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Jesus Immanuel
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com As we pause in this interval between Christmas Day and New Years Eve it is for many of us a time for relaxation. Present giving and carols are over; some are in full holiday mode. It’s a time for recharging the batteries so to speak… a time to reflect.
It’s amazing how Bible verses we know so well can suddenly light up with deeper meaning. For me it was this one…”therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Is. 7:14 NIV)
Of course, this verse is all about Christmas, but there was something in this verse that spoke to me afresh. It was just that one word… Immanuel! What was it saying? Of course, we know it means that God is with us… immanu (with us) and El (God).
Yet, there was a meaning here which I hadn’t fully grasped. Yes, he is the Son of God, and our Saviour. But he is God, and existed with the Father before the world began… he is the I AM.
The wonderful, incredible reality is this… Jesus as God! is with us. The presence of God in OT times could only be known through the Temple worship but now He comes to us personally. We are now human temples and where His Spirit takes up residence.
May we know Jesus in the full reality of who he is… GOD WITH US!
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The hike of faith!
Photo by Eric Sanman on Pexels.com Describing faith as a hike may seem strange, but faith was never meant to be a cakewalk. Living a life of faith as a Christian can be compared to hiking those mountain trails. It requires commitment to keep going., for the trail will have its challenges. But there will be many wonderful experiences if we persevere.
The Australian State of Tasmania offers some spectacular trails for hikers. I have just been reading about one called The Frenchman’s Cap Trail which is a multiday hike of 46km. It is located in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in the central southwest region of Tasmania. It includes – “Buttongrass plains, lush rain forest, alpine lakes and rugged tors with views from coast to plateau” Ref. https://slowerhiking.com >frenchmans-cap-tasmania>
As I think about the Christian life, I’m reminded that it is similar to walking a trail. There are times of difficulty when the terrain is hard. Like a hiker, we need backup supplies to keep going for the trail can be long. Fitness is required too, as there will be times of testing on the trail of life. But our hike of faith will be rewarded.
Then there are the National Park Rangers that do so much work in maintaining trails. Their work is invaluable and includes directional signs, provision of huts and campsites. The trail is also kept safe and the environment protected.
As we end another year and celebrate the birth of Jesus, it’s reassuring to know that the trail of life is already prepared. With a new year beginning we simply keep going on the hike of faith.
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Crossing the River!
Photo by cami on Pexels.com There is something unique about crossing a river and we all have made those crossings when traveling in our cars over bridges. Sometimes the river may be quite wide, but the feeling we get is still the same. It’s that leaving one side and then reaching the land on the other side… a crossing over experience.
I recall crossing the Murray River at Loxton, South Australia via a cable ferry or punt. Driving your vehicle on to the punt and then being slowly pulled across the wide river was like a mini adventure trip. Today you use a bridge, but you still have that same experience of leaving one side and reaching the other.
The Bible has a bit to say about crossing over stretches of water. God’s method was to stop or hold back the flow of water which He did at the Red Sea, enabling Israel to escape from Egypt. The second crossing was at the Jordan River where God again held back the water enabling the nation of Israel to cross over.
The Jordan River crossing was extra special because it was the river crossing which would enable Israel to set their feet on the promised land. They were under orders to follow the ark of the covenant as it went ahead of them.
The arc of the covenant was carried by the priests and was a sacred chest where God revealed His presence in a cloud above the mercy seat and between the cherubim. This was where the high priest sprinkled blood annually on the day of atonement. The moment the priest’s feet touched the river’s edge it stopped flowing and the people crossed over on dry land into Canaan.Jesus Christ our high priest goes before us enabling us to leave our old life behind and cross over into a new one. The Covenant in His shed blood replaces the old… trust Jesus, follow Him!
Ref. Josh. 3:14-17, Heb. 8:10. NIV.
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FEATS OF FAITH!
MY last blog post was all about resting in faith… resting because we do not have to work in order to earn our salvation. For God has done it all and we only need live and enjoy His blessings. But there is still a daily faith which gets results… feats of faith!
Photo by Alexa Popovich on Pexels.com Accomplishing a feat of faith does not involve special training to do the seemingly impossible. We only need a small amount faith and with simple belief we can move mountains, (Matt. 17:20 NIV).
