Sunday, January 30, 2011

Affections on the world or on heaven? Quotation from John Newton (1725-1807)

Affections on the world or on heaven?  Quotation from John Newton (1725-1807)

"By these things, likewise, they are made more willing to leave the present world, to which we are prone to cleave too closely in our hearts when our path is very smooth.  Had Israel enjoyed thier former peace and prosperity in Egypt, when Moses came to invite them to  Canaan, I think they would hardly have listened to him.  But the Lord  suffered them to be brought into great trouble and bondage, and then the news of deliverance was more welcome, yet still they were but half  willing, and they carried a love to the flesh-pots of Egypt with them into the wilderness."

      "We are like them:  though we say this world is  vain and sinful, we are too fond of it; and though we hope for true happiness only in Heaven, we are often well content to stay longer here.  But the Lord sends afflictions one after another to quicken our  desires, and to convince us that this cannot be our rest.  Sometimes if you drive a bird form one branch of a tree he will hop to another a  little higher, and from thence to a third; but if you continue to  disturb him, he will at last take wing, and fly quite away.  Thus we,  when forced from one creature comfort, perch upon another, and so on;"   

My Father's House--Part Three

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament discusses this word, "Perhaps the most theologically interesting usage of laqah centers around the two clear contexts where the word describes bodily assumption into heaven. We refer to Enoch’s disappearance when God "took" him (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah’s assumption in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:3, 10-11) Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took [laqach] him."
2 Kings 2:3 "And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take [laqach] away thy master from thy head to day? . . . 2 Kings 2:10-11

And he said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. [11] And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up [ascended] by a whirlwind into heaven."

III. Real Life Application. These six verses comforted my wife a great deal as she faced death from pancreatic cancer. Less than two months before the Lord came to take her home to be with Him, she wrote these words to my sister:
"I will continue to pray that some night we go to sleep and even as we sleep that the Lord Jesus will come and take us home. Remember when Thomas asked Him, how can we go to you, we don't know the way and he said that he would come for us. What a beautiful thing. We don't have to fear the home going."And then she wrote, "I pray that the Lord will give you His Peace as only HE can give. I love you, Minnie"

"His peace"–that’s what Jesus left us as a legacy in that same chapter:
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
                                                                       –Pastor Burnside
[Note: I preached this same message on July 19, 2009 at Oak Bay Baptist Church in Port Hadlock, Washington and my wife was present as she always tried to be when her failing strength allowed. This was the last formal sermon she ever heard me preach. I resigned from my pulpit the next month in order to have 24-hour days free to take care of her.

 The Lord came for her just as He promised on January 13, 2010 and she was guarded by the great peace He gave her even unto the end of her journey–and her entrance into eternal life. The truths taught by Jesus in these few verses were such a great comfort to her–and to me. And I pray they will be for you, too, because you, too, will face death, but if it’s really your home-going to be with the Lord, then there is both joy and peace awaiting you. "Fear not, neither be dismayed." "I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand." Isaiah 41:10]

My Father's House--Part Two

II. How are we going to get there? Who will take us there?         Do you realize the significance of what Jesus is saying about how His children actually make the journey from their deathbed to heaven's glory? Look at it carefully: don't allow your heart to be troubled because Jesus has given us His peace (John 14:27); we trust in God the Father; trust also in Jesus. In "my Father's house." What a description! We're home and in the place that Jesus has prepared for us.

        Now don't miss verse 3, when the time comes, Jesus said,

         This is stupendous, absolutely glorious! You say, "Jesus became a man, one man. How can He do that with all the children that He has in this world?" You may be overlooking one very important thing. Jesus is God and in the incarnation when He became a baby and grew to manhood, He was still God--the perfect Man but also completely God from all eternity past as the eternal Son of God. Since He is God, He is omnipresent--and has all the attributes of deity that He has always had. The reality is that God cannot become less than God. So it is Jesus Himself who comes for us when we die. Hold onto that promise; it's there in John 14:3. And in v. 6 "No one comes to the Father but by Me."


