness, giving me an impelling motive.”  (II Corinthians 5:14 Wuest )  This is none other than the love of Christ, which is given to us as a birthright when we trust in Him as our Savior and Lord.  His love for us, for Him, and for others is poured out into our hearts. (Romans 5:5) 

     II Corinthians 5:16-17 reminds us that we are motivated by regeneration.  Because of the change in us, we see people differently.  We have a new sense of their worth to God.  We are motivated by their value in the eyes of our Lord to both love them and to serve them.    

     II Corinthians 5:18-21 relates to us that we are motivated by reconciliation.  God has made possible the non-imputation of sin and the imputation of righteousness.  The news that each one we meet can be fully reconciled to God through belief in His righteousness as a gift to them is a powerful motivation in our lives.    

  

     II Corinthians 6:1-2 impresses us that time is a powerful motivation in our relationship with others.  The guarantee of more time is not given to anyone.  “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2b)

     II Corinthians 6:3-10 lists the sufferings Paul endured and mentions them as motivations to continue to be faithful in service to the Lord.  He refers to those again in Philippians 3:10.  “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  He also refers to these in Colossians 1:24,  “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, which is the church.”  

 

     The above list of motivations all have a similar goal, which is to enable us to be productive  in the Lord’s ministry.  This ministry, which He has given to us, is described in II Corinthians 2:14 -II Corinthians 6:13.  In this section of scripture we are called “ministers of a new covenant.” ( II Cor. 3:6)  It is in this passage that we are introduced to “the ministry of the Spirit” in II Cor. 3:8, the “ministry that brings righteousness,” (II Cor. 3:9) and the “ministry of reconciliation.” (II Cor. 5:18)  The new covenant is the ministry of the Spirit through us that brings righteousness and reconciliation to many others.  It is my prayer that the Lord will use these motivations richly in your lives to both increase and multiply His eternal harvest!  

In Christ, Richard Spann   

 Last year I set apart an entire day to come near to God.  I had spent afternoons of four hours alone with God previously, but this was the first time that I had scheduled an entire day with Him.  I did not meet anyone else the entire day except for an employee at Quik Trip.  I ate all my meals alone and talked with no one else all day.  I wanted a day just to spend in His presence, talking to Him in prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to Him. 

     Most of the day was involved in driving to different locations throughout the city.  I spent time in prayer at all of these places.  They included homes in which I had previously lived, schools, as well as several churches where I had attended earlier in life.  All the hospitals, offices, and clinics in which I had once been employed were visited as well.  The day brought back many memories of people and events.  A number of opportunities had been given over a lifetime to help others with medical problems.  In numerous cases, opportunities were made available to share the Gospel and to invest in the lives of many.  These investments had taken place in various homes in which I had lived, as well as in churches, hospitals and clinics.  My mind went back to encounters I remembered.  Many questions came to mind.  In the case of some, I was not sure that they had ever come to faith in Christ.  Others faced severe medical problems which had not been resolved at the time of my retirement.  I particularly remembered those who were following Christ as a result of our time together.  I had not seen some of them for a while and was concerned about their walk with the Lord.  Significant time was spent at each location praying for the Lord’s work in each life I remembered.

     Upon returning home late in the afternoon, I reclined in a chair and a quiet thought was given to me from the Lord.  He reminded me that some of the day was to be spent listening to Him, but so far I had done all the talking!  He prompted me to pick up the Bible where I had left off reading from the day before.  He had something He wanted to say!  The first four verses of Exodus chapter 34 were pretty hum-drum.  They were about Moses chiseling out some stone tablets. (Yawn!)   Then I came to verse five.  This was His word for me that day.  This is what He had been wanting me to know all day!  This was His promise to me from James 4:8, which says, “Come near to me and I will come near to you.”  The verse He picked out for me that day could not have been more perfect!  “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.”  (Exodus 34:5)   He wanted me to know that from the beginning of that day until the end, He had been proclaiming His name, the LORD, to me.  He was with me in every location, listening to every prayer, concerned about each individual, and answering each prayer as it was uttered!  How do I know this?  I know this because His name is the LORD, the becoming One.  He is the One who becomes all I need Him to be.  He also was assuring me that He was becoming all that the people I cared about needed as well.  He was taking care of each one, drawing them further to Himself and building them up in Christ.  He was also becoming what I needed in comfort, confidence and reassurance.  He was reminding me of his promise given to us in I Corinthians 15:58,  “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  This day was a powerful personal reminder of His promise to us in James 4:8,  “Come near to God and He will come near to you.”

