Ruthless Trust. ( Isaiah 12 v 2 )

I  borrowed the words 'Ruthless Trust', from the title of a book by Brennan Manning, it made me think how appropriate, for all who will embrace faith in God, which always starts at the cross, were we trust Christ as our Saviour. What does ruthless mean?, it can be understood as being harsh even cruel. But it can have a good aspect to it, in our relationship with God, who desires that we trust Him unconditionally. One person  speaks of, 'heroic courage', in a loving God, no matter what happens'. Think of the courage it took for  Job to declare as regards God, ''Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him'', Job 13 v 15. He lost all his ,children, wealth, health, and  his friends were saying it was his fault, which it wasn't . A person wad asked to define  his life in one sentence, he replied,'' I can define it in a single word, 'Trust'.  When I am experiencing some difficulty ,I often hear these two words in my mind ,'Trust Me', it is as if God is talking to me. We all have a choice ,do we let unbelief, bitterness, suspicion, take over,  or we can ruthlessly cut across them, and trust our sovereign loving God?.

                                                     Trust in the Lord with all you heart,

                                                     And lean not upon your own understanding.

                                                                   Proverbs 3 v 5 .

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The Cross. ( Philippians 2 v 5 - 11)

 Tom Holland the historian writes the following on crucifixion ,' No death was more excruciation , more contemptible , than crucifixion' .It was a chosen means of punishment for slaves and thieves ,TH, writes the following, 'Exposed to public view  like slabs of meat hung from a market  stall' , it was a grim warning to any slave who stepped out of line.  Naturally ,if it were to serve as a deterrent  it needed to be public. Nothing spoke more eloquently of a failed  revolt than the sight of hundreds of corpse- hung on crosses'. TH writes 'The death of Jesus on a cross is an established fact', yes it really did happen, as did the resurrection, The cross was a excruciating death, it was also a humiliating way to die, reserved for those of  no standing in society. When one thinks of the awfulness of the cross, the total horror of it, one is utterly amazed that Christ choose to die such a death, and He did. In John 12 v 33 - 34, He knew how He was going to die, and He knew when He was going to die, John 13 v1 ,and He knew why he had to die on that cross. ( John 3 v 14 -15 )

                                                        Wonderful love coming to me,

                                                        Wonderful grace, freedom and mercy;

                                                        Bought with a price, death on a cross,

                                                        Wonderful love, Jesus, You've given to me.

                                                                      Words David Fellingham .

If only. ( Psalm 81 )

 Lets consider Psalm  81,believed to be written to the Northern  Kingdom Israel, V 1-4  ,there we have one of the festivals mention, Israel had a number of festivals, major ones and minor ones, most of them related to their ,deliverance from Egypt ,and other historical events. When  we read about Israel in the Bible we are not just  reading  something that was made up, but actual history, the events and characters mentioned were real. When we move into the New Testament the same applies, it is history, Calvary really did happen, .likewise the resurrection. V 5- 7 of the Psalm  reminds us how God delivered them from Egypt, Think back child of God, and how He delivered you in the past ,you called upon Him in your distress, He did not forsake you ,turn away from you, no, He delivered you .Our salvation was the greatest deliverance of all, He delivered us from sin and Satan's power, indeed from death itself ,'Hallelujah''. The  rest of the Psalm reminds Israel of their failures to listen to God, and their tendency to worship other gods. Things could have been different, V 18 -19. ' If my people would only listen to me ,if  Israel would follow my ways, How  quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against  their foes'.

                                                    Listen to God.

                                                    Obey God.

                                                    God will bless.

The unexpected. ( Luke 12 v 13 - 21 )

 There used be a program on TV  called,' Tales of the unexpectant' ,likewise I heard a preacher say the following, ''Lord prepare us for the unexpected''. Proverbs that wonderful book of wisdom chap 27 v 1, reads,' Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth'. very wise words, but few do this, they make there plans, not considering the things that can  interrupt these plans. You see the unexpectant can happen, it was William Ernest Henly  who wrote, 'I am the master of my fate, I am captain of my soul'. It has something that people like to think is true, but its not, the very nature of life would teach one that. The apostle James reminds us of the foolishness of  boasting as regards our planning, even the stupidity of it. James 4 v 13 - 17. As Christians we  should not boast, but humbly, manifest a daily trust and dependence on our God .Proverbs 3 v 5-6 . If you are not a Christian ,tomorrow may not be yours  , remember  heaven and hell are no trifles, trust Jesus as your Saviour , and then you have nothing to fear about the unknown tomorrow.

