Author: words and signs

Christian restoration

Psalm 51:12-13 NIV “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.”

We all wander from our God at some point. And at some point we must be restored. To loose the joy of knowing the salvation we have in God and the eternal joys that wait for us in the future, is debilitating for our souls. We can experience doubt, fear, and regret which can burn up our faith and strength to resist these temptations. It can take time to sort out why these elements of unbelief get hold of our souls, but as we resist them, we overcome. 

When the joy returns we have the Spirit of God renewed in us and He fills our lives once more. This Spirit is our motivation and stamina to stay the course in the Christian life and serve God with all our strength and skill. 

Service springs from joy. We are loved by God and so the realisation of that causes us to love Him. This spills over to loving others also, not just Christians but those who are lost from God. It all comes from God and not from ourselves. But we pray for a willing spirit – a true desire that all will learn God’s ways through lives lived in faith. 

People will see it and want it for themselves. Christians are attractive to others, as they see a strength they don’t recognise. As we exhibit the strength of God, other people can see it is not our own might or power, but a mighty over-arching strength from outside ourselves. To be able to stand in the face of aggravation, disappointment and ill will, is quite a feat and people close to us notice it. Some will even ask you about it giving an opportunity to testify…

We live in selfish times, but some are getting tired of the opposition to a fulfilling life outside of the demands of work. There must be more and there is. If you are a Christian, you know what it is and the joy of the Spirit will help you share the good news. 

It’s not hard to work out….

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.”

Will you pray this prayer..? 

Chaos

IMG_8379

God’s work always seems chaotic, until people come along and nail it down with a structure of their own. As Christians we cannot see the overall view of the Plan of God through the ages or even our own time. We do what is right in our own eyes, under the man-orientated structure of “church” or other organization.

We construct methods of evangelism and events to appeal to various kinds of people. We like to have it all worked out and we think it’s about the great method we use, or literature someone has produced. We rely on the “stuff” and fail to develop the people skills we need to actually relate to other human beings. Our view of reaching out is very limited and we want to be able to measure the outcomes.

Church or religious structures are not like anything else in life, and are not adept at meeting the needs of the people who are seeking Christ. Church is not like Christ. It is a set structure that doesn’t seem to be able to change or adapt to the needs of people who live in challenging environments, the street and places were people actually go. The visitor to the organization must acquiesce to the organisational cultural norms and change themselves to fit in. Maybe then they will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven….

The person in charge dictates everything – the atmosphere, the social mores, the various behaviours that he regards as “suitable.” The culture is so odd and out of kilter with the lives of actual people, no one is able to fit into it, except the inner circle, hard-core, determinists.

The Bible is a book explained by the one person who is at the top, and applied in the style and substance of the leadership. There is almost no opportunity for wider thought or sharing ideas and spiritual applications together as a group.

People become disillusioned. They leave – preferably on good terms, so that the boat is not rocked. Those who ask the awkward questions and suggest radical answers, are side-lined and kept out of influence. People give up on church and seek something else. So we have a huge divergence away from the church organisation and people find different ways to worship, learn, serve and fellowship. “Church” becomes a ghetto for the well-to-do. It becomes an organisation for certain types of people to get support. Once you are in the organisation, you are safe and someone will always look after you. So faith is undermined and people see the human help in the organisation, rather than the living Lord Jesus.

The “church” begins to die, and becomes part of a cycle of deterioration. It is a cultural and theological museum, which God can use to reach those trapped within it, but ultimately, it is finished.

If a brave leader in one of these institutions should step up and speak up and act on the obvious, something could be done and a new start could bring a real and genuine blessing. Salvation could yet be seen, experienced and preached. Sell up your sticks and stones, give away your assets and cast yourselves on the Lord of heaven and earth. If your faith is true, you will hang on and trust His love to come through. The Spirit will guide rather than the philosophy of corporate identity.

You will meet in the highways and byways, and the Lord Himself will show you what He is like. He will again build your church and it will be Hischurch and not in the image of the men-in-charge.

Other people and their plethora of mindsets will take part and you will see other ways of doing things that you never saw before. The Word of God will take a new centrality and the joy of the Lord will infiltrate every heart and life. People will come to church again, because they will see the love of Jesus, not seen before. The work will be the Lord’s and all glory will be His.

