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Glen Park Gospel Church >> Archive >> Editorial >> 2012
Each month the Glen Park Gospel Church produce a one page newsletter called the Green Leaf. It's available from the chapel each Sunday. Some months include a topical article or report. We thought you might appreciate reading those previously published.
| Editorial in Year 2012 |
|---|
| 2012 - A Year of Change |
| Learning from Life |
| All that God requires of us is . . . |
| The Way of the Cross |
| Priorities |
2012 - A Year of Change
One thing is clear, 2012 will be a year of change. This is not a prophecy, just an observation of the change already in train.
It is blatantly obvious that it will be a year of economic change. Economic instability for many people and nations is already entrenched. It has but to play its self out, and that will affect millions. With chaotic economics come social unrest and violence. It is already happening. How far will it spread? Can any escape? Technological change has sparked revolution and unrest in the Middle East. People are dissatisfied with their lot and the electronic media is depriving even despotic overlords the power of their authority. It is spreading to Asia and Europe. How far will it go? The UK riots were a more malignant form of people power. Where will it all end? Is anyone safe?
Personally, we are all a year older. A year at any age depletes to a greater or lesser degree our physical reserves and wellbeing. It is harder to be enthusiastic, to maintain vigilance, to cope with it all, to not be sucked into the whirlpool of the world.
Morally, social change is rampant. Youth no longer respect authority, no longer value property, personal or community. Overt crime is commonplace. Drugs, alcohol, teenage and even sub teenage pregnancy is on the increase! Fractured marriage is everywhere. There is little security. Society has only just begun to feel this malevolence, its cost and its pain. The justice system, the hospitals, the social systems cannot cope. But what do we expect when our children are taught that they evolved and are not different from animals, that there is no God of holiness, no such thing as sin - just legality, no accountability, no deterrent. If it feels good, do it! Laws are made to be broken - you can get away with it, so why not.
When our society which was built by the reading and respect for God’s word loses its knowledge of and desire for God in Jesus Christ, it loses its spirituality. When it loses its spirituality, it loses the authority of its ethics. When it loses its ethical standard it loses its morals. And today we are reaping what we have sown!
But be encouraged. Take heart. God has not changed. He is still in control of the lives of those who are truly His. Here are just a few of the thoughts He has stored away for you in 2012:
Hebrews 13:8* Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.
Malachi 3:6&7* "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts.
Proverbs 24:21&22* My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change; For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?
If you don't do anything else today, read all of Psalm 103* and note verse 17 & 18
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, To those who keep His covenant, and who remember His precepts to do them.
*From NASB
Learning from Life
“Jesus said to them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”
Matthew 21:16
Rummaging through the book shelves of an ‘Op Shop’ I found a chest of treasure; Streams in the Desert by Mrs Cowman. It was old and only a few dollars, but gems glittered from every page. And, nostalgia too. For in it were some old newspaper cuttings, the photo of a freshly filled double grave and a list of six reading dates. These in particular were interesting. There was a simple notation. “These have been a help to me.” Each tell of insights to the life of faith. Here is a part of someone’s pilgrimage. It is holy ground, but we too will walk some of it. Let's just take one which was for February 18th:
When my little son was almost ten years of age his Grandmother promised him a stamp album for Christmas. Christmas came, but no stamp album; and no word from Grandmother. His playmates came over and they told each other of their gifts.
“. . . and a stamp album from Grandmother!”
He said it several times, so I called him over.
“But, Son, you didn’t receive an album from grandmother!”
“Well Mummy, she said, so it’s the same as!”
I could not say a word to check his faith. A month went by. Nothing from Grandmother, and it was a test to my faith.
“Well Georgie, I really think Grandmother has forgotten.”
“Oh, no Mummy, she hasn’t.”
He was very sober.
“Do you think I should write to her, thanking her for the album?”
“I don’t know, but you might try.”
It did not take long for the letter to get into the post. A spiritual truth began to dawn on me. And in a short while a letter came:
My dear Georgie, I have not forgotten my promise to you. I have not been able to get the one you wanted, try as I might, and I am still waiting for it to turn up. I meanwhile send you the money, and perhaps you can make the purchase direct.
His face was that of a victor,
“See Mummy, didn’t I tell you.”
While he was trusting, Grandma was working and in due season faith became sight.
(Precised of the quotation from a Mrs. Rounds p57.)
Paul summarises his response to our experience of delayed prayer in these words: ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.’ Colossians 4:2. Giving thanks for what we have already received is a gracious response, but giving thanks for that which has not come is an act of faith. It is a lesson we need to learn. This is the faith that God respects and it is the faith that God expects from His people.
All that God requires of us is . . .
We can inadvertently cause our faith to be involved, our discipleship difficult and our service stressful, but in reality what God requires of us is very simple. All He wants is a heart filled with love for Him.
