Month: April 2017

Jesus the Saviour of all mankind, the One of a matchless and beautiful character; humbled Himself for everyone.  Why do so many say no, when to experience Him, is to love Him?  When Jesus has come into any heart, He is then the most precious treasure, that none ever plan to lose.

Jesus invites us to unite with Him, John 15: 1 – 4 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  To be a branch of ‘the true vine’ necessitates a close connection.  It is amazing that this connection is with Jesus my Saviour, and I will then bear His fruit.  I am so glad for His invitation, and that He makes this connection possible.  He does not promise a spiritual life without pruning cuts that bleed.  I notice with relief that such cuts are only so that I will bear more of His fruit, such as love, joy, peace and right doing to name just a few.  1 Peter 3: 14, 15 “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. ‘And do not be afraid of their treats, nor be troubled.’  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.  It is only when closely connected to Jesus as a branch is to a vine that we can be as we should be as a Christian.

Because we live on this sinful world, bad things happen in varying degrees upon the followers and those who do not follow God.  The future for the believer and the non-believer will be different, God says!  God is always trying to save each person from eternal death, and bring them to Himself, and eternal life.  Deuteronomy 33: 25, 27, 29 “…………As your days, so shall your strength be. 27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will trust out the enemy from before you, and will say. ‘Destroy’! 29 Happy are you, O Israel!  Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty!  And you shall tread down their high places.”

I make the old hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” (written from Deuteronomy 33: 27, by E. A. Hoffman, 1887) my praise today.

1. “What a fellow-ship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.”

Refrain, for 1 and 2: “Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

2. O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:

3. What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain 3: Leaning on Jesus, leaning on Jesus, safe and secure from all alarms, leaning on Jesus, leaning on Jesus, leaning on the everlasting arms.

It is another glorious autumn day, when I feel at peace with the world around, and have thoughts of praise and thanksgiving in my mind.  I give thanks to God for my life and His love for me and all mankind: manifested.  Psalm 119 is a good place to start in revealing what God means to me, through the words written long ago, by another who had love and wisdom about God to express.  Psalm 119: 89-93 “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides; 91 They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants. 92 Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.”  The laws of nature, and how all creation operates is a mystery and so very essential to all life; mine included.  I wonder why many of us do not stop to praise God more often for life and Gods magnificent, power, love and generosity.

The joy in loving God and all His laws and precepts, is a common theme of the Psalms.  To follow their example and the words of Jesus and many New Testament authors, brings deep joy to all who are faithful in love and obedience to them.  Galatians 2: 19 NKJ “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God” or the Clear Word Translation “When I first saw the true meaning of the laws God had given us and realized, that I was still a sinner because I was keeping these laws as a means of salvation, the legalist in me died.  This was good because it made me look to Christ as my Saviour instead of depending on what I could do.”

Jesus came to earth, many, many years after the Psalmist expressed his faith in God earned through faithful dependence, upon Almighty God and His message; supported what God had revealed of Himself so many years before.  God, His message, along with Jesus and what He said whilst He was on earth, has not changed for us in these times.  A knowledge of this brings such comfort and anchor point for all who believe, with faith in the living God.  John 14: 15 – 18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments; 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” The Holy Spirit has been with earth from the beginning – Genesis 1: 2”……..And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  Jesus tells the disciples in the above verses, that the Holy Spirit already dwells with them and will be in them.  Jesus also knows the loss and anguish the disciples will feel when He returns to heaven, and this same Holy Spirit, will be their ‘Helper’ or ‘Comforter’ when Jesus Himself will no longer be with them to fill this role.

The hard times and the attractions and distractions of everyday life and the world in which we live, can rob us of the blessings that God has in store for all who believe Him.  Jesus, to whom His Father revealed all things needful, during His long hours of solitary prayers to His Father, knew what was ahead for His every follower.  1 John 5: 4, 5 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.  Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  These verses are a good place to finish as I give thanks for all that has been given me, and that the ‘Helper’ is with me, and in my desire to grow closer and closer to Jesus and His likeness, and leave my worldly ways behind.

I give thanks to God, for a new day and a new week and my life.  I ask for wisdom to live this day, in His joy and wisdom, so I can be His type of person, and bring joy to other people.

