Two days to the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Lord, the Messiah:
"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, Counsellor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Is. 9:6 NKJV
Whilst we are going to concentrate on His birth, I wish all of you in Russia, China, Japan, Latvia, Ukraine, Moldova, Equador, Canada, Brazil, USA, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, India, Australia, South Africa, Namibie, New Zealand, in fact, all over the world, to also think on Him as Father God's GIFT to you, each and every one individually.
He, the Son of God, was given to us as our Government - who will provide for us; whose spiritual laws of love, humility and service we are to honour and revere; on whose shoulder rested the guilt and sin and sickness and disease and unrighteousness of the whole world - and Who was willing to pay the price to redeem us all. He was given to us as Wonderful - the Person to worship and adore, to follow, to imitate. He was given to us as Counsellor - who is capable of leading us and advising us in every situation in our lives - Ps. 23 says "He leads us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake". He was given to us as Mighty God, who is capable of performing miracle after miracle - of healing the sick physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, of reconciling us with God, of reconciling us with each other, of raising and removing governments at His will. He was given to us as everlasting Father - father to the fatherless, to the motherless, to the rejected, to the unloved, to the poor, to the lonely... He was given to us as Prince of Peace to the restless, to the weary, to the tormented, to the battle fatigued... will you thank Father God with me for Him, the most wonderful gift to human kind ever bestowed on the earth?
And I want to thank you all for browsing this blogsite. Often I lay my hand on the screen of my computer and I ask God to bless each and every person who browses this blog - who reads these devotions - and I ask Him that you may find something here that is relevant and helpful to your life, to your problems, to your heart's cry.
May you all experience the joy of the Festive Season, may you vow to lay off something that may be unChristlike in your life, or a spirit of heaviness, or despair, or of hopelessness with the old year and put on the garments of praise and worship and ask and receive the gifts and fruits of the Spirit of God and experience love, joy and peace with the coming of the New Year.
God bless you one and all - Elizabeth
Friday 23 December 2011
Wednesday 21 December 2011
WILL YOU INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT...?
It is almost Christmas time again... just a few short days away...
I am reading a book about the life of Jesus and again noted the conversation between Mary and the angel as found in Luke, chapter one, and I am referring specifically to the conversation as described from verse 31:
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall
call His name Jesus."
Mary then queries from the angel:
"How can this be, since I do not know a man?" verse 34
and the angel answers:
"...the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy one who is to be born will be
called the Son of God." verse 35.
I have often pondered this conversation... often marvelled at the young teenage girl's response to such a controversial announcement made by the Heavenly messenger... because she, knowing the law and therefore the danger to her person should it become known that she was with child and not married... yet answered:
"Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your
word." verse 38
Agreeable... obedient... submissive... and once there... in that state of total submission and obedience, despite the circumstances, despite the lurking dangers, even the possibility of death... the angel departs to smooth her way by also appearing to Joseph... and the end result of this submission and obedience being the Christ of God becombing flesh and being born as a human being to fulfil step one of God's redemptive plans for human kind.
There is another instance in the Scriptures where similar words are uttered:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and
you shall witness to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the earth." Acts 1:8
This time of course it is our Lord Jesus himself speaking to his disciples...
These words were immediately preceded by His command to not leave Jerusalem but to wait for:
"...the Promise of the Father, "which", He said, "you have heard from Me; for
John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now." " Acts 1: 4,5.
Again, the response is obedience, submission, because we read in verse 12 of the same chapter:
"Then they returned to Jerusalem (after the ascension of Jesus to heaven) from
the Mount of Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. And
when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were
staying: " (My insertion between brackets)
until: "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy spirit and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1 4.
The words of Jesus were fulfilled and God's plan for the gospel to be spread across the whole world was set in motion - by obedience and submission to the command by Jesus.
What is God's plan for the earth in the here and now?
What is God's message for the earth here and now?
What is it that God wants you and me to do now?
What is the next step for the redemption of human kind?
Is it not the return of Christ to fetch his bride?
Are we not to preach that the coming of the Lord is at hand?
Is that not what God would have you and me do right now?
Are we obedient and submissive?
Or are we thwarting and delaying the final step of the redemption plan by disobedience and rebellion?
Thank You, Father God, for Your redemptive plan for all mankind. Help us please to submit and to preach the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to the world at large.
I am reading a book about the life of Jesus and again noted the conversation between Mary and the angel as found in Luke, chapter one, and I am referring specifically to the conversation as described from verse 31:
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall
call His name Jesus."
Mary then queries from the angel:
"How can this be, since I do not know a man?" verse 34
and the angel answers:
"...the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy one who is to be born will be
called the Son of God." verse 35.
I have often pondered this conversation... often marvelled at the young teenage girl's response to such a controversial announcement made by the Heavenly messenger... because she, knowing the law and therefore the danger to her person should it become known that she was with child and not married... yet answered:
"Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your
word." verse 38
Agreeable... obedient... submissive... and once there... in that state of total submission and obedience, despite the circumstances, despite the lurking dangers, even the possibility of death... the angel departs to smooth her way by also appearing to Joseph... and the end result of this submission and obedience being the Christ of God becombing flesh and being born as a human being to fulfil step one of God's redemptive plans for human kind.
There is another instance in the Scriptures where similar words are uttered:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and
you shall witness to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the earth." Acts 1:8
This time of course it is our Lord Jesus himself speaking to his disciples...
These words were immediately preceded by His command to not leave Jerusalem but to wait for:
"...the Promise of the Father, "which", He said, "you have heard from Me; for
John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now." " Acts 1: 4,5.
Again, the response is obedience, submission, because we read in verse 12 of the same chapter:
"Then they returned to Jerusalem (after the ascension of Jesus to heaven) from
the Mount of Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. And
when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were
staying: " (My insertion between brackets)
until: "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy spirit and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1 4.
The words of Jesus were fulfilled and God's plan for the gospel to be spread across the whole world was set in motion - by obedience and submission to the command by Jesus.
What is God's plan for the earth in the here and now?
What is God's message for the earth here and now?
What is it that God wants you and me to do now?
What is the next step for the redemption of human kind?
Is it not the return of Christ to fetch his bride?
Are we not to preach that the coming of the Lord is at hand?
Is that not what God would have you and me do right now?
Are we obedient and submissive?
Or are we thwarting and delaying the final step of the redemption plan by disobedience and rebellion?
Thank You, Father God, for Your redemptive plan for all mankind. Help us please to submit and to preach the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to the world at large.
Monday 19 December 2011
RECOGNIZING EACH OTHER...
This morning, driving to the office, approaching the traffic lights, I saw a man crossing the road, walking with great difficulty. When he saw that I slowed down so that he could take his time, he thanked me by raising him hand.
That's when I noticed that he was carrying a Bible in the other hand.
We were not far from Karl Bremer Provincial Hospital, so I took it for granted that that was where he was headed and as I had to pass the hospital anyway, I pulled off the road and offered him a lift. He explained that he was only going as far as the hospital, but knowing the steep incline to the hospital's main entrance once one had entered the grounds, I offered to take him there anyway.
He was thankful, praising God aloud as he climbed into the vehicle. I looked at him, we shook hands, said "Hallo", and I drove to the hospital grounds. I noticed that his face was aglow and recognized the beauty of the glory of our Lord emanating from him. At the gated, manned-entrance, I stopped and asked the guards if they would allow me to drive right up to the doors, instead of to the parking area, explaining I had a passenger I wished to take to the entrance. They peered into the car, and recognizing my passenger, I heard their loud, welcoming greetings: "Pastor! Pastor!"
He laughed softly and said: "They know me around here - I have been coming here for a long time."
When we reached the doors, he again thanked me politely. I assured him that it was an absolute privilege for me to have transported him. He got out and with difficulty proceeded through the hospital doors and I turned around and was on my way to the office, with such a feeling of absolute bliss and so happy that I could have been of assistance, even in such a very small way, to one of the saints of God.
Even though we were from totally different culture groups and had never met before, the Spirit testified that we were family the minute we laid eyes on each other. What a joy to serve our Lord!
It made me feel very small to think that he probably, with his walking difficulty, had been walking all the way from the bus or train route for at least a kilometer or two and would have to walk back all that distance again, yet he did so faithfully and without complaint.
It also stirred my soul to know that there were indeed others who also ministered to the patients in that hospital as it is the same one where a little group of people, of whom I am but one small part, ministers on Sundays.
I will not forget him. Will you remember him in your prayers?
"The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God." Rom. 8:16
Thank You, Lord, for saints who, despite their age, infirmaties, difficulties, needs, are faithfully spreading the Gospel daily in accordance with your command. Help us to see the need and to recognise opportunities to do the same.
That's when I noticed that he was carrying a Bible in the other hand.
We were not far from Karl Bremer Provincial Hospital, so I took it for granted that that was where he was headed and as I had to pass the hospital anyway, I pulled off the road and offered him a lift. He explained that he was only going as far as the hospital, but knowing the steep incline to the hospital's main entrance once one had entered the grounds, I offered to take him there anyway.
He was thankful, praising God aloud as he climbed into the vehicle. I looked at him, we shook hands, said "Hallo", and I drove to the hospital grounds. I noticed that his face was aglow and recognized the beauty of the glory of our Lord emanating from him. At the gated, manned-entrance, I stopped and asked the guards if they would allow me to drive right up to the doors, instead of to the parking area, explaining I had a passenger I wished to take to the entrance. They peered into the car, and recognizing my passenger, I heard their loud, welcoming greetings: "Pastor! Pastor!"
He laughed softly and said: "They know me around here - I have been coming here for a long time."
When we reached the doors, he again thanked me politely. I assured him that it was an absolute privilege for me to have transported him. He got out and with difficulty proceeded through the hospital doors and I turned around and was on my way to the office, with such a feeling of absolute bliss and so happy that I could have been of assistance, even in such a very small way, to one of the saints of God.
Even though we were from totally different culture groups and had never met before, the Spirit testified that we were family the minute we laid eyes on each other. What a joy to serve our Lord!
It made me feel very small to think that he probably, with his walking difficulty, had been walking all the way from the bus or train route for at least a kilometer or two and would have to walk back all that distance again, yet he did so faithfully and without complaint.
It also stirred my soul to know that there were indeed others who also ministered to the patients in that hospital as it is the same one where a little group of people, of whom I am but one small part, ministers on Sundays.
I will not forget him. Will you remember him in your prayers?
"The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God." Rom. 8:16
Thank You, Lord, for saints who, despite their age, infirmaties, difficulties, needs, are faithfully spreading the Gospel daily in accordance with your command. Help us to see the need and to recognise opportunities to do the same.
Tuesday 13 December 2011
GIANTS IN GOD'S KINGDOM
I have just read three biographies, one on the early life and ministry of Jimmy Swaggart, one on the life of John Wesley. I have read biographies on Wesley's life before. This one was written by Basil Miller who picked up on the life of John Wesley when John Wesley was only about 6 years old.
Jimmy Swaggart's story was co-written by himself and Robert Paul Lamb.
I never realised before that Jimmy Swaggart was a first cousin to Jerry Lee Lewis! They inherited the same genes - the same talents - and while both of them developed their talents and Jimmy Swaggart also was offered a contract by Jerry Lee Lewis's agent, he had to make a choice as to whether he was going to serve the same master.
What particularly struck me about John Wesley and Jimmy Swaggart both, though they lived hundreds of years apart, and they were totally different physically and with totally different talents and temperaments, was the fact that they were both rebels as teenagers. Rebels, who although they had handed over their lives to God as children, as teenagers rebelled against those decisions and, for a time, a season, were wayward and living lives totally opposite to that which they had promised God.
Reminded me of my own life...
Reminded me of the life of Saul of Tarsish...
Reminded me of the life of Jonah...
Reminded me of the lives of so many people...
But even as with Jonah, as they were running in the opposite direction to which they were supposed to be going, they could not run fast or far enough to escape the voice of God calling... calling... and both of them, in different centuries, eventually had to pay heed to God's call and obey His calling on their lives.
A couple of truths stuck out like sore thumbs - if there is a calling on your life - there is no escaping it.
The fact that there is a calling on your life does, however, not mean that you are a perfect human being - far from it. Yet, DESPITE the shortcomings, and imperfections, and rebellious nature, God does not give up on you ...
He waits patiently ... because no one knows you as God does. He created us and knows us inside out. He knows there will come a time, He knows exactly when it will be, if He keeps calling, that you will have to halt and heed His voice...