 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." The word translated from the Greek is much stronger than the KJV shows. The Greek word is paralambano and it means to receive or to take in the sense of "taking along with. . . of taking to. . . . Jesus, by the Spirit, takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He Himself conducts them to Himself." (Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, II, p. 240) That’s why the ESV and the NIV both translate this "I will take you (to be with me.)"

        "The change of tense (to future) is intentional; the future pointing to the future personal reception of the believer through death." Vincent’s Word StudiesParalambano how can we know the way?"what’s going on after death. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."means taking along with or taking to. Jesus takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He Himself conducts them to Himself "that where I am, there ye may be also." Whether the Lord comes back or whether we die first, Jesus will come for us and take us to be where He is. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord."

          You can see the meaning of paralambano clearly in Matthew 2:13KJV "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." This was written when King Herod ordered the slaughter of the little baby boys in Bethlehem. But the meaning of "take" (paralambano) is clear in "take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt." That’s what Jesus will do when He comes for us on our death bed: He will "take" us to be with Him.

4] "And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. [5] Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and
Thomas was saying, "Our knowledge stops at death. How can we go to the Father unless we die? You’re going to die and go somewhere, but we don’t know
[6] [Jesus saith unto him,

        In other words, "You don’t need to know how to get there. I’m coming to take you there!"Jesus doesn’t just give us directions to the Father’s house–He takes us there! That’s why death for the Christian is such a glorious experience. Whether through death or in the Rapture, we can trust Him to take us to the Father’s house.

         Death is called "sleep" in scripture. We go to sleep down here and we awake in the Presence of Jesus. "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Psalm 17:15 "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2

         In the Old Testament you get a picture of something similar to your spirit being taken into heaven when you die. Psalm 73:24 says, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Receive also means "take" in the OT.   The word is laqach meaning "to take." The HCSB translates 73:24 "You guide me with Your counsel, and afterwards You will
take me up to glory." Psalm 49:15

My Father's House--Part One

My Father’s House John 14.1-6
I. Situation: The Evening before Jesus died. (This was Thursday evening; Jesus died on Good Friday.)
        Of course the disciples were troubled and anxious and fearful of the future. Jesus reassured them that though He was going away, He would not leave them alone. He was going to send "Another Comforter," the Holy Spirit who would always be with them. For the disciples, their whole world seemed about to fall apart. They didn’t understand what was happening or what they would do when Jesus was taken away from them. So Jesus wants to prepare them for the sorrow and turmoil that is about to come.
        Can you imagine Jesus’ attitude here? He is fully aware of the terrible and excruciatingly painful experience awaiting Him as "his hour" had come. He was facing the most significant events in all of human history: his death and resurrection. And what was He thinking about? What was He preoccupied with? Looking after His disciples after His departure. This is amazing and it teaches us how to live and what our attitude should be–not so preoccupied with ourselves but with God’s glory and others’ needs.
        Here are some of the most comforting words and blessed promises that Jesus ever spoke. The disciples are with Jesus in the Upper Room celebrating the Last Passover together just hours before Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins. He had told them that He will be going away and return to the Father and they are, of course, sorrowful. Why should He leave them after such a few short years of ministry and teaching? He had told them this was necessary. Otherwise their sins would not be forgiven. He was to bear the sins of the world that we might have eternal life.
        "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:1-2
        They had heard but didn’t really understand. Now He tells them that they do not have to allow their hearts to be troubled. You believe in God even though you don’t see Him. Believe also in me even when you do not see me. I will still be present with you just as God the Father is now.
        Many times in your life you have had reason to be "troubled." In fact, we presently live in "troublesome times." You may be troubled, but you don’t need to stay that way. The Lord tells us the reason for these difficult trials: "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7 God has a reason for the suffering. They are producing for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor. 4:17        Think of what Jesus achieved through the suffering of the cross! Without Him and His death on the cross we would be eternally lost. Then Jesus told them that in "my Father’s house" is room for all who are in Christ and that Jesus was going there to heaven "to prepare a place for you." It’s wonderful to have a place of your own, but how much more wonderful when it is "in my Father’s house." And Jesus’ Father is our Father because we are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
        Heaven is pictured in scripture as a country, the celestial city, the kingdom of God. It’s called paradise because of its beauty. But here Jesus calls heaven His Father’s home, the dwelling place of God. It’s our home, too. We’re going home; we’re on our way there now–it’s quite a journey to the Celestial City, isn’t it? We’re not going to an unfamiliar place where we’re not known. We’re going home. We will not be guests there; we’re children of the King. "It’s home like home has never been."
        From time to time here on earth we experience the joy of genuine worship of God, and realize that it is our highest joy to be giving him glory. But in heaven this joy will be multiplied many times over and we will know the fulfillment of that for which we were created. Our greatest joy will be in seeing the Lord Himself and in being with Him forever.        V
ery often in our travels, we might be in Hong Kong, or Taiwan or Australia, or Europe, far from home and perhaps ready to go home then, I would tell my wife, "Honey, my home is where you are." And she understood and I understood. She was so dear to me that my home was wherever she was. When we get to heaven, we are going to realize that heaven is what it is because Jesus is there! And we are going to find perfect satisfaction and joy in His Presence. ". . . In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Ps. 16.11

