On eagle's wings.

It is with some regret that I have to confess that I am no ornithologist. If I was, I would have been able to identify the bird that has been soaring over our home these past few days. I suspect that it is a kestrel, or a hawk, but cannot be certain! I am sure, however, that it is not a Golden Eagle. It simply isn't big enough - and I don't think that this area would be a suitable habitat for that most majestic of birds!

The eagle is, of course, mentioned quite often in the written Word of God. From what I can learn, it is an amazing bird. It is, I believe, the only bird that can fly directly towards the sun. It can see a small animal in a field from an amazing height. However, the characteristic that I thought about as I watched that other bird, is the way in which it deals with its young. I am given to understand that, when the parents believe that the young birds are ready to fly, they will push them out of the nest! However, they will also fly under the young birds and, if one is having difficulty, a parent will 'catch' it on its own wing! In teaching its young to fly, it protects them from injury with watchful affection, 

This characteristic of the eagle is referred to in Deuteronomy 32: 11, where we read these words: "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions,"  The context of those words is the final song of the great leader of the Children of Israel, Moses. He is showing, here, how YHWH "... gave to the nations their inheritance," (v.8) and that "... Jacob (i.e.Israel) is His allotted heritage." (v.9). 

Under the new, or second, covenant disciples of the Lord Jesus, the Christ (i.e. Messiah), have been grafted on the to root which is Israel (there is no hint of so-called "replacement theology" in the pages of the new covenant!). Read Romans 11 and allow Paul to explain the relationship between Israel and the Church. "... if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. You will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you." (Rom 11:17-21).

"He (the Lord Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world knew Him not. He came to His own home, and His own people received Him not. But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:10-13).

As a disciple of Jesus, I am a child of God. As a child of God, I may know His special care. To claim another couple of promises from the pages of the First Testament: "Underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut.33:27). "He alone is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken" (Ps.62:6).

Carried; cared for; protected; saved. He is my Certainty in these uncertain times.

Four Gospel records.

It was quite recently that I saw the question: "Why are there four Gospels?" My first response to that question is that there are not "four Gospels", but four accounts of the one Gospel - the Good News about Jesus, the Christ. However, the question is still a valid one: "Why are there four Gospel records?"

The simplest answer comes from the world of policing, where officers will endeavour to obtain as many witnesses as possible to any crime, or incident. Doing so ensures that they have as complete a picture as possible of what happened. Each witness will provide evidence that comes from a slightly different perspective than that of other witnesses.

Chronologically, Mark was the first to write the Gospel record, followed by Matthew, and then Luke. In these three records, known as the Synoptics, the emphasis is on the human nature of the Lord Jesus; in John, the last to be written, the emphasis is on His deity. However, we then discover that each was written for a different "audience"! Matthew wrote especially for Jews; Mark for Romans; Luke for Greeks; and John for disciples of Jesus. All four wrote for the whole world.

In Mark, the Lord Jesus is depicted as the Servant of God; in John as the Son of God (God the Son). In Matthew, He is portrayed as the Ruler of men; in Luke, as unique among men. Matthew and Mark provide the record of His official glories; Luke and John show His personal glories, as Son of Man and Son of God. The 19th century French philospher, historian, and writer, Ernest Rénan, described Matthew's account of the Gospel as "the most important boook ever written", and Luke's account as "the most beautiful book ever written." (although I would certainly not subscribe to many of Rénan's other views!)

Marks record may well be described as "the most concise book ever written"; while John's record surely deserves the description of "the most heavenly book ever written."!

I came across this, anonymous, poetic piece in one of my reference books:

"Matthew - Messiah, Israel's King, sets forth, by Israel slain;

but God decreed that Israel's loss should be the Gentiles' gain.

Mark tells us how, in patient love, this earth has once been trod

by one Who, in a Servant's form, wasyet the Son of God.

Luke, the  physician, writes of a more skilled Physician still, 

Who gave Himself, as Son of Man, to save us from all ill.

John, the beloved of Jesus, sees in Him the Father's Son,

the everlasting Word, made flesh, yet with the Father One."

Why are there four Gospel records? So that the fullest possible picture might be provided of the One Who came that you and I might have - if we choose to accept it - eternal life. Not "pie in the sky when you die", but the very life of the Creator of all that is, in you, here and now!

So the really important question is: "With all of that information, have you accepted His wonderful gift of salvation from sin, and a life so new that it is described as being "born again"? 

And, if not, why not?!

Just an accident?!

It was our first stop in Spain, after having left Portugal.  We had stopped in Badejos on our way south, and knew that the fuel prices in Spain were considerably better than in Portugal (or, indeed, in France!).  However, there was also a large Retail Park - and my dear wife decided that she needed to have a wee look, and to purchase a couple of necessities!

