August 9, 2019 -- Revelation 5:9-10 -- What to do when you don't want to pray

Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

and they shall reign on earth.

Revelation 5:9-10 English Standard Version

Yesterday it was my privilege to lead the chapel service. I have the opportunity to lead, each Thursday morning, chapel at the half-way house called, Harvest House Atlantic. I began to wonder who really is getting more out of it? For example, yesterday a group of about 25 gathered. It was a tough morning for many of them. Some are newly released from prison. Some are newly freed from drug addictions. Some are in the rehab program. Some in the basic life skills program. Some are homeless and needing shelter. The question I posed was: what do you do when you don’t feel like praying? The answer I?!: start naming reasons you are thankful to God. So I challenged them: “What reasons do you, gathered here today, have to be thankful? Name these reasons for being thankful to God.”

Let’s face it, that was a challenge for the group in front of me, but even more it was a challenge to me, to my middle-class comfortable world. It is tempting to be cynical and wonder “what reasons could this group have to be thankful?” I am surrounded by men and women who, in the eyes of the world have so little. I held my breath, wondering what would pour out of their mouths?! What reasons do they have for giving thanks?

There was only the briefest pause, long enough for me to hold my breath and think the thoughts I just related to you. I almost broke into the silence to offer reasons for thanksgiving—but at that moment, before I could say a thing, that small group broke forth with answers, humbling me before our Father.

One man exclaimed: “Thanks for the breathe in my lungs.”

Quietly a ball-cap-wearing tattooed brother added: “Another day sober.”

An older woman, trembling with emotion: “A mama on her knees praying for me and never letting up.”

Somewhere someone add: “the glory of a the sunrise.”

“The beauty of the sea splashing against the rocks in Cape Breton” sighed another poetically. He had just, for the first time, seen the powerful sea crashing against the shore on a three day vacation—for that city boy it was a place of wonder and awe.

“Accountability” nodded one with affected gangster slang, trying not to be too vulnerable, but wanting to show he is broken, grateful, amazed—he explained: “brothers here who won’t let me go.”

Then the truth of those words from Revelation 5 became so real to me—there will be people ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ from every tribe and every people and every language and socio-economic group. Yesterday morning these men and women were priests to me—reminding me of the goodness of God that reaches to the places of our deepest need and showing Himself to be faithful.

Today I have many additional reasons to be thankful to God.

What reasons do you have for thankfulness? Come on, name them. Make a list. Let this list of reasons for thanks move your heart to worship and pray to God. You will see He is worthy of all honour and praise.

Forgive me, oh King of great and vast mercies, for my small view of the work of Jesus Christ. Forgive me for imagining a kingdom populated with people just like myself, rather than looking to You and seeing all manner of people from every strata of society and every place who are touched by Your incredible goodness. Thank You for the blood of Jesus Christ that has ransomed sinners and brought us together into one family. Spirit of God, stir me to songs and prayers of praise and thanksgiving—for the glory of Jesus and the honouring of HIs Name. Amen

August 8, 2019 -- Mark 8:27-30 - - Who do YOU say Jesus is?

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Mark 8:27-30 English Standard Version

This is the most critical question Jesus asks: “Who do you say I am?” He is speaking to His twelve followers, each of them left their jobs and their homes to follow Him in His ministry. All their assets, all their family, all their time was wholly devoted to Him. They trusted Him completely for their sustenance, learning from Him and being made into disciples who in turn would disciple others.

The Scottish Theologian John Duncan wrote in the late 1800’s “Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine.” Those are the options you have when confronted with the question “who is Jesus?”

If Jesus deceived others by fraud He would not be worthy of admiration or worship.

If Jesus was Himself deluded, He would be worthy of our pity, but He would not be called a great moral teacher. A deluded man is not an icon for adoration.

If Jesus is Who He said He is: Divine, the Son of God and the Son of Man—then the question remains so relevant today: Who do you say Jesus is?

This is an urgent question because Jesus taught at the end of time He will return with all His holy angels and He will judge the nations. We will face Jesus when we die, or if He should spare our lives until His return we will see Him return in glory and call everyone to account.

We cannot point to any good deeds we have done in order to impress Him. We cannot hope our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds. Even our best works are as unclean, used menstrual cloths. That is graphically gross, Isaiah 64:6 is the text that refers to our best deeds or righteous acts as dirty as menstrual cloths.

It is a strong description, so viscerally gross, but also has profound implications. A woman’s monthly menstrual cycle always has the potential for life. When her body bleeds, then the potential for life for that month was unfulfilled. So it is with us, we have the potential for life, but we are always unfulfilled in doing the good we are called to do. What hope is there? Answer is found in your response to the question: Who is Jesus?

Jesus has become our Saviour, Who rescued us from the tomb and in Him we have life and have it to the full. His sacrifice on the cross means our sins are forgiven. His holy life means that we are credited with His right living and He has already been punished for our sins. Therefore, in view of His sacrifice, in view of the holiness that has become ours through faith—we believe and we live for Him in thankfulness. We are not earning anything, we are using the gifts He has given us in order to honour Him, bless Him and thank Him. Our whole life, all our possession, our time and our family, all we have and are belongs to Him.

Who do YOU say Jesus is?

With the ancient church we praise You, Mighty God, singing and shouting:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms!

Jesus You are Who You revealed Yourself to be: the Son of God, the Son of Man and the only Rescuer of sinful, fallen people. Let our lives, let our witness, let our words and actions be continual and direct proof of Your Lordship to the world around us. Jesus, by Your power, by the direct question You asked, bring our “as yet unsaved” friends and family to a deep and real relationship with Yourself. Amen.

The quotation in the prayer is Ephesians 1:3

August 7, 2019 -- Philippians 3:13b-14 -- What is the Prize of Your Life?

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13b-14 English Standard Version

One tangible way in which the move to Moncton has benefited me is the renewed commitment to jogging and getting physically fit. So, a couple of times a week I strap on the running shoes and take an early morning jog. Recently I have been varying my route and find the challenge keeps me focused. This morning I took a fairly familiar route. Here is my mistake: I mistook familiar for easier. Because I’d taken this route faithfully for the first month, going back to it I assumed it’d be easy. No matter what 6 km is 6 km—just because I know the way doesn’t mean it will require less focus, or less energy or effort.

The goal of the Christian’s life is to know Jesus Christ. God calls us upward—out of the death-spirals of this culture and away from the maddening crowd’s conformity to the things that lead away from God. It is easy to mistake the familiarity of the upward call for ease. We forget the effort it takes to truly engage in pursuing the goal of knowing Jesus. Let me explain.

