|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Glen Park Gospel Church >> Archive >> Editorial >> 2018
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.
Time and Eternity
In Salisbury Cathedral there sits a clock. That’s nothing unusual. Clocks are usually associated with churches. But this one, although working, is the oldest mechanical clock in the world. It stands about five feet tall.
The information stand says that it was commissioned by Bishop Ralph Ergham and built in Delft, Holland in the 14th Century. It has no face or hands but strikes the hours. It works by weights, levers, pulleys, drums, ropes and a regulating mechanism. It ran until superceded in 1884. It was later moved into the Cathedral itself and then restored in 1956.
It’s tick, tock has an interval of about fifteen seconds and it is estimated that it tick, tocked about 4.4 million times between 1386 and 2013, and it is still ticking today.
The presence of a ticking clock measuring out our day is solemn warning about measuring out our allotted years. The Bible has much to say about eternity and time. It begins with, “In the beginning God . . .” The valid assumption is that the beginning refers not only to space but time. Time is not a small piece of eternity. It like the universe is limited. One day soon our time/space capsule will cease and we will be called to give account to God of our thoughts, words and actions.
Jesus told of a man who gave himself to making money until the day he retired, with this idea.
"He said to himself: 'You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’"
What a fool he was, you say! But then Jesus warned:
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” *
Am I that fool? Have I put my affairs in order with God?
Time is a limited commodity. This world is rich with resources for man’s tenure, but mankind is exhausting one resource deposit after another. One resource that we personally may have overlooked is our time. Paul urges us, “Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” * Our time is limited.
* Quotations are from the Bible: Luke 12:19-21 (NIV), 2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV)
God's Candles
We came to a monument on a street corner that looked for all the world like the topmost part of a church steeple. I and my constant companion were spending day exploring Oxford.
In fact university students out for fun told tourists that it is all that is left of a buried cathedral which can be explored for a small sum. They were then directed to some stone steps going down. Venturing boldly the tourists ended up in an underground public toilet.
The monument in fact commemorates the martyrdom of three Anglican bishops who were there burned to death for believing and teaching the Bible, and that faith in Jesus Christ is all that is needed for the forgiveness and cleansing of all sins and for entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Best known of these is Hugh Latimer. Born to an industrious yeoman farmer, Hugh was sent to school aged four. He was educated at Cambridge and on taking his degree of divinity was acclaimed for his dissertation that attacked the new enlightenment. This sermon caused his friend 'Little' Bilney to ask him "for God's sake to hear my confession."
Bilney confessed that he had visited the reformer Erasmus and, reading the forbidden Latin New Testament, had found the text, 'The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost' *. Bilney's response was, "I also am like Paul, and more than Paul, the greatest of sinners, but Christ saves sinners". The discovery and its acceptance was liberating. He became a preacher and teacher of this new liberation.
Realising Latimer's outstanding ability to grip and hold the attention of the common man, Bilney prayed for an opportunity to approach him. Thus his strange request.
As Bilney opened his Latin Testament and shared with Latimer the words, light broke upon Latimer's mind and flooded his heart. The confessor joyfully knelt beside the penitent. Like Bilney, Latimer became an evangelist for the new understanding that was beginning to stir England.
But this was in the days of Henry VIII and then his son Edward VI. Tumultuous times. But things changed. There arose a king who knew not Joseph. Shortly after the accession of Mary he was summonsed to appear before the Council at Westminster. He was remanded to Oxford for trial for heresy. In October 1555, on the 16th he and Nicholas Ridley, bishop of London, were led out of the North Gate and there burned to death. Latimer is famous for this encouragement, 'Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out'.
In this day of political preciousness, may God give us men and women of conviction. "Lord give us men of steel to fearlessly proclaim your word." May the Holy Spirit begin to convict our people of sin, righteousness and coming judgement. Nothing less will do.
This is a very brief summary. Make your own investigation:
Begin with *1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV), then
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/latimerbio.htm
https://www.evangelical-times.org/21301/thomas-bilney-the-forgotten-reformer/
then follow the imbedded links.
