Insights Magazine: Issue Three, 2023

2023 ISSUE THREE

There is something altogether magnificent, therapeutic, and reassuring about Easter morning.

A Hope Transfusion

by Charles R. Swindoll

Easter and hope are synonymous. The special day never arrives without its refreshing reminder that there is life beyond this one. True life. Eternal life. Glorious life. Those who live on what we might call the “outskirts of hope” need a transfusion. Easter gives it.

For some strange reason, I’ve experienced times in my life when several people with whom I had regular contact were all at once living with the dreaded disease of cancer. Talk about people living on “ the outskirts. ” I remember when one of my dearest friends, who had fought a gallant battle with cancer for well over a year and had gone into remission, had a relapse. At that same time, the wife of the president of the seminary where I trained was diagnosed with melanoma— a tumour in her liver. Yet another was a 22-year-old fellow from Indiana who at the time was enduring the horrible reactions to chemotherapy because of liver cancer. All of these and others with whom I was corresponding represented merely the tiny tip of a massive iceberg of men, women, boys, and girls for whom a hope transfusion was essential. I was reminded then and I know now—as many more struggle with cancer—that Easter provides this hope.

And then there are those who are grieving over the recent loss of a mate, a child, a parent, or a friend. Death has come like a ruthless thief, snatching away a treasured presence and leaving only hollow memories in its wake. The sadness of those who mourn casts a spell of loneliness too powerful for spoken words

or shallow songs to break. What is missing? To paraphrase the statement of Oscar Wilde: Something is dead in each of them, And what is dead is Hope.¹

There is nothing like Easter to bring hope back to life.

Easter has its own anthems: Jesus lives, and so shall I: Death, thy sting is gone forever!²

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say: Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply, Alleluia!³

Easter has its own Scriptures:

I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.

Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God. (Job 19:25–26 NASB1995)

“

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:55–58)

And Easter has its own proclamation : “ He is not here, for He has risen. ” (Matthew 28:6)

I cannot explain what happens, nor do I need to try. The simple fact is this: there is something altogether magnificent, therapeutic, and reassuring about Easter morning.

When Christians gather in houses of worship and lift their voices in praise to the risen Redeemer, the demonic hosts of hell and their damnable prince of darkness are temporarily paralyzed. When pastors stand and declare the unshakable, undeniable facts of Jesus’ bodily resurrection and the assurance of ours as well, the empty message of skeptics and cynics is momentarily silenced. As the thrill of standing shoulder to shoulder with those of “ like precious faith ” flows through the people of God, an almost mysterious surge of power floods over us (2 Peter 1:1 KJV). The benefits are innumerable. To list only a few:

• Our illnesses don’t seem nearly so final

• Our fears fade and lose their grip

• Our grief over those who have gone on is diminished

• Our desire to press on in spite of obstacles is rejuvenated

• Our differences of opinion are eclipsed by our similar faith

• Our identity as Christians is strengthened, as we stand in the lengthening shadows of

saints down through the centuries who have always answered in antiphonal voice: “He is risen, indeed!”

This season, a hope transfusion awaits us. It happens every year. Alleluia!

1. Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (Boston: John W. Luce and Company, 1906), 23.

2. Christian F. Gellert, “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I,” trans. Philip Schaff, in The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (Waco, Tex.: Word Music, 1986), 224.

3. Charles Wesley, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” in The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (Waco, Tex.: Word Music, 1986), 217.

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles R. Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Suddenly One Morning single CD message

Watering Fertile Soil for Homegrown Ministry

by Terry Boyle

Entoto Park sits high over Addis Ababa— above the haze, above the traffic’s blare, above the press of the city’s ceaseless industry. It’s a lofty and tranquil place dominated by a great forest of eucalyptus. Transplanted from Australia around a century ago, the eucalyptus became famous for making straight and strong building spars. But it’s also famous for its thirst, blotting dry the soil wherever it sets its roots.

These foreign trees have shouldered aside countless acres of Ethiopia’s native junipers and acacias.

That’s a powerful image, and one that translates easily into our ministry goals in so many parts of the world. Insight for Living Ministries (IFLM) doesn’t want to be an invasive foreign import. Our desire is to water the native seeds of faith already planted that God may cause

Article Photo: Teddy k on unsplash.com

natural and indigenous growth. This aim demands that we be careful in the work we do—training with sensitivity to local cultural habits and distinctives.

Of course, I was thrilled about leading a Searching the Scriptures (STS) training seminar in Ethiopia. Prior to this trip, I had taught our program only a few times online because we launched it just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now I would be in the same room with the participants face-to-face!

