Where God Is

Fellow Labourers-

Remember the phrase "Actions speak louder than words"? Yes, the world is not listening to our talk; they are looking at our walk. Can they see God in me? These days I am trying to make each day that I live count for something good. I will not only sing "Each day I'll do a golden deed, by helping those who are in need", but I will endeavour by God's grace to make it a reality of my living.

Isn't it amazing how God measures what we do. The bible tells us that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over a hosts of just men who need no repentance. You see God's way of dealing with us is not statistical but anti-statistical. Sometimes we want to do the great and grandiose so much that we fail to see the need right in our own homes. Brothers and sisters we can find God anywhere. I am trying to see him in my own home, and when I set out on any journey. Little is much when God is in it.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

The Greatest of Dreams

Fellow Labourers-

Some years ago the young and ebullient Elder Albert Bailey preached a message "Don't let your dream die" with such gusto and dynamism that it is still riveted in my head. He used Joseph from the bible as his nucleus, and from there he exegeted a powerful message. It is the dreamers of this world that have always impacted the course of history the most. It is not that all of us do not dream, but it is not all of us who realize that for our dream to come to pass we cannot remain asleep. Dreamers will always be criticized and held as suspect, but don't let anyone kill your dream.

Martin Luther had advisers and critics but he did not let them control him because he had a mission that was larger than life. Those of you with a dream who feel threatened by your critics here is a bit of advice.

"If your critics control you, you're defeated." How might they control you?

Here are five ways to respond to a critic without letting them control you:

1. Respond in your time, not the critic's (Prov. 19:11)
A Christian businessman prudently applied James 1:19. At the beginning of every meeting he wrote these initials at the top of his notepad:
"QTL" (quick to listen), "STS" (slow to speak), "STA" (slow to anger). How can we apply QTL, STS, STA to fielding criticism?

• Does the critic run your response clock? He shouldn't. It is almost always your prerogative to choose not to respond definitively in a given exchange.
• Maintain composure. You display wisdom in holding your tongue. "It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel" (Proverbs 20:3, NIV).
• You may buy yourself important time by saying, "I'd like you to clarify for me your concern, and then I want to put some thought into it."
• Don't obligate yourself to respond at a later time unless you think its imperative to do so. You may not need to respond at all.

Let the decision be yours to respond on the spot, later, or not at all. Don't hand the wheel to the critic.

2. Respond positively (Prov. 15:1)
Affirm the critic's valid concerns (usually some valid concern exists) and state positively your own concerns. It's not necessary to validate the criticism itself. Here are two responses, one mine and one from my wife:

• A woman once criticized me for being "too direct" in witnessing to her husband in the ICU. She said it increased his stress and made him less open to the Lord. I acknowledged her concern for her husband's well-being and suggested that we pray together for the Lord to lead both of us in our witnessing to him. I prayed for the man's salvation and for both his wife and me to be wise, courageous, and sensitive in sharing the gospel.
• When my wife heard the criticism from others of how I had handled a family departing from our church, she wisely chose to respond as follows: "Coye and I hurt with you over their leaving. In fact, Coye has been in touch with them a few times in recent weeks. It might be helpful for you to talk to him directly." My wife's response ended the exchange with the critic.

To speak positively is not to shrink back from confrontation or the need to rebuke the critic.

3. Take it to the Lord (1 Peter 5:7)
Anxiety often follows quickly on heels of criticism. An effective means of "taking it to the Lord" is to ponder the promises of the Bible to the believer.

• In regard to criticism, ponder particularly the promises of Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 41:10; John 16:33; and Romans 8:31-39.
• Are your critics maliciously lying about you? Make Psalm 62 your close companion, a prayer daily upon your lips.
• Do you fear forced resignation? Remember that "To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue" (Proverbs 16:1, NIV).
• Critics are not in control of your tenure."The Lord knows those who are his" (2 Timothy 2:19, NIV). If dismissal does take place, how does God intend to glorify Himself through you?

4. Consider it with wise counselors (Prov. 19:25)
Sometimes a criticism contains a needed rebuke. We prove ourselves discerning, prudent, and wise when we learn and grow from it. "Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still" (Proverbs 9:8-9, NIV).
Counselors, such as respected colleagues, trusted friends, a discerning spouse, godly parents, will help us know when and how to respond to criticism (Prov. 15:22). When sharing with our trusted counselors we should:

• Describe the situation and ask what else they need to know to understand it
• Ask what we should learn from the criticism
• Ask what action we should take, if any, in responding to the criticism

Even if we don't agree with the counsel we receive, the Lord will use the process of thinking through the situation with brothers and sisters.

