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August 7: Samuel Miller on the Jersey Shore

7 August, 2013 in August 2013 by archivist | No comments

It’s August and it seems that everyone is away on vacation. So now for something completely different:

Samuel Miller as you’ve never seen him.

Dr. Samuel MillerIn the biography of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Miller, we find this snippet from a letter he wrote, dated August 7th, 1801. Miller’s son, who served as his biographer, writes that this letter “will give an idea of some of the expedients of the city clergy of that day, for bodily and mental recuperation:

“On Wednesday week last, I went down with a large party of gentlemen, (twenty-six in number,) to amuse myself with fishing on the sea-bass banks. These banks are in the ocean, about twelve or fifteen miles to the southward of Sandy Hook, and nearly opposite Long Branch. The company was pleasant, the fishing delightful, the bathing highly refreshing, and the mirth and jollity of the party, notwithstanding the presence of several clergymen, so great, as almost to border on being excessive. We returned the next evening; and I think I felt ten per cent, at least, better for the jaunt. Contrary to all my expectations, I escaped sea-sickness; though my wish was, for the sake of its salubrity, to experience that painful disorder.”

Words to Live By:
For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8, NASB)

It would be a mistake to understand Paul as saying that bodily exercise is of no use. Rather, he is making a comparative statement, that bodily exercise is of little profit when compared with the eternal gain of godliness. Even the most physically fit person will eventually die, whereas godliness holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. A corollary verse would be Mark 8:36: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” If the benefit of living a healthy life and getting some regular exercise is so obvious, can’t we see the vastly greater benefit of first trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and then living out that faith in accordance with God’s Word, the Bible?

Source: The Life of Samuel Miller, (1869), vol. 1, p. 142.

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January 23: Lawrence R. Eyres

23 January, 2013 in January 2013 by Wayne Sparkman | No comments

A Faithful Pastor, Serving the Lord in all humility.

Just ten years ago now, the Rev. Lawrence R. Eyres entered his eternal rest on this day, January 23, 2003, at the age of 91. Lawrence was born on an Iowa farm on November 14, 1911, raised by godly parents during the Depression, was educated at Wheaton College (1934) and prepared for the ministry at Westminster Theological Seminary (1937).

In 1936 he had become one of the founding members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and following his graduation from Westminster, was ordained in 1938 and installed as pastor the OPC church in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Moving to the other side of the nation, his next pastorate was in Portland, Oregon, and then in 1958 Rev. Eyres became the pastor of what is now Faith Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Long Beach, California, a church founded in April of 1941. The Rev. Lawrence Eyres was the third pastor of this congregation, and the church grew greatly, numbering some 500 members growing in grace under his ministry. In 1970, Rev. Eyres left Faith OPC and worked to plant churches in Ohio, South Dakota, Alaska and Wisconsin before retiring in 1993.

Among the honors accorded Rev. Eyres during his long ministry, he served as Moderator of the OPC General Assembly in 1950, and he is perhaps most remembered for The Elders of the Church, a work which has proven to be of great use. To read a review of this book, click here.

Of Rev. Eyres, one obituary noted that “Lawrence was a gentle, gracious man, who loved His Lord and loved people, whose life’s work is summed-up by the word “pastor” – stalwart for the truth of the Bible as God’s Word, vigorous in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, committed to the truths of the Reformed faith, and sacrificial in giving his life to Christ’s Church.

Words to Live By: Alongside humility, love and a heart for the truth of God’s Word, self-sacrifice is a quality essential in the life of anyone who would seek to live out their Christian life in way that would matter. Give me a pastor who will expend himself on behalf of his flock. Give me Christians who will live sacrificially, giving freely of themselves to others, not holding back when they see a need that must be filled.

For Further Study:
Click here to read an article by Rev. Eyres, “Live in the Fear of God.”

Sources:
http://eyres.home.texas.net/bios/scrapbook/LawrenceREyres.htm
http://eyres.home.texas.net/bios/LawrenceEyres.htm
http://www.faithopc.org/our-history/

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October 4: WLC Q. 157

4 October, 2012 in October 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

Handling the Word of God Aright

Finding  historical sites on American Presbyterianism scarce, we turn to the Catechisms of the Westminster Standards, and for a change, to the Larger Catechism. Question No. 157 asks “How is the word of God to be read? and gives this answer, “The holy Scriptures are to be read with an high and reverence esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they are the very word of God, and that he only can enable us to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence, and attention to the matter and scope of them; with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.”

