Many people might offer a kiss and a cuddle to the cute baby in a manger, but may be less keen to give homage to the King Jesus when He returns.
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Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. (Psalm 2:10-12)
A kiss is a demonstration of affection, but can also be an act of reverence and submission. In the ancient middle east a kiss could ratify a covenant or seal an agreement. It could also be a sign of subjection, respect and allegiance, as is a vassal/suzerain relationship, in which loyalty and service by the lesser partner was given in return for protection and security by the greater.
Many people might offer a kiss and a cuddle to the cute baby in a manger, but may be less keen to give homage to the King Jesus when He returns. He is the Faithful and True, whose eyes are flaming fire and who comes with righteousness and justice to make war on His enemies; the One who will strike down nations and rule with a rod of iron. (Revelation ch.19) This is the Son, whose anger will one day spill over into wrath against those whose hearts are not yielded to Him, yet whose blessing is granted to those who run to Him for protection.
This is the Advent of Jesus, predicted by David the psalmist, king, and ancestor of the King of kings. His first advent began meekly. He taught, suffered, died, was raised and returned to heaven. In his second advent He will come with infinite power and authority to rescue the righteous and condemn the wicked. The Hebrew idiom for his anger is a 'burning nose' which in turn will burn all who refuse reverence and submission to the Son.
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So there are only two ways to go. We can pay respect and reverence, obeisance and obedience - 'kiss' - the Son of God, take refuge in Him, and know everlasting blessing. Or we can reject Jesus, provoke His wrath, and perish.
Returning to the context of the Psalm, we find that though the message is for all people it is particularly directed at people in power. Rulers of the earth are warned to serve the Lord. Throughout history many arrogant and aggressive rulers have come and gone, and those who strut and dictate today will be no different. God is setting up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed, and will break in pieces all other kingdoms and bring them to an end, and this Kingdom will stand forever. (Daniel ch.2)
We should fear the Lord, not with fright that makes us flee but with reverence that seeks sanctuary in Him. All who take refuge in God's Kingdom are blessed forever.
Author: John Plumb
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Knowing that we have certain gifts and talents, we make the mistake of assuming we can use them to succeed in our own strength.
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The secret of being able to
do what we need to do, is in realising that we cannot do it alone. We can only do it through God’s empowering
grace. God said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9“My grace is sufficient for you, for my
strength is made perfect in weakness”.The word (God’s riches at Christ’s
expense) includes all of God we will ever need, for whatever we face in life,
what a promise.
Dare I say more often than not, we think we
have to do it all, we forget that the power of Christ works through us, so
we’re defeated before we even begin. We
are labourers together with God. (1Corinthians 3:9). We can’t do God’s part and God won’t do our part. God wants us to follow His leading and He
insists that we depend on Him every step of the way. This is hard on our part, on our ego which says,
we can do it ourselves. Sometimes we have
to be beaten into the ground before we let go of this kind of thinking.
Knowing that we have certain gifts and
talents, we make the mistake of assuming we can use them to succeed in our own
strength. No, unless God’s grace is
operating through our gifts we won’t be adequate to the challenge. The bible says in Romans 12:6“We have different gifts according to the
grace given to each of us, let us use them in proportion to our faith”.Grace is like electricity; in order for
it to function effectively we must stay plugged in (a certain tv advert comes
to mind).
Recently my wife and I had
to travel abroad to the Caribbean to sort out and realign a couple of our
business interests, which a good trusted friend was looking after for us, but
sadly passed away. We thought it would
take a few days to complete, but it was difficult (nothing is too difficult for God, because He does all things well), as we found out, and realized the only
way is by/through God’s intervention, and as we meditated the Holy Spirit
reminded us of His promise/word in Philippians 4:6-7
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"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made to God;7and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
This amongst many others
became our daily prayers, when things didn’t go as we expected, the Holy Spirit
kept on reminding us of His promise do not be anxious.
The other scripture that
kept us going was Psalm 46:10-11. Be
still and know that I am God.We can
truly say that God’s promises are yes and amen, seeing us through, though we
couldn’t see the way, but God made a way which we are grateful for, and for the
prayers of our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said “no branch can bear fruit by itself, it must
remain in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless we remain in him, apart
from me you can do nothing.”
So depend more on God and His promises.
