Into the sea

(1) Crossing the Red Sea, was quite a moment, for the people of God.

"The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left" (Exodus 14:22).

Have you entered "the sea", the chaos, the impossible place to be?
Do you have faith? Do you trust God? Are you led by His Word, and Spirit?

Those who are called, and are resolved to follow the Lord, and to find in him, saving grace, know that the only place to be, is "into the sea", when this is the will of the Lord. His will is to reveal his saving power, to the nations - that all might put their trust in him.

To die, to enter "the sea", is a once only event for us all.
Facing death, as a person, who has already trusted the Lord, is a good place to be.
It is dry land. It is secure. It is leading into the promised land.

Baptism, rightly understood is the entry into 'the sea'. Baptism, is at once the funeral day, and the day of salvation.
Enter the waters of death, with in, and by the work of Christ, and you will know the security of venturing forth, on dry land.

"All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Corinthians 10:2).

(2) Living beyond the Red Sea is also quite 'a moment'; a calling - a holy calling, and a place of grace, and of judgments, within the salvation which has come. For, the new life comes with warnings, not to become idolaters - do 'not put Christ to the test'. 23,000 Israelites fell in a single day, for their sexual immorality. God was not pleased with most of them. "Dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.I speak as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say" (1 Corinthians 10:15)

Much is to be learned from Israel, and her failings. Much. Cheers!

Thanks!

"HEY THANKS!"
O Give Thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. O give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; (Psalm 136:1-3)

My parents taught me, when I was still a small child, to say: 'thank you!'

Giving thanks is a simple matter. It is a very simple word to say. It is a simple attitude to take - thankfulness. However, the refusal to give thanks lies at the the heart of the human problem; and so the way in which we live within the creation, and among other people.

Of the first couple - the man and woman - we learn that 'though they know God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened (Romans 1:21).

The problem of 'not giving thanks' is a refusal to acknowledge dependency upon God; it is a sign of a lack of humility; it is a sign of pride; it is a symptom of losing the sense of life coming out of love, from God, and as gift.

On one occasion, Jesus healed 10 lepers. Guess how many came back to give thanks?

Answer: 1.

"And he was a Samaritan"

Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, were are they? Was none of then found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go your way; your faith has made you well." [see Luke 17:17-19].

The sort of faith that makes you well, is thankful faith. One can be healed, but remain faithless, and even - strangely enough - unthankful.

Jesus came into the world, to recreate human hearts, in the image and likeness of God - to redeem our hearts and our lives - renewing thankfulness - and giving us a true, better, more vital perspective, and outlook on life. Thanks does not come naturally to sinful human beings; indeed it is against the sinful nature; however it is also part of what it means to be human; so as we know, many non-Christians can express thankfulness. And that is good. But to express thankfulness to our Maker, involves a new orientation, towards the one unto whom all thanks and honour is due.

Thanks arises when we experience the renewal of life, and the forgiveness of our unthankfulness, and of all our anti-God, lack of true appreciation for all that God - the Father - is, in and through Christ and the Spirit. He redeems us, even while we are ungrateful enemies. As Father, he reworks our hearts, in the furnace, and new mould of the cross - until we see the stunning truth. The truth we see in Jesus, suffering for all, (without any appreciation of what he is doing), is the truth of God the very generous, very kind, very -in-control giver: 'O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!'

'Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you' (1Thessalonians 5:18).
.... now that is a most extraordinary verse. Is God, really that much in control?

Hope

Hope.

God is Light. God is Love.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all (1John 1:5)

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them (1John 4:16b).

There are two basic insights into the character and action of God, which form the basis of the entire life of faith – in Jesus Christ.
1. God is Light
2. God is Love

If we could grasp these two simple, yet profound theological insights - and live in them, life would be different.

All creation comes into being and flows from God’s love, as he says: ‘Let there be light!’ All of God’s redemption takes place as the action of gracious love, whenever the light of Christ shines in the darkness of a sinful human race. Evil and sin - sometimes called ‘darkness’ - are an intrusion. God’s light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

The Darkness of evil will ultimately all be destroyed. It has been overcome. The fruit of True Love will remain. Love Builds Up.

