The Beauty of Jesus- Conclusion

Dear Phyllis,

In my last letter I said that was the end of our discussion of the Beauty of Jesus, and it was. But there is one more verse that is the summery of everything. In response to the question, “What is your Beloved more than any other beloved?”; the Bride of Christ attempted to explain what is so wonderful about Jesus. To do this she selected 12 features of His marvelous being, but when she got to end she summed it all up by saying, “He is all together lovely. This is my Beloved. This is my fiend” (S of S 5:16). Oh my goodness, what can be said? How in the world can you comment on that verse? She has said something that is almost out of our reach. Anything we add is simply a distraction and somewhat discolors her all-inclusive conclusion. It is with the greatest reluctance that I attempt to compose my feeble words.

What the Bride has done thus far is to say, “He is white and ruddy”. In this she set forth Jesus' two natures – He is white. This can only mean He is from heaven. This cannot be said about any son of Adam that has walked on this planet for the past six thousand years. The Bible summed it up when it declared, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Hold up the best man that ever lived and you cannot say,”He is spotless white”. This title belongs only to Jesus. He is the only begotten Son of God. And yet He is ruddy. We have noticed that this is a word that is only used four times in scripture and two times was used to describe David (1 Sam. 16:12; 17:42) In this the Bride has set forth His humanity. He is perfectly 100% human. What a verse – He is white and yet ruddy.

Then she went on to comment on His accomplishment – He is the fairest of ten thousand. He is the flag carrier. He has gone out in front and taken the field for us.

Next she told us about His head that it is like most fine gold. We have noted that most fine gold is an expression that consistently is used in the Bible to denote God. Or His thought are the thoughts of God. Oh my goodness, that is bottomless. Dig as deep as you like you can't get near summing up the thoughts of Jesus.

Then she comments on His hair that it is black and bushy. That is easy. There is no white or thinning in Jesus hair. He has not gotten past His prime. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Jesus is timeless.

After that we noticed, His eyes are as the eyes of doves. I said this is so descriptive of His nature that I started out this series first with His eyes rather than at the beginning. His eyes are as doves; in contrast to a hawk, a tiger, or any cat. What more can be said?

Then we noticed His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers. We saw that the only reference in the Bible of cheeks is in connection to smiting. If you get struck on one cheek, turn the other. And we saw in two places the gospels mention Jesus was struck on the cheeks. In speaking of Adoniram Judson, the king of Siam said, “I wasn't interested in his God, and I didn't care for his holy Book, but his wounds were irresistible”. It is the wounds of Jesus that give the greatest fragrance and are the most beautiful.

And His lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling. Oh the speech of Jesus, what He has said to me; I cannot describe it, what it has meant to me.

His hands are as gold rings set in beryl. Again we have gold speaking of deity. And in Exodus we saw that gold rings were mentioned 40 times holding every thing together in the OT Tabernacle. Jesus holds everything together in His own hands. It is not our hanging on to Him, but He hangs on to us.

From there the Bride goes on to tell us that His belly is bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. We mentioned that in some cultures the belly is used to denote a persons inner most being. When Americans speak of their heart they point to their chest, but in some countries they point to their stomachs. And ivory is an expensive material that you only get by killing an elephant. The heart of Jesus was not that He came to live, but it was by His death that He accomplished His mission on earth. That is why His innermost being is as ivory overlaid with sapphires.

Next was His legs are as pillars of marble set in sockets of fine gold. We don't need to comment on pillars. That is self-explanatory. In any church, family, or organizations there are pillars that hold every thing up. And legs speak of taking a strong stand. Again we have fine gold. Jesus' stand was always for His Father.

His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. Oh the countenance of Jesus; how can you describe it? Oh the majesty! Oh His towering being! Just to look at His countenance tells you who He is.

His mouth is most sweet. Mouth is usually mentioned with words. Here I was lost and could only talk about the Word of God.

In conclusion, what can you say? He is altogether lovely. I can't add to that. Oh my goodness! Who is your Beloved? What makes Jesus different than any other founder of a religion? Jesus never founded a religion. His followers did. Jesus came to give us life. What makes Jesus different? Why are you going bugs over Him? Forget it! I can't tell you. The Bride has done her best. She has talked about 12 things. She summed it all up by saying, HE IS ALTOGETHER LOVELY. This is my Beloved. This is my friend.

Oh Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. You are more wonderful than words. Thank You.

                                                  bill

PS: Read it. Read it for yourself, Song of Solomon 5:9-

The Beauty of Jesus (10 Correction)

CORRECTION TO The Beauty of Jesus (10)

When I wrote TBJ (10) on the Legs of Jesus I was riding the wrong horse, my hobby horse. I was galloping along on my hobby horse, and unfortunately hobby horses are not kept in Jesus stable. They come from another stable called the flesh.