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
We have all been wearied and disgusted, of late, with some people in the public gaze pointing their fingers. Many believe that it is a matter of "the pot calling the kettle black."
This idiom is a little piece of home spun philosophy that appeared sometime in the seventeenth century, but today, being old technology, it has lost its familiarity.
Some of us have lived long enough to remember homes where the cooking was done over an open fire. Usually chains hung from a bar imbedded in the chimney flue upon which hung, at varying distances from the flame, iron pots and kettles. Fire dogs, grates and steel plates added to the assortment of cooking and heating aids. Meal preparation was not at all convenient, but living was most economical. Water and firewood were gathered, only lighting oil needed to be purchased. In such an environment our saying did not need to be explained. Fire turns everything black.
The Bible deals over and again with this tendency in human nature. Life is seldom kind. The kettle was once shiny new. It reflected the face of its owner as he brought it home. 1"God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." and in the cool of the day He came for fellowship. But that did not last for long. The man God created began to tarnish, and after some exposure to the fire 2"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." The shiny mirrored kettle was as black as the iron pot.
The soot on the kettle is the same as the soot on the pot. David knew this from experience. 3"Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated."
There is a benefit in a kettle being called black if it brings us down a peg or two. If we become disappointed in our own efforts and abilities, it can throw us back upon God. And He has made full allowance for our failures. You see He didn’t expect anything else. But it takes a brave kettle to see one's self as black and as bad as everyone else. That is the nature of the flame. 4"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
There is hope that the kettle may be shiny again. If you trust in Christ Jesus, here is a simple open promise from God's word. "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." Here are two keys. Trust and Obey.
1 Genesis 1:26, 3:8, 2 Genesis 6:5, 3 Psalm 36:2, 4 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (ESV)
The Resurrection of Jesus is not just truth
It is not even just a fact. It is an event, a verified event. And that is why we must believe it. We have no option.
Technically, a fact is in reality, a truth. Sounds rock solid doesn't it. Truth is a statement of reality, a fact as we see it. We must recognise that different people see the same things differently. As an example, take global warming. People sincerely argue sides and each states the truth supporting their argument with the facts. That is why we are so upset, especially when the "others" take action, on "our" behalf, on their version of the truth verified by what they consider to be a fact. In this world of humankind everything is relative. This is why Pontus Pilate when faced with a statement about truth retorted sharply, "What is truth!"* but then did not wait to argue.
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is so very, very different.
Paul in Corinthians* stated the truth, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." This is the truth of his gospel. It is a statement of fact. You may believe it or reject it. Many do either.
But Paul had his reasons. Highly trained in logic, rhetoric, grammar and oriental tradition in the foremost university of the day, and having been tutored in Hebrew history and Scripture by the best men in Jerusalem, he knew how to best present his facts.* How did He argue his point? He simply recounted many of the times that Jesus presented himself before them. The point was that most of these people, many of them leaders, were still alive and well able to confirm his statement:
1. He appeared to Cephas,
2. Then he appeared to the twelve.
3. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
4. Then he appeared to James.
5. Then he appeared to all the apostles.
6. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
This array of witnesses, many of them famous men, was and still is, positive proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. If this is the case, ought not you take action to secure with God your eternal wellbeing?
*John 18:38, *1 Corinthians 15 ESV, *He was multi lingual, schooled in Greek rhetoric, philosophy, and sophistry, also in Greek and Oriental history and literature, in Hebrew theology and accepted into the association of most rigorous practitioners, the Pharisees.
Free Air
Years ago now, Motor Service Stations advertised on their driveways, 'Free Air.' They were not giving you air, they were offering to compress for you and deliver to your tyres the air that is free to everyone.
There is very little that is free. If it comes to me freely, somebody else has to pay. If you are living on a government pension, it is not free. Somebody else has to pay, and it is ultimately the taxpayers who work to, among other things, give government pensioners a share of their labours. It is not free, just because you didn't earn it.
