Psalm 43, Jesus and The Gospel

I read Psalm 43 today as part of my bible reading and by God’s grace it occurred to me that Jesus is all through this Psalm – and it was so encouraging to see God’s faithfulness in completing his promises and to remember that he is sovereign and everything that happened in Jesus was his plan all along.

Verses 1-2

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
    deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

These are words that David wrote about 1000 years about Jesus. And they are quite general – on one level they are simply David crying out to God for vindication and questioning why God seems absent from his sufferings.

Yet these are also words that the Holy Spirit inspired David to write (2 Peter 1:21), and thus we can trust that God had his perfect plan in them, and they point exactly to Jesus. Jesus was perfect and righteous, and therefore he alone deserved vindication from God (and that came when he rose again). He suffered and died at the hands of an unfaithful and rebellious nation – the Jews rejected him, their creator and God, preferring their self-righteousness and legalism. And likewise so did we, preferring our sin.

The words that specifically caught my attention are “Why have you forsaken me”, which are the same words Jesus cries out on the cross as he suffers the punishment that we deserved. When we put our faith in Jesus he takes our sins, and he takes God’s punishment for them, dying in our place when he died on the cross. He was rejected by God when it should have been us who were rejected by God (for we reject him and his way when we sin). He was forsaken by God so we could be adopted as God’s children. What a wonderful saviour!

Verses 3-4

Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

These are actually the verses that caught my attention first up. Who is David’s light? Who is the truth? Who is the ultimate fulfilment of both of those images? Jesus! He is the light of the world (John 8:12), and in fact he was the one who created light on day 1 (Genesis 1, John 1). Likewise he is the way, the truth and the life – the only way we can be made right with God. He is the only one who can save us from God’s wrath against sin – only by faith in him and repentance can we be forgiven. (So have you put your faith in him? – 1 John 1:8-9)

In John 1 we learn that Jesus is the word, and God’s word is truth. God also spoke to bring creation into existence. And in Psalm 119:105 we learn that God’s word is a “lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path”. This then links into the second line of v3 – Jesus alone can lead us. He alone can lead us to God’s holy hill – to heaven. Because of our sin we deserve hell, God’s wrath. Yet Jesus saves! He lights the way, he is the truth, and if we follow him we have access to God! We will go to heaven to be with him (2 Corinthians 4:16-18*, forgiven for our sins (Acts 2:38) and adopted as God’s children (Galatians 3:26, Romans 8)! What a glorious gospel!

And so we have a resolution to the issue of Psalm 42 and 43. Why are you downcast O my soul? There’s no reason to be for we are forgiven! For even if the whole world falls apart. Even if the mountains fall into the sea (Psalm 46), we are forgiven and nothing can separate us (Christians) from the love of God (Romans 8).

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Nath.

First posted on my new blog, Rock and Refuge.

Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Watch

IRAN: Update on Dual-National Detained for his Christian Activities

Saeed Abedini has been detained since 26 September 2012. In mid-March 2014 he was transferred to a hospital where he received limited medical care but his family were able to feed him, enabling him to gain some weight and regain strength.

On the morning of 20 May a number of intelligence officials arrived unannounced at the hospital. They violently removed Saeed from the hospital, beating him and reportedly giving him an electric shock. He was returned to Rajai Shahr Prison.

This incident follows similar mistreatment of Christian and other detainees within Iran's prison system in recent weeks.

In 2009 Saeed had been warned about his involvement with house churches and so he had focused on humanitarian activities during subsequent visits to Iran. In 2012, while visiting his parents and conducting humanitarian aid, Saeed was detained and in January 2013 he was convicted on charges relating to anti-state activities (which were derived from his involvement with house fellowships) and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. Saeed has joint Iranian-US citizenship; his wife Naghmeh and their two children are in the US.

Source: Middle East Concern

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that Saeed will know the close presence of Jesus each day and that he will experience His healing touch and will receive due medical care.
• Pray the Lord will give Saeed, his wife and their two children courage, patience and the ability to rely on the Lord's good timing and perfect purposes.
• Pray all officials involved will love mercy, act justly, learn about Jesus and choose to follow Him (Micah 6:8).

TANZANIA: Pray for Members of Area's Only Church

A church in the predominantly Muslim area of Mafia, Tanzania, was burned down on Friday 9 May, just hours before a scheduled prayer meeting. Radicals had threatened the pastor, Ombeni Omari, and the church for the past two years.