The Kingdom of God is mystical. It is not homogeneous. It is a mixture of two opposing components. The NT is very clear that there are two opposing men; there is the spiritual man and the natural man. They are also termed the new man in Christ Jesus and the old man. The old man is the man we were before we were saved. The new man is the man that lives in us after we were saved. This man is born-again of the Spirit of Christ living in a human body. The Bible tells us clearly that they are opposed to each other. I can't go into a detailed dissertation on the flesh here and I am sure everyone knows and agrees with what the Word tells us about the two. There are 116 references to flesh in the NT. Jesus summed it by by saying that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Romans 8 discusses flesh and spirit in detail, and it is a phenomenon that is an intragle part of the Christian life. We all have two natures. And the best men occasionally get in the flesh in preaching, writing, and daily life. Any hobby horse is kept in the stable of the flesh. One of my hobby horses is my hatred of liberal and compromise. When I wrote my thesis on the legs of Jesus I was riding my hobby horse 10 km.

To correct this I have rewritten this letter and will send you a new copy. If you are keeping copies of The Beauty of Jesus please discard the first copy and I will send you the new one.

Thank you for the privilege of your fellowship;

In the bonds of our marvelous Lord Jesus,

                                                  bill

2019 Christmas Letter

22 December 2019

Dear Phyllis,

Today, being the 22^nd of December, by any definition, this must be a Christmas letter. One of the toughest things to do is to be joyful when your heart is filled with sadness. For me, Christmas is one of the worst days of the year. If I was a drinking man I would get drunk on the 24^th and hope I didn't sober up until the 2^nd of January. For many years I have tried to lose myself working in my shop and treating Christmas just like any other day. That is the best way to handle it.

New Years eve 1991, I was living in John Cathcart's church in Tenri, Japan; we were having a New Years eve praise worship. There were about a dozen there, and we were going around the circle telling and giving thanks to God for the greatest blessing of the past year. 1990 had been the ultimate disaster of my life. Horrible things had happened that, in my worst nightmares, I never dreamed were possible. I thought, “What in the world can is say?!”. As I sat there asking God for a word, it seemed that He said, “Just tell it like it is”. When it came my turn, John said, “Bill, what has been the greatest blessing for you of 1990?”. I said, “1990 has been more horrible than anything I believed was possible”; and then I shared my testimony of what had happened. In conclusion I said, “What has been the greatest blessing? Well, thank God, I am back in Japan. The fact that I am here, rather than in the states, I guess that is the greatest blessing.” John was pretty squared jawed. The next day he said, “I don't think what you said last night, was very honoring to the Lord.” I replied, “Yes, I agree, but if you asked Job, at the end of chapter 2, 'Job, what has been the greatest blessing of the past year?'; all he could say is, 'Well, this past year has been a tough one. I lost all ten children, I got wiped out of everything I owned, my wife and friends turned on me, and I lost my health. What is the greatest blessing of the past year? I really don't know'.”. Then I went on, “Fortunately, chapter 2 isn't the end of the book. Chapter 42 is a wonderful chapter. But I am at chapter 2 in my life right now.”

The Christmas before had been one of the most gut-wrenching Christmases of my life. My wife told me that she had given her body to another man and lived in adultery for four months while I was up north building a Bible school campus. She was going wild with rage that I had forgiven her and I was desperately trying to save the family. She was glad that I forgave her, but was exceedingly frustrated that I had not cut her loose to marry the other man “as the Lord had told her”. We had left Ikoma and moved back to Karuizawa, and were trying to have church in our home. There were about five or six people that usually came for Sunday service, but Christmas day 1989 only one couple came from Matsushiro, 60 km away. Rosemary was so bent out of shape that Sunday that she refused to get out of bed to attend the worship service. You talk about a tough time; I had a difficult time trying to have a happy Christmas worship service by myself and a young couple who had only been saved six months and the missionary wife who wouldn't get out of bed to attend in her own home. After we finished what was supposed to be a worship service, I apologized to the couple for the Christ-dishonoring service. The couple stunned me by saying, “Oh no. This has been the most wonderful Christmas of our lives. This is the first time that we knew what Christmas was all about, and we are so thankful that He saved us this past year.”

Where am I Christmas 2019? Fortunately, I am grateful that I am not still in Job chapter 2. Much has happened since 1990. The Lord has made everything that has ever happened to me to work out for good (Rom. 8:28). I thank God for 1990. What has happened since then has been more wonderful than anything I could have imagined. These past 29 years have been an unimagined privilege. I have a new wife, who is a blow torch for Jesus and a comfortable life in Thailand.