And once you have come to the point where you can do nothing but bow in total submission to His will, then God in His mercy can start forming you, equipping you, annointing you and using you to His glory.
Have you ever wondered what God could achieve through you if you were totally committed to Him?
A few stats from the life of John Wesley:
During 40 years he travelled approximately 250 000 miles (on horseback) - an average of at least 20 miles a day. He wrote more than 200 books, countless hymns with his brother Charles, edited another 200 odd books, owned a book shop for 40 years, - he even wrote an English dictionary! He started the first tract society, and the Methodist Church, of which he was the international leader for about 40 years! He used to get up at 4 in the morning and be busy with God's work until 10 at night. During the 40 years he preached on average 3 times a day!
WOW!
Jimmy Swaggart was a small town preacher when he started off, but in the 1970's his ministry was being broadcast on the air on 550 radio stations and telecasted over at least 200 television networks! He sold a million records a year, and a million tape cassettes a year!
WOW!
What would God be able to do through you and me if we were totally committed to Him? I hear you saying that you cannot sing... you are not musical... or ... you cannot preach ... submit yourself to God and He will use what you have... and add to your talents and abilities...
And it is not only men that God uses ... I also read the biography of Henrietta Mears... a lady whose passion for the Lord and the youth resulted in Sunday School material that she created and developed and which was used all over the world! She also had under her supervision a Sunday School growing from 42 students to 4200 students from which at least 400 young people were eventually ministering God's Word all over the world and four of her students started a movement to win students for the Lord, which eventually resulted in Campus Crusade for Christ being born!
WOW!
Are you perhaps running from your calling even now as you read this?
Are you ready to stop and heed God's voice?
Are you ready to commit your will to God's?
"...do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of
testing in the desert, " Heb. 3:8
Thank You Father God, for your patience with us while we run... knowing there will be a moment in time when we will have to stop and heed your voice. Help us to do so NOW to the glory and honour and expansion of your Kingdom on earth!
Jimmy Swaggart's story was co-written by himself and Robert Paul Lamb.
I never realised before that Jimmy Swaggart was a first cousin to Jerry Lee Lewis! They inherited the same genes - the same talents - and while both of them developed their talents and Jimmy Swaggart also was offered a contract by Jerry Lee Lewis's agent, he had to make a choice as to whether he was going to serve the same master.
What particularly struck me about John Wesley and Jimmy Swaggart both, though they lived hundreds of years apart, and they were totally different physically and with totally different talents and temperaments, was the fact that they were both rebels as teenagers. Rebels, who although they had handed over their lives to God as children, as teenagers rebelled against those decisions and, for a time, a season, were wayward and living lives totally opposite to that which they had promised God.
Reminded me of my own life...
Reminded me of the life of Saul of Tarsish...
Reminded me of the life of Jonah...
Reminded me of the lives of so many people...
But even as with Jonah, as they were running in the opposite direction to which they were supposed to be going, they could not run fast or far enough to escape the voice of God calling... calling... and both of them, in different centuries, eventually had to pay heed to God's call and obey His calling on their lives.
A couple of truths stuck out like sore thumbs - if there is a calling on your life - there is no escaping it.
The fact that there is a calling on your life does, however, not mean that you are a perfect human being - far from it. Yet, DESPITE the shortcomings, and imperfections, and rebellious nature, God does not give up on you ...
He waits patiently ... because no one knows you as God does. He created us and knows us inside out. He knows there will come a time, He knows exactly when it will be, if He keeps calling, that you will have to halt and heed His voice...
And once you have come to the point where you can do nothing but bow in total submission to His will, then God in His mercy can start forming you, equipping you, annointing you and using you to His glory.
Have you ever wondered what God could achieve through you if you were totally committed to Him?
A few stats from the life of John Wesley:
During 40 years he travelled approximately 250 000 miles (on horseback) - an average of at least 20 miles a day. He wrote more than 200 books, countless hymns with his brother Charles, edited another 200 odd books, owned a book shop for 40 years, - he even wrote an English dictionary! He started the first tract society, and the Methodist Church, of which he was the international leader for about 40 years! He used to get up at 4 in the morning and be busy with God's work until 10 at night. During the 40 years he preached on average 3 times a day!
WOW!
Jimmy Swaggart was a small town preacher when he started off, but in the 1970's his ministry was being broadcast on the air on 550 radio stations and telecasted over at least 200 television networks! He sold a million records a year, and a million tape cassettes a year!
WOW!
What would God be able to do through you and me if we were totally committed to Him? I hear you saying that you cannot sing... you are not musical... or ... you cannot preach ... submit yourself to God and He will use what you have... and add to your talents and abilities...
And it is not only men that God uses ... I also read the biography of Henrietta Mears... a lady whose passion for the Lord and the youth resulted in Sunday School material that she created and developed and which was used all over the world! She also had under her supervision a Sunday School growing from 42 students to 4200 students from which at least 400 young people were eventually ministering God's Word all over the world and four of her students started a movement to win students for the Lord, which eventually resulted in Campus Crusade for Christ being born!
WOW!
Are you perhaps running from your calling even now as you read this?
Are you ready to stop and heed God's voice?
Are you ready to commit your will to God's?
"...do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of
testing in the desert, " Heb. 3:8
Thank You Father God, for your patience with us while we run... knowing there will be a moment in time when we will have to stop and heed your voice. Help us to do so NOW to the glory and honour and expansion of your Kingdom on earth!
Friday 2 December 2011
GOD'S WORD CANNOT RETURN VOID
If you will read the devotion titled "Thorn in my flesh" you will know who I am going to tell you about now...
Well, as I said before, this lady found new employment, and left the Agency where I am employed.
On the last day, just before she left, when we said our good-byes, I asked her to try and remember some of the things we spoke about, and I also said to her, 'please remember that God wishes to have an intimate relationship with you; He wishes to be your friend, your husband, your lover... an intimate relationship is what He wishes to have with every person..'.
Well, she was gone, and peace descended on our office.... until I got a phone call from her the next Monday afternoon at about 16:20 when she asked whether I would be at our office until 17:00 as she wished to see me. She had something to tell me. I told her yes, I would still be there and would meet her at the door. She arrived promptly, waving her arms, eyes sparkling, until I had opened the glass door to let her in and then the tears just started pouring down her cheeks. Needless to say, I was surprised and a little concerned, until she opened her mouth. She said, 'You remember those words you said to me as I left the last day I was here... about God wanting to be my friend, husband, lover, well, you won't believe me, but they stayed with me. I could not rid myself of them and then one night as I was sitting outside my flat smoking a cigarette, I looked up at the sky and I started talking to God... and now I cannot stop! I have asked Him to forgive me, to take me into His fold, and since then I am so full of joy, and so blessed, and He has not stopped pouring out His blessings on me since... I cannot begin to tell you how full of joy I am! I have started reading my Bible and praising God and thanking Him for his goodness to me... !
Needless to say, I was also full of joy! We literally grabbed one another round the shoulders and were jumpting up and down, laughing, and thanking God for his mercy and grace and for meeting with her the moment she looked up to Him!
Wow! Isn't God faithful!
This will teach me never to give up hope with anyone again! Just to keep talking...
She asked me, 'How does it make you feel to know that you were instrumental in my meeting with God?' and I could tell her that God, in fact, does not need anyone, or let me rephrase that: He can use anyone, and does not need one specific person. It does not make me a special person because He chose to use me in this instance, but I am very thankful that He had!
I want to encourage you to not stop talking about our Lord; not to stop giving your testimony. There are so many spiritually hungry and starving people out in the world, and sometimes they do not even know what they are hungering after... don't stop. God will honour your faithfulness... keep going:
"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return
there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth
from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Is. 55: 10 - 11
Thank You, Lord, that Your Word remains the truth and the same, yesterday, today and forever. Thank You that You are willing to use us, Your humble creatures, to fulfil Your purposes on this earth. Help us to be ever obedient to Your voice and Your Spirit and to not give up on anybody.
Well, as I said before, this lady found new employment, and left the Agency where I am employed.
On the last day, just before she left, when we said our good-byes, I asked her to try and remember some of the things we spoke about, and I also said to her, 'please remember that God wishes to have an intimate relationship with you; He wishes to be your friend, your husband, your lover... an intimate relationship is what He wishes to have with every person..'.
Well, she was gone, and peace descended on our office.... until I got a phone call from her the next Monday afternoon at about 16:20 when she asked whether I would be at our office until 17:00 as she wished to see me. She had something to tell me. I told her yes, I would still be there and would meet her at the door. She arrived promptly, waving her arms, eyes sparkling, until I had opened the glass door to let her in and then the tears just started pouring down her cheeks. Needless to say, I was surprised and a little concerned, until she opened her mouth. She said, 'You remember those words you said to me as I left the last day I was here... about God wanting to be my friend, husband, lover, well, you won't believe me, but they stayed with me. I could not rid myself of them and then one night as I was sitting outside my flat smoking a cigarette, I looked up at the sky and I started talking to God... and now I cannot stop! I have asked Him to forgive me, to take me into His fold, and since then I am so full of joy, and so blessed, and He has not stopped pouring out His blessings on me since... I cannot begin to tell you how full of joy I am! I have started reading my Bible and praising God and thanking Him for his goodness to me... !
Needless to say, I was also full of joy! We literally grabbed one another round the shoulders and were jumpting up and down, laughing, and thanking God for his mercy and grace and for meeting with her the moment she looked up to Him!
Wow! Isn't God faithful!
This will teach me never to give up hope with anyone again! Just to keep talking...
She asked me, 'How does it make you feel to know that you were instrumental in my meeting with God?' and I could tell her that God, in fact, does not need anyone, or let me rephrase that: He can use anyone, and does not need one specific person. It does not make me a special person because He chose to use me in this instance, but I am very thankful that He had!
I want to encourage you to not stop talking about our Lord; not to stop giving your testimony. There are so many spiritually hungry and starving people out in the world, and sometimes they do not even know what they are hungering after... don't stop. God will honour your faithfulness... keep going:
"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return
there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth
from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Is. 55: 10 - 11
Thank You, Lord, that Your Word remains the truth and the same, yesterday, today and forever. Thank You that You are willing to use us, Your humble creatures, to fulfil Your purposes on this earth. Help us to be ever obedient to Your voice and Your Spirit and to not give up on anybody.
Monday 28 November 2011
TEARS OF REMORSE...
What a wonderful, eventful, busy week-end I've just had.
A barbeque with friends on Friday evening, cleaning house Saturday morning, a small tea party with other friends in the afternoon, then visiting my mom, who is now 88 and still as fit as a fiddle, and then to bed with a lovely book!
But it is Sunday morning that I want to share with you... Sunday mornings we have a service in the chapel at the Karl Bremer Hospital. This is a large Provincial Hospital.
Before every service we visit the wards and share and pray with those patients who for obvious reasons cannot come to the chapel and we invite those who are mobile to attend the service.
Well, this Sunday morning a young man attended for the first time. A very tall young man, 25 years of age, and a handsome speciman of God's created beings, BUT this young man had, from a very young age, become involved with drugs.... various kinds of drugs and he became addicted to them. According to his own testimony, he was one of the worst addicts around. So much so that his internal organs and intestines have all been harmed and damaged by these drugs. He has been told that he will be in the hospital for a very long time. He has now been weaned off the drugs but he is experiencing the most excruciating pain all day, every day and could hardly sit still long enough for our one hour long service. He listened very attentively for as long as he could and it was evident that he was taking everything in.
Afterwards he jumped up and walked up and down in the side isle. Not wanting to leave, but not being able to sit either. When we went over to talk to him and asked what his medical problems were, he was very honest and forthcoming about his addiction and in his own words he now realises how badly he has been treating his loved ones and friends for years past. According to him his mother looks at least 20 years older than her age. She also has a handicapped daughter that she is looking after. His parents have remained loving and have been very supportive through all of his years of addiction.
The wonderful thing about this young man is that he now realises his condition. He says that he actually feels sick when he thinks how many years he has wasted and how his abhorrent lifestyle has affected others. He is desperate to survive and to start making amends and to help his parents.
He cried real tears of remorse and he made a commitment to the Lord yesterday morning, and asked God to take over his life. My request to you today is to please remember him and his family in your prayers. Jesus has accepted him into the fold, just as did the father of the prodigal son in the Word of God.
We were happy to be able to tell him :
"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart
one believes unto righeousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation." Rom. 10: 9-10
All praise and glory to Jesus, our Lord!
Nothing is impossible for God to achieve!