Friday, January 28, 2011

"Jesus commands my destiny."

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,
    this is the power of Christ in me;
    from life's first cry to final breath,
    Jesus commands my destiny.
   
    No power of hell, no scheme of man,
    can ever pluck me from His hand,
    'til He returns or calls me home;
    here in the power of Christ I'll stand."
                        --"In Christ Alone"
 
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the angels announced His birth to the shepherds, they told them, "Fear not!"  And that's what Jesus told the disciples during the storm at sea.  And He told them again the night before He died, "Let not your heart be troubled . . . neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
        That command and the promises that go with it are throughout scripture.  One of our favorites that is underlined in Minnie's Bible and on which she relied was
Isaiah 41:10
    fear not, for I am with you;
        be not dismayed, for I am your God;
    I will strengthen you, I will help you,
        I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  
That verse gives us five reasons not to be afraid--or even be dismayed:  because God Himself has spoken:
        1. I am with you.
        2. I am your God.
        3.  I will strengthen you.
        4. I will help you.
        5. I will uphold you.
        God who created the universe and holds it together has promised to be with us.  What greater resource do we need than that?  He promises us His strength, His help, and His Presence.    Go in the strength He gives you today. . . .
            And He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14
                                                                                   
 

Friday, January 14, 2011

A glimpse of heaven

          Yesterday January 13, 2011 was the one year anniversary since my wife died and went to be with the Lord.  Several people called me and many people wrote me e-mails and I appreciate all of them.  It was a good day because we were rejoicing that Minnie is now with the Lord and experiencing the joys of heaven.  And what are those joys that she is experiencing right now?  I posted an article on this blog on November 3, 2010 called "The Glory that is Yet to Come" that tells many things about heaven.  You can find it by looking at my list of articles under "Heaven."  Here are a few excerpts from that article:
 
http://billandminnieburnside.blogspot.com/search/label/heaven

          Our family life should be a little glimpse of heaven on earth as we love one another, help one another, and share in one another’s burdens and problems. Our homes should be a shelter from the world and a place where all learn of Christ and worship and serve Him together. They are not always that way, but to the extent that we show forth the riches of God’s truth in our lives and treat one another in the way that pleases God and we see growth in love and in grace, think of how that closeness will be multiplied in eternity future in heaven.

           Think of a simple meal and pleasant conversation around the evening dinner table. Or of a special feast such as the mother or family prepare at Thanksgiving. We all anticipate those special occasions and thank God for them. What about the delight of participating in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? or of breaking bread together with the Lord in heaven. What will that be like?

