Reversal

Reversal When an offended God offers Mercy Copyright Doug Blair, Waterloo ON, 2019

Fig Tree Cursed Seems to be the time of fruit Foliage is plenty Skies are bright and inviting

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Words and ways well defined But search the whole plant Where the output of sweetness?

Of compassion Of hunger for the aroma of God? Of honest brotherhood Of courageous rescue.

Not here at all Not in this “holy� city Only presumption and play-acting.

Holiness does not so come.

But it shall come.

Father has decreed it The prophets have foretold it

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And I am making it plain.

Be done with that pointless tree!

Make room in the soil For joyful reproduction For loving kindness and truth.

(Mark 11: 13-21) image by James Tissot

I Heard That

Could anything be more terrifying than the day the sceptic and God-detractor hears the Almighty say "I heard that." All the smart talk and mockery voiced in the days of darkness, then exposed in the fullness of light in judgment. Too late to hide or retract. Judgment thundering forward.

In the 35th chapter of Ezekiel the prophet speaks against Edom which had long mocked Israel and every one of her difficulties:​13 Thus with your 3

mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. 14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. 15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

In a Little Wrath

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Isaiah is one of my favourite Bible books. Its 66 chapters parallel the layout of the 66 books of the whole Bible – 39 on law and judgment and collapse, and then 27 on mercy, rescue and a new Heaven and earth.

The Second Part, chapters 40 to 66 (Deutero-Isaiah), might well be called a Fifth Gospel. In Acts 8 Philip used excerpts from the 53rd chapter to preach to a visiting dignitary from Ethiopia the foretold mission of Jesus, God’s Suffering Servant. This messenger Champion accomplishing forgiveness of sins through the expenditure of His innocent blood. The listening man repented and entered into the family of Christian faith rejoicing.

Now what is the middle chapter of Deutero-Isaiah? It is the 54th. And what is the middle verse? It is the 8th.

8 I​ n a little wrath ​I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

God’s agenda is big. He plans to rescue a fulfilled Israel from general judgment. This Israel will include both Jew and Gentile bowing to the lordship of Jesus. The prophet ​Habakkuk​ repeats this major Bible theme in the 3rd chapter verse 2:

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2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

And what do we see throughout the Bible record? Noah was mocked and then deposited safe in the Ark. The unbelieving world drowns in the flood.

Moses’ people straightened for generations in slavery; then released while Pharaoh’s army is washed under the billows of the Red Sea. The harlot Rahab picks herself up from a miserable life of self-abuse and chooses to trust in the report of the 2 Hebrew spies right before the collapse of mighty and vicious Jericho.

Or look further over to the 53rd chapter whose central verse is the 6th.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

You must seize this revelation.

Move of God

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I remember seeing a painting of George Whitefield (1714 - 1770) preaching to a crowd in an English village. The faces of those in attendance registered every possible reaction – mild interest, polite boredom, awkward smirks, heckling, distraction toward the activity of others and some in heavy conviction and mourning for sin.

The face of the preacher showed only severe focus on the Word being preached. He was not scanning the crowd for their reaction or trying to tailor his presentation for sake of persuasiveness. He modeled the dedicated, humble messenger of the simple seed of the Word. I saw nothing of debater, salesman or distinguished celebrity.

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How often do we hear of the ministries of “great men or women of God” wielding some “mighty anointing”. It is as if the sweet ministry of the Holy Spirit and His fruit have been reduced to a commodity like baking powder available for better effect.

I am convinced that we are seeing the eclipse of “great personalities” in ministry. God is jealous for His glory. One of a messenger’s greatest fears in service or testimony should be the fear of the praise of men and its debilitating effect. The sower simply, obediently and faithfully scatters the seed. God gives the increase.

I am expecting a groundswell of grass-roots love and sharing to be in the next outbreak of revival. We must all be prepared to give the glad report and to offer hands of help.

Beneath Thy Cross

AM I a stone,​ and not a sheep,

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That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross, To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss, And yet not weep?

Not so those​ women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the Sun​ and Moon Which hid their faces in a starless sky, A horror of great darkness at broad noon--

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I, only I.

Yet give ​not o'er, But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; Greater than Moses, turn and look once more And smite a rock.

​Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

The Eighty-Fifth 10

Lord will you revive us Turn away your displeasure Although we stray Mesmerized by everyday.

And you have done so much We scarce deserve Your healing touch.

It's in the fearing

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The coming softly To your majesty And pleading for that We have no right to Ever see or hear.

Please Lord come near.

With miracle blend Of Love, Faithfulness Righteousness, Peace Made to kiss each other.

An intersection A stunning Cross

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Distilling joy from loss.

(Psalm 85)

Opus

There’s a song in every Christian

And it speaks of rough sea crossed

And of dark nights of desertion

When the former hopes were lost

And the world would brand it weakness

And would silence the refrain

And would drum their battle marches

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That precede the grief and pain

Hoping for no other trophy

Than another small tiff won

Never dreaming, never seeing

Total victory in God’s Son.

But the song would call Him gentle

Willing slave to all men’s worst

Brother, Helper, Saviour, Jesus

Matchless lyrics oft rehearsed.

Now perhaps you sense the music

Go ahead, relinquish, Soul

And delight in light and rescue

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For the song has made you whole.

Note:​ I asked her for a large coffee with hazelnut flavour. Name-tag said “Rachel”. Upon her return I said “You have a marvelous name. Rachel, mother of Joseph in the Bible. You know coat of many colours. Betrayed by his brothers. Jail one day. Pharaoh’s right-hand man the next.”

Her brilliant young eyes registered surprise and interest. It appeared she was unfamiliar with the story. “How do you do that? Remember it all and say it so clearly?”

I responded with the next step of opportunity: “Why don’t you read about Joseph in Genesis. He was betrayed by those closest to him out of jealousy.

Ended up in jail for no apparent wrong. But his wisdom and insight soon came to the attention of a troubled monarch with nightmares. Before he knew it he stood majestically beside the Pharaoh as second highest in the land. Now Rachel, when you think of Joseph, think also of Jesus and His trial, death and resurrection. Ascended once again to the right hand of God the Father in Heavenly splendour. Forgiving the wrongdoers. The one Bible character was a forecast of the other. Have a nice day Rachel, mother of Joseph.”

This too was another little verse of opportunity in the Opus.

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In this small booklet I have attempted​ to show something of the absolute holiness of God. His standards are high. We fail and come across as lukewarm at best. But then something happens...circumstances or a word of comfort or a tiny portion of scripture or a song begin the softening process. God does not want enemies. He wants family. The Gospel account clearly shows Jesus as our substitute in judgment. Hanging upon a cross as if a criminal. His rising from the dead terminates death’s chokehold. He calls Himself the way to peace and Heaven. We can only listen obey and marvel. We find ourselves among the throng who are “poor in spirit” and “hungering for righteousness”; among the “peacemakers” and “pure in heart” (Matthew 5: 3-12). We are home.

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