THE BABY IN THE BASKET

This particular entry finds me at an odd time in my life. A troubling time. It seems I have spent my entire youth raising my kids in the fear and admonishion of the Lord. Yet those days are approaching that I must begin to loose them from my care. It is time to put up or shut up (as they say in our parts). It's time to either trust God or pack up and go home (wherever that would be).

It's easy to talk [i]faith[/i] with barns of plenty and the family is doing well, sitting at your feet. What about when the storms of life have come and you wake up one day and it seems Hell itself has been unleashed into your life? What about times like Job, when folk are literally standing in line to bring you tragic news? What about then?

Whether you believe it or not there is an enemy that is out to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to destroy you, your friends, and your family. He is not joking and is not flip about it. He is DEAD serious, bent on wickedness hurt, pain, and destruction. He don't want to merely take their lives and life, he wants to lead them into the paths of eternal damnation. Like Pharoah, he sees the people of God multiplying in the earth and puts a contract out on the little ones. Newborn babes in Christ and our little ones that are vulnerable. As parents and pastors we guard them like a Bangee. But there comes a point when we know the battle is bigger than we could ever be and we must step aside and trust in the Lord with all of our might, having forsaken all that our eyes and ears are saying.

And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. (Exodus 2)

Here is a mother who loved her child and did everything she could do in her own ability to preserve the life of this baby. She didn't want him to be lost. She loved him as a godly mother would. [i]And when she could not longer hide him,..[/i] I see here a picture of a parent coming to the realization that if the child is to live, God must be the Savior. Mom loved this baby, but she could not save him. She had hid him from the enemy. She had protected him from the thief that would come to steal, kill, and destroy. At the end of the day, when all her efforts were winding out and the enemy was closing in, she had to reach up for a hand that was bigger than hers.

Maybe she could hear the footsteps? Perhaps the enemy had taken to going from door to door after the children? Maybe she was shaken by the shouting and screaming of mothers who had their babies ripped from their arms?

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. (Hebrews 11:23)

There is a desperation that comes in the heart of a Saint in which faith will arise. Perhaps God quickened some revelation to her heart and in absolute confidence and faith she took hold of some necessary items and prepared an ark for the saving of her house. Moses great great great... grand father Noah did the same thing when He had heard from God as the enemy was closing in on his family.

Maybe you are reading this and you feel the enemy closing in on you to take your family with some 'thing' or weapon with which he would snatch them from your arms? Maybe you hear the footsteps and the screams of parents who have watched as their kids backslid into the clutches of a merciless devil. Maybe it is not so serious, maybe you are just riddled with uncertainty about your family, friends, or even your own life. [i]And when [u]she could no longer hide him[/u], she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.[/i] Sometimes, like Moses mother and the baby in the basket, we just have to launch them into the hands of God.

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Robert Wurtz II

NO WORD FROM GOD IS 'VOID' OF POWER

We walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7). Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. This is God revealing something about His person to us in such a way that we 'see' it. We 'see' something about Him that brings faith. Faith 'cometh' by hearing. Maybe it was reading the word or maybe it was listening to a sermon, but in some real way God has spoken to you and it is your responsibility to respond to that revelation. To do so is [i]faith[/i]. This is not an intelectual exercise per se, it is the working of the Holy Spirit.

When God says we [u]can[/u], we [u]can[/u] and we [u]must[/u]. It is worth repeating. When God 'says'- we can do what He has 'said'. Here we read,

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:36, 37).

I'm being redundant here, but literally the Greek states, [i]no word from God is without or 'void' power.[/i] This is a powerful truth! When Jesus came walking on the water, all of Peter’s sensibility told him to stay put in the boat. But, with one word from Jesus, [u]“Come!”[/u] There was inherent in that word the power to carry out the task.

The question is, will we believe God or our lying eyes? Truth is not what is perceived it is what God says. Peter did not lean upon his own understanding, he disregarded the ‘logical’ for the revelation. He had placed his life into the hands of the Lord. He saw fit to step out of the situation he was in and into the arms of the Lord. This has an echo of the Leper's in the Old Testament who reasoned, "Why should we just sit here and die?"

Yet, in the West, many believers have so fortified themselves against any real need for faith in God that God has to orchestrate situations where they have to trust Him by faith. We have become so self-sufficient that we don’t even need to pray before ministering or anything else for that matter. We have the talent and ability to pull it off- with or without direction from God. So we think.