Pastor Omari, a Christian convert from Islam, escaped to Dar es Salaam with his wife and three children after learning of the attack. He had founded the almost 60-member church, the only Christian church in the area, and nearly all of its members were converts from Islam.

Although the church building was destroyed, Pastor Omari said he will return to the area because the work he was called to is not yet finished.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs USA

PRAYER POINTS

• Thank the Lord for Pastor Omari's faithfulness and eternal priorities.
• Pray the congregation will continue to meet together to worship the Lord, fellowship with one another and learn from Scripture.
• Pray the Lord will have mercy on the perpetrators and other Muslims in the area so they too may be drawn to the one true God and worship Him.

KAZAKHSTAN: New Laws Threaten Religious Freedom

New laws with tougher restrictions on religious freedom are currently awaiting approval in Kazakhstan. The laws, which are currently being reviewed with the parliament's Senate, would usher in harsh new punishments that are raising concerns among human rights defenders and religious communities.

Restrictions include up to 60 days of imprisonment for leading religious meetings without state permission, or up to 45 days in jail for attending such an event. At present, these offences are only punishable with fines. It would also become illegal to build places of worship in prisons.

The reported deadline for adopting the new laws is 15 June, with the laws scheduled to come into force as of 1 January 2015.

Source: Forum 18 News Service

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that the authorities in Kazakhstan will seek to uphold and respect religious freedom for all, and that these proposed harsh restrictions will be overturned.
• Ask God to grant wisdom to the church leaders at this time as they navigate these possible changes.
• Pray the Lord will use these apparent hindrances to further His greater purposes for the church as a whole in Kazakhstan.

First posted on Rock and Refuge

A Dilemma caused by Pride

I woke up this morning and got ready to go to our church’s prayer meeting. As I hopped in the car it occurred to me that my reasons for going were entirely wrong. I wanted to go to the prayer meeting to be noticed. I wanted to be seen as a young man who is trying to be godly – note the word Seen.

Obviously theres nothing wrong with being a young man and wanting to be godly. But the fact is that this wasn’t my desire. My desire was to be noticed. To be seen. To have people think “Oh, I love seeing Nat’s faith.” or “I love seeing how he comes to the prayer meetings every sunday morning”. In that moment I once again realised just how quickly and easily I let arrogance take root in my life. I don’t often notice it until it sprouts out and I take the time to look at my motives. But it’s there, and I need to battle it constantly.

And so immediately I had a dilemma. I wanted to go to the prayer meeting out of arrogance and self-centeredness – not out of a desire to glorify God, to pray to him and encourage his people. I had 3 options: I could go, put on my little facade of godliness and pretend like I hadn’t noticed my sinfulness and pride. I could not go, and then not have any chance of encouraging God’s people or spending that time in fellowship with them, or I could go and try to change my motives. 

It seemed to me that option 1 and 2 are both out of the question. If I am truly one of God’s people I can’t just ignore my sin. I need to throw it off and run the race with perseverance (Hebrews 12:1). And I can’t do option 2 because then my bad motives will prevent me from serving God (and I’ll undoubtedly get proud about being ‘humble’ and dealing with my pride in such an ‘effective’ way). The only option that was left then was to go and to deal with my pride.

So I went.

But my question was how can I change my motives? How can I effectively deal with my pride? What steps can I take to fight against it. And I’m almost constantly stumped by that question.

And in God’s gracious providence he reminded me during the sermon of a way to work on it. The sermon was on Matthew 18:1-5, where the disciples ask Jesus who will be the greatest. In God’s perfect timing it was the passage for today, and it touched on exactly what I’d been convicted of: Pride.

What I was reminded of is crucial to dealing with pride: realising our state before God. I am a sinner. A wretched sinner who can’t even change his own motives. I’m an arrogant and ignorant rebel who has rejected God. And yet in his mercy he saved me. Not because of anything good in me. Not because he needed to. Not because I was worth saving. Jesus died for me - not because I am amazing – but because he is amazing. Not because I am worthy of being saved, but because he is glorious and he alone is worthy of all praise, and he saw fit to redeem me from my sin so I could praise him.

With that in mind – theres no reason or excuse for pride. There’s nothing good in me that I can offer God. Nothing I could do to save myself.

The first crucial step in dealing with pride is honesty with yourself and seeing from God’s perspective. 

And from there our motives have to change – they need to be to honour God. We need to obey him out of love for him and thankfulness to him for all he’s done for us (which is a lot).

How are you going with pride? What motivates you to live a ‘godly’ life – is it a desire to be noticed by men, or a desire to honour God?

For the original post (and to check out my new blog) click here

God Bless!