I am contemplating scriptures from different writers, experiences and perspectives this morning and seek instruction and a deeper understanding of the ways of God, through His Holy Spirit.  Firstly Jeremiah, the prophet who was often woeful, as he dealt with perverse people and delivered stern and dire messages from God to people who wanted to do away with Jeremiah and so stop the messages.  How like we humans, to take no responsibility for our own actions, and instead ‘shoot this messenger’, thinking the consequences for our actions will just go away.  In the end things turned out to be just as God said they would be for the people.  Jeremiah was ever faithful to God, no matter the privation and rejection from his own people; may we always be faithful to God, though the ‘heavens fall’.  Jeremiah 15: 15, 16 “O lord, You know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.  In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.  Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.  Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”  Jeremiah listened to the words of God that he was asked to deliver to the nation, and he at least believed and drew direction and comfort from them, and so can we when reviled for believing and speaking Gods word to people.  V 20 “………. But they will not prevail against you;” says the Lord, “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Though my first response to having my wrong doing or errors pointed out is often to reject the thought or message, I have often found on reflection that I am wrong and need to change; and so this can be with the instruction and challengers found in God’s word.  Psalm 19: 12 – 14 “Who can understand his errors?  Cleanse me from secret faults. 13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.  Then I shall be blameless, and shall be innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”  To be in right doing, with God and my fellow man, in thought and deed, for me is more precious than much material wealth. The answer, as always can be found with God and His recorded spoken word, Psalm 19: 7, 8 “The law or the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”  V 10 “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”  This is truly so, when we assimilate Gods word into the mind and very person, as is the taking in and digesting food and water is to every part of the body and its workings.

Jesus warned of those who come with a false representation of Himself and Gods word, and so rob us of His blessing and reward.  May we all give heed to the words, of Jesus Christ, and be protected and nurtured by them.  Matthew 24: 24, 25 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ‘See, I have told you beforehand.’”  V 17 “For as lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  His coming Jesus foretells is not a quiet or secret event taking place in various parts of the world, but a very public, cataclysmic supernatural event for all to see.  Makes me ponder what Satan will do to impersonate Christ, with christs and false prophets?  V 30, 31 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Thank You dear Jesus for these words and warning, to keep us from being deceived by imposters, that appear in glorious light, looking like You, but do not actually fulfil the prophecies about Your way of coming again in entirety.  However our senses may be almost convinced, it is only knowledge of Your word that will save us from delusion.  Please open my heart and mind to take in all your words, so they are part of me.

 

Today I have been dragging myself around, as the result of insufficient sleep and many recent tasks; even so it is a day when I have known I was supported by God.  I am so grateful that God, in answer to my prayers, filled my heart with a sense of happiness and praises for Him.  I have enjoyed socialization with dear friends, as well as the opportunity to hear some thought provoking speaking and fine music.  Psalm 33: 18 “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.”  V 21, 22 “For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.  Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.”    

God spoke to Moses, and told him to speak to his brother Aaron and sons and request that they speak the following blessing upon the Israelite’s.  I love the fact that it is an oft spoken blessing upon those assembled at many Christian functions: down through the ages, unto these times.  Numbers 6: 24 – 26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”  I find  the reason  given for this blessing very meaningful, as it must have been for those people who came out of Egypt,  1000’s of years ago.  V 27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”  This was also precious in the mind of Paul of the early church, and I acknowledge the blessing of God upon myself and all who believe and claim His offered blessings, Ephesians 1: 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

There is no doubt about it for most people, even though we can find things and happenings to be grateful about, and much to thank and praise God for; that life on this earth is often hard and not always a lot of fun.  I believe we can come through and endure more positively, when we have an expectation for better times, and a hope that is anchored on a bright future with Christ in heaven.  Isaiah 57: 15 “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

John consolidates the hopes all who believe, when he relates what he was shown by an angel sent from heaven.   Revelation 22: 1-5 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb.  In the middle of the street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.  The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.  There shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light.  And they shall reign forever and ever.”

I am so grateful to God for His abundant blessings and care, and for the hope of eternal life, based on the many revelations from God to His prophets and faithful servants.  Heaven is not only portrayed as beautiful, but pure, for sin will not be taken to heaven.  How I long for the day when Jesus comes again.  As well as the day, when the devil and his angels can no longer perpetuate sin and temptation upon all of earth.

 

The message that comes through over and over again, in the different epistles written by the apostle Paul, is what Christ did for every individual by His life and sacrificial death and that He should be first for every believer and every congregational group.  Paul wanted the message in Colossians  read to the Laodicean group, as they were nearby.  Interestingly, Laodicea was referred to as the lukewarm church, when Jesus gave His revelations to John.  Revelation 3: 16, 17 “’So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,’ I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked –‘” 

It is the last day church that is named ‘lukewarm’ so I can see that Paul’s admonition is even more pertinent for the followers of God, at this time.  Colossians 2: 1 – 3 “For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  We also are surrounded by much V 8……. “philosophy and empty deceit, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”  When reviewing history and how we are going in this era, it is still the teachings of Christ and He in the life, which brings stability; above any ‘spin’ a human can come up with!  V 6, 7 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”  I just love the word abounding, it denotes such fulsome belief and whole hearted activity, that just asks for all words and actions, be done with thanksgiving.  For how could ‘abounding’ be accompanied by halfheartedness or being lukewarm’?  I ask God, that if I am spiritually lukewarm in some areas, to please reveal this to me, and fill me with His Spirit, so that I desire and am enabled to change, and thereby be truly ‘abounding’.

Psalm 119 is a Psalm that reveals whole hearted searching for God, so as to be His complete and whole hearted follower, and serves as an enduring example for all us.  V 10, 11 “With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!  11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. V 14 – 17 “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. 17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.” V28 “My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your word. 37 “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.”