One of the best ways of pressing forward into the upward call of God is to read the Bible. Yet it is the easiest thing to neglect. Because we are somewhat familiar with the Bible, we guess it is easy. It doesn’t require our focus, taking thought and time to move away from the distractions of life and get to a place and space where our minds can really concentrate on what we are reading and Who is the great prize of our lives.

Or consider prayer—again—this is the great gift of God for building up our relationship with Him. Yet we can mistake familiarity with prayer as something that is therefore easy. It is not. The moment we begin to pray, the phone will ring, or a text message will come in, or your spouse will need help with something. As with Bible reading, so with prayer—take the time, away from the rush of the day and clamour of the urgent and speak with and listen to the Living God. This is what it looks like to press forward, straining against the mundane and ordinary things which would pull us from a growing, soul-enriching, walk with God.

Remind me this day, Living God, that You are the Prize of the soul and the abiding Joy of the believer’s life. With the Psalmist I sigh: “Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes!” By the powerful presence of Your Spirit, renew my zeal and commitment to spend time reading the Bible and speaking with You. Even as I am praying this, I feel the pressure of the day’s demands and the edges of my thoughts are already drifting to other projects and things. Spirit of Wisdom and Power, revive my heart and imagination as I contemplate Jesus Christ and all He did, and is doing for His followers. Spirit of Glory, fill my thoughts with the future, the prize of eternity knowing God better and more fully in the new heavens and the new earth. Amen.

August 5, 2019 -- Luke 24:32 -- Wonder increasing

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Luke 24:32 English Standard Version

The context for these words is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. The news of His resurrection was just starting to filter through the ranks of disciples. Jesus had appeared to the women, but no one else. Then Jesus appeared to two who were walking on the Road to Emmaus. Though the two of them were kept from recognizing Jesus, Jesus explained to them how the Old Testament, every part of it, pointed to Him and His work, life, death and resurrection. The story of Jesus caused the hearts of these men to “burn within them”. They were so excited about what they heard it was like a cleansing fire.

The world is so hungry for stories, movies, and “event” shows. But just as soon as they’re aired, they’re passé. Think how even the names of some past very popular movies can make your eyes roll at the mention of them: Saturday Night Fever, Harry Potter, Avatar, just to name a few. There is, however, one story which never gets old. There is one narrative that explains how all things hold together. The telling of which gives meaning to our present and hope for our future. That is the grand story of Jesus Christ—in Him we live and move and have our being. His is the story of wonder, His is the power and the glory.

Today I am thankful for all those men and women in my life who told me the story of Jesus. Sure, there were preachers who spoke with such awe and power that Jesus’ Name was lifted up as glorious. But God used ordinary men and women for great influence. My parents read the Bible to our gathered family each evening at supper time. There is one catechism teacher who, himself, though he was not dynamic, even so when he spoke of the work of Jesus, my heart burned within me. I am thankful for Sunday School teachers with their flannelgraph figures who were patiently teaching this rambunctious kid the Good News.

There really are only two options. The foolish world would teach this. Nothing coalesced. Nothing exploded and suddenly became something. Logic is in the sewer with that—nothing is both nothing and something at the same time as nothing creates something. Then that lifeless nothing become something somehow by chance organized itself into stars and planets and solar systems and from lifelessness suddenly, inexplicably life arose. And against all logic and defying all sense, single celled scums gained information at the level of DNA until pond scum evolved and constantly, from nowhere and without divine help, inexplicably increased in DNA information until it became people.

The option I embrace with awe: the God of Wonder Who exists outside of creation and time created the heavens and the earth. He created it perfect. Adam, in the Garden of Eden, rebelled against God and this good creation fell into bondage to sin. The curse of God is lifted by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the undoing of bondage to sin has begun. My heart burns within me to share it—when Jesus returns then sin will be no more. There will be new heavens and a new earth. The possibility of sin and evil will be completely ended and God will be all in all and our capacity to delight in Him will be so vastly increased that He will be all our joy. How my heart yearns within me!

O God, You are the God of All Hope and All Peace in believing. Let Your Spirit continue to burn away the lies and false stories we’ve been told until the brilliance of Jesus Christ and His radiance is all I see. Fill our vision, O God of Terrible Splendour, until all else is revealed as tawdry and passé. You, Father, Son and Spirit, are the One True God, in service to Whom is all life and freedom, wonder and joy. Amen.

August 4, 2019 -- Psalm 78:3-4 -- Awe and Wonder at the Splendour of God

things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

Psalm 78:3-4 English Standard Version

That word “wonder” is used 79 times in the Bible. It is used fifteen times in the Psalms and four of those fifteen times right here in Psalm 78. When we are communicating our faith in Jesus Christ to the next generation, will they catch a sense of His glory because we speak with awe? Does the power of God spark surprise and admiration in your heart?

Yesterday I was reading an article on the germination of pine seeds. The article was scientific and technical so that I could only catch about 50% of what I was reading. What captured my imagination is that the seeds of this particular variety of pine tree need the heat of fire to open the cones so that the seeds are released. Then, when the seeds are scattered, they can lay dormant for years, centuries even! They will only germinate when the conditions are right. Some seeds get buried very deep and when a fire sweeps through the forest and burns up the debris of the forest floor and burns away layers of mature trees and shrubs and smaller plants, then the seed will germinate. It stirred such a sense of astonishment in me—the LORD of Heaven and Earth created seeds to “know” the right time to germinate.

Jesus used the parable of scattered seed to represent the Kingdom of God. The Word of God is scattered far and wide: as parents tell the story of Jesus, as Sunday School teachers proclaim Good News, as friends speak of Jesus over coffee. The seeds of the Kingdom are generously poured out and at the right moment, when the conditions are appropriate, the Spirit of God will cause that seed to germinate and bring to life the knowledge of the glory of God in the heart of a new believer.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

Even seeds are tiny witnesses to His majestic foresight and planning.

The man whose heart is filled with wonder declares the majesty of God to his children.

The woman whose soul knows Jesus speaks His goodness to the next generation.

What has surprised your heart and filled your imagination with awe as you think of God?

Tell someone.

Do not be discouraged if that person doesn’t respond immediately. Trust God to know when conditions are right for the seed of the Gospel to break out and germinate.

Your way, O God, is holy! What god is GREAT like our God?!

