The Mighty Grasp. ( Philippians 2 v12-13 )

 I read this in one of my daily readings,a verse from a poem by John Campbell Sharp,called ,'The Mighty Grasp',  

                                                'Let me no more my comfort draw

                                                 From my frail hand of thee;

                                                 In this alone rejoice with awe,

                                                 Thy mighty grasp of me! '

Jesus said ,' Without Me you can do nothing', that does not mean we shouldn't do nothing?,no, it means that in all our doings there must be a continual dependence on our Saviour. That means every day and every hour of everyday He will be our strength and helper,everyday it must be more of Him and less of us.In Philippians 2 v12 ,the Christians are called to ,'work out their salvation  with fear and trembling',now we are not told  to work for our salvation ,salvation is not a merit salvation ,it is not our merits that save,it is the merits of Christ that saves.Alec Motyer writes the following,that working out involves ,'obedience, responsibility,and sensitivity'.That is our work ,but let us remember God is at work v 13 ,for God the Holy Spirit is with us,to hold us up,without Him we could do nothing but fail,may we draw great comfort from that,and let us rejoice with awe,in His mighty  grasp of you and me.

Unworthy ( Romans 5 v 6- 11)

 I have a friend who becomes frustrated when he hears how some Christians are seeing great blessing ,even miracles,I have known my friend for a long time and he struggles with various difficulties,at this time he is suffers from panic attempts. I suppose there are people who would judge him I don't ,I have not walked in his shoes,I do pray for him and his wife who struggles with him,but loves him,and indeed I love them both.Bill Gaither wrote the following,'I believe help thou my unbelief', I take the finite risk of trusting as a child,I believe, help Thou my unbelief. I walk into the unknown trusting all a while,I long so much to feel the touch,that others seem to know.Yet should I never feel a thing,I claim Him even so. I walk into the unknown trusting all the while'.I somehow identify with those words with my friend,for over 40 years, he has walked with Christ,struggling with so many things.you see it is not feelings that bring us through, it is faith in God, who chooses those who are weak.I know a lovely lady who had a terrible time growing up ,yes she has had her struggles, she knows the Lord,and I believe the Lord loves her,and I love her to.Let us remember we can't see our invisible God, but He sees us,and knows us  like nobody else  ,and here is the wonder of it all,'He loves us'.

                                        'Why me Lord,what have I ever done to deserve such love?

                                          and He answered and said  , the cross was not for those who

                                          think themselves worthy'.

He is with you. (Matthew 28 v 20 )

It was David Livingstone  who prayed,'God send me anywhere! Only go with me. Lay any burden upon me,only sustain me'. What a challenging prayer, would you pray it?, would I pray it?. It is a good question,think what he was praying,to go anywhere.I remember offering to go to Brazil,to the interior,a place that was known as the green hell .That meant taking my wife and children , but God didn't permit me to go, and I certainly would not have wanted to go if the Saviour was not with me. It was Moses who said to God,' If your presence does not go with us,do not send us from here', (Exodus 33 v15) In verse v 14, God had said ,'My presence will go with you',Moses was expressing his relief at what God had said,Is it not a relief child of God to know that the Lord is with you,as one man comments,'Safety does not consist in absence of danger but in the presence of  the Lord'.Wherever you are,whatever you are facing at this time,the Lord is with you,the Psalmist could say,'Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me'.  ( Psalm 23 v4 ) As you lay your head down on your pillar tonight,rest assured that He who never slumbers or sleeps is watching over you,and is with you.

                             'I must have the Saviour with me,for I dare not walk alone,

                             I must feel His presence near me, and His arm around me thrown.

                             Then my soul shall fear no ill; let Him lead me where He will,

                             I will go without a murmur,and His footsteps follow still.

                                                         Words Fanny Crosby.  