What do we have to give the people [i]from[/i] God if we have not received from Him? We serve as a link between time and eternity. it is our priveledge to hear from God and act in faith as a demonstration of the reality of God in the earth. But first, we have to 'hear'.

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Robert Wurtz II

'DIVIDING' THE WORSHIP

Worldly [i]ambition[/i] and Divine [i]direction[/i] are not the same thing. Christianity is not a multi-level business opportunity. As believers we should have one ‘ambition’ in life and one alone; to live our lives in perfect harmony with the Divine will of God. If we accomplish His will for our life we have done the most we can possibly do to glorify God. You simply [i]cannot improve[/i] upon the perfect will of God (Rev. D.L. Burch).

We often think God needs our talents and abilities and the [i]opposite[/i] is true. God has to strip us of our [u]trusting[/u] in our own abilities before He can even use us. Imagine how absurd this sounds, Trust in thy ‘God given talents’ and abilities with all thine heart; and lean unto thine gifted understanding…

There are many talented people whose talents have been a [u]snare[/u] unto them. The world is loaded with ‘talented’ people. Why have those talents been a snare? Because they use them for self-glorification. This happens in the Church also. Anything you do to be seen of men in a function dedicated to the Lord has divided the worship and userped His glory. That is one of the most fearful thoughts we could possibly consider.

Ambition, the enemy of God's will. This is the message behind Ten Shekels and A Shirt (among other things). That God would be a [u]means[/u] to some man's [u]end[/u]? God anoint my talents that I may glorify Thee?! They are puffed up and exalt themselves as though talent somehow trumps unction or something. A cursury look at what if often termed as "Christian" music reveals this self-evident reality.

I was recently asked, [u]"What IS ministry?"[/u] This can be answered in many ways. But I think we need to first establish this one foundational [i]truth[/i]. As did Aaron's 'under priests' (as it were) we also must go into the throne room of grace that we might have something to give to the people from God. The priests had nothing of their own. They owned no property and were totally dependent upon God for [u]everything[/u].

Christ is the only source of spiritual food and we are the mediators of that 'nourishment'. We are to bring to the needy something we have received from God for their edification. If it does not originate in [i]eternity[/i]- it cannot minister. True ministry flows from the heart of God and into our spirit. It flows from our spirit to our hearts in abundance- that we might be filled with the purpose of God, His words, His love, His compassion. We are living expressions of God in the earth. When a person encounters us they are touching eternity. When they hear from us- they should be hearing from eternity. That may sound far-out and outlandish, yet I will ask you, "What do we have to give that we have not received?" Freely we have received- freely give. We have to 'receive' before we can give. This is not our talents or natural giftings, it is manna from God.

Ministry is handing the people what God has handed us. We acquire ministry, not in talent or ability, but in our personal time with Him. Often our talents and abilities [i]get in God's way[/i] because we use them to [i]concoct[/i] something to feed the people rather than getting something 'fresh' from God.

Like the manna in the wilderness, we need a fresh word for those who will hear; but first for ourselves. If we have not been with Him we have nothing to give; no 'food' to feed a starving and malnourished people. We must have that radiance of His glory. We must have that costly fragrance of having been with Jesus. We must walk in the anointing that flows from His beard down upon us.

I'm getting long winded here, but Watchman Nee told of how there was a woman that seemed not to do much for the Lord and it seemed reasonable that she should be somewhere in a big city and a big church that could USE her. You need to be 'USED' of God he would say. But, in time, when he was older he realized that she was being used of God and did not need to be in a ministry per se, she was mentoring young men in her little town and showing them how to love the Lord and walk with Him.

Like the alabaster box, Judas (the world) and the Disciples (the Church) saw what the woman did as a WASTE. But there is no waste, when we wait upon Him. That is our FIRST job. We serve HIM first and from there we have somewhat to serve others with. This is not laziness, it is a conscious understanding that our first priority is [u]not[/u] BUSY-NESS. Little is much when God is in it. God can do more with little when we spend time with Him than He could do with the whole of our lives- busy neglecting Him. It is NOT waste to pour our lives out upon Him. sure some would say it should have been given to the poor or something else; but they don't understand the POWER and value of coming from His presence with something of REAL substance. It is more than we could ever 'work' towards or busy ourselves to.

God wants vessels meet for the Master’s use. This is a vessel empty of self and soulish ambition. This is a person whose whole desire is to please the Lord. And these are the only people qualified to be Christ’s disciples; those willing to utterly deny themselves.

