Joseph Hall: A certain thing

One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

“Everyone would have something, such perhaps as we are ashamed to utter: the proud man would have a certain thing, honor; the covetous man would have a certain thing, too, wealth and abundance; the malicious would have a certain thing, revenge on his enemies; the epicure would have pleasure and a long life; the barren, children; the wanton, beauty; each would be humored in his own desire, though in opposition both to God’s will and his own good.”

Joseph Hall (1574-1656) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 178.

Is there a certain thing that you desire? On trips like this one that I have enjoyed with my son, Sammy, I am reminded that every fly fisherman desires to catch fish, and we caught many of them. But for our own good we must have one desire above all others. We must make the LORD our greatest desire.

What’s this got to do with generosity? We will never be generous if our desires are linked to things. God’s will for our lives is that we desire Him above all else, when we do, we are rightly positioned to enjoy and share His good gifts. In the days to come we hope to make videos of our trip. We made memories worth enjoying and sharing.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3

“If thou desire much rest, desire not too much. There is no less trouble in the preservation, than in the acquisition of abundance.”

Francis Quarles (1592-1644) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 794. I hope you like the new header photo of Upper Deep Creek outside of Lakeview, Oregon.

Sammy and I took this week to go fly fishing because we desired some rest from our work. It’s restful to pause and enjoy God’s creation together.

And it’s only possible to rest when our focus is not preservation or acquisition of material abundance, for no amount or money and things is ever enough to satisfy.

Only in Christ do we have everything we need. He leads us to a place of peace, joy, and contentment that positions us for generosity. He’s a good shepherd who guides us along the right paths.

He’s also been gracious to lead us to quiet waters like the stream pictured above. For another glimpse of the kind of fishing we are doing this week, check out this video: Chewaucan Basin Redband Trout Fly Fishing.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9

“Starvation cannot be argued with: the gaunt spectre cannot be laid by speeches and resolutions. We must share our abundance of bread with the hungry. We are a great brotherhood, children of Him who our ancestors called the All-Father, and it is not for us to ask the old question of Cain, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 892.

In abundance, God has supplied more than enough food for everyone, but not everyone has enough because humans don’t share as brothers and sisters. The result is death and starvation.

As Sammy and I track down rare cutthroat and redband trout in the Northwest, many such as the Humboldt Cutthroat struggle to survive because their habitat has been poisoned by mining and trampled by uncontrolled cattle grazing.

Our stewardship impacts both our brothers and sisters as well the creation in which God has placed us. We are both our brother’s keeper and stewards of creation (cf. Genesis 2:15). Bad stewardship results in starvation. Sharing brings life.

To take a peek into the world of this troubled trout, check out: Humboldt Cutthroat Trout Fly Fishing.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalm 96:12

“Divine wisdom has dispersed woods and forests in more or less abundance all over the world. In some countries they are at great distances. In others they take up several leagues, and raise their majestic heads to the clouds. Neither the constant use made of it so lavishly by mankind, nor the ravages of accidental fires, nor severe winters have yet exhausted these rich gifts…”

Christoph Sturm (1740-1786) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 1034.

It’s summertime in America, a time when people often explore the woods and forests that God has scattered across our land. Many go camping. My son, Sammy, and I like to explore God’s creation by going fly fishing.

There are about 60 species and sub-species of trout and salmon that God placed in the woods and forests of America. We’ve caught and released 27 of the 60 up until this trip. We hope to locate more this week.

Enjoy the woods and forests. They are gifts from God! As stewards, leave them nicer than you found them. If you can’t make it outside, then we will bring the experience to you. Check out: Goose Lake Basin Redband Trout Fly Fishing.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1

“Great abundance of riches cannot of any man be both gathered and kept without sin.”

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 813.

As stewards we own nothing. God owns everything. To gather and keep for ourselves is both stealing from God and failing to use all God supplies rightly. Regardless of what society says or does, it’s wrong! It’s sin.

Sammy and I are fly fishing in Southeastern Oregon looking for various species of cutthroat and redband trout. We try to catch, film, and release them. Some time later Sammy produces videos to share the blessing of the experience.

One summer we aimed at catching 500 fish. That year we landed 541. What if we kept them all for ourselves? You might cry, “Foul!” You might say, “There’d be none for anyone else.” You’d be right!

