This week’s Thought is by Peter Hodson. On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) (John 7:37-39) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:7) I love the subject of apologetics. However, to me the most compelling evidence of the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to the Father, is the undeniable fact that the Holy Spirit has come in power. The Spirit who convicts us of sin; the Spirit who reveals Jesus to us; the Spirit who unctions us in prayer and in true worship; the Spirit who comforts us and brings to mind His word in time of need. It is sad that so many Christians have been hindered in receiving their full and rightful inheritance, often through lack of knowledge or giving in to the lie that Pentecost was for a bygone age and, consequently, live Christian life in a half-light and often in defeat. Do we fully realise the astounding truth that Jesus is indeed alive? He has been raised from the dead and ascended to his Father - and so has poured out His Holy Spirit on all who believe! The Father, Son and Holy Spirit working together in bringing us such a complete and wonderful salvation! Praise God that we can now live in His joy and in victory over sin! We can often get bombarded with doubts, fears and discouragements. They come at us constantly from a hostile world that has been blinded by the arch enemy of Christ, the devil. He is a liar and the father of lies and yet he can plague our minds so subtly and will try to get our eyes away from Jesus Christ, who is the Truth. Let’s resolve to give our lives more wholeheartedly to the One who has bought us with such a price; to more constantly avail ourselves of His wonderful Gift; to live more constantly in the awareness of His presence and in obedience to His promptings. God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honour in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. (Acts 2:32)
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God. (Acts 2:38-39)
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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13) In the book of Revelation the most frequently read chapters, 2 and 3, are where Christ dictates letters for seven Christian churches in the region of Asia. The first letter is addressed to the church in Ephesus, whom Christ describes as:
Reading such commendable qualities can cause some confusion when we read the next verses: “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” (Revelation 2:4-5) On the surface, the penalty seems somewhat harsh, even extreme, but only until we realise the deeper significance. Let’s look at what that is. In Matthew 22, we read of two occasions where the Pharisees and Saducees tried to trap Jesus by setting before Him questions that would certainly lead to either his arrest by the Romans or condemnation from the Jews. Having foiled both these attempts, the Pharisees approached Him again, and said: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” (Matthew 22:36) Jesus answered simply: “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important.‘Love your neighbour as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) Jesus reveals the most important priority is about relationship: our relationship with God far surpasses any other priority in life, even what we do for Him. “Correct theology, action, and even suffering are just an empty shell of Christian life if dynamic love is absent.” (NLT Study Bible Footnotes Revelation 2:4) “If dynamic love is absent”… The Ephesians were ‘doing’ the right things but had allowed their inner relationship with Christ to become tarnished. This letter serves as a warning for us today. Like the Ephesian church, our churches can have have many commendable qualities… but do we love Christ ? “The most important thing we can do in life is love God and love others.” Watchman Nee Pauline Anderson |
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