So, what are feats of faith? They are not necessarily dramatic type miracles but so often just the solving of those everyday problems of life. Those things that challenge us personally can often seem too hard to manage. But, to simply trust God and see the difficulty solved and dealt with is in itself a feat of faith.
All we need do is involve God with all that is happening in our lives, a sort of daily operating faith. It could be a medical problem we are experiencing… maybe an upcoming surgery. Then there are those financial needs. Or simply the guidance and help we require to see us through a time of challenge in our lives.
God is in the mountain moving business and all that is required is just a little faith on our part. Feats of faith will begin to happen!
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Resting in faith!
Photo by Du00f3 Castle on Pexels.com We can often ask the question… what is faith? Simply, it is to rely on and trust in something or some person. But it is not meant to be a mental struggle where we tire ourselves out trying too hard to believe. Perhaps we need to stop and rest for a while.
I recall an incident in my teenage years when several of us were going for a long country bike ride. The previous evening, I stayed up late getting my bike ready for the next day’s journey. We set off early…. but after a couple of hours, I felt totally exhausted and told the others I had to stop. I then found a grassy safe spot on the roadside and slept for an hour or more before continuing.
My memory of this experience is quite vivid for I recall a feeling of total exhaustion where nothing else mattered but to stop my riding and have a REST! Today, it reminds me of how important it is to understand that there is a spiritual rest aspect to faith.
The Bible records that God rested after the creation of the heavens and the earth. Our understanding of creation is irrelevant to the fact that God RESTED on the seventh day…. who wouldn’t rest after such a creative work? The animals and the creation of man, male and female was completed on the sixth day and God then rested, (Gen. 2:1-3) NIV.
God then visited the earth for another creative work when He caused the Virgin Mary to conceive the Christ child. That work was not complete until Jesus lived, rose again and died on the cross as our sin substitute. Salvation’s work was finished.!
It is so easy to exhaust ourselves, trying to please God… who simply says… REST for the work of salvation is done.
The REST of God can perhaps be better understood if we realize that it is in fact a peaceful state, a place of rest and quiet security like a home. We all know that feeling after a long trip away… it’s so good to be home! God’s REST is part of who He is, and He shares it with us… so let us be still and enter into that REST!
Ref. Heb. 4:9-11, 10:5-10. NIV.
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SUBMISSION
What is submission? Is it a sign of personal weakness or perhaps the secret of personal strength? I guess, at the end of the day, the crucial question is who or what are we submitting to? We can submit to the laws of the land; we can submit to legal authorities… that is not only wise, but the proper thing to do.
Submission then, can be the correct attitude for maintaining a peaceful society. Buit there is sadly an undercurrent of lawlessness where people oppose governments and authority. Where relationships break down because people try to control and dominate others.
The Bible talks a lot about submission; submitting to one another and developing attitudes of humility where we put others first and even consider them better than ourselves, (Phil. 2:3-4). This is not putting ourselves down but recognizing God as the ultimate authority to whom we should be submitting.
The interesting thing is that when we submit and develop humility before God we are blessed. The principles of headship and authority are real and to fight against them is to oppose God. So let us bend the knee again and acknowledge the headship of the Lord Jesus… learning to submit to him and one another.
As we humble ourselves under the authority and power of God our Father and His Son, grace will always flow into our lives.Ref. Prov. 3:34, 1 Peter 5:6. NIV.
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The Christian Password
We live in a world of ever-increasing passwords which are controlling our lives. Security demands them, but life would be much simpler if we did not have to have them… and we wouldn’t get so stressed… like when we forget them!
And another aspect is the fact that the password we use always has to be spot on, or we get error messages and access is denied. But on the other hand, it is a relief when the password we use is accepted. Suddenly, the screen before us is activated and we see the app or site immediately coming to life.
As we reflect on our Christian lives we may forget or not even realize that it was necessary to have ‘the correct password’ to begin our new life in Christ. The password is none other than our Saviour’s name… the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the important part… we must confess personal faith in the Lord Jesus believing in our heart that God raised him from the dead. There is no escaping this ‘password’ for… “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12 NIV.
But the ongoing benefit is to know that the principle of the Name of Jesus works 24/7 on our behalf. The power of that Name gives each Christian immediate and constant access into God’s presence, not just for fellowship, but authority to pray. God always knows that our spiritual ‘password’ is correct.
Should you be reading this blog and not be a Christian may I suggest that all you need do is USE this ‘password’ to find the dynamics of a new life in Christ.