We are assuming, dear reader, that you are a reader of Holy Scripture, indeed, that you have made it a habit to read the daily portions of Scripture noted each day in our blog, which will take you through the Bible in one year. But it is not enough to simply read, but we must read God’s Word, as the Catechism says, “with an high and reverent esteem of it.” The Bible is God’s Word to us and to our generation, to say nothing of the last or the future generations.  We must be firmly persuaded that it is the very word of God. Yes, human authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit, but what they wrote and indeed the very words they wrote were by God.  Our Reformed and Presbyterian churches believe in plenary and verbal inspiration.

As a result of the Bible being the Holy Word of God, only the Lord can enable us to fully understand it. This being the case, we should always approach the Word with prayer, asking the Author of it to illuminate our hearts to read and understand it.

Now, what is the motive in reading the Word of God? In one phrase, it is to “know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed” in it. Every once in a while, there is a newspaper article about the average American’s knowledge of the Bible.  It is appalling to realize the ignorance of the Bible, even among church folks. This is why this one year reading schedule and doing it chronologically is so important. Many Christians have never read the Bible through once in their spiritual lives.

Then our motive in reading it is to believe and obey the will of God revealed in it. It is God’s Word and will for our lives yesterday, today, and always. Paul spoke of it in 2 Timothy 3:16 as being for “teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.” (NAS)  We need the solid doctrine of theology as our teaching. The reproof in the Bible tells us the wrong paths we have strayed  in faith and life.  The correction tells us the right path of life and doctrine. And the training in righteousness is a gradual process of holiness which all believers need until we get to heaven.

The manner of reading the Bible is summed up in a series of descriptive words, like “diligence, meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.”  Diligence is needed, dear Christian.  We must not be content to be spiritual babes forever, but mature thinking Christians.  Meditation, or thinking carefully and seriously, is needed when we read the Bible.  In other words, take time to read the Word.  Too many believers spend more time reading the newspaper than they do reading the Word of God. Application is most needed.  What does the Word I have read today mean, and most important, mean to me, to where I am in my walk with Christ.  Self-denial and prayer tells us to humble ourselves under the Word of God and depend upon Him to reveal what our souls  need this day from God.

Words to live by:  It is estimated that countless Christians have more than one Bible in their homes today.  Sometimes they represent various stages of their spiritual life, like a new Christian, a growing Christian, or a mature Christian.  Sometimes they are various versions and translations, bought according to the recommendation of the church or this Bible teacher.  But this writer is not so much interested in how many Bibles you own, but rather in whether you read daily from one of them.  The Through the Bible section of this guide is designed to help you do that at least once a year, and hopefully every year for all of your lives.  Handling the Word of God correctly is a habit which you want to keep in your lives.

Through the Scriptures:  Haggai 1, 2; Zechariah 1, 2

Through the Standards:  The duties of Christians to the government

W.C.F. 23:4 

“It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates, to honor their persons, to pay them tribute or other dues, to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience sake.  Infidelity, or difference in religion, does not make void the magistrates’ just and legal authority, nor free the people from their due obedience to them: from which ecclesiastical persons are not exempted, much less has the Pope any power and jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their people; and, least of all, to deprive them of their  dominions, or lives, if he shall judge them to be heretics, or upon any other pretence whatsoever.”

 

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September 28: WSC Q. 80

28 September, 2012 in September 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

The Purpose of the Bible for Unbelievers and Believers

Finding little of significance in Presbyterian history, we return to the magnificent answers of the Shorter Catechism, and specifically No. 80.  It asks and answers, “How is the Word made effectual to salvation?  A.  The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.”

We now arrive at the first outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption, namely and especially “the Word,” or the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

Focus in with me  on the first five words of this answer,  “The Spirit of God makes.”   We must never limit the work of the Holy Spirit, for He is God.  Yet the means which the Triune God has appointed is the Holy Spirit working through and by the Word of God to make it effective for salvation.  Thus, it behooves us to always pray that the Holy Spirit apply the reading and preaching of the Word to ourselves and others.

Our Confessional fathers then reminds us of the two methods associated with the Bible, namely, that of reading and preaching.   Every time we read and hear the Bible, we need to ask and answer three questions, namely, what does it say, what does it mean, and what does it mean to me?.

The way of the Word being an effectual means is two-fold.  First, the Word “convinces and converts sinners.”  It convinces us that we are sinners.  It humbles our proud thoughts with respect to ourselves.  It convinces us that we cannot save ourselves.  It convinces us that Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life. In short, it drives sinners out of themselves and draw us and others irresistibly to the Redeemer.

The Word through the Holy Spirit then converts us.  We are changed from a child of the devil to a child of God.   We go from death to life, from a hater of the holy God to a lover of God.  We have a change of mind which leads to a change of action.

