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⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Philippians 4

Paul repeatedly uses the word REJOICE in his letter to the Philippians. He tells them to REJOICE IN THE LORD (they and we should Rejoice because of all that  we have in Christ). He tells them to Rejoice ALWAYS, NOT JUST WHEN WE FEEL LIKE IT. Believers cannot be governed by our feelings or emotions because there will be times when we won’t want to Rejoice and if anyone experienced such occasions it was Paul.

¹⁰ I REJOICED GREATLY IN THE LORD that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

Paul rejoiced for the support he’d received from the Philippians, but it must have been a long time coming, because he said, ‘at last you renewed your concern for me’. He was their spiritual father but the help was a long time coming. Like many of us, the apostle Paul had to learn patience and wait for God’s provision. (Yet what a relief when it finally came!)

¹⁷ Not that I am looking for a gift; but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.

Paul saw beyond his own needs and tells the Church that their gifts will in turn be recorded in Heaven and ‘Credited to them’. What is given sincerely to the Lord here will be ours in eternity, Paul confirmed this to the Philippians.

³⁷ ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”

⁴⁰ ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE BRETHREN OF MINE, YOU DID FOR ME.” Matthew 25

Jesus told the same truth to those listening to Him in the Galilee and beyond. When you help those who are mine, you help Me.

Paul could REJOICE DOUBLY when his own needs were finally met, but also that his spiritual children would be credited with helping him. We can share in this also when we give to the Lord and His Kingdom here in our day.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

² I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to AGREE WITH EACH OTHER IN THE LORD. Philippians 4

Paul says a lot of very powerful things in Philippians, especially towards the end of the Book, but in the midst of them he suddenly addresses a fractured relationship between two ladies. He says they both contended with him for the Gospel, but he’s concerned that something has come between them. Paul, and the Lord, are concerned for relationships between individuals in the body. He urges them to AGREE IN THE LORD, seeking for restoration of relationship in the Body of Christ.

³ Yes, and I ask you, my true companion (loyal yokefellow, another labourer for the Gospel), help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Paul asks another co-worker to help mend the division, perhaps someone who knows both of them and is willing to help. The Bible is a very honest book, it doesn’t gloss over character flaws or the sins of God’s people. In the middle of his discourse, Paul is driven back to the need to try to restore unity between two individuals. This shows how important personal relationships are within the body and yet we know there’s much division which is dishonouring to the Lord.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ LET YOUR GENTLENESS BE EVIDENT TO ALL. THE LORD IS NEAR!

Paul, by the Spirit continues to urge Gentleness within the Body of Believers, because the LORD IS NEAR. We all have different characters and some stronger and some softer, but Paul warns us to be careful because the Lord sees and knows how we treat others. 

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there be no divisions among you and that you BE PERFECTLY UNITED IN MIND AND THOUGHT. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 1 Corinthians 1

Division within the Body is a breeding ground for all kinds of strife to enter. A United Church cannot be defeated from outside, but can be defeated by division within and that’s why the Spirit of the Lord repeatedly urges us to be united in Christ.

¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 1

The Godhead is always in unity and the Spirit seeks for this unity in the Body, it’s so important we recognise Christ’s Body and remember that the LORD IS NEAR.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
    two things have I heard:
 that you, O God, ARE STRONG,
¹²  and that you, O Lord, ARE LOVING. Psalm 62 of David 

The Psalms are a favourite book of many people, but I imagine that they often came out of very trying circumstances in the life of David. It’s so easy for us today to read quickly through a short psalm and be unaware of the dangers and pressures which David faced that gave birth to his writings. The word ‘Selah – Pause and Consider’ doesn’t occur in this psalm but we can miss so much of the heart of David’s conversations with God by skimming through his psalms.

In physical training today there’s an acronym called TUT which stands for ‘Time Under Tension’. Some personal trainers are recommending that their clients SLOW DOWN and focus more on proper form and duration rather than pushing out larger numbers of Sloppy Repetitions. Perhaps we Believers would also benefit from adopting a SLOWER AND DEEPER PACE in our times before the Lord and not just ticking boxes for daily Bible readings.

