High Jumper Or Pole Vaulter?

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

The Pharisees were high jumpers. They had become masters, in their own estimation, of jumping over the horizontal bar of God's requirements - and they took great pride in such lofty thoughts! As a high jumper uses the strength in his own legs to clear the bar without the aid of any devices, so too did the Pharisees attempt to leap the great chasm that separates us from God through the efforts of their own self righteousness.

In their own thinking, and of those who beheld them, it seemed that they had succeeded! It seemed they had mastered the apparatus, they had obtained their salvation, they had risen to the heights that demanded entry into the Lambs book of life.

I can almost hear the whispers of the crowd to one another, when Christ exhorted those in his hearing that their righteousness must surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.

It may have sounded like a call to train harder, but he was not coaching them on to greater heights!

Jesus did not raise the bar a few inches in order to push them a little harder, to jump a little higher, to build greater strength in the legs of their own self righteousness! In fact, he did not raise the bar at at! The bar was never lowered! He stood them before the pole vaulting apparatus and said, now jump this.

An impossible task!

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25-26)

As it is physically impossible for a man in his own strength to high jump the 19 to 20 feet required on the pole vault apparatus, so it is impossible for a man to present himself before God as perfect, spotless, righteous and deserving of eternal life! It cannot be done!

He cannot look within, he cannot dig down deep! He must rely on the ability of another! When the vaulter races in and places his pole in that cup, he rests all of his weight on the ability of the pole to not only hold him, but catapult him to heights he could never go on his own.

It is the same with the believer! When he swings out into eternity, he rests all his weight on the person and work of Christ! And this is not a fearful thing! There is great rest and comfort in this thought. For Christ will not drop you, he will not let you slip - but will carry you safely to His side.

Love's Last Letter

Christopher Love was a Presbyterian minister in London, England during the time of the English civil war. He was beheaded on August 22, 1651. The following letter is Mr. Love’s last letter to his wife on the day he suffered.

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My most gracious Beloved,

I am now going from a prison to a palace: I have finished my work, and am now going to receive my wages. I am going to heaven, where are two of my children, and leaving you on earth, where there are three of my babes. These two above, need not my care; but the three below need thine. It comforts me to think, two of my children are in the bosom of Abraham, and three of them will be in the arms and care of such a tender and godly mother. I know you are a woman of sorrowful spirit, yet be comforted, though you sorrows be great for you husband going out of the world, yet your pains shall be the less in bringing your child into the world; you shall be a joyful mother, though you be a sad widow; God hath many mercies in store for you; the prayer of a dying husband for you, will not be lost. To my shame I speak it, I never prayed for you at liberty, as I have done in prison. I can write much, but I have few practical counsels to leave with you, viz.,

1. Keep under a sound, orthodox, soul searching ministry. Oh! There are many deceivers gone out into the world, but Christ’s sheep know His voice, and a stranger they will not follow. Attend any minister that teacheth the way of God in truth; and follow Solomon’s advice, Proverbs 19:27.

2. Bring up your children in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord. The mother ought to be a teacher in the father’s absence, Proverbs 31:1, “The words that his mother taught him…” And Timothy was instructed by his grandmother, 1 Timothy 1:5.

3. Pray in your family daily, that yours may be in the number of the families who call upon God.

4. Labor for a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God, is of great price, 1 Peter 3:4.

5. Pour not on the comforts you want, but upon the mercies you have. Look rather at God’s ending in afflicting, than to the measure and degree of your affliction.

6. Labor to clear up your evidence for heaven when God takes from you the comfort of earth, so that as your sufferings do abound, your consolation in Christ may abound much more, 2 Corinthians 1:5. Though it be good to maintain a holy jealously of heart, yet it is still ill of you to cherish fears and doubts touching the truth of your graces. If ever I had confidence touching the grace of another, I have confidence of grace in you; as Peter said of Silvanus, I am persuaded that this is the grace of God wherein ye stand, 1 Peter 5:12.

7. O, my dear soul wherefore dost thou doubt, who heart has been laid upright, whose walking has been holy, &c. I could venture my soul this day in they soul’s stead, such a confidence I have in you.

8. When you find your heart secure, presumptuous and proud, then pour upon corruption more than grace: then look upon your grace without infirmities.

9. Study the covenant of grace, and merits of Christ, and be troubled if you can; you are interested in such a covenant that accepts purposes for performances, desires for deeds, sincerity for perfection, the righteousness of another, viz., that of Jesus Christ, as it were your own alone. Oh! My love! Rest thou in the love of God, the bosom of Christ.