But we are too scared. Not of the Living God, but of “man”. If we truly feared the Lord our God, we wouldn’t be intimidated by anything.! It is so hard to break through the unbelief and deadening cycle of judgment and self-justification.

God almost never uses what is regarded in failing institutions. He will raise the unexpected, the disregarded and the castaway. It will be seen and known that it is His work and He will do it His way. Just because we cannot see a pattern, does not mean chaos. God’s ways are past finding out…

Lord, come down and save your people….this is the message of all the prophets…

 

 

Job 25: God over all…

IMG_3724

“Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven. Can his forces be numbered? On whom does his light not rise? How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot— a human being, who is only a worm!”

God is over all. All things belong to Him, and nothing exists that He didn’t make. All worship and glory belong to Him. All authority and power and dominion is His and His armies out number all else. No one can stand against His power or presence.

If we see the light of day, it is His light. There is no other light but His light. That one fact should prompt us to seek Him, and escape our souls night. To stand before Him unforgiven, in the certainty of His presence will prove to us why he is to be feared. We dare not risk that possibility.

How can such sinners like us be made righteous.?
How will we be able to face this God?
How will we excuse our sin and hide from the wrath to come?

All humans are in the same situation. We all share in the chain of human sinfulness and the moral disease is passed to us right from the start of our existence.

The beauty of the stars in the heavens, are tainted with the disease that affects all of the creation. The moon, which gives light in the darkness of night, is in itself, contaminated by the laws of decay and motion. The whole system is winding down and one day will stop when the creator decides that time is done.

How will we then stand?

 

Tree by water

IMG_6633

Jeremiah 17:7-10 NIV
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

Jeremiah tells us that God’s people have become enmeshed in this world and living for what is necessary in this life. The sins they commit as they pursue these necessities, are written with an iron tool on their own hearts. God’s anger is kindled and He promises them they will loose everything and will become slaves to the things of this life. The barren wasteland is the place for all who turn from the pathway of trust in God. Those who will not follow will reap the whirlwind.

But, not those who trust in the Lord. They will prosper and grow and become fruitful. They have no worries because they trust God. Their roots reach out and find the nourishing stream and when the stream dries up, they still produce fruit to God. When the heat of the sun beats down, still the fruit appears.

At this point, God stops us in our tracks.
He reminds us our hearts are totally deceitful. Their is no cure for them without the forgiveness of a God. It is so difficult to face what is there and the moral decay we live in, is monstrous. We do not suspect ourselves. It is painful to look into our hearts and see what is there. We cannot bear it without the knowledge that we are loved by God. He is able and willing to forgive and make us the people we are not.

If God should search our hearts, what would He find.? It is He who saves us and purifies the work that we do, to make it acceptable to Him. The searcher of hearts shows us what we need to know, so that we can repent and move closer to Him. Sin is ugly, but when we face it, and repent, God washes it away and gives us power to change.

On that last great day, may we have deeds done in faith and love, acceptable to our God and a character that loves Christ and has obeyed Him.

The gamble of your life…

IMG_7186

I wonder if you are willing to admit you gamble…

Gambling used to be a hidden and darker side of human activity, but these days it is completely acceptable and great fun (it would seem). You can do it anywhere, on your computer, phone or at the betting shop. You can do it anytime, even while doing your shopping in the supermarket. The pictures we get show people having a wonderful time, bright colours and golden stars will surround you and you will always win. It doesn’t take long to realise that it is all empty promises, that take your money and leave you with nothing to show for it.

Perhaps you woud be interested in the greatest gamble there is…

This is a foolish gamble which many people take to their own destuction. The question as to whether there is a God or not is one that we all must face up to. We all ask the question of wether or not, at the end of life, we die like animals and are annihilated never to know anything ever again? This is surely the main question mankind faces in all times, and in our days too. If God is a fanciful being who is not really there, then believing in Him will cause no loss at the end. But if He is real, the unbeliever will loose everything and face the unltimate loss of their very selves, forever.