Central to all of this is the deed of Jesus’ cross, where Light and Love combine to judge evil, and transform the whole creation. Our trouble as human beings begins and ends with our refusal to truly love, and to genuinely walk in the light. We need grace and forgiveness, and all the benefits of the gospel, if ever we are to change. Self-effort will never do. But your grace O Lord abounds!

O Father, Son and Spirit, God of Light and Love, you cleanse us from all our darkness, fill our souls with Your Light and Love, and cause us to share the glory of Christ- all through the ministry of Jesus Christ. Open our lives Lord to the wonder of your gift – “grace, heaped upon grace”. Cause our walk of faith, to be a joyful one, in the light. Strengthen us to engage in the battle, where darkness seemingly abounds.

Belonging To God

“I must stay at your house today” (Jesus to Zacchaeus) - Luke 19:5
He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum” which means, “Little girl, get up!” (Jesus to Jairus daughter) – Mark 6:41

The call of Jesus upon our lives can be heard at any age. Baby John (the Baptiser) leaped for joy while he was still in his mother’s womb. Even before his birth he was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15, 44). The same Holy Spirit moves in us today.

The disciples of Jesus often misunderstood what he was about. On one occasion they spoke sternly to the parents who were bringing little children to Jesus in order that he might touch them. What were the disciples thinking? The Kingdom of God belonged to these little children, but the adult disciples were preventing them from drawing near.

What was, and is, Jesus on about? Serious religion? Adults only? Difficult theology?

The story of Zacchaeus up in a tree, and being called by Jesus, is a favourite with children, all over the world. Similarly, the story of a dying 12-year-old girl – Jairus daughter - being restored to health by Jesus often deeply stirs the hearts of young children.

Be assured, that as the Living Jesus is proclaimed, he is himself speaking to the hearts of children, youth and adults. What a sad indictment, when church activity becomes suitable for adults only. Conversely, how lovely is youthfulness, blessed in Jesus Christ!

O Father, stir us anew to appreciate the simple yet profound working of the Spirit of Jesus in every person, in every secret heart.

Take; eat; this is my body!

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26)

There was a man in England, by the name of John Wesley; he was rescued from a house fire; and subsequently recognised that he had been saved–and so described himself in biblical terms as:
“…a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2).

It was said of John Wesley that everywhere he went there was either a riot, or a revival. People either came gladly to Christ, or reacted strongly to his message and got quite angry.

He knew that the message he spoke was important to every person, for: “the power of the Cross reaches into every nook and cranny of history and of creational living” (Geoff Bingham).

What was it that happened in the cross of Christ?
What was it that God did there that changed all things?
Christ Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross.
The godly man, died for - the ungodly – us!
While we were still his enemies, Christ died for us.
O what love, that he should become sin for us!
O what love that he should release us from the grip of guilt!
O what love that he should defeat Satan and all evil powers!
O what love that he shoud reconcile us to God and each other!
O what love to suffer such extreme horror, to win forgiveness!
He suffered, not for his own sins, but poured out blood for mine.
For you and for me, he cried out: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
He was utterly forsaken – that we might be saved, fully included.
Bread broken, and wine poured out, tells of his life’s work for all.

O Jesus, come, by your Holy Spirit, into my life, so that I may know the Father’s love as you do, and live in true freedom. Amen.

The Absolute Evil: Guilt

"Guilt alone is the absolute evil, the absolutely terrible and unbearable, the simply irrevocable loss. Compared to guilt all else that may be terrible in the world is very slight indeed. If one weighs guilt against all other suffering in the world, unhappy love which makes life a hell, life-long hard labour in the mines of Siberia, continuous suffering from cancer without any hope but the prospect of a painful death, softening of the brain leading to madness, epilepsy with increasing stupefaction - the guilt will easily outweigh all the other evils in the scale. And if on the other hand we think of all that the world offers by way of good things, then all the riches, power and happiness of the world cannot balance and replace the damage caused by one guilty act".

These words are taken from a book, by Karl Heim (Jesus the World’s Perfecter)