Last April, when the doctor told me that I had an aggressive malignant tumor in my left eye, I was reasonably sure I would not celebrate Christmas on this planet this year. Here I am. There has been a slight deterioration in my eye, but not much. I am totally free of pain. My eye has been closed for most of the past year, but I am in excellent health. For 20 years I have been living in deniable. When friends have said, “I am getting older”; I have always come back, “Not me. I am as young now as I was when I was 40”, and usually could prove it. But a couple of spills on my motor bike have taken the edge off my jet pilot riding habit. To be honest I must admit that the sun is starting to cast a long shadow where I stand. At 84 I must admit the greatest weakness that I have is balance. I try to walk with a genki (lively) step but I must be careful to keep my balance. Fortunately, I have a very simple brain that has avoided forgetfulness, but I am beginning to be concerned about the “here after”. When I go to get things, frequently I wonder, “what am I here after?”. And common names duck in and out. But I am amazed how the Holy Spirit is faithful in retrieving many of those names back to me in a couple of minutes.

What does 2020 look like? I don't know. I have changed my attitude about going back to the states for medical treatment. I have always said, “I don't support the US government and I don't expect the government to support me.”. But recently I have reconsidered my relationship with the US military. When I was in the USAF Air Defense, I was a combatant for five years in an active period of the Cold War. The USAF gave us special flight pay for doing a dangerous job and took very good care of us. Part of that agreement was to promise to give us health care for the rest of our lives. I didn't avoid going to the base hospital when I was in service or turn down flight pay for doing my job, and it is not unreasonable to accept their offer to provide free health care now. The basis for every major decision in life is the will of God. If this is the will of God to go to the states I am looking to the Lord to give me clear guidance in that area. There are several green lights that must line up. One is a place to stay in the states. That seems to be good from a positive response to stay at the Institute in Greenville. The next, and biggest, is to get a copy of my discharge papers. This appears easy, but it is going to take someone with more cerebral power than I have to figure our how to do that on line. Thirdly, and finally, Jesus has to give us the tickets. If all these line up, in all probability, I will be headed east sometime this coming year for medical treatment – if Jesus doesn't heal me before then. I'm doing okay at the moment but common sense would indicate I should accept help if that is available.

And spiritually where am I this Christmas? I can't recall a time in my life when Jesus has been more real. I can't see the River from here yet, but there is an occasional whiff of air that blows across from there. Oh, the fragrance of it is wonderful. I have come to a place in my walk with the Lord where Bible reading has become very difficult. Quite often, I will open the Bible at random, and the first few words come off the page with such force that I burst into tears and can't read any further. I thank God that there is a very small orifice in the pipeline from heaven. If I was any bigger I couldn't handle it. Jesus knows the limited capacity of my tinny vessel, but, consistently, He keeps it overflowing. If I had a bucket three times its present size I still could not contain the goodness, the wonder, (you name it) of the blessing He consistently pours upon me. My heart is so full that I have violated my principle of writing you one letter a week, and flooded you with my series of The Beauty of Jesus.. The Lord has helped me in composing some of those letters, but if I had the golden pen of Gabriel, and could fill shelves of books I would have only shared a small potion of what should be written.

Gomen Phyllis, it is not that I don't have any more to say, but I just can't express what should be said. Have a merry Christmas and a holy holiday,                       bill

The Beauty of Jesus(12)

The Beauty of Jesus (12)

Dear Phyllis,

This is the 12^th and the last of our thesis in considering the Beauty of Jesus. The final feature that the Bride of Christ has selected to share with us of the marvels, the uniqueness, and the beauty of her Beloved was His mouth. HIS MOUTH IS MOST SWEET (S of S 5:16).

In one sense this is going to be a tough one. We have already considered His lips (5:13) and now we have His mouth (5:16). As we have previously said, one of the basic rules exegesis is to try to find the verb or noun that goes with the noun. (Head – think; eyes – see, hands – hold, feet – walk, etc). Lips and mouth are pretty close. If there is a difference, we usually think of speech with lips and words with mouth. The expression, “the Words of My mouth” is one of the most common in scripture. We don't say the words of my lips.

In Greek we have two different words that both are translated WORD in our English Bible. But in Greek they have two distinctly different meanings. The best known is LOGOS, which means the written Word, and the other is REHMA, which is the spoken Word. Logos can be read and taught. Rehma can only be heard. When you write it down,or talk about it rehma becomes logos.

Let me be honest. I'm going to take off my cap and gown off and sit down. I don't know what this verse means and I am going to quit before I start. I can't comment on this verse, but, like the man who wanted to talk about Texas, I would like to talk about the Word of God.

