CLOG-POPPING

Clog-Popping!

Upon arrival in subtropical Brisbane, Queensland I was surprised to see some people walking around without shoes – downtown! One summer’s day I attempted to walk barefoot on an asphalt path in a Brisbane city park and immediately suffered third degree burns! Subsequently I learned that the more you go barefoot the more you develop thick layers of skin or callouses on the soles of your feet. However, when it comes to God, calloused soles are preferable to calloused souls!

When the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush He said, ‘Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground’ Exodus 3:5. And when He appeared as the Angel of the LORD to Joshua He said, ‘Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy’ Joshua 5:15.

When I lived in Canada the custom was to remove your shoes before entering another’s house – not because the place was holy, but so as not to tramp snow into their home! In the Book of Ruth there was different practice of shoe removing: ‘Now there was a custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything, one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel’ Ruth 4:7. In the case in point, the man in the Book of Ruth took off his shoe to indicate to Boaz that he was handing over any entitlement he had to a piece of land and everything that came along with it. For the sake of brevity we might say that he ‘gave ground’ to Boaz. In this we can see that by the removal of their shoes Moses and Joshua were to ‘give ground’ to the LORD who was appearing to them.

Scripture says, ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and all those who dwell therein’ Psalm 24:1. Therefore, Moses and Joshua were wise to remove their shoes to symbolise that the LORD is entitled to any and every piece of property. He is the lawful owner. The LORD had promised a piece of land to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then Moses, a land that would serve as a token of the whole world (Romans 4:13). Regarding the ‘Promised Land’ the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses’ Joshua 1:3. And so the years of conquest began with the Israelites crossing the Jordan River to redeem the ‘Promised Land’. It had become overrun with tribes of people, all which rejected the living and true God, people who, among many other abominations, even sacrificed their own children to false gods!

To redeem is to buy back. But, ‘buy back’ from whom? From Satan? ‘And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Job 2:2. Satan certainly had been staking his claim throughout the earth. And, according to Scripture, Adam and all his descendants (including you and me) have been siding with Satan against God down through the ages. However, Satan does not own anything – lawfully! Therefore the elect of God are not bought back from Satan. It is not he who receives the ransom price paid by Christ Jesus on the cross. Rather the recipient is God. God’s justice demands full payment for our covenant breaking, i.e., our lawlessness.

Eileen Donan Castle & Rowan Berries

God’s Law condemns us. Therefore it is little wonder that a rebellious people would want to remove the Ten Commandments from our Western nations. Even many churches have all but removed God’s Law from within their walls on account of a faulty understanding what it means to be under grace not law. Without God’s Law we cannot understand what God’s grace is! For God’s Law was never given as a means of salvation, rather it was given to convict us of our sins and show us our need for Christ the Saviour of sinners! Sin is the breaking of God’s Law. Therefore, if we don’t know what God’s Law is we don’t know what sin is. And if we don’t know what sin is we don’t know what God’s grace is; because God’s grace is the forgiveness of all our sins. How so? Because Christ Jesus has redeemed us from the penalty of our law-breaking! ‘There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus’ Romans 8:1.

As the Word who has become flesh Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. All clothing, including His shoes, was removed as He entered into God’s presence on the cross to redeem us from our sins. God demonstrated that His justice was satisfied by raising Jesus from the dead. Scripture says, ‘It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment’ Hebrews 9:27. ‘For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ’ Romans 14:10b. Knowing that each of us has a personal appointed to stand before the LORD gives added meaning to the expression ‘he popped his clogs’! Why wait? Give ground to the LORD today. Humble yourself before Him while there is yet time.

COLD FEET

Cold Feet

Everyone knows what the term ‘cold feet’ means, but tracing its origin has proven somewhat elusive. Rather than someone having second thoughts ‘cold feet’ reminds me of a couple of other and perhaps unrelated things! First, one of the wonders of the world must be a penguin on ice incubating and hatching an egg while balancing it on its cold feet. An amazing feet feat! Second, many years ago while living in Canada my wife and I helped rescue a family from their burning home in the middle of the night in winter. We stood in snow and ice in our bare feet. We had cold feet but we didn’t have second thoughts about catching children being dropped to us from a smoking window! It was like an enactment of that old Rescue the Perishing hymn!

              I suppose man’s first negative encounter with fire was at Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. ‘So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life’ Genesis 3:24. It has never been a popular talking point, but, angels armed with flamethrowers block the narrow path that leads to life! How are we to escape the coming hellfire when the way to life is barred by fire? Do we don (asbestos-lined!) penguin-suits and rush the armed guards as if we’re James Bond? Or should we, with clothes-pegs on noses, bury our heads in the sand and just ignore the death-smell of God’s coming judgment? It seems to me that we perish if we opt for either of these courses. Therefore, it’s best to have cold feet about Judgment Day and simply call out to be rescued. Some of Jesus’s disciples who thought that they were about to die cried out to Jesus, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ Mark 4:38b.