5. Take initiative in friendly interaction (Rom. 12:18)
I have a friend who knows how to take the initiative in relating warmly to everyone, especially opponents and critics. My friend invariably walks into a room with a broad smile on his face. He politely greets everyone he meets while making his way quickly to the person with whom he knows he has some difference. He engages the person in friendly conversation about family, work, and other such things. My friend achieves some important things by using this strategy:

• He puts the potentially uncomfortable conversations first so that he can move on with ease
• He protects himself from any charge of avoidance of a critic
• He shows himself free from spite or bitterness over previous interaction
• He communicates that his desire is for friendly personal relations regardless of the differences.

Of course, it's not always right to continue cordial relationships (see 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Timothy 1:20).
If criticism casts us into bitterness or despair, we've been criticized and controlled. There is a better way! We can't be exempt from criticism. We can be criticized, but not controlled!

Coye Still, pastor of the University Hills Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC. Adapted from a previous article. Used by permission.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

Distracting Ourselves to Death

Fellow Labourers-

Our subject today is so real that we need to stop and take stock of ourselves. On Saturday on our way from a funeral in Portland, I saw a gentleman at Constant Spring Road whom I have met casually before. Can you imagine how I felt when I saw him in Monday's Gleaner being reported as killed in his own home?

Some of us have refused to watch or listen to the news anymore, but we cannot escape from reality forever. Sooner or later reality catches up with us. Our own mortality causes us to either fear or hope. We can either be in a state of hopelessness or hopefulness. Knowing this should alert us to be more purpose driven in our daily living.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

My Brother's shoes

Fellow Labourers-

This is for me a challenging article in many respects. There is an oft repeated phrase going the rounds- 'Let us bring closure to the matter.' What does this mean to you? The story of the crucifixion as recorded in St. John's gospel chapter 19 is very gripping to say the least. John told us that Jesus' blood relatives were present yet he asked one of his closest disciples to take care of his mother instead of one of them. Have you ever asked why? It is also interesting to note that Jesus never said "it is finished" until after they gave him vinegar to drink. But, the verses before that told us that Jesus knew all things were accomplished.

We are people of purpose and so we must indeed bring closure to a number of issues we face and will face in life. How do we bring closure? A reading of history especially as it is told by those present is very helpful for those of us who want to live above the superficial. There are many personal tales of Jews who survived the holocaust, and we should seek to read them. Read them not in isolation but as an adjunct to the Bible. It is so easy for us to pass judgment and come to conclusions. So easy for us to see the mote in each other's eyes, but never easy it seems to put on my brother's shoes.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

The world speaks!

Fellow Labourers-

The world indeed speaks, but how do we listen? Do we listen to distinguish the tree from the forest or to see the forest as the tree? Do we listen with romantic ears or scientific ears? How we listen can determine how we interpret the world.

Does our world change daily by the happenings around us or is our world as constant as the rising and setting of the sun?

There is no one right way of interpreting the world, but if our interpretation does not lead us to the creator of the world then to me it is obviuos that we have missed the mark. It is not that all roads lead to God, but the one road that leads us to him is filled with sign posts along the way. We must not second guess the sign posts; we must stop long enough to get the understanding from the One who placed them there in the first place.

"When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shall thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment."Job 38:9-14

Listen the world speaks!!

Pax Vobiscum

Robert Stewart

The new atheism

Fellow Labourers-

If you want to see the truth of today's article, just follow some of the discussions going on in our local newspapers. Our church has to be proactive and prepare our people for the onslaught of this neo-atheism. Sometimes it is subtle, and at other times it is vulgarly displayed as new truth.

Reality is being distorted by the use of modern technology and we must beware. Our people have been for a long time living by sentiments, but sentiments are like shifting sand. Like the renaissance that erupted in Europe and caused a great tension resulting in a new atheism, unbridled globalization is having a somewhat similar effect. Unlike the renaissance that spent a long time in Italy before it spread, globalization is like instant coffee. But remember the apostle Paul's admonition 'Do not be deceived by the philosophy and vain deceit of men.'