To the natural man, the claim that the Bible is the infallible Word of God seems utterly outlandish. Both Christianity and Islam make that claim about their Book. I have never read the Quran but what I know about it is ridiculous. If anyone want to say the same thing about the Bible, I wouldn't blame them. Before I was saved I thought anyone who believed the Bible was nuts. As a natural man it is an unbelievable stretch to make such a ridiculous claim. But as a spiritual man I believe the Bible is the most amazing, unique, mystical document ever published on this planet.

Chuck Missler says the claim that the Bible cannot be scientifically proven and, must be accepted by faith, is false. He has a message where he empirically proves that the Bible is the Word of God. There is no comeback. We know that both Hebrew and Greek are a numerical languages. Their alphabet are numbers. If you write the Bible as numbers rather that letters, there are some weird phenomenon that simply cannot be explained. The first verse of John 1 is the golden number phi (3.141592654) and the first word in Genesis is a basic number used in calculus. By using the Bible code there have been many historical facts written that are utterly impossible to duplicate with any other writing. Mathematically speaking, there simply is no other possible explanation than the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Missler is right. To deny that the Bible is an absolutely unique, inspired book, is to deny reality.

Don Chitic was one of the top Christian scientist in America of the later half of the past century. He was a PHD nuclear physicist. I met him in 1965 in Tacoma. He said as a young Christian his faith was challenge by what he was being taught in science class, but he determined, regardless of what the professors taught, he was standing with the Word of God. Later he had a standing offer to anyone on his college campus who wanted to challenge him; to come for supper, and then go in his study to talk about their subject. He told me that, without exception, everyone who accepted the challenge, after two hours, they had to admit what they were teaching as facts was patently impossible. Then he said, “If you know what you are teaching is impossible, why do you teach it as fact?” The answer has always been, “Because we have no other explanation.” From a purely scientific stand point, if anyone is honest, it is undeniable that the Bible must be the God given, inspired, inerrant, Word of God.

But there is another mystical argument for the authenticity of the Scripture. From purely a spiritual perspective, there is no other possible explanation for the centrality of the Bible in the Body of Christ. Obviously, there is an undeniable rift in Christianity between liberals and conservatives. Unquestionably the water shed between these two positions is the Word of God. Any born-again Christian will firmly claim, “Yes, I believe the Bible”. And for those who deny that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, they just plain ain't saved. I came from a strong liberal background. Up until the time I was saved I strongly believed the argument for the Scripture was stupid and offensive. The only reason I started reading the Bible after I accepted Jesus (or rather He accepted me), was because I knew it was a Christian tradition. But I hadn't been saved long before the Bible came alive. After following Jesus for 63 years I cannot be more adamant in my conviction that the Bible is a mystical, unique, gift that God has left on this earth to tell us about Himself and His ways. The Body of Christ is mystical. It is a spiritual body. You can't examine the Body of Christ by any natural means. But the Body of Christ is just as real as hot dogs at a football game. When you touch a genuine member of that Body you know it. There is a broad area where you can't be too dogmatic. But the one way I will use to judge a person is by where they stand towards the Word of God. In a bipolar world, any strong, born-again, conservative will stand for the Word of God, and any committed liberal will be clear in their rejection. I'll let the Lord make the call on those in between. Having lived in the Orient for over six decades and fellow-shipped with people of over two or three dozen nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, it is utterly inexplicable how there could be one Book that has been translated in over 2,000 languages, and, wherever you go, the effect of the Bible and Christian's attitude towards the Bible is identical. I can pretty much look at any man's Bible and accurately tell you what that man is like. That is undeniable. There is no other possible explanation than the Bible is just what it claims to be about itself.

All of this are just arguments for the authenticity of the Scripture. But there is another feature that is more personal. That is what the Bible means to anyone who loves Jesus. It is my inexpressible, undeserving, privilege to be able to say I am a member of that family. We know God as our Father. Oh, what a privilege to say Jesus is our Brother (Jn. 20:17). And anyone who has been born-again of the Spirit of Christ has within them the witness of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. To anyone of this Family, the Bible has an inexpressible personal meaning. When we read the sacred pages, something burns in our heart. Suddenly words on those pages becomes personally alive and tears course down our cheeks.

I don't care what it is,. logos or rehma, both are wonderful. The logos, printed Word of God, is precious. I have seen this when I have handed a Bible to a persecuted Christian in Vietnam, Laos, and several other countries. These Christians will die for the Bible. But the rehma, the spoken Word of God – how can you explain it? - when God speaks to you personally through His Word. Paul explained this best in his message in the synagogue in Antioch when he said: (the rulers killed Jesus) “because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets, which are read every sabboth”. They read the logos but never heard the rehma, The Scripture never spoke to them.