10. Swallow up your will in the will of God. It is a bitter cup we are to drink, but it is the cup of our Father which has been put into our hands. When Paul was to suffer at Jerusalem, the Christians said, “The will of the Lord be done!” Oh! Say ye so, when I go to the Tower-Hill, “The will of the Lord be done!”

11. Rejoice in my joy. To mourn for me inordinately argues, that you either envy or suspect my happiness. The joy of the Lord is my strength; Oh! Let it be yours also! Dear wife, farewell: I will call thee wife no more: I shall see thy face no more: yet I am not much troubled, for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, to whom I shall be eternally married.

12. Refuse not to marry, when God offers you a fair opportunity; but be sure you marry in the Lord; and one of a good disposition, that he may not grieve you, but give you a comfortable livelihood in the world.

Farewell dear love, and again I say farewell. The Lord Jesus be with your spirit, the Maker of heaven and earth be a husband to you; and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ be a father to your children – so prays your dying,


Your most affectionate friend till death,
Christopher Love

The day of my glorification.
From the Tower of London, August 22, 1651

Iron Sharpens Iron

Had an amazing weekend in which I got a small taste of what it must have been like in the early New Testament church!

We had the privilege of staying with a wonderful family who have such a hunger and heart for God, and from start to finish it was centered around one thing: Jesus Christ and Him crucified!

For two days we talked of the good things God has done, we shared experiences, testimonies, prayed, feasted on the Word, encouraged and challenged one another. It was a very real glimpse into Acts 2 (The Fellowship of the Believers).

It was all about God. It was not forced, it was not fake, it was a time of refreshing, encouraging, challenging, sharpening! It was what I long to see throughout the professing body here in Australia!

One of the interesting things that arose on leaving, after talking with my brother, is that we both felt challenged by each other in many areas in our lives, marriages, families and ministries. It was iron sharpening iron, yet we both felt not so much that we were the sharpening steel or the grindstone, but the iron receiving all the grinding.

I was thinking about it on the way home, wondering how it was possible that we both seem to challenge and exhort and encourage and rebuke one another in seemingly similar areas... then it dawned on me. It wasn't that we were expert grinders and polishers, it was because we were both lifting God up. We were lifting His Word up. We were lifting His Truth up. It wasn't us! It was Him! We'd simply been in the Word, quoting the Word, reciting the Word, memorising the Word, and He was doing all the grinding through that Word of Truth and the power of His Spirit!

Herein lies a valuable lesson for the professing church, for the pulpit, for the fellowship groups, for the studies and home churches. Lift up the Truth! Lift up the Word! Lift up God and lower man! Many will be offended, many will be saved, many will be sharpened, many will walk away, many will be refreshed and encouraged. One thing is for sure, many wont ever be the same again!

Are You A Wearer Or Bearer?

I was speaking to a good mate the other night and he was telling me of a witnessing encounter had during the week. The young lady was wearing a crucifix, which opened the way for a pointed question: "Are you are wearer or a bearer?". After coughing and spluttering a bit of an answer out it was clear...

I've been thinking about that question since. "Are you a wearer or a bearer?"

Is Christ something external to me, or is he a vital reality? Is He the bread of life to me or something I'd rather just snack on occasionally? Do I want His salvation but not His Lordship? Do I want Him to do all the cross bearing or will I take up my cross daily and follow Him?

How about you?

Since When?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

This is the testimony of all God's children! As it says in 1 John 2:5-6 "if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

If I have been crucified and no longer live, but it is Christ that lives in me, then it stands to reason that my life would look like His!

In fact, it must look like His, because it is He that lives in me!

This is why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

If Christ lives in us, then His life will be lived out through us! We will do and act according to His will and purpose!

Surveying the landscape of the professing church, one must ask:

Since when did Jesus start wanting to go to the cinema? Since when did he start loving to watch people act out the very things that drove the nails through his hands - the killing, the lust, the sex, the blasphemy, the lying, the hatred, the twisting and distortion of truth? Since when did Jesus start caring about how he looked? Since when did he get so caught up in fashion, clothes, jewelry, styled hair and body art? Since when did Jesus stop caring for people and start looking out for number one? Since when did he start caring more about superannuation, paying back the mortgage, and having a diverse share portfolio than reaching out to a lost and dying world? Since when did Jesus stop speaking the truth in love because he wanted to be more relevant and less hated by those he came to die for?

It comes down to this. This is the test. If Jesus Christ be in you, then you will be like Jesus Christ!

How Well Do You Know Your Bible?