Author: words and signs

Who is like you, Lord?

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“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty…

…The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…

So Israel will live in safety; Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. …”

Deuteronomy 33:26,28,29

The short answer is no one. But we need to know the details, because our minds are lazy and remiss about rehearsing the glories of the eternal God. The Scripture says that the eternal God will stop at nothing to help His people. They are His treasure and no sky is wide enough to keep Him from riding to the rescue of His beloved ones.

God Himself is the refuge of His people. Where ever they go, so no matter how high they soar into the heavens, God is right there to bear them up on His mighty arms. None can fall to destruction, or fail to fly high into the unknown blue. None of His children suffer loss that will be restored to them one day. Faith lays hold on this and walks forward in the strength of God.

God is our shield of protection and the ability to fight off all doubt and fear. The sword is with us and as we use it, we are made strong. We are as safe as we would be in the heavenly kingdom already. We rejoice and love in joy, which strengthens our souls. So many blessing and joys that only the forgiven ones know. The blessing of God is real and daily for all those who seek His face and find Him to be their refuge.

Burden bearers

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“I rejoice in what I am suffering for you…”

Colossians 1: 24

What an amazing comment to make to fellow believers. The Apostle Paul counts it a joy to suffer for the people in Colosse, and in all the places he has been, teaching God’s truth and love.

We can see how we may sometimes suffer for the gospel. We can see how God may permit us to suffer, to teach us God’s ways. But to suffer and bear burdens for other people, is a rare calling. The idea of inconveniencing ourselves for the sake of other people, is not part of our human psyche. So to be asked to suffer for the good of others,  is totally against our mindset, except we are getting something out of it.

Yet it was the mindset of Christ, and becomes the mindset of all who follow Him. Jesus did endure such ignominy and pain for our sakes, to make it possible for sinful humans to obtain eternal life, through His atoning sacrifice. We do not do this. To our human thinking it is a weakness to be that way- a bit of a loser.

God’s ways are definitely not our ways and we see this demonstrated over and over again. The devotion of Job to his Lord, meant for him to suffer every kind of tragedy and remain a faithful servant.

The friendship of Moses with his maker and God, which enabled him to lead a huge nation through a wilderness to find the promised land, is amazing to us.

The wisdom of Esther that took her into the palace hareem and to boldly pick her moment to set a plan to save the people of God.

Rehab, that amazing woman who trusted God on the promise of two spies. She saw God and found herself in His family and became an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Himself.

Daniel who faced the lions; Joseph who endured imprisonment; Deborah the judge and always wise and just in her judgments; John the disciple who loved Jesus; Mary who poured out her future to anoint her Lord and God.

Every Christian has a calling and we all wait for God to show us and give us the strength to do His will. We are all burden bearers and ready to make sacrifices for the sake of other Christians and also those who do not believe. We pray that God will bless and save the people, around us, and we are called to reach out to them.

To put ourselves down is a Godlikeness thing to do. To choose second best for the sake of other people, is not human nature. We must learn our lessons and become strong in the Lord. We must build courage to face enemies and pray for them. We suffer loss so that God’s message will be spread abroad to all who do not believe. This is our number one exploit.

Read the story of Paul in the New Testament and be amazed at his total devotion to his Saviour Jesus, and how it affected his life. Once we get a view of Jesus Christ, we cannot go back. We seek Him and to be like Him – the One who suffered ultimate loss so that we could live…

Are we prepared to be misunderstood and sidelined, so that we become more like our Saviour, and less and less of ourselves…?

Behind the hills

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“The precious things of the everlasting hills…”

Deuteronomy 33: 15

We here view the hills of eternity. They rise out of the plain and are forever sure. They radiate the majesty and security of the Lord Jesus Christ. They never fail and there is refuge for the Christian in the lea of the incline.

The hills on earth remind us to lift our eyes from the worldly things around us and remember that our help comes from the Lord who made these hills. We are forever safe in the place of communion and protected as we hide ourselves in the beauty of the Lord.

As we come to the end of our lives, we see ahead of us, those welcoming mountains towering above us in the plain of Beulah land. We are safe and as we leave this world behind, we fly to the hills that mark the entrance to the eternal kingdom. Every believer will reach their destination and behind the hills waits the Saviour who we love.

The precious things are right there. The majesty of God; the refuge of the mighty hills; the comfort of heaven and home; and above all, our Saviour will be there and will lead us into our eternal inheritance. No one who trusts in Him is left out. No faith will fail, or tragedy dull the glory that will be revealed.