I don't know. The Bride says the mouth of Jesus is most sweet. I can't explain that verse, but I do know the Words that have come out of His mouth, to me, are more wonderful than I can tell. Oh, Lord Jesus, thank You, thank You, thank You for those wonderful Words, and what they mean to me.                            bill

The Beauty of Jesus (11)

The Beauty of Jesus (11)

Dear Phyllis,

I would like to preface this letter with an apology. I am sorry for the overload of mail for the past two weeks. The problem is that there is just so much in my heart and I have no one to talk to. I feel like I will explode if I don't get some of this out of my system. Secondly, my time on this earth is finite. I don't know the date yet, but I do know that Jesus has a date of departure for me; and, like Peter, who wanted to encourage believers before he put off his tabernacle (2 Pet. 1:13,14), I would like to write down some thoughts about the beauty of Jesus before I leave. We have two or three more letters and then I am done.

In the Beauty of Jesus we have come to His COUNTENANCE. To attempt to exhaustively comment on this is impossible. It is like taking a very small snap shot of the Grand Canyon, or taking a small cup of water out of the ocean and say, “I have the ocean”. But with my little dipper I would like to just say a couple of imperfect remarks about the countenance of Jesus. Perhaps the Bride has expressed it best when she says, “His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars” (S of S 5:15).

Joe Carroll used to have a message that God was revealed in Jesus by His character, His conduct, and His countenance. I don't believe I have ever heard anyone else speak on this subject. Perhaps the countenance reveals more about who a person is than any other feature. There are some people, when they walk in a room you immediately know that a big man is here. He might be 5 foot 4, but you know you are talking to a man of considerable stature. It is significant that the night the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, He asked “Who are you looking for?” They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth”. When He said, “I am He”, they went backwards and fell to the ground (Jn. 18:4-6). If Jesus had not strengthened them the soldiers never could have arrested Him. There is much we could say about countenance.

In the story of Pastor Xi of China, he told about his conversion. There was a missionary living in his city who offered a financial reward to the writer of the best essay. As Confucian scholar Xi knew he could win the prize. But there was one catch. The winner had to receive the prize money personally from the missionary. He knew that foreign devils cast spells on people, so he devised a plan where he could get the cash without too much jeopardy. He wouldn't look at his face. The moment came when we was called to come get the money, and Xi kept his eyes glued to the floor. David Long walked in to hand the prize money to him. Xi kept his eyes on his feet, but in a weak moment of curiosity he looked up at the face of David Long. When he saw that face, it was all over. Pastor Xi became one of the top pastors of China.

Dennis Turner was one of the finest missionaries I knew in Japan. No missionary in Japan ever suffered more than Dennis Turner, but he was a man who radiated Christ. He told of a morning he went into town to do some shopping. The store owner said, “Turner san, you must have had some good news this morning. Your face is shining”. Dennis replied, “Of course. I have been digging diamonds”. Dennis was a man who harvested diamonds from the Scripture every morning.

Perhaps the greatest treasure Jesus left with us was His joy. He reported to His Father, “These things I speak in the world that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves”. After 18 years of torture and prison, the last message that Watchman Nee was able to get out was, “I have found how to maintain my joy”. What a testimony! The Bible tells us that the first three fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, and peace. All of these are highly visible.

My friend Tom Burlesome had been in a terrible financial furnace for several months. They were planing on returning to the states for furlough but finances had been crushing. One day another missionary gave him quite a bundle of money saying, “Some friends left this here for you.” Tom put it in the sugar bowel and sat down to read the paper. Some time later his wife came home. Ruth looked at his face and screamed, “Tom, what happened?” “Oh, nothing.” “Don't tell me nothing happened. It's written all over your face.”. “Look in the sugar bowel.” Ruth went in the kitchen, looked in the sugar bowel, and screamed. It was exactly what they needed for their plane tickets and it was her birthday. It is pretty hard to hid joy.

A man who is filled with love joy and peace will radiate that like a neon sign. What must the face of Jesus looked like? But what caused that radiance? Perhaps the most difficult passage in the Scripture is where Jesus said, “Except you eat My flesh and drink My Blood you have no life in you.... He that eats My flesh and drinks My Blood dwelleth in Me and I in him.” (Jn. 6:53, 56). You talk about a tough one; now there is a difficult passage for you. The only explanation I know is what Jesus gave us in the next verse; “As I live by the Father, he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me”. This makes a little sense. What you feed on will be reflected in your face. You feed on the living Word of God and have genuine fellowship with Jesus it will show in your face. Moses' face shone so bright he had to wear a veil (Ex. 34:35). Living by the Father was visible on the face of Jesus, His countenance was like Lebanon.

Lebanon is mentioned in scripture 71 times and 40 times it is mentioned with the cedars of Lebanon. The cedars of Lebanon were the most majestic plants in the Holy Land. The General Sherman tree in northern Califirnia is the largest living organism in the world and the cedars of Lebanon were the largest living organisms in their land. There is vast difference between being in the giant redwood forest in California and being with sage brush in west Texas. There is something towering and majestic about the redwood trees.