We will not hide Your deeds from our children. We will not deny this generation the opportunity to marvel at the power of Your salvation. We will declare the greatness of Your love. Our mouths will speak of Your renown. You give Your attention to the tiniest details needed for the seed of the Word to germinate. Let us scatter the Good News of the Kingdom far and wide, bearing the seeds of the knowledge of Your glory to the ends of earth. Bring honour to Your Name, O God. Let Your might and dominion, Your splendour and Your immense majesty spark holy awe in our hearts and imaginations bringing us as captives to Your throne of mercy until that great day when we see You face to face. Amen.

August 3, 2019 -- Romans 7:14-15 -- What are you moving towards?

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Romans 7:14-15 English Standard Version

What is it you want? Seems like a straightforward question, doesn’t it? Many of us can name the things we want. Many of us have financial goals and goals for our work, goals for our hobbies and so on. Perhaps you have experienced this strange anomaly: you know what you want but you are doing things which are contrary to your stated goals.

James K .A. Smith notes that what we say we want is often at odds with what our core desires are. However, we are always moving towards our goals. Smith writes:

To be human is to be on the move, pursuing something, after something.

We are like existential sharks: have to to move to live. We are not just static

containers for ideas; we are dynamic creatures directed to some end. In

philosophy we have a shorthand term for this: something that is oriented

toward an end or telos (a “goal”) is described as “teleological.”

James K.A. Smith You Are What You Love page 8

Paul is expressing this sense of knowing intellectually what he wants, having had his heart and mind captured by Christ, Jesus is his goal and his heart’s desire. And yet he acknowledges his flesh is pulling on him, his old, sinful goals, are at war within him. For the apostle Paul the resolution is found in Jesus Christ alone. All his soul’s deepest longings are met in knowing Jesus. By putting the Word of God into the depths of His heart—bringing it to the core of who he is—He is moving towards Jesus the Hope and Joy of his soul.

We are intellectual and we are heart-driven. We are driven by the longings of our heart; it is those longings that need to be examined. If we have a goal and we find we are constantly veering away from that goal, we need to do a heart check, asking: what it is I really want? What it is I am really worshiping at this time? The good things I want to do I am not doing—why not? The answer is clear—we are off course because we haven’t placed Jesus as the highest good and the greatest desire of our hearts. Whatever is on the throne of our hearts, that is what we’ll move towards. If we do not examine our lives, we may well find we are rushing headlong to ruin.

Tomorrow is Sunday. Get a heart-check and plan on getting spiritually fit.

Jesus, I confess—in agreement with Your Word—it is possible to look so good on the outside, and yet, inside be sin-filled, with maggoty, rotting, crawling evil. By Your Word and by Your Spirit help us to perform a heart examination, so that like Paul in Romans we will make an honest assessment of our goals and of where we are actually heading. By Your Word and by Your Spirit correct our course. Thank You for Sundays, for days of worship and family in the faith who encourage us in all that is excellent and good and holy and true. Amen.

August 2, 2019 -- I John 1:1-3 -- What is 'fellowship'?

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

I John 1:1-3 English Standard Version

That weird word “fellowship” is used twice in our short text. What does fellowship actually mean? John the Apostle is writing to believers who have these things in common: they are reading John’s letter, they are receiving information about Jesus Christ, how His life, death and resurrection have caused believers in Jesus to be called sons and daughters of God. This is such a huge topic, such a big part of who we are that Christians, when we gather, can’t help but talk about Jesus, the blessing of belonging to Him, their latest bible reading and the glory of knowing the Creator of the Universe.

Fellowship is when two or more believers get together and talk about God. Fellowship happens when believers tell one another of the great things going on in their lives and the struggles they have staying true to Jesus. Fellowship means the believers pray, right there, on the spot, for each other. And our passage reminds us these elements of Christian fellowship lead us into deeper contact, communication and relationship with God, our Father and with Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit uses these times of meeting together to increase our knowledge of God, deepen our love for God, whet our hunger for more of God in our lives and increase our desire to serve Him.

If this sounds dead boring to you, it is because the Spirit of God has not yet grabbed hold of your heart and your imagination with all the wondrous things Jesus has done. Believe me, there is no greater adventure, no higher joy and no more sustaining hope than knowing God and His love poured out for us in Jesus. I challenge you today, find a friend whose faith you admire, and ask him about his walk with God. Call a friend who obviously knows Jesus and talks with Him and ask her to explain to you why this faith she holds is so important to her. That is fellowship. And that is tremendous blessing.

God, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, the vast universe and the complexities of DNA, thank You for the gift of the Bible by which we get to know Who You Are. Thank You for the Spirit of God Who helps us read and begin to understand. Thank You for the Spirit Who brings various people into our lives who shine the light of Jesus. Thank You, God of Wonders, that Jesus is the evidence of Your lasting love for and grace to us ruined sinners, such as we were (and such as some of us reading this still are). Spirit of God, make us bold enough to ask our friends why their faith means so much to them. Let our coffee times and get togethers become weighted with talk of Your glory Mighty God. Stir in us a faith that is living and growing in knowledge of and love for Jesus. Amen.

August 1, 2019 -- Ephesians 5:7-8 - - Walking in the Light

…for at one time you were in darkness,

but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light

Ephesians 5:7-8 English Standard Version

This morning I was flipping stations as I was listening to the radio. I just caught the last little bit of a preacher’s talk. I don’t know who it was but I really appreciated this illustration he gave. He noted when he walks into a nice restaurant with his wife often the light level is a bit lower. It is ‘ambiance’. The waitress hands him a menu, and his eyes haven’t adjusted from the bright outside light to the lowered light level so in the restaurant it seems he can’t see a thing. He wants to ask: “Turn up the light so I can read the menu!” After a couple of minutes his eyes adjust and he can read the menu. Then he made the point so beautifully—our eyes can adjust to whatever level of light we are in; so we also can adjust our actions accordingly to whatever light or darkness we are walking in.

The devil would have us lower the light level. “Just a bit darker” He is whispering: “No problem really. Not much of a compromise.” But the Bible calls us to live as children of light—those who have put off the deeds of darkness. Christians delight in the things of God. We want to walk in the light because we remember the shameful and sinful things we did while we were caught in the darkness. Since Jesus has rescued us from the darkness of our sins, we want to walk in the light of His love and forgiveness.

Here is a very familiar hymn, loved by many (and I believe it is in over 300 different hymn-books!) which wonderfully describes walking in the light of Jesus and His Word.