Author: Herbert Jean
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It made me see more clearly that the things that I wonder about in my life caused through people and circumstances, situations and happenings, seeing, hearing and thinking – they all have an answer in faith.
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We have been looking at the book of James in our study group and fellowship and it has changed my view of the book completely in a very challenging way. Without being too complicated about it, I used to see James as a “balancing book” – one in which the author is trying to rebalance the emphasis on “Faith” that we find in the New Testament and point out that “works” – actions and good deeds are the currency which we should prioritize more.
After all, Jesus says in Matthew 25:31-46 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.32All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Jesus makes no bones about it either here is a clear statement that it is action that is recognized.
Someone in our group said something in the discussion like: “Sometimes there are people that tell other people’s stories because they don’t have any of their own. If we don’t have our own stories about how we needed to rely on God – how we never risked anything for Him and always played it safe – how we never had to depend on Him for anything – what kind of faith is that? What kind of testimony is that – and what will we say to Jesus when we meet Him?”
Well, it got me thinking… 1 Peter 1:6-7 says: So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So, when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
In chapter 2:17 James sums it up – “17So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead”!
So, my approach to James changed. Suddenly I saw the book as a massive challenge to have radical faith rather than trying to get a “good balance” of faith and works. Suddenly the book was full of illustrations of circumstances where we should not live by natural rules, cultural norms or worldly values and expectations. It was rather a radical agenda for followers of Jesus to live by faith – which could only be done by letting faith drive our actions and behaviour. Here are some things that James points out for this radical “faith agenda” in the first couple of chapters of the book:
* When our faith is tested it produces patience
* We don’t receive anything unless we ask in faith
* Our own desires are not from faith
* Good gifts from above are from faith
* The anger of man is not from faith
* The righteousness of God is by faith
* Obeying the word of God is by faith
* Favouritism is not by faith
* The poor – having nothing to depend on other than faith - tend to be rich in faith
* Dependence on keeping the law for justification is not of faith
* Freedom and liberty are by faith
* Showing mercy comes from faith
* IF THERE IS NO ACTION THERE IS NO FAITH (Can faith be present without showing itself in some kind of action?)
It made me see more clearly that the things that I wonder about in my life caused through people and circumstances, situations and happenings, seeing, hearing and thinking – they all have an answer in faith. Big and small things, earth shattering catastrophes or simply annoying irritations – faith.
It also struck me that James develops his theme from Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 – 7 where He talks about earthly behaviours, which characterize those who belong to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus talks about a number of areas of life where the Father’s expectations are way above the world’s. All that He talks about derives from faith. Faith that is willing to risk being meek when the world would say attack! Faith that says “no” to what the flesh wants. Faith that carries on helping when everything else says stop. Faith that seeks righteousness and Godly “perfection”. Faith that is anchored in Jesus and endures dark and threatening storms. Faith that overcomes. Faith that believes enough to hear Jesus’ sayings and do them. Faith whose engine is compassion and love.
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Paul sums it up in Galatians 5:6. Speaking about those who are requiring gentiles to be circumcised to be saved he says: 6For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
These thought and others have, as I say, come as a real challenge to me. In every / any situation what does faith say? As the song(s) say “Whose report will you believe”(and what action makes that “real”) …?
Author: Chris Pearson
May God bless and enrich your life
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We must understand that there is a difference between the temptation that is initiated by Satan and the tests and trials which God gives us.
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I recently read a story about someone who was trying to lose weight. He came into the office one day with 2 donuts. His co-workers asked him why he had bought them if he was trying to diet, and he answered, "Well, as I came to the corner where the donut shop was, I told God that if He wanted me to buy some donuts, He would find me a free parking space right in front of the door. And on the 8th time around the block, there it was! Ҭ
Temptation is something everyone wrestles with. Much of scripture is about humans succumbing to temptation and how God can save us from the tragic consequences, if we trust and obey Him. In the very first book in the Bible Adam and Eve were given one rule – not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As we know they were both tempted by the devil to go ahead and try it. The devil said, “Are you sure that’s what God meant? Did He really mean you couldn’t eat from the tree. You surely won’t die. Look how beautiful it is and think about how wonderful it must taste.”
Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil while in the wilderness. Being hungry after forty days of fasting the devil tempted Him to turn some stones into bread. He resisted the temptation by using scripture. He used Deuteronomy 8 verse 3:‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ When the devil tempted Him to do something supernatural for show, by throwing Himself off the highest point of the temple, he answered with Deuteronomy 6 verse 16:‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' Lastly, when the devil tempted Jesus by telling Him, He could have all the kingdoms of the world if He worshipped him, Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 6 verse 13: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
There are two sources of temptation. The first one is ourselves Jeremiah 17:9 says: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things… Who can understand it.’ The heart has an unlimited capacity for wickedness and deceit which we are incapable of dealing with in our own strength. James 1:14-15 says, ‘Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.' Even Paul wrestled with how the ‘old self’ kept rising to the surface. He wrote in Romans 7 that he was exasperated by doing the things he didn’t want to do and not doing the things he wanted to do. He concluded with these words: ‘24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!’
How many of us have felt like this. I know I have. Jesus’s death on the cross means we can ask for forgiveness every time we mess up but God would rather we didn’t sin at all. That’s why he tells us to pray not to be led into temptation. It is a prayer against being in a place where we could be sucked into the temptation. We are not asking to be protected when we are actually living a sinful life but to be protected from entering into one. For example, we are not asking to be protected when we are taking drugs but we are asking for protection from taking them. We are not asking to be protected from the consequences of our sinful acts, but to be protected from deciding to act sinfully in the first place. Temptation itself is not a sin, indeed, as mentioned before, Jesus was tempted but he never sinned, no, giving in to temptation is the sin. The Bible says that God always gives us a way out when we are tempted, so we have no excuse, 1 Corinthians 10 :13 says: ‘He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’
The second source of temptation comes from the devil. He is the great deceiver. He knows exactly what to do to knock us off our feet. He knows how much money will cause someone to consider a dodgy deal or what plausible reason to give someone for not telling the truth. He knows exactly where our weaknesses lie and how to get our attention.
We must understand that there is a difference between the temptation that is initiated by Satan and the tests and trials which God gives us. God never induces anyone to participate in that which is sinful and destructive. When God places a trial on us, he does so to teach us something and bring out the good rather than the bad. When Satan tempts us or puts some obstacle in front of us, he means it to create mayhem and disharmony and to lead us into something harmful. In James 1:2 it says: ’Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.’ Jesus teaches us to pray “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” so that we can come out victorious in our trials and tribulations. When we pray these words, we are praying for guidance and discernment. We are praying for the strength to resist temptations from our own will and especially from the wiles of the devil, whose whole reason to live is to tempt us into wrong doing and to sow doubt and fear into our lives.
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Temptation will be a part of our experience as long as we live. So how can we can withstand the snares of our own deceitful hearts and the destructive ways of the devil? We must recognise God’s sovereignty. ‘Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.’ Everything that is in the earth and above it belongs to God. God is our greatest defence in the time of temptation. We must rely on Him for power to overcome. We must remember that Satan is not all powerful. He has limited power compared to God. He can’t make us do anything. We can learn scripture verses to quote and give us strength in times of trial. We must be aware of our own personal weaknesses, which will induce us to seek God’s help. We should never be over confident that we are able to resist temptation in our own strength. 1 Corinthians10:12 says: ‘So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!’ We must hunger after righteousness and hate sin. We must put on the armour of God. Ephesians 6:11 says: ‘Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.’
This is what Charles Spurgeon says on the subject: “If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armour, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation. Like the old knights in war time, we must sleep with helmet and breastplate buckled on, for the arch-deceiver will seize our first unguarded hour to make us his prey. The Lord keep us watchful in all seasons, and give us a final escape from the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear.“
We should pray daily ‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.’ By doing this we are praying for God to lead us away and steer us away from temptation and take us where He wants us to go, into the paths of righteousness and deliver us from the one who would destroy our soul.
Lord, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Let us turn to your word whenever we are tempted. Lord, you are our fortress and our deliverer. Give us the strength to resist the lures of sin and to walk in righteousness. Help us Lord to take the way out you provide for us before temptation turns to sin and causes harm to ourselves and others. Lord we are weak and prone to temptation. Keep us safe from the attacks of the enemy and help us to overcome them. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Author: Thelma Cameron
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People are tempted these days to rely on the `authorities` to pass on the truths and practices to their children.