     James 4:8 begins with an invitation,  “Come.”  How often has this invitation been given to us in the scriptures?  How often has the Holy Spirit whispered to me “come” in the past?  Did I dismiss this thought simply because I was distracted, or not taking the thought seriously?  Did I really think it was all that important?  Did I even know what it meant to come near?   As I consider the significance of the word “come,” another word occurs to me.  This word is “open.”  I need to to open up my schedule to be available to Him.  I must open my mind to understand, and open my heart to respond to Him.  This involves waiting on Him.  This is not the waiting on Him for answers, nor the waiting for Him to fix a problem, but rather waiting to  know Him more deeply.  The “come” He is interested in is simply to be with him, to be changed by Him into His likeness, and to rejoice in my oneness with Him.    

     The Lord’s promise to us, as contained in James 4:8, is that He will come to us!  He is longing, yes, longing to reveal Himself to us.  Nothing pleases Him more.  That is why He created us, so that He might reveal Himself to us in love and receive our love in return.  As St. Augustine states, “He thirsts to be thirsted after.”  It is our knowledge of Him that produces our love for Him, which results in our worship and praise of all that He is.  He watches, and waits for us to come.  It is not just that He takes two steps towards us when we take only one.  No!  He comes running!  If you doubt this, reread Luke 15:20!   

     The LORD’s very name implies His desire to come to us.  The Becoming One is all we need now, or will ever need.  God, and God alone,  is enough.  Nothing but Him will ultimately satisfy the human heart.  We were created to know Him.  The more we know of Him, the more we want to come to Him.  To the degree and frequency we come to Him we will appreciate that He is, indeed, all that we need.      

In Christ, Richard Spann      

                                                 If the mind is closed,

                                             we can speak to the heart.

                                                                John Ridgway  

     We were created in the image of God with an intellect (mind), a will and emotions.  The function of the mind was to perceive truth as it is related to God, the will would then respond in obedience and the emotions would rejoice in that decision.  In our fallen state of rebellion that we inherited from Adam, the order is typically reversed.  Our emotions govern our will, with the mind (intellect) serving only to justify the faulty decision of the will.  II Corinthians 4:4 tells us that “The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  Ephesians 4:18 relates to us that our “understanding” is darkened.  G. Campbell Morgan characterized this darkened understanding as “Intellectual limitation secondary to spiritual dullness resulting from moral failure.”  The only hope for our failure is found in II Corinthians 4:6 where it states “For God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,‘ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”  As followers of Christ, we are sent forth as His salt and His light.  His light penetrates the minds of some with whom we interact but not others.  Our efforts to persuade are met with indifference and noncommittal.  Such apologists as Josh McDowell (Evidence that Demands a Verdict), Lee Strobel (The Case for Faith), and C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity) are met with either skepticism or disinterest.  Various intellectual objections are raised for which no explanation seems satisfactory to their minds.  Their minds are closed to the gospel of Christ.  