David reveals much of his heart in this psalm before he comes to the lines above. He’s often seeking the Lord in difficult situations, when his very life is under threat, but by the end of his psalms he’s usually encouraged and magnifying the Lord above the circumstances facing him. His change of view only  matures as he becomes aware that the Mighty God is with him and Loves him greatly. May we too be encouraged like David as we rest quietly before the Lord until we also are assured of His great power and love for us.

God bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to MY TEACHING, you are really MY DISCIPLES. ³² THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.’ John 8

We might call this, ‘KNOWING BY WALKING’. To those who hold onto “MY TEACHING – MY DISCIPLES”. Later in John’s Gospel Jesus told the disciples He had more things to tell them, ‘but you cannot bear them now’. John 16:12

There are different layers of Truth in the Kingdom of God and it’s to be hoped we will grow in and into this Truth as we walk out our lives before God on earth. Young people gain more freedom from parents as they mature in life, for instance the right to drive cars. However, they have to learn how to become responsible before they are entrusted with such things. We should add that the Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross was a perfect work of Redemption that can never be changed. 

³³ They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants (By Birth) and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’

This is often the answer given by people involved in religious observances, they see themselves as blameless. We’re ticking all the right boxes, perhaps going to Church, giving to the collection, being respectful and respectable BUT NOT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

³⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, EVERYONE WHO SINS IS A SLAVE TO SIN. (Jesus didn’t recognise any exceptions) ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever.³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8

Verse 35 is a powerful scripture, contrasting the difference between a slave AND A SON.  The slave has no permanent place IN THE FAMILY, BUT A SON HAS FULL RIGHTS BY BIRTH. HOWEVER, MANY OF GOD’S CHILDREN ARE NOT LIVING AS FULL FAMILY MEMBERS! Jesus told His disciples that as they held to His teachings and were led by His Spirit, they would be able to take hold of more Kingdom. (There’s always more for us in God)

⁹ For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light. Psalm 36

Many today have made commitments to the Lord, but are walking by the light of this world and that’s not where we belong. Truth is only found in His Light and we need to walk and live in Him.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

⁹ Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant BUT ALSO THE FRUIT OF THE VINEYARD WILL BE DEFILED.

¹¹ DO NOT WEAR CLOTHES OF WOOL AND LINEN WOVEN TOGETHER. Deuteronomy 22

Some days ago we visited a sea side town in Ireland and it was an unusual day because God spoke to me twice through events during the course of the day. We went in to a menswear shop during the late afternoon and I tried on some jackets which looked good, but fortunately they didn’t have my size in the preferred coat. The man who was attending me said that bales of cloth woven in Ireland were sent to Morocco where they were tailored and returned as finished garments, cheaper labour costs I assume. He also said that the cloth was a mixture of WOOL AND LINEN.

I didn’t think of the verses in Deuteronomy at the time but shortly afterwards they did come to my attention. In a short reel, (Don’t mix the Pure Spirit with the Impure, 5mins 34secs) Derek Prince discusses the verses above, where he warns that GOD WILL NOT ACCEPT MIXTURE, we cannot offer something which is part flesh/carnal and part Spirit. In the Bible ‘Linen is a type of Spiritual  Purity’ and ‘Wool is a type of Human Effort that generates sweat’. These represent ‘Two Different Spiritual Worlds’ and they cannot be offered together to God. I had never thought before about this before but I was glad that I didn’t buy a jacket symbolising MIXTURE IN SPIRITUAL REALMS.

In his Book, ‘Ordering your Private World’, Gordon MacDonald speaks of the Lord’s choice of disciples. Pages 29, 30

‘Frankly, some of those volunteers who were turned down by Jesus are more my style. They are go-getters … and He turned them down! Why?

Perhaps (it’s pure speculation) if they had come aboard we would have discovered that they had a lot more in their agendas than was apparent at first. We would have found that they were men WITH THEIR OWN PLANS AND SCHEMES, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. And Jesus Christ will not do mighty works in the private lives of people who are so driven. He never has. He seems to prefer to work with people whom He calls. AND THAT IS WHY THE BIBLE KNOWS NOTHING OF VOLUNTEERS, ONLY THE CALLED.’