When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

John H. Sammis 1887

God of Majesty, the Bible describes You as the One Who lives in unapproachable light. What glory and splendor belong to You alone. Blessed are You. Thank You for making known to simple people such as we are, the glory and weight of Your brilliance. Thank You for drawing us up out of the darkness and bringing us into the light of Jesus. Thank You, Spirit of God, that You guard us in the way of Jesus and by the Word increase our joy-filled trust and obedience. Amen.

July 30, 2019 - - Revelation 2:1-7 - - Remember Your First Love

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Revelation 2:1-7 English Standard Version

What a blessing it is to hear other preachers preach! Today I listened to Sinclair Ferguson as he explained the passage above. Quite simply he unpacked the words of Jesus so clearly and beautifully. The three points I list below are his and I am still thinking on them with pleasure. This reflection is based squarely on Ferguson’s work and sermon—I have included the link below, and if you have 31 minutes I strongly urge you to listen to it.

This issue in this letter to the Ephesians is: love. At verse 4 Jesus accuses them: “you have abandoned the love you had at first”. Ferguson noted that when couples come to him for counseling, those who say their love has died he advices three things—in fact—the advice is exactly the advice from this passage for Christians whose love for Jesus has grown cold: remember, repent, renew.

When a couple feels their love has gone cold, they need to remember the things that brought them together in the first place. Infinitely more so, the believer who no longer loves Jesus with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength needs to ask: “What first drew me to Jesus?” And in remembering the fact that all our sins have been washed away, our love for Jesus is rekindled.

Repent. That is the condition Jesus placed on the Ephesians—a powerful church that had planted many other churches in the region. Unless the people of the church of Ephesus turn away from their sin of pursuing any other love than Jesus will turn out the lights of that church. It is His right to do so. He will not allow HIs sanctuary to be used as a place for infidelity.

Renew. Walking with Jesus is not about head-knowledge. It is not signing a pledge card, once and treating that like a ticket good for a ride on the glory train to heaven. In fact, Jesus is inviting them to find victory over their malaise and walk in newness of life with Him. He is the One Who holds the key of life, the One Who receives believers to eternity and He alone is the One in Whom is fullness of joy.

Historical footnote: the church in Ephesus died. Jesus did exactly as He said He would—He removed from them the light of His glory. He will not walk among a loveless people. What a stark warning for us today.

Remember Who Jesus is and all He has done and is doing. There is no greater love possible!

Repent of any sins or activities which draw you away from your love for Jesus.

Renew your walk with Him—read the Bible, listen to good preaching, spend time with believers whose walk with God you admire.

It was a great pleasure for me to listen to Ferguson—but even he would say it’d be wrong to stop there—once again the most important question any of us should ask ourselves is this: Do I love Jesus more than any one, any thing or any activity?

Jesus, the hymn writer penned these precious words: “My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou are mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou, if ever I loved Thee my Jesus it is now.” Spirit of the Living God, bring to heart and mind all the blessings of Jesus Christ and His glorious work so that I will repent of any waywardness and be truly, deeply, renewed in my love for Jesus. Let this love grow and increase, burning ever brighter until by His power I see our Father face to face. Amen.

Hymn “My Jesus I Love Thee” was written by William Featherstone circa 1864

https://www.monergism.com/topics/mp3-audio-multimedia/00-new-testament-sermons-book/revelation/chapter-revelation/revelation-0

Jully 29, 2019 - - I John 3:4-7 - - What are you practicing to perfect?

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

I John 3:4-7 ESV

We know the phrase “practice makes perfect”. The issue set before us in this short passage is this: “what are you seeking to perfect in your life?”

Some of us, no doubt, are perfecting our lawlessness as we store up angry and bitter thoughts against someone else.

Others among us might be honing our skills in gossip and backstabbing.

A few of us might be quick with anger and making this our daily target practice.

Maybe others are more subtle in their lawless ways—we’re hiding our sins, imagining that the One Who formed the eye somehow doesn’t see what we’re doing. (As if!)

In contrast to the practice of lawlessness and sin, Jesus has come to break the patterns and practices of sin and give us new life. Those who are made new in Jesus practice righteousness. That is a $50 theological word which I’m sure scares a lot of people. Basically, by way of negative definition, righteousness means that the orientation of our heart is not towards our own ego, our world or towards evil. Righteousness, by way of a positive definition, means that the deepest love of our heart is focused on Jesus Christ.

Though some of us practice kindness we see we fail at it and rather than be discouraged, like little toddlers we waddle over to God our Father and asked for His forgiveness.

Some of us try to change our rages and fits of anger and what we have found is that the fuel which used to make us people living in powder kegs and giving off sparks, well, that fuel is gone from us. And we have been changed from the inside out. Don’t get me wrong, there are still sparks and evidences of the old patterns and practices, but the orientation of the heart and the will, the thoughts and actions are fixed on Jesus.

As Christians we don’t see the Lord of Heaven and Earth as an unreasonable, angry, and mean ruler. Instead, we see Him as One Who loved us so much, He allowed His Own Son to be punished in our place so that we could have access to His throne room. In fact, our Father, has propped open the door of the storehouse of heaven by His powerful Spirit so that every time our old practices and bad habits begin to nudge their way forward, the Spirit of God gives us a prick of conscience and in light of all we have in Jesus, we would rather turn to Jesus than have all the useless things of this earth. These things are, ultimately useless, because when we die we cannot take anything with us.

The only thing that follows us from the grave is what our heart practiced on earth. And then, after we die and find ourselves in the presence of God, at that very moment from the overflow of the heart, the mouth will speak.

Now, Lord Jesus, by Your prayers on our behalf, may it be as is promised in the Bible. We ask that the Father, Who loves us and by Your sacrifice has given us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, will comfort our hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Amen.

(This prayer is based on the blessing found in II Thessalonians 2:16-17)

July 28, 2019 -- Luke 17:3-6 -- You'll be surprised by power

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Luke 17:3-6 ESV

Currently I am reading a book by Jay Adams about Christian forgiveness. It is an excellent reminder of the command of Jesus with regards to forgiveness. Though I am just in the early chapters, I have been very impacted by these words:

But for now, two things may help: First, remember how many times each day Jesus forgives you.

Second, if you’ve really forgiven, it isn’t the seventh time, it isn’t the fifth, it isn’t even the second.

It is always the first.

