Growing in Grace

“And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).

In the time that we are now living, believers in the Lord Jesus are accustomed to referring to one another as Christians, and the name has become firmly attached to those who follow Christ. It is interesting to notice that this was not always so, and that in the beginning of Christianity, those who believed on the Lord Jesus, and followed Him, were simply referred to as “that way,” or “the way.” When Saul of Tarsus went to Damascus to try and arrest believers, it simply says that “if he found any of this way … he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem” (Acts 9:2).

When the gospel was being spread, and many were saved in a city called Antioch, it seems that worldly people began to call them Christians, and as we would say in modern language, “the name stuck.” From that time on those who followed the Lord Jesus were called Christians. Even though it was given to them by worldly people, the name “Christian” is a wonderful name to be called. It identifies us with the name of the Lord Jesus, and with others who follow Him.

Do we always deserve that name? I am reminded of a Christian young man who was hired by a big company and given a responsible position. On his first day at work, he took his Bible with him and placed it in a prominent place on his desk. As other employees passed by and interacted with him, they noticed the Bible and asked him if he were a Christian. His reply was very good. He said, “Yes, I am a Christian, but I am not going to ask you to call me a Christian unless you see in my life the character and behavior that a Christian should have.”

Sometimes worldly people know better than we do, what should characterize a Christian, and they can be very quick to notice something that is not Christ-like. We should all want to be identified as Christians, but then our behavior should be consistent with the name of Christ.

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“And Jonah began to enter into the city … and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown … So the people of Nineveh believed God … and put on sackcloth” (Jonah 3:4-5).

“And God saw their works … and God repented of the evil, that He had said He would do unto them” (Jonah 3:10).

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said … I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil” (Jonah 4:1-2).

If you read the 3rd and 4th chapters of Jonah, you will see that once again the Lord commanded Jonah to go and give a warning to Nineveh, and this time he went. He took that long journey to Nineveh, and told them that in forty days God was going to overthrow (destroy) the city. Even though they were a heathen nation, they believed that Jonah’s message was from the Lord, and humbled themselves. Wearing sackcloth (a kind of coarse itchy cloth used to make sacks, possibly for carrying vegetables or grain) was a sign of repentance, and it is mentioned in this connection a number of times in the Old Testament. When the Lord saw their repentance, He did not bring judgment down on them, as He had said He would.

All this made Jonah very angry, for he really wanted to see them come under God’s judgment. Jonah did not want to see the Lord show any mercy or grace to these people! Yet if we think about this for a moment, Jonah himself had just been shown mercy and grace, after refusing to obey the Lord. He had been saved from drowning in the sea, and was then vomited out of the fish’s belly on dry land. Yet here he is, angry because God was showing mercy and grace to Nineveh!

Before you and I condemn Jonah too strongly, let us remember that we sometimes do the same. We who are Christians have been forgiven much, yet sometimes we are unwilling to forgive others for something they have done. Like Jonah, we often need to learn more of the grace of God.

I believe that Jonah eventually learned his lesson, for God used a big gourd to teach him something, as he sat outside the city of Nineveh. You can read about this in Jonah, chapter 4. Finally, it is almost certain that Jonah wrote the book of Jonah, and he could not have written it unless he had learned what God wanted to teach him.

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“Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly” (Jonah 2:1).

“And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10).

Can you imagine being in the water, and then being swallowed by a whale? It would be an awful experience, and we know from the Bible that Jonah was there, inside the whale’s belly, three days and three nights. However, Jonah recognized that the whole experience could only be arranged by the Lord, for how else could they throw Jonah out of the ship in middle of a storm, and yet somehow a whale was waiting there, just at the right moment, to swallow him and prevent him from being drowned?

When all this happened, Jonah did several things that were right, and they are good for us to remember. First of all, he admitted his wrong, and he even told the sailors on the ship that he was running away from the Lord. But most important of all, he admitted his sin to the Lord. Secondly, he recognized that the Lord could hear him in prayer, even from inside the belly of the fish. He recognized that only the Lord could save him, if He wished to do so. Thirdly, he realized that he deserved to die for disobeying the word of the Lord. If you read the whole 2nd chapter of Jonah, you will see that Jonah said all of these three things in his prayer. When it was the Lord’s time, He told the whale to vomit Jonah out onto the dry land, and of course the fish obeyed the Lord. It is interesting to notice in the Bible that when the Lord tells animals to do something, they never disobey. Yet man sometimes dares to disobey the Lord!