Nathanael.

Standing Together: So we don't fear.

This post was first published on my new blog: Rock and Refuge.

Philippians 1:27-30

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

These verses bring us our second reason that we need to stand together as Christians: So we don't fear. (You can see the previous post here).

Paul is very honest about the fact that if we are Christians we will be persecuted. We will face opponents and we will face hardships because of our faith in Jesus as both saviour and Lord. And the truth is these hardships and this opposition can be demoralising. It can be scary. It can throw us off track and make us want to forsake Christ like Peter did in order to save ourselves.

But when we stand together with other Christians it becomes easier to persevere. Fellowship with other Christians who are also suffering should be like a safe haven to us. A place where we can just rest and recuperate. Where we are surrounded by people we trust. People who will support and love us, who will not throw stones at us like the world does, but who will help shield us and comfort us from the persecution that we face. People who will act like penguins in the cold - working together to shelter one another against the cold outside.

But the truth us that although Christian community should be like this, often it is now. Often we Christians don't care for each other as they should. We don't stop to make sure the other person is alright. We don't take the time to comfort those who are fearful. And as a result when one individual faces persecution, hardship or fear they can often feel at least as if there is no one to help them.

Isolation is one of the things Satan tries to convince us of and to destroy us with - and that's why Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him,firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

As Christians who suffer, we can trust that other Christians are also suffering. But on the flip-side of that, we need to be honest with one another so that we don't have to battle alone. Because battling alone is a sure way to fall into the trap of fear, and it is far easier to give up in hard times when it seems no one else is interested in helping you through it. As Christians, we need to stand together - working first to serve God, and because of that we need to love each other dearly, because we know that "perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18).

So here's three questions for you: How are you going at standing together with other Christians? How are you going with loving one another and being honest with others about your struggles? How are you going at comforting those around you who are suffering for their faith? 

We will suffer for Christ. The question is, will we try to battle it out alone in the harsh and bitter cold? Or will we huddle together like penguins and comfort one another, pointing one another to the glorious promises of Christ, and to the marvellous fact that he has taken our sin and will return to bring us into glory?

Standing Together: To encourage each other to live godly lives.

Philippians 1:27-30

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul starts these verses by calling the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel. If they claim to be God's people they need to reflect that claim by living as his people. We are God's representation on earth. We are being watched, and what we do gives an impression (whether true or false) of who God is to those who see us.

One way to live rightly as one of God's people is to work with other Christians to do it. When we try to do something on our own, it's hard because we only have our own ideas and thoughts to go off. We have no one to keep us on the right track, no one to challenge our ideas, no one to show us when we are subtly justifying to ourselves something that is wrong.

That's one reason that we have to stand together as God's people: We need to stand together so we can help each other to live a life that reflects who our God and saviour is. We need help to be holy as God is holy. Now obviously it is only by God's grace and the work of the Holy Spirit that we can be saved and it is only by him that we can be learning to obey him better. And our 'good deeds' certainly don't make us more worthy of salvation. They are simply a response of love to his fantastic grace in saving us when we didn't deserve it.

It's much easier to obey God when you're doing it with other Christians - seeing their example and following it, encouraging each other to resist sin and being able to talk about particular temptations you have and pray for each other. Part of working together is being selfless and humble. We need to work with other Christians to help ourselves obey God, but we also need to work with them in order to benefit them. We can't be self-obsessed - that's something we're bad at in our western culture.

We weren't created to serve God alone. Even in the garden God gave Adam a partner - Eve. If Adam needed a companion when he was perfect, how much more do we need to help each other when it's a struggle to obey God?

So I have two questions for you: Firstly, How are you going at obeying God? And secondly, are you spending time with other Christians being real and honest with them? Are you looking to help them to live for God, while also humbly looking for their help in your own life?

This post was first posted on my new blog: Rock and Refuge

One thing the Olympics have taught me.

Image source

I quiet enjoy watching sport, and I've really enjoyed turning on the TV and seeing the Sochi Winter Olympic games on. Watching people from different countries battle it out against one another in various different sports is pretty enjoyable. But one thing in particular has struck me as I've been watching the Winter Olympics this year: These people train for at least 4 years (probably far longer) just to compete for a few minutes. Some of them succeed, winning for themselves a brief moment of glory and a shiny piece of metal. Others are forgotten by the wayside within moments, left only with the hope of something different after four more years of training.