Adams From Forgiven to Forgiving page 25

Unless we have a clear idea how many times, every day, every hour God forgives us in Christ we will have no sense of the fact that we are more sinning against God than ever we are sinned against by others. That is so humbling.

Then the apostles’ surprised, honest response makes so much sense: “Lord, increase our faith!” I am thinking they are asking for greater faith to be able to forgive. What they may not realize is how their spontaneous prayer actually applies.

First Jesus tells them all they need is a tiny bit of faith—like a small mustard seed. It is not great faith that acts on this, forgiving others is evidence of the smallest bit of faith.

Second, it is the work of God in us to help us, by this small faith, to see our own sinfulness and then to understand how much we have been forgiven therefore how much we ought to forgive.

And, we have so many things backwards. We are impressed by the possibility of faith being able to move a rooted tree and making it fly to the sea—and some spend much time thinking that is the thrust of the passage—let my faith teleport things! That is misguided. The real impressive and powerful point is that forgiving others is greater, more powerful, requires more of the Spirit than merely uprooting trees.

Today, ask the Spirit of God to show you how much you have been forgiven, how much you are being forgiven.

Then ask the Spirit of God to lead you in the path of obedience so that you forgive others—fully, freely, as if each request is the first time they have asked for it.

God, I confess, to my way of thinking, such forgiveness as You require is more impressive and has greater grandeur than the vast swirling masses of stars in the Milky Way. Thank You for the great and glorious forgiveness that is mine in Christ! I can not begin to comprehend the full extent of it. Spirit of God, in view of the glory of Jesus Christ, I surrender myself to You—work in me and through me faith so that I will be a Christian who forgives as fully and as freely as I have been forgiven. Bring to mind anyone whom I need to approach about any unforgiveness lingering in my heart. Spirit prompt me to holy boldness to work for reconciliation—even as Christ Who for the joy set before Him endured suffering, even the cross and scorned its shame—so let me scorn my own pride and be a forgiven Christian who, in Jesus’ Name, forgives. Amen.

July 27, 2019 - - II Peter 5:17-18 - - Expecting to Grow in Grace

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

II Peter 3:17-18 ESV

There are a few good Christian friends I used to hang around with—it is the past tense because Carolyn and I recently moved from Ontario to Moncton, NB—and when we’d get together often this question would be asked: “What is God teaching you?” It is so easy to talk about politics, weather, fav sports team, most recent failings of our spouse or children, recipes and so on. Such conversations, while not bad in and of themselves should not be all that believers talk about. It is easy to get entangled in the things of the world and lose your sense of stability.

As Christians there is a dominant narrative over-arching our life—we are made to be children of the Living God by the grace of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we expect one another to grow in grace and we call each other to give a joy-filled account of all that God is teaching us. And if “joy-filled” is too much to expect, an honest account of what God is teaching us.

Perhaps He is using our suffering to recalibrate our ego and keep us from thinking too much of ourselves and re-teach us how to depend on Him.

It might be He is using financial stresses to teach us to ask for help—that is a humbling experience. When we have learned how it feels to reach out for help, in turn, when God places us in a position to be helpful to others, we learn to do so with much greater compassion.

We are new to Moncton and finding out how many people already have established social circles. While I am quite a social person, Carolyn is very content to be at home. I am finding out how to use this extra time I would have used for social activities to ask God—with whom should I be meeting and connecting? Before I fill up my calendar with new people and new events, maybe there is someone who is lonely, or needs a friend so that we can mutually build one another up in our precious faith.

Of course, church is an excellent place to learn. There is so much God places on the heart of His faithful preachers and teachers. Tomorrow is Sunday. Plan on going to church and expect to grow in grace and knowledge. If you haven’t attended church in a long time (or ever) get  your programme of spiritual fitness going. Phone a friend and ask to go to church with him or her. Your Christian friend will be honoured you asked and delighted to join you!

I challenge you today, or this week, surprise your Christian friend and ask: “What is God teaching you? I am convinced the answer will be a blessing to you both.

Teach me, O God, Your way of truth. By the powerful presence of Your Spirit help me to understand the Bible, learn about You through faithful preachers, and be sharpened by Christian friends. Let me be taught more about Jesus—Who He is, Why He is to be revered—so that with heart and hands, life and obedience I may serve Him instead of serving the tyrannical lusts of my flesh and the fading, slavery-making pleasures of the world. Heaven and earth will soon pass away, but You have promised, those who trust in You, Jesus, have a Father in heaven Who guards them and blesses them now and for all eternity. Thank You that Your are not some far deity, cold and indifferent, but You are the Father of the fatherless, All-Merciful to the sin-sickened, Guardian of the forgotten, and near as a prayer. Amen.

July 25, 2019 - - Colossians 1:6b-12 - -Who is on yours?

since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:6b-12 English Standard Version

What a meaty passage this is! So much is in here. Did you catch the focus here: Paul and his fellow leaders love the people of the church that meets at Colossae so much that they are constantly praying for these folks. Yesterday I read a great illustration of why this is so important:

J.O. Fraser was a missionary in Southwest China, ministering to tribal people living in that very

mountainous region. After some years on the field, he noticed a strange thing. The churches

which were miles away from the city in which he was living seemed to do better than the church

in his own town. He would visit the distant churches occasionally and discovered that they were

healthy, active, dedicated, and growing, much more so than the church in which he ministered

regularly. Why was that so? Finally the Lord showed him. He found out that he prayed far more

diligently for people who were miles away than for those with whom he fellowshipped regularly.

Leroy Eims The Lost Art of Disciple Making page 69

Dear readers, be assured that some of you who are receiving this devotion are regularly and faithfully in my prayers. It is one of the best ways I know how to pray for you. Others of you receiving these devotions are, by your own admission, not Christians—doesn’t matter, you are in my prayers and whatever God has placed on my heart concerning you I keep in prayer. And the others of you receiving this are sporadically in my prayers and God is challenging my heart to learn how to be more persistent in prayer. He alone brings the blessings. He alone is the source of every good gift—as James 1 reminds us.

As you consider the text from Colossians and what I have written, I have some questions for you! Who is the focus of your prayers? Certainly there are emergency prayers and crisis times when someone gets lots of your prayer attention—but who is long-term part of your prayers? As you read this and consider this, who is God nudging you to once again keep in prayer?

