September 30th 2009
Remembrance
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth.”
Ecclesiastes 12:1 (NKJV)
The call to remember runs throughout the Bible and is used over 260 times. We are told to remember what God has done, what He is doing and what He has promised to do.
What God has done of first importance is to send Christ to die on the cross for us. Jesus told us, on the night before he died to remember the symbols of his sacrifice. He took the bread and wine saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The bread and wine help us remember what Christ has done for us in the same way the Passover helped the Israelites remember what He did for them in the Exodus. They were continually told not to forget God and His Commandments (Deuteronomy 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11).
Also, by remembering what God did for the people of the Old Testament, we can have confidence and trust in what He has promised for us, that He came to prepare a place for us in the future to be with Him forever.
Human nature easily forgets spiritual things, such as what last week’s sermon was about. But we remember something bad that happened years ago.
The Bible is a record of what God has done for humanity throughout history and one way to help us remember God’s activity in our lives is to preserve our own record of what God had done for us personally. We can write down in a journal or memory book anything that particularly struck us in the past week, such as specific prayers God answered, or something we particularly need to remember from Church services. Then, when times of trouble come, we can read our writings and our confidence in God can be revived.
Remember the most valuable thing in life is our relationship with God. Never forget what He has done, is doing and what He has promised to do in the future.
Prayer
Father, all around we can see what you have done in your wonderful creation. Thank you for your Bible, which tells us what you have done in the past and will do in the future. Please help me never to forget the most important thing in my life is my relationship with You.
Amen
Study by Jill Newman
September 29th 2009
We Need A Map!
“What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels…. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.”
Hebrews 2:7-8 (NKJV)
Did you see the new Hot Spots London Underground map the other day? It shows the average temperature of the lines underground so that you can avoid the worst bits if you need to.
The London Underground map is very familiar to everyone all around the world. Yet the Underground itself is nothing like the map. The map has been simplified and ‘straightened out’, with the spaces between stations made uniform. We all appreciate that, and don’t get all upset when it takes twice as long to travel between Highgate and East Finchley on the Northern Line, than it does between Bond Street and Oxford Circus on the Central Line. Walk them, as I have during a tube strike, and you’ll know the difference!
And the Bible is just like that. Because God knows that we are human, frail, and so limited in our capacity to grasp spiritual things, that He has simplified and ‘straightened out’ all sorts of spiritual information so that we can better grasp them.
As the Book of Common Prayer puts it: God condescends to men of low (or humble) estate. Of course, many people bristle at that. We human beings like to think we’re at the top of the heap where life is concerned – but we’re not. Perhaps that’s what’s missing in our walk with God–a map of our position vis-à-vis God and the spiritual realm. Because God says that one day we will find ourselves welcomed within that spiritual realm. But not just yet.
Prayer
Most merciful Father, thank you for your concern regarding mere mortal man. You have done everything to advance us towards your spiritual Kingdom, using this life and its many difficulties and joys, to further your aims in our lives. Our future is in your hands. And we choose that it be so, and ask for your continued active involvement in our day-to-day walk with you. In Jesus’ name.
Amen
Study by John Stettaford
September 28th 2009
The Bible Stands
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
John 17:17 (KJV)
Although Pilate did not comprehend truth, we can be profoundly grateful to God who gives us knowledge of the truth through His Word, which endures forever. We should take comfort from the fact that God cannot lie and that the Scriptures cannot be broken. See Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter1:25, John 10:35 and Hebrews 6:18.
Equally profound is the news in John chapter 1 that The Word of God became embodied as Christ Jesus and lived amongst us. He identified Himself in John 14:6 as The Truth, in addition to other names describing His character.
If we read Isaiah 55, especially verses 8-11 and compare these verses with Our Saviour’s words in John 17, we find Jesus the Faithful Messenger is again identified as the Word. Having come from God the Father and having done the work assigned to Him by God the Father, and is about to return to the Father. Marvellous!
In Genesis, God’s Word tells us about a being who was instrumental in getting mankind into the mess prevailing in the world today, namely Satan the Devil. Satan, who deceives the whole world, is a liar and a murderer from the beginning and is the very opposite of truth and life.
In Revelation, God’s word tells us what is going to happen to Satan. Is it any great wonder that the Adversary goes all out to discredit Genesis and Revelation? We should heed what God inspired the prophet Zechariah to record in chapter 8:19: “Therefore love the truth and peace.” It is this engrafted Word that is able to save us.
The song “ The Bible Stands” (first verse only and refrain quoted here–Words and music by Haldor Lillenas) merits inclusion:
“The Bible stands like a rock undaunted
’Mid the raging storms of time;
Its pages burn with the truth eternal,
And they glow with a light sublime.
Refrain:
The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand when the earth shall crumble;
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation,
For the Bible stands.”
Prayer
Great Creator God, thank You because You are the Truth and Your Word is Truth. Please bless us with hearts and minds that love the truth, and help us remember that Jesus said Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will guide us into all truth.
In Jesus’ name we ask.
Amen
Study by John Armstrong
September 27th 2009
Satan
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
Some Christians are afraid of Satan. The truth is, however, that Satan has no power over us and we have no reason to be afraid of him.
Paul wrote in Colossians 1:13, We have been rescued “from the dominion of darkness and brought … into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
Hebrews 2:14 tells us, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil…”
Because we are allied with Christ, we can be confident, as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:18, that “the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”
So what should we do? Peter goes on to say in verses 9 and 10: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
The strategy is simple: resist. How? By faith!
The Bible does not prescribe any secret words or rituals, special anointing or prayer formulas. We do not have to learn special names or go on special walks.
Neither Jesus nor the apostles went searching for demons to rout. They expelled demons when the problem was unavoidable, but they did not search for hidden demons or territorial spirits. Going after demons is not the key to spiritual growth or effective evangelism.
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” James 4:7 tells us. And in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Paul wrote: “…the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
It’s that simple. When we trust God, the devil has no foothold. Christ keeps us safe. When we trust in Jesus and resist the devil, evil spirits cannot harm us.
Prayer
Thank you, Father, that Jesus Christ is faithful and that he protects me from the evil one.
Amen
Study by Joseph Tkach
September 26th 2009
Thanking God For Others
3rd of a series of studies from Philemon
“I always thank God as I remember you in my prayers”
Philemon 1:4 (NIV UK)
Do you thank God for others?
Showing gratitude for a relationship does not always come naturally. We want to be appreciated more than we want to express appreciation.
I remember once being particularly down in the dumps. Self-pity was there as it often is. Something had happened and I knew I only had myself to blame but did not want to face up to it. I prayed. I prayed that God would encourage me in some way. Later that same day someone, who was not close to me and who was sometimes very irritating in my estimation, came to me and said something that changed my perspective completely. I was able to admit my fault to myself, and her words to me chased the blues away. That night I thanked God for this person that I had never prayed about before.
In the passage above it appears that Paul prays about Philemon, and that when he does, he give thanks to God. He remembers the good things about Philemon in prayer. I guess when I mention others in prayer it is normally because I am concerned about some trial he or she may have, or it is because there is some upset that has come between us. But do I think of the positive way God works through others and stop to give thanks for that? I guess, if I am honest, not often enough.
It is also interesting to analyze Paul’s remarks in the context of the letter he was writing to Philemon. He has a special request to make to Philemon, but wants first of all to recall the relationship that is between them and how he thanks God for it. It is a tactful way to begin this correspondence.
When is the last time you thanked God for what someone else has said or done?
Perhaps with the prayer below fill in the blank with a name or names and be specific in thanking God.
Prayer
Our Father, thank you for ————-, (now be specific).
Amen
Study by James Henderson