     John Ridgway, a Navigator missionary who has served in India and Indonesia, related a story several years ago in which a relative of his had a closed mind to the gospel.  John’s words, and those of others had been fruitless for an extended period of time.  Although his relative’s mind was closed to a consideration of the gospel message, John determined that he could still speak to this man’s heart.  The need of his heart was simply to experience God’s love.  John then began to share some of the portions of the Psalms describing the great love that the Lord had for his relative.  These included Psalm 23, 121 and numerous others.  The message repeated so often in Psalm 107 is that of God’s love reaching us in many different situations, including those related to our blindness and rebellion.  The Psalm starts with the phrase in verse one “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever,” and concludes with verse 43 which states “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.”  Four times in the Psalm, after each situation is resolved by the hand of the Lord, whether it be due to hunger and thirst with their lives ebbing away, subjection to bitter labor with no one to help, suffering affliction because of iniquities, or circumstances that brought them to their wits‘ end, the verse is inserted which states “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.”  As months went by, his relatives‘ intellectual resistance began to melt away and disappeared.  God’s love had penetrated his heart and he subsequently became a follower of Christ.

     Over the years I have encountered a number of individuals with a closed mind toward the gospel.  One such man had declined over a period of ten years to even look at the Bible together.  Several years ago I heard that he had been admitted to the hospital for a surgical procedure.  Motivated by John Ridgway’s remarks, I considered speaking to his heart through the Psalms.  I brought him a devotional book with daily readings and gave it to him while he was in the hospital.  I did not see him again for several months, at which time he related that he enjoyed the book so much that he was reading it morning and evening.  Our relationship has now developed to a point where we are discussing the gospel message freely.  The Lord had spoken to his mind through his heart.  In the recent past I have also met with a young man who had several intellectual objections to the Bible and its message.  Some of these he held so strongly that he didn’t even want me to discuss them with him.  Furthermore, he was not convinced of the authority of the Bible nor its relevance to his life.  After a year or more of reading through several of the Gospels together, his objections seemed to vanish.  He has never mentioned them again.  The love of God expressed to him through the person of Christ had spoken to his heart.  He has since openly confessed Christ as his Lord and Savior and looks to the word of God for guidance in his life.

     Hebrews 4:12 relates that the word of God is a “living and active sword.”  If someone is continually exposed to the word, it will do its work in their lives.  Jim Morris used the illustration of a person being confronted by another individual holding a knife and hearing them say “give me your money!”  If the individual confronted were to say “I don’t believe that is a knife,” the one with the knife might then be tempted to prove that it is, indeed, a knife!  In a similar way, the objections to the word not having validity or authority does not prevent the Holy Spirit from doing its work in the lives of others.  

     Although there are a number of authors who speak decisively about many doctrinal and apologetic positions, I have never ceased to rely ultimately upon bringing individuals face to face with Christ in the gospels.  Despite intellectual limitation, spiritual dullness and moral failure, mankind universally suffers from weariness and burdens.  It is only as they consider the person of Christ that they hear Him say “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)  It is here that they ultimately find God’s great love for them expressed in Christ.  “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  (I John 4:10)   

     As you share His love with others, my prayer for you is what Paul prayed for the Thessalonians.  “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” (II Thessalonians 1:11) 

In Christ, Richard Spann                                           

                                 Come near to God and He will come near to you.

                                                                                              James 4:8                                                                                  

     Last year I set apart an entire day to come near to God.  I had spent afternoons of four hours alone with God previously, but this was the first time that I had scheduled an entire day with Him.  I did not meet anyone else the entire day except for an employee at Quik Trip.  I ate all my meals alone and talked with no one else all day.  I wanted a day just to spend in His presence, talking to Him in prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to Him. 

     Most of the day was involved in driving to different locations throughout the city.  I spent time in prayer at all of these places.  They included homes in which I had previously lived, schools, as well as several churches where I had attended earlier in life.  All the hospitals, offices, and clinics in which I had once been employed were visited as well.  The day brought back many memories of people and events.  A number of opportunities had been given over a lifetime to help others with medical problems.  In numerous cases, opportunities were made available to share the Gospel and to invest in the lives of many.  These investments had taken place in various homes in which I had lived, as well as in churches, hospitals and clinics.  My mind went back to encounters I remembered.  Many questions came to mind.  In the case of some, I was not sure that they had ever come to faith in Christ.  Others faced severe medical problems which had not been resolved at the time of my retirement.  I particularly remembered those who were following Christ as a result of our time together.  I had not seen some of them for a while and was concerned about their walk with the Lord.  Significant time was spent at each location praying for the Lord’s work in each life I remembered.