Pax Vobiscum

Robert Stewart

Of light and illumination

Fellow Labourers-

In the book Megatrends 2000, authors Naisbitt and Aburdene outlined trends they anticipated would be transformational for the future. Among their calculations was the New Age movement, which in 1990 was quickly gaining momentum. They wrote: "In turbulent times, in times of great change, people head for the two extremes: fundamentalism and personal, spiritual experience... With no membership lists or even a coherent philosophy or dogma, it is difficult to define or measure the unorganized New Age movement. But in every major U.S. and European city, thousands who seek insight and personal growth cluster around a metaphysical bookstore, a spiritual teacher, or an education center."(1) This is all the more an accurate picture for today.

While New Age seekers may not share a cohesive focus or an organizational center, there are certainly consistent and underlying tenets of thought among them. The movement is syncretistic, in that it incorporates any number of spiritual and religious ideologies at one time, but it is consistently monistic and pantheistic. New Age seekers are informed by the belief that all of reality is essentially one. Thus, everything is divine, including themselves; for if all is one, and there are no distinctions, then all is God. Or, in the words of Shirley Maclaine in Dancing in the Light, "I am God, because all energy is plugged in to the same source.... We are individualized reflections of the God source. God is us and we are God."(2)

Seven hundred years earlier, medieval Christian mystic Julian of Norwich spoke in what some may consider a similar tone: "[O]ur substance is our Father, God almighty... [O]ur substance is whole in each person of the Trinity, who is one God."(3) Early Christian mystics are known for their fervent seeking and spiritual awareness of the oneness of life. Thus, there are certainly similar melodies to be found within the songs of Christian mysticism and the growing chorus of New Age spirituality. But so there are marked differences among them.

Within its historical context, mysticism, like many other Christian movements, was an expression of faith in response to faithless times. In this regard, New Age seekers are not entirely different. Some New Age seeking is, I think, a legitimate reaction to the comfortable and shallow religious life we find within our society. But as New Age seekers long for the depth and freedom to believe in everything, the result is contrary to what they seek. Their theology and spirituality are entirely segregated. The quest for illumination is a quest that can begin and end anywhere; thus, they find neither depth nor freedom. On the contrary, Julian of Norwich and other early Christian mystics sought an authentic experience of faith as a result of an already dynamic understanding of that faith. Their theology in and of itself is what led them to spirituality.

For the Christian today, illumination still begins with Light itself, God unobscured, though incomprehensible, revealed through the glory of the Son. Starting with light and standing upon truth, the Christian begins his journey as a seeker knowing there is one who hears his prayers. There is a source for all illumination, and He is light of the world.

New Age seekers would perhaps be helped to know there is a great tradition of seeking within Christianity, a tradition that began with the recognition that we could not fix what is wrong, and a tradition that continues because there is one who can. The human heart is ever-seeking, showing the longing of a soul to be known. In the words of Julian of Norwich, "We shall never cease wanting and longing until we possess Him in fullness and joy... The more clearly the soul sees the Blessed Face by grace and love, the more it longs to see it in its fullness."(4) For the Christian seeker, communion with God is far more than self-discovery or personal freedom; it is theology that has become doxology, which in turn becomes life.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) J. Naisbitt and P. Aburdene, Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1990), 11.
(2) Shirley Maclaine, Dancing in the Light (New York: Bantam Doubleday, 1991), 339.
(3) Julian of Norwich, Showings, ed. and trans. by James Walsh in "The Classics of Western Spirituality" (New York: Paulish Press, 1978), 129.
(4) Ibid.

These are some of the situations we are faced with as a church. There are a lot of seekers who have not yet settled in their search. If we can not get the minds of our young people we are going to lose them. They are seeing and they are hearing and we have the responsibility to help them to distinguish the sheep from the goats. Are we ready for this challenge?

Pax Vobiscum
 
Robert Stewart

Of Ephods and Ensnarements

Fellow Labourers-

Today's reading is a poignant reminder to all of us that we are still people with feet of clay. We have got to be careful not to sentimentalize the word of God. We cannot have a full understanding of the scriptures apart from the Old Testament. Have you noticed that the apostle Paul uses the phrase "According to the Scriptures" quite often? The only Scripture he could have been referring to was the Old Testament. It is therefore important that our interpretation of the New Testament does not contradict the teaching of the Old Testament.

When we read the Old Testament we will see that its teaching is expiation - the punishment of sin. D.Martyn Lloyd Jones made an interesting observation about the Old Testament. He says "If you apply the teaching of the Old Testament, you can never have a 'subjective' evangelism, by which I mean that the business of evangelism is not just to solve people's problems; psychology does that, the cults do that, many things do that. The thing that separates the gospel from every other teaching is that it is primarily a proclamation of God and our relationship to God. Not our particular problems, but the same problem that has come to all of us, that we are condemned sinners before a Holy God and a holy law. That is evangelism. It must, therefore, always put repentance first. Now the Old Testament constantly reminds us of that and you cannot get away from it."