            Do you take pleasure in walking through lovely gardens and long walks along a beautiful river or overlooking a seascape? How much greater pleasure will that be when there is nothing to mar its perfection and when the curse has been removed from this old world? God created man and woman and put them together in a garden, the most glorious, perfect garden you can imagine. He gave them a pleasant, but meaningful task to do and the pleasure of each other’s company. And the Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:8

         How much more wonderful will the garden in the New Jerusalem be? “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. . . . ." Rev. 22:1-5

         Think of your favorite music and how delightful it is. But what singing awaits us in heaven and we will participate in it with a heavenly choir and perfect voices. “And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Rev. 5:9-10

        “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” Rev. 15:3
 And if choral music is wonderful, there will be instrumental music in heaven also because several instruments are mentioned in scripture. How much proficiency will we have in music? Remember heaven is a place of perfection and we will have a sinless, glorified body and an attitude much like Jesus Himself. “We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2

          One of the joys of life is learning and discovering new truths about life and exploring God’s works and rejoicing in the works of His hands and His wisdom and creativity, enjoying the complexity and beauty of what He has made. We will continue to learn and discover new truths as we explore God’s wisdom. We are finite and of course will continue to be finite in heaven. We will no longer see as in a fog or a “cloudy mirror.” “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” He’s talking about fellowship with the Lord; certainly he’s not saying we will be omniscient! We cannot be because we are creatures and creatures are finite and limited. God is infinite and the works of God are infinite so we will never exhaust what there is to learn and enjoy throughout all eternity.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

A Year of Happiness

Today--January 13, 2011--is the one year anniversary of Mimi's homegoing, her coronation, her entering eternal life.  Jesus came and took her with Him back to heaven just as He promised in John 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."  She often talked about seeing Him "face-to-face" and now she has!
        We're well aware of the sorrow we've felt this year because of her absence and that sorrow remains, but let's focus today on her and what kind of a year she has had.   We don't know what it's like to be spirit without a body but God and the angels are spirits and they manage very well, thank you.  It's a different realm.  Spirits can see and hear and communicate and love and sing praises to God.  They are invisible to the human eye, but not to each other.   This is a mystery which we will eventually understand ourselves when we, too, go to be with the Lord. 
        So what sort of a life has Minnie had this past year?  We can imagine many things, but much of it would probably simply be just that, imagination.  A better question is: what has God revealed in His word that gives us some glimpse of her life--and what eventually will be yours, too,  if you know Jesus as Savior?
        "I go to prepare a place for you," Jesus said.  So Jesus had already prepared a place for Minnie.  And what a wonderful place it must be--perfectly suited specifically for her because "the Lord knows them that are His"--and everything about her.  So the place is wonderful because God created it but it's even more special because it is individually created just for her.  "A place for you"--doesn't that sound welcome?
        That prepared place is mentioned in another passage:  1 Cor. 2:9
    "But, as it is written,    "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
        nor the heart of man imagined,
    what God has prepared for those who love him"—

        Because we know the character of God and the creativity of God and the grace of God and the promises of God and because we see the providential hand of God everyday in our own lives, we are well assured of how well the Good Shepherd of the sheep takes care of those who are His.  But we also have a lot of scriptures that tell us what we have to look forward to, just as Minnie is presently experiencing.   And one of them is Rev. 14:13
    And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!"  God Himself said it twice in the same verse, Minnie is "blessed," she is "blessed indeed."  And what does it mean to be "blessed"?  It means that you are "favored of God."  It means that you are happy, really happy and satisfied and content such as you never fully experienced in this life.  "fully"--that's the word.  We've had a "foretaste of glory divine," but now Minnie is experiencing it in its fulness.  Jesus prayed to the Father that His followers "may have the full measure of my joy within them."   Minnie has that now.
        And Jesus' prayer to the Father continued, "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."  John 17:24 ESV  What must it be like for Minnie to see Jesus in His glory?  We've just caught a glimpse of His glory and it's totally changed our lives.   And as we "behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,"  we are "being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory" by the Holy Spirit who lives within our bodies as His temple.  But Minnie has actually seen Him now and scripture tells us what the effect of that was on her:  "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 
1 John 3:2 "I will behold thy face [and] I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Psalm 17:15
          Let's do what Minnie showed us how to do every day:  "let us rejoice and be glad in it."
                                                                                              Bill Burnside (for Minnie--and for you)
Today seems an appropriate day to share with you that romantic chapter in "Mimi’s Journey," "Courtship and Marriage"  This is a pdf attachment with a lot of pictures.  Write me a comment and ask for the chapter and I'll send it to you with pictures as a .pdf file.
       

