31st January 2009
TREASURES OF THE HEART
“And there shall be stability in your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His.”
Isaiah 33:6 AMP
In a time of national instability Isaiah told his fellow citizens where true stability lay. It was to do with what they valued.
Isn’t it amazing to think that God views our treasuring Him, through reverent fear and worship, also as His treasure? That, as God is a treasure to us, so we are a treasure to Him? And that through that treasured relationship we can experience stability and an abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.
Jesus Christ repeated this emphasis in Matthew 6:19 21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (NKJ).
We all have things that we treasure or hold precious. Sometimes it is our special possessions. Of course, we can have our own hidden treasures – the things which mean more to us than anything else we own. Or maybe the acquisition of wealth is the treasure we seek. Jesus tells us that whatever we value as a treasure indicates where our heart is. That is where our attention and energy and focus will be centred.
In uncertain times like these we need the stability of knowing where our heart is. Isaiah implies that the relationship that we are able to share with our heavenly Father should be our treasure. How awesome is the treasure we have in God the Father through the salvation we have been given by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Prayer:
Wonderful Father, thank you for the understanding of the priceless treasure you give to us through your Son and your Spirit that works in us and for the relationship that it is now possible for us to have with you! Thank you that you see us as a treasure to you. May your glory and that priceless treasure be seen throughout the world!
Amen
Study by Shirley Henderson
30th January 2009
A VISION FOR OUR TIME
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke”. Isaiah 6:1 -4 NIV
In the present economic crisis, many people are unsure where to turn for help and encouragement. Can the government or any of the other political parties really paint us a picture of hope for the future?
Is there really a ‘vision for Britain’ or elsewhere that can help lift us out of the present gloom?
The prophet Isaiah had worshipped in the temple at Jerusalem all his life. It was the place where God was supposed to dwell and the only true place of worship for Jews at that time. Yet Isaiah, like many Jews of his generation, came to
the temple, burdened, just as most Christians often attend church today, with frustrations and concerns from which there often seems no hope of escape. God just doesn’t seem to be there when we need him most.
We know that God exists and that he has power to reach into our lives and change and shape both the present and the future for us, but he seems so remote; even in those places where we would most expect to find him and where his presence should be most keenly felt.
This was how Isaiah felt too. Yet, one day, he left the temple a changed man. His life became instantly filled with a sense of purpose and, from then on, his enthusiasm and zeal for God knew no bounds. Can Isaiah’s experience can be ours too?
Isaiah was given a vision of God which not only filled the temple but filled him also with hope and renewed strength, enabling him to see beyond his present difficulties and the problems which beset the nation. The old king had just
died yet the nation was still torn by internal divisions and strife and also faced imminent danger from without. Although the king, who had been one of the few remaining symbols of stability, may now be dead, Isaiah was reminded that God was still on his throne and all would be well if the nation would only look to him for deliverance.
Our own nations now face difficult times ahead, with so much uncertainly following the revelation that we could be heading for the worst economic downturn since World War II. Perhaps you have been personally affected by the
current crisis.
Like Isaiah, we need to have the eyes of faith to see God seated on his throne, in charge, ruling despite all the chaos around us. The great God is indeed there for us. And to quote the apostle Paul: “If God be for us, who can be against
us.” (Romans 8:31)
We need to pray for a fresh vision of God.
Prayer
Lord, help me to see beyond my present difficulties and to know that you are indeed the God of all creation who stands outside of time and knows the end from the beginning. Help me to see your true glory and to know the height and depth of your love which was revealed to us through the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus, and to know the power of his resurrection.
Amen.
Study by Richard Dempsey
29th January 2009
BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE
“AND YOU [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins
….But God–so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,
Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation)”
Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 Amplified Bible
Sometimes as Christians we can’t let go of our past. We can make our way through life burdened with guilt because we feel that we can never be forgiven.
There is some wonderful news for us.
It is true that the wages of sin is the spiritual death penalty (Romans 6:23), but that penalty has been paid for us and we are now alive again, forgiven, brought back from the dead, as it were, to live with Jesus.
And this is no last minute solution to the problem of our sin; no, it was God’s intention all along that He would be our redeemer through the selfless sacrifice of His beloved Son, Jesus. What a wonderful purpose God is working out. Through that act of redemption our sins have been wiped away forever. It’s as if they never were. We have been given a fresh start.
Now we can walk upright again, confident that we are renewed in life in Christ Jesus and a source of great joy to our heavenly Father.
Today is a new day!
Prayer
Father in Heaven,
Thank you for the release that you give me, through Jesus, from the burden of my sins. Help me to walk in confidence in this life that I now share with your Son. Let me dedicate this new life to His service and to your glory.
Amen
Study by David Stirk
28th January 2009
A FRIEND OF GOD
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you”.
John 15:15
Do you know that you are a friend of God? That, along with the other relationships used to describe our intimacy with God, friendship is a key concept?
The basis for Abraham’s relationship with God was friendship. 2 Chronicles 20:7 describes Abraham as God’s “friend forever”. See also Isaiah 41:8, “Abraham, My friend”. In referring to Abraham who believed all that God had to say, the apostle James writes that “he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23).
More and more in conversations with friends and family, our problems appear to be with relationships. My own experience tells me to keep trying – don’t be discouraged when there are ups and downs. The old adage is that it takes two to make a relationship, and that is a fact!
Our spiritual relationship with God is different and very special. This is the only truly reliable relationship that we can have. Of course, as with all relationships, it can take time and effort. It began with God – “in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10). God is always there for us (Hebrews 13:5). HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT!!
The friendship relationship and the Father-Son relationship, as demonstrated by God and Jesus Christ, illustrate for us the togetherness we have in God. We must keep trying to build every relationship we have, but the most vital one is with God through Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Dear Father, how wonderful it is that I can form a relationship with you. Help me to recognise that you are always here, ready to renew and develop our friendship.
Amen
Study by Marlene Cliff
January 27th 2009
“What is God’s will for me?”
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”
Colossians 1:9 NKJ
Don’t we all want to know God’s will for us? How often we face decisions, sometimes of a serious nature, and cry out to know what to do or where to go or how to behave. Each of us asks, “What is God’s will for me?”
Note, however, that God’s will for us is very clear, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (I Thessalonians 4:3). God’s primary will for us is that we grow in holiness. He began by granting us forgiveness of our sins, setting us right before Him, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, intending that the process continue through Jesus’ living His life in us now. As we yield to His lead in our lives, by means of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13-14), we are made more and more in His likeness. We are a new creation, but the creation is a work in progress. It will not be complete until the day of Jesus Christ (Jesus’ return or our death). The comforting thing is that Jesus will complete it. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
But what about the decisions of our day to day life, does God have a will for us?
Yes, He does. He wants us to make wise decisions based on good information, correct understanding and sound wisdom, as Paul highlighted to the Colossians in the leading verse. If we lack any of these we can ask God to provide for us. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
Above all, God’s will for us is that we grow more and more to be like His beloved Son, our righteous Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven,
Help me to see the will that you have for me, that I might reflect more and more the life of your Son and that I will grow a little more like Him each day as I face the decisions of daily life.
Amen
Study by David Stirk