When we try to live withot the law we can become victims "Of Ephods and Ensnarements." Grace did not void the law; rather it illuminates the law to prevent us from butting our toes in the dark. You see we cannot have justification without sanctification.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert Stewart

Windows, Roads and New Rooms

Fellow Labourers-

Congratulations to you our unsung heroes who continue to be light in a dark world. Continue to strive to enter into that perfect light. I recommend to you an article in today's Observer by Jean Lowrie-Chin titled 'Always right to do right.' Here is a paragraph from the article "The 70-year-old evergreen Father Ho Lung was lauded by JPS public affairs director Tony Ray who admitted that like many of us, he would not be able to do the kind of work nurturing the destitute and dying, that the priest and his brothers do. There are many heroic church leaders, people like Bishop Herro Blair, Bishop Carmen Stewart, and Dr. Henley Morgan who work with the poorest of the poor and have empowered thousands of Jamaicans."

This article should force us to ask "Am I fulfilling my purpose in the Earth or am I just merely existing?" In his book called 'Something beautiful for God - Mother Theresa speaks' Mother Theresa gave the following response to a question posed to her by the author. "In our work we have many people whom we call Co-Workers, and I want them to give their hands to serve the people and their hearts to love the people. For, unless they come in very close contact with them, it is very difficult for them to know who the poor are."

So I ask us "Are we giving our hands in service and our hearts in loving? Do we really know who the poor are from up close?"

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

The House of God

Fellow Labourers-

Those of us who follow the letters and comments in our Daily Gleaner will notice how religion has become a very hot topic. The arguments are coming from every corner of the many sided man. These arguments are not coincidental, but prefigures the mighty revival that the earth is awaiting. It was not until after Nebuchadnezzar was lifted up in pride that he came to know who God is.

Some of the arguments put forward as being intellectual amounts to nothing more than a moral problem.Yes, even in the papers we can see the signs of the times. It is now time for the house of God to be rebuilt and exposed. As Pastor John Mark Bartlett pointed out in his convention message "Take the Limits off God," if man want to make man from the dust of the earth, he must first make his own dust. Let us become more aware of what is happening around us and we won't be caught off guard. Jacob did not know immediately that he was in the house of God because he did not grasp the moment. As they say in Latin "Carpe Diem" seize the day, let us seize the moment for we are in the house of God.

Pax Vobiscum,

Robert A. Stewart

The Ultimate Diet

Fellow Labourers-

I read today's article with fear and trembling because of what I see and know. There is a form of spiritual laziness that has spawn Christendom over the past decade or two that should make us all very concern for the church and indeed the Kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed the look on some of our faces whenever we are ask to think? It seems nothing pains some people more than having to think. We have become so accustomed to hype that a lot of our churches are filled with spiritually anaemic saints.

Remember Jesus' command to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. It is still very relevant today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. coins the phrase "A tough mind and a tender heart" based on Jesus' statement and he inferred that soft mindedness is a dangerous thing. Charlatans and dictators often capitalizes on soft mindedness. It was Adolf Hitler who said, "I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few. In Mein Kampf he even said that "By means of shrewd lies, unremittingly repeated, it is possible to make people believe that heaven is hell."

We need to watch not only our natural diet but also our spiritual diet. My wish is for leaders and followers who finds the ultimate diet to sustain us in this challenging world.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

Many staged miracles

Fellow Labourers-

Have you ever asked the question, Why is God taking so long? If you did, did you wait for an answer? If we think about it from the fall of man God has been trying to show man that we can't do without him, but it seems we are unable to grasp this. So to my mind, God does things in stages so that we may see our need of him even clearer. Sadly though some of us refuse to learn from the past.

What stage are you at in your miracle of life?

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

Bringing the Past to Bear on the Present

Fellow Labourers-

As Christians remembering our past is so important to us living out our faith. At the end of the message on Sunday as I was going to change I was introduced to a young man who was under great conviction. He said the impact of the message on him sounded just like when he is firing his AK47. He did not want to go back to that life but he was afraid. One of our faithful brothers was passing at the same time and he held on to him and said "I remember when you were one of us, you were a 'shotta' just like me and look what God has done for you. I need help. The Don is in prison and they expect me to keep the peace. There is a youth I see on the choir that I was going to kill, but somebody told me he was a member at this church and I let him go, and now me come see him fe true. Please pray for me."

