Month: August 2021

“And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” Matthew‬ ‭26:39‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a profound scene this verse describes. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, the pure and spotless Lamb, was preparing to lift that awful cup of our sins to His Holy lips. He was soon going to drink that cup of unimaginable anguish, that cup that represented suffering, shame and separation from the Father, so that we could live and have this great salvation. How we ought to thank God that Jesus went further than any man could ever go! He went further in prayer and intercession. He went further in His sacrifice and self denial. He went further in His suffering and shame. He went further in His love and mercy than any of us ever deserved! What a wonderful Saviour He is!! He didn’t just reach His hand down to where we were in that awful pit of sin. Oh no, He went further and deeper than we were so He could put us on His shoulders and carry us out! How our hearts should overflow with love, appreciation and praise for Jesus! Well we should sing, ‘Oh what a Saviour, Oh Hallelujah!” By His grace, let us go a little further for Him.

“there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26:7-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is one of the most beautiful expressions of love to Christ that we see in the Gospels. This woman took very costly ointment and poured it upon Jesus in loving worship. To others, and even the disciples who couldn’t understand it, they saw it as a waste. Still today, when unbelievers and shallow religious people look at our lives, they wonder why we ‘waste’ our time on church, Bible reading, and prayer. They think we ‘waste’ our money and resources on all the things we do for Jesus. But it is because they cannot understand our love for Him. To a genuine child of God, who knows what Jesus has done for them, nothing we do for Jesus is a waste. In fact, the real waste in life is all of those other things that are not done for Jesus. Jesus looks at lost souls, so many of whom are deceived by religion, and He is grieved because they are wasting their lives in empty pursuits. Let us remember, that what the world sees as ‘waste’ our Lord sees as loving worship.

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matthew‬ ‭25:40‬ ‭KJV‬‬. In this parable Jesus is reminding us that our attitude towards others is revealing our true attitude towards Him. And yet, He is not referring only to those we are close to who are easy to love. Twice in this parable He uses the phrase ‘the least of these’. That means those who are the least cared for in our lives, those who are not easy to love. We sometimes think that we are doing good because we show love and concern for our families and those close to us. But Jesus said that even sinners do these things, because that is normal human affection. He made it clear that one of the distinguishing qualities of a genuine Christian is that we have a love and concern for others that goes far beyond normal human feelings. We love their souls and care about their eternal destiny. As true children of God we have His divine love in our hearts that causes us to love others as we love ourselves, even going so far as to love our enemies, who are the very ‘least of these’. Take a moment to reflect on this parable and discover the high calling of God upon our lives.

“The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: But destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.” Proverbs‬ ‭10:29‬ ‭KJV‬‬. There is a double meaning in the words ‘the way of the Lord’. On one hand it refers to the way in which God wants us to live. It is the only right way, the way of righteousness and the way of peace. Walking in this way brings strength and stability to our lives because it is the way we were intended to live. But also, this means as we consider God’s ways in creation and throughout human history. The more we recognize and understand His ways, the more our hearts will be encouraged and strengthened that this way of following Jesus, is the right way to live! When we look to the awesome grandeur and perfect order of the universe, we see God’s infinite power and wisdom, we rejoice in His perfect ways. When we discover the tiny details of human DNA we see God’s attention to every minute detail and we are strengthened by His care for the smallest aspects of life. As we study God’s providence all through man’s history, we take comfort in His merciful ways! Let us recognize and rejoice in His ways and by His grace walk in them each day, then our soul will be made strong.

“The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: But the expectation of the wicked shall perish.” Proverbs‬ ‭10:28‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a wonderful truth this is! To know that living a life for God’s glory, living a righteous life, fills our soul with this blessed hope. We can rest assured that it is better farther on. As children of God, no matter what difficulties we go through in this world, we always have the hope of gladness. We know that in God’s time, He will make the storm a calm. In His ways, He will work through our darkest days to refine our lives for His glory. Weeping may last for the night, but joy will come in the morning. And thank God, we have the blessed assurance, that when this life is over, the glory of Heaven waits for us! Let’s not forget, as the songwriter says: ‘Brighter days are sweetly dawning, o the glory looms in sight!’ But for those who live a wicked and unrighteous life, all of their expectations will perish. So let us put all of our faith and trust in God, and through His grace and power, live a righteous life. Then we can be sure, gladness awaits.