Courtship and Marriage (from "Mimi's Journey" chapter 3) 1955

[I can't post the 8 pictures here, but if you write me a comment with your e-mail address or send me an e-mail, I'll send a .pdf attachment with the pictures.] 

Courtship and Marriage

           Our courtship was only seven weeks long. We met August 5, 1955 and were married
on September 26, 1955. This was the most important event in our lives after knowing Christ
as Savior and we were both well aware of it and joyful and thankful to the Lord for giving us to
each other: “What God hath joined together.” In fact, we took as our “life verse for our
marriage:” Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Many times in our
marriage we would tell each other that the Lord had done “exceeding abundantly” more than
we had even thought or asked for. Looking back after 54 years of marriage, I feel that more
strongly than ever. What an amazing privilege to be married to Minnie all those years. How
good and kind she was to me and such an excellent wife and mother. The heart of her
husband trusts in her. . . . She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”
Proverbs 31:11-12 ESV That was so true of Minnie all her life. As beautiful as she was
physically, her inner beauty of character surpassed even her physical beauty. She knew that
scripture, “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of
a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.” 1 Peter 3:4 ESV

           How did God in His providence bring the two of us together on August 5
finished my tour of duty in the United States Army on 31 January 1955 and returned to college at Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas. My brother was living in San Antonio and was the lay pastor of Alum Creek Baptist Church, a mission church of Richmond Avenue Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Alum Creek was a small country church just a few miles north of Stockdale
on the road to Seguin. Minnie usually went to church in town at First Baptist but she had
relatives and friends who attended Alum Creek and they all decided to go to some special
meetings at Alum Creek. When those meetings ended, Minnie was still attending there temporarily and joined other young people from San Antonio for a church ice cream social the night she met me because I was one of those “young people from San Antonio.” I was staying with Bob and his wife Bernice and little 4-year old boy Kenny during the summer of 1955, intending to return to Howard Payne in the fall. I was working for my dad who was an accountant in San Antonio. Listen to how Minnie described our meeting:
"In August 1955 I went to a
church party with a group of girls.
It was a 'tacky' party--meaning
you wore jeans or something that
was not 'dress up.' We were all in
a backyard enjoying a cook out
and home-made ice cream."

"Suddenly I noticed a very
handsome young man standing
over in a part of the yard with no
one near him, so I went over and
introduced myself. He said his
name was Billy Burnside. Little
did I know that I had just
introduced myself to the love of my life!"

      "The following Sunday morning the pastor introduced him and said that Bill would be teaching the young people on Sunday evenings! All the girls were excited--
"After church I asked him what we would be studying. He told me and I went home to study and prepare some questions to ask Bill! I wanted to get his attention! [Note from "Bill": she already had my attention!--riveted on her!] It worked. He asked me to ride back to San Antonio with him and his brother so we could continue the discussion. . . ." [That discussioncontinued for 54 years!] J-88-89

       Minnie had dated other boys, of course, and had one steady boy friend as well as others she liked, but the kids in Stockdale did many things together and she was very sociable. She loved getting together with the other kids but she worked so many hours that those social occasions were all the more special to her. She wrote, “When you grow up in a small town of 1,000, life is pretty simple. We lived near a river so we would sometimes take a picnic and swim in the river. We also liked to go to the movies. Our little town had a movie theater. We also went to all the activities at the local Baptist church.”