Going back into our past may just stimulate us to go for those we have left behind. It might make us restless until we fulfill our purpose. The present demands that we bring our past to bear on it. The harvest truly is ripe but the labourers are few. We still have the illegal drug users and pushers, we still have the prostitutes, we still have the homeless and destitute, we still have the widows and the father-less. Yes we still have the unsaved.

Pax Vobiscum,

Robert A. Stewart

Building Hills

Fellow Labourers-

Why build hills? Is it because we like to climb? So yes, if we like to climb we must either take the hills available or build our own. How do I make the decision on whether to build or not, and if I have to build what are my choices for material? This is where praying and thinking comes in and these are two things some of us would like to avoid.

I believe though that it is time to build a hill called the kingdom. There is something I learnt which I have not yet confirmed that in the gospels the word church only appears twice and it's in the book of Matthew, but the word kingdom appears 54 times in that same Gospel. Who is going to confirm this for me? As we try to build hills and distinguish among them let us also build the church and the kingdom and distinguish between them. One encloses us whilst the other frees us, but we have the choice to be enclosed in a greater circle.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

People With a Past

Fellow Labourers-

Some of us would like so much even to forget the happenings of this week (week ending Oct. 9) that history and the reading of history or things we would rather not hear about. Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897) was regarded as one of the greatest historians of the nineteenth century. I recommend his book "The Greeks and Greek civilization" edited by Oswyn Murray. This book helps one to understand that we may divide the study of history into State, Religion, and Culture. When we do this we may very well develop a taste for one over the other. His preference though was cultural history because he finds it more factual and less restrictive. Here is what he says about culture "Culture is the sum of all that has spontaneously arisen for the advancement of material life and as an expression of spiritual and moral life - all social intercourse, technologies, arts, literatures, and sciences. It is the realm of the variable, free, not necessarily universal, of all that cannot lay claim to compulsive authority."

We have become so abused by the overuse of the word tradition that we are afraid to look back less we be labeled a tradionalist.This abuse has caused some of us to live so much in the present that there is no context to our existence. The Jews were told to constantly remind their children of the past in order that they may find relevance in the present. We too as a church need to remind our congregants of our local as well as biblical history. During our communion and feet washing service two young men told me that this was the first time they were experiencing this act, and they have never heard of it before. These are more than two-year-old members, and high school graduates. When I directed one of them to St. John 11,and we read together, he exclaimed, "I never know this was in the bible." Wow!! We are people with a past and a rich one to boot.

Robert A. Stewart

The God of the Old Testament

Fellow Labourers-

Our subject today confronts all of us who live in this unfriendly world. It would seem that most of us would rather forget the God of the Old Testament in preference for the God of the New Testament. The argument we use to justify this is that the God of the New Testament is a God of grace. But, may I remind you that grace began in the garden of Eden. Throughout the Old Testament God's grace is evident.

We are not a people that like consequences. But I believe that a careful reading of the Old Testament is about the consequences of disobedience. The judgment/punishment was quick. Today it seems delayed but the consequences are still evident. The wages of sin is death in both Testaments.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

Both Lion and Lamb

Fellow Labourers-

"Both Lion and Lamb" is an interesting subject. In each of us lies the ability to do good and to do evil, and sometimes we do a little of each. Oops! Sorry I can only speak for myself. Before our conversion some of us were morally good, and we maintain this moral goodness. The question though is am I still morally good but not changed? Do I now possess the mind of Christ?

Is the hamster safe? Is the cobra just waiting for that fatal day? You know as I ask these questions I am reflecting on the church. Sometimes we behave with each other with a question mark in our heads. Can the leopard change his spots? Is it possible to erase from our minds past hurt? Thank God for the strength to love which enables one to forgive. The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian brethren exhorted them to be grounded in love. Which love? The love of Christ. A love that surpasses all human understanding. Never easy if we try by our own effort, but very possible if we let go and let God.

I know that in me, that is in my flesh lies no good thing, but I thank God for Jesus Christ who helps me to remain stable even though there is a war going on inside me. Yes, both flesh and spirit.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

Limping Transformation

Fellow Labourers-

This is indeed a message that can touch the core of our being if we are honest with ourselves. As I go through the article I kept looking at the man in the mirror. I have not lost focus on the world but I am always cognizant of the evil within. As I ponder on the subject my thought is Lord give me grace. It was then that I was led to a favourite book of mine," Strength to Love" by Martin Luther King,Jr.