“He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: But he that perverteth his ways shall be known.” Proverbs‬ ‭10:9‬ ‭KJV‬‬. When we walk in ways that please God, upright ways, then we have no cause of fear. As children of light, we can walk with a clear conscience and not worry that we will be seen or someone will discover what we are doing. Our paths are directed by the will of God. This is what it means to walk in peace and security. We don’t have to be concerned about what the world thinks as long as our ways please God. But when we do things that have to be hidden from others, it means that something is not right in us. Too many people live their lives walking on a crooked path. They are always looking around fearful they may be discovered. But that is a miserable way to live, constantly worrying we may get caught. And yet we should know, that nothing we do is hidden from the all seeing eyes of God! By God’s grace, let us walk in integrity. Let us walk uprightly before God and man. As we do, we will be able to walk safely and securely.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isaiah‬ ‭61:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the wonderful things about this great salvation, which God has so richly bestowed upon His children is, that it changes us on the inside and the outside. Many people talk about having Jesus in their heart. But as the prophet described real salvation, he likened it to a robe of righteousness. A robe is something that is seen by other people. The jewels that a bride wears are on the outside. This is part of the far reaching affect that true salvation has upon our lives. It affects what people see in our lives. It changes how we present ourselves to the world. We are not the same old selfish creatures we used to be who did not care what God thinks of us. Now we desire to please God in everything we say and do and even how we look.  Far too many believers damage their testimonies and hinder their walk with God, by a careless outward life. Let us do as Jesus said, and live so that others see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.

“and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not your’s, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭20:15‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This was a day of great trouble for Israel. An overwhelming enemy had come against them. They had no ability on a human level to withstand them. But thank God, when we can’t, God can! God’s man told them that this battle is the Lord’s. Multitudes of God’s children have been encouraged by these words. But for our battles to become God’s battles means a few things. It means we must humble ourselves to admit we need Him! We must confess that this enemy is more than I can deal with. And then, it means we must step back and wait. We must let God do what only He can do. We must understand that our part in the battle is to fully trust God, and not rely on the arm of flesh. Far too often, we try to get involved in the wrong way and make the battle ours. But let us know, the only real victory in our spiritual battles belongs to Jesus Christ. Let us learn to humbly and patiently abide in Christ and then we can be overcomers in Him.

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” 1 Samuel‬ ‭3:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This was when God was calling Samuel as a young boy. How wonderful it is that he had the heart to listen to what God wanted to say to him. He was ready to hear God’s voice. And this should be our attitude still today! Everyday we wake up to start a new day, every time we read God’s Word or listen to the preaching of God’s Word, our attitude should be, “Speak to me Lord, because I need to hear Your voice!” But for us to be able to hear the still small voice of God’s Spirit, we must also shut out other voices. Whatever it takes, we must separate ourselves from the noise of this world and get alone with God. This is something almost foreign to this generation who has to have constant noise. So we must make definite effort. We must discipline ourselves to turn off everything else. It may mean we have to go to bed earlier, so we can get up before the noise of the day begins. But whatever it takes, it will be worth it! Because there is nothing we need so much as to hear the voice of our Father. We can only respond to His will for us as we listen to what He is saying.

“And she made him sleep upon her knees…and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.” Judges‬ ‭16:19-20‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is one of the most tragic scenes in Biblical history. It is the account of Samson’s tragic fall at the hands of Delilah. He was so deluded by her charms that he did not know that she had deceived him and now his strength was gone! But even more, this is also the story of multitudes of souls who have been led astray by false religion. Everyday, the ‘Delilahs’ of false religion are enticing the hearts of people who are not firmly grounded in God’s Word. And while they imagine that they are doing well, they do not know that they are spiritually weak and helpless because they have rejected truth and swallowed the lies of religious men. May God help us, to be warned from Samson’s example. By God’s grace, let us be sober and vigilant. May we never begin down the path of easy, feel good religion, and cause God’s precious Holy Spirit to depart from us.