Thank You, Lord, for Your saving grace. Thank You, that anyone who turns to you, in faith, confessing with the mouth and believing with the heart, IS saved! We praise and honour Your holy name. Help us to spread this basic message every day, wherever we go!
A barbeque with friends on Friday evening, cleaning house Saturday morning, a small tea party with other friends in the afternoon, then visiting my mom, who is now 88 and still as fit as a fiddle, and then to bed with a lovely book!
But it is Sunday morning that I want to share with you... Sunday mornings we have a service in the chapel at the Karl Bremer Hospital. This is a large Provincial Hospital.
Before every service we visit the wards and share and pray with those patients who for obvious reasons cannot come to the chapel and we invite those who are mobile to attend the service.
Well, this Sunday morning a young man attended for the first time. A very tall young man, 25 years of age, and a handsome speciman of God's created beings, BUT this young man had, from a very young age, become involved with drugs.... various kinds of drugs and he became addicted to them. According to his own testimony, he was one of the worst addicts around. So much so that his internal organs and intestines have all been harmed and damaged by these drugs. He has been told that he will be in the hospital for a very long time. He has now been weaned off the drugs but he is experiencing the most excruciating pain all day, every day and could hardly sit still long enough for our one hour long service. He listened very attentively for as long as he could and it was evident that he was taking everything in.
Afterwards he jumped up and walked up and down in the side isle. Not wanting to leave, but not being able to sit either. When we went over to talk to him and asked what his medical problems were, he was very honest and forthcoming about his addiction and in his own words he now realises how badly he has been treating his loved ones and friends for years past. According to him his mother looks at least 20 years older than her age. She also has a handicapped daughter that she is looking after. His parents have remained loving and have been very supportive through all of his years of addiction.
The wonderful thing about this young man is that he now realises his condition. He says that he actually feels sick when he thinks how many years he has wasted and how his abhorrent lifestyle has affected others. He is desperate to survive and to start making amends and to help his parents.
He cried real tears of remorse and he made a commitment to the Lord yesterday morning, and asked God to take over his life. My request to you today is to please remember him and his family in your prayers. Jesus has accepted him into the fold, just as did the father of the prodigal son in the Word of God.
We were happy to be able to tell him :
"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart
one believes unto righeousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation." Rom. 10: 9-10
All praise and glory to Jesus, our Lord!
Nothing is impossible for God to achieve!
Thank You, Lord, for Your saving grace. Thank You, that anyone who turns to you, in faith, confessing with the mouth and believing with the heart, IS saved! We praise and honour Your holy name. Help us to spread this basic message every day, wherever we go!
Thursday 24 November 2011
LET'S NOW RETURN TO HIS INNER CIRCLE OF FRIENDS...
His disciples... in Jerusalem, after He was resurrected ... we find some of them together and they are telling Thomas that Jesus had been resurrected and that He is alive and that He has been seen by some of them... and Thomas says :
"...unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the
nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John
20:25
(In South Africa we have a saying for somebody who does not believe what a person is saying: "unbelieving Thomas" - It is obvious where that originated.)
Yet, in Luke 9: 18-20 Jesus asks his disciples:
"... but who do you say I am?"
Peter answers:
"The Christ of God."
and we do not hear Thomas disagreeing or denying this fact at that time. So obviously he also believed that Jesus was the Christ. He just did not believe that Jesus had been risen from the dead!
And since that day to this, there have been many people who only believe certain portions of the Word of God, but argue other points... even professors of Theology, clergyman, preachers... have doubts about the virgin birth of Christ, His death, His resurrection, whether in fact He was ascended to heaven ...
Do you have any such doubts?
Then, eight days after the incident described above, the disciples are together again in a locked room and Thomas is with them this time, and suddenly WHAM! Jesus is in their midst. No one opened any doors or windows for Him to enter - no, He is JUST THERE! Present in their midst. And without further ado, knowing Thomas also to his core, Jesus said to Thomas:
"...Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here,
and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." John 20: 27
He knew the exact words that Thomas had spoken, even though He was not physically present when they were uttered by Thomas!
Isn't He a mighty God?
Thomas thought so too, for he exclaimed:
"My Lord and my God!" John 20: 28
You see, it does not matter who you are, where you are, what your sins, iniquities, unrighteousness, faults, shortcomings, weaknesses, good points, strengths are - He, our Lord, is omnipresent, and He knows about your beliefs and unbeliefs... our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, the Christ of God knows you to the core! May as well surrender to Him... surely there is no other God like Him!
Thank You, Lord! What a comfort it is to know that You know me so well! That also means that You know my every need, knows when I am in danger, knows when I am suffering, when I am sad... when I am thankful or glad; thank You that there is no one like You. Help us to surrender totally to You in faith and to trust You completely.
"...unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the
nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John
20:25
(In South Africa we have a saying for somebody who does not believe what a person is saying: "unbelieving Thomas" - It is obvious where that originated.)
Yet, in Luke 9: 18-20 Jesus asks his disciples:
"... but who do you say I am?"
Peter answers:
"The Christ of God."
and we do not hear Thomas disagreeing or denying this fact at that time. So obviously he also believed that Jesus was the Christ. He just did not believe that Jesus had been risen from the dead!
And since that day to this, there have been many people who only believe certain portions of the Word of God, but argue other points... even professors of Theology, clergyman, preachers... have doubts about the virgin birth of Christ, His death, His resurrection, whether in fact He was ascended to heaven ...
Do you have any such doubts?
Then, eight days after the incident described above, the disciples are together again in a locked room and Thomas is with them this time, and suddenly WHAM! Jesus is in their midst. No one opened any doors or windows for Him to enter - no, He is JUST THERE! Present in their midst. And without further ado, knowing Thomas also to his core, Jesus said to Thomas:
"...Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here,
and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." John 20: 27
He knew the exact words that Thomas had spoken, even though He was not physically present when they were uttered by Thomas!
Isn't He a mighty God?
Thomas thought so too, for he exclaimed:
"My Lord and my God!" John 20: 28
You see, it does not matter who you are, where you are, what your sins, iniquities, unrighteousness, faults, shortcomings, weaknesses, good points, strengths are - He, our Lord, is omnipresent, and He knows about your beliefs and unbeliefs... our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, the Christ of God knows you to the core! May as well surrender to Him... surely there is no other God like Him!
Thank You, Lord! What a comfort it is to know that You know me so well! That also means that You know my every need, knows when I am in danger, knows when I am suffering, when I am sad... when I am thankful or glad; thank You that there is no one like You. Help us to surrender totally to You in faith and to trust You completely.
Wednesday 23 November 2011
WILL YOU COME BACK TO SAMARIA AND GALILEE WITH HIM...
to the spot where he meets with 10 lepers?
"...then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were
lepers, who stood afar of. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us!" Luke 17: 12-13
You see, because of their leprosy, they, according to the Jewish laws, had to remain a certain distance from all other people. They were deemed 'unclean', having a contagious disease, almost as people with AIDS are being viewed by modern society today - there was a stigma attached to them - so they could not come close to Jesus but had to shout at him from a distance... and He, because He knew all this, did not even ask them to come close to be healed, no, we read :
"So when He saw them, He said to them, "go, show yourselves to the
priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed." Luke
17:14
Jesus knew that to prove that they were healed, or clean, they would have to get clearance from the priests in order to return to their families and their homes, so He does not even say : "You are healed" or "Be healed" or "Be clean", no He just sends them straight to the priests to get the required clearance.
He also knew that they would only get cleansed and healed if they had faith enough in His words, to obey His command and go before they could see that they were in fact healed! He also saw to the core of them whether they indeed had that faith!
And they did! And they went! And they were cleansed!
Do you and I have faith like these men?
You see, the Word of God says we are all unclean. Maybe not of leprosy or Aids, but because of sin.
"For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard." Rom. 3:23
Sin separates us from the presence and glory of God. Will you have enough faith to "shout to God" from a distance to ask for cleansing and healing of your sinful nature? He is waiting. He sees you. He sees to the core of you whether you really are desirous to be clean and if, in faith, you accept that He can and wants to cleanse you, He will do it now this minute!
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes on Him, shall have eternal life." John 3:16
Do you? Will you?
Thank You, Lord God, that You can cleanse of anything - any sin, any unrighteousness, any disease, any criminal tendencies, any obsession, any addiction, anything whatsoever. Thank You that You are willing to do so, even NOW this minute. Help us to have enough faith to approach You and to believe Your words and to act on them as the lepers did.
"...then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were
lepers, who stood afar of. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us!" Luke 17: 12-13
You see, because of their leprosy, they, according to the Jewish laws, had to remain a certain distance from all other people. They were deemed 'unclean', having a contagious disease, almost as people with AIDS are being viewed by modern society today - there was a stigma attached to them - so they could not come close to Jesus but had to shout at him from a distance... and He, because He knew all this, did not even ask them to come close to be healed, no, we read :
"So when He saw them, He said to them, "go, show yourselves to the
priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed." Luke
17:14
Jesus knew that to prove that they were healed, or clean, they would have to get clearance from the priests in order to return to their families and their homes, so He does not even say : "You are healed" or "Be healed" or "Be clean", no He just sends them straight to the priests to get the required clearance.
He also knew that they would only get cleansed and healed if they had faith enough in His words, to obey His command and go before they could see that they were in fact healed! He also saw to the core of them whether they indeed had that faith!
And they did! And they went! And they were cleansed!
Do you and I have faith like these men?
You see, the Word of God says we are all unclean. Maybe not of leprosy or Aids, but because of sin.
"For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard." Rom. 3:23
Sin separates us from the presence and glory of God. Will you have enough faith to "shout to God" from a distance to ask for cleansing and healing of your sinful nature? He is waiting. He sees you. He sees to the core of you whether you really are desirous to be clean and if, in faith, you accept that He can and wants to cleanse you, He will do it now this minute!
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes on Him, shall have eternal life." John 3:16
Do you? Will you?
Thank You, Lord God, that You can cleanse of anything - any sin, any unrighteousness, any disease, any criminal tendencies, any obsession, any addiction, anything whatsoever. Thank You that You are willing to do so, even NOW this minute. Help us to have enough faith to approach You and to believe Your words and to act on them as the lepers did.
Monday 21 November 2011
LET'S KEEP WALKING TO JERICHO...
where Jesus meets another rich man... Zacchaeus... who was sitting in a Sycamore, or Wild Fig, tree... !!?
Can you believe a rich man today climbing into a tree to see Jesus? I am sure if we knew Jesus was physically here and it was the only way to catch a glimpse of Him many of us, rich or poor, would do just that...
We know quite a lot about this man Zacchaeus... we know that he was short, rich, desperate to see Jesus and he was the head of all the tax collectors. In to-day's language he was the person nationally in charge of SARS (in South African terms) or National Inland Revenue - so, also an important man, with high financial qualifications... a prestigious person with status, and a lot of friends...we also know that he lived in Jericho and that, although he was rich, he was not a haughty person...and he was hated by the Jews.
"... Now behold, there was a man named Zaccheus who was a chief tax
collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but
could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran
ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him..." Luke 19:2-4
When Jesus saw him, He saw much more than anybody else. He not only knew that Zacchaeus was in the sycamore tree waiting to see Him, but again, having looked through to the core of this man, He knew that although Zacchaeus was a crook, and someone who was despised by the Jews, and that because of his crookedness, he was a sinner and lost, Jesus also saw and knew that he had a yearning to be loved and accepted and was ready to meet Jesus and to accept Him as his Saviour and Lord.
And so Jesus said to him:
..."Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your
house." Luke 19:5
Zacchaeus was so full of joy that Jesus, whom he probably deemed as no more than a prophet at the time, was prepared to meet and eat with him in his house, that he immediately undertook to not only give back what he has stolen but to give half of all that he owned to the poor.... Isn't it amazing when we compare the rich young man in the previous devotion, to this rich man, that the one Jesus loved immediately because he was a righteous man, according to the law of the then church, sadly turned away, whilst the rich man who everyone knew was a crook and a liar, was prepared to turn to and follow Jesus?
"Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my
goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusa-
tion, I restore it fourfold." " Luke 19:8
What happened to this man?
"And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he
also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save
that which was lost." Luke 19:9-10
He was lost; yet he was prepared to accept Jesus's invitation. He had a change of heart, of attitude, of direction. He made a distinct decision to do that which is good and to follow Jesus. He repented, but not only repented, he also changed his ways!