     Upon returning home late in the afternoon, I reclined in a chair and a quiet thought was given to me from the Lord.  He reminded me that some of the day was to be spent listening to Him, but so far I had done all the talking!  He prompted me to pick up the Bible where I had left off reading from the day before.  He had something He wanted to say!  The first four verses of Exodus chapter 34 were pretty hum-drum.  They were about Moses chiseling out some stone tablets. (Yawn!)   Then I came to verse five.  This was His word for me that day.  This is what He had been wanting me to know all day!  This was His promise to me from James 4:8, which says, “Come near to me and I will come near to you.”  The verse He picked out for me that day could not have been more perfect!  “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.”  (Exodus 34:5)   He wanted me to know that from the beginning of that day until the end, He had been proclaiming His name, the LORD, to me.  He was with me in every location, listening to every prayer, concerned about each individual, and answering each prayer as it was uttered!  How do I know this?  I know this because His name is the LORD, the becoming One.  He is the One who becomes all I need Him to be.  He also was assuring me that He was becoming all that the people I cared about needed as well.  He was taking care of each one, drawing them further to Himself and building them up in Christ.  He was also becoming what I needed in comfort, confidence and reassurance.  He was reminding me of his promise given to us in I Corinthians 15:58,  “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  This day was a powerful personal reminder of His promise to us in James 4:8,  “Come near to God and He will come near to you.”

     James 4:8 begins with an invitation,  “Come.”  How often has this invitation been given to us in the scriptures?  How often has the Holy Spirit whispered to me “come” in the past?  Did I dismiss this thought simply because I was distracted, or not taking the thought seriously?  Did I really think it was all that important?  Did I even know what it meant to come near?   As I consider the significance of the word “come,” another word occurs to me.  This word is “open.”  I need to to open up my schedule to be available to Him.  I must open my mind to understand, and open my heart to respond to Him.  This involves waiting on Him.  This is not the waiting on Him for answers, nor the waiting for Him to fix a problem, but rather waiting to  know Him more deeply.  The “come” He is interested in is simply to be with him, to be changed by Him into His likeness, and to rejoice in my oneness with Him.    

     The Lord’s promise to us, as contained in James 4:8, is that He will come to us!  He is longing, yes, longing to reveal Himself to us.  Nothing pleases Him more.  That is why He created us, so that He might reveal Himself to us in love and receive our love in return.  As St. Augustine states, “He thirsts to be thirsted after.”  It is our knowledge of Him that produces our love for Him, which results in our worship and praise of all that He is.  He watches, and waits for us to come.  It is not just that He takes two steps towards us when we take only one.  No!  He comes running!  If you doubt this, reread Luke 15:20!   

     The LORD’s very name implies His desire to come to us.  The Becoming One is all we need now, or will ever need.  God, and God alone,  is enough.  Nothing but Him will ultimately satisfy the human heart.  We were created to know Him.  The more we know of Him, the more we want to come to Him.  To the degree and frequency we come to Him we will appreciate that He is, indeed, all that we need.      

In Christ, Richard Spann             

         The Lord has created a magnificent universe for us to see and enjoy.  From the smallest flower, (Matthew 6:28) to the most distant star, (Psalms 19:1) it is designed for our pleasure.  Some, however, are born without sight, and others, like myself, are born with poor vision.  I started wearing glasses at eight years of age.  My vision steadily worsened, but I thought all was being done to help me see because I already wore glasses!  In little league baseball I looked like one of the three stooges, (Larry, Moe, and Curly), when I was playing baseball.  I didn’t react in time to be an infielder, and couldn’t judge a fly ball as an outfielder.  They tried me out as a pitcher, but removed me from the mound after walking two batters, striking out two, and hitting two others with the baseball!  In college, I miraculously survived an accident caused by my poor eyesight.  Not until after I was married did I see an optometrist who realized the degree of difficulty I was experiencing.  When fitted with the proper glasses I could see the individual leaves on a tree for the first time!  After having poor vision for the first twenty five years of my life, I could finally see what was created for me to see.    