Then came the hesitations. I fretted like Moses before God at the burning bush. We have no office in Ethiopia, no IFLM pastor in place. No one on the IFLM team even speaks Amharic. Are we committing to too much? What if the program is of little use there? Despite these doubts, God’s leading remained certain, so we submitted our plans into His hands and purchased the plane tickets.

Our airplane touched down, and my wife Rosie and I walked under African skies for the first time—much to our delight. Ethiopians smile readily and help eagerly. Last-minute details settled into place as we began day one of our first conference.

I really enjoyed rubbing shoulders with these men and women of God. The attendees were from all parts of Ethiopia. Most serve the church in their spare time in small towns and rural communities. For this STS seminar, they committed to four intense days of on-site training to learn how to study the Bible carefully for themselves and then to turn the fruits of their work into strong and effective sermons. In other words, they were tapping into the method Pastor Chuck has cultivated and used during his 60 years of pulpit ministry.

Before the trip, we wondered what kind of atmosphere we would have, given the wide spectrum of denominations represented. Disagreements over minor doctrinal points can all too often turn sour. In a breathtaking sweep of grace, however, God did more than merely keep us together. A buzzing camaraderie soon filled us all as we gathered around Christ’s Word to see what He has said to all of us. One breakout session wrestled with a particularly thorny question: What exactly is the unforgivable sin? Harsh and abiding division could have easily erupted. But, even though the discussions got lively, we all came back to the same room—unified by the same Spirit with respect for each other, worshipping and honouring the same Lord.

IFLM’s collaboration with Ethiopian church leaders is flourishing as we focus on watering with the pure Word of Christ that God might cause an abundance of native growth. He did it right before our eyes while we were there! Rejoice with us and pray that He will continue nourishing His people, making them like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season, prospering in all they do (Psalm 1:3).

Terry Boyle serves as IFLM’s regional pastor in the United Kingdom, chief STS officer, and lead curriculum developer and trainer for IFLM’s international pastor-training program. IFLM launched this program to equip church leaders who desire advanced training for pastoral ministry but lack easy access to formal education. Terry’s wife Rosie also serves with IFLM UK as listener representative.

IFLM’S COLLABORATION WITH ETHIOPIAN CHURCH LEADERS IS FLOURISHING AS WE FOCUS ON WATERING WITH THE PURE WORD OF CHRIST THAT GOD MIGHT CAUSE AN ABUNDANCE OF NATIVE GROWTH.

Celebrating the Songs of the Resurrection

by Charles R. Swindoll

It comes as a surprise to no one that I love music. Choral music, instrumental music, popular music, as well as classical stuff...folk tunes, ballads, fun songs, and serious works... country western and bluegrass, as well as the patriotic and romantic. For me, music is a must. This has resulted in my becoming a student of the hymns...the great hymns, those that have endured the test of time. Those we sing on Sunday linger in my mind for most of the week that follows. I hum them on the way home. I find myself singing them in the shower the next day or two.

Like you, I have a few favourites, but I'm always thrilled to let whatever we sing at our church invade my thoughts. Most of the hymns I've memorized bring to my mind meaningful thoughts and grand, vivid memories that have significant events connected to them. Invariably, those things pass in mental review as I become “lost in wonder, love, and praise” ¹ in my worship.

I think it's unfortunate that the stately, strong hymns are slowly being replaced by shallow pieces that lack literary fibre and theological depth. I have no axe to grind, you understand, just a nagging concern that the message of our faith not become so “updated” that we lose a firm connection with our roots. Some of the

things being written today are good and solid, but, unfortunately, they are rare. My plea is that we maintain a musical relevance as well as a historical respect in our hymnody.

Recently while thinking of the glorious message of the Resurrection, I found myself suddenly overwhelmed with the music that has accompanied the subject of the empty tomb for centuries. Various scenes crossed my mind. I saw myself as a lad holding my mother's hand in a little Baptist church in the South Texas town where I was born. Years later I sat in a sunrise service on the island of Okinawa fighting back tears of loneliness. Another Easter hymn took me to Chafer Chapel on the campus of Dallas Seminary, where 350 of us preparing for ministry stood side by side and sang heartily of the Saviour we'd soon be proclaiming. I revisited other geographical spots in my nostalgic pilgrimage, and each time I gave God thanks that Job's words were mine as well:

“

I know that my Redeemer lives.” (Job 19:25)

Gloria and Bill Gaither's now-dated but familiar lyrics still bring to life Job's hope:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow;

Because He lives, all fear is gone.²

What a grand heritage is ours! We dare not allow Easter to pass without sufficiently

