I AM THY SHIELD!

“I am thy shield.”
Gen_15:1-18
Gen_15:1
Let those fear who touch the Lord’s anointed, but as for those who trust in the living God they have no cause for alarm. Five kings or fifty kings may come against them, but while Jehovah defends them they are secure. Perhaps the Lord saw a rising fear in Abram’s mind, and therefore came to him with this word of comfort: God is not willing that his servants should be in bondage to fear.
Gen_15:4
The strongest faith has its conflicts. Abram’s heart was set upon being the progenitor of the Messiah, and he believed in the promise of God that he should be so, but still it appeared impossible, for he had no son, nor did it appear likely that he would ever have one. It is wise always to spread our doubts before the Lord, for he can meet them for us.
Gen_15:6
Over the head of every difficulty and physical impossibility he believed in God; and therefore he stood accepted as righteous before the Lord.
Gen_15:7-11
The sacrifice ratifying the covenant is the most satisfying food for faith. Let us see Jesus confirming the promises and we are content. True, a few distracting questions like these ravenous birds will molest us, but by faith we chase them away. When the Lord covenanted with his servant over the bodies of the beasts slain in sacrifice, he gave him the strongest possible confirmation; and in the death of Jesus we have solid assurance that the promises shall all be fulfilled.
Gen_15:17
This symbolised the history of the chosen seed: the furnace of affliction with its darkening smoke is often theirs, but the lamp of God’s salvation is never removed from them.
Gen_15:18
Thus was the fear of Abram cured by the covenant: let us ever resort to the same remedy.

‘This is mine the covenant of grace,
And every promise mine;
All flowing from eternal love,
And sealed by blood divine.

On my unworthy, favoured head,
Its blessings all unite;
Blessings more numerous than the stars,
More lasting and more bright.

That covenant the last accent claims
Of this poor faltering tongue;
And that shall the first notes employ
Of my celestial song.


“Christ is all.”
Rom_4:1-25
Paul was moved by the Spirit to explain to us the bearings of the solemn transaction which we considered in our last reading. Let us hear his exposition.
Rom_4:23-25
The argument is very clear and conclusive. Abraham was justified by faith, therefore by grace; and this justification was not given to him as a circumcised man, for he was not circumcised till years after; therefore the covenant blessings are not given in connection with the law and its work, but in connection with faith and grace. The covenant promise was made to a seed to be born not after the flesh but according to promise, and in that promise all nations had an interest, for out of them would come a blessed people whose badge should be faith, and not the deeds of the law. Jesus is the promised seed, and those believing in him are Abraham’s seed. Are we all in this family believers in Jesus? Who is there among us unsaved? Pass the solemn question round.

No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before,
To trust the merits of thy Son.

The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before thy throne;
But faith can answer thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord has done.

CULTIVATING GOOD RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

                                         


CULTIVATING GOOD RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

 Romans 14+

     Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do.  And don't jump all
over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with - even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.  Remember, they have their own history to deal with.  Treat them gently.

     For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume all Christians should be vegetarians and eat accordingly.  But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't
it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat?  God, after all, invited them both to the table.  Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering
with God's welcome?  If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
     
     Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be sert aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other.  There are good reasons either way.  So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.

     What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake;  if you eat meat, eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib;  if your a vegetarian, eat
vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli.  None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters.  It's God we are answerable to - all the way from life to death and everything in between - not each other.  That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again:
so that He could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the
petty tyrannies of each other.

     So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother?
And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister?
I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly - or worse.  Eventually, we're all going to end up
kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God.  Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit.  Read it for yourself in Scripture:

     " 'As I live and breath, ' God says,
             'every knee will bow before me;
         Every tongue will tell the honest truth
             that I and only I AM GOD.' "

     So tend to your knitting.  You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.   Forget about deciding what's right for each other.  Here's what you need to be concerned about:  that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it is already.