Even as Christians, we may dislike what the Lord wants us to do, and try to run the other way, as Jonah did. I hope neither you nor I would do such a thing, but we are capable of it, just as Jonah was capable of it. Then the Lord may allow very difficult problems in our life, to make us realize that He is in control. Even if we have sinned like Jonah, if we truly repent and cry to the Lord, He will hear us.

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“Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai … But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish” (Jonah 1:1, 3).

Jonah was another prophet of the Lord, who lived about the time of Jeroboam, the great-grandson of Jehu, king of Israel, and while Amaziah was the king of Judah. This would be less than twenty years after the death of Elisha. The Lord had a message for Jonah to deliver to the city of Nineveh, the capital of the kingdom of Assyria. Assyria was the most powerful country in the world at that time, and Nineveh was a very large but very wicked city. It was east of the land of Israel, and the journey was more than 500 miles (800 km.).

However, Jonah did not want to go there and give the message the Lord told him to give. He knew that the Lord was merciful, and that if those in Nineveh repented, the Lord would not bring down judgment upon them. Jonah probably did not like the Assyrians. No one liked them, as they were an aggressive and often brutal people! Jonah would gladly have seen them fall under the judgment of God.

Because of this, Jonah got into a ship at Joppa, on the Mediterranean coast of the land of Israel, to go to Tarshish. We do not know for sure where Tarshish was. Some feel that it was in southern Spain, while others think it was somewhere down in the Red Sea. However, Jonah wanted to run away, and he headed in a different direction from the one he should have taken.

It is a serious thing to run away from the Lord, but the Lord had His eye on Jonah, and was going to put him through a really tough experience, to teach him something about grace. The Lord wants us all to be “growing in grace!” First of all, the Lord allowed a big storm to come into the sea, and it was so bad that the sailors on the ship realized it was from the Lord. Finally, Jonah admitted to them that he was the cause of it, and asked them to throw him overboard. When they did this, the storm stopped, but Jonah was not drowned. The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow him up.

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“And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and … there came forth little children … and said unto him. Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back … and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them” (2 Kings 2:23-24).

Our last meditation about Elisha was back on November 7, and we have digressed a little during the last few days. Let us return to Elisha today. We were saying that his character and his miracles were of grace, in contrast to the law that characterized Elijah. However, we see by today’s verses that grace that is despised brings judgment.

Elisha had been gracious to those in Jericho, but here in Bethel little children came out and mocked him. Those who lived in Bethel had evidently heard how Elijah had gone up to heaven, and these children were telling Elisha to go up too. They had probably heard this kind of talk at home from their parents, as it is unlikely that these little children made it up themselves. The people did not like Elijah, as he told them how wrong they were to worship idols instead of the true God. Many people in Israel were likely angry when they had to endure three years of no rain, and were glad to see him go. Now that Elisha had taken his place, they wanted him to go away too.

Elisha was a man of grace, and God is a God of grace, but this was very serious. Elijah had been a faithful man, and God’s taking him to heaven by a whirlwind was a miracle that showed the honor that God placed upon him. For others to make fun of it, and to tell Elisha to go away too, was despising the grace of God. The awful judgment that resulted showed the people of Israel what the Lord would do to those who dared to mock His grace.

It is the same today. It is the time of God’s grace, and He “will have all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). But if men today despise God’s grace, then there is nothing else for them but judgment. God’s grace does not cancel His judgment, and those who reject the Lord Jesus will suffer an awful punishment from the Lord.

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“Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 13:3).

“This do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).

Today’s date is known as Remembrance Day in Canada and other British Commonwealth countries, and as Veteran’s Day in the United States. It is the date on which World War I officially ended — November 11, 1918. That was more than 100 years ago, yet it is still celebrated as a national holiday in many countries, and many ceremonies are usually conducted to help us remember those who died, not only in World War I, but in World War II and other wars. Old soldiers appear at a local war memorial, speeches are made, and wreathes laid on the various monuments to those who died in those wars. Sometimes two minutes of silence are observed, in quiet tribute to those who gave their lives for their country.