Gifts ( Romans 3 v 36 )

Melanie Reid has a column in the Times newspaper, it is called ,'Spinal  Column', Melanie is tetraplegic after breaking her neck and back in a riding accident. In a recent article ,she wrote, 'Don't think I'm not grateful....but  here are the 30 gifts I never want to receive again'. Here are a few, 'Any hardback book that weighs over 150g.Tickets to anywhere, because I have no where to go. Rings, My  knuckles are to big .Delicate neck chains . Because I can't feel them, break them , and feel bad.' Lovely though these gifts are they are not suitable, because of Melanie's condition, they are in a sense unwanted gifts. We have I am sure all received gifts that we don't want, we appreciate the thought, but those unwanted gifts will end up in a charity shop. The most precious gift I have ever received was eternal life when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour.  Sad to say many have not received that gift, yet  it is offered to the whosoever, it is a gift you cannot buy it, or even merit , it is free, absolutely  free. Without this gift there is no hope of heaven, but you say what about my sin?, total forgiveness comes with the gift. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, 

                                               There's a way back to God 

                                                From the dark paths of sin,

                                                There's a door that is open

                                                 and you may go in,

                                                 Calvary's Cross is where you 

                                                 When you come as a sinner

                                                            To  Jesus'

Empathy ( John 11 v 35 )

  What is empathy? ,it is described  in the following way,' The ability  to understand and share the feelings of others', some say it has three components,' Cognitive ,that means, listening ,knowledge, understanding ,judging and problem solving.  Next we have, 'Emotional' , which leads us to the last component,' Compassionate' .One  of the results from personal suffering, we gain is an understanding of others who are suffering. That's very important in life, Queen Victoria felt the death no her beloved husband Albert  greatly, but is recorded how she visited a particular lady who had suffered the loss of a love one, she did not say much but just sat quietly with her. One aspect of the book of Hebrews is, the highlighting of  Christ's as our high priest, we are reminded that He suffered ,and that  He was tempted in everyway, just as we are, yet He did not sin. When we come to Him  he fully understands how we feel in our suffering, so we  are encouraged to approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (  Hebrews 4  v 14 - 16 )

                                               No one understands like Jesus                     

                                               He's a friend beyond compare.

                                               Meet Him at the throne of mercy

                                                He is waiting for you there.

                                                No one understands like Jesus

                                                When the days are dark and grim,

                                                No one is so near, so dear as Jesus,

                                                Cast your every care upon Him.

                                                              ( Words  John Peterson )

                                                 

Troubles ( 1 Peter 5 v 7 )

 Job 5 v 7 reads ,'Yet man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upwards'. no one who has ever lived, or who ever live will escape some degree of trouble, Christian or non -Christian. Trouble is no respecter of  persons, there is no escape from it, but there is a God in heaven who has a special love for His children, consider dear child of God this wonderful verse from Psalm 55 v 22.

                                                   'Cast your cares on the Lord

                                                   and He will sustain you;

                                                   He will never let the righteous

                                                   be shaken'

If  you read the Psalm written by David, you find  he experienced so much trouble in His life, he had many enemies, and even experiences trouble from a friend. Overwhelmed by trouble he declares, 'Oh , that I had wings of a dove! I  would fly away and be at rest'. But that does not happen, instead he is driven to the one place,  and one person, the place of prayer, and the person of God. Dear child of God no matter how severe your troubles are, now, or in the coming days, don't give in to despair, have faith in God . William Plumer wrote the following,' Rivers of sorrow may roll over us, and mountains of care rest upon us, but if we cast all on God , He will sustain you'