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5: 17
Thank You, Lord, that it is your desire to reconcile us to You. Thank You that you are prepared to seek and to save those who are lost. Help us to admit when we are lost, and to accept Your invitation to reconciliation to God.
Can you believe a rich man today climbing into a tree to see Jesus? I am sure if we knew Jesus was physically here and it was the only way to catch a glimpse of Him many of us, rich or poor, would do just that...
We know quite a lot about this man Zacchaeus... we know that he was short, rich, desperate to see Jesus and he was the head of all the tax collectors. In to-day's language he was the person nationally in charge of SARS (in South African terms) or National Inland Revenue - so, also an important man, with high financial qualifications... a prestigious person with status, and a lot of friends...we also know that he lived in Jericho and that, although he was rich, he was not a haughty person...and he was hated by the Jews.
"... Now behold, there was a man named Zaccheus who was a chief tax
collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but
could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran
ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him..." Luke 19:2-4
When Jesus saw him, He saw much more than anybody else. He not only knew that Zacchaeus was in the sycamore tree waiting to see Him, but again, having looked through to the core of this man, He knew that although Zacchaeus was a crook, and someone who was despised by the Jews, and that because of his crookedness, he was a sinner and lost, Jesus also saw and knew that he had a yearning to be loved and accepted and was ready to meet Jesus and to accept Him as his Saviour and Lord.
And so Jesus said to him:
..."Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your
house." Luke 19:5
Zacchaeus was so full of joy that Jesus, whom he probably deemed as no more than a prophet at the time, was prepared to meet and eat with him in his house, that he immediately undertook to not only give back what he has stolen but to give half of all that he owned to the poor.... Isn't it amazing when we compare the rich young man in the previous devotion, to this rich man, that the one Jesus loved immediately because he was a righteous man, according to the law of the then church, sadly turned away, whilst the rich man who everyone knew was a crook and a liar, was prepared to turn to and follow Jesus?
"Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my
goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusa-
tion, I restore it fourfold." " Luke 19:8
What happened to this man?
"And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he
also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save
that which was lost." Luke 19:9-10
He was lost; yet he was prepared to accept Jesus's invitation. He had a change of heart, of attitude, of direction. He made a distinct decision to do that which is good and to follow Jesus. He repented, but not only repented, he also changed his ways!
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5: 17
Thank You, Lord, that it is your desire to reconcile us to You. Thank You that you are prepared to seek and to save those who are lost. Help us to admit when we are lost, and to accept Your invitation to reconciliation to God.
Wednesday 16 November 2011
LET'S TAKE A WALK WITH JESUS
to the Samaritan woman at the well....
Jesus was not supposed to be in that area; or at the well; or speaking to the woman; or asking her for water... because there was complete "apartheid" between the Jews and the Samaritans at the time... yet He was and He did... because that is the kind of God He is... He does not differenciate between people. He cares for all and soon thereafter died for everyone.
She also queried his behaviour. But His whole conversation with her was just 'an opening line' to get to the point where He eventually changes the gist of the whole conversation and says to her:
"Go, call your husband, and come here." John 4: 16
This is where He wanted to be... already as with the rich young man, Jesus had looked to the very core of her being... knowing all about all, He saw her need, her emptiness, her longing to be in a fulfilled relationship which she herself, maybe, did not understand and which she was unable to achieve even after five husbands and a lover. She did not understand that the only relationship that brings true joy and fulfillment is that which a person has with God. And so, when she answers:
"I have no husband." verse 17
Jesus expands on her answer by saying:
"You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and
the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
John 4: 18
He does not judge her. Judging will be done before the throne of Almighty God... Instead He offers her the only relationship that will ever bring her the fulfilment she seeks and she accepts. Not only does she accept, but fetches not only her lover, but the population of her whole town to meet with Jesus to also personally enter into and experience a relationship with Him.
Thank You, Lord, that Your Word never returns to You empty but it achieves that which it was sent for. Thank You that You desire to have a personal relationship with each and every person on this earth. Help us to also invite others to share in the wonderful relationship that we have with You so that they too may experience fulfilment and joy for eternity.
Jesus was not supposed to be in that area; or at the well; or speaking to the woman; or asking her for water... because there was complete "apartheid" between the Jews and the Samaritans at the time... yet He was and He did... because that is the kind of God He is... He does not differenciate between people. He cares for all and soon thereafter died for everyone.
She also queried his behaviour. But His whole conversation with her was just 'an opening line' to get to the point where He eventually changes the gist of the whole conversation and says to her:
"Go, call your husband, and come here." John 4: 16
This is where He wanted to be... already as with the rich young man, Jesus had looked to the very core of her being... knowing all about all, He saw her need, her emptiness, her longing to be in a fulfilled relationship which she herself, maybe, did not understand and which she was unable to achieve even after five husbands and a lover. She did not understand that the only relationship that brings true joy and fulfillment is that which a person has with God. And so, when she answers:
"I have no husband." verse 17
Jesus expands on her answer by saying:
"You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and
the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
John 4: 18
He does not judge her. Judging will be done before the throne of Almighty God... Instead He offers her the only relationship that will ever bring her the fulfilment she seeks and she accepts. Not only does she accept, but fetches not only her lover, but the population of her whole town to meet with Jesus to also personally enter into and experience a relationship with Him.
Thank You, Lord, that Your Word never returns to You empty but it achieves that which it was sent for. Thank You that You desire to have a personal relationship with each and every person on this earth. Help us to also invite others to share in the wonderful relationship that we have with You so that they too may experience fulfilment and joy for eternity.
Monday 14 November 2011
THE RICH YOUNG MAN AND JESUS
We read an account of this young man's meeting with the Lord in more than one of the Gospels, but I prefer the report in Mark.
This rich young man ran to Jesus and asked Him a very important question:
"Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Mark 10:17
This is a question that every person should consider.
This young man was so passionate about this matter that the Word says he ran to Jesus, and knelt at His feet before asking Him this most important of all questions?
And the Lord Jesus referred him to the ten commandments as we find them recorded in Deut. 20. :
"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill,
Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father
and mother" Mark 10:19
The young man then boldly states that he has kept these from his youth, in reply to which Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing:
"... go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me." verse 21
And the sad response of the young man was that he "went away grieved: for he had great possessions."
The most interesting part of this chapter follows after the young man has left, when Jesus turns to his disciples and tells them how difficult if would be for some people to gain entrance to the Kingdom of God:
"And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again,
and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to
enter into the Kingdom of God." Mark 10:24
...them that trust in riches... And then the Lord carries on to say:
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God." verse 25
Of course Jesus was not talking about a needle that you and I would use for sewing... No, He was in fact referring to an entrance in the wall of the city of old Jerusalem.
In those days they relied on camels to carry their luggage, baggage, goods of trade. And this entrance into the city was especially for the camels. BUT oftentimes the camels could not enter with the luggage or goods on their backs - the gate was too narrow - they had to kneel and be relieved of everything on their backs before they could enter the city!
This then, is what Jesus was saying: For those of you who rely on and trust in your worldly goods - it will do you no good, because it cannot get you into the Kingdom. You cannot pay your way into the Kingdom. You will have to kneel and leave it all behind!
Trust in God at all times for everything, but especially for salvation and eternal life!
Thank You, Lord, that it does not depend on what we possess, whether we will one day enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. No, it will depend entirely upon our trust and love in and for God and ou acceptance of the price that the Lord Jesus has paid for our sins and salvation. Thank You that we are all equal in your sight!
This rich young man ran to Jesus and asked Him a very important question:
"Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Mark 10:17
This is a question that every person should consider.
This young man was so passionate about this matter that the Word says he ran to Jesus, and knelt at His feet before asking Him this most important of all questions?
And the Lord Jesus referred him to the ten commandments as we find them recorded in Deut. 20. :
"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill,
Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father
and mother" Mark 10:19
The young man then boldly states that he has kept these from his youth, in reply to which Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing:
"... go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me." verse 21
And the sad response of the young man was that he "went away grieved: for he had great possessions."
The most interesting part of this chapter follows after the young man has left, when Jesus turns to his disciples and tells them how difficult if would be for some people to gain entrance to the Kingdom of God:
"And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again,
and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to
enter into the Kingdom of God." Mark 10:24
...them that trust in riches... And then the Lord carries on to say:
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God." verse 25
Of course Jesus was not talking about a needle that you and I would use for sewing... No, He was in fact referring to an entrance in the wall of the city of old Jerusalem.
In those days they relied on camels to carry their luggage, baggage, goods of trade. And this entrance into the city was especially for the camels. BUT oftentimes the camels could not enter with the luggage or goods on their backs - the gate was too narrow - they had to kneel and be relieved of everything on their backs before they could enter the city!
This then, is what Jesus was saying: For those of you who rely on and trust in your worldly goods - it will do you no good, because it cannot get you into the Kingdom. You cannot pay your way into the Kingdom. You will have to kneel and leave it all behind!
Trust in God at all times for everything, but especially for salvation and eternal life!
Thank You, Lord, that it does not depend on what we possess, whether we will one day enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. No, it will depend entirely upon our trust and love in and for God and ou acceptance of the price that the Lord Jesus has paid for our sins and salvation. Thank You that we are all equal in your sight!
Wednesday 9 November 2011
THANK YOU
Today, I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who has so far browsed this blog: from Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Moldova, Tanzania, Germany, Holland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Equador, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, WOW!!!, this has, to date, been a marvellous experience for me. Please forgive me if I have left anybody or any country out...
I trust that one of these days you will start leaving me a comment or two. That would be really lovely.
I am on my way to a prayer meeting now and I will remember you all in my prayers and ask the Lord to bless you, keep you, protect you, heal you and provide for you.
It would be lovely knowing that you remember me in your prayers as well.
"If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer."
Ps. 66: 18-19
"Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to
establish it - the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and
will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."
Jer. 33: 2-3
Thank You, Lord, for each and every person who has ever hit this blog. Will you please bless them one and all this very hour, and let them experience your presence daily in their lives. Thank You, that we may intercede for one another and that the distance between us has no significance whatsoever for You are present all over the earth.
I trust that one of these days you will start leaving me a comment or two. That would be really lovely.
I am on my way to a prayer meeting now and I will remember you all in my prayers and ask the Lord to bless you, keep you, protect you, heal you and provide for you.
It would be lovely knowing that you remember me in your prayers as well.
"If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer."
Ps. 66: 18-19
"Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to
establish it - the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and
will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."
Jer. 33: 2-3
Thank You, Lord, for each and every person who has ever hit this blog. Will you please bless them one and all this very hour, and let them experience your presence daily in their lives. Thank You, that we may intercede for one another and that the distance between us has no significance whatsoever for You are present all over the earth.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
THROUGH GOD'S EYES
I have two pairs of prescription glasses. One pair for reading and one pair for driving and distant vision.
Yesterday morning I had to drive to the Municipality to renew my car license. On the way, I suddenly realised that I was not feeling too good - not too comfortable - something was amiss - and then it dawned on me that I was driving with my reading glasses on!
I changed them immediately and suddenly it was a whole new world out there!! The trees were so green and beautiful and the sky so blue... even the colours of the other vehicles on the road were so much brighter - in fact, the whole world was so much brighter and more beautiful and I realised that immediately I was also feeling a whole lot better in myself - I remember I started singing as I was driving along...
"And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and
tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that
it was good." Gen. 1:12
"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good"
Gen. 1:31
And it is the same in life. Sometimes we view our circumstances, and challenges, and trials also "through reading glasses" instead of our multifocles or distant vision glasses!! And when we do, everything seems such a drag, dull, lifeless, we are listless, apathetic, or it's 'simply too much trouble to be bothered with', and we just cannot see ourselves making it through whatever is facing us that day!!
And the solution is simply to look at it with our distance vision glasses... to see the whole picture and not just to focus on the here and now - the challenge facing us this minute... but to look up ... look to tomorrow... look to the Source of your power and strength and endurance and victory! Look to the end result of what you're aiming to achieve!
Behold! Look! See - through God's eyes - they are our proper 'prescription glasses' for looking at our lives - that it is good! Life is good! You are good! God only added the "very" to the "good" after he had created man in His own image! If He thinks that creating you was "very good" then it certainly was and then you certainly are!
"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Ps. 118:24
Thank You, Lord, for this day - whatever it may bring - You have made it good! I will rejoice and be glad in it! I will put on the proper glasses and look at this day through Your eyes!
Yesterday morning I had to drive to the Municipality to renew my car license. On the way, I suddenly realised that I was not feeling too good - not too comfortable - something was amiss - and then it dawned on me that I was driving with my reading glasses on!