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Robert Wurtz II

UNWAVERING OBEDIENCE

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by [u]every word[/u] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 3:3, 4)

Our text finds our Lord on a fast of some 40 days in the wilderness. You will recall from the Exodus that Israel had entered the desert hundreds of years before on a quest to become a Kingdom of Priests (Exodus 19). Some years before on the backside of the desert, Moses who had suffered 40 years in exile, met with a history altering encounter. When I reduce the solemn and awesome event to its simplest form, its almost as if the LORD appeared to Moses and said, "Let me introduce Myself, Moses, [i]turn NOT aside after me, and remove the shoes from thy feet[/i]." Unlike the gross gods of the Egyptions and the other nations; many of which were mere expressions of mans unbridled lust, the ONE GOD of the universe had broken the silence and we gain one more of a long series of revelations about the Terrible and Holy nature of God. This, I believe, is a foundational revelation of who God is. It is a 'beginning' revelation.

When I was a child my dad had a chair in the living room that was 'his' chair. No one was supposed to sit in 'Dad's chair'. That chair, in a matter of speaking, was [i]sanctified[/i] unto my dad. If dad was late from work and mom cut a slice of meatloaf, placed it on a plate, covered it with foil, and placed it in the oven, that portion of dinner may be said to have been 'sanctified' unto my Dad. It was [i]set apart[/i] for him alone. So also, God wanted a people that were set apart for His name. A people to be an expression of who He is in the earth. A people to 'interpret' God to a sinful world. A people to represent Him in the earth, so that if you had seen them you had seen the Father. He wanted a [i]Kingdom of Priests[/i]. Here we read; [i]Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (Exodus 19:5)[/i]

When it all boils down, the thing that seperates a Christian from a pagan is that they [u]obey God[/u]. I know the details have to be worked out and the process of repentance, justification, regeneration, adoption, glorification, etc.; but the bottom line is, God set apart a people that [i][u]if[/u] ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:[/i]. What makes us a 'peculiar people' and a 'holy nation' (I Peter 2:9)? It is that we 'obey His voice indeed'.

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Robert Wurtz II

EARLY LESSONS AND A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF SIN

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

Sin is disobedience to the revealed will of God. Our text says, "To him that [u]knoweth[/u] to do good and doeth it not." When one knows His Lords will and does not do it, it is [i]sin[/i]. The question is one of 'knowing'.

And that servant, which [u]knew his lord's will[/u], and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.(Luke 12:47)

I used to have a friend that had a habit of saying that "ignorance is bliss." A.W. Tozer once pointed out the folly of this saying by reminding us that if you were ill and did something that endangered your life unknowingly you could die because of your ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss, it is [i]dangerous[/i]. Not only that, there are things that we are responsible to know if there is a means by which we could know them.

For this they [u]willingly are ignorant[/u] of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: (II Peter 3:5)

Some translations say, 'willingly forget' or 'put out of their minds'. The proliferation of the printed word of God leaves everyone with access to the word of God with a far greater accountability before God than those who never had access to His will. In some industrial business' there is what is known as 'mandatory safety meetings' in which issues are discussed that the people are required to [i]know[/i]. If a person chooses not to go to the meeting, they are still accountable for what was revealed in the meeting. If they get hurt as a result of not being in the meeting, there will be serious consequences for their [i]wilfull ignorance[/i]. They 'should' have known the new safety policy or procedure, but they [i]chose[/i] to ignore the information (revelation).

ISRAEL was put to the test a few times early on to see if they were willing to be God's peculiar people. God would give a general question or commandment and see if they responded rightly to it. One of those first 'tests' had to do with the daily collection of Manna for food. The people cried out to God and murmered for food. When God gave a commandment on how to handle the food, they transgressed. They knew their Lord's will and did it not and to them it was sin.

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Robert Wurtz II

I AM That I AM

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).

The word for ‘beginning’ here in the Hebrew means 'the first'; in place, time, order or rank. It is the ‘chief’ of knowledge to fear the Lord. Not only is it the [i]starting point[/i] for knowledge and wisdom, but it remains as the highest ranking and most precious knowledge one will ever know. The word is sometimes translated as ‘firstfruits’.

Without this fear of the Lord perspective, one will never [i]rightly[/i] understand anything about God or themselves. God is Love and God is holy. The emphasis in the 20th and 21st century has been upon God’s love. Yet, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. This is God’s testimony and it is an unchanging reality.

