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.

Reflections

The Problem of Pain

There are many problems which baffle human understanding, but there is no greater problem with which the human mind has to wrestle than the problems created by suffering and pain. Death is not the greatest mystery; sin is not the greatest mystery. Pain is the greatest mystery in the universe.

John in the Revelation, when listing the things that will not be present in the New Jerusalem, comes to that problem as the last on his list, and, as he realised that God will forever remove it from the universe, says with deep relief - 'neither shall there be any more pain'. While pain is a mystery it is not an unrelieved mystery, for in many ways it is the monitor of human health. If we felt no pain when fire burned, or when knives cut, then our race would have perished centuries ago.
In making us at the beginning, the God of infinite love and wisdom insisted on creating us as persons and not as puppets, and He will not withdraw this freedom even to save us from our woes. Yet as we watch Him at work in the world, the testimony of history is that He is adept at turning the bitter into the sweet, and producing something worthy for the price that pain had paid. There can be no doubt that the One who suffered most is the Man who, 1900 years ago, hung upon a centre cross. And that Man is none other than the Almighty God.

Reflections

Determining God's Will

Divine Guidance is not just calling on God to pull us out of a hole, but is a way of life, in which, as we rely on His guidance in the continuous, we are nearer fail to receive it in a crisis.

Before we look at some firm guidelines and principles which will help us understand more clearly the way in which God guides His children, we must recognise that in most areas of a Christian's life the Will of God is not in dispute. In the Bible, God has given insights and principles which, when applied, cover about nine tenths of our lives, leaving an area of about one-tenth in which we have no specific instructions. For example, God has told us in the Scriptures that a man who is healthy and is able to work should do so, but the Bible does not then go on to specify the exact kind of work each one of us should be doing. Again, the Bible gives definite instructions on the question of marriage, and points out that a Christian should not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. It does not, however, specify any details about the type or temperament of the person we should choose.

The difference between these two areas is sometimes referred to as the revealed Will of God and the unrevealed Will of God. There is no real problem here, however, for we shall discover that, as we live by the principles of Scripture in relation to the revealed  Will of God, we shall have no problem in applying those same principles to the area of life where things are unrevealed. 'Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path'.  Ps. 119:105.

REFLECTIONS

Prayer - A Priority

Two thousand years ago Peter issued this warning (1 Pet.4:7) - that time is fast running out. How much more urgent is it today! The age in which we live is so fast-moving that, with so many demands upon our time, more and more Christians are neglecting the priority of prayer. Someone has said, "that if we are too busy to pray, then we are busier than God intended us to be". Prayer is worth more than all the time it takes. If God is willing to live in our lives and strengthen our spirits through prayer, then it is blasphemous for us to wonder if we can really afford the time it takes to let Him in.

Tagore once told this parable, 'I had gone a begging from door to door in the village when a golden chariot appeared in the distance. It was the King of Kings! The chariot stopped where I stood, and the Master's glance fell on me. The Master held out His hand and said. "What have you got to give me?" I was stunned. A king opening His hand to a beggar. I was confused but slowly from my wallet I took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to Him. How great was my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor, and there I found a little grain of gold among the poor heap. I wept bitterly and wished I had given Him all I had'.

If we give God one moment He will turn it into gold, but if we give Him one hour - what then? As you learn to  love Him more you will crave more time to be with Him. You can be sure of this - whatever you give to God will be returned a thousand-fold. Start to share more moments with Him. He will turn then into gold.

Reflections

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11 has been described as "The Westminster Abbey of the Bible" because it contains the names of all those who died as heroes of faith. But the list has not been finished for day by day  God is adding new names so that list - those who learn and recognise the tremendous power of simple faith.

"Faith," said a little boy, "is trying your hardest to believe." 
Well that is not  - that is anxiety trying to look like faith. What then is Faith? Let's look at the acrostic F. A. I. T. H.- Forsaking All I Trust Him. Faith is not struggling, striving or trying, but simply resting, relaxing and trusting in the Saviour's Word.