Many of the species we target have not been stewarded well. As variety of factors leaves them nearly extinct, we treat each trout we catch as a gift from God, and we release each one as our gift to the next angler.

For a look at the kind of fly fishing we are doing for native trout, check out: Owyhee River Basin Redband Trout Fishing.

I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners. Ecclesiastes 5:13

“Among the superfluities of life, we seldom number the abundance of money.”

Noah Webster (1758-1843) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 912.

Short and sweet. That’s what the meditations will be this week as Sammy and I are heading West to Oregon for a week of fly fishing together. I located short quotes worth contemplating and sharing that use my word for 2018, abundance .

Noah Webster uses an uncommon word, superfluities. He defines it as “excess or oversupply.” He’s saying that most people would probably say you can’t get enough money. Is that the view we should take? Solomon teaches us otherwise.

As the famous song goes, money can’t buy you love or anything else you need. So, has God blessed you financially? Don’t let it stay with you to your ruin. You have been blessed to be a blessing. Be generous with it.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

“[Paul] accepted his heaven-sent affliction with the same humility with which he received the vision from the Lord…The world translated “thorn” comes from the Greek term skolops, meaning a “sharply pointed stake.” Specifically [Paul] wrote, “There was given to me a stake in the flesh.

After the glory came the groaning. On the heels of supernatural privilege came physical throbbing pain. Following the exalted heavenly revelations came humiliating and agonizing earthly suffering. It was an agony that would accompany him the rest of his life.

Now what was the thorn? Suggestions abound…The truth is we don’t know…Nobody knows for sure…And you know what that means? It doesn’t matter. The man who endured it calls it a “messenger of Satan.” The enemy hoped to use it to cause the apostle to defect or to retreat from his calling. God used it to keep the gifted servant on his knees…

I see an interesting tension here. While Satan punched and pounded the apostles resolve, the Lord’s purpose was to humble him, to keep him from exalting himself. Pride doesn’t reside in the hearts of the broken, the split-apart, the wounded, the anguished of soul.”

Charles R. Swindoll in Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit (Great Lives from God’s Word, Volume 6, Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2002) 99-100.

Abundance is my word for 2018 and in today’s Scripture it comes into view in a different way than I expected. When Paul could have gloried in an abundance of revelations, he received a gift from God: a thorn in the flesh.

I can relate this week. It’s been a week when I could be tempted to take pride in some earthly accomplishments. God has given me the gift of nerve pain which shoots into my hip and down my leg that has brought me to my knees.

Don’t miss God’s generosity. In times of abundance, when we could be tempted to be prideful, He gives us things like thorns coupled with sufficient grace for our good. Thank you for the gift of thorns. What a generous God we serve!

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. Luke 18:35-43

“You notice that prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, or what is known as the Jesus prayer — that is to say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’ — when frequently repeated, has the greatest power and very easily opens the heart and blesses it. This is to be noticed very clearly in the case of the apostles, who had been for a whole year disciples of Jesus Christ, and had already been taught the Lord’s Prayer by Him — that is to say, ‘Our Father’ (and it is through them that we know it). Yet at the end of His earthly life Jesus Christ revealed to them the mystery that was still lacking in their prayers. So that their prayer might make a definite step forward He said to them, ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name He will give it you.’ And so it happened in their case. For, ever after this time, when the Apostles learned to offer prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, how many wonderful works they performed and what abundant light was shed upon them.”

R.M. French translated The Way Of A Pilgrim And The Pilgrim Continues His Way (San Francisco: Harper, 1991) 151-152. Click to read a free copy of this classic spiritual formation resource.

To live a generous life is to serve as a conduit of spiritual and material blessings that come to us from God. Often, on the journey, we have needs that arise. Jesus anticipated this, which is why He instructed His disciples to ask the Father for what they need in His name. He also modeled responsiveness to such a request in how He responded to the blind man’s humble cry.

Taken the wrong way, this can lead many to thinking “the Jesus prayer” (as it is commonly called) is a magic formula for manipulating God to get what you want. Don’t go there! It’s arrogant rather than humble, and God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. See it not as formulaic, but rather, formational. Recounting this Scripture as a prayer teaches us humility.