I changed them immediately and suddenly it was a whole new world out there!! The trees were so green and beautiful and the sky so blue... even the colours of the other vehicles on the road were so much brighter - in fact, the whole world was so much brighter and more beautiful and I realised that immediately I was also feeling a whole lot better in myself - I remember I started singing as I was driving along...
"And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and
tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that
it was good." Gen. 1:12
"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good"
Gen. 1:31
And it is the same in life. Sometimes we view our circumstances, and challenges, and trials also "through reading glasses" instead of our multifocles or distant vision glasses!! And when we do, everything seems such a drag, dull, lifeless, we are listless, apathetic, or it's 'simply too much trouble to be bothered with', and we just cannot see ourselves making it through whatever is facing us that day!!
And the solution is simply to look at it with our distance vision glasses... to see the whole picture and not just to focus on the here and now - the challenge facing us this minute... but to look up ... look to tomorrow... look to the Source of your power and strength and endurance and victory! Look to the end result of what you're aiming to achieve!
Behold! Look! See - through God's eyes - they are our proper 'prescription glasses' for looking at our lives - that it is good! Life is good! You are good! God only added the "very" to the "good" after he had created man in His own image! If He thinks that creating you was "very good" then it certainly was and then you certainly are!
"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Ps. 118:24
Thank You, Lord, for this day - whatever it may bring - You have made it good! I will rejoice and be glad in it! I will put on the proper glasses and look at this day through Your eyes!
Tuesday 1 November 2011
IN THE FORECOURTS OF YOUR TEMPLE
For the past two Sunday mornings our pastor, Alwyn Fouche, has preached from Ps. 84. What a beautiful Psalm this is.
The first verse tells of the songwriters' longing to be in the house of God – because they had been taken captive and were in Babylon at the time – far away from their home and the temple of their memories... missing the many opportunies they had to be in God's presence.
But what really spoke to me was verse 3:
“Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young, at your altars, o Lord of hosts, my King
and my God.”
The altar was not in the holy sanctuary, or in the most holies – no, in was in the forecourts of the temple – where everyone was welcome, and came to worship and to bring the offerings which were to be sacrificed to God.
And here, at the altar, where blood was being spilt every day, where animals were slaughtered and killed, the sparrow and the swallow, although so tiny compared to the beasts that were being slaughtered, so insignificant in the order of things, understood that it was still a safe place for them to have their nests and to lay their eggs and care for their young...
In another Scripture God says words to the effect that he will meet with His people in the forecourts of His holy temple – there He will there dwell with them.
We are so privileged to be able to visit places where God is being worshipped – churches where people gather in the name of the Almighty Triune God, where all are welcome to come into His presence.
“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah”
Ps. 84: 4
The little word “dwell” has such wonderful meaning in the Hebrew: I am told it can literally be translated as “being married to the presence of God”... think about that...dwelling in the presence of God. Being united with the presence of God. The verse carries on saying “ever singing your praise!” I wonder if the sparrows and the swallows understood that they were also welcome and free to “sing His praise!” in the temple where they dwelt in His presence. Their young might not have understood, but if they were hungry, they would certainly have "sung"...
“My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh
sing for joy to the living God.” Ps. 84: 2
Do we also long, yes faint, for the house (courts) of the Lord? To be there, whether it be on a Saturday, or a Sunday? Do we take the time off our busy lives to sit and listen to and absorb the Word of the Lord, and to sing His praises with our heart and our flesh?
Our church buildings are not the “holy of holies”, not even the “holy sanctuary”, merely the forecourts of God's house. One day when we see Him face to face we will be with Him in the Holy of Holies, yet He said he would dwell with His people in the forecourts of His temple...
Verse 4 ends with the word “Selah” - this literally means “pause – and think about that... “
One does not know the value of what you have until it is taken away from you.
Time to pause and reflect: Would I miss going to the Lord's house, singing praises to His name with the congregation when I can no longer attend because of distance, or illness, or lack of transport or facilities or old age or no longer legally being allowed to do so?
Then why not enjoy it while we may?
There is the story of two men who were in conversation about church attendance. The first one said to the other: “You know, for 30 years I have been attending church every Sunday yet I cannot even remember one of the sermons that I heard. Obviously there is no benefit in church attendance at all.”
The second answered: “You know, my wife has been cooking me delicious meals all of our 34 years of married life, and although I ate and enjoyed them all, I cannot remember what they consisted of, but this I know, if I had not eaten them these 34 years, I would not still be alive and in good health!”
"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do... "
Heb. 10:25
"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do... "
Heb. 10:25
Selah
Thank You, Lord, for so many wonderful privileges which we enjoy. Thank You that we may come into Your presence at any time. Thank You that we are privileged to have “forecourts” where we may gather in Your name and sing praises to your glory.
Monday 31 October 2011
BEAUTY FOR ASHES
The other day I visited someone and noticed 3 small ornamental boxes on the one corner table. On the lids of these boxes were engraved the names of two dogs and a cat with their dates of birth and dates of demise... I realised that these tiny, expensive little boxes held the ashes of three beloved pets...
Now I know that some people also keep the ashes of their departed loved ones in urns, or caskets, in their homes, and whilst I understand that they loved them, miss them, long for them, are sad to have lost them, as we all are who have had to deal with the loss of a beloved, personally I have not been able to understand what good it does to keep the ashes in the home...
The beloved is no longer with us... no longer here... the ashes are portion of the remains of the coffin or burial casket they were in, the material used to fuel the cremation fires, and a small portion may be that of the departed beloved.
When I look at the urns containing the ashes of late acquaintances, it does not conjure up memories of that person... In fact, it makes me feel as if I am visiting a graveyard... Yet, I know that a number of people absolutely treasure the ashes of the departed.
I sat and looked at these tiny little boxes and wondered what emotions they evoked in the humans whose pets these were... Does it bring fond memories, or does it evoke feelings of loss, emotional pain, sadness, grief?
Then I wondered whether they were actually treasuring and coveting the ashes... or perhaps... the feelings?
Why not rather just keep our wonderful memories alive in the library of our minds to recall at times when we feel the loss, or the pain and so bring a smile to our lips and a gentle sparkle to the eyes?
I recalled a Scripture that dealt with ashes in the Bible:
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath annointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they
might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he
might be glorified." Is. 61: 1-3.
Whilst I have also mourned the loss of a father, a child, a fiancè, a sister, and a number of friends during my lifetime, the losses have made me realise just how precious life is... how much we have to be thankful for, how short life is, and how much there is to enjoy every day...
Are we subconsciously 'punishing' ourselves because we survived? Because we are still here? Because we can still enjoy life?
Some of us also tend to pamper and covet the "ashes" of other experiences in our lives: disappointment, broken relationships, failure, financial loss, and so allow and give way to 'the spirit of heaviness' that the Scripture talks about.
I had to ask myself these questions:
Are we sometimes captives, prisoners of, and bound by our own emotions of grief to the extent where it is impossible for God to comfort us, to give us new joy? So that it becomes impossible for us to praise Him and instead we are burdened with the heaviness of spirit that we experience whilst mourning?
Is it possible that hanging on to our "ashes" for as long as possible is not to the glory of God? That He wishes us to set aside our ashes and start a new life?
Father God, thank You for every day that You add to our lives. Help us to appreciate the beauty thereof and to appreciate all the wonderful people in our lives, and the beauty that surrounds us. Please help us to open ourselves to You so that You may give us beauty for ashes, and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness... that You may be glorified in and through us.
Now I know that some people also keep the ashes of their departed loved ones in urns, or caskets, in their homes, and whilst I understand that they loved them, miss them, long for them, are sad to have lost them, as we all are who have had to deal with the loss of a beloved, personally I have not been able to understand what good it does to keep the ashes in the home...
The beloved is no longer with us... no longer here... the ashes are portion of the remains of the coffin or burial casket they were in, the material used to fuel the cremation fires, and a small portion may be that of the departed beloved.
When I look at the urns containing the ashes of late acquaintances, it does not conjure up memories of that person... In fact, it makes me feel as if I am visiting a graveyard... Yet, I know that a number of people absolutely treasure the ashes of the departed.
I sat and looked at these tiny little boxes and wondered what emotions they evoked in the humans whose pets these were... Does it bring fond memories, or does it evoke feelings of loss, emotional pain, sadness, grief?
Then I wondered whether they were actually treasuring and coveting the ashes... or perhaps... the feelings?
Why not rather just keep our wonderful memories alive in the library of our minds to recall at times when we feel the loss, or the pain and so bring a smile to our lips and a gentle sparkle to the eyes?
I recalled a Scripture that dealt with ashes in the Bible:
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath annointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they
might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he
might be glorified." Is. 61: 1-3.
Whilst I have also mourned the loss of a father, a child, a fiancè, a sister, and a number of friends during my lifetime, the losses have made me realise just how precious life is... how much we have to be thankful for, how short life is, and how much there is to enjoy every day...
Are we subconsciously 'punishing' ourselves because we survived? Because we are still here? Because we can still enjoy life?
Some of us also tend to pamper and covet the "ashes" of other experiences in our lives: disappointment, broken relationships, failure, financial loss, and so allow and give way to 'the spirit of heaviness' that the Scripture talks about.
I had to ask myself these questions:
Are we sometimes captives, prisoners of, and bound by our own emotions of grief to the extent where it is impossible for God to comfort us, to give us new joy? So that it becomes impossible for us to praise Him and instead we are burdened with the heaviness of spirit that we experience whilst mourning?
Is it possible that hanging on to our "ashes" for as long as possible is not to the glory of God? That He wishes us to set aside our ashes and start a new life?
Father God, thank You for every day that You add to our lives. Help us to appreciate the beauty thereof and to appreciate all the wonderful people in our lives, and the beauty that surrounds us. Please help us to open ourselves to You so that You may give us beauty for ashes, and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness... that You may be glorified in and through us.
Friday 28 October 2011
A MORE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Lately, this has been my desire: a more intimate, radical relationship with God.
So, this is exactly what I have been asking the Lord in prayer: to grant me this more intimate relationship with Him.
I woke up at about 2.30 the other morning, and was wide awake. Gen. 1:1 came to mind:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
I pondored why I should be reminded of this, the very first verse of the Bible... and then the question arose in my mind:
What was before that verse?
The answer that I eventually got to was: God. Only God. In His fullness. In His wisdom. Eternal, Almighty, All-powerful, All-knowing, Indescribable God.
The next question that arose was: What was God? What was and is the essence of God?
And the answer: If He is eternal, and is love now, then He was love at the beginning. His is always the same. His essence has not changed.
Question No. 3: What was His purpose in creating humans?
Question 4: And in His own image and likeness?
And pondoring these questions, letting my mind run through the Word of God from Genesis to the book of Revelation, I realised that all He ever wanted from us, as humans, His creatures, created in His image, was a loving two-way relationship...from the time when He used to visit Adam and Eve in paradise every day in the cool of the evening, through to leading the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to David's being set apart as king of Israel, his fight with Goliath, ever, ever, ever... to the birth of Christ and His death and resurrection...to the second coming of Christ and the rapture... all to have us, humans, with Him and in a loving relationship with Him...
And in the stillness of the night I realised that this was God's answer to my prayer for a more intimate relationship with Him: His confirmation that it was and is precisely all He ever wanted from me! This was exciting! Overwhelming! And I felt a surge of such love for Him that He would deign to grant my heart's desire...
Since then I am walking on air as if once again I am young and in love for the first time!
This morning, walking past the printer in our office, my eye caught sight of an A4 page that someone had printed and discarded, noticing that there was mention of a Scripture on it. I picked it up and read the following:
" THOUGHTS FOR LIFE October 28
For the first time in the age of the universe, the invisible Creator
would display His image and likeness in visible form. Genesis 1:26.
The mould of brilliance and perfection would be reserved for eternity
in the Word that was from the beginning, in spite of Adam's fall.
Solomon saw a glimpse of this in Prov. 8:22,"The Lord possessed me
at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old; ages ago I
was set up, at the first before the beginning of the earth. When there
were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs
abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills were I was brought forth, I was daily His delight,
rejoicing before Him always."
Your original value , the way God knew you before He fashioned
you in your mother's womb, is still intact! Through the preaching
of the gospel of truth, the magic of that eternal moment is revealed
again in the fact of Christ as in a mirror, so that the light of life
might dawn in us and we may behold Him face to face, and that we
may know ourselves even as we have always been known. 2 Cor.