It is important to stop and state also that It is not 'one' or 'the other' (love or holiness), it is [u]both[/u]. To present one without the other is to misrepresent God and make a god after your own imaginations. This is the basis of certain forms of idolatry. God told Moses to tell the people when they asked what His name is, that His name is I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). "I will be what I will be.” This is such a name as checks all bold and curious inquiries concerning God, and in effect says, Ask not after my name, seeing it is beyond your comprehension (see Judges 13:18; Proverbs 30:4).

It is sufficient for us to know that God is what He is. This name makes folly of any comparison between the God of the Israel and the gods of the Egyptians and other nations. It furnished Moses and his people with a foundational truth that God would build upon as He further reveals Himself in scripture. God cannot be cast into a mold based upon what we want Him to be or even our last revelation of what He once revealed to us. He is the 'living God' and living means 'river'. What is the shape of water? It is what it is and to try to form or mold it is impossible in its natural liquid form. So also, we cannot cast God into a mold of what we want Him to be or even bend Him a particular way for the sake of emphasizing a certain attribute of His. He IS what He IS.

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Robert Wurtz II

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Every intelligent creature owes his/her Creator due reverence. Lest we should somehow misunderstand how we ought to view God, Jesus gives a most solemn warning;

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

The word ‘fear’ here is [i]phobeo[/i]. It is strange that folk would have a phobia of heights and use the utmost caution when in on a ladder, etc., but yet have no fear of the Lord when they consider Him. When John the Revelator came before our Lord in the Revelation [i]he fell at His feet as dead.[/i].

When I was a child, like many people, I went to church on a church bus that picked my brother and I up for church and especially, Sunday School. My Sunday School teacher was old timey holiness. This woman single handedly convinced me of the meaning of the 'fear of the Lord'. She presented God as loving, but a God not to be trifled with either. I recall once in class making the mistake of using the slang term 'gosh' and it came off as I had near to take God's name in vain. With the snap of her head pointing her warning look with me in the crosshairs she stated, "WHAT did you say?" Um, uh, um, I said 'gosh', I replied. "That's DANGEROUS" she stated. And from that day to this I cannot recall ever once using God's name in vain 'cursingly' as it is so often used. That look and her solumn and hollow voice went clear to my bones and into my heart. Trifling with God was a "NO NO."

I don't believe that it can be overstated that this all too often missing element in modern Christian education has caused untold damage and deception. The love of God is presented without a healthy [i]balance[/i] of the fear of the Lord and the people have no concept of unwavering obedience to God. They have some strange idea that obedience is optional, because after all, God loves me unconditionally.

Modern Sunday School philosophy is to FIRST teach children that God loves them. I look at the massive exodus of youth that backslide after they acquire a car, boyfriend/girlfriend, and a job and wonder if that philosophy is right. Where is the fear of the Lord in their life? What has caused them to think that turning away from God is even an option? something, no doubt, is missing from the foundation of their knowledge of God.

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Robert Wurtz II

THE VOICE OF WICKEDNESS

In this entry, I wish to glean some wisdom on the subject from the Psalmist. It is nothing new for those who seek the Lord to look around and try to [i]diagnose[/i] why folk seem to live so slapdash, haphazard, and approximate in their obedience. (para. A. Katz) Even with death itself at the door, many seem to keep on in their [i]carelessness[/i].

The psalmist gives an inspired prognosis in Psalm 36:1;

The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

From their contempt of God and their want of a due regard to Him: "The transgression of the wicked [i]speaks[/i] within my heart (makes me to conclude within myself) that there is [i]no fear of God before his eyes[/i]; for, if there were, he would not talk and act as [i]restraintless[/i] as he does; he would not, he would dare not, break the laws of God, and violate his covenants with him, if he had any awe of his majesty or dread of his wrath." (para comp. M. Henry)

It used to be said (pre 20th century) when indictments by our law were brought against a criminal, that “such a person, [i]not having the fear of God before his eyes[/i], did so and so.” The wicked do not always openly and verbally renounce the fear of God (“this day I renounce my fear of the Lord!”); but their transgression is [i]evidence[/i], that when observed, appears in the hearts of all those that know anything of the true nature of God Almighty.

It is an axiom of scripture that transgressors transgress because they do not fear the Lord. This missing element in a human being is evidence that they are unsaved and in need of the Born Again experience (Romans 3:18).