     There is another type of sight for which we have been created as well.  It is the sight that allows us to see spiritual truth.  The Lord addresses the need for this sight in the following words, “I have come into the world to give sight to those who are spiritually blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39, Living Bible)  In the spiritual realm, many spend far more than twenty five years in blindness.  We are all born spiritually blind, but only become aware of that fact later in life.  The results of spiritual blindness, however, are infinitely more significant than inability to play baseball or to avoid accidents while driving.    What is this spiritual blindness to which He refers?  He is referring to the refusal to put our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior.  If we have received sight through the Grace of God in Christ Jesus, we need to guard this sight lest we become nearsighted and blind through our failure to persevere in our walk with Him.  This warning is recorded for us in II Peter 1:5-9.  “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”   

     As blessed as we are to enjoy physical and spiritual sight, however, they are only the preliminary gifts of sight!  What the Lord has in mind for us to see far surpasses our imagination.  It is a sight about which we are told that no one can see and go on living!  It is the ultimate in beauty and glory.  It is the face of God Himself!  The Lord has promised that those who belong to Him will see His face.  “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” (Revelation 21:4)  This is what the psalmist was anticipating when he wrote these words long ago.  “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:  I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” (Psalm 17:15)  The entire world is after that which satisfies the human soul.  It is this vision, the face of God, that brings us the ultimate satisfaction for which we were created.  Seeing God face to face is the promise which we have been given for the future.  It is of significant interest, then, that we find admonitions to seek His face now.  One of these is in Psalm 27:8.  “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’  Your face, LORD, I will seek!”  What does it mean for us to seek His face now?     

     The scriptures themselves are instructive to those who would seek His face.  The psalmist declares, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?  Who may stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Psalm 24:3-4)  The Lord Himself states the following, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Mathew 5:8)  In seeking His face, we discover what Thomas Merton describes….”that God loves you, is present in you, lives in you, dwells in you, calls you, saves you, and offers you an understanding and light which are like nothing you ever found in books or heard in sermons.” Thomas Merton, The Hidden Ground of Love, ed. William Shannon (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1985)  pg.156.  Theodore Brakel, a Dutch Pietist in the seventeenth century describes his seeking as follows.  “I was ….transported into such a state of joy and my thoughts were so drawn upward that, seeing God with the eyes of my soul, I felt one with him.  I felt myself transported into God’s being and at the same time I was so filled with joy, peace and sweetness, that I cannot express it.  With my spirit I was entirely in heaven for two or three days.”  As quoted in F. Ernest Stoeffler, The Rise of Evangelical Pietism (Leiden: Brill, 1965) pg.149. 

      We were created to see, not just the material, or the spiritual, but to see the face of God Himself.  It is in the seeking of His face now that we discover that God, and God alone, satisfies the longing of our hearts.  Until we are with Him in Glory we can only behold Him now with the eyes of our soul.  The thirst to see Him, even with the eyes of our soul, is implanted in us by God. (John 17:24)  As we respond to this thirst, we are drawn into a worshipful identity with the Trinity, our oneness with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (John 17:21-22)  It is my desire and prayer for you that as you seek Him now your hearts will be filled with His presence as you await the day to see Him face to face. 

In Christ, Richard Spann       

     

    

 

           

    

                                    The High Places, however, were not removed.