Air is almost the only thing in this world that is free. Water from the skies comes free, only if you own a piece of real estate, in which case you pay for the rain that falls in the purchase price of the property plus rates and taxes. But if it comes to you in pipes or bottles there is attached, a cost for delivery.
But, air is free. Doctors and Nurses ensure that the new born is taking its share. And that infant will continue to take a share, without payment, until the day it dies. All living forms need it. And God in His creative abundance has provided enough for everyone. It is everywhere. It is not mined. It is not transported. It is not stored in dams. It is just there. It can be polluted, but God had provided cleaning mechanisms through the processes of nature, like the wind that blows and the tree that grows.
Many people have been crucified, and most of them eventually died because they were suffocated with their lungs full of oxygen depleted air. On the cross, "Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last."* says Mark. The position of a body hanging from its hands makes it impossible to exhale stale air. Too exhausted to try again, they die.
The grace of God is free. That is, it can be received without a payment.
Isaiah's picture: "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."*
Paul explains it: "We are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."*
Just because it comes to us freely, it does not mean that there was no cost. The price was that God put on His Son the penalty of our sin. Our sin was so great that it cost Him His all. If He does not, we must pay for our own. But at His cost, His grace is free.
Just as we freely breathe air while we live, so we thankfully trust the great redemption that is in Christ, knowing this, that He died for me. And it is as free as the air we breathe.
*Mark 15:27 (ESV) Isaiah 55:1 (ESV) Romans 3:24 (ESV)
Faith of our Fathers
Joan recently gave me a book of quotations. Just to show that I have read it, I shall share some of it with you -
Ambrose of Milan. 338-397:
"A possession ought to belong to the possessor, not the possessor to the possession."
Athanasius of Alexandria. 293-373:
"Jesus became what we are that He might make us what He is."
Augustine of Hippo. 354-430:
"There are many sheep without; many wolves within."
"Do not seek to understand in order that you may believe, but believe that you may understand."
"It is human to err: it is devilish to remain willfully in error."
"Habit if not resisted soon becomes a necessity."
"The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home."
"Christ is not valued at all if not valued above all."
Spener. 1635-1705:
"The more at home the word of God is among us, the more we shall bring about faith and its fruits."
Tertullian. 155-230:
"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church."
Unknown:
"Right is right even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it."
"Truth does not blush."
"If you have sinned against someone, confess it to them. If some one has sinned against you forgive them, for 'love covers a multitude of sins.' "
"If you have asked the Lord to give you souls for His kingdom, don't complain about any one He sends your way."
John Witherspoon. 1723-1794:
"It is only the fear of God that can delivers us from the fear of man."
Wesley J. 1703-1791:
"When I was young, I was sure of everything. In a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before. At present, I am hardly sure of anything, but what God has revealed to man."
"I am a Bible-bigot. I follow it in all things, both great and small."
"The lowest and worst have a claim on our courtesy."
"Do all the good you can by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."
Rabbi Zusya. 1719-1800:
"In the world to come I shall not be asked, 'Why were you not Moses?' I shall be asked, 'Why were you not Zusya.' "
The Benefits of Godly Living
and he shared with his people all he had found to be true.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
Psalm 103:2-5
Had David lived under the shadow of the cross of Jesus he could have defined the benefits much more clearly. He was emphatic then, he would have been ecstatic now. Those who do not know Jesus miss out on so much.
1. David knew the blessing of sins forgiven. Today the Christian experiences the power of Christ standing in for us. The guilt and uncleanness, the stain of our sin is fully met because Jesus took our place, took our sin upon Himself and died in our stead.
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
2. Who heals all your diseases, says David "The wages of sin is death," says the Bible. Sin sends us to an early grave. All sin is hard. It is hard on the sinner, hard on associates and family. It is hard on society. Sin hurts everyone. But when the poison of sin is removed, recovery slowly, surely begins.
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
Romans 4:7&8
Sin at first seems fun. It becomes a habit then an addiction. The blood of Jesus can break the grip of our sin. His resurrection powers us to live above it.