              The fear of death includes having second thoughts about facing God’s judgment. Is it okay to say that Jesus had some sort of ‘cold feet’ experience when He was contemplating the judgment of God? He prayed the following when in the garden, ‘“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.’ Luke 22:42-44. Jesus was about to go into the burning building, the place of incineration, (the cross!) to rescue His people from the fiery wrath of God’s judgment upon fallen man. Little wonder then He sweated great drops of blood. He was considering going to Hell!

              Jesus is the High Priest, ‘who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear’ Hebrews 5:7. On the cross He was experiencing Hell when He said, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Matthew 27:46. He was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb (John 19:41-42) thus entering the grave of the fallen. But God indeed heard the cries of the One ‘whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come’ 1 Thessalonians 1:10.

              As a fireman rescues someone from a flaming building, so Jesus by His cross and resurrection carried all God’s children out from the grave! While He was on the cross Eden’s armed-guard turned their flamethrowers onto the One carrying all our sins, incinerating them. The dross of our iniquities is being skimmed off. We are purified by Him who is pure, ‘knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin’ Romans 6:6-7.

              ‘By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men’2 Peter 3:5-7.

              Martin Luther was attempting to escape the judgment and perdition to come by doing everything he could think of as he attempted to save himself and appease the wrath of God. Many today try to do likewise. However, Luther got cold feet about this (futile) way of salvation when he read of an alien righteousness, i.e., a righteousness that comes, not from self, but from God: ‘For in [the gospel of Christ] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The just shall live by faith”’ Romans 1:17.

              Before you die it is better to seek God’s mercy than to ignore or demand justice for yourself. Christian, are you not a brand plucked from the fire? (Zechariah 3:2). Having cold feet about facing God’s wrath is good!

TECHNOLOGY

Technology

Whenever I hear the word ‘technology’ I cannot help but think of the introductory words to the 70s show, The Six Million Dollar Man: ‘Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.’ Isn’t it amazing what medical science can do nowadays? We’re not quite up to the Six Million Dollar Man stage, but the reality is that we can make remarkable and astounding repairs to damaged human bodies. I was blind in my left eye for a couple of years from a cataract. Then they gave me a new lens! It’s now routine procedure. Some people with missing limbs are given bionic replacements. Cochlear ear implants enable the deaf to hear. It’s Biblical!

Wee Bella using technology to write her dog-toral thesis

When Jesus walked on this earth He said, ‘The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.’ Matthew 11:5-6. The technological advances of Western civilisation are on account of the same Gospel that Jesus proclaimed, i.e., the good news of Jesus. And though some may be offended by Jesus, the West is still living off His Gospel capital.

The Gospel is about healing broken human beings, broken in body and soul and spirit. Technological advances in medical science are simply an extension of this. Or, to use more Biblical language, technology is the fruit of the Gospel on a national and global scale. The Great Commission God gave to mankind is, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on earth’ Genesis 1:28b. Technology helps us to subdue the earth and have dominion. Of course, technology is also misused. Notice the polar opposites in the following words of Jesus, ‘The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’ John 10:10. Satan is chief thief, and Adam, as representing all mankind, sided with Satan. Therefore, likewise we are on the side of Satan, and, like those of old, we have a ‘covenant with death’ (Isaiah 28:18) – unless Jesus grants you life in abundance. Clearly those who steal, kill, and destroy are not Christians, or at least have not been influenced by Christianity. Yet they remain among us. Too frequently we hear reports of mass shootings and jihadist bombings etc., with people being rushed to hospital. Clearly one side seeks to use technology to steal, kill, and destroy, while the other seeks to restore, revive, and rebuild. The former is about death in abundance and the latter life in abundance. Sure, not all doctors, surgeons, nurses, medical technicians etc. are Christian, but they certainly are part of Christ’s Gospel blessings to all nations.

Jesus, speaking of His own body, said, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’ John 2:19. Beaten to pulp beforehand, He died after being nailed to a cross. But His temple was rebuilt in three days. Therefore, because of the resurrection of Jesus, all the evil work of those who steal, kill, and destroy ultimately is in vain for those who, as the Apostles’ Creed puts it, ‘believe in the resurrection of the body.’ God raised Jesus. And He will raise you from the dead too!

The Bible speaks of ‘the times of the restoration of all things’ Acts 3:21. Therefore, do not be discouraged dear Christian. Gentlemen (and ladies!), God can rebuild you. He has the technology. 

A TEN DAY WEEK?