It occurred to me that while there is absolutely nothing wrong with sport or the Olympics, if this is all that these people live for then they are to be pitied. If all they can hope to attain in life is a few minutes of fame, if all that they set their eyes on is the glory of being the best in the world for a few years, then they aren't really living for anything that will last. The fact is that in a years time only a few people will remember who won medals and who competed well. In a few decades these athletes won't be remembered at all.

But it struck me that the same applies for everything in this world - doesn't it? We can chase after things that promise a lot, but can they ever truly deliver? Will we be happy with just one more promotion? Will making my first million dollars truly make me content and fulfilled in life? Even friends and families will disappoint us - and likewise we'll fail them. And even if these things could bring lasting contentedness, none of them can change the fact that we are sinful and need a saviour. None of them can save us from death.

In Ecclesiastes 7:2 Solomon says:

It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.

The truth is that whatever we achieve in this life, there is no purpose to it unless it is done for God. Whatever we accomplish will fade away. It will be forgotten and replaced. But if we repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus as the only one who will save, then we have the promise that we will go to be in heaven with him for eternity. We won't take our achievements with us. In fact, it won't matter if we've achieved "greatness" by the world's standard. The only thing that will matter in the long run is if we have put our faith in Jesus and, as a result of that, have served God faithfully out of thankfulness and love.

What are you trying to achieve in life? What are your goals? Will they matter once you die? Will they matter in 200 years time?How long will it take for people to forget you?

The real question boils down to this: Are you living your life as a Christian who has turned to Jesus as the only one who can save, or are you rejecting him and living your own way?

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Published first on my new blog: http://rockandrefuge.wordpress.com/ 
You can like the blog on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/rockandrefuge

Have you been crucified with Christ?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

A lot of people know this verse. It's one of those common ones that we can pull out without too much thought. But that's the problem - have we actually considered the depths of what it means to be crucified with Christ?

It only hit me the other day what the implications of that statement are. If we were crucified with Jesus, that means we died with him. If we were dead we wouldn't be doing anything would we? We'd just be laying in the ground decaying. But Paul doesn't just say "I no longer live" - he says "but Christ lives in me".

If Christ lives in us, and we are dead, what does that mean for our sin and all the extra bits and pieces that we fill our lives with? If we are really dead to the world, and if it is really Christ who lives in us (which should be our aim), then there is absolutely no excuse to sin. There's no excuse for a "little white lie", or for doing something that dishonors God "just one last time".

But at the same time, if we are dead, what about the video games and movies that don't really have a purpose? The exercise done not to honour God with our bodies but just to honour ourselves? We all fill our lives with things that don't really matter (those were just two common examples for my age group).

But if we are dead, and it is Christ who lives in us, shouldn't our every action, word and thought be in line with his? Shouldn't we be always looking for ways to honour and glorify him and share the gospel? Shouldn't we be transformed, doing everything for his glory and out of love for those around us?

And yet, if we're honest none of us are like that. To be completely dead to anything except Christ is nearly impossible on this earth. And at the same time that should be our aim - we should be living as Christians constantly, always re-evaluating what we are doing in an attempt to make it more and more honouring to God. Here are two ideas:

• Are there specific areas in your life that you are still sinning? The answer to that will be yes - because we are still sinful and won't be perfect until heaven. But are you repentant for those things and trying to give your life more fully to God?
• Have a look at where you use your time. Are those things useful and good? Are they glorifying to God in any way? They may not be wrong to do, but do they tangle you up and stop you from doing things that are specifically good and right?
• Have a think about where your thoughts are usually drawn to. Are you often thinking about how to honour God and how to serve him? Or about other things which might not be particularly bad, but just aren't as good? I find my attention is usually drawn to my friends - not in an effort to encourage and love them, but thinking about what they think of me and things like that.

I'm not at all saying that by doing things that aren't specifically godly or ungodly we aren't Christians. I'm just asking if we've really considered what this verse means - are we dead to ourselves and the things in this world and living only for Christ? What areas in my life do I need to be working on?

This was first posted on my new blog: http://rockandrefuge.wordpress.com/

The Sites to See

Jesus isn't the means to something wonderful - Adam Ford offers another comic on how we view Jesus. Obeying him isn't the way to get blessings. Jesus is the blessing.

"Don't Waste your Weakness" - This is another reflective post by John Piper - he always has some good, deep and rich thoughts to think through and I hadn't really thought of this before. It's certainly something to ponder.

10 Questions for a better bible study - This post is definitely helpful if you're reading the bible and really looking for how you can be learning more from it.

I'm better than you - Tim Challies offers the honest truth about his pride. And I think if we're honest with ourselves we can all relate to it.