God our Father, thank You for the work of Your Spirit Who guards believers so that we are kept faithful in Jesus and directed in faithful living for Jesus. Thank You, God of Mercy and love, for the gift of prayer. Thank You that if we are praying right beside our loved one, or clear across the continent or the world, our prayers truly express love for that person. Thank You, Prayer-Hearing-Master, that You have chosen to work through the prayers of Your people. Thank You for the deep and clear reminder that we do not work in our own strength, but all our work is done in the strength of Your Spirit, based on Jesus’ finished work on our behalf. Forgive us for the times we have neglected to pray. Forgive us for the times we do not persist in showing love because we are failing to persist in prayer for our loved ones. Thank You, Spirit of All Comfort, that You never get weary of bringing compunction to our thoughts so that we confess our sins to God. Thank You God, that as often as we confess our sins, You are faithful and forgive us. God, please! Renew in us a zeal to be faithful. Hear the prayer words and the voiceless, in articulate pleading of our heart, the deep groans and longings we pour out to You—we ask this to honour Your Son, our Savior, Jesus. Amen.

July 24, 2019 -- I John 4:17-18 -- Perfect love drives out fear

17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

I John 4 English Standard Version

Perfect love casts out fear. There are enough things I fear. There are so many diversions I meander along rather than face these fears. The promise of the Bible is that perfect love casts out fear. The problem is that I don’t have perfect love. My love ebbs and flows, rises and falls and sometimes seems so thin. How can such love drive out fear? It can’t.

Perfect love refers to the love of God. Consider this translation of I John 4, it is Eugene Petersen’s translation:

17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

I John 4 The Message

Recently Carolyn and I moved to Moncton. There is a river running through the downtown—the Petitcodiac River. It has a tide—every six hours and twenty five minutes the tide rushes in and the river begins filling and swelling and when it reaches its peak, the river begins draining—going out with the tide—for six hours and twenty-five minutes it rushes out. And then the whole process begins again. For this Ontario boy, it is quite a sight. I am unaccustomed to a river with a tide! But the illustration is great. I feel there are times the tide pulls in and the waters of love rush in and displace fear. But all too often, with too much regularity, it feels like the courage that accompanies love is just draining out of me. This illustration is not what I John 4 is picturing. Look again at the passage—especially the Message translation.

God moves in. He takes up residence in the heart of the believer. His presence displaces fear. His grandeur and the weight of glory fills my thoughts and heart so that what is said earlier in this very same chapter is true: ‘for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” God is greater than my fears. God’s love is perfect and it is being perfected in me.

Here I am preaching to my own soul this morning. When fear seems to have overtaken me, or fear seems to be all I see, then the Word of God reminds me—Jesus has taken up residence in my heart. Jesus, Who endured the cross, the punishment of God against my sin, that same Jesus lives in my heart and He brings His perfect love to me and as my love waxes or wanes, the flow of His love fills me up in every part. The love of Jesus Christ is taking up residence in every part of my life. When I allow myself to give in to fear, what I am doing is opening the small storage space of unbelief, the places where I keep the dilapidated trophies of my old life and every time these disappoint. Just as they did at first so they continue to do now, they fail me. Only the love of Jesus, perfect and relentless, drives out fear.

Read the Bible. Get re-acquainted, o my soul, with the grandeur of God. Think on His splendour and power.

Look at creation—God the Creator, never tires of calling out the sun to shine and at night giving the moon and the stars in their courses. For the last five thousand seven hundred and seventy plus years He has never tired of giving orders to the sun to rise and set. He never wearies of commanding sun rises and sun sets, or delighting in the ordering of the constellations. Know this, fearful heart, this same Majestic God of Power will never tire of directing His love into every part of my being.

Consider the cross, oh fearful and fickle mind, look—Jesus’ perfect love for His Father and great obedience unmanned the devil and disarmed all his fiery barbs. Jesus’ love is perfect and it is His love that is filling me and displacing my fear.

Father of all mercy, thank You for Your patient, steadfast love for a fickle and floundering Christian such as I am. Jesus, thank You for Your perfect love, which drives out all fear. I confess this morning that is not my experience of Your love: perfect and driving out all my fear; however that is the promise of Your Word. Your Spirit verifies as true all that the Bible teaches. So, Spirit of God, remind me over and over again of the royal resident, Jesus, Who lives in me. Spirit of God let the truth of the Word drive out any and all fear. Spirit of God clear out all the go-to-cupboards of my heart where fear would still linger within me. Spirit of God, Who ever points me to Jesus, in my heart, in my words, in my life, let King Jesus, be glorified to the praise of the Father in heaven. Amen.

July 23, 2019 -- Titus 2:11-14 -- You a lightweight?

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11-14 ESV

What great grace God gives believers in Jesus Christ! We are transformed from hell-bound sinners into heaven-bound saints. The heaven-bound saint realizes worldly passions and ungodliness are weights and encumbrances which steal joy and cloud the vision of the glory of our great God and Savior.

Glory is a difficult term for us to understand. There is an expression that used to be more common. Remember when you’d call some “a light-weight”. It meant the person didn’t have much to recommend him in whatever field or area of supposed expertise he claimed to have. In the Old Testament “glory” originally means weight. God is the heavy-weight, He is substantial. In the New Testament, glory is brilliance, radiance, and bright light.

Paul writing to Titus notes that the glory of God outweighs any other consideration. The glory of God shines brighter than anything else we might consider worthy of praise. The radiance of God’s glory draws us, like a moth to the brightness. Ever have it, at night, you get up and there is a bit of light leaking through the curtains. It is dim, but enough to make your way to the hall. Where you turn on a light and suddenly you have to shield your eyes because of the brightness?! Then when you turn off the light, the darkness is deeper because you’ve just been exposed to the bright light? Even in a room that is familiar where you know the placement of your furniture you begin to stumble because your eyes are struggling to adjust to the suddenly gloom.

So it is for Christians, the eyes of our soul have seen the splendid glory of Jesus Christ—the things of this world are dim and shrouded in darkness. Suddenly the things that seemed important and weighed heavily on us are exposed as encumbrances and light-weight useless stuff to be discarded when compared with the gravitas of the majesty and goodness of God. No wonder Christians who understand Who Christ is have a zeal to do good works. The good works are not carried out in order to curry favour with God—the good works are enthusiastically pursued because of the glory of God—Who has already claimed us in Christ and called us sons and daughters. It is the joy of the soul, the heart, the mind and the strength of the Christian to serve God.