We walked into the large Centre (glad to get out of the late September heat!), and walked along towards the shop in which she hoped to be able to purchase the items she wanted - Primark!  Yes, even in Spain the chain is apparently well-established. However, as we approached the entrance to the shop, our eyes were captivated by the display in the large plaza outside it and its neighbours.  It was a water and colour extravaganza that was absolutely amazing!  Please take time to watch the video.  It is a full six minutes long - yet I didn't see a repeat of one single sequence: even of those I had watched before running out to the car for my (very basic!) video-cam.  I had intended to place the video here - but the file is too large!  So, in a 'first' for me, I have uploaded it to YouTube, and you may watch by clicking on this link:

https://youtu.be/1KixHThFJEU

Of course, the most amazing thing about that magnificent display is that, according to Richard Dawkins (who just happened to be walking by - sorry, that's actually just a personal fantasy!), it was all the result of blind chance, and random mutations, that took place over millions, if not billions, of years!  Those coloured lights; the various rhythms of the water; the little fountains; the whole edifice in which they all operated; all the product of mindless chance!  Well, in my opinion, for whatever it is worth, anyone who genuinely believes that is in need of a deep reality check!  We might as well claim, for example, that the famous "Four Presidents" heads on Mt Rushmore, N.Dakota, are simply the random end-result of millions of years of wind and rain erosion!

No-one who has ever watched that display in Badejos, for more than a few seconds, would ever believe that it was not the product of intelligence.  I haven't checked but, although I am not a gambling man, I would readily bet all of my next year's pension that not just one person, but a team of persons, spent a great number of hours from the moment that the original conception was born in someone's imagination, until the putting together of the final product.  There is, I would confidently claim, a very large computer programme behind every sequence - every raising of a fountain; every change of the colour of the lighting; every movement of the downpour - a programme that was put together by an intelligent mind.  The engineering behind the display is also amazing, and must have taken many man-hours of planning, working to the finest of tolerances.  "Chance"?; "Random mutation"?  You have got to be joking!

Yet, as any reasonable, and basically-educated, person would surely agree, compared to the workings of the human mind; the amazingly complex structure of even the simplest living cell; the order of the celestial bodies; even that water display, in all of its awesome magnificence, is like something a very small child might produce from a piece of plasticine!

That is why, in one of my books, I make the claim that it takes a great deal of faith to be an atheist!  It takes a great deal of faith to genuinely believe that nothing became something, for absolutely no reason, and then produced other "somethings" - also for no reason at all!  It takes a level of faith beyond anything I have ever experienced to believe that the very laws of physics "just appeared"!

Yet that is the basic religious belief of the atheistic, humanist, evolutionist! 

My Bible makes the very simple statement: "In the beginning, God ..." (Gen.1:1). Only God is the uncreated One; the totally self-sufficient One; the One Who, alone, has the power to create.

The apostle Paul who, as the Pharisaic Saul of Tarsus may not have been an evolutionist, but was most certainly a persecutor of the early disciples of Jesus, made reference to this when he wrote to his fellow-believers in Rome: "They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For, ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.  

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, Who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved." (Rom 1:19-27; NLT).   Sounds almost as if Paul had been reading a modern newspaper - or listening to Richard Dawkins, inter al!

You, of course, must make your own choices.  However, be assured that every choice does have consequences.  Be certain to make the right choices - the consequences are eternally significant!

Ivy - and sin (Part 2).

Okay, so on Thursday I realised that the common plant, ivy, is a picture of sin in human beings.  However, this parasitic plant (I couldn't recall that adjective on Thursday!) had more to teach me.

As I hacked, and pulled, at the ivy surrounding the well-head in our front garden in Gardonne, I quickly realised that we did not have the plain concrete structure of our neighbours.  Someone had, at some time, built around that structure a beautiful, white stone, facade.  Suddenly, I knew that I had a magnificent feature just waiting to be discovered.   With almost all of the ivy now removed, I can assure you that it really is "something else"!

You and I were created by a loving God Who desires us to enter into a personal relationship with Him, through the Lord Jesus Christ (the Second Persona of the Trinity).  However, sin embraces us with its tentacles, and quickly begins to cover up what the Creator has created.   We require to have that sin dealt with before the beauty that is the real 'us' can be seen.  Of course, even that beauty is but a reflection of the Lord Jesus.  That was what some of us used to sing:

"Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me;
All His wonderful passion and purity.
Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine
'Til the beauty of Jesus be seen in me." (Albert Orsborn/Tom M. Jones).

There is a certain, self-styled, pastor who has a great following - particularly among women - and who has claimed that she no longer sins!  (Crazy mad Woman Joyce Meyer Claims She is no Longer a Sinner – Sinless Perfection Heresy).  However, in making such an outrageous claim, Mrs (Millionaire) Meyer is directly contradicting the written Word of God.  Listen to the apostle, John:  "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (I John 1:8).  Indeed, the 'beloved disciple' goes even further: " If we say we have not sinned, we make Him (i.e. God) a liar, and His word is not in us." (I John 1:10).  You see, Mrs Meyer has made a fundamental mistake (actually, she makes a lot of fundamental mistakes!).  The Bible does not teach that, as a disciple of Jesus, I am righteous and, therefore, sinless.  Yes, I am accounted righteous in the sight of Almighty God, but that is because I have been justified (see the relevant chapter in Great Words of the Faith) by His grace, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus!

