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 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:2) I vividly remember once attending a church meeting where I became concerned about the level of apathy in the people around me. Prior to turning to prayer, a man had been speaking about how God had saved him and miraculously turned his life life around. God had been glorified; His goodness and His power were on display. There was much to be thankful for as the people turned to prayer, but instead, the sense of life and power that had been present, dissipated. Where was the shout of thanksgiving to the God who demonstrated His power to break the bondage to sin and bring physical and mental healing? As the hymn says, ‘Our God is an awesome God’. So why the lethargy? Why the lack of spiritual zeal? Why lack of desire for spiritual things? What is most real and living to us depends very much on where we are living. Although, on the outside we are resident in this world, our spirits inhabit a difference realm. "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” (Hebrews 13:14) “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2) It takes discipline to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. The Devil would have your mind kept on ‘things of the earth’ so that the appetite for ‘things above’ diminishes. He is very aware of the importance of what occupies our time and attention, what we “fix our eyes on”. Social media and technology are good examples. The unfortunate truth is that social media has become a huge distraction for many Christians from their relationship with Jesus. They spend time on social media more than on the Word of God. To ‘binge on Netflix’ has become a common term used in society (and even among Christians). Then we have Amazon Prime, iplayer, Apple TV. Entertainment is being pushed at us from every angle and, if we overindulge, it saps the desire for spiritual food out of you. According to J Warner Wallace, social media is “Stealing our passion and stealing our priorities”. It robs you of the hunger to spend time in the Word. Your spiritual appetite diminishes in the same way your natural hunger for good food dissipates when you feast on junk food. J Wallace Warner also gives good advice when he says: "Ultimately, as Christians, we need to be mindful of how we use social media and how it impacts our relationship with Jesus. By being intentional about the content we consume and share, and by using social media as a tool for sharing our faith with others, we can navigate this new digital landscape in a way that honors God and strengthens our relationship with Him.” And finally… “God grant that if we must have two eyes, that they may be both clear ones; one the eye of faith wholly fixed on Christ, the other the eye of obedience equally and wholly fixed on the same objective.” C H Spurgeon Pauline Anderson A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:5) When we meet someone for the first time, our knowledge of them often falls into one of two categories: either we have heard about this person from others and feel we know a bit / a lot about them, or they are a complete stranger who we have never heard of, and we know nothing about them. Whatever we know about them, some people have something attractive about them that makes us want to know more. This is certainly the case with Christ. When we accept Him as our Saviour, whether we knew a little, lots or nothing about Him previously, we find a deep desire to get to know Him more. One way we can do this is by reading the Bible and finding out what moved His heart with love? We discover many issues that were dear to His heart. At the beginning of His earthly ministry, we find Jesus standing up to preach in the synagogue in Nazareth. He identifies Himself as the one mentioned in Isaiah 61:1-2: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. His heart yearned to help the poor, the broken-hearted, captives, prisoners, mourners in a way that was quite different from other rabbis and religious leaders of His time. In our title verse we see that being a father to the fatherless and defending widows is what God longs to be and Tim Keller tells us “This is one of the main things he does in the world. He identifies with the powerless, he takes up their cause.” But perhaps one of the places where Jesus most eloquently puts his priorities on show is in his discourse in Matthew 25:32-46, shortly before his death. Here we read of the final judgement when, “All the nations will be gathered before Him” (v 32) We read the criteria for inheriting the kingdom.