What this convincing and converting should produce in us at the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word of God, is a prayer for the effectiveness of the Bible in the lives and souls of the elect.  Let us not simply sit at “zombies” in the chairs of our homes, or the pews of the church, when the Word of God is read in family devotions, or Sunday worship.  Let us constantly be in prayer when the Bible is read, that it might bring forth spiritual fruit unto salvation, and holiness of life, and preparation for service.

The Word also is an “effective means” of “building us up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.”  There is a construction process going on around the Word of God.  The Spirit of God is building spiritual stones in the temple of our hearts.  Holiness of God is aimed at by the reading and hearing of the Word of God.  Comfort from the troubles of life is the direction by the reading and hearing of God’s Word.  What sins are we to be putting to death? What encouragement are we to receive, not only for ourselves, but to others who need the comfort of God.

In summary, the reading and listening to God’s Word, the Bible, should never be a rote experience in our lives.  It is to be a living, changing progression in conversion and conduct.

Words to live by:  As a retired Presbyterian and Reformed  pastor, I once challenged the people of an evangelical and Reformed congregation by giving them a paper bag, so that they could smuggle their personal Bibles out of their homes on the Lord’s Day, use them in the church service, and then smuggle them back into their homes at the end of the Lord’s Day!  It was an extreme suggestion (which no one did actually), and a humorous suggestion to get them to bring their Bibles to church.  I then followed it up with a Through the Bible reading plan in a year (the one I am using in this devotional guide) to make their Bibles a constant in their hearts and lives.  It had its effect on the congregation, as some of them were saved, and others began to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.  Keep the Word of God before God’s people, by believing and living it yourselves, and encouraging others to be much in God’s Word, the Bible.

Through the Scriptures:  Daniel 7 – 9

Through the Standards: Guidelines in taking vows

WCF 22:6
“It is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone: and, that if may be accepted, it is to be made voluntarily, out of faith, and conscience of duty, in way of thankfulness for mercy received, or for the obtaining of what we want, whereby we more strictly bind ourselves to necessary duties: or, to other things, so far and so long as they may fitly conduce thereunto.”

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March 16 : WSC Q. 10

16 March, 2012 in March 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History: 

God’s Crowning Work in creation

With scant information available for this day, March 16, we return to another exposition of the Shorter Catechism. Question number 10 asks and answers, “How did God create man?  A.  God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.”

We already had a question and answer on the general subject of creation.  That was the theme of February 27 in these historical devotionals.  Our Confessional Fathers gave us another catechetical answer on God’s crowning work in creation, namely, the creation of man.

Man’s nature is distinguished in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.  In Genesis chapter 1, we have the description of man as being “male and female.”  In the summary of creation in Genesis chapter 2, we have the reference to his soul and body.    How contrary to this divinely stated truth is that of humanistic  evolution.  How we need to pray and work for a return in our culture of the majestic truth of special creation.

Notice especially the original character of our created parents as being “after the image of God.” There, of course, is no truth to the popular idea that this image created was some sort of physical resemblance to God.  God is a Spirit and doesn’t have a body like man. Our confession fathers immediately define what they mean by God’s image, by stating that the image consists in “knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.”  Our first parents had a conformity to the moral perfections of God.

Adam had knowledge in his understanding of God’s revelation of His creation.  That was proved when he gave names to all of God’s creatures in Genesis 2:19 and verse 20. Second, Adam possessed righteousness in his will.  Righteousness simply means obedience to God.  Man was capable of this, though also capable of disobedience, as we sadly see in the fall into sin. Last, Adam was holy in his affections.   He could love God and His creation, and especially his soon to be created wife, Eve.

It is true that sin marred that image deeply.  Yet in Christ, that image can be restored by the grace of God.  Paul in Ephesians 4:24 speaks of our new creation in Christ which we have “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (ESV)  And the same apostle wrote in Colossians 3:10, “and put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of God.” (ESV)   Knowledge, righteousness, and holiness is being restored in the life of the believer.  One day, in our glorification, it will be restored perfectly.

Last, man’s dignity is seen in the fact that he was given “dominion over the creatures.” Since he was God’s crowning creation, he was given the authority over the world of nature, not just animals.  Here is the basis for the cultural mandate, or the view that the Christian  has a mandate from God to bring all spheres of life under conformity to God’s Word.

Words to Live By: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”  Psalm 8:9 (ESV)  Do you praise God for creation all around you?

Through the Scriptures: Joshua 16 – 18

Through the Standards: Christ Executes the Office of a King

WLC 45 — “How does Christ execute the office of a king?
A. Christ executes the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them; in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory, and their good; and also taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.”

WSC 26 — “How does Christ execute the office of a king?
A. Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.”

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