I had breakfast with a mate this week who shared with me that God is teaching him a number of things, one of which is humility. If that’s you too, pray this prayer often. My wife, Jenni, in her spiritual direction encourages people to pray it as a breath prayer. Breath in saying to yourself ‘Lord Jesus Christ’ and breath out saying ‘have mercy on me a sinner’. Try it to train yourself in humility.

Why celebrate the abundant light in this prayer? Understanding the humble posture we must take coupled with the access to the Father we have through our Lord Jesus Christ is integral to the life of a generous disciple. We cannot live generously without dependence upon and connection to the Father through Jesus Christ. The only way to ‘generosity’ for all us as pilgrims is to take the path marked ‘humility’.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

“This way is not dangerous. If it were, Christ would not have represented it as the most perfect and necessary of all ways. All can walk in it; and as all are called to blessedness, all are called to the enjoyment of God, both in this life and in that which is to come, since the enjoyment of God is blessedness. I say the enjoyment of God Himself, not of His gifts, which can never impart essential blessedness, not being able fully to satisfy the soul, which is so constituted that even the richest gifts of God cannot thoroughly content it. The desire of God is to give Himself to us, according to the capacity with which He has endowed us; and yet we fear to leave ourselves to God! We fear to possess Him, and to be prepared for divine union!”

Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717) in A Short Method of Prayer (London: Sampson Low, 1875) 49. This work may interest those who desire a deeper walk with Christ.

Jesus desires our maturity, or in biblical terms, our perfection. He wants our focus on God and nothing else because He knows that when we fix our gaze there, paradoxically, everything else comes into proper focus.

For example, we are tempted to focus on what the world looks at on the broad road that leads to destruction, namely, the gifts of God rather than God, or the blessings of God instead of His blessedness. Don’t do it!

Instead, focus on God, find contentment in His blessedness, and fear not to abandon yourself fully to Him. His goodness knows no depths and His faithfulness is unfathomable. What’s this got to do with generosity?

When we hold on to the wrong thing (the gifts we have received from God rather than God), it greatly limits our openhanded giving, and leaves us feeling insecure and discontent.

Alternatively, when we hold on tightly to the only One “able fully to satisfy the soul” then we realize we have everything we have and will ever need so we can be generous at all times and occasions. That is life!

On a personal note, next week I will go on a week-long fly fishing road trip with my son, Sammy, tracking down native trout in remote parts of Oregon. Why mention this?

When we cherish God above all else, only then can we rightly enjoy His gifts. The reason Jesus desires our maturity is so that we can enjoy Him and His generous gifts (such as an adventure like this one) rightly.

The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Leviticus 25:1-4

“All labour was to cease in the seventh year, as much as daily labour on the seventh day. These statues tell us to beware of covetousness, for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of his possessions. We are to exercise willing dependence on God’s providence for our support; to consider ourselves the Lord’s tenants or stewards, and to use our possessions accordingly. This year of rest typified the spiritual rest which all believers enter into through Christ. Through Him we are eased of the burden of wordly care and labour, both being sanctified and sweetened to us; and we are enabled and encouraged to live by faith.”

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) in Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 162. Click to download freely this Bible commentary.

On this day, the Fourth of July in America, my mind reflects on the similarities between the Israelites and Americans. God’s people lived in slavery to the Egyptians. Americans wanted to be rid of British rule. Both longed for freedom from oppression. Our proclivity as humans back then and now, however, is to use our freedom for self-indulgence rather than selfless service.

After delivering the people, the Lord told Moses to tell the them to trust Him to care for their needs, to “exercise willing dependence on God’s providence.” So he gave them an assignment. They were to demonstrate trust by ceasing their labor and trusting God to supply. God’s servant, Moses, was to teach God’s people, as Henry rightly puts it, that “we are enabled and encouraged to live by faith.”

Last Sunday, our pastor, James Hoxworth preached a great sermon entitled, “Fear Not” on Psalm 46. He asked people to think about their fears. Our fears are often linked to misplaced faith. We trust in money and things rather than God. As “the Lord’s tenants and stewards” we can only be still and find rest in Christ. Like Henry and Hoxworth, let us teach others how to do it. In resting, we declare our dependence on God.

God, your design for your people back then and now has always been to learn to trust you. The only way we learn it is to cease from our toil and rest in you. As we do it, show us your faithfulness and our purpose, to show others how to find rest they seek. Thank you that we are both enabled and encouraged to live by faith in Jesus Christ alone who is faithful. Amen.