It has been suggested that the environment where we are raised and live has a big influence on our personality. Children raised in slums are much different than children raised on ranches. I was sitting in a restaurant in Sparks, Nevada one night, and a ranch family were sitting at a table near me. Just to look at their faces and sitting near them was an unforgettable experience. Their was something about their countenance that reflected the bigness of their ranch. To look at them you could tell that these were not accountants working in an office. Just to look at them gave you the impression of the largeness and the vastness of the ranch where they lived.

What would it be to look at the face of Jesus? I believe the scripture describes it best in saying His countenance is as the cedars of Lebanon. There is a bigness, a towering majesty about His being, His personality, His countenance. To look at His face you realize you are looking at a real big man. To look at Him you would see a man who was in control. Here is a man who is at peace with Himself. Here is a man who is filled with joy. Oh, the countenance of Jesus; how can you describe it? Probably in our lexicon there is no better expression than to say it is as the towering cedars of Lebanon. This is His being. This is who He is. And why is it this way. I believe it is due to His environment where He lived. He lived in the presence of His Father. He lived by His Father. He feed on His Father, His Father was His life.

And so it is with people who live in the presence of God, who feed daily on Jesus. This was what made David Long different. Pastor Xi took one look at that countenance and was won. There was something about the countenance of Dennis Turner. The glory of God was on his face. And maybe if we stay close enough to Jesus there .might be something of Christ reflected in us too. Let's hope so.

                    bill

The Beauty of Jesus (10)

Dear Phyllis,

The next feature of Jesus that we consider is His legs. His LEGS are as pillars of marble set in sockets of fine gold. This one is fairly easy. Obviously, pillars are self-explanatory. Any vertical structure has pillars or something to hold it up. In any church, family, or organization there are pillars whether they are acknowledged or not. A husband might say of his wife, “She is the pillar of our family”. Or a pastor might say of his top deacon, “He is the pillar of the church”. It isn't much of a stretch to say of Jesus, that He is the pillar of The Church. It all rests on Him.

I don't think it is necessary to comment on marble. Marble is, of course, the finest building material available. The finest buildings in the world are made out of marble. In speaking of Jesus there is no other material that you could use to describe Him. It is only fitting that the Bible should say, “His legs are as marble”. There is no one more capable that God could find or choose to be the pillar of the Church than Jesus.

God choose Abraham, Moses, and David to be pillars in their day. But for the pillar of His Church, God has reserved that position and title to be given to His Son. It might behoove pastors, heads of missions and any Christian organization to realize that Jesus is the pillar of the church, not them. That would take a lot of weight off them and relieve them of the responsibility for making basic decisions, True, they are under-shepherds and responsible for the areas the Lord has appointed them to, but there is One who is above them. And as for carrying weight, it sure takes a lot of the load off leaders to let Jesus bear the weight rather than them. It was said of Hudson Taylor, one time he was staying with a friend when the missionaries of the CIM were in terrible danger. He serenely had his morning devotions and was having breakfast; his friend was amazed how he could act so calm. Taylor simply explained, “There is nothing I can do. This is not my responsibility. Jesus is responsible for His own workers.” Hudson Taylor was able to cast all his care upon the Lord (1Pet. 5:7).

But in addition to bearing weight, legs are for walking and standing. It is a serious problem with many Christian workers that they won't take a stand. It was never said of Eli that he would take a stand. In every posture mentioned in the scripture of Eli, he was either sitting or sleeping. This cost him his sons and his priesthood. His boys were undisciplined and a terrible disgrace to the office of priest. They loved raw flesh and had sex with women in public. The problem was that Eli did nothing. The Lord said to Eli, “You honor your sons above Me” (1Sam. 2:29). It is not spiritual to look the other way when a situation calls for action. The sons of a field chairman in Japan were two of the worst kids in the country, and he stayed on as field chairman for 20 years. The sons of a pastor in the states were so bad people told me that they didn't want their children to sit near them to hear the filthy things that they said during services. A missionary from that church quit in protest, but the pastor stayed on. The same missionary later resigned from his own church when his daughter did something he thought was dishonoring to the Lord. When my wife went south in sin, I said, “Well, that is the end for me”, and for four years I sat in silence in the back of the church. There are times when we must take a stand.