Prayermate - I just downloaded this app, and it looks helpful! Basically the goal is to help you remember to pray. You can put in prayer points and it will cycle through them. Give it a go.

I'm Moving!

Hey! I've decided to move my blog over to another site. If you're interested in seeing what I'm doing then here's the link:

http://rockandrefuge.wordpress.com/

God Bless!
Nat.

...Because Christ did it first.

Image source

This post is closely related to the last one. In Romans 15 Paul continues to explain how as Christians we sometimes have different views on things. These views could both possibly be right, or else following either of them isn't wrong. For example one Christian might thing drinking alcohol is fine, whereas another Christian might decide not to do it because they aren't sure if it is sinful. 

The Christian who knows that it is not sinful to drink alcohol should be ready to give up that right and privilege for the sake of the other christian - to prevent them from being confused and sinning against their conscience by doing something they think is wrong.

But what is the example we should follow for this? As usual - Jesus is the perfect example.

Romans 15:3

"For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

In every aspect of our lives as Christians, Jesus is our ultimate example. We need to look at his life and live ours in response to it – he was sinless, and that should be our aim. In this specific context we see Jesus' selflessness. He didn't claim his right to reign over the universe. Even though he was God, he...

"did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:6-8).

Jesus alone had the right to not give anything up for us. We used to (and in some ways still do) live in rebellion against him. We sin. But He willingly gave his life for us. he didn't cry out and yell about his rights. He gave them up willingly for us. The co-creator of the universe, the sovereign God over all things was willing to suffer and die for our sakes.

Jesus suffered far more than we do when we give up things for our fellow Christians.

We should obey God by copying Jesus' example. But at the same time we need to obey God out of love and thankfulness to him, not out of legalism or guilt. We need to obey him because we truly do want to obey him - and that's hard to do, and even harder to keep doing, since we slip into sin so easily.

But regardless of if you're obeying God out of really wanting to please him, or simply because you know it's how he wants you to live (even if right at this moment it's hard to obey him out of love for whatever reason), this is something we need to take on board.

Instead of crying out about our rights and what we deserve, we should look to those around us and see what they need. See what we can do to help them. See what we can give up to help them know Christ better. 

We need to copy Jesus' example.

I hope they were some helpful thoughts! Obeying God for the right motives is a complex (and yet very simple) thing, and I've found that it is extremely hard to do it right.

God Bless!

Nat.

Looking after the 'weaker' brother

In Romans 14, Paul discusses the issue of when different people have different views about what is sinful. For one person not celebrating certain festivals might cause their consciences to give them trouble, whereas for another it won't matter to them at all. These issues are ones that are not explicitly dealt with in scripture, or ones where neither stance is wrong.

In Romans 15 Paul continues this theme, writing in verse 1:

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves."

Patience, Love and Humility.
When we find people who have different views on certain things, It seems to me that patience, love and humility are the rules we need to follow.

Paul says the strong, (i.e. those who'd consciences let them do a certain thing) need to bear with the failings of the weak. The first thing that comes to mind is patience - they need to be patient with those people who can't do the same things because of conscience. They need to work with those people and help them not to stumble.

For example, if Jack thinks drinking alcohol is absolutely fine biblically, but Bill has a problem with it, then Jack needs to be patient with Bill. He shouldn't just tell him why he's wrong and expect Bill to change automatically. He should carefully discuss the issue with Bill when it's appropriate.

This takes love. We can be as patient as we want with someone, but if we don't love them we won't get very far. We need to care for those who are in need around us - and that includes those who have doubts about certain activities in their consciences. We need to love them even though they have these "failings" - not just throw them away because they disagree. We need to genuinely want to help them and to better them. That may even mean leaving the topic alone. Either way, it will probably mean that the stronger person should give up their privilege to prevent the weaker one from sinning or getting even more confused.

Continuing with our Jack and Bill scenario, Jack should love Bill enough to take the time to carefully and prayerfully discuss their different views on alcohol. Jack should also care enough for Bill that he'll be prepared to at least not drink while Bill is around.

And that takes Humility. We need to be ready to give up our privileges for the sake of those around us, and not to be proud about being "stronger" than someone else. The truth is, we're all weak in some areas. We need to be empathetic with those who have different opinions, being ready to give up what we enjoy out of our love for them. It also involves being ready to point to Christ instead of to our own convictions and ideas.