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

²³ Those who sacrifice THANK-OFFERINGS (THANKSGIVING) HONOUR ME, 
    AND PREPARE THE WAY so that I may show them My salvation.’ Psalm 50, Asaph

Asaph was a leader of the worship in God’s Temple and there are twelve psalms attributed to him or to those of the Asaphite group. The verse before this was a serious warning to, ‘those who forget God’, but it’s almost as if the psalmist was reluctant to end on a negative note. God told Israel that those who offered Him thanksgiving were actually honouring Him! ‘Our thanks’ has the power to honour the God of the whole universe, amazing! God’s Spirit concludes the psalm with a beautiful promise, that those who choose to remember to thank God, ‘Prepare the way that He may them His salvation’.

¹⁴ ‘Sacrifice thank-offerings to God,
    fulfil your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and call on me in the day of trouble; (AN INVITATION FOR THOSE IN TROUBLE!)
    I will deliver you, and you will honour me.’ Psalm 50

The end of the psalm is actually a repeat of these earlier verses, God’s willingness to help those in any trouble without judgment. There’s something quite wonderful in these verses, that Almighty God wants to help clean up our mess, if we’ll only turn to Him and Honour Him. Selah, consider.

Turning towards a mighty God and away from our immediate problems and offering God our Thanks and Praise is powerful encouragement. ‘Shopping List Prayers’ have their place but God is so much greater than our problems, think of a child coming to its father for help. We can literally thank and worship our way out of problems, as we wait before our God and Praise Him.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

¹ GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH,
    AN EVER-PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging. SELAH Psalms 46, Of the Sons of Korah

Psalm 46 is a Reassuring Psalm and the word SELAH, which occurs three times in our Bible is often denoted as ‘Pause and Consider’, or Think About It, Ponder It. Some scriptures are better read slowly and this is a short Psalm of just eleven verses.

¹⁰ He says, ‘BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’ 

Graham Cooke says, ‘There is NO KNOWING GOD WITHOUT STILLNESS’. Stillness is not common in this world and much less so in today’s fast paced society. Even in church services people are uncomfortable with silence and stillness, what’s the next thing we need to get done so we can move on? Move on to the next conference, get the next word, or whatever, but God says in this psalm take some time out with Me and be still. We can learn and experience things in the Stillness before God that we may never get in any other way.

¹ My heart is not proud, Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
    or things too wonderful for me.
² BUT I HAVE STILLED AND QUIETENED MY SOUL,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131, David

Stillness will not just happen, David, who wrote at least half the psalms, tells us he had to STILL AND QUIETEN HIS SOUL. We have a tremendous blessing as believers, an open door and ready invitation to come before God in Heaven. However, we can only hear, like David, while we’re truly yielded to His Voice. Maybe if we listen more and still our hearts, we’ll enjoy our lives more with Him hear in this time.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

 

 

 

 

 

But Jesus said, ⁶ ‘As for what you see here, THE TIME WILL COME when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.’ Luke 21

The twenty first chapter of Luke begins with Jesus observing the people’s giving into the Temple and commending the poor lady who gave two small coins – yet she gave more than all the others, because she put in all she had to live on. The Temple was something that set Israel apart from all other nations on the earth at that time because only the Jewish people could worship the Living God. Then Jesus must have shocked His disciples, because He told them that it was all destined to come down. 

⁵ Some of his disciples were remarking about how THE TEMPLE WAS ADORNED WITH BEAUTIFUL STONES AND WITH GIFTS dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ⁶ ‘ … every one of them will be thrown down.’ 

The outward appearance of the Temple was magnificent, but the armies of Rome, the ruling power of the day would pull it down. However, by that time it would no longer be needed, for men themselves would be living temples of God.