No, this isn’t a ‘salvation by works’ gospel, it’s the ‘fruits of salvation’. Love is not just a warm feeling, a romantic emotion, it’s the practical outworking of the beating of the heart of the Saviour as you become His hands, His feet, His body, and His heart to the downtrodden of humanity. Can you feel it? Can you sense the loving and longing in God’s heart for ‘social justice’? We don’t have to look far to find those who need the love of God demonstrated to them in practical ways. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) God grant that many today will hear the call of God to rise up from a life of ease, pleasure and indulgence and join God in His work of service to those in need. Pauline Anderson “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”-and he was called a friend of God.” (James 2:23) I wonder what kind of relationship with God you aspire to? Do you see yourself as a follower of Jesus, or perhaps a disciple? In the Old Testament, we read of two people who were called a friend of God. What a beautiful statement. Abraham, as we read in the tile verse, was one of the two who were described as friends. Moses was the second one. “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11) Shortly before his death, Jesus referred to his disciples as ‘friends’: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15) Have you ever pondered what the characteristics are of people who become a friend of God? Why Abraham? Why Moses? Why the disciples? Scripture can shine a light on that for us. One such scripture is Psalm 25:14 NLT: "The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. “ For those who are unbelievers, fear is linked to judgement for sin and an eternity in hell. However, for believers, ‘fear’ holds a different connotation. Hebrews 12:28-29 explains: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. Reverence and awe open up the way for friendship with God. Another characteristic that opens the door to friendship with God is obedience to His will and desire for our lives. This means turning away from sin in whatever shape or form it manifests in our lives. James 4:4 reminds us: “Don’t you realise that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” As a friend of Jesus, we begin to understand who God is, that He is holy, powerful, omniscient, generous and always righteous. We develop a reverential fear of Him. We want to obey Him. As our knowledge of God grows it can actually be as though God grows before our spiritual eyes. He becomes bigger… much, much bigger! In reality, God hasn’t got bigger, we are just more able to see Him as He really is. What wonderful blessings He bestows upon His friends. “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. (John 15:26) Reverence, awe and obedience are just three of the characteristics that you will aspire to if you want to have the privilege of being a friend of God. “We, too, will have fellowship with the sublime if we know how to be perfectly obedient to the Word of the Lord.” C H Spurgeon Pauline Anderson Wait on the Lord Be of good courage And He shall strengthen your heart Wait I say on the Lord! (Psalms 27:14) We live in an age where so many things are obtainable immediately. We order online and receive the item the next day. We have cars instead of horse and cart air travel instead of ships that relied only on sails. We are conditioned to expect so much so quickly. The theme of waiting is referred to in the Bible at least 116 times. A very necessary part of our Christian walk involves waiting on God and fully trusting Him especially when things may look bleak. Let’s look at some examples of people in that we raed of in the Bible who didn’t wait and others who did: The following people didn’t wait on the Lord – and they didn’t receive the blessing. Aaron: Exodus 32:1 He did not wait obediently for Moses to descend Mount Horeb with dire consequences for the whole community. King Saul: 1 Samuel 13:8-14 If Saul had waited just one more hour Samuel would have arrived to offer the sacrifice. It was sinful for Saul to offer the sacrifice and he well knew it. Through his disobedience Saul lost his enduring dynasty. Last day scoffers: 2 Peter 3:3-4 They will say “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?” As with Christ’s first advent so His second coming has been clearly promised in scripture. The scoffers count themselves out of the wonderful joy we have in the anticipation of Christ’s return. The Bible narratives show that waiting is not without a struggle and in some cases matters were taken into people’s own hands. However each of them was ultimately able to see God’s faithfulness to His promises. Here are some examples of those who waited and were rewarded: Abraham and Sarah: They waited 25 years for their promised son and heir and it was through this line that Christ would eventually come. Joseph: He waited 13 years in prison for God’s promise to him to begin to be fulfilled. And fulfilled it was!!! Moses: He waited 40 years in the ‘back side of the desert’ until God spoke to him from the burning bush then another 40 years to take Israel to their promised land. David: He waited 15 years from being anointed to becoming king. Through many hard trials and difficulties God’s promise to him was fulfilled. I waited patiently for the Lord he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit out of the mud and mire he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth a hymn of praise to our God. (Psalm 40) If you are in a season of waiting for God for His promise of deliverance through difficult circumstances take courage from the countless lives who faithfully waited for His time. Wait and you will not be disappointed. But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31) Peter Hodson. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain.’ (Psalm 11:1) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, better known as the Shah of Iran, fled from his home country in January 1979 as it sunk into bitter revolution. For the next 18 months, he was a hunted man who moved from place to place, from country to country for safety. He never found a place of permanent refuge and died a fugitive. King David knew what it was like to be a fugitive. For almost seven years he fled the murderous pursuit of King Saul. Many years later he would flee for his life from his son Absalom who tried to steal his kingdom from him. Yet, it was this same David who wrote the words, of the verse above. David would not flee. He had found his refuge in God. This causes us to consider the question: “When things get difficult, where do you flee to? Where do you take refuge? I work in a rehabilitation centre where I meet people who, for many years in some instances, found refuge in substance abuse and alcohol. The pain was numbed, the memories of past trauma dimmed….at least for a while until the effect wore off and the process began all over again. Here are other much sought out ‘places’ of refuge:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) I once read the following comment: “God’s business is putting things right and setting us straight. So, why run?” Why flee to another mountain? Spurgeon summed up the position of man beautifully when he said: “I have a great need for Christ. I have a great Christ for my need.” So, before you ‘phone a friend’ or binge on Netflix why not stop, give God a chance, make Him your “go to”. Pauline Ann Anderson You will be a crown of splendour in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. (Isaiah 62:3) As we look back over our spiritual journey of 2023, some will reminisce with rejoicing while others will reminisce with regret. However, whatever the path you have walked in 2023, a new year has dawned for you with the opportunity to become something of beauty in God’s sight, in fulfilment of the promise set forth in Isaiah. If this is your desire, here are a few principles that can help you: 1. Make Bible Reading a habit. Dwight L. Moody said, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” 2. Make Church Attendance a priority. “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do.” (Hebrews 10:25) 3. Make Obedience a way of life. “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19) 4. Live an Outward Focused Life. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4) 5. Learn to Pray. “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” (Luke 5:16) NOTE: The NIV Study Bible tells us that 'The Greek verb tense indicates that Jesus habitually withdrew for prayer.' It was His habit to withdraw. Is it our habit to withdraw and pray? There are so many things that lure us away from prayer. So many things to entice us, to distract us. Are you easily distracted from prayer? All of the above help transform us into a ‘crown of splendour’ but there is something else we must do. We must learn to ride out the storms. O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels. (Isaiah 54:11) You can make a choice to “manage not to be destroyed, harmed, or permanently affected by the difficult situation you experience.”(Cambridge Dictionary). You allow the tempest to drive you into a deeper place of trust and reliance upon God. You mediate upon God, and, even in the midst of being ‘storm-battered’, you ‘behold (His) face in righteousness’ (Psalm 15:17). You decide just not to give in. You decide to trust Him. On New Year’s morning 1892, a month away from his death, Spurgeon said these words “Let me tell you, in a few words, what I see as I look into the new year.” He then went on to speak about · God’s Sovereignty · God’s Guidance · God’s Strength · God Glorified Keep your eyes on these things and you can ride out any storm that assails you in 2024. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor 3:18) Happy New Year to you all.
Pauline Ann Anderson For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) As we celebrate Christmas, one great tradition is Carol singing. In the carol, ‘Angels from the realms of Glory’ we sing these astounding words ‘God with us is now residing.’ We thank God for His great work of salvation as we journey through life and it is in this journey that God seeks to be our constant companion. He wants to become our personal ‘Emmanuel’. In His desire for fellowship and communion with His own, He teaches us how to commune with Him. At a time when King David was being pursued by his enemies, he wrote these words: “Show me where to walk for I give myself to you.” (Psalm 143: 8) No doubt David felt troubled and perhaps afraid, however, he did not direct his attention to the problem. He went to the One who had the power to keep him in, and help him through his trial. Lifting his voice to God he said, “I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done’. (Psalm 143:5) His focus was Godward not earthbound. Keeping our focus on God is a key to living in fellowship with Him. The book of James encourages us to: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” (James 4:7 KJV). A fruit of submission is fellowship. Late in his life, the apostle Paul showed his ‘son’ Timothy the key to a full and joyful relationship with God. “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.” (1 Timothy 1:19) Are you getting the picture?
This Christmas, let us rededicate our hearts to Emmanuel, the one whose descent to a cradle led eventually to a cross. “Christ didn’t only come into the world that first Christmas night in Bethlehem, but He wants to come into our lives today, and every day of the year.” Billy Graham Pauline Anderson He has made his people strong, honouring his faithful ones. (Psalm 148:14) In 2024, the Olympic Games returns to Paris. One hundred years ago, Paris hosted these same games and a young athlete, one of the the fastest, if not the fastest runner on the planet at the time, made National headlines for a race he never ran! Eric Liddell, a committed Christian, decided not to race in the 100m as the heats took place on a Sunday. His obedience to God was of higher importance than winning a gold medal. He chose to be one of God’s ‘faithful ones’, despite huge pressure to run. Subsequently, God honoured this faithful man when, against the odds, Eric went on to win gold in the 400 metres race, not his strongest discipline. Evangelist and writer Cannon J John, has just published his second volume of ‘Heroes of the Faith’, a book which gives brief biographical sketches of 60 of God’s ‘faithful ones’. They chose faithfulness over fame, discipline over defiance, purity over perversion and integrity over iniquity. God “made his people strong” as they obediently served Him. Many were honoured with much fruit for God in their lifetime. In the Great Commission, Jesus says to his disciples: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19,20) If you want to be one of God’s ‘strong’ people, the path to victory is the same as those ‘heroes’ who have gone before us. You must learn to lovingly, willingly and eagerly ‘obey everything’ He commands you . There may be no gold medals, but you won’t be disappointed! “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer Pauline Anderson |
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