3. Who redeems your life from the pit. This pit was not a grave, it was a pit for catching lions.* The Bible says that the ungodly:
"are held in the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will."
1 Timothy 2:26
But God has better in mind for you every day of your life:
We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
4. He crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, He satisfies you with good. If this was so in those days, so much more now in Christ:
As it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him".
1 Corinthians 2:9
See also: Isaiah 64:4; 65:17; 52:15
Paul takes the prophecy of Isaiah and finds its fulfilment in this day in those who are in Christ. The hymn writer catches it:
Heaven above is softer blue,
Earth beneath is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow,
flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.
Wade Robinson 1890 Public Domain
Bible texts are from the English Standard Version.
* Pit: the extended Hebrew meaning.
Old Truth
This God - His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
2 Samuel 22:31 (ESV)
An optical technician was working on a very large optical telescope, undertaking some repairs. While he was taking his lunch break, the chief astronomer came by and saw the worker sitting, reading his New Testament.
He asked him, "What good do you expect to get out of that? With all the extended range of up to date electronic equipment supporting latest modern astronomic theory, that book seems to be terribly out of date. Why you don’t even know who wrote it!"
The mechanic was silent for a moment. Then he looked up and said, "As an astronomer, don’t you make use of mathematical tables?"
"Yes I certainly do."
"Do you know who wrote them?"
"Why no, I guess I don't."
"Then why employ them when you do not know the author?"
"Why - We use them because they work" the astronomer finished with a note of irritation.
"Well," said the technician "I trust the Bible for just the same reason!"
D L Moody was once challenged to publically debate an atheist. He agreed on the condition that the rationalist would bring with him at least ten people who could show that their lives had been morally restored as a direct result of his humanist theories, and if so Moody promised to bring with him one hundred people who could tell how Jesus Christ had delivered them from drunkenness, debauchery, violence or crime. Unable to comply, the atheist withdrew his challenge. Moody had proven his point.
The Gospel is not true because it works, but it works because it is true.
From Our Daily Bread Favourites for June 16. R W DeHaan
The intention of man's heart is evil from his youth
There has been a boil-over in our national capital this week ostensibly over human induced climate change. Some people see 'human produced' carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causing climate instability, that if we do not take drastic counter-action the world faces catastrophe. Salvation or damnation - it's all up to us. Their answer is to force people to turn off the gas, turn off the lights, stop using technology. The other side says, 'You lot are mis-reading the signs. You are mad, wasting resources unnecessarily, and forcing hardship on everyone.'
Now all of this unrest touches the sinfulness of the human heart in disowning the sovereign providence of God. Men ignorantly disregarding God's word. About five thousand years ago as Noah stepped safely from the ark onto a dry and renewed earth, he offered a thanksgiving sacrifice. And God responded with a pledge:
And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, (of Noah's thanksgiving,) the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
Genesis 8:21&22 (ESV)
This promise does not mean that there will not be disruptions. Fire, flood, drought, gales, whirlwind, blistering heat, freezing cold instead of mild pleasant days. In fact God used all these things to discipline and encourage His ancient people that they might walk in His ways and live according to His spirit of holiness. Why not today?
God and God alone has his finger upon the pulse of His creation. God and God alone. When drought gets very severe pious men and women call our nation to prayer. But when the rains come, God, in all the relief and the celebration, is forgotten. We put Him back into His box, in the deep recesses of our national mind. Hear what He said to His people afore time:
They do not say in their hearts, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.' Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you.
Jeremiah 5:24&25 (ESV)
"The intention of man's heart is evil from his youth", God told Noah. At the base of every sin is the strategy that Satan inflicted upon the unsuspecting Eve, thus including her husband, then their descendants, "You don't need God," chided Satan, "You are sufficient in yourself. You are intelligent and powerful and responsible enough to know the good from the evil. You can control your own destiny." It is this sentiment that has plagued mankind throughout all the ages and we have seen it all manifest again this week in the power struggle in our national capital.