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Robert Wurtz II

GOD'S BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE


Scripture tells us that Lot was [i]vexed from day to day[/i] because of the unlawful actions of the people of Sodom. There are many ‘Lot’s’ in our times as well. They look around at the condition of people and groan within themselves and grieve at the blatant wickedness. One of the Greek words for vexed means 'tormented.'

It happened also in Israel’s time also. There is always a remnant who sigh and cry for the sins of the people. You will recall in Ezekiel the angel that came forth with the inkhorn and set a sign upon the forehead of all those who were weeping or groaning- vexed by the filthy behavior of the wicked. This 'torment' can be either a sense of [i]tremendous loss[/i] or [i]tremendous jealousy[/i]. I have to think in this case, it was both. When the destroyer went through the city with his battle axe- it was those who had been 'vexed' that were spared.

When we reach the book of Malachi we are watching God's dealings with Israel wind down. II Chronicles 38 tells us that God had sent prophet after prophet and the people despised them and their words, so God sent His wrath upon them until there was [u]no remedy[/u]. The reader ought to tremble at those solemn words. If God hath affliced, who can remedy? What could be a worse judgment than God simply pulling out and leaving the people to themselves? One could endure anything if God be with them; but who shall stand in the day of His departure?

Malachi is winding up the Old Testament revelation. As the hands on the clock near allign themselves for the stroke of midnight. When I was a child I used to tremble around 2:00 AM, when having fallen asleep while watching some late night program, was awakened by the almost deafening tone of a station signed off, or the black and white 'snow' that revealed the total absense of any human being. I'll never forget how alone I felt at that moment. How worthless and even fearful was that wooden box when there was no signal.

Most bibles have a single white page that seperates the Old and the New Testament. Did you know that that page represents 400 years of no prophetic voice in the land? No word from God worthy of being recorded in God's Holy Word. Just a chapter and a half before GOD 'signed off' He left the people and for our admonishion (I Cor. 10) these words:

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not (Malachi 3:16-18).

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the root of all religion; they reverenced God as “his Majesty” (King). They submitted to His authority. They had a dread of His wrath in all they thought and said. They humbly complied with God and never spoke any strong words against Him. In every age there has been a remnant that feared the Lord, though sometimes but a little remnant. (M.H) God remembered those who feared Him and He wrote down the conversations they had one to another as a memorial. Like the tears in the bottle we read of in the psalms, God kept a record. I sometimes wonder if my name is in that book? I sometimes wonder what, if anything, God may have written about me. Have I groaned for our times? Am I vexed from day to day? Am I jealous for His name?

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Robert Wurtz II

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!

A man was recently 3000 feet into the air flying his small plane when a 4 _ foot black snake peeked its head through the instrument panel. When asked what he did the 62 year old pilot referred back to something his instructor told him some 25 years before; “No matter what happens, [u]FLY the plane![/u]”

And such as it is in our lives. No matter what happens, [u]“Fear the Lord!”[/u] Not as Israel who watched the Egyptian Army (their arch enemy) drowned in the Red Sea behind them and then murmured against God because they had no water and food (Exodus 16). They wandered 40 years on an 11 day journey.

Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and waiting on the Father. Not only did he not murmur, but He faced off with the Devil who was desperate to get our Lord’s mind onto the same types of things he succeeded in getting Israel’s on. It's that same old proposition, "PITY THYSELF."

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

This is astonishing! It was as if our Lord told all of us, “Never mind that I have not eaten for 40 days, you worry about being totally and swiftly obedient to God!” As He told Peter in the closing hours of His sojourne on the earth, [i]"If I would that he should tarry till I come, what is that to thee? [u]Follow thou me[/u]."[/i] Our front and center concern, is obedience to the Lord. This obedience will not long be present in the absence of the fear of the Lord.

This is the lesson Israel did not learn in the wilderness. They were used to the ebb and flow of Egypt. They longed for the predictability they once knew. They were not quite willing to trust God at the level He was asking them. In Egypt they could use their skills to make buildings and earn a slaves wages; but in the desert its just them and God.

When things don't go as planned what will we do? When God takes us a different route than we imagined, what then? What did Israel do? What... did Job do? And such as it is in our lives. No matter what happens, [u]“Fear the Lord!”[/u] When a line forms a city block long with folk bearing bad news, "Fear the Lord!" When God asks of you much more than you first bargained for, "Fear the Lord." When you don't feel you can take another step, "Fear the Lord." No circumstance of life ever provides us with a just cause to murmer, complain, transgress or depart from the Living God.

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28, 29)

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Robert Wurtz II