Month: March 2017

I have been wondering what a ‘good land’ is for me?  I think it would be a land that is safe, with no threat to me and all other inhabitants.  I would appreciate a place of beauty, with plants, trees and flowers, with water and many animals, birds, insects and sea life, as well as an abundance of pure drinking water,  and plant foods to grow and eat, very much as the garden of Eden was when created on earth.  That would mean that God would be able to talk to me, and I would see and talk with Jesus, and hosts of angels, as well as many loveable and peace loving people who lived there also. I would even more so than on earth enjoy keeping and tending a garden, in productive soil, with nothing that destroyed or harmed plant life or human life.  I have every hope of realizing this dream and ambition that is promised in God’s word.  Deuteronomy 8 : 1 “Every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.  5 “You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.  6 Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs that flow out of valleys and hills.”

In any ‘good land’ or place, people will always love and care about others, and not refrain from helping any other person, in every appropriate way they can.  Galatians 6: 1 – 5 “Brethren, if any man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore each one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing he deceives himself.  4 But let each one examine his own work and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.”  Until the righteous are in the heavenly place with our wonderful God Almighty, they will have opportunity to choose the way of right doing, through reliance upon God and His word.   With devotion to God and His way of love for all mankind, comes deep satisfaction, and life direction, that is only known to the participant, for it is God given.

Isaiah 26: 3, 4 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord is everlasting strength.  V7 and 8 “The way of the just is uprightness;     O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just.  Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.” V 12 “Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.” Isaiah writes so beautifully, about the results of a close unity and interaction, that exists between God and someone who invites God into their heart and mind; and as a result, is obedient to Him, and walks the way of righteousness.  It would seem among other things peace, love and grace comes to us as an inheritance, from our ‘Most Upright’ God.  

I do not desire to live apart from You, my God, and again today I will cherish all Your gifts, especially Your love, grace and peace.  I am sad for the times, I allow myself to come away from Your provision because I am running headlong through my day, focussed on my tasks and occupations ; which means my mind cannot be totally ‘stayed upon You’.  Please be my strength and wisdom to lay all my plans before you, and proceed as you direct, and so avoid rushing onto the path that is stressful and without Your close direction and presence.

There is beauty all around me, with bright blue sky, soft white clouds, green trees and verdure, with the bright colours of many flower faces.  What a pleasure and honour to acknowledge that all have been created by God, and this is a day to celebrate creation, and rest from normal work and labour.  I have also been created by God, and in the latter end of my life I probably do not add a great deal to the beauty before referred to, and I know that not all is beautiful in my mind and actions.  I know that God has and will continue to improve my character, because this is my desire, and He has promised to fill us with ever more of His beautifying love over time because my heart is given to Him.  James 1: 19 – 21 “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

It is our precious Savour Jesus Christ, who produces righteousness and beauty within the heart.  I am so glad this is so.  But it does not come just by passively wishing it were so or using Gods word as a pillow!  1 John 5: 3 – 5 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.  4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”  Considering it is sinful doing under the sin General Satan, that makes up this world, and sin is offensive to God, how wonderful that we can be reborn and overcome our worldliness through Jesus.  1 Corinthians 15: 57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As usual with Gods promises, we are not left alone to overcome the hold that Satan and sin have on us.  The hold of Satan is strong and we are weak; but in Christ we are made strong; for He has overcome Satan.  Roman 8: 31, 32 “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  The judgement about the wickedness and conniving of Satan was absolutely made in heaven, when Jesus died on the cross and the fate of Satan was fore ever sealed.  That has not stopped his attacks and delusions upon all who have since lived on this earth; but we do not need to share with Satan in his final demise.  We have Jesus as our representative in heaven even now interceding on our behalf, His atoning blood that washes away all record of our sin so we are covered by His righteousness.  For those who have given their lives to Jesus, this is such good news; we have Christ Himself as our Advocate representative.  We do not then need to fear the judgement of heaven.  Hebrews 4: 14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

With gratitude, I finish my reflection upon You God, with words from Psalm 84: 8 “O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!  V 10, 11 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  How wonderful that we have ‘the Lord God’ as our light, as bright as the sun, and that You God not only act as our shield, but give to us grace and glory.