Hear again, the word of the Lord:
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers."
Isaiah 44:24-26a (ESV)
In that same place in Isaiah, God also says:
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Isaiah 44:22-23a (ESV)
Isaiah told them that He had already blotted out their transgressions, and that to avail themselves of His redemption they must return to Him, and trust Him. If we do not return in trust we will continue in our wayward way. It is true for you and me. It is true for all Australia.
A Tribute to A Man After God's Own Heart
The passing of Gordon Hutchinson has left a large hole in the fellowship and witness of Glen Park Gospel Church. Founded in 1923 by Mrs Grover when she started a Sunday school in the area, the church building was opened in 1925. Throughout the years there have been many different activities and outreach services through which the church has blessed the community of Eltham in many ways. In spite of setbacks and some disappointments, God has been faithful through dedicated servants of Christ who have enabled the work of the church to continue through the years. A number of missionaries and Christian workers have gone out from there.
Gordon Hutchinson and family came to Eltham North Church in the late 70's and not long after, he with his wife and family started attending Glen Park Gospel Church at a time of discouragement and need. I am personally thankful to God for leading Gordon and Ann and their family to Glen Park Gospel Church and for the fellowship and ministry that they provided to the church witness over the years. Gordon soon took up leadership responsibilities and led the church forward in growth and witness in the community as well as serving in many ways throughout Australia. Through the church's connections to many mission agencies and individual missionaries serving both in Australia and throughout the world, Gordon gave both spiritual and practical support of Christian organizations in many places. He took the time to offer his practical skills in building, brick laying and fitting and turning, and mechanical experience to needy churches, missions stations and individual workers. He travelled long distances to offer assistance to mission stations and outback churches throughout the country under the banners of both Mobile Mission Maintenance and Wycliffe as well as paying many visits to serve churches in the Solomon Islands. He worked with Operation Mobilization in helping to refurbish one of their Mercy ships, the Doulos, in Hong Kong. His quiet, faithful and humble service and witness was recognized by many Christian workers and in many places.
Gordon was known for his thoughtful deeds and generous offers of help to people who needed practical assistance. On a personal level, my mother experienced his unselfish and expert assistance when she came to Melbourne for a hip replacement back in 1989. In order to be able to attend the rehabilitation programme at Judge book Village in Eltham and to make it possible for her to leave my home (which had 7 steps at the front of the building and two at the back) and reach the special van which came to pick her up each day, Gordon built two very efficient ramps to allow her to leave the building in her wheel chair. When she was ready to return to her home in NE Victoria, Gordon hired a trailer to accommodate her wheel chair and along with the assistance of another friend, drove her safely back to Myrtleford. It was through these type of actions that Gordon was able to meet many people's needs, most of them unknown to others and done in a quiet and unassuming way.
His leadership of the Glen Park Church led the fellowship on to being known and recognised by other churches and local community groups in the area. Apart from his involvement with other churches and groups in his early life, he joined the Oakover Singers and was active in the Ministers' Fraternal, LinC Eltham Incorporated, the Men's Shed, and took part in a number of functions in other local churches in his later years.
As church secretary I had the privilege of working with him in the ongoing work and worship of the Glen Park Church. I was always encouraged by Gordon's wise counselling, his faithful leadership, his humility and understanding. Above all he was a peacemaker. Because the members of Glen Park Church came from many different church backgrounds, different methods of church government, and different life experiences, he had the skill of always being flexible in matters that were not important while still faithfully adhering to the authority of the Word of God and the absolute acceptance of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith.
Above all, I found Gordon's example of faith and life practice to be challenging for me personally. In spite of many health set backs in life, I had not heard him question God's wisdom in allowing these problems. He accepted life's experiences as God's will for his life. In his last few years as he gradually lost his independence, I was inspired by the fact that for one who had led such an active and purpose-led life, he adapted to what to him must have been grievous loss. Circumstances seemed to leave him without any purpose in life, but he accepted it and at no time did I hear him complain about his trial. He was grateful to God for his wife Ann, who lovingly and efficiently cared for his needs in the last days of his life when he was unable to care for himself.