These three areas are ones that I continue to struggle with. I find it easy to get frustrated with people, especially when I try to reason with them, but they don't seem to be listening. I find it hard to love people who don't really listen, and above both of those, I find it hard to be truly humble - not seeking people's praise for my 'humility', but I really struggle to just point to Jesus in everything, and to his grace.

Where can you apply this to your life? Are there specific scenarios where you're doing something that might be causing a brother or sister in Christ to get confused, r even to sin by following your lead against their consciences?

Where too now?

I'm back from Malta, and it's a fantastic new year. God is definitely good and gracious and full of love and kindness!

As it stands I'm planning to keep on blogging this year - its been helpful to me to help me process and think through different issues in the bible, and I hope it's been helpful to some others. But right now: I'm exhausted! I didn't realise just how bad Jet lag could be.

So I think I'm going to start posting again next week. That isn't a promise, but at the moment that's my plan - it'll hopefully give me some time to recover and get a few things done which need doing.

In the meantime...Happy New Year and God Bless! Rejoice in the LORD always, and praise him for all he has done: he has done marvellous things for his people!

The Sites to See

I only Support Children's Charities: This is a challenge about who we help and why we help them. Adults need help too.

Nothing More to Need: A profile of Christian Courage: Tim Challies shares the story of a family friend who has seen a lot of suffering yet it is this suffering that has been used by God to build her into the woman she is.

Finding myself in the Song of Songs: In this article Sharon tells us one thing she has learned from the woman in Song of Songs - it's a good lesson for all of us alike.

Samuel Pearce And God’s “Heavenly, Glorious, Melting Power”: "It’s easy for our devotional lives to revert to plodding through scheduled chapters in the Bible, and mechanically praying through a list of requests. Don’t you hate that? So what can we do to keep this from happening?"

Where to from here?

Over the next month I'm going to be travelling. Consequently I won't be blogging daily - in fact, I may not post again until January.

At this stage I'm planning to keep on posting - I find it helpful in thinking through topics, and I hope it's beneficial for others. Those plans may change, but I'll let you know if they do.

But in the meantime, if you've been reading my posts then let me know what you think! Am I sharing the gospel well? Am I forgetting important things? Am I relating well? Am I making it applicable to life? Is this worth doing?

Have a great Christmas! Don't forget that Jesus is the reason for the season, and he is far better than any gift we can receive or any amount of time we can spend with our families. Put him first in your life and look for chances to glorify him and tell others about what he has done for us over the next month! (I've gotta take that instruction on board too)

God Bless!
Nat.

Abort73 Prayer Requests

• PRAISE: We sold 77 Abort73 shirts last Wednesday during the one-day sale on the new GUNS shirts.
• Keep praying for an increase in web visits. Fall traffic remains significantly below last year.
• Pray for continued influence through the Abort73 blog. Last week's post focuses on Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger.
• November giving sits just north of $4,000 right now. Pray for another $3,000 to be given in the next week.

Michael Spielman
Loxafamosity Ministries

God's Awesome Mercy

Romans 5:6-8

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It occurred to me once again just how much God has done for us and just how much we don't deserve it. I know these things in my head, but they often don't reach my heart as easily, and the depths of them are easily forgotten. But God just reminded me of how much he has done for me and how little I deserve it - so I thought I'd explore that a bit.

Romans 3:23 tells us that we are all sinners. Romans 5 says we are powerless and ungodly. We disobey God's law - which is the reflection of his character. God is good and holy and perfect, thus he demands us to be perfect. He is good, sin is evil - rebellion to his good standard. He is love, sin is about hate. He is just, sin is corrupt. Sin is a personal rejection of God and attack on his character.

But we can't hurt God. Our rejection of him doesn't hurt him. It doesn't make him depressed. No, God reigns over the universe. Our personal rebellion against him cannot hurt him and cannot undo his plan. He laughs at our puny attempts to defy him and he still works everything for his glory (Psalm 2). Because of our sin we deserve God's wrath. We have rejected our creator, the one who has blessed us with countless gifts: with life and everything good we have. Yet we rebel against him and try to live our own way.

Therefore God would be entirely just and right to send us all to hell. It would be good for him to do that - God isn't the bad guy. We're the bad guys, and we deserve the punishment.

Yet instead of just destroying us he decided to give us a second chance. He sent Jesus, his son, into the world. Jesus lived among us and did not sin even though he was surrounded by sin. He gave up the eternal glory that he had as part of the trinity from before time began so that he could become a man and save us. He gave up that glory and was willing even to die in our place: on the cross Jesus took God's wrath - the wrath we deserved for our sin. He was betrayed, forsaken and murdered so that he could save us. Jesus took the wrath that we would all personally suffer eternity in hell for. That was the plan from Genesis, and Jesus is the fulfilment of all those prophecies.

