Reflections

For me He Died

Once when John McNeil, the famous Scottish preacher, was addressing his congregation in Edinburgh, he began his sermon in a captivating way. "Can anyone here tell me who knew best the meaning of substitution during the trial and death of our Lord?" he asked. "Was it Caiaphas? No! Was it Annas? No! Was it Pilate? No! Was it Peter? No  Was it John?No! It was none of these!" Then into the breathless silence created by his arresting introduction he thundered, "I'll tell you who it was - it was Barabbas! Barabbas! Barabbas!"

And that is quite true, for standing by the Cross, Barabbas would have realised more keenly than anyone else the personal nature of Christ's death. Jesus was in fact dying quite literally for him, Like Paul  he could have said. "The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me". But John adds more to this and goes on to say in effect, "This man loosed me" (Rev 1:5 Revised Version) The Authorised Version renders the verb in this sentence differently. "Unto Him that loved us and washed us", it reads. Both translations are admissible, and both are useful in helping us understand the thought.

But think of the term "washed" and listen to D.L. Moody's comment on this phrase; "Christ might have washed us first, then loved us afterward, but He didn't, He loved us before He washed us. That is the sheer wonder of our Lord's redemption. Anyone would have loved us after we had been washed. He loved us before.

Reflections

Discipleship

Although the word 'disciple' means a learner, this does not mean that we sit like students in a classroom storing up facts and information  about the Lord Jesus Christ. Each truth He unfolds has to be lived out in practical situations, where it can be fully understood.

No sooner does Christ begin to reveal some new truth to one of His disciples than He opens up some special circumstance in which that truth can be tested. If, for example, you have a need to understand the meaning of forgiveness toward others, then you can be sure that it will not be long before you find yourself in a situation where you will be called upon to do just that. If, on the other hand, God sees that you have a particular need to understand the real meaning of patience, then He will engineer a set of circumstances in which that patience will be tested. You see, all your affairs are in the hands of a Master-Teacher who knows the value of an on-the-spot education. Each disciple must be tested on one point, before he can move on to other things, and God's examinations are designed for  the personal benefit of each one of His pupils.

There are no "memory exercises" in this school, for each lesson has to be lived out in terms of personal experience. No one can learn tomorrow's lessons until he has covered the groundwork that is needed for today, anymore than a child can be taught geometry until he has first learned the twelve times table. So apply yourself willingly to all that  He wants to teach you today, and tomorrow will yield a whole new scale of values, in the exciting world of Christian Discipleship.

 

Reflections

Graven on His Hands

What are the possibilities that God will ever forget about us, and lose His loving concern for our eternal destiny? Isaiah lays to rest any doubt that may arise in what must be considered as one of the most fascinating texts in the whole of the Old Testament ( Is. 49:16). God cannot forget His people because He has "graven" them on the palms of  both His hands, and as they are indelibly  marked there where they cannot be overlooked, we need never fear that that we will be forgotten.

Tattooing is a custom that is known the world over, and most people who allow themselves to be tattooed have it done in places which are not open to common sight. But the "graving" of which Isaiah speaks is not  in some hidden part of God's great being, but "upon the palms of His hands". It is carried where all may see, and none can overlook. The "palm of our hand" has passed into common usage to symbolise familiarity, such as when we say, "I know it like the palm of my hand'. And that, says Isaiah, is where God carries the reminder of His people's Salvation: where it cannot be overlooked. It is not a note passed on to an Angel, or written down in a scrapbook :it is graven on the palms of God's hands.

Reflections

The fruit of the Spirit

One of the questions frequently asked by new Christians is this: Does the Holy Spirit  dwell in me? If so, how can I tell?

We can tell how much of the Holy Spirit dwells in us by the fruit of His presence. Love: Am I able to show love to the people whom normally I would dislike?  Joy: Am I a happy Christian?  Peace: Am I secure and serene when things don't appear to be going right?  Long suffering: Am I patient and able to bear with other people's faults and imperfections?  Kindness: Do I excel in the demonstration of kind and tender actions?  Goodness: It was said of Jesus that "He went about doing good". Do I? Faithfulness: If my whole life suddenly crashed about me, would I still trust Him?  Meekness: Am I gentle in my rebukes, and Christlike in my judgements? Temperance: Am I self controlled in all things?

These nine qualities of life are the natural result of the Spirit abiding within. It is well to note that when Paul in Galatians 5 speaks of the self-centred and egocentric life, he refers to it as. "the works of the flesh", but the result of the indwelling Spirit is defined as "fruit". What is the difference? "Works" points to something manufactured and not natural, whilst "fruit" points to something that develops in an effortless way. Evil is, in fact, alien to our personalities but goodness suits us. It was the thing  for which we were made - a natural. In some Christian circles, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the power characteristics of the Spirit, but we must see that power without purity results in us being unbalanced Christians.

Reflections

Worry-A form of Atheism

Worry is a sin and a form of atheism. Some of you may feel that I am overstating the case by that remark, so let's examine that thought a little more closely. A person who worries says in effect, 'I can't

trust God to work things out so I'll take matters in my own hands'. What is the result? Worry, frustration and fear. With God, however, you can meet it, face it, and overcome it. One of the ways in which we Christians face our worries and fears is to meet them a day at a time.

In Matt. 6:34, Jesus is not saying that there will be no troubles to face, for we know full well that there are. Life is bound to bring troubles. We are not , however, to telescope the troubles of tomorrow and the next day into today. God has arranged that life should be lived a day at a time, and He has put into every day sufficient grace to enable us to cope with every difficulty and problem. If we reach out into tomorrow, and bring those worries into today, then although we can bring forward tomorrow's worries, we cannot bring forward tomorrow's grace. Hence we are overdrawn on the Bank of God's Grace, and what might be worse, we meet our troubles twice - once before they come and once when they are actually here.

"Worry", has been defined, "as the advance interest we pay on troubles that might never come". When you face one day at a time you will be able to draw from the Bank of God's Grace sufficient funds to meet every bill  life offers you. If, however, you borrow from tomorrow's troubles, then you won't have enough to pay your bills.