At the inauguration of Israel as a nation Moses made the matter clear.
“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you? But to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes which I am commanding you today for your good”
Deuteronomy 10:12
Joshua his successor reaffirmed this leader’s charge when he handed on control to each of the tribal leaders:
“Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Joshua 22:5
We too can please the Lord our God when we serve Him with all our heart and soul. For heart read desires and for soul read faculties. If we fully observe this rule we will not go very far wrong no matter where we go or what we do, because in all those decisions we will always put God first.
There is an example in 2 Chronicles 14, the story of king Asa who constantly sought the Lord in his reign. Zerah* the Ethiopian Pharaoh with a far superior army came against him. Asa called on God who enabled him to rout mighty Zerah. The victory was greater. It gave peace and prosperity to the whole region for many years.
The prophet Azariah reinforced the lesson to Asa:
“The Lord is with you when you are with him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you . . . be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work”
1 Chronicles 15:2&7
Asa did take courage. He brought the people back to God. They then entered into the covenant with him to seek the Lord God with all their heart. And God gave them peace and prosperity all their days. Asa was not perfect, thus it is recorded of him, ‘ . . . nevertheless his heart was blameless all his days.’ That can be true for us too, see 1 John 1:7.
‘True-hearted, whole-hearted, faithful and loyal,
King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be;
Under the standard exalted and royal,
Strong in Thy strength we will battle for Thee.’
Francis Havergal
*Zerah - This name was Israelite not Egyptian. Kings then had multiple names even in their own countries, which generally has made identifications difficult even for the ‘experts’. Scripture quotations are from the NASB.
The Way of the Cross
The cross of Jesus Christ is a goal to be reached for those who are enslaved by their sin. Life begins at the cross. And for those who have chosen to walk in this life with God, it is a gateway leading from darkness to a pathway of rising light and the reality light reveals. Ahead is the sunrise. That which before was unclear begins to take shape. The void increasingly becomes meaningful substance. The cross of Jesus Christ is the only entry point of eternal life and the path in the end leads to glory in the presence of the Lord Himself.
Walking with God is an ongoing pathway and life a pilgrimage. The temptation is that having progressed to become satisfied with the little we have. The need is to press on and on.
Some of us stay at the Cross,
Some of us wait at the tomb,
Quickened and raised with Christ
Yet lingering still in the gloom.Some of us bide at the Passover Feast
With Pentecost all unknown:
The triumphs of grace in the heavenly place
That our Lord has made our own.If Christ who had died had stopped at the Cross,
His work had been incomplete.
If Christ who was buried had stayed in the tomb,
He had only known defeat.But the Way of the Cross never stops at the Cross,
And the way of the tomb leads on
To victorious Grace in the heavenly place,
Where the Risen Lord has gone.
by Annie Johnson Flint
Priorities
During my orientation week at Uni, I was amazed at some of the various clubs that students can join, such as the Cosmic Hitchhikers Appreciation Society and Friends of Unnatural Llamas club. One that stood head and shoulders above the rest when it came to making its presence known was the Socialist Alternative club, advertising that it’s “active…in whatever radical campaigns are happening” such as refugee rights and equal marriage rights. There were flyers coating every noticeboard and people trying to raise support all around the campus.
People love to be involved in causes, and it’s clear that the Socialist Alternative club is passionate about supporting various causes, especially radical ones. It just makes me wonder how much of a heart many of those that join have for the issues at hand, rather than the cause itself and the excitement of rallying for many of the controversial issues faced by today’s society.
Christians similarly can get caught up in Christian causes without a heart for the real issues at hand. Paul tells us in Romans 12:9-10 that “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves.” It is important for every single one of us to be seeking to have eyes that see what God has a heart for, and praying for a heart that loves the things that God loves and hates the things that God hates. How are our motives any different to that of the Socialist Alternative club if we get caught up in the hype of supporting causes out of a sense of Christian duty and try to make society the way we would like it without any consideration of the way that God views the situation at hand? If we support an anti-abortion campaign, may it be because we have a heart for the value that God places on human life. If we sign a petition against gay marriage, may it be because we have a desire to promote marriage being as God created it.
Jesus prayed “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” after he asked for God’s name to be hallowed. Our priorities can often be our priorities, rather than God’s priorities. May we seek to see God’s name hallowed in our own lives in order for God’s name to be hallowed in the lives of others when God uses us to draw people to himself. It is through God’s work in our lives that his kingdom will come and his will is done. May we not see it being up to us alone to change the world, but acknowledge that it is God alone that can change the hearts of the people that make up our society. If we are to change the world, we need to be praying and trusting in God for him to use us and be actively involved in the things that he would have us do.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
May we not have a love of causes, but instead may we submit ourselves to God, be passionate about the things that God has a heart for and be set in his priorities. Only then can we support a cause in a way that is fixed around God alone.
Sam Heckathorn
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