TO MOST FOLKS, EASTER IS NOTHING MORE THAN BUY-SOMENEW-CLOTHES TIME...OR CHURCHGOING TIME. ARE THEY IN FOR A SURPRISE!

rejoicing in and declaring our hope. It is Jesus Christ—the miraculously resurrected Son of God—who remains the object of our worship and the subject of our praise. Samuel Stennett was correct, way back in 1787 when he wrote:

To Him I owe my life and breath, And all the joys I have; He makes me triumph over death, And saves me from the grave.³

That hope has kept believers strong in the darkest places. Your situation may not be as grim as the son of a tinsmith in that Bedford jail, but perhaps his words are all you need today to revitalize your faith. As the pack of sin fell from Christian's back, John Bunyan's timeless character exclaimed:

Thus far did I come laden with my Sin; Nor could ought ease the grief that I was in, Till I came hither: What a place is this!

Must here be the beginning of my bliss?

Must here the Burden fall from off my back?

Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?

Blest Cross! blest Sepulchre! blest rather be The Man that there was put to Shame for me!4 Easter is great-music time. Easter is revivalof-hope time. Easter is Christ-exalting time.

That should come as a surprise to no one...but to some it will.

To most folks, Easter is nothing more than buy-some-new-clothes time...or church-going time. Are they in for a surprise! So while you and I are singing and reflecting, let's also be praying. On Easter Sunday, some will discover that Easter is pack-dropping time.

1. Charles Wesley, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” public domain.

2. Gloria Gaither and William J. Gaither, “Because He Lives,” in The Celebration Hymnal: Songs and Hymns for Worship (Nashville: Word/Integrity, 1997), hymn no. 358.

3. Samuel Stennett, “Chief among Ten Thousand; or, the Excellencies of Christ,” in The Works of Samuel Stennet (London: Thomas Tegg, 1824), 539, www.books.google. com (accessed February 1, 2013).

4. John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress (Westwood, N.J.: Barbour and Co., 1985), 36.

Copyright © 2013 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

We have hundreds of Bible-teaching articles, audio programs, and other resources designed to help you grow in your faith.

Martin Luther

by Bill Gemaehlich

After the events of the last three years, there is understandably heightened anxiety and uncertainty about the future. However, as believers, the good news is that our hope is found in Christ! We can take comfort that even during seasons of great adversity God remains sovereign and will help us navigate the road set before us.

One hero of the faith who encountered adversity throughout his life is German pastor, Martin Luther. Luther faced many trials as he led the charge for the reformation of the Catholic church. He was excommunicated and declared an outlaw and a heretic. Later he faced the threat of the bubonic plague, which brought devastation and ravaged the lives of people across Germany.

In 1527, Luther was urged to leave Wittenberg and save his own life because of the plague. However, he considered it his responsibility to remain and minister to those who were sick. He even transformed his house into a hospital to care for those with the plague. During these years filled with trials and death, Luther wrote his most famous hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. This amazing hymn was inspired by Psalm 46, in which Luther describes the steadfast confidence and trust we have in God.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

Luther said, “We sing this psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends His church and His word against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh and sin.”¹

Luther followed Christ with unwavering devotion amid great adversity. He saturated everything he did in life with prayer depending upon the grace of God. As we pray, let us ask God to mercifully protect us and trust Him to be our refuge and strength as we face adversity. God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. (Psalm 46:1–2 NIV)

1 C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, vol. 1b, Psalms 27-57 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1968), p. 344.

Bill Gemaehlich is the EVP/COO operations at Insight for Living Ministries

LUTHER FOLLOWED CHRIST WITH UNWAVERING DEVOTION AMID GREAT ADVERSITY. HE SATURATED EVERYTHING HE DID IN LIFE WITH PRAYER DEPENDING UPON THE GRACE OF GOD.

When to Remember and When to Forget

by Steve Johnson

Remembering and forgetting are things we need to work at equally. Memories of past events can be either helpful or harmful to us. There are some memories we should hang on to because of their positive impact in the present, such as significant life lessons, spiritual victories, and the impact of helpful people.

There are also memories we should let go and move on from because of their negative impact. Memories of hurtful experiences, abusive people, and destructive situations can paralyze us with fear, anger, discouragement, and regret. They can sabotage and undermine our lives in the present.

But the issue is not that we shouldn’t remember things of the past. After all, God gave us a

brain with the capacity of memory. The issue is, what do we do with those memories? I suggest three biblical approaches.

Reframe

How are we interpreting our memories? In what context do we frame them? Are we looking at our memories from a human or divine perspective?