It is apparent in the words of Gods own, in scripture and for those who have lived since then, that truly Jesus is our ‘all in all’; the ‘beginning and the end’,  the answer for us personally and for every spiritual need for everyone who accepts Him.  We are to take comfort that He came as predicted, and has promised, to come again, for those who follow Him with all their heart.  Isaiah 9: 6, 7 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Thank You Lord Jesus, please come soon.

The words of old hymns often come into my mind, impacting and bringing a blessing, just when I need the words, to lift me up to God.  I sometimes have gone down thought pathways that are not blessing me, and it is so good to be lifted up, by words God has given another in poetry, written to music.  I make the following words, a prayer today, as we contemplate passages of scripture.

O God, Unseen, Yet ever Near – Edward Ouler, (1798 – 1863)

“O God, unseen, yet ever near, reveal Thy presence now while we in love that hath no fear, before Thy glory bow.

Here may Thy faithful people know the blessings of Thy love, the streams that thro’ the desert flow, the manna from above.

We come, obedient to Thy word to feast on heav’nly food, our meat, the body of our Lord, our drink, His precious blood.

Thus may we all thy words obey, for we, o God, are Thine.  And go rejoicing on our way, renewed by strength divine.”

1 John 3: 1 – 3 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!  Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, 3 and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  To be pure as Jesus is such an attractive prospect; but until then there is much to purify out of the heart and life now while it is day, and Jesus tarries His coming.  Let us not waste a moment in the mobilizing of our God given abilities from the Holy Spirit’s power and direction, in preparing for the coming of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2 : 13 – 15 “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.”  I have often found when I have difficulty understanding some verses in scripture, that after prayer, and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak, understanding eventually comes; though it may be a day so later.  It always better to rely on coming to God with an prayerful heart and an open mind, and then allow scripture to interrupt itself by comparing scripture with scripture, than  going off with one verse, or going only to the understanding of another human person.  God will deliver on His promise to give understanding to every true human seeker after truth.    Proverbs 2: 3 “Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding.” V 5, 6 “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;”    I am so glad God provides understanding for His written word.  I now understand if it is so important for us to understand scripture, that He sends the Holy Spirit to bring understanding,  it behooves us to apply ourselves personally to reading scripture, and in the way He has revealed in His word.  Proverbs 3: 5, 6 ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”  

Thanks and praises to the God of my salvation, again today, Psalm 25: 1 “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” V4, 5 “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”

    

                                                                                                   

The evidences of the love of God are all around me, because I live within a sizeable garden, with natural bush land above my property, with uncut native trees on roadside and nearby properties. But even there the evidence of death, which came with sin, is also all around me in this same natural setting.  For all people who live, there are also the marks of sin evident that causes changes to the bloom of maturity progressing with age, eventually leading to physical death.  Just as deadly, but not on view to the eye of another person, are sinful thoughts and attitudes, some cherished, some coming unbidden into our mind; many not expressed, and some that are, which then makes those sins evident to others.  Many times we are not aware of our own sin and wrong doing, but the Holy Spirit prompts our conscience, and when we listen and repent, our conscience remains tender. When the speaking of the Holy Spirit and previously held morals of our conscience are continually ignored, we become hardened to promptings from the Holy Spirit, and can wind up doing wrongs; we had never imagined we could do.  Praises to God, for He does not give up on us, and whilst we have breath we can always repent, and be forgiven because of the boundless love and grace of God Almighty.  The boundless love and grace of God, does not mean that those who have been convicted and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour are free to continue in repeated premeditated sin!

Romans 6: 1, 2 “What shall we say then?  Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  When converted and filled with the love of Jesus, I have died to premeditated sin, but unfortunately still live in a body that has sinful tendencies that cause unplanned sinful thoughts and actions at times.  I am thankful, that as I allow Jesus to change me, over time I will be increasingly sanctified and reflect my Saviour more truly.  V 4 “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  1 Peter 4: 1 , 2 “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”  

Somehow for me it is heartening to know that these mighty apostles of the New Testament battled with sin and counseled the early church about the same issues that we contend with: out sinful tendencies in various guises!  Romans 6: 13 – 15 “Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace? 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?  Certainly not!  The consequences of the law cannot touch anyone who has accepted Jesus, repented of every known sin and been freely forgiven.  For there will be left no record of them; because they have all been forgiven by the grace of God extended to us, through the sacrificial death on the cross of His precious son, Jesus Christ.

As always as a sincere follower of God, we have everything to be thankful for, we are provided with everything physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally that we could ever need whilst on earth, with the expectation of a pure life in heaven.  1 Corinthians 2 : 9 – 11 “But as written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him?  Even so no one knows the things of God accept the Spirit of God.” 

Jesus when on earth talked on many things, but on many occasions spoke about the Kingdom of God.  Lest people should worry and lose hope beforehand or about  ever being in heaven, He gave encouragement about the sureness of heaven and that His faithful followers would be there one day.  I am thankful for the following well known words, and take comfort in them.   John 14: 1 – 3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 ‘In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”