4:2-7, 1 Cor. 13:10-12."
This was from http://www.mirrorword.net/.
I do not know the author or this website but this again, to me, was confirmation of the knowledge I had gleaned during my wakeful spell in the night.
Thank You, Lord, that You desire to have an intimate relationship with us, human beings, created in Your image and likeness. Thank You, that I am included in this, Your heart's desire. Please help me to move ever closer to You in and with all of my being.
So, this is exactly what I have been asking the Lord in prayer: to grant me this more intimate relationship with Him.
I woke up at about 2.30 the other morning, and was wide awake. Gen. 1:1 came to mind:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
I pondored why I should be reminded of this, the very first verse of the Bible... and then the question arose in my mind:
What was before that verse?
The answer that I eventually got to was: God. Only God. In His fullness. In His wisdom. Eternal, Almighty, All-powerful, All-knowing, Indescribable God.
The next question that arose was: What was God? What was and is the essence of God?
And the answer: If He is eternal, and is love now, then He was love at the beginning. His is always the same. His essence has not changed.
Question No. 3: What was His purpose in creating humans?
Question 4: And in His own image and likeness?
And pondoring these questions, letting my mind run through the Word of God from Genesis to the book of Revelation, I realised that all He ever wanted from us, as humans, His creatures, created in His image, was a loving two-way relationship...from the time when He used to visit Adam and Eve in paradise every day in the cool of the evening, through to leading the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to David's being set apart as king of Israel, his fight with Goliath, ever, ever, ever... to the birth of Christ and His death and resurrection...to the second coming of Christ and the rapture... all to have us, humans, with Him and in a loving relationship with Him...
And in the stillness of the night I realised that this was God's answer to my prayer for a more intimate relationship with Him: His confirmation that it was and is precisely all He ever wanted from me! This was exciting! Overwhelming! And I felt a surge of such love for Him that He would deign to grant my heart's desire...
Since then I am walking on air as if once again I am young and in love for the first time!
This morning, walking past the printer in our office, my eye caught sight of an A4 page that someone had printed and discarded, noticing that there was mention of a Scripture on it. I picked it up and read the following:
" THOUGHTS FOR LIFE October 28
For the first time in the age of the universe, the invisible Creator
would display His image and likeness in visible form. Genesis 1:26.
The mould of brilliance and perfection would be reserved for eternity
in the Word that was from the beginning, in spite of Adam's fall.
Solomon saw a glimpse of this in Prov. 8:22,"The Lord possessed me
at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old; ages ago I
was set up, at the first before the beginning of the earth. When there
were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs
abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills were I was brought forth, I was daily His delight,
rejoicing before Him always."
Your original value , the way God knew you before He fashioned
you in your mother's womb, is still intact! Through the preaching
of the gospel of truth, the magic of that eternal moment is revealed
again in the fact of Christ as in a mirror, so that the light of life
might dawn in us and we may behold Him face to face, and that we
may know ourselves even as we have always been known. 2 Cor.
4:2-7, 1 Cor. 13:10-12."
This was from http://www.mirrorword.net/.
I do not know the author or this website but this again, to me, was confirmation of the knowledge I had gleaned during my wakeful spell in the night.
Thank You, Lord, that You desire to have an intimate relationship with us, human beings, created in Your image and likeness. Thank You, that I am included in this, Your heart's desire. Please help me to move ever closer to You in and with all of my being.
Wednesday 26 October 2011
FROM WHOSE CORNER DO YOU RESPOND?
Last year, I had the misfortune to have my handbag and my car, or course including everything in it, stolen.
That was not a good experience.
This year, someone kept back monies that should have been paid over to me.
This also was not a good experience.
Last year, after the theft, I received a free holiday overseas, a new Bible and handbag, and on my return, a car, all free and gratis.
This year, after my monies were kept back, even though I was indignant about the audacity of the person who committed this crime, I went to the Lord about it, instead of the police.
Very firmly I was given a Scripture :
"Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy
goods ask them not again." Luke 6:30
This was of course from the sermon on the mount.
I asked clarification in this regard and was led to read Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6: 10 onwards:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places..."
Note that Paul says we wrestle...
Have you been to a wrestling match? Or watched one on TV? Man, they are at each other all the time. There is physical contact all the time. It almost seems as if there are no rules... everything goes...kicking, hitting, boxing, biting, pulling, shoving...
The only definite rule is that your opponent is not allowed to pin your shoulders down on the floor for a count of two. That is a fall and once he has managed to do this twice, he is the conqueror! Between bouts each of the wrestler's go to their own corner, where they have helpers, who offer them water and advice on how to manage the next round and who reveal their opponents weaknesses to them so that they will know exactly how to attack in the next round.
Our spiritual life's like that too... that is what Paul is talking about... What is of the utmost importance therefore is WHO is the helper in YOUR corner? From whose corner are you attacking? From God's corner, or His adversary's? In which corner do you stand between bouts?
Do we react in retaliation from the corner of the opponent and in the manner that Satan would want us to react? Or do we stand in God's corner and let Him be our advisor and our teacher?
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Eph. 6:13
I found out that standing on God's Word, doing what He commands, and then standing, waiting on Him to do ... gave total victory.
In the month following this incident, I received more than the amount withheld from me, from 4 different people in total. I am still receiving...every day... blessing upon blessing...
I also believe that this is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans in chapter 8: 37:
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us."
More than a conqueror - not the conqueror - not the one who won the fight: the one who saw God winning the fight on your behalf. More than a conqueror. Trust Him.
Thank You, Lord, that you loved us so much that You even gave Your very only begotten Son for our benefit. How will You not come to our aid in times of trouble or need? Help us to remember that.
That was not a good experience.
This year, someone kept back monies that should have been paid over to me.
This also was not a good experience.
Last year, after the theft, I received a free holiday overseas, a new Bible and handbag, and on my return, a car, all free and gratis.
This year, after my monies were kept back, even though I was indignant about the audacity of the person who committed this crime, I went to the Lord about it, instead of the police.
Very firmly I was given a Scripture :
"Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy
goods ask them not again." Luke 6:30
This was of course from the sermon on the mount.
I asked clarification in this regard and was led to read Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6: 10 onwards:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places..."
Note that Paul says we wrestle...
Have you been to a wrestling match? Or watched one on TV? Man, they are at each other all the time. There is physical contact all the time. It almost seems as if there are no rules... everything goes...kicking, hitting, boxing, biting, pulling, shoving...
The only definite rule is that your opponent is not allowed to pin your shoulders down on the floor for a count of two. That is a fall and once he has managed to do this twice, he is the conqueror! Between bouts each of the wrestler's go to their own corner, where they have helpers, who offer them water and advice on how to manage the next round and who reveal their opponents weaknesses to them so that they will know exactly how to attack in the next round.
Our spiritual life's like that too... that is what Paul is talking about... What is of the utmost importance therefore is WHO is the helper in YOUR corner? From whose corner are you attacking? From God's corner, or His adversary's? In which corner do you stand between bouts?
Do we react in retaliation from the corner of the opponent and in the manner that Satan would want us to react? Or do we stand in God's corner and let Him be our advisor and our teacher?
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Eph. 6:13
I found out that standing on God's Word, doing what He commands, and then standing, waiting on Him to do ... gave total victory.
In the month following this incident, I received more than the amount withheld from me, from 4 different people in total. I am still receiving...every day... blessing upon blessing...
I also believe that this is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans in chapter 8: 37:
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us."
More than a conqueror - not the conqueror - not the one who won the fight: the one who saw God winning the fight on your behalf. More than a conqueror. Trust Him.
Thank You, Lord, that you loved us so much that You even gave Your very only begotten Son for our benefit. How will You not come to our aid in times of trouble or need? Help us to remember that.
Monday 24 October 2011
DON'T GRIEVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD
I am at present reading the biography of of one South Africa's famous poets. But this man was more than a poet. He was a journalist, the owner of a newspaper, a writer, an advocate, a medical practitioner, an animal lover who did a great amount of research into the lives of certain animals and insects. He was, from all accounts, a very charismatic man, well liked wherever he went. He was highly intelligent and gifted in many ways. He lived during the last quarter of the 1800's and to the age (I have not finished reading yet) I think of about 60 - 65.
He also knew a lot of sorrow and pain in his life. His wife died approximately one week after the birth of their first child and as far as I am aware, at this stage, he never remarried, although he had a number of affairs or relationships and friendships with other women.
He was also addicted to morphine for the greatest part of his life and never able to rid himself of this addiction for very long. This, or course, caused him a lot of pain and heartache.
He was friends with influencial people, politicians, wealthy people, but also with the poorest of the poor and he apparently loved children very much and invested a great deal of time into the lives of the children of his friends and many of his relatives.
Yet, this wonderful person, seemed not only not to have had a relationship with God, but was either an agnostic, or an athiest. It seems sad to me that even though he was hiper intelligent and gifted, he should have missed out on the most valuable and fulfilling relationship he could possibly have experienced.
Then I read about a town where he lived that was apparently ruled or dominated by a specific minister of religion and an occasion was described where a friend of this poet, also a very famous South African author, visited him and is said to have asked him: "Are you not scared that you will receive an overdose of the Holy Spirit whilst you are in this place?"
WOW! How sad! Arrogance or ignorance? I asked myself: Would I exchange my love for and relationship with God for their intelligence, or giftings? For their success or fame? And of course, although I am aware that this could very well be seen as "sour grapes", the answer is an emphatic "Definitely not".
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption..." Eph. 4:30
Thank You, Lord, that You wish to have a personal relationship with each and every human being. Thank You that You do not despise those of us who perhaps don't quite make the top 10 or even 100 or 1000 most intelligent or gifted people in the world. Thank You that we are acceptable just as we are. Please help us to never grieve Your Spirit.
He also knew a lot of sorrow and pain in his life. His wife died approximately one week after the birth of their first child and as far as I am aware, at this stage, he never remarried, although he had a number of affairs or relationships and friendships with other women.
He was also addicted to morphine for the greatest part of his life and never able to rid himself of this addiction for very long. This, or course, caused him a lot of pain and heartache.
He was friends with influencial people, politicians, wealthy people, but also with the poorest of the poor and he apparently loved children very much and invested a great deal of time into the lives of the children of his friends and many of his relatives.
Yet, this wonderful person, seemed not only not to have had a relationship with God, but was either an agnostic, or an athiest. It seems sad to me that even though he was hiper intelligent and gifted, he should have missed out on the most valuable and fulfilling relationship he could possibly have experienced.
Then I read about a town where he lived that was apparently ruled or dominated by a specific minister of religion and an occasion was described where a friend of this poet, also a very famous South African author, visited him and is said to have asked him: "Are you not scared that you will receive an overdose of the Holy Spirit whilst you are in this place?"
WOW! How sad! Arrogance or ignorance? I asked myself: Would I exchange my love for and relationship with God for their intelligence, or giftings? For their success or fame? And of course, although I am aware that this could very well be seen as "sour grapes", the answer is an emphatic "Definitely not".
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption..." Eph. 4:30
Thank You, Lord, that You wish to have a personal relationship with each and every human being. Thank You that You do not despise those of us who perhaps don't quite make the top 10 or even 100 or 1000 most intelligent or gifted people in the world. Thank You that we are acceptable just as we are. Please help us to never grieve Your Spirit.
Thursday 20 October 2011
THORN IN MY FLESH
I work with a lady who seems incapable of having a conversation without it taking a sexual turn, and swearing and using God's name in vain is commonplace in her conversations.
Because she knows how much I hate hearing God's name being used in vain, she consciously, or subconsciously, does it regularly in my presence.
She conveniently forgets that not so long ago, she was lying in hospital in a coma for about three weeks, and we all prayed earnestly and constantly for her health to be returned to her, to at least give her an opportunity to accept the Lord as her Saviour before she is called to appear in His presence.
Of course her language irritates me and of course, she knows and understands that, which is why she admits finding pleasure in taunting me in this manner.
She has become the probervial "thorn in my flesh"!
When my youngest daughter was small and even up to when she was a teenager, we, knowing that she is very ticklish would grab hold of her and tickle her all over. The one place that really caused her to go almost hysterical was under her chin, so of course, that's where we aimed for.
When she could no longer handle it, she would get to a stage where she would go totally limp - "play dead" - is what we used to call it. After that you could do what you liked, she would not even flinch or bat an eyelid.