Thank You, God our Father, that grace has appeared and set the world ablaze with weight the Your splendour seen clearly in the work of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Jesus, that You would not leave us lost in darkness and hell-bound, but by Your sacrifice and the power of Your resurrection have rescued us and set us heaven-bound toward the never-ending jubilation of eternity in Your presence. Thank You, Spirit of God, that You stir up within us the awareness the greatness of the inheritance given us in Christ and that You keep us safe in path of obedience. Forgive us, merciful Father, for the times we have turned back to deeds of darkness and former sins. Forgive us when we stoked bitterness in our hearts or nurtured resentments. Sweep through the whole of our being—every part and place so that we are cleansed and fitted for holy service. Help us, Spirit of God, to hate the old ways of life more and more and to delight ever more fully in the things of God and the lasting pleasures which are found only in devoted service to You. Amen.

July 22, 2019 -- Psalm 8 -- The Glory of God

O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b]
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8 English Standard Version

The measure of man is mere millimeters compared to the greatness of the universe;

the splendour of the universe is a mere millimeter compared to the glory of God.

Richard T. Vander Vaart

One does not go the Banff National Park nestled in the mountains and gaze at Lake Louise and walk the Parker Ridge Trail in order to gain a sense of how great man is! If anything, at Banff one will get a marvelous sense of wonder, showing how small man really is. Or, like David, the author of this psalm, one does not gaze up at the heavens and think: I am great. Instead, we are reminded of how very, very small man is.

The great, breath-taking glory of God is revealed in creation. And then, greater still, when one considers the magnificence of Jesus. He, Who is the radiance of the Father’s glory, reveals even greater depths and heights of glory when He takes on the sin of mankind, and opens the way for believers to be called sons and daughters of the Most High God.

Today, I can think of no better prayer than repeating Psalm 8.

Shalom

July 20, 2019 - - Ephesians 4:17-18 - - Gentile or Believer?

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their heart.

Ephesians 4:17-18 ESV

What is the futility of the Gentile’s thinking? Simply this: they are alienated from the life of God—they refuse to acknowledge God and His right to command all our living. “Gentile” in this context is shorthand for non-believer. One description of the hubris of the Gentile that I recently heard stays with me. This one man, who claimed not to believe in God, was asked what would happen if he died and was confronted with God? The man had a response that was filled with pride and ignorance. What strikes me is this man had seriously considered what he would say to God. He had spent time thinking about what he’d say to this God, the same God he thinks doesn’t exist. Let me pose a different scenario.

Let’s say this same man (who claimed not to believe in God) were to be asked about the Easter Bunny: “If you are confronted with the Easter Bunny, what would you say?” Immediately we know this is nonsensical, right? There is absolutely no doubt the Easter Bunny is imaginary. However, in contrast even the hard-hearted unbeliever has a sense there might be a god or some supreme power. There are unbelievers who have hardened their hearts against God, claiming not to believe, but still saying things like: “I don’t believe in God. I hate Him.”

There is Gentile belief: the universe created itself (which is completely illogical—how can something which does not exist at one moment at the same time make itself to exist?). Gentile belief claims the self-creating universe also used non-life to create life. That takes great faith.

Then there is the believer. As a believer I am united to the life of God. The Spirit of the Living God resides in me. The Spirit of the Living God takes the Scripture and makes it plain so that I know all that exists was created by the LORD of Heaven and Earth—He alone is self-existent and outside of creation and time. Whether or not there is a universe, there was, is and always will be the Triune. As a believer I am united to the life of God because Jesus Christ has taken on Himself the punishment for my sins and given to me His right and holy life so that God the Father sees me as one who has the credit which belongs to Jesus. The Father in heaven has accepted Jesus standing in the place of believers, taking their sin on Himself at the cross, and in exchange giving them His righteousness. That takes great faith.

Tomorrow is Sunday. Get to a Bible-believing church and learn more about the God Who exists. You’ll never be sorry you did! It is nothing short of the greatest adventure to serve Him.

Mighty God of Untold Splendor and Majesty—thank You for making Yourself known through creation, and through the Bible and then most beautifully in the Person of Jesus Christ. Increase our faith and our hunger to participate more fully in the life of God. We pray, urgently and persistently, for the people in our lives whom we love who are living as Gentiles, hardening their hearts against believing in You. Spirit of God, break through the shell of their unbelieving and give to them a heart that is tender towards You, Creator, the God of mercy. Prepare us, this Sunday, to receive all whom You will bring to church so that we will welcome them, in the Name of Jesus, and share with them the depths and heights of joy that You give in Jesus our Saviour. Amen.

July 19, 2019 -- Galatians 5:22-24

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22-24 ESV

This is a rather well-known portion of Galatians. It is easy to lift it from its context and miss the weight of what is being said. Paul had just written a really harsh letter, bawling out the Galatians for what seems to be their bewitchment at the teachings of heretics and then quickly abandoning their sure faith in Jesus. He was calling them to account. He wants them to examine their foolish ways and return to Jesus.

I am reminded of the fact that the fruit of the Spirit, those nine attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control come to fruition in the believer through hardship. One must beat down the passions of the flesh, ignore contrary teachings denying the faith and resist the urgings and temptations peers constantly throw about.

We are funny people. On the one hand we can get enraged if we have to stand in line at the bank or grocery store for what we think is too long a wait. We want preferential treatment. On the other hand, if we see someone else getting preferential treatment, perhaps going to the front of the line the very line we have been standing in for the past ten minutes, we can begin to fume and wonder: “what’s so special about that person?!”

The fruit of the Spirit develops and matures under conditions where there is hardship and ease. Think of regular fruit what it requires and it endures. Fruit grows with sunshine and needs rain. However hard rains and storms that threaten it. Ripening fruit endures high winds and insect predations or drought conditions. For believers, the fruit of the Spirit is both the gift of God and it matures as the believer exercises his or her faith in each and every circumstance of life. An immature tree produces only a little fruit, appropriate to its age. A mature tree has a strong root system and the ability to produce much fruit. As we show the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, God is honoured and glorified, and the people around us marvel that we have characteristics which are evidence of the grace of God.

Jesus, we need more and more of Your grace as we navigate the ordinary circumstances of our lives. We are easily pricked to reactions that are disproportionate to the wrong we perceive has been done against us. Thank You for the fruit of Your Spirit growing within us. Spirit of God, by Your presence in us, direct our living so that we walk in step with Jesus in the light of sacred Scripture. Spirit of God, forgive us for the times we do not exercise the fruit of faith You give us. Spirit of Comfort and Power, there are many believers around the globe who have much greater trials as they face great persecution for their faith at the hands of their government, their employers, and even their own families. Aid them in our precious faith so that they will mature in the fruit of the Spirit to the glory of Jesus and the honour and credit of God’s Name. Even so, increase our faith and our maturity also that in all things God our Father is blessed and honoured and Jesus Christ will reap the harvest which exalts His sacrifice and His victory. Amen.