9

Her heart was still. ( John 21 v 15 )

 In Genesis 19 we read how God was going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinful behaviour, which  included homosexuality. God revealed what He was going to do to Abraham,now Lot and his family lived in Sodom, and Abraham pleaded with God to shew mercy to those cities if  there were at least ten righteous people in them, God assured him if there were ten righteous people in the cities He would not destroy them.God earlier had sent three heavenly visitors,these visitors went and warned Lot and his family to leave Sodom, his son- in- laws refused to leave but they didn't take it serious,so they stayed.Times have not changed so many refuse to accept that God who is the righteous judge,will judge humanity for their sinfulness. That's because they do not accept the seriousness of their sin ,be that as it may,God  has provided a way of salvation  ( John 3 v16),and for those who refuse that way,will be Judged. (John 3 v 36) Now back to  Lot and his family, they were told to flee for their lives,but don't look back.So the judgement began and we read ,'Lots wife looked back', and she was turned into a pillar of salt.I wonder why she looked back?.I come from Ireland but I live in England,and I am happy where I live, but there are many exiles who through their song indicate a longing to go back'Lots wife was leaving Sodom and Gomorrah,but her heart was still there.So it is we  cannot follow Jesus when our hearts are somewhere else,it is all or nothing.

                                                                         A Prayer

                               'Lord I give you my heart,I give you my soul to live for You alone,

                                Every breath that I take,every moment I'm awake,Lord have your

                                way in me'

                                                                   Words Hillsong.

                                                            

The Bread of life. ( John 6 v 25ff)

 I was a visiting a friend and he told how a friend give him a loaf of bread he had made,he described the bread as being the most loveliest bread he ever tasted.He went on to say if he had that bread regular, he would live to a 150.His wife was present and I don't think she wanted that to happen,we all laughed  at the idea.  Bread has been called the staff of life,in other words it is very important to many people to sustain life. When Jesus performed the miracle of feeding over 5000 people with bread and a few fish,they  flocked after Him,seeing him as the local food bank. He explained to them a greater truth,a spiritual truth,He reminded them  how God fed their ancestors with manna in the wilderness yet they died.Then He goes  on to say that He was the true bread of life that has come from heaven,and if they accepted Him into their lives by faith they will live not for a 150 years but for ever. We who have have taken Him who is the bread of life into our lives are very privileged,but with privilege comes responsibility,In Matthews account of this miracle (14 v 13ff) Jesus said to the disciples as to the feeding of the multitudes,'you give them something to eat',untold millions have never heard the gospel,we need to reach them and feed them the Bread of life, Jesus.

Liberty (Romans 6 v 15-23 )

There are three words associated with the French revolution ,'Liberty,Equality,and Fraternity,these were proposed by Robespierre.Most revolutions are movements that seemingly want freedom, the dear land I come from had a revolution in the early 20th century .  I listened to a song recently  about a man being held in jail and was waiting to be executed,here are some words from it,'From our school days,they have told us we must yearn for liberty. And so he joined the cause,and he ended up a prisoner,and he says the following,''They'll take me out at dawn, and I  will die''.Yes there's usually a price to be paid to have ones liberty,but for all its idealism and sacrifice, it does not ,cannot, set humanity free,from their sinful nature,it is very limited,and often it can usher in greater bondage.Jesus said that those who sin are slaves to sin,(John 8 v34),and here is the fact,that means we are all slaves.(Romans 3 v23),And here is another fact many are in denial,and refuse to accept that,they think that the good they do , nullifies the sin they do,it doesn't. So what's the answer?,Christ, and only Christ,He and he alone is God's answer, only through Him can we be forgiven, and be set free from the power of sin.This was brought about through His death on Calvary,He paid the price to set us slaves free.

                                            'Would you free from your burden of sin?,

                                             come to Jesus'.

                                             

                                          

                                              

                                                          

Glorifying God. ( 1 Corinthians 1v 27)

 When does God get the glory?,when we are at our weakest,when David faced a giant, ( 1 Samuel 17) that Giant looked at that young man and mocked him, despised him.Looking on the enemies of Israel  must have thought,we are on a winner,victory is assured. I wonder what Israel was thinking,Davids brother didn't think much of him and told him so v28.Saul told him that he would not be able to defeat the giant v33, but David testified how God had helped him kill a bear and lion would help him  kill that giant.So he went forth with a sling and five smooth stones,and the giant mocked him.But David stood his ground and answered his mocking with the following words,'You come against me with sword and spear and Javelin, but I  come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.......This day He will deliver you into my hands',and He did just that,and God got the glory.v 45-46. When does God get the  glory?, through our weakness and limitations,think of what Paul accomplished ,how?,in his own strength,no,in weakness,and in that weakness he glorified  the God who  impowered him in all His service (2 Cor 12 v  9)

                                           '   Our Saviour was crucified in weakness

                                              and He of all people exalted and glorified

                                              God'.  ( John 17 v 4)