I delight in You my God, on this Your day, and desire that I be bought close to you in thought and deed.  I am so thankful, for Your gift to this earth, of Your Son Jesus Christ, so that when we come in contact with His teachings and life history; we can accept Him for our own Saviour; and be saved from certain sin and death.

I appreciate the love and care that Simon Peter, the reformed disciple of Jesus, had for his church fellowship; and savor his words again today.  2 Peter 1 : 1- 4 “………To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers by the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”  To know Jesus Christ, is to love and accept Him.  He gives us His grace, peace and divine power, so we can live a godly life in Him.  To read and believe His promises, and then claim them for ourselves, can only actuate them in our heart and life, because He as God, cannot lie, and will always deliver to us His promises.  The faulty link can only be with us, by hanging onto darling sins, unbelief and lack of real faith that God will hear us, and bring to pass for us, what He has promised.  As always, the answer to any sin or lack of faith is in humbling our heart, and in sincere prayer to Jesus ask for forgiveness and or increase of faith.   Jesus cannot resist our cry of repentance and need.

James another man who knew Jesus personally and also started his letter with, “a bond servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ”; has given us good and helpful counsel, as we journey toward heaven.  James 4: 6 – 10 “But He gives more grace.  Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ 7 therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep!  Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom, 10 humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” If we repel the call of Jesus and go our own way, we have every reason to lament, or if we think we have it all together better than some, and do not ask for the guidance of Jesus or head His words, we have every reason to lament and mourn:  for a time comes, when the baseness of the human heart and life apart from Jesus, will be revealed.

1 John 1: 8, 9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 2: 1”………. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  Psalm 32: 5 “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden.  I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”  V 1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”  V 11 “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”  As all of us have found, sin is a weight upon our mind and spirit, and when it is not confessed sin pulls us down to despondency away from a place of joy.  I am so grateful, that we have a simple and sure way to be freed from a burden of sin, into a place of sunlight, with God.

I am so glad, that with Jesus, there is a way to rise above sin and enduring downheartedness.   Philippians 4: 4 – 7 “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

Lord I thank You for these promises, and ask that they become a reality in my heart; because I am asking to become Your true child.

 

It is so uplifting to contemplate, Jesus as portrayed when on earth, and now in heaven as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords,  He deserves the special place and adoration, of the angels in heaven; but more than that, He deserves a special place and adoration, in the heart of every person who has drawn breath upon this earth.  Today, in my mind, I bow before Him and adore, in my limited human way, for He is my King of Kings and Lord of Lord, as well Saviour and Redeemer.  Yet upon earth, Jesus lived as a poor man of no repute, ridiculed, chastised, afflicted and put to death.  All for us!  2 Corinthians 1: 5-7 “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer.  Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.”

Our Lord has said that no one who follows Him will entirely escape trials and some type of suffering and that identifies us with Him.  We are consoled by the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge as we are being fitted for a place in heaven, through our salvation by Jesus whom God the Father sent unto us.   We truly share with Him, trials on earth, and one day hope to be in heaven with Him.  When considered from all aspects, we can ask for no better privilege than being identified with Jesus our Saviour.  Jesus suffered so we could be saved, and we can suffer as we are sanctified and as we are gifted salvation by Jesus,.  Hebrews 2: 10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

I am sure none of us seek trials, or enjoy them; even though many times we give thanks for them later, because of the learning about ourselves, and the closeness to Jesus that can come, as we surrender our mind and heart to Him, in a humble and needful way.  The apostle Paul was no exception, 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 “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. 8 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.”  Paul, after fervently asking to be relieved of his ‘thorn in the flesh’ accepted the word of God, that his ‘thorn’ was working a work in Him that was spiritually necessary.  With a whole switch around, revealing his love and humility for Christ, Paul now felt that adversity and knock backs were beneficial, because they were molding him into a truer replica of Christ.