I have just returned from a Motel stay where the Wi-Fi Password was simply the name of the motel… nothing else was necessary. To become a Christian, you need only use the name… so call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The Family Connection!
The power of family is something we all experience and it gives us that sense of belonging. Our paternal and maternal links are real, that integral part of who we are as an individual.
We search records to discover our family history, then construct family trees. At the same time, we discover interesting facts about our forebears. At the end of our ancestral discoveries, we come back to the present to rediscover as it were, our own life. A life which is so uniquely now, and individually special… US!
We are not without connection; we are not in some endless orbit through a universe of emptiness. No! We belong, and its family!
Important as a human family is, there is another family…. the Christian family! The Apostle Paul in writing to believers often used the term ‘brothers’ It was not used because they were related to him in human terms, but spiritually.
There is a kinship connection we have as believers. To belong to Jesus Christ means we also belong to all the other souls that also belong to him. There is a spiritual bond that Christians feel with each other, for they are brethren.
Humanely we have siblings… brothers and sisters because we are of the same womb or parentage. Spiritually we have the same birth in Christ Jesus our Saviour; that common experience makes us family…, we are brethren.
But it gets more exciting when we consider ancestral lineage, that ability to trace a direct line back to a specific ancestor. Consider Jesus born in a manger, that special one, the Christ who we remember at Christmas time. His lineage can be traced back through many generations to Abraham. But more than this, his lineage goes still further back… and we discover it goes right back to Adam, the Son of God! (Lineage ref. Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-37. NIV.)
We may well get absorbed in our own personal family tree, and there may be some important ancestors. But our human genealogies pale into obscurity when we consider Jesus Christ, Son of Man, Son of God. Those who believe in Jesus as their Saviour are now connected by spiritual birth to his lineage.
Connection can be such a powerful thing… Jesus our Lord is connected directly to the Father. He is in the Father, and the Father is in him! Then Jesus actually says to us, that we are in him and he is in us… WHAT A CONNECTION!!
Ref. John 14:8-11, 20 & 23. NIV. -
Keep sparkling!
Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com When you think of the word sparkle… what are the first images that come to mind? Maybe a woman’s evening dress with its glistening sequins… so stunning, but more than that, the sparkling glitter affects us! Or consider one of those fireworks sparklers, it ignites, we wave it back and forth and showers of sparks fill the air. We are caught up in the dazzling display as it radiates energy.
Then we find people that seem to have a personal charisma. They always seem to have a bright happy outlook on life. They lift our spirit, affecting our psyche and we feel good. It is a personality sparkle which gives out energy vibes.
Even the Bible has something to say on this subject, (Prov.17:22). A happy, cheerful person gives out good vibes to others, it is like a healing medicine. The person with a crushed spirit has the reverse effect, not only on themselves, but others too. It dries up the bones or saps us of vitality, strength and spark.
A final word… of course there are times when we all experience sadness, but this should not be confused with having an attitude which is cheerful and rises above life’s problems. Jesus talked about this as a joy which is ours to have, and it can actually be our strength. So then… BE HAPPY & KEEP SPARKLING!
Ref. Neh. 8:10, John 15:11. NIV.
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A Divided Heart
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com One of the most moving passages in the Bible is where Jesus tells us that he stands at the door and knocks. If we respond to that knock and open the door, he then promises to come in at our invitation, to share life together.
It is never God’s intention to discipline us for no reason… his purpose is always to deepen our relationship with him, for God wants our heart above all else! The Bible says we should rend our hearts and not our garments, (Joel 2:13) We shouldn’t punish ourselves because we have failed to give God our full devotion but to open our hearts in full surrender.
It may seem strange, but God does not want our good works however noble and sacrificial they might be. Nor does he want our self-denial or even forms of worship, regardless of how sacred they may appear. Believe it or not, all God wants is our heart, everything flows from that relationship, (Joel 2:12).
All the Lord Jesus wants, is our heart… a heart that places everything else second, to sharing life with him.
It is not God’s will to deprive us, for he wants us to enjoy life to the full!! The personal question we must ask is this… has my desire for personal pleasure and enjoyment become more important than my relationship with him?
As we open the door of our heart it is not just to share our life with Christ, but he also, begins to share his life with us!
Ref. Rev. 3:20 NIV.
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