Let me quote from a chapter of the book called "A knock at midnight."
"Many men continue to knock on the door of the church at midnight, even after the church has so bitterly disappointed them, because they know the bread of life is there. The church today is challenged to proclaim God's son, Jesus Christ to the hope of men in all of their complex personal and social problems. Many will continue to come in quest of answers to life's problems. Many young people who knock on the door are perplexed by the uncertainties of life, confused by daily disappointments, and disillusioned by the ambiguities of history. Some who come have been taken from their schools and careers and cast in the role of soldiers. We must provide them with the fresh bread of hope and imbue them with the conviction that God has the power to bring good out of evil. Some who come are tortured by a nagging guilt resulting from their wandering in the midnight of ethical relativism and their surrender to the doctrine of self-expression. We must lead them to Christ who will offer them the fresh bread of forgiveness. Some who knock are tormented by the fear of death as they move toward the evening of life. We must provide them with the bread of faith in immortality, so that they may realize that this earthly life is merely an embryonic prelude to a new awakening.

Midnight is a confusing hour when it is difficult to be faithful. The most inspiring word that the church may speak is that no midnight long remains. The weary traveler by midnight who asks for bread is really seeking the dawn."

On Sunday one of our most senior citizens came to church in the pouring rain. I went to assist him from the taxi and he remarked to me he could not see. On examination I noted that his spectacles were covered with moisture because the change in temperature he experienced as he alighted from the air-conditioned vehicle. I ran to the men's room and put the spectacle under the dryer and brought it back to him. You should have seen the smile on his face. But then he said something that struck me, "Elder Stewart I don't feel like I can go on much longer." He said this because of the difficulty he had in walking and the pain in his legs. How can we help to make his midnight more comfortable?

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

Gauges and Designs

Fellow labourers-

Today's article bring to mind the scripture "In the days of the judges every man did what was right in his own eyes." Does this not suggest that there is a right way? I believe it is the Proverbs which says that "there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end there of are the ways of death." If there is ever a time in our history that we are testing the limits of our gauges it is now.

There is a reason and an excuse for all we do. There is even justification based on reason and facts. So I ask what guides us? I had a rough time making a decision last week. There was something I could do which I could make legitimate not at the time of execution but later. But, in my mind I was restless until I kept asking what would Jesus do? Do you know that in that split second the answer came and I felt such a joy and peace within.

I know we all are driven to take risks, but please ask what would Jesus do? The answer may not be what you expect, but it will set the burdened conscience free.

Pax Vobiscum,

Robert A. Stewart

On Tears

Fellow Labourers-

Isn't it amazing that joy or pain can bring tears, but we have the ability to separate the one from the other. Having read this article I am willing to conclude that when this little girl cries it will always be for joy not pain. This would not be a problem for the parents if they both were in a similar position, but they no doubt have experienced the pain of joy and the pain of hurt. I think about it and I can well remember the feeling I get when I rocked a crying child to sleep. Can you for a moment imagine that mother saying "darling you are bleeding, does it hurt?" To which she would reply "Mummy, what is hurt?"


This brings me to salvation. As children of God we sometimes assume that everybody understands our lingo. So, we walk up to an unsaved and ask, Are you saved? The retort is What do you mean am I saved? To which we look startled. It is only those of us who have experienced being saved really understand what it means to be saved. That is why it is so important that those looking on us see that there is a difference between their life and our life. Our modalities must make others see that there is a difference between saved and unsaved.

Pax Vobiscum

Robert A. Stewart

The Pain of Forgiveness

Fellow Labourers-

This subject is crucial and is worth a lot of thought. Before I move on though I guess some of us have heard people saying their heart is hurting because of love. I don't know if this is metaphorical or real, but I do know that love hurts. Forgiveness is not the easiest thing in the world and yet God so loved us that he forgave us and proved it by giving his only begotten son for our sins.

If you have ever forgiven anyone and it does not hurt then you may want to ask yourself, "Was my forgiveness genuine or surface?" To forgive is not some children game we play, but an emotion that involves almost every fibre of our being. Yet if we do not forgive we will not be forgiven. This does not mean though that we throw away our senses. Jesus knew Judas would betray him, he did not shun him, but he also did not share everything with him. Let us endeavour to live by the Book so leave your gift at the altar and go and make it right.

Pax Vobiscum,

Robert A. Stewart