I am finding that this is the best attitude to have here at the moment and in these circumstances - having asked her time and again to please refrain from using God's name in vain - I will now act as if I don't notice anything out of the ordinary - not react to her taunts.
" ... there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from
me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12: 7-9
Thank You, Lord, for your grace which is sufficient in all circumstances. Please show me the correct way to reach out to and LOVE this person, who is so obviously also in need of your saving grace.
Because she knows how much I hate hearing God's name being used in vain, she consciously, or subconsciously, does it regularly in my presence.
She conveniently forgets that not so long ago, she was lying in hospital in a coma for about three weeks, and we all prayed earnestly and constantly for her health to be returned to her, to at least give her an opportunity to accept the Lord as her Saviour before she is called to appear in His presence.
Of course her language irritates me and of course, she knows and understands that, which is why she admits finding pleasure in taunting me in this manner.
She has become the probervial "thorn in my flesh"!
When my youngest daughter was small and even up to when she was a teenager, we, knowing that she is very ticklish would grab hold of her and tickle her all over. The one place that really caused her to go almost hysterical was under her chin, so of course, that's where we aimed for.
When she could no longer handle it, she would get to a stage where she would go totally limp - "play dead" - is what we used to call it. After that you could do what you liked, she would not even flinch or bat an eyelid.
I am finding that this is the best attitude to have here at the moment and in these circumstances - having asked her time and again to please refrain from using God's name in vain - I will now act as if I don't notice anything out of the ordinary - not react to her taunts.
" ... there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from
me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12: 7-9
Thank You, Lord, for your grace which is sufficient in all circumstances. Please show me the correct way to reach out to and LOVE this person, who is so obviously also in need of your saving grace.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
GOD STILL DELIVERS FROM AFFLICTIONS
At our cell group meeting last Wednesday evening, we prayed for and with two beautiful, brave, women who although at totally different stages were undergoing similar experiences. Both of them had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The one we met only after she had had a mastectomy and had gone through chemotherapy. She has an appointment with the oncology specialist for her 6 month check-up and tests on the 27th of this month. She finds the waiting stressful and needed the peace that only God can give.
The other lady had just recently been diagnosed and was due for her mastectomy the day before yesterday, Friday, 14 October.
For the purpose of relating this to you, I am going to call the first one Mary and the second Elizabeth. Our cell group members are truly like a spiritual family. We stand together, pray together and support one another in any crisis. I am sure that Elizabeth received a number of phone calls, e-mails and SMS's on Thursday and Friday morning. Her operation was due at 2 in the afternoon and her closest friend, also a member of our cell group, kept us informed of progress. She was undergoing reconstruction of the breast at the same time, so the operation took a few hours. By 5.30pm I received an SMS to say operation over, all well. By 7.00 a further SMS to say she was fine and was not suffering any pain, just slight discomfort. By 9.00 the next morning, another SMS to state that not only was she fine but hoping to be discharged today, Sunday, 17th October. I could hardly believe the words as I read them.
I visited her Saturday evening at 7.00 and she was smiling serenely, without pain and praising God for His goodness and mercy. And just looking at the view from her hospital bed – Table Mountain with the majestic colours of the sunset behind it and the lights of the city in front of it and a midnight blue sky above it – was reason enough for a sacrifice of praise and worship! What a glorious Creator God we serve! What a faithful God! He is to be praised from the rising of the sun to the going down of it. At about 9 tonight I received another SMS saying that she's home, and God is good!
“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He
who formed you, O Israel; “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you
shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the
Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;...”” Is. 43:1-3
Thank You, Lord, that Your word is ever true and that You are ever the same. We praise Your holy name! Help us to appreciate and look after our bodies and the good health that we are enjoying.
Friday 14 October 2011
A NIGHTMARE INTERRUPTED
On the 9th of this month, in the early evening, I passed on the following SMS which I, in turn, had received from a friend, to about 30 people:
" Life may, at times, splash us with big waves, but you and I know a MAN
who walks on the water. May you walk so close to HIM that you will
always move above the storm."
Four people responded to say that receiving it touched them, but the response I want to tell you about came from a widow whose husband passed away about a year ago. He was a colleague of mine.
She phoned me this morning, having tried and failed to get hold of me earlier, to tell me that during the evening of the 9th she was, and still is, sick with flu, headaches, and were experiencing a number of other symptoms, and whilst asleep she had a nightmare. She dreamt that she was climbing steps surrounding a square building. These steps went up and up and seemed never ending. In the centre of this building was what seemed like a whirlpool and the water just kept rising and rising. The higher she climbed, the higher the water rose and it threatened to engulf her. She became very frightened as there were already several bodies of children, who seemingly had drowned, floating in this whirlpool.
She was woken up by the sound of her cell phoned announcing the arrival of an SMS. She was relieved to realise that it was only a dream.
And YES, you are correct - it was the SMS that I had forwarded! WOW! She says the minute she read it, the peace of the Lord descended upon her, and she went back to sleep immediately.
Imagine the SMS message being delayed to reach her at exactly the right moment ...
"Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my
thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo,
O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before,
and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it
is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or
whither shall I flee from thy presence?" Ps. 139:2-7
Thank You, O Lord, that You know all about each one of us and that You even care about us whilst we sleep...Help us to walk so close to You that we will always walk above the storm...
" Life may, at times, splash us with big waves, but you and I know a MAN
who walks on the water. May you walk so close to HIM that you will
always move above the storm."
Four people responded to say that receiving it touched them, but the response I want to tell you about came from a widow whose husband passed away about a year ago. He was a colleague of mine.
She phoned me this morning, having tried and failed to get hold of me earlier, to tell me that during the evening of the 9th she was, and still is, sick with flu, headaches, and were experiencing a number of other symptoms, and whilst asleep she had a nightmare. She dreamt that she was climbing steps surrounding a square building. These steps went up and up and seemed never ending. In the centre of this building was what seemed like a whirlpool and the water just kept rising and rising. The higher she climbed, the higher the water rose and it threatened to engulf her. She became very frightened as there were already several bodies of children, who seemingly had drowned, floating in this whirlpool.
She was woken up by the sound of her cell phoned announcing the arrival of an SMS. She was relieved to realise that it was only a dream.
And YES, you are correct - it was the SMS that I had forwarded! WOW! She says the minute she read it, the peace of the Lord descended upon her, and she went back to sleep immediately.
Imagine the SMS message being delayed to reach her at exactly the right moment ...
"Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my
thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo,
O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before,
and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it
is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or
whither shall I flee from thy presence?" Ps. 139:2-7
Thank You, O Lord, that You know all about each one of us and that You even care about us whilst we sleep...Help us to walk so close to You that we will always walk above the storm...
Tuesday 11 October 2011
FOLLOW ME...
The call to follow Him comes to all of us at one time or another...
We all get a moment in which we have to choose whether to say yes or...
and even if you don't say 'no', not having said 'yes' in fact constitutes a 'no'.
"But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name..." John 1: 12 (My insert
between brackets)
But God also calls us - each one individually, for different purposes, or ministries. Sometimes the same ones for different purposes at different times and we can never tell beforehand for how long He is calling us for a specific purpose:
Matthew 4: 18 - 19 the Lord called two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, saying to them:
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
He already had a purpose in mind for them. To make disciples of others.
In verse 21 he came across James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, and he called them, to follow Him.
In Matthew 21: 1 - 4 Jesus sent some of the above disciples to fetch a donkey belonging to an unknown man for Him to use to ride into Jerusalem. So He actually called that unknown person to use his possessions, or assets, for His purposes.
In Mark 10: 47 - 52 Jesus called the blind man to Him after hearing him cry out for mercy and healed him, and so the once blind man followed Him, testifying of His mercy and healing power as he went.
In Luke 5: 27-32 he called a tax collector, called Levi, to show that the corrupted can be changed into the incorruptible.
In Luke 6: 12-16 He chose 12 of his disciples as apostles and missionaries.
In Luke 13: 10-13 He called a woman that was bound by a spirit of infirmity so he could loose her of that which bound her.
In Luke 18: 16 - 17 he sternly warned the disciples and called the children to Him so that he could bless them.
In Luke 1: 26-38 Mary is called as the vessel to bring the Christ into this world and to be the mother of the Christ. This was a ministry that lasted throughout the life of Jesus.
He has called many of us as parents to raise our children according to His will, which means that:
We must love them,
instruct them in the Word,
teach them to love others,
to be honest,
to be faithful,
to read and study the Word,
to have a relationship with the Lord.
It means praying in their hearing,
praying with them,
teaching them to pray, to take their needs to the Lord,
to be dependent on Him in all circumstances,
to seek His will for our lives at all times.
All of the above is much more important than seeing that they wear the right labels, visit the right restaurants and theatres, obtain a university degree...etc. etc....
Saying these things to them will not have a tenth of the impact as showing them how to do it. There is a saying : Preach all day long, and if you have to, use words.
I remember as a young child, accompanying my father on a ministry trip. Our car overheated several times as we were travelling over a mountain pass and we had to stop often to let the car cool down, so that at our time of arrival at our destination, where he was to preach that evening, there would not be sufficient time for him to prepare and wait on the Lord for a message for the people. What should have been a 2 hour journey became a 6 hour nightmare. I remember him, whilst driving, instructing me to open the cubby hole and take his Bible; to open it where I would choose, to read him a passage from that page; asking me to preach to him from the passage so read and praying God's blessing on His Word. I remember us arriving in time for the service and him preaching "my sermon" to the congregation. I remember God working amongst the people through His Word. The impact this made on my mind as a child was invaluable.
The first time I was called upon to minister the Word and I feared my own inadequacy, God reminded me of that incident and I was reassured that He can and will use any willing instrument to His glory through the powerful manifestation of His Holy Spirit.
How careful are we what we teach our children through our actions and words? How focused are we not to hinder our children "to come to Me..."
Thank You, Father God, for the wonderful children that You have given us. Please forgive us where we have failed them and You. Help us that we will be able to say to them "follow me..." as we lead them to You.
We all get a moment in which we have to choose whether to say yes or...
and even if you don't say 'no', not having said 'yes' in fact constitutes a 'no'.
"But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name..." John 1: 12 (My insert
between brackets)
But God also calls us - each one individually, for different purposes, or ministries. Sometimes the same ones for different purposes at different times and we can never tell beforehand for how long He is calling us for a specific purpose:
Matthew 4: 18 - 19 the Lord called two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, saying to them:
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
He already had a purpose in mind for them. To make disciples of others.
In verse 21 he came across James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, and he called them, to follow Him.
In Matthew 21: 1 - 4 Jesus sent some of the above disciples to fetch a donkey belonging to an unknown man for Him to use to ride into Jerusalem. So He actually called that unknown person to use his possessions, or assets, for His purposes.
In Mark 10: 47 - 52 Jesus called the blind man to Him after hearing him cry out for mercy and healed him, and so the once blind man followed Him, testifying of His mercy and healing power as he went.
In Luke 5: 27-32 he called a tax collector, called Levi, to show that the corrupted can be changed into the incorruptible.
In Luke 6: 12-16 He chose 12 of his disciples as apostles and missionaries.
In Luke 13: 10-13 He called a woman that was bound by a spirit of infirmity so he could loose her of that which bound her.
In Luke 18: 16 - 17 he sternly warned the disciples and called the children to Him so that he could bless them.
In Luke 1: 26-38 Mary is called as the vessel to bring the Christ into this world and to be the mother of the Christ. This was a ministry that lasted throughout the life of Jesus.
He has called many of us as parents to raise our children according to His will, which means that:
We must love them,
instruct them in the Word,
teach them to love others,
to be honest,
to be faithful,
to read and study the Word,
to have a relationship with the Lord.
It means praying in their hearing,
praying with them,
teaching them to pray, to take their needs to the Lord,
to be dependent on Him in all circumstances,
to seek His will for our lives at all times.
All of the above is much more important than seeing that they wear the right labels, visit the right restaurants and theatres, obtain a university degree...etc. etc....
Saying these things to them will not have a tenth of the impact as showing them how to do it. There is a saying : Preach all day long, and if you have to, use words.
I remember as a young child, accompanying my father on a ministry trip. Our car overheated several times as we were travelling over a mountain pass and we had to stop often to let the car cool down, so that at our time of arrival at our destination, where he was to preach that evening, there would not be sufficient time for him to prepare and wait on the Lord for a message for the people. What should have been a 2 hour journey became a 6 hour nightmare. I remember him, whilst driving, instructing me to open the cubby hole and take his Bible; to open it where I would choose, to read him a passage from that page; asking me to preach to him from the passage so read and praying God's blessing on His Word. I remember us arriving in time for the service and him preaching "my sermon" to the congregation. I remember God working amongst the people through His Word. The impact this made on my mind as a child was invaluable.