But that's not the end of the story. Jesus rose again. The wages of sin is death - death entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned the first time. Jesus took the punishment for sin in full, and as a result death could not hold him. He rose again, proving that he truly is God, proving that he really did and can save us, and calling us to put our faith in him. Jesus takes our sin when we repent of them and put our faith in him.

God/Jesus could have rightly just condemned us to hell. Instead the God of the universe, the one who directs everything that happens, the creator and sustainer of all life, gave up his life for us. It cost God a lot to save us.

So why did he do it?

There are two reasons intertwined:

• The one we first think of is love. God loved us, and as a result he died for us.
• The second seems more selfish, but isn't: to glorify himself.

God is glorified by loving us. God is glorified by showing us his mercy and grace (and he is glorified in justly judging all those who continue to reject him). God created the universe for his glory. Everything is about God - it's not about us, it's not about how good we are. It is all about him. It's about how awesome he is. He doesn't choose to save us because we are worth saving. We aren't worth saving. We aren't worth loving - we reject him daily, we sin and rebel against him, we are powerless. Yet he chose to save us and love us to show the depths of his grace and mercy which we did not deserve to see.

God truly is awesome, and he has done awesome things for us.

Have you given your life to him?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Nat.

The Sites to See

God has been speaking to me: This post is a challenge to get back into reading the psalms and to encourage others to do it also. It's a good idea! The Psalms are great!

Presents! Adam Ford has another good cartoon with a good challenge for us to consider.

Greatness awaits: Challies explores why video games appeal so much to men - they offer greatness. But true greatness doesn't come from playing games. It comes from serving Jesus.

Being in the word every day: In this post Lisa Spence looks at some good ways to work at spending time with God. It's worth reading and thinking about for men and women alike.

The Hunger Games: Christianity today offers a comment on The Hunger Games and alludes to how it is a comment on our society.

Beetle: My sister's first EP album of piano music. "For me, sharing the music is enough - 100% of the funds raised through this EP will be given to support the work of a school for Blind children in Russia."

God speaks.

Genesis 1:3 

"And God said..."

It occurred to me the other day just how much those three words mean. God speaks. That means a whole range of things.

God is intelligent.
I think it is easy for us to forget that God is intelligent. He is more than just intelligent - he is the creator of intelligence, he is all-knowing, all-wise. He invented language. He invented speaking.

We like to think to ourselves that we are smart. That we know what we are doing and that we understand the world and how it works. We like to think that we know whats right. But in reality it is God who knows it all. We are nothing. He is intelligent and we would be better off if we humbles ourselves and listened to him. He who spoke first in the universe, who created the universe, who reigns over the universe is far wiser than we will ever be.

God is deeply involved in his creation
Creation didn't just happen by accident. God purposefully, directly created it. He controls his creation and he created it. Not only that, but since that point he has been constantly involved in it - saving a people for himself, ultimately bringing us who are Christians to him, and also in sustaining it every moment of every day.

Jesus was "before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17).

God is real
There are many false gods and idols that people believe in, but God is real. He is the one, true God and he is real.

In contrast to God speaking in the beginning Psalm 135:15-18 says

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them."

Idols are fake and that is proved by the fact that they do not speak. They do not have any effect on creation. They do not have any power. But God does, and we know hat because he has been involved in his creation ever since he made it.

God speaks to us today
There are a number of views about how God speaks to us today. Some say there are still prophecies and revelations through dreams or God speaking directly to people - I think that's dangerous: Satan can dress as an angel of light to trick us (2 Corinthians 11:14). In reality we have all we need of God's word in the bible - it is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). We don't need more words from God - he has given us all we need.

Read the bible! Spend time getting to know God's revealed word to us, not chasing after dreams and visions that may or may not be from him. Now he speaks to us through his son - through Jesus, who's words are recorded in the bible. (Hebrews 1)

God does more than just speak
God doesn't just speak. He also acts. He isn't just full of words and promises - he keeps every one of them. He is faithful, he is merciful, he is gracious, he is holy, he is just, he is good, he is real.

God didn't just speak. He created. He didn't just call Moses to save Israel, he empowered him to do it. He didn't just tell us we were sinners with the law, he sent Jesus to take our condemnation and save us. He doesn't just call us to become christians, he sends the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and to draw us to him so we will respond in repentance and faith. Have you? He doesn't just tell us to obey him, he saves us by grace and works in us with the Holy Spirit to enable us to obey and to share his word. Are you doing that?