The children of Israel were to keep the Passover for the same reason. They did not fight a war to get their freedom, but the Lord destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, so that Pharaoh would let God’s people go. Then He eventually destroyed Pharaoh and all his army in the Red Sea. The Lord did not want the children of Israel to forget all that He had done for them. He wanted them also to tell their children about it, so that they too would value the liberty the Lord had given them.

For us, the Lord Jesus has come into this world and died for us, so that we could be delivered from the bondage of sin. He too values it highly when we remember Him. He has asked us to do so by partaking of a broken loaf of bread, and a cup of wine. When we are enjoying all the blessings of Christianity, and all that we have in Christ, it is easy to forget the cost of our redemption. The Lord Jesus does not want us to forget! Remembrance Day and the Passover come only once a year. We can remember what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross every week!

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“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

When I was just 5 years old, a world news event hit the headlines of all the newspapers. For some reason I found it very exciting, and the subject has interested me ever since. It was on May 29th, 1953, that Sir Edmund Hillary, a mountain climber from New Zealand, reached the top of Mt. Everest in Nepal. Everest is the highest mountain peak in the world, at 29,029 feet (8,849 metres) above sea level. Not quite 50 years later I experienced an exciting moment as I saw the top of that mountain. Our plane flight from Kathmandu, Nepal into the country of Bhutan took us right past, and quite close to, the peak of Mt. Everest. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and I got a wonderful picture.

Edmund Hillary was the first to reach the summit, and he has been followed by 5,788 others. More than 300 have died in the attempt. About 800 try the climb every year, even though it costs between $30,000 and $160,000 to outfit yourself, hire a guide and obtain the necessary permits. One lady who made the climb said she did it because her life was not going anywhere, and she was bored and wanted some excitement!

As I write this there is a deep blanket of snow outside and the temperature last night at our home was minus 25 deg. C. (13 deg. below zero F.). I am all for winter sports and enjoying God’s creation. And even mountain climbing! But read today’s verse again — “I press toward the mark.” Of what? Of the top of a mountain somewhere? No, “Of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

We all like to have a goal in life. It is necessary to help us accomplish things. But the Lord wants our goal to be much higher than 29,029 feet above sea level. He wants us to have our eyes on heavenly things, even while we are still living here on His earth. We have talked in other meditations about how we are created for eternity. Our time here in this world is like the blink of an eye in the reaches of eternity. Can we make it our goal to live each day for our Savior, and ask Him each morning to make us useful, and pleasing to Him that day?

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“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4).

“And they stoned Stephen … and … he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59-60).

It may seem strange to write a meditation for young people about dying. But I am sure that we each need some comfort and understanding on this subject. You may have had a beloved grandparent or a friend die. They may have been an encouragement to you in your Christian pathway. But then they die. Dying is not easy. Yes, we close our eyes here, and open them in the presence of the Lord Jesus. Wonderful! We know that happens. But it is often a struggle and may be filled with pain.

I enjoyed the way a father explained it to his little boy who had lost his mother. He had seen her suffer, but the father wanted to explain that the “sting” had gone out of death for the Christian. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:55). They were walking along the street and came to a corner and had to wait while a big truck turned the corner onto the street in front of them. As it did this, the shadow of the truck passed across the father and his son. The dad saw his opportunity. He said, “Son, see how that big shadow of the truck just went across us? But the truck didn’t touch us? Well, it is like that when someone who loves Jesus goes through death. It’s as though Jesus, on the cross, had the truck run right over Him, so we just have to pass through its shadow.” The shadow of that big truck was like, “The valley of the shadow of death,” as in today’s verse.