July 18, 2019 - - II Corinthians 10:17-18 - - Our Boast is in Jesus

Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved,

but the one whom the Lord commends.

II Corinthians 10:17-18 ESV

A four year old child hands you her most recent picture. It is supposed to be you—your head is bigger than your belly and you have no feet, but you do have one hand, with nine fingers. She is so earnest, seeking your approval and showing you her love. As an adult you know it is all messed up. As a parent you know it is age appropriate and beautiful.

In so many ways I feel like that four year old. The gifts I give to God are so misshapen, so haphazard and yet given with love. The offerings I bring are done quickly, so often it is just scribbling and rushing, rather than thoughtful, patient, and completed over a longer time to allow for maturing and improvement.

Knowing the effort I put into something and the effort that is lacking, I am still looking for validation. I want to boast. I want to say “I did that.” Or I’ll post something and wait for someone to approve. Commend me. Tell me it is good. Disappointed if no one comments. Disbelieving even if they do compliment knowing the work is not good enough.

Paul is writing to the Corinthians. Ah, we know all about those Corinthians. They are tolerating gross sexual immorality (until this letter, part II where we learn they heeded Paul’s admonition against such sin). They boast about which leader they follow. They have dissensions among them. There are some who are dying because they are abusing the Lord’s Supper. What a raucous, motley group. And yet, there is a reason to boast.

Their boast is in Christ alone. He has lifted them up from the grave of their sins. Jesus has clothed them in His righteousness. Their boast is in Him alone. That is our boast too. We have been brought from death in our sinfulness, to life in Christ. That is why He is our boast and our song.

At the end of this second letter Paul encourages them to aim for reconciliation and to live at peace. He reminds them of this: the grace of the Lord Jesus is with them. Of course these Corinthians will fail. So do we!Of course their best works are as dung and poorly drawn pictures. Just as are the works we do, rot and incompleteness. The point is not one of us has any reason to stand before God and say: “Look at how good I am”. When we go before God, as sons and daughters of the Most High we joyfully say, “Look how good Christ is. See the beauty and perfections of Your Son—all that He has given me so that I am qualified in Him to be adopted as Yours. Great is Jesus—the Captain of our Salvation!” And our Father in heaven sees the our poor efforts as perfected and lovely because of Jesus Christ.

Thank You God for the great promise that You, Who began a good in us, will see it to completion in Jesus Christ. Spirit of God, make the Word of God and the promises we find in it, food for our soul, and increase for our intellect and cheerful obedience. Amen.

July 16, 2019 -- I Corinthians 4:20 - - Power

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

I Corinthians 4:20 English Standard Version

That single, simple sentence jumped out at me this morning as I was reading the Bible! We all know the expression: “He’s all talk but no action”. The believer who is part of the Kingdom of God is one who experiences the power of God and lives in the power of God. Talk and action are bound together by the power of God. Let me explain.

The power of God for us

We cannot save ourselves. We cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and somehow present ourselves to God as acceptable. He is holy. He is a consuming fire. Nothing impure can come into His presence. That is why the power of Jesus’ work on our behalf is so awe-inspiring. While we were yet sinners, Jesus took the punishment God was going to pour out on us because of our on-going state of sinfulness and He took it on Himself. Then Jesus’ holy living—the fact that all through His life from the very start to the very last moment as He was cursed on the cross and dying, He lived without sinning in word, or action, or thought—has been credited to us.

The power of Jesus, the Kingdom of God, is given to believers in Jesus Christ. Our sins are wiped clean. Our past, present and all future misdeeds, sins we commit as well as the sin of knowing the good we should do and not doing it—all these sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. And God our Father sees us as His beloved children, pure and holy because He sees us as those who have received the credit belonging to Jesus.

The power of God in us.

Knowing the power of God for us almost makes me freeze, like a deer in the headlights. Anything I do will be wrong—I want to do right and end up making a mess of things. It seems tempting to freeze and not do anything good or bad so that I won’t commit any further sin until Jesus returns. But that would make my faith all talk and no action. As if God had the power to save us from our sin but had no power to preserve us and let us live in His blessings. Here is some of the glorious truth of the Gospel that brings comfort and hope. God’s power is in us as well.

God has given believers the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Power. The very Spirit of God lives in us. He is, as the letter to the Ephesians declare it, the Spirit is both the deposit guaranteeing our new life in Jesus and the Spirit is the Giver of knowledge of the Bible so that we learn to live more fully for Jesus (Ephesians 1:14 17).

The Spirit of God and the Word of God give us the power to not only talk about the will of and work of God, but the power to do the things of God so that we bring to God pleasure! Don’t take my word on this, check out Philippians 2:13.

God has given us the powerful gift of forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that as often as we ask for forgiveness, God is faithful and for the honour and glory of His Son, forgives us our sins. The fact we need forgiveness points to the wondrous work and the mighty blessing Jesus is for us who believe. Jesus’ work is miraculous and powerful, our sins prove His inestimable worth as these sins have been emptied of the power of hell by the Almighty Power of Jesus which is power to save from hell and keep for heaven those who believe in Him.

More than this—Jesus gives us the power to delight in His blessings. The old proverb: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” doesn’t apply to Christians. We are not saved and then stare backwards longingly at the sins of non-Christians and sigh and say: “I gave up so much to follow Jesus.” No way! The former way of life led directly to hell. The former way of life was blindness to all that is beautiful, all that is true, all that is excellent and noble. Jesus Christ gives us the power to rejoice in knowing God. It is the power of Jesus to give us joy in following Him, no matter the cost.

All-powerful Saviour Jesus, we confess this day, that we feel weak. The great things which this short text hold out to us today can seem so far away, so unlikely to apply to me—maybe it is for others, but it is really for me? Thank You, Father in heaven that Your Kingdom is not just a bunch of empty words, but that Your Word is power. Thank You Jesus that Your resurrection power lives in us. Thank You Spirit of God that You guarantee the great and awesome things of God to those who believe. Increase our faith. Increase our capacity for joyful believing and faithful obedience so that people see us and know the Kingdom of God is not all talk but it is the power of Jesus. Amen.