One thing that must be said about Jesus – He always took a stand. The first time, and perhaps the most important time, He took a stand was against the devil in the wilderness. It is not surprising that the first thing Jesus had to face after His baptism was to say no to the devil. This was a repeat of what had happened in the Garden 4,000 years previously. It was early in the history of Adam and Eve that they had to make a choice to say no to temptation or buy what the devil was suggesting. They failed, but Jesus won. Not only once, but the temptations of Christ were continual (Lk. 22:28). One of the most amazing features of the life of Christ is that for 33 years He held the line and refused to taste the fruit of temptation. We need to take a similar stand against temptation, It has been reported thtn75% of pastors watch pornography. Needless to say, we should avoid compromise in our public life and live above compromise in our hidden private life. This is a failure for an enormous number of Christian pastors and workers. Jesus never did.

He refused to compromise on any issue, even when He brought the wrath of the establishment on Himself. PC was not the guiding star of His life. Billy Graham has been hailed as the greatest evangelist of the 20^th century, but he was the most PC evangelist in modern times. The most distinguishing feature of his ministry was unbelievable compromise. This caused perhaps the biggest split of the past century. He was famous for having some of the most disgusting Christ-denying liberals on the platform with him, and call them men of God. He said of Norman Vincent Peal, “More than any other man Norman Peal has had the greatest influence on my life”; and it is questionable whether or not Norman Vincent Peal was saved. In all his crusades he worked closely with Catholics and sent seekers back to Catholic churches. He called the pope the greatest revivalist of the 20^th century. Oh my goodness, shocking is not the right word. No reasonable observable could question Billy Graham's Christian character. I believe he was a man of integrity and outstanding character, but compromise was the distinguishing feature of his life's ministry. Oh for men with backbones who will take a stand against the forces of evil.

I went to a church here in Thailand for ten years. I liked the pastor very much and we were close friends. But the rascal had a series going of preaching his way through Nehemiah. Unbelievably, I never once heard him say that Nehemiah was a wall builder. He cautiously avoided mentioning that there was a wall. He flat refused to draw the line and say there was a wall between biblical Christians and Christ-denying liberals because there were a number of liberal missionaries in his church. I couldn't handle it! Every Sunday I came away from church furious because he wouldn't take a stand against the devil's missionaries. I quit. Compromise was one word that no one could say about Jesus. His legs were like pillars of marble. His stand was one that all His followers must emulate.

And they were set in sockets of fine gold. We have said before that fine gold is a term that is consistently used to designate deity. The stand that Jesus always took was not for some organization but for His Father. This is a tough one. What do we do? Frequently I don't know. No organization is perfect. There is no place where we can say we are 100% in agreement with every position that our church, mission, or fellowship takes. The only answer I know is to do what Jesus would do. Endless splits are not the answer. Jesus recognized the priesthood. I never would say, “Do what they say, but not what they do” (Mt. 23:3); but Jesus did. I never would have been near that Temple, but Jesus taught there. I got bent out of shape because Jesus stood in the midst of the Seven Golden Candle Sticks (Rev. 2, 3). I would have gotten out of the church in Thyatira and Pergamos right now. If someone was going to a church like that, and asked my opinion what they should do; I would say in a heart beat, “Get out!”. But Jesus stood in the midst. When I asked Jesus why He did that, He told me that these churches were not examplatory churches but there was a remnant of overcomers, who were the real church, and He stood with them.

I don't know, but I do know that Jesus has legs like pillars of marble set in sockets of fine gold and He has a backbone like steel. He bears the weight of the Church; He refused to compromise on anything, and always took a hard stand for righteousness, All that He did was to honor His father. Oh, He is beautiful.

                                        bill

The Beauty of Jesus 9

The Beauty of Jesus (9)

Dear Phyllis,

In our study of the beauty of Jesus we are down to His belly. This is going to be a difficult one. The verse is; “His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphire.” I feel like the Jews in the synagogue in Antioch when Paul and Barnabas showed up. They said, “Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on”. That is what I said to the Lord this morning. Unless the Holy Spirit Himself steps forward and speaks to us to us we're sunk. This will be one colossal dud. I know very little about this verse.

The best I can do is research a concordance. The word ivory appears in the OT 12 times, two of which are in the Song of Solomon, and once in the NT, in Revelation 18:12. The most obvious reference to ivory is Solomon's throne. Twice the Word of God tells us Solomon made himself a great throne overlaid with gold (1 Kn. 10:18; 2 Ch. 9:17). Every reference to ivory in the Bible it in connection to things very expensive and elegant.

Another reason why this is a difficult verse is that it is talking about Jesus' belly. That immediately brings up a bad image in our mind. Today when we talk about a persons belly it usually isn't a complement. The first thing we think of is a beer belly on a man or a fat lady; neither of which are complementary. But if we can set aside or secular concepts and simply look at the Bible we might be able glean some spiritual truth.