       “We also liked to go to Seguin, a town about 23 miles away.Seguin had a big park with a swimming pool, minature gold and lovely walking trails. There was a drive-in restaurant called The
White House where we loved to go to eat. And we loved to go to rodeos and football games.” J-36

      Speaking of dating and boy-girl relationships, Minnie wrote, “I never felt that I was looking for love. God gave me lots of friends– both girls and guys. I was very young and very busy. We often did things as a group. You didn’t need to have a date to be part of things.” J-87 She said, “I dated one guy off and on for several years. From the beginning my mother didn’t like him. She tried to explain why she thought he was bad for me, but I didn’t want to hear her objections. She allowed me to go out with him but she was strict about where we went and what time I had to be home."   
(Later I was very glad that Minnie’s mother approved of me. She proved to be a very good mother-in-law!)
th and 6th 1955? I
Bob's son Kenny, age 4,
with Uncle Bill & Aunt
Minnie in 1956

        One interesting dating incidenttells something about Minnie’s theological knowledge even as a teenager: “A friend once arranged a blind date with a friend of his. I don’t remember the guy’s name but I remember a conversation. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said, “No.” Then he proceeded to tell me that God was just an idea in my head so it didn’t matter whether we agreed
about it or not. I remember telling him that God was real and that Jesus showed us what God is like. I agreed that if God was only an idea in my head, it wouldn’t matter, but I knew that was false as I know the Lord.” J-87

       When I realized that I had already quickly “fallen in love” with Minnie, I also realized “how can two walk together except they be agreed” [as to where they’re going] Amos 3:3 so I knew I needed to find out what Minnie believed about life and God and the Bible and her purposes in life and what she thought about children and work and a whole host of beliefs. So one night after we began going out together, I stopped at a roadside park and began asking her a lot of questions about her beliefs. I hadn’t intended it as an oral exam, but several years later she asked me one night if I remembered that particular night and of course I did. She told me then, “Do you know what I almost asked you when we drove away from that roadside park? I wanted to ask you, “Did I pass?!” Obviously she did! And I’ve always been thankful, too, that I “passed” in her evaluation and decision to marry me.

        Many years later Minnie mentioned our courtship in a talk on Worship that she gave to
the women’s group “Heart and Hand” at Sequim Bible Church, Sequim, Washington on Oct.
9, 2003. These are her verbatim comments: “And then I had various boyfriends of course as
all girls do and then I met one boy friend that was very different because on every date he
wanted to read the Bible together. And I thought, “Oh, this guy is really neat!” And we did. I
don’t think we ever went out that we didn’t read the Bible and pray together. And we’re still
doing that. [She said that with a sweet smile and approving laughter from the audience.] So
the pattern from the time I met Bill of our relationship together was very much centered
around the Lord.”

         Indeed it was because we both knew the words of Jesus, “Whoever loves father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37 Obviously the same would apply to husband or wife so
our love for Jesus had to be greater than for each other. In some ways that is difficult to
comprehend because of the intense love we had for each other. But we knew what God
required of us and we sought to be obedient and we taught those same truths to our children.
Minnie posing on car for picture about age 17
“We both loved the Lord Jesus,” Minnie wrote in her journal, and wanted to serve Him. Our mutual love of the Lord and our desire to serve Him drew us very close to each other.” “From the beginning we had very long discussions about our views of the world, what we wanted in life and how our lives could bring glory to God.”

       “We became engaged in early September and were married on September 26–same summer we met! [1955] My roommate [Janet Chappel] had moved out and so we decided to change our wedding date from December to September. God has richly blessed our lives together.” J-88 Minnie was 18 and I was 22.

      In her journal Minnie went into more detail:
“Bill and I were engaged with plans to get married during the Christmas vacation of
1955 but my roommate decided she needed to move back with her parents, so I was left with
an apartment and no transportation. This was on a Friday evening. I told Bill the problem
and we tried to figure something out. Finally he said, ‘Well, I could cut class on Monday night
and we could get married on Monday.’ Sounded like a good idea, but I told him we would
need to talk to Mother. We drove to Stockdale and she agreed to help us get a one-day
license on Monday. We planned to have just our families, but my Aunt put an invitation on the
restaurant bulletin board and the little church [Alum Creek Baptist Church] was full. Bill’s
brother, Bob, married us–his first wedding! We did not have a honeymoon at that time, but I
spent a night in a motel for the first time!” J-90
Illustration1955 September 26 Wedding Picture--taken
a few days later  1955 September 26 Wedding Picture--taken a few days  later