It is not the hills that are precious, but the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one represented by these magnificent heights. He is the beautiful one, the crowning glory of heaven for the Christian. This world holds nothing to endear us or tempt our view from these everlasting hills and the everlasting Saviour who they stand for.

Jesus is the precious One in heaven and the precious One mirrored in earth’s beauty. We lift our gaze from earth and adore the majesty of Christ, that we might seek to be like Him and all earthly things be counted as loss.

A mind for God

“We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

2 Corinthians 5:12-15

The Apostle Paul is speaking to the Christians at Corinth and showing them the glory of what they have in Christ. He is showing outward blessings, that godless people would see. Those who do not know God, do not value the deep and hidden things of the soul. Without faith in God and trust in Jesus and what He has done, there is no spiritual life, and we do not appreciate Him.

Paul is interested in what is in the heart of these Christians, but He is aware that people have been saying the Christians are “out of their mind” Paul reasons, that if Christian people are out of their mind, then it is for the sake of God and the desire for spiritual life. A Christian will pursue God and have a constant desire to lay hold on deep truths of God. A Christian seeks holiness and to be like their Saviour Jesus.

If Paul is regarded as “in his right mind” then it is for the sake of the believers in Corinth. Paul will show them the life of Christ in whatever way He can.

“To  the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

1 Corinthians 9: 22-23

Paul is motivated by love. Love is the motivation of every Christian and love for Christ gives power and peace.

Jesus died for all His people, so that they would die to themselves and live their lives for Christ through and through. We are safe in Christ, because He died for us and rose from the dead for us, so that we might die to sin and live for God.

This is the calling of every believer. Some will see “madness” others will see love. Whatever we face, we follow our Master and seek to be like Him. If we are obsessed with holiness, then we are on the right track.

“Run (the race) in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

1 Corinthians 9: 24-25

God’s view of mind

 

Introductory talk on this topic….

We have some Bible verses to look at as a group, sharing them together and asking questions..

This is the end summary to close the meeting…

National deliverance

It is an indication to how far our collective society has changed in the space of a lifetime, as we see democracy and the rule of law being sidelined.

Britain faced a huge foe at the beginning of the 20th Century, in the form of rampant Nazi threat and aggression. The ensuing war cost millions of people their lives. Today, we are being subtly over-run with similar ideology.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Britain and the free world, were faced with the very real possibility that governments would be over run by this evil far-right philosophy. We were in trouble. So leaders called on the nation to pray. We prayed for deliverance, recognising that only the power of God could change the situation and give victory to the allies.

Many prayed. Even those who did not particularly agree with God, or recognise their need of help from a greater, more powerful force than guns and bullets, joined in. We were delivered.

In our time, we are facing another national breakdown. Britain has never been so divided. Our politicians are weak and lack moral authority. Our country has given way to godless philosophies, more dangerous and effective, than Nazi belief. We are run through with fear, apathy and no moral basis for what we believe. Our purpose has become utilitarian and we have no thought or regard for God. Even those who say they believe, have acquiesced to error. We talk of our own personal truth. There is now no accepted truth, except what the loudest voice is saying.

So now, facing this enemy that has entered our Western nations and has caused us to see our lack of social cohesion, we have no recourse of action. There is no national call to prayer, because we do not believe. Our leaders have no moral authority and show a huge lack of confidence in our nation’s institutions. The politics and democracy we have relied on, has failed us, and still we are trying to “go it alone.”

We need God so desperately, but it doesn’t seem to occur to us that we can approach Him. We have lost our thought patterns that cause us to think of Him. We imagine Him to be as vindictive as we are, but He waits for us to come to our senses. If we were to bow our knees, humble ourselves and seek Him with all our hearts, He promises to answer and rescue us.

There is no other recourse of action. All have failed and our leaders are actually admitting it openly. We can observe the effects of unassailable pride and conceit. We see the amazing lack of humility to even admit error or fault. How much further down the valley will we all go, or be taken. Someone has to stop this infernal rot and rescue us from our own complacency.

Let us return to the Lord.

God will forgive everything if we seek Him.

Indecipherable

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“Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into the Kingdom of God! That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 3: 5-8

These few verses are part of Nichodemus’ question about how to become a Christian and the miracle of the new birth of a person who comes to God. We cannot enter the kingdom of God unless we are born of flesh into this world, and born of the Spirit of God in spiritual life. So Christians are people who are born into this world by the water of natural birth, and born into the kingdom of God, thought the work of the Holy Spirit. The flesh alone can never enter into the kingdom. Before we are born of God through the Spirit, we are dead to God. Our souls have no spiritual life and we do not sense God, or want His presence, or see our need to repent and be changed.