The first time I was called upon to minister the Word and I feared my own inadequacy, God reminded me of that incident and I was reassured that He can and will use any willing instrument to His glory through the powerful manifestation of His Holy Spirit.
How careful are we what we teach our children through our actions and words? How focused are we not to hinder our children "to come to Me..."
Thank You, Father God, for the wonderful children that You have given us. Please forgive us where we have failed them and You. Help us that we will be able to say to them "follow me..." as we lead them to You.
Monday 10 October 2011
TIME TO CONSIDER
My neighbour, aged 72, walked into her garage on Saturday morning, to go to the shopping mall, as spruce as usual, but did not start the car or come out of the garage for about 15 minutes, after which she re-appeared, bewildered, confused, seemingly dazed, not knowing where she was going or why...
A stroke.....
No time to think... or consider whether she was ready for such a big upheavel in her life... no time for last minute decisions, or arrangments in case of a mishap...
living alone as her husband passed away just over a year ago... and although seemingly okay, she now has the disconcerting habit of not wanting to let go of the keys to her car, or house...some of them are bent, as if she keeps trying to lock and unlock inappropriate locks and doors ...
Is she trying, subconsciously, to unlock a part of her brain that seems locked away to her?
Am I ready for something like this?
Are you?
Can we ever be ready physically to accept such sudden changes?
What about spiritually? Are we ready?
Is there something we need to discuss with God before such a happening?
"While it is said, Today if ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation" Hebrews 3:15
Thank You, Lord, that we have this very minute to reconcile with You, to discuss and confess, and ask for forgiveness where required. Help us to not postpone the most important issues and decisions of our lives.
A stroke.....
No time to think... or consider whether she was ready for such a big upheavel in her life... no time for last minute decisions, or arrangments in case of a mishap...
living alone as her husband passed away just over a year ago... and although seemingly okay, she now has the disconcerting habit of not wanting to let go of the keys to her car, or house...some of them are bent, as if she keeps trying to lock and unlock inappropriate locks and doors ...
Is she trying, subconsciously, to unlock a part of her brain that seems locked away to her?
Am I ready for something like this?
Are you?
Can we ever be ready physically to accept such sudden changes?
What about spiritually? Are we ready?
Is there something we need to discuss with God before such a happening?
"While it is said, Today if ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation" Hebrews 3:15
Thank You, Lord, that we have this very minute to reconcile with You, to discuss and confess, and ask for forgiveness where required. Help us to not postpone the most important issues and decisions of our lives.
Thursday 6 October 2011
GOD IS IN THIS PLACE
Reading about the two disciples meeting Jesus on their way to Emmaus the other night, I suddenly wondered exactly who these two disciples were...the one is named Cleopas, but we are not told the name of the other.
So I grabbed my Strong's concordance and looked up this name - Cleopas - and found that his name was also translated 'Alpheus' and that he was, in fact, the husband of the sister of the mother of Jesus, and the father of one of the twelve disciples, James, who followed Jesus throughout His ministry.
And then I read the passage about their meeting with Jesus more carefully remembering what happened before, and all the disciples experienced during such a short period of time, starting with the last supper, where Jesus foretold his imminent death and all that would follow, through to the garden of Gethzemane, the betrayal, the arrest, and the crucifixion, and I found that James, the son of Alpheus, was probably one of the three disciples whom Jesus took further into the garden than the others when He was praying in the garden before his betrayal. One of the three that could not stay awake...Why could they not stay awake and pray with their friend in His time of desperate need? Personally, I think that they were too overcome by sorrow and grief. Surely they had shed many, many tears during the last supper and when Jesus washed their feet. They must have been emotionally exhausted and heavy eyed, apart from the fact that it was then late at night.
And the only two disciples who ran to the grave after the women told them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, was Peter and John. We are told that James's mother, Mary, was also amongst those women.
So I think we may assume that on that day, the day of the resurrection, when these two disciples were walking to Emmaus, they had not yet seen the risen Lord for themselves. As we know that the one was Cleopas and his wife, Mary, who was at the grave when the angel appeared to the women, perhaps we may assume that she had by that time told them the good news, but they obviously did not believe it, otherwise the news the women brought would not have upset them!
So if we know that the one was the father of James, perhaps the other one was James?
Anyway, during their walk towards their home at Emmaus they are still suffering from the shock of seeing their Lord and Master, whom they had followed for three years and whom they believed was the Messias and whom they trusted to lead them to freedom, having been crucified and killed. The heartache and disappointment must have been very great indeed. We all know what it's like to lose a beloved to death... One is very emotional and weepy and upset and sad and depressed and, and, and... Now a "stranger in Jerusalem" appears to them seeming to know nothing about what had been happening at all...and he asks them:
"...What manner of communications are these that ye
have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Luke 24: 17
The are still very sad, upset, bewildered, confused, and they tell him the whole story and confirm their emotional state by saying:
"Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came,
saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was
alive." Luke 24: 22,23
And this stranger is invited into their home and sits to eat with them and only when He takes the bread and breaks it and gives it to them - just as they had seen Him doing just three days ago at the last supper - they recognise Him and He disappears from their sight.
Sometimes we are in circumstances where we are sorrowful, full of emotional pain, grieving a loss, and we don't recognise our Saviour even though He is there walking and talking with us. And just like the disciples walking to Emmaus, we think that our Saviour is a "stranger in Jerusalem" and knows nothing about our experiences and our circumstances, our problems, and our emotional state.
Sometimes as with the disciples whom Jesus "made get into the boat and go before Him to the other side", as related in Matt. 14:22-33, we find ourselves in a position that we are sure God has ordered us into only then to find ourselves in the midst of a storm, as the disciples did, and we are so scared, maybe even fearing for our livelyhood or our lives, that we cannot recognize Him when He comes walking towards us amidst the tossing waves and the howling wind.
At times, as with Peter, when he was released from jail as is recorded in Acts 12: 1 - 17 we are so caught up in a personal "prison" of circumstances, that we do not even realise that the circumstances have passed, that the prison door has been opened, and we may be suffering unnecessary emotional strain and nervous tension not realising, not being able to see that God has already sent the provision or the release that was needed and we cannot even believe that ourt continual, fervent prayers have been answered.
Or maybe as with Jacob, when he was fleeing from his brother Esau, after having robbed him of his birth right as the firstborn, and having robbed him of the blessing that was rightfully his as the firstborn, as we read in Genesis 28, we are so haunted by our guilt and the knowledge of the wrongs we have done, and mistakes that we have made, of harm that we have inflicted, or shame that we have caused, that we fail to notice that God has given us "a ladder" to heaven - His only Son who died - so that we may have our sins forgiven. When Jacob awoke he had to say: "Truly God is in this place and I did not know it."
Whatever it is that is perhaps causing you to not be able to experience the fullness of the presence of Almighty God in your life today - whether is be bereavement, sorrow, pain, fear, oppression, guilt, persecution, circumstances beyond your control, whatever - please don't wait until it is necessary for the Lord to say to you as He said to the two disciples walking to Emmaus:
"...O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken..."
Luke 24: 25
"O fools, and slow of heart" that we cannot see and recognise that He is in this place - in our circumstances; that we cannot hand our circumstances over to Him to take care of...
God is in this place - in case you don't know it... Bring it to Him now...reach out your hand. Say : "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You ON the waters."
Thank You, Lord, that You are always present in whatever circumstances. That You are ready and willing to reach out Your hand and to help us to walk on the waters of our circumstances... Help us to have faith to reach out to You in Jesus' name.
So I grabbed my Strong's concordance and looked up this name - Cleopas - and found that his name was also translated 'Alpheus' and that he was, in fact, the husband of the sister of the mother of Jesus, and the father of one of the twelve disciples, James, who followed Jesus throughout His ministry.
And then I read the passage about their meeting with Jesus more carefully remembering what happened before, and all the disciples experienced during such a short period of time, starting with the last supper, where Jesus foretold his imminent death and all that would follow, through to the garden of Gethzemane, the betrayal, the arrest, and the crucifixion, and I found that James, the son of Alpheus, was probably one of the three disciples whom Jesus took further into the garden than the others when He was praying in the garden before his betrayal. One of the three that could not stay awake...Why could they not stay awake and pray with their friend in His time of desperate need? Personally, I think that they were too overcome by sorrow and grief. Surely they had shed many, many tears during the last supper and when Jesus washed their feet. They must have been emotionally exhausted and heavy eyed, apart from the fact that it was then late at night.
And the only two disciples who ran to the grave after the women told them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, was Peter and John. We are told that James's mother, Mary, was also amongst those women.
So I think we may assume that on that day, the day of the resurrection, when these two disciples were walking to Emmaus, they had not yet seen the risen Lord for themselves. As we know that the one was Cleopas and his wife, Mary, who was at the grave when the angel appeared to the women, perhaps we may assume that she had by that time told them the good news, but they obviously did not believe it, otherwise the news the women brought would not have upset them!
So if we know that the one was the father of James, perhaps the other one was James?
Anyway, during their walk towards their home at Emmaus they are still suffering from the shock of seeing their Lord and Master, whom they had followed for three years and whom they believed was the Messias and whom they trusted to lead them to freedom, having been crucified and killed. The heartache and disappointment must have been very great indeed. We all know what it's like to lose a beloved to death... One is very emotional and weepy and upset and sad and depressed and, and, and... Now a "stranger in Jerusalem" appears to them seeming to know nothing about what had been happening at all...and he asks them:
"...What manner of communications are these that ye
have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Luke 24: 17
The are still very sad, upset, bewildered, confused, and they tell him the whole story and confirm their emotional state by saying:
"Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came,
saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was
alive." Luke 24: 22,23
And this stranger is invited into their home and sits to eat with them and only when He takes the bread and breaks it and gives it to them - just as they had seen Him doing just three days ago at the last supper - they recognise Him and He disappears from their sight.
Sometimes we are in circumstances where we are sorrowful, full of emotional pain, grieving a loss, and we don't recognise our Saviour even though He is there walking and talking with us. And just like the disciples walking to Emmaus, we think that our Saviour is a "stranger in Jerusalem" and knows nothing about our experiences and our circumstances, our problems, and our emotional state.
Sometimes as with the disciples whom Jesus "made get into the boat and go before Him to the other side", as related in Matt. 14:22-33, we find ourselves in a position that we are sure God has ordered us into only then to find ourselves in the midst of a storm, as the disciples did, and we are so scared, maybe even fearing for our livelyhood or our lives, that we cannot recognize Him when He comes walking towards us amidst the tossing waves and the howling wind.
At times, as with Peter, when he was released from jail as is recorded in Acts 12: 1 - 17 we are so caught up in a personal "prison" of circumstances, that we do not even realise that the circumstances have passed, that the prison door has been opened, and we may be suffering unnecessary emotional strain and nervous tension not realising, not being able to see that God has already sent the provision or the release that was needed and we cannot even believe that ourt continual, fervent prayers have been answered.
Or maybe as with Jacob, when he was fleeing from his brother Esau, after having robbed him of his birth right as the firstborn, and having robbed him of the blessing that was rightfully his as the firstborn, as we read in Genesis 28, we are so haunted by our guilt and the knowledge of the wrongs we have done, and mistakes that we have made, of harm that we have inflicted, or shame that we have caused, that we fail to notice that God has given us "a ladder" to heaven - His only Son who died - so that we may have our sins forgiven. When Jacob awoke he had to say: "Truly God is in this place and I did not know it."
Whatever it is that is perhaps causing you to not be able to experience the fullness of the presence of Almighty God in your life today - whether is be bereavement, sorrow, pain, fear, oppression, guilt, persecution, circumstances beyond your control, whatever - please don't wait until it is necessary for the Lord to say to you as He said to the two disciples walking to Emmaus:
"...O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken..."
Luke 24: 25
"O fools, and slow of heart" that we cannot see and recognise that He is in this place - in our circumstances; that we cannot hand our circumstances over to Him to take care of...
God is in this place - in case you don't know it... Bring it to Him now...reach out your hand. Say : "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You ON the waters."
Thank You, Lord, that You are always present in whatever circumstances. That You are ready and willing to reach out Your hand and to help us to walk on the waters of our circumstances... Help us to have faith to reach out to You in Jesus' name.
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