One definition of Faith that I like very much is this: faith is right believing. The truth of this is brought out  clearly in the story of Christ stilling the tempest  (Mark 4:35-41). Jesus said to His disciples. "Let us pass over to unto the other side"  (v.35). Let that phrase sink deep into your heart, for in a moment you will see how little attention the disciple paid to the statement. In the midst of the lake a storm arose that was so fierce that it threatened to sink the boat in which the disciples were riding. They grew afraid and cried our in alarm, " Master carest thou not that we perish?" But how could they perish when a little earlier Jesus had said, "Let us pass over unto the other side". If they had believed His Word they would not have been afraid. There was no storm that could sink the ship in which Christ was riding, but they believed their fears rather than the word of their Master. Faith is right believing  - it stands on God'd Word no matter what the circumstance.

Reflections

Conscience - A Compass

Both prayer and daily Bible reading  are essential to the continuance of God's abundant life in our beings. But there is also a third item of priority - the development of a sensitive conscience. Conscience is the capacity within us to decide what is right and what is wrong, but it decides is largely determined by the training it has received. Some people have little or no conscience because their parents did not take the time or trouble to teach  or train them, whilst others have an oversensitive conscience  because their parents made excessive demands upon them. Paul killed people in all good conscience until his conscience was brought into contact with Jesus Christ and then things changed dramatically. Someone said, "We make our conscience and then our conscience makes us."

When we come into the Christian life we bring with us a conscience that was trained  by parents and those connected with us in the early stages of our development. We need, however, to surrender our consciences to the Holy Spirit so that He can refocus them in line with His principles. If conscience approves and disapproves within the framework of what it is taught, then it must be our constant aim to subject it daily to the standards of God's Word so that it can be kept transparent, perfectly balanced and clean. A truly  Christian conscience is one of the highest priorities in Christian living and without it the abundant life which flows in our beings will be neutralised and invalidated to a great degree.

Reflections

Recognising God's Voice 

We turn to the question of how to develop the art of the listening side of prayer which is of great importance and value to every Christian. As the point I want to make has been put most expertly by Mrs Herman in her book Creative power, I can do no better than to quote her deeply  expressive comments: 

"The alert and courageous soul  making its first venture upon the spiritual life is like a wireless operator on his trial trip in the Pacific. At the mercy of a myriad electrical whispers, the novice at the receiver does not know what to think. And then, just as his ear has begun to get adjusted to  the weird babel of crossing sounds, there comes a remote and thrilling whisper that plucks at his taut nerves.... It is the expected message and he nearly missed it. The Christian who waits in silence before God must learn to disentangle the voice of God from the net of other voices-the ghostly whisperings of the subconscious self, the luring voices of the world, the hindering voices of misguided friendship, the clamour of personal ambition and vanity, the murmur of self will, and the song of unbridled imagination."

We learn to listen to God's voice in the same way as we learn any other art - by practice. Begin today to wait before God with your heart and mind fully open to Him. Don't be discouraged if for a few days  (or even weeks) all you hear is voices from your subconscious, or the muffled sound traffic in the distance. The more you practice the more perfect will become the art, and quietly, almost without realising it, you will one day recognise your Master's Voice.

Reflections

Keep A Daily Quiet Time

If we are to know the strengthening power of prayer  in our daily life and experience, then we must make time to have moments of quiet when we can gain the poise and power that will enable us to meet every problem head on. Those who say they can live in a state of prayer without definite times of prayer, will eventually find themselves without both.

In my counselling experiences I have often found that people who complain of spiritual dryness and barrenness do so because they have neglected the place of prayer. One counsellor asked a couple who were living defeated Christian lives if they kept the Quiet Time; and the naive reply was given, "Yes, my husband and I sit and smoke in the quiet, half an hour after breakfast". Those sincere but defeated souls found release and victory when they set up a real Quiet Time, in which they took in the resources of the Living God, instead of the pitiable substitute of nicotine. Breathing the Holy Spirit into your spiritual lungs gives you a pick-you-up with no let- you-down. James Russel Lowell says.

If the chosen soul could never be alone,

In deep mid-silence, open-doored to God

No greatness ever had been dreamed or done;...

The nurse of full grown souls is solitude.

 A watch was running slow and the watchmaker asked the owner when he wound it. When told "at night", he said, "Wind it in the morning. Give it the fresh spring at the most difficult part of the day when you are moving about." If the best Man who ever lived needed to pray in the early part of the day then so must you.

              A very blessed New Year to all of you in the Name of Jesus.