     “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD His God, as the heart of David his father had been.” (I Kings 11:4)  “On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.”  He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.” (I Kings 11:7-8)  The seeds of destruction in the form of idol worship were planted throughout Judah, leading to its final destruction and removal to Babylon .  Although Hezekiah removed them more than 210 years later, they were rebuilt by his son Manasseh and only finally destroyed by Josiah nearly three hundred years after Solomon had built them.  Even those considered as “good” kings did not remove them.  Asa did not fully remove them. (I Kings 15:14)  During Jehoshaphat’s reign it was said that “The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.” (I Kings 22:43)  Although Joash was considered a “good” king, the same was written about him in II Kings 12:3, “The high places, however, were not removed.”  The same was also written about other “good” kings, about Amaziah (II Kings 14:4), Azariah (II Kings 15:4), and Jotham. (II Kings 15:35)   

     The knowledge of God that the people of Israel were given was to result in the love of God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and be manifested in the fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:13), and in trust in Him.  Instead the nation, progressively over three hundred years, trusted false gods.  They depended upon these idols to provide for them, to protect and to guide them.  Instead of fearing and serving the One true God (Deuteronomy 6:13), they feared and served other gods.    They went to these high places first rather than make the trip to Jerusalem to worship the One true God.  

     In Galatians 6:7 it is written.  “Do not be deceived.  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.”  The same is true for nations.  For nearly three hundred years the nation had sown itself to idolatry.  The reaping is described in II Chronicles 34:24-25.  “This is what the LORD says:  I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people-all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the King of Judah.  Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all that their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.” 

     Our nation is now 246 years old.  It was founded to provide us the freedom to worship God.  Our coins still say “In God We Trust.”  High places, however, have been progressively built and have not been removed.  Increasingly, more and more of the population seeks to burn incense at those idols that have been established in our country.  What are these idols, these high places?  They represent those things in which we put our trust, those things that provide for us, that give us protection and guidance.  The list is legion.  It includes our retirement accounts, jobs, reputations, education, degrees which we may possess, skills, natural abilities, as well as our race and our cultural background.  Pastor Tony Evans regards all these as a “resource.”  He states that there is only one Source for our lives who is the LORD.  He is the One we should fear, worship and trust. He is the One in charge of all the resources.  He is free to take care of us by using any of none of the resources we can number.  He is our only Source.  When we take any resource we have and regard it as the Source, we have created an idol, a high place at which we worship. 

     G. Campbell Morgan makes these comments about worship.  “It is unthinkable and impossible that human nature should exist without a god in some form.  The most blatant infidel, denying the existence of a Supreme Being, yet worships; and where there is no other object, then man enshrines his own intellect, bows down before that, declaring that he will receive and yield to the things he can comprehend, thus making his understanding the very deity that receives his worship.”  The Crisis of the Christ, Hardpress Publishing, Fifth Edition, page 22.  With man’s understanding as his deity, then, truth is relative, each person having their own truth.  Sexual immorality, then, becomes sexual choice, sexual preference, and sexual freedom.  Our country is only twenty four years short of the time God allowed His chosen people before it was time for them to reap what they had sown.  Has the Lord already started His judgment?  The gods and idols of many have been exposed and threatened by the twenty percent drop in the market and the highest rate of inflation in forty years.   

     What is true of nations is also true of us as individuals.  We need to examine our own lives as well.  Deuteronomy 6:13 says that we should “serve Him only.”  We can tell what we are serving by looking at our resources.  Where do we use financial resources that we do not need at the moment?  When we are not on our jobs, how do we use our time?  What occupies our thinking in moments when we are not busy?  Where do we use the talents that Lord has given us?  What are we most concerned about losing?  How do we raise our children?  Do we focus on the development of their Christian character, preparing them to make a difference in the world, or do we train them to merely make a living?  By focusing merely on their education, their degrees, their employment opportunities and careers we have unknowingly led them to worship and burn incense at the idol called the American dream. 

     How do we, then, remove the high places in our lives?  We must realize that we cannot serve God and high places at the same time.  “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24)  We also need to realize that these high places are not trust worthy.  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Mathew 6:19)  We need to return with our whole heart to the One Source who is our Life and allow Him to be in charge of all resources.  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 6:33)  It is by trusting in Him only that we can experience His removal of the high places in our lives.  