Écoute! The last swish of the guillotine will be heard and the Progressives’ Revolution complete when the wanton West capitulates to the decimal week. It’s far easier to count in tens rather than sevens, so why not? Non? It has been tried before, and, like Halley’s Comet, or the moon on its cycle (with French onions hanging from its handlebars!), is sure to return. But that’s the point, isn’t it? The claire de lune only disappears for three days as part of its four quarters of seven days in its monthly waxing and waning. It generally works for menstruation cycles too. Isn’t a ten day week therefore doomed to failure because it goes against nature and nature’s God?

But for now, gaudy goddess “lady” reason sits spreadeagled on her throne in the parlour window, aloof as her voyeuristic paramours and suitors bask in her red light 24/7.

While all along the busy promenade Leftist Westerners with cones extended patiently queue up outside the abode of the femme à la maison, dreaming of ice-cream with chocalat drizzle from madame nom de guerre. Alas and verily! Pleasure, even sinful pleasure, is always short-lived. For, ice-cream melts ever so quickly in the midday sun. So do ungodly utopian dreams.

Empires rise and fall, but Christ’s Kingdom is forever. Like 24/7, a ten day week is simply shorthand for “there is no rest for the wicked” (see eg, Isaiah 48:22; 57:20). It is rebellion against God and His Anointed (see e.g., Psalm 2). A decimalised week would remove the day of rest and would remove a major signpost pointing to the One in whom we rest, i.e, Christ our Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” I rest my case.

Who’s talking about introducing and replacing our seven day week for a ten day one? No one to my knowledge. But let’s keep it that way.

UNDERMINING

Under-mining

“Save the whales!” was a cry we began to hear in the late 70s. These magnificent sea creatures used to be hunted to death for their oil. When I lived in Tasmania my house overlooked Ralphs Bay into which the whalers would chase their prey for easy slaughter. Now that I live in sunny Queensland, I’m within easy access of Moreton Bay’s Tangalooma Island with its now defunct whaling station. What ultimately saved the whales? In the words of The Beverly Hillbillies title song, “Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.”

But then the protests turned against drilling for oil, and drilling for coal and gas also for that matter. It wasn’t just about saving whales anymore. It went global. It has all become environ - mental! It’s now all about saving the planet. We’ve all to save the planet from climate change. But really, it’s all about stats. But what set of statistics are we to follow? The Climategate hocky schtick graphs? Or stats put out by climate change ideologues? Sorry, I think that may just be the same thing! Dogmaticians specialise in dogmatics and dogmatism. The trouble is that weather-forecasting is far from an exact science. So enough already with your climate change dogma! Away with your, the world’s going to end in ten years if we don’t do something to control the weather! As the song says,

“Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.”      

The Global Warming religion as at enmity with the human beings that populate the planet earth, especially the frail, elderly, sick and infirm. Electricity prices are exorbitantly high because of this extreme aberration of Christian stewardship. Let the people heat their homes in winter and cool them in summer you tyrants! Socialistic subsidies on (some) people’s power bills, wind farm turbines and solar panels only serve to cause a nation to groan under the weight of the already over the top tax-burden. Stop stealing our money to fund your Greenie utopia. Get a job like the rest of us and contribute to society rather than parasitically sucking the life out of it! And, while you’re at it, stop scaring the kids with your Global Warming extremism!

True religion, which is the Christian religion, and not the Environmentalist religion, is about doing all things to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Regardless if anyone tells you anything different, “This earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1. Therefore, it is His planet, and so are the people who dwell on His planet. Therefore, we must treat His planet and the people on it the way God wants us to treat them.

Speaking of His planet, God intends for us to mine it and use its minerals stored therein to His glory and our use. He says, “The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.” Genesis 12:2. Deuteronomy 8:9 speaks of “a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper.” And the following is a lengthy record of mining back in Job’s day,

“There are mines where silver is dug;
There are places where gold is refined.
We dig iron out of the ground
And melt copper out of the stones.
Miners explore the deepest darkness.
They search the depths of the earth
And dig for rocks in the darkness.
Far from where anyone lives
Or human feet ever travel,
They dig the shafts of mines.
There they work in loneliness,
Clinging to ropes in the pits.
Food grows out of the earth,
But underneath the same earth
All is torn up and crushed.
The stones of the earth contain sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
No hawk sees the roads to the mines,
And no vulture ever flies over them.
No lion or other fierce beast
Ever travels those lonely roads.

Miners dig the hardest rocks,
Dig mountains away at their base.
As they tunnel through the rocks,
They discover precious stones.

They dig to the sources of rivers
And bring to light what is hidden.” Job 28:1-11.

So, drill baby, drill! Bring to light what is hidden. Turn the material you find into something useful for and helpful to humanity. “Tubal-Cain, [was] an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron.” Genesis 4:22.

Therefore, mining the earth for precious commodities is Biblical. And so is using the earth’s resources, be it oil, gas, gold, silver, copper and jewels. What is unbiblical is undermining God’s intention for His planet, which is that we use the resources He has given us to cultivate the earth to His glory.