God is God. He reigns. He is mighty. He is holy. He is real.

Remember that. Remember that he speaks, he knows, and he acts.

Remember, turn to him and praise him for it.

Soli Deo Gloria!
Nat.

VOM Prayer watch

 

SOMALIA: Christian Community Leader Murdered by Extremists

A Christian community leader in Somalia was shot to death earlier this month by members of the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab while closing his pharmacy for the evening.

'Abdikhani Hassan' was shot seven times in the chest by two young men who approached him with handguns. The respected community leader was both a pharmacist and director of a community clinic.

Authorities have arrested several men in connection with the murder and continue to investigate. Abdikhani leaves behind a pregnant wife and five children.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs USA

Prayer Points

• Please uphold Abdikhani's wife and children as they come to terms with the enormity of their loss. Pray the Lord will protect and provide for them.
• Ask the Lord to bring the perpetrators to justice in this life and true repentance for the next.
• Pray for our brothers and sisters in Somalia, who have counted the cost to follow Christ.

NORTH KOREA: Bible Owners among Dead in Mass Public Executions

In the first known large scale executions under the still new regime of Kim Jong-un, as many as 80 "criminals" were publicly killed by authorities across the country. Among those executed were individuals guilty of "possessing a Bible", said the South Korean newspaper which reported on the executions.

According to the newspaper, the executions took place in about eight different cities. In Wonsan, eight individuals were reportedly tied to stakes at a sports stadium and riddled with machine gun bullets as around 10,000 people, including children, were forced to watch.  Relatives or accomplices of the execution victims implicated in their alleged crimes were sent to prison camps.

Sources: International Christian Concern, Fox News

Prayer Points

• Pray for Kim Jong-un and all those in authority in North Korea. Ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit to the most restricted nation in the world to bring genuine change through the light of His Gospel.
• Pray for those who have lost loved ones and for the many who are in North Korea's notorious labour camps.

TURKEY: Pastor Arrested on Human Trafficking Accusations

A Turkish Protestant pastor arrested by police in the Black Sea province of Samsun last week is accused of involvement in prostitution and the human trafficking of refugees.

Pastor Orhan Picaklar of the Samsun Agape Church was summoned to local police headquarters for questioning on Monday 11 November. The pastor was detained until Wednesday evening in a police investigation led by the Morals Bureau of the Public Order Division. The criminal case was reportedly based on a telephoned complaint from an unidentified person.

'It is obviously a deliberate plot,' a spokesperson from the Alliance of Protestant Churches in Turkey told World Watch Monitor, saying that Picaklar had been harassed for years by local media and city authorities who openly opposed the church's existence.

Picaklar and his congregation have been accused repeatedly of 'illegal missionary activities' by local TV channels and newspapers, claiming the church used bribery and prostitution to deceive young people and convert them to Christianity. The church building itself has been vandalised, stoned and its windows broken a number of times. The pastor continues to receive death threats over the telephone and internet, and was once kidnapped by men posing as plainclothes policemen.

Picaklar told Ihlas News Agency on the night of his release that he would not leave Samsun or stop his ministry in the church over this.

Source: World Watch Monitor

Prayer Points

• Pray the Lord will bring the truth to light in this case; pray against any corruption or deception.
• Pray the Lord will grant wisdom and strength to Pastor Picaklar and the members of his congregation.
• Pray for all believers in Turkey, that they will rejoice in the opportunity to grow in Christlikeness through the ongoing opposition they face (James 1:2-4).

Be still and know that God is God.

Psalm 46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

God reigns. He is King over all of the universe and over all of our lives. He is in control of everything that happens. Therefore we don't need to worry. We don't need to freak out about life, about what happens next, about money or friends or family or anything else.

All we need to do is trust God. To be still and know that whatever happens, whatever goes on, God is the same as he always has been. He does not change and he is faithful to all his promises. That he is with us (his people, christians), he loves us, and he works everything for our good (Romans 8:28).

He will be exalted. He will work everything for his glory. That should be a comfort to us, because God is glorified in showing his love, mercy and grace to us if we have turned to him.

We don't need to worry about life. We don't need to get caught up in the countless tsunamis and hurricanes of woe that assail us. We don't need to freak out when the waters reach our necks. We need to be still and know that God is who he is. That he always saves his people - be it from or through death.

Be still. Trust Go
d. He is worthy of all praise. He is trustworthy. He is faithful.