There is a verse in John 7:38 that we struggle with in our KJV Bible. In speaking of a person filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “For out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” To understand that verse we have to step outside our American culture. For Americans when we talk about the heart or the center of our being we point to our chest. But in some other cultures they feel the center of their being is in their stomach. They point to their stomach. It seems obvious that in 1611 when the Bible translators were doing their work for King James, that is what they had in mind. When our Holy Bible says belly it is talking about our innermost being. Keeping that in mind we might go back to talking about the innermost being of Jesus.

I don't know, maybe when we talk about the innermost being of Jesus we might say that it is like ivory overlaid with sapphires. Ivory is usually listed with precious stones or jewels. But in that category ivory is unique. Other jewel are inorganic. Ivory and pearls are the only jewels that are organic. Ivory comes from elephants. There is only one way to get ivory – the elephant has to die. The only other jewel that is produced by death is a pearl. In this Jesus is unique. He was the only man that came into this world for the singular purpose to die. Everyone else who has walked among us came here for the purpose of accomplishing something through his life. Jesus came here to accomplish something through His death. Perhaps we have a message here. When we talk about the innermost being of Jesus we are brought face to face with the fact that the purpose for His coming was to die. Maybe that is why the Holy Spirit tells us that the innermost being of Jesus is like ivory. The reason it is precious is because of His death. Every other great person is acclaimed for what they accomplished through their life. Jesus is acclaimed for what He accomplished through His death. Oh. where would we be if Jesus hadn't died? Volumes have been written about what Jesus accomplished through His Cross. And indeed the entire New Testament is devoted to that purpose.

I don't know where to go from here. What can I say? Perhaps it might be helpful if we remind ourselves what Jesus told us would be required to be followers of Him (Lk. 14:27). This can be summed up in one word - be soldiers of the Cross. There is only one way we can be soldiers of the Cross, we have to carry a cross too. The cross is not an ornament. A cross is an instrument of death.

What a lost art this is toady. Today what many earnest young Christians have in mind when they set themselves to be a follower of Jesus is to be a successful witness, evangelist, pastor, writer, missionary, etc. Everyone wants to be successful. Most young men in seminary today want to be pastor of the 1^st church. Who wants to be pastor of that little flock struggling in that store front meeting place? Let's get out of here and build a real big church. Maybe if we are successful we might get to be the 1^st church in town. And then the top of the line would be if we could have a national TV program. Let's give it a shot. That isn't much of a stretch in describing what is in the heart of most Christian workers. They would like to work their way up to the top. But that is not the way of the Cross.

Has anyone heard of Mary Bean? I don't believe her biography was ever written, but she was a terrific missionary in Africa. She was just a seed that fell in the ground and died. But, man howdy, she had fruit. In that she is an example of thousands of unsung missionaries. It can hardly be said, the-name-of-the-game is obscurity. But this is the way of the Cross. Jesus didn't come to cut a path in life. He came to give His life for others. He came to die. And if anyone wants to be His follower, this is the only way. We have to live to give our lives for the sake of others.

What is the innermost being of Jesus like? It is like ivory. And, oh, it is precious! It is overlaid with sapphires. This is something of great value in the sight of the Lord. I don't know what sapphires means but I do know they are jewels. When I was first saved, my favorite books were missionary biographies. I would highly recommend this for anyone who wants to follow the Lord. These are the stories of people who were true soldiers of the Cross. These lives are the ones of the greatest value.

At the expense of saying something so obvious that it might be foolish to mention it, but it is important to keep in mind that the currency heaven and earth are different. Things that are of great value on earth are worthless in heaven. And things that are of great value in heavens sight are considered wasteful here.

Watchman Nee told the story of meeting an old professor he had in college one day. It had been years since last they met. The professor asked him to join him in a tea house for a chat. As they sat there drinking tea the professor was anxious to hear how Watchman Nee had done in life. Brother Nee was at a very low point at that moment. The churches he had started were not doing well. He was being crushed with problem, but he shared with his teacher how he had dedicated his life to serving the Lord. When he finished telling his story, the professor looked at him sadly and remarked, “What a waste! We had such expectation for you. You were such a promising student and we thought you would do well in life. But now look; you have nothing to show for your life.” Brother Nee said that was one of the devastating blows of his life. He looked back over the years he had been serving the Lord and in earths view it was a waste. But then he

was filled with the spirit of glory. He thought, “Oh what a wonderful investment! Thank God I wasted my life for Jesus.”

In light of heaven things look different. When Jesus left this earth to return to heaven you could almost say He had wasted His life. But to His Bride, when asked what Jesus was like, she said His belly (His innermost being) is like ivory overlaid with sapphires. Ivory is listed with jewels but it cost the life of an animal to produce that material. It was the most precious life possible. And if we want our life to be of great value the only possible way is to follow Jesus in bearing a cross.

I don't know. Maybe this doesn't make any sense, but that is the way I view this verse.

bill