        The church was full and it was a simple, but sweet wedding–although I missed the cue to
come in on the wedding march and Janet had to start playing it a second time. An old couple
who were friends of Minnie’s let us hide our car in their garage so that the boys wouldn’t be
able to tie cans on it. And after all the ceremony my brother Bob followed us in a procession
enroute to San Antonio and then when we got to a narrow section of the highway he began
going very, very slowly, blocking the highway from the other cars behind him. Minnie and I
took off quite fast towards San Antonio and none of them ever saw us again that night. We
stayed in a motel in Alamo Heights and then rented our own apartment the next day. And we
both had to go back to work the next day. My dad arranged for a friend to take this wedding
picture the Friday following our Monday wedding. I took Minnie on what amounted to a
delayed honeymoon to Colorado the next summer. [She was such a cute bride! She has on
her wedding dress while we were wading in that cold Colorado river.]
Minnie 1956 in Colorado wading in the river
wearing her wedding dress
Minnie 1956 Continental Divide in Colorado
Minnie in the Colorado Rockies on our
"Honeymoon" Summer 1956

Monday, January 10, 2011

Is there a "Proverbs 31 husband"??

Facebook has carried a discussion of Proverbs 31. I posted several comments and I thought you might be interested to read what I wrote for the church bulletin when I was bringing the evening messages at Sequim Bible Church in Sequim, Washington--about 10 years ago.

Comparing Scripture with Scripture
“Who can find a virtuous woman?” I hope we have many of them at Sequim Bible! Compare the godly wives in Ephesians 5:22-24, 1 Peter 3:1-6 and Proverbs 31:10-31 and let’s put together a composite picture of a virtuous and godly wife. She also is Christlike because the Holy Spirit is in the process of transforming her “into His likeness with ever-increasing glory” 2 Cor. 3:18. And the Holy Spirit is also producing the fruit of the Spirit in her life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Gal. 5:22-23

Is there also a composite picture in the Bible of a virtuous and godly husband? Not in the same way except that the entire Bible describes the Husband of the Bride of Christ. And each of these passages also has important words for the husband: Eph. 5:25-33; Col. 3:19; 1 Peter 3:7-9

What about the Proverbs 31 husband? He’s there! and it’s obvious he has given his wife plenty of “room” to act with her own leadership, creativity, and energy. She has the freedom to “consider a field and buy it,”; to work hard in creative enterprise; to care for her family; and to help those in need. She has freed up her husband from a lot of the home tasks so that he doesn’t need to “micromanage” the home because he has a diligent and effective “helper suitable for him” whom God has created to come alongside him and help him in his God-given responsibilities. (Gen. 2:18; 1:27-28)

Her husband “safely trusts” in his wife and has confidence in her. He calls her “blessed” and he praises her. This evening at 6:00 PM we’ll do likewise, Lord willing.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

“Losing a Tent and Gaining a Mansion”

“Losing a Tent and Gaining a Mansion”
Not to worry. When it comes time for the Lord to take you home, that’s where He will take you. Jesus said, “In my Father's house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and [take] you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Spurgeon put it this way: “The best help to live for the present is to live in prospect of the eternal future. . . . All we can lose is the frail tent of this poor body. We are losing a tent and gaining a mansion.” “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Cor. 5:1 NKJ

“The prospect of his heavenly home made his present trials seem very light; for he felt like a man who sojourns for a night at a poor inn, but puts up with it gladly because he hopes to be home on the morrow.”

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor.4:18 Death is but “the removal of a tottering tent that we might enter into a permanent palace.”

John Quincy Adams also thought of death as leaving a temporary dwelling. When asked as an old man how he was doing, he replied, “John Quincy Adams is well, sir, very well. The house in which he has been living is dilapidated and old, and he has received word from its maker that he must vacate soon. But John Quincy Adams is well, sir, very well.”