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Recently my son took me to the theatre to watch a show called 'Come from Away.' It was his birthday gift to me. The story of 'Come from Away' tells a story I had never before been aware of. It is a true-life story of what happened at Gander Airport Newfoundland, Canada on 9th September 2001 when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York, and all flights incoming to America`s N/E coast were immediately grounded.
On that day 38 flights were directed to land at Gander Airport and all passengers were kept there for 5 days. At that time Gander had a population of 7,651 and had to accommodate 6,800 passengers and crew. As there was insufficient hotel accommodation available, temporary accommodation was set up in various places around the town, and the townsfolk had to look after and feed them. (there is too much to go into here but look it up its an amazing story of human kindness, adaptably and endurance towards complete strangers) And if you ever get the chance go and watch the show do, it was truly amazingly poignant and uplifting.
But that is not the subject of my blog. It was the conversation on the way home with my son that prompted me to write this blog. We were talking about the horrendous events of 9/11 and our memories of it. My children were 12 and 9 at the time, and I made the decision to let them watch the events on TV with me so I could support them through that awful day.
But during the chat on the way home from the show, we were both conscious that there was now a whole generation of adults who would not have experience that day. My son also mentioned another day that was momentous to him – the day Princess Diana died. He shared how watching prince William and Harry’s reaction during the funeral procession, and how it had affected him, as he was around a similar age to Harry. We again talked about how there is a whole generation of people who have no memory of the 9/11 event or the death of princess Diana.
This got me thinking of the scripture in Psalm 145 V6-8“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts: let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic glorious splendour and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue and I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness and they will sing with joy about your righteousness” (NLT)
It is so important to share with our families the truths God has revealed to us. To share how we came to know Jesus and why it is so important to know who Jesus is and what He has done for every one of us. To share Gods word with them and to explain the word to them, sharing the Goodness of God and His love to each and every one of us. I know this may sound obvious but sometimes when we bring up children in Christian households, we can be tempted to think they pick up the gospel by osmosis. By the way we live and what we do, by taking them to church each Sunday and by sending them to Sunday school and youth meetings. These things are all good, but its our testimony and daily sharing of the love of God that will be imprinted on their lives. The stories we pass on of what the Lord has done in OUR own lives as well as the stories from the Bible that is what will remain with them as they grow.
People are tempted these days to rely on the `authorities` to pass on the truths and practices to their children. Many parents today rely on schools to educate their children in discipline, good behaviour, sex education, morals and sometimes even religious education. But for us who know the truth of God we cannot be tempted to do that. Gods word clearly says that each generation of people who know you as their Lord and Saviour should tell their children of your mighty acts! The Psalmist
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Asaph goes even further in Psalm 78 v 4-7 he says “We will not hide these truths from our children, we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His mighty acts. For He issued His laws to Jacob; He gave His instruction to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them – even the children not yet born and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God nor forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands” (NLT)
I am so glad that I saw that show last night, for now I know the wonderful story of a town’s generosity and sacrifice to people they didn’t know and the difference/ change to some of the lives of those people because of the actions of the townspeople. I feel enriched by this being revealed to me. But how much greater is the story we have of the God who was so generous He gave us a code to live by and guidelines for a righteous and fruitful life, who provides all we need and furthermore sacrificed His own Son at great personal cost so that we might be saved, healed, blessed and secure in Him for the rest of our lives and for eternity.
What if no one had shared that with me? What if it had been left to my parents, who did not know the Lord, to pass on their experience to me. The word shows us that we not only have the responsibility to pass the truth on to our own children, but to all children (even adult children who have never heard the truth from their own parents). What an amazing task we are directed to carry out from the Lord.
So, we should be encouraged today to share the truth with our families, its not our responsibility if they will not receive it, but it is our responsibility to share the word and live the word before them. Also, we need to share that with other children we come into contact with when we can, in a respectful way. We should also pray for those that run Sunday Schools, Church Youth groups or Youth outreach and for those working in schools to share the stories of the love of the Lord.
Lord - help me today to be an enlightener to the children and the adults (Your older children) we know or meet. To share with the next generation, to enable Your truth to be perpetuated from generation to generation.
Author: Jan Pearson
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