For example, we can remember past failures and allow ourselves, others, or Satan to beat us up over them. We can frame our past sins to mean we are horrible people for having committed them and totally underserving of forgiveness or anything good ever again.

Conversely, in humility we can frame our memories in the context of the biblical truth that we are all flawed sinners. We don’t excuse

our past behaviour or bad experiences, but instead reframe them in a context of gratitude because the Lord was gracious and forgave us when we repented.

Joseph reframes his negative experiences of betrayal, slavery, imprisonment and eventual rise to power in Egypt when he says to his brothers, “God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors .... You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 45:7, 50:20).

In other words, when reframing memories, choose to look at them from the perspective of God’s gracious providence.

Remind

When it comes to memories we want and need to remember, we need continuous reminders. This is the concept behind the stones of remembrance in Joshua 4. Joshua had people place stones in the middle of the Jordan River where the priests had stood and where the people crossed. They took stones from the river and built a memorial on the shore. Through the stones, Israel was reminded of God's faithfulness, providence, and love every time they would look at them.

The application is that we should not forget God’s past faithfulness, providence, and love for us. It is good to have tangible reminders— something written, pictures, and mementos of His past work in our lives.

Do the opposite when it comes to things we want to forget. Leave behind the continuous reminders of things you want to let go of. As much as possible, eliminate the tangible reminders of those experiences, people, and situations present around you that constantly remind you. Otherwise, every time you’re reminded it’s like tearing a scab off a wound.

Get rid of negative reminders to allow healing of memories and emotions.

Review

We need to constantly review things we want to remember. This is the principle behind the exhortations to Israel in Deuteronomy 6:7–9. Repeat them, talk about them with others, and create and view mementos in your home. Then don’t forget their significance! They are souvenirs of things you want to remember.

Stop the continuous reviews when it comes to the things we need to forget. When we continuously mull over those past bad memories, they stay fresh undermine our present life. Commit yourself to not dwell on a bad memory when it is triggered. Don’t bring it up constantly and talk about it or allow others to talk to you about it.

But God gave us brains that remember! That’s true, but we can disconnect from emotional memory by deciding not to dwell on, talk about, or allow others to talk about a bad memory with you. If you maintain that commitment when bad memories are triggered, eventually you disconnect from the emotions of the memory, which I call emotional forgetting, and be able to recall the memory without the fear, anger, discouragement, and regret that it used to evoke.

We have to always work at remembering and forgetting. We need to work and remember what we believe, and what God has done for us. And we need to work at forgetting harmful things from our past.

In summary, I say don’t forget to remember, and remember to forget.

Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.

WE NEED TO WORK AND REMEMBER WHAT WE BELIEVE, AND WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US.

Resurrection: Hoax or Hope?

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, His critics tried every scheme in the playbook to discredit His authority. Some accused Him of breaking the law of Moses. Others claimed He used Satan’s power rather than God’s. Few ever thought of Jesus as being anything more than just a man—definitely not God incarnate.

Although the gospel accounts in Scripture expose the errors of Jesus’ detractors, opponents of the kingdom of heaven still attack the King by dismissing the message of His Gospel. One main accusation levelled by skeptics today argues that Jesus never actually died on the cross.

While their argument may raise eyebrows, these skeptics have thought this one through carefully. If Jesus never died, then He never could have come back to life. And without His Resurrection, those who put their faith in Jesus have no hope of conquering sin and

death with Him. If there is no resurrection, then there is no Good News.

But...what if Jesus did die and did come back to life? And there is a resurrection? And the message is true?

Thankfully, Scripture directs us from questioning what IF? to knowing what IS! Followers of Jesus have the firm foundation of Jesus’ Resurrection upon which God calls everyone to place their hope and build their lives by putting their faith in the Son.

If Christ did not come back to life, then those who put their trust in Him have absolutely no hope. It’s as simple as that. But...He did come back to life, and now His followers get to experience all the hope that resurrection offers.

“Many say that Jesus never died. And of course, if you don’t have a death, you don’t have a resurrection. No death, no resurrection...no hope.”

—Pastor Charles R. Swindoll

Puzzle — Word Search

Don’t Forget to Remember

Difficulty ■ ■ □ □

Hidden in this puzzle are 30 words from Joshua 4:1–24 and Deuteronomy 6:1–12 NIV. Words can go in any direction. Words can share letters as they cross over each other.

Our Easter page helps you better understand what really happened when Jesus died and rose from the dead, why there was no alternative, and why it makes all the difference today and every day!

Visit insightforliving.ca/easter for articles, audio messages, and more to help you prepare your heart for Easter.