My prayer is for me and others, that we will come into this receptive place with God and count it all joy, for the purpose and Person, if not for the experience.         1 Corinthians 1: 57, 58 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Jonah 2: 2 “I called to you, Lord, in my distress and you answered me.  From the depths of the grave, I called for help, and you heard my voice.”  I think it truly could be said, that Jonah was in a whole lot of trouble, and from his own wrong choices as well.  Not that that is any consolation to any one of us, when we get into a right royal mess or situation, as a consequence of wrong choices.  True never-the-less!  Seriously did Jonah think he could run away from doing as God had commissioned him to do, and not be bought up short, so that he could be given another chance, to go and do what he was asked to do as Gods man?  Thankfully I have never found myself swallowed by a whale, and sinking into a stinky, fleshy grave, V 5 “The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head.”  Hopefully it will not take such a dire circumstance for me to humbly acknowledge God.  But I do know that I can in no way think I have it more together spiritually, that did Jonah.   God you still use adverse circumstances, to show us the perversity of our heart and mind, and still welcome us when in prayer, we repent of our waywardness, and then help us on the road of obedience.  V 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to you, into Your holy temple.” V10 “So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” 

Ok, I have not ever been swallowed by a large fish, and because I cannot swim, I am not it a rush to be out on the ocean like Jonah, in a smallish sailing ship.  But I know, like all humans know, that we have had and can expect trials and troubles fairly regularly on this sinful earth.  James 1: 2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  Now I appreciate in my mind, the reason for trials, for I know that in many instances it was the only way to get my attention, and get me to stop, from proceeding  with determination down my own way, never thinking about what God wanted for me to do.  I am now grateful (even if I was not then) for the lessons I have learned through out such experiences.

Please remind me God, when I fail to remember that one of the best and most important lessons to remember, that everything that comes the way of a God fearing person, is for their best spiritual good.  You are in control and You would have it no other way, than the best!  Philippians 4: 4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, rejoice!” 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Thank You for hearing me prayer through these Bible passages, and reading the intent of my heart.

 

I love trees, especially presently productive fruit trees in my home orchard, with the back drop of high gum trees.   I do not spurn the more majestic grand old trees growing in fertile well-watered conditions, or the brave scrubby ones, found so often in the dryer parts of Australia.  For the most part, all are growing just as God designed them to, in the geographic and climatic conditions for which they are most suited.  However it is true, that if we have planted and nurtured the tree, that after a while of giving them a chance to ‘do their thing’, if they fail, we chop them out, and replace them with one, that is pleasingly healthy and productive.  I imagine all of us have seen large trees that have come down in a storm, revealing a rotten core, or inadequate base of roots, revealing they had not actually been the ‘good’ tree we had supposed.

Matthew 12: 35 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  I note the teaching of Jesus as He used the analogy of good and bad trees to teach about the spiritual health of a person being manifested by their words and actions.  V 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.”  Matthew 7: 16 – 19 “You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  Jesus certainly told the Priests and others from the Jewish religious establishment, that because of their hypocritical, evil hearts, no good could come from them; Matthew 12: 34 “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The words of Jesus are spoken to every person and are sobering, when contemplated, for each of us personally.  V36, 37 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

As ever, to come to Jesus in repentant, teachable and humble prayer is the powerful answer for any sin, situation or perplexity that we personally may have and so much more in our walk with God.  Romans 8: 26, 27 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”  It is the sad fact, that all of us who have lived on earth, have sinned and at times produced bad words and deeds, but thanks be to God, it is not inevitable that we will be cut down and destroyed in the judgement that Jesus spoke about.  V 1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Further good news for each of us who walk with Jesus, in love, Colossians 3: 2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth.” In many of his follow up letters to the believers in different places, Paul wrote of the type of attributes the Holy Spirit, would foster in them/us; and so he does again in Colossians 3: 12 – 15 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”