This is the wonderful truth: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9).  However, that confession needs to be a daily exercise, because I am a sinner.  Paul who, like John, may be considered to be more trustworthy than a millionaire (actually, multi-millionaire) 'prosperity-gospel' preacher, testifies: "... I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." (Rom 7:18-19).  The ivy of sin does not let go easily, and we need to come, on a daily basis (at least!) and seek the help of God the Holy Spirit that we may be sanctified (chap. available in Great Words!) - made more like Jesus!

When I get the study in our new home up and running, a little printed notice will be going back up on a wall.  I believe it to be a Brian Ross "original".  It reads, simply, "In this life, I will never be sinless but, by the grace of God, I may sin less"!  As I do, more and more of the beauty of Jesus will be seen in me.

There was one more lesson from my dealings with ivy on Thursday, but that's all for now, folks.  Just be sure that you deal with the ivy that is hiding what Father God wants you to be, seeking His help, day by day.

Today's news - centuries ago!

In my personal devotions, I have just commenced reading through the Letter from the apostle Paul to the fledgling church in Rome.  Of course, this is not the first, or even the second, time that I have read through that most theological of the letters.  But one of the wonderful things about the living Word of the living God is that, regardless of how often we have read a particular passage, there is something new that jumps out at us as we read that passage again!

This morning, I read Rom.1:24-32.  Here it is:

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them."

Perhaps you should read those words again!  Remember that they were written almost 2000 years ago - but they are as up-to-date as tomorrow's newspaper!  Paul is describing, quite simply, a society that has abandoned God!  Lest anyone be deceived into thinking that this was no more than the ranting of a Pharisaically-minded religious nut-case, I refer you to the works of men such as Petronius, Seneca, Juvenal, and Seutonius.  These are not familiar names to most of us, but they were all Roman  philosophers, historians, poets, and/or satirists (Seneca was actually born in Spain, but raised in Rome) who lived at the same time, or shortly after, the apostle.  Each of them, in his extant writings, fully supports Paul's grim description.

The words are a warning to all people, and all ages - but they seem to apply, particularly, to our own generation.  Whether it is the sexual immorality that has become so acceptable in so much of the western, "developed" (!) world; or the heartless ruthlessness of the so-called Islamic State and its associated groups; we see, around us, a world that seems to be dashing headlong into moral, social, and spiritual, decay and destruction.

So what can anyone do?  The answer, of course, is already provided for us.  Paul writes, further on in the same letter: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in  Whom God put forward as an expiation by His blood, to be received by faith." (Rom 3:21-25).Christ Jesus,

You and I may not indulge in the excesses to which Paul has already referred.  But that does not make any one of us sinless - and we know it!  However, Father God has paid the penalty for your sin, and mine, in the Persona (see "Great Words" above!) of the Son.  The price is paid, and I may go free.  The prison door is open, and I may walk out.  However, I may also remain in my sin - and face His judgement!

What will you do?  I encourage you to: "Come to Him , to that Living Stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and, like living stones, be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (I Peter 2:4-5).

As always, if I may be of any assistance at a more personal level, please feel free to contact me using the e-mail address at the top of the page.

Being in God's will.

Selling a house can be quite a stressful experience!  It can be an opportunity to learn to be patient in the Lord.  It can bring back memories of earlier years living in that home.

One of the memories that I have been revisiting over recent weeks is of the conversion of the loft area to provide bedrooms for my two (then) teenage daughters.  When I was planning that major project, I employed the services of an architect in order to ensure that all would be both sound, and legal.  It wasn't really a complaint, but he quickly made clear to me that, although I was asking him to design the conversion in a way that would satisfy all of the regulations, I had already made the plans in my own mind - and nothing that he might say say was going to change them!  What I really wanted was for him to give the O.K. to my own ideas!

Many of us, who would claim to be disciples of Jesus, seem to proceed in the same way when we ask God to plan our lives.  The words that we pray ask for wisdom, and guidance but, in our hearts, we have already decided what we will do with our lives.  Often, those plans are good, and seek to honour the Lord.  Often there is great effort put into areas of Christian service.  Somehow, however, we seem to have missed the message of Romans 12:1-2, "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  We gladly trust Christ for salvation, but we are less willing to make the full surrender of our very bodies which ios necessary of we are to "... prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

One of my favourite stories concerns Miriam Booth, a daughter of the founder of the Salvation Army (which, by the way, celebrates its 150th anniversary, next year).  She was, by all accounts, a beautiful and cultured lady who was used wonderfully by God as she sought to serve Him.  Suddenly, and unexpectedly, she contracted a disease that brought her close to death.  A friend who was visiting her commented that it was a great pity that a person with her capabilities should be thus hindered from doing the Lord's work.

Miriam's reply was, surely, classic.  "It is a great thing," she said, "to do God's work; but greater still to be in God's will."

If you are a disciple of Jesus, it's a thought worth pondering.  Whatever our work for Him, let us be certain that we are in His will for us!