Gordon's faith and trust in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour upon which he based his life's service in response to God's love for him remains an example to all of us. He knew God's promises could be trusted as His Word says in John 3:16, "God so loved the world (Gordon) that He gave His only beloved Son so that all who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Gordon knew his sure hope of eternal life was nothing to do with his good and kind deeds, that he was unworthy of God's grace and could never measure up to the perfection God required to achieve eternal life in the perfection of God's Presence in heaven. This living hope was certain because of his faith in Christ who died to purchase his forgiveness and acceptance into the family of God for ever. I know that Gordon would pray that all who read this would know the same personal faith and hope in Christ that he found as a foundation for his life and service.
J. Smith, September 2018.
He's Not All That Bright!
Taking his initiative from an experience in the United States, The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, established the Invictus Games in the United Kingdom, with the objective of bringing healing to the bodies, minds and spirits of wounded servicemen and women. It is an example of just what one alert compassionate person can do for their companions in need. The competition stimulates them to overcome their difficulties and then go on to grasp the remaining years of their lives. Their logo is their motto. Taking the 'I' out of Invictus and the 'AM' out of Games they have cleverly adapted the catch phrase, I Am . . . what ever I need to be. Who can but admire the venture and the spirit behind it.
The Christian gospel follows a different ethos. A music director tells of a retarded boy who joined his choir. He was more often an hindrance than an help and the director was tempted to ask him to leave. In discussing the move with the lad's father, the father admitted, 'Yes Joey, he's not all that bright.' And then he went on to tell how Joey had been instrumental in leading his whole family to Christ: mother, father, grandparents and five siblings.
Strangely to us, God is not impressed by what we can do.
On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
Matthew 7:22 ESV
But He respects that which we trust Him to do in and through us; that which He gives us to do. Therefore the Scriptures say, 'despise not the day of small things.' Size, great or small, is unimportant. God had Gideon send an army of valiant men home, and then, through a dedicated and trusting few, completed all that was necessary, and the world knew that it was God who was at work doing that which He gave them to do. And, unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Who does not remember having trouble staying awake, listening for Father Christmas to arrive with his load of gifts. Do you remember being told that he would not come at all if you did not go to sleep. What a terrible morsel of information.
Christmas has long been a commercial affair. But today is much more a science. It begins when the racing season ends in November and ends with long queues of people who come to exchange or refund unwanted gifts. Others lie scattered here and there throughout the house, objects of casual interest.
What a terrible predicament. And it stems from misunderstanding the spirit of giving that originated in the heart of Almighty God who once gave to this world the one gift it desperately needed, a gift that keeps on giving and giving. That gift is His Son Jesus Christ. Having given Him there was no more He could give, but once that Gift has been received, that Gift keeps on giving and giving and giving.
Having given Him there was no more He could give.
Hear some of what His word says, "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." 1 Here is a record in God's word of the offer of that gift. The gift must be received while on offer, for it is not offered for ever, nor is it offered again.
Hear God's word again: "He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." 2 And again, "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." 3
Having received Him we receive all that God has to give.
Hear a little of what God has to say about this in His word, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" 4 And again, "From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." 5
Just as we like to give good gifts to our children, so God does not withhold His hand from His. His gifts are not the trinkets of this world, but beginning with forgiveness, peace of heart and confidence in wellbeing He continually bestows the manifold daily graces and provisions of life. Annie Johnson Flint the crippled hymn writer knew how to beautifully express these sentiments.
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labours increase,
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
1. John 3:16; 2. Hebrews 9:26; 3. 1 Peter 3:18; 4. Romans 8:32; 5. John 1:16; Annie Johnson Flint 1866 - 1932.
Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.
Home || Back || Editorial
|| Thoughts || Quotes
|| Guests || Bible
Studies || Read Your Bible
Church
Info || Editorial ||
History || Easter
|| Bible Studies || Missions
|| Archive || Site
Map || Privacy