The unbeliever will find in horror, that their “bet” was on the wrong side, and they face eternity paying for their own sins. To suddendly realise that you were wrong about the most basic issue in life and eternity, will bring untold terror.

The wager is one we need to carefully consider and ensure we do not keep our lives in this life, and loose them in the next. Jesus said, that the person who looses their life in this world, will gain true life in the world to come. Whereas the person who holds on to the here and now will eventually loose all.

Surely this is one gamble too far. This is not a question that can be treated rashly or with a passing thought, like a quick flutter on a bet. We need to seek out the truth, until we find it and then to believe what God says and trust fully in our saviour, Jesus. This truth is the Bible, where we see God and we can know Jesus Christ, who came to open our eyes and see reality. He is not willing that we are tricked. He does not want us to end up, dupped by this world and gambling with our soul, only to loose it forever.

The stakes could not be higher. Are you trusting in the all-powerful, ever-living God, or resting in your own sense of peace.? None of our good works will prevail with God. He looks for faith alone, that rests on His mercy and love, in the person of Jesus. Its easy! And yet so difficult. God says, that those who seek Him with all their hearts, will find Him.

That’s a certain promise…

I was at the tomb

IMG_8869

The sergeant has instructed me to cover the night shift at a grave in the garden of Gethsemane, and I am not really looking forward to it. There are so many rumours around this particular dead body, and I don’t want anything to do with it, but I have to do my job and carry out my duty.

Yesterday the corpse of this infamous Galilean preacher was committed into a private grave, owned by a well-to-do man called Joseph of Aremethea, who allowed it to be used, because there was no other. The so-called friends of this preacher had made no provision for their leader in any way, in fact they are nowhere to be found.

I got a glimpse of the body, as I left work at the cross, and it was unrecognizable as a human being. How could anyone be subjected to such a battering? What on earth had he done? I hurried away, as I felt an uneasy sense of responsibility, which I refuse to entertain.

They wrapped the body loosely and draped a piece of cloth around the face, because they were in a rush to shut the grave before the Sabbath started. Only Joseph was there and a group of women, who I also noticed watching him die from a distance. I felt sorry for them, as they looked like people without hope.

It is cold out here in the darkness of the night and there is only a flame from a torch to break the gloom. I just have to stand here all night, awake, as the government are afraid that there will be some illegal activity or trespass on this site. They are feeling rather paranoid, as they suspect a plot to steal the body and spread wild stories about a resurrection, which could seriously damage their political status and cause social unrest.

The Sabbath is over now, so I must be extra vigilant. Maybe the sergeant will let me off for five minutes, to have a quick cigarette. I can’t seem to thrown off the growing feeling of gloom that has crept into my mind, and my hands have become shaky.

That’s all I remember. I woke up in the darkness with the flame torches extinguished on the ground. My mates were all out of it and lying on the earth, just as they fell. I glanced sideways at the enormous stone, as I could see a glow of light, the only light in the whole landscape, which frightened me, because the grave was now open for anyone to walk into, or out of.

My body froze with fear and that feeling of dread had now taken hold of my mind, yet I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene. As I watched in wonder, a gleaming being came out of the tomb and sat on the stone, lain flat on the ground at the entrance of the cave. I couldn’t keep my eyes of it. What was it? Is this what people call an angel?

Something had to happen, but I couldn’t imagine what. As I gazed in fear and amazement, a man came out from the tomb, not torn and battered as I had seen going in, but whole, radiant, like a conqueror. I could see scars on his feet and his face was still marred with the thorns that had been pushed into his head with such hate. How would he feel about me? I caused his pain…

I do not know what he did, but I felt my heart change from fear to longing, from emptiness to peacefulness and I wanted to speak with him. He came across the soil to where I lay in my horror and self-loathing, reached down and touched my shoulder and spoke my name. I called him Lord, as there was no other name available to me.

They tried to keep me quiet, but I refused. I am not known for my bravery, but these days I stand up straight and speak of what I saw and what happened to me. I suppose you could say I am now a follower. They told me he had gone back to heaven, to be alive forever, and would come back again for all who love him and have trusted in what he has done. I know that is true because he spoke to me and I believe him.