The Apostle Peter used the same metaphor or picture of death when he wrote, “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me.” 2 Peter 1:14

What a glorious gain it is to trade in this old dilapidated body of this flesh so that it will be “fashioned like unto his glorious body” Phil. 3:21 and to live in a more glorious place than you can imagine where “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev. 21:4

And we will see “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Rev. 22:1-5 ESV

And what a dwelling place for each child of God because “in my Father's house are many mansions.” John 14:2 And Jesus has gone to prepare a specific place just for you. “The Lord knows them that are His” and He knows everything about you so His choice for your dwelling place will be perfect. 2 Tim. 2:19 & Psalm 139

The Voice of the Lord in a Thunderstorm--Psalm 29

Psalm 29
The Voice of the Lord in a Thunderstorm

“In these verses there are six descriptions of the voice of the Lord, of which the thunderstorm is an emblem. The reader should imagine a magnificent storm coming eastward from the Mediterranean Sea, making landfall to the north in the mountains of Lebanon, and heading south to sweep through Israel, from Sirion (i.e., Mount Hermon, Deut. 3:9) in the northern end to Kadesh at the southern end. The faithful, worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem, see the awesome power of the storm and from it know that the voice of the Lord is even more powerful and even more full of majesty, hence their responsive cry, Glory!”
–ESV Study Bible note, p. 972
With that in mind, read Psalm 29 ESV
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
[3] The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
[4] The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
[5] The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
[6] He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
[7] The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
[8] The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
[9] The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
[10] The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
And KJV has the last verse: “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.” Listen to Spurgeon’s comments:
“There is a peculiar terror in a tempest at sea, when deep calleth unto deep, and the raging sea echoes to the angry sky. No sight more alarming than the flash of lightning around the mast of the ship; and no sound more calculated to inspire a reverent awe than the roar of the storm. . . .
“The Psalmist’s ear hears no voice but that of Jehovah, resounding from the multitudinous and dark waters of the upper ocean of clouds, and echoing from the innumerable billows of the storm-tossed sea below. The waters above and beneath the firmament are astonished at the eternal voice. When the Holy Spirit makes the divine promise to be heard above the many waters of our soul’s trouble, then is God as glorious in the spiritual world as in the universe of matter. Above us and beneath us all is the peace of God when He gives us quiet.”
“The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.” “The King of kings speaks like a king. As when a lion roareth, all the beasts of the forest are still, so is the earth hushed and mute while Jehovah thundereth marvellously. ‘Tis listening fear and dumb amazement all.’ As for the written word of God, its majesty is apparent both in its style, its matter, and its power over the human mind; blessed be God, it is the majesty of mercy wielding a silver sceptre; of such majesty the word of our salvation is full to overflowing.”
–Spurgeon, Psalm 29, I, 2, pp. 30-31

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

"I direct my desire"

“I direct my desire”
What a helpful Psalm we have this morning! Psalm 25 begins with an idiom: “Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” The ESV Study Bible explains that “to lift up my soul” means to “direct my desire” or “set my heart on.” It’s talking about the affections of the heart and implies a “longing” for something or someone.

Where should you direct your “desire”?? You must “take pleasure” in something or someone. What or who will bring you that deep satisfaction to the longings of your heart? Happiness, pleasure, fulfillment, satisfaction, delight–these are all good words which God alone can ultimately satisfy.

So “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2 As a deer thirsts for flowing streams of water, so “my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. . . .” Psalm 42:2 What a picture of great desire! Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Mt. 5:6 And the promise is still in the Bible, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

The next two verses of Psalm 25 tell us that we will never be “put to shame” or disappointed because we have a solid basis for our faith in the Living God who made heaven and earth. Those who found their hopes on vanity or emptiness and what doesn’t actually exist or is transitory and fleeting will be chagrined or put to shame. But those who trust in the Lord and look to Him will experience His saving grace and sustaining strength.

They “wait for Him” expectantly and He strengthens them in all He calls on them to experience. Our “solid rock” is “the God who is There,” His actual existence and Presence here and now. God is not just a “concept” or merely “an object of faith,” but a real Person who has eternally existed and who created the heavens and the earth and has all power in heaven and in earth.

King David then leads us in prayer,
“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
“ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.” 25:4-5
“Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
“The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
“Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.” 25:16-18
I look expectantly to you, O Lord.
–Pastor Burnside