Yesterday, we visited a local town and as we walked along the street lots of people were leaving the local Catholic Church. I didn’t pay much attention to this, but then we saw the priests outside the doors, dressed in imposing white robes. My spontaneous thought was, ‘What are all these people putting their trust in for eternity?’

²¹ ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7

I’m not attacking any church over another, but impressive religious vestments and services will count for nothing before a Holy God. Yes He is loving and merciful but Jesus’ sacrifice alone is sufficient, nothing else will avail. (Modern churches can so easily fall into their own religious traditions and function without any thought for the presence of God’s Spirit.)

²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9

We too have entered a new era or age just like Jesus’ time and things will never be the same. Some call this time the Age of the Kingdom or the Age of the Saints, but Jesus told us that EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE SHAKEN WILL BE SHAKEN, NO EXCEPTIONS. I don’t think we realise how deep rooted this cleansing of society and the Church is going to be, much that people trust in will simply disappear.

‘Self-praise is no recommendation’, neither is outward appearance and God sees the reality behind every facade. Lord, give us discernment to see and separate the Holy from the Common in these turbulent days. Hallelujah

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

¹² He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country TO HAVE HIMSELF APPOINTED KING AND THEN TO RETURN. Luke 19

In Matthew and Luke’s Gospels we have the Parable of the minas, with some variations in each. The central theme is that those who use what they’re given, FOR THE KINGDOM and not self, will be rewarded when the Master returns.

³⁵ A KING ‘DELIGHTS’ IN A WISE SERVANT, (I like that word Delights!)
    but a shameful servant arouses his fury. Proverbs 14

But in Luke’s Gospel we have the further statement, that this man will be crowned and ‘then He will return’ to rule as King. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for the final time. After this last visit He would be gone for a season and the business of His Hose would be entrusted to His servants. Jesus was speaking about Himself in this part of the Parable.

¹⁴ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ Luke 19

Jesus was well aware while still on earth that there were those who hated Him, (they’re still here today) and did all in their power to oppose Him becoming King. Ultimately all rebellion is against God and His Kingdom, but there will be a time when multitudes will be swept into the Kingdom before His Return.

The Revelation given to John on the Island of Patmos, the final Book of the Bible confirms Jesus return to Reign, over and over again.

¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

 

³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ JESUS STOPPED and ordered the man to be brought to him. Luke 18

Three times in Luke’s Gospel (May not be exhaustive) we see people who PRESSED IN TO ENCOUNTER JESUS. On all three occasions they had to overcome obstacles to make their connection.

The first was when Jesus Stopped to heal the blind man as He entered Jericho. The crowd told him to be quiet as he sat by the roadside, ‘but he shouted all the more’. He used the only way he had to reach Jesus, he shouted as loud as he could, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me’. He didn’t have a long time to plan a strategy, he reacted immediately and Jesus heard his cry for mercy.

⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ ‘WHO TOUCHED ME?’, Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’ Luke 8

The poor woman who’d spent all she had, but grew worse. She also had no other alternative but the Lord. However, she was regarded as unclean by the Jews, yet she too PRESSED IN AND RECEIVED HER HEALING. Both the blind man and this woman refused to be intimidated by those around them, they were determined to touch Jesus and they received their reward.

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, BUT BECAUSE HE WAS SHORT HE COULD NOT SEE OVER THE CROWD. ⁴ SO HE RAN AHEAD AND CLIMBED A SYCAMORE-FIG TREE TO SEE HIM, since Jesus was coming that way.

⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. Luke 19

Zacchaeus, because of his tax collecting was also a social outcast, not popular. He was also hindered by the crowd, but he worked out how to overcome his problem. HE RAN AHEAD AND CLIMBED ABOVE THE FRAY. Jesus saw him and called him to come down. He was going to entertain Jesus in his own house that very night. How politically wrong was that, but that Son of Abraham  received healing for his soul and became a believer that very night.

Three people who were desperate to encounter the Lord, they all had to PRESS IN past the crowd who only wanted to enjoy the moment, rather than have their lives changed. Some of us need to PRESS IN, BECAUSE THEIR’S MORE FOR US. JESUS MAY BE PASSING BY NOW.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.