The powerful working of the Holy Spirit is what resurrects the soul, and brings us to a place of repentance for our sins, and gives us the faith to believe. The change is so deep and thorough, that it is called the “New birth.” Becoming a Christian is an amazing new beginning that happens to a person who is seeking God with all their heart. The Spirit works in our minds and hearts to see our need, and feel the horror of our failures and sins.

When we see this, we then seek forgiveness for them, because without forgiveness there is no salvation to God. We turn to God. We search the Scriptures for answers, and the Holy Spirit guides our search, and we find the answer in Jesus. He is the one that can forgive us, for He has died and paid the price for our sins. When we come to Him, there is full and free forgiveness and we are born again.

This whole work in our lives is the work of the Spirit of God. This working is at the will of God and according to His purposes. The Holy Spirit speaks and prompts, as He pleases. No one can tell His purposes and we can’t predict His ways. The wind blows in our world and we cannot predict it. So with the Spirit of God. He will work out His purposes and He will bring many souls to repentance and faith.

We cannot tell what He will do. We pray for other people that they will believe and find this new life in Christ. We must spread the message and be ready to tell the good news to whoever asks us. This is God’s work and is indecipherable to the human mind. It is a work that cannot be stopped, and a work that will spread to everyone who God is changing.

When we are born of the Spirit, we have a whole new life and way of thinking. We can now relate to God, and we can see the effect of the Holy Spirit in our own lives and the life of other people. Our lives are now directed by the Holy Spirit, and we learn from Him and the power of God rests in us.

Security in Christ

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 1: 3

Surely this is the most comprehension description of the Christian life.

As Christians, we are so loved by our Saviour and the remembrance of His sacrifice, that we have a real confidence in what He calls us to do. Others might decry us or side-line us, but He will never do that. Every Christian has a destiny in this life, as well as heaven. We serve our Lord in faith, knowing He will never leave us or dampen our efforts for Him.

We serve Jesus with love. Love is our motivation for every thought, word and deed. We are continually looking to the everlasting kingdom and spreading the good news of His love for sinful people and the readiness of God to forgive and change us.

The Christian keeps going. The hope we have in Christ is our motivation until the end of our journey in this world. Whatever our circumstance, our Saviour, Jesus, is with us all the way. At times we may doubt this, since we do not feel or have any sense of His presence. But we go forward in faith, based on the many promises of God’s Word.

“Who can separate us from the love of Christ?”

Romans 8: 1

No one is able to do that, and should we go through periods of doubt or not wanting to be in the kingdom of God, yet still He holds us, until the temptation is past. Our place in the coming kingdom is as secure, as we are in eternity already.

“None shall pluck them from my hand..”

John 10: 28

Today is unique. Let us pray for willing minds and hearts to obey and opportunity to serve the Lord.

“He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it.”

1 Thessalonians 5: 24

A horn lifted up

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A horn for faithful servants

“Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding…”

“Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens…

“And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 148:7-8,13-14 NIV

All things living praise the Lord. All weather and all inanimate creations and objects, praise the Lord. The splendour of the Lord is above anything made or imagined. We are His people who are made for His glory, and so we might also share in that glory.

All natural forces are subject to His control and nothing happens that is outside His purposes. Even the wrath of human beings against His person, are a praise to His name and a fulfilment of prophecy.

God, the Lord, the Creator and Almighty God has given us a majestic horn to be the praise of His people. This person of Jesus Christ, is comfort and love to us. No one can take us away from Him and His glory is observed everywhere, by His faithful people.

His name is JESUS. 

A name far above any other and every being He has created, will surely bow the knee to Him.

All can appreciate the revealed creation, but only those with living souls, can see beyond the physical and into the spiritual. We see Jesus, lifted up as our Saviour on that dreadful cross, suffering our shame and the due penalty for our sins. He has done this and has risen again, by His own power, and by that same power we shall also rise.

God has exalted His name, like the horn of blessing that triumphs over all sin and death. He is authority, power and dominion and He has done this, because of who He is. God over all, the only Saviour, the king of all who come to Him in repentance and faith. The horn is the object of praise from the people of God. Only He is worthy, because only He is the righteous one. Through Him we are made righteous, to worship Him and love Him.

Shadows

We have walked these days in years to hold

Together, the way of life with twinèd soul

Our shadows merge and meld as we sped

Sometimes before or behind or overhead

The past is gone the future unknown

Our present held as one higher shown

Fear fled, faith grown and a holy confidence

Blots out gloomy shadows as love’s recompense

In His light, all darkness fled, as high noonday

And shadow cannot glory steal away