Another story also explains a sweet thought. Over one hundred years ago a Christian family was being hunted by those who were anti-Christian, and the father was very fearful that they would all have a terrible death if they were caught. He could not help but think how painful it would be if they all had to face a martyr’s death, even his wife and children. But the Lord reminded him of our second verse in today’s reading. It is about Stephen who was stoned to death for his faith in the early days of the church, soon after the Lord Jesus was risen. What does it say about how he died? He fell asleep! This brought the necessary comfort to that father. He knew that if it came to the point that they would all be killed, then the Lord could make it to be just like falling asleep. The Lord did not allow them to be caught and the father eventually wrote a most interesting book about their life experiences.

We are daily expecting the Lord to come and take us all to be with Him. And when He does that, we also know that those who have gone before will join us in being caught up “together” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

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“Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

Maybe you have heard someone use the expression, “He’s really on fire for the Lord.” What do they mean by this? Perhaps they have seen a young person attending a Bible meeting and sitting almost “on the edge of his chair” as he listens and absorbs what is being taught and explained. Maybe a boy or girl carries their Bible to school so they can always have their “sword” ready if someone asks them about their faith.

Today’s verse refers to the two people who were walking away from Jerusalem, discouraged after the Lord had been crucified. They had thought that Jesus was the Messiah who would set up His kingdom, and now He had been crucified and put in a tomb. The Lord Jesus came alongside them as they walked, and understood how they felt. He asked them why they were sad. Of course, He already knew, but He drew out their thoughts and hearts. He listened before He talked.

Then, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (verse 27). That would have been a marvelous walk! I imagine the time flew by, even though it was late and the walk was a long one. The distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus was about 12 km (or 7.5 miles). When they reached their home, the Lord Jesus started to say goodbye and prepared to go on, but they “constrained Him” to come in and stay with them. They were not going to let this One who had been such an encouragement to them just slip away into the night. In their home they realized who it was that was at their table with them.

It can be like this in our lives as well. If we get into the presence of the Lord and enjoy His company, even though it may be brief, we will have a burning desire for more. He had lit a fire in those two, and they started the long walk all the way back to Jerusalem that same night. They wanted more. The Lord Jesus loves to come alongside us and produce that spark in our hearts.

We can do a similar thing in the lives of others. Have you been encouraged by being with other young people, perhaps a little older than yourself? They may have influenced your life in blessing, and encouraged you to live for the Lord Jesus. Now perhaps it is your turn to do that for someone else. Come along beside them where they are. Enter into their feelings as best you can, and turn their eyes and hearts to the One who can make their hearts “burn” to know and enjoy more.

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“And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city [Jericho] is pleasant … but the water is naught [bad], and the ground barren [does not grow things very well]. And he said, Bring me a new cruse [container], and put salt therein … And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed” (2 Kings 2:19-22).

As we know from reading his history, Elijah performed a number of miracles by the Lord’s power. Here we find the first miracle that Elisha performed, again by the Lord’s power. It is the type of miracle that was characteristic of Elisha, and it shows how his approach to the work of the Lord was different from that of Elijah. Elijah’s miracles were often characterized by judgment; Elisha’s miracles were characterized by grace.

After Elijah was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind, Elisha went back to Jericho. Perhaps you will remember that Jericho was destroyed (when its walls fell down in Joshua’s day), away back when the Israelites first conquered the land of Canaan. At that time the Lord had said, through Joshua, “Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates thereof” (Joshua 6:26). Yet hundreds of years later, when Ahab was king, it is recorded that “in his [Ahab’s] days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun” (1 Kings 16:34). This really means that both his eldest son and his youngest son died because Hiel disobeyed the Word of the Lord.

When Elisha came back to Jericho, the men of the city told him that the water was bad, and the land did not grow crops properly. Elisha could easily have said, “It serves you right! That city should never have been rebuilt! The Lord pronounced a curse on the man who rebuilt the city, and the bad water and the barren land is the Lord’s judgment on you.” However, Elisha did not say anything like that. He acted in grace, and asked for some salt, which he threw into the spring of the waters. As a result, the waters were healed.

Salt in the Bible speaks of holy grace. God did not excuse the man who had rebuilt Jericho, but He graciously healed the water and the land. This is the way the Lord Jesus has treated us. Instead of punishing us for our sins, He has made a way for our sins to be forgiven. God does not pass over our sins; rather the Lord Jesus suffered for us. Now God can come out and heal us, and we do not have to suffer for them.

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