     When we are freed from our high places we are then able to know God more fully.  To know God is to love Him.  To love hIm is to trust Him.  He, as our One Source, has given us the following promises.  “The Lord Himself will go before you.  He will be with you.  He will not leave you or forget you.  Don’ t be afraid and don’t worry.”  (Deuteronomy 31:8)  “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:19)  

In Christ, Richard Spann   

     

     

               

                                                          Because He Lives

     It was a very festive occasion.  My wife and I along with other members of our church had been invited to a retirement party for one of our pastors.  We met and conversed with a number of those we knew and we were looking forward to the program which was to celebrate his years of service.  Despite the upbeat atmosphere, however, I was suppressing a gnawing concern about a biopsy that was performed two days earlier.  The results were to be available the next morning.  I kept telling myself that there was only a slight elevation of the PSA and the likelihood of having prostate cancer was slim.  As different speakers talked about the service and life of the pastor I forgot completely about my health concerns, that is, until the soloist began to sing one of Bill Gaither’s songs.  

                                 Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

                                 Because He lives, all fear is gone.

                                 Because I know He holds the future, 

                                 And life is worth the living, just because He lives.  

Despite the fact that this was one of our pastor’s favorites and had been a request of his for the program, the Holy Spirit immediately impressed me with the following thoughts.  “This song is for you as well as for the pastor.  The biopsy is positive for cancer, but you can face tomorrow, because I live and I will be with you.”   

     His presence did sustain me through the surgery and has sustained me since.  The scriptures often remind us of His presence as in Isaiah 41:10.  “So do not fear, for I am with you.”  He holds the future firmly in His grasp as He tells us in Psalm 139:3 (LB).  “You chart the path ahead of me, and tell me where to stop and rest.”  And in verse 5 (LB), it says the following.  “You both precede and follow me, and place your hand of blessing on my head.”  Why is life worth the living just because He lives?  The fact that He is resurrected and lives today firmly establishes the fact the God was satisfied with His sacrifice for us.  In Him we have pardon and peace.  He lives to give His life to us so that in Him we have His purity, His power and His purpose.  Life is worth the living because He lives in us to manifest His love to us and through us! 

     In the years that followed, the Holy Spirit continued to enlarge my understanding of this song, not only of the chorus, but of the stanzas as well.  

                                  How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

                                  and feel the pride and joy he (she) brings;

                                  But greater still the calm assurance;

                                  this child can face uncertain days because He lives!    

     I remember clearly holding our first daughter the day she was born in a Rochester MN hospital.  The pride and joy that I felt then I still feel today.  That pride and joy grew and grew as she followed Christ throughout her life.  She married a godly young man and started her family eventually having five children.  When the youngest child was but four years of age, however, she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.  She faced many uncertain days of pain, nausea, weakness and side effects of chemotherapy over the next next five years.  She faced these days, however, with calm assurance until the day the Lord took her home last year.  She knew that the Lord held her future in his hands.  Because He lived in her and through her, life was worth the living just because He lives.

    

   

                                And then one day I’ll cross the river

                                I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;

                                And then, as death gives way to victory,

                                I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives!  

     Last year, I held my wife’s hand as she crossed the river.  She had fought life’s final war with pain.  Death gave way to victory.  As I was looking at her, she was looking at the lights of glory!  Before long I will join her in beholding those lights.  I have had four surgeries, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy for recurrent bladder cancer over the last seven years.  Whether the Lord calls me home this year or waits many years is uncertain.  What is certain, however, is His love for me.  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)   It is because of this love that I continue to sing the chorus I heard that night twenty years ago!     

                                Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

                                Because He lives, all fear is gone

                                Because I know He holds the future.

                                And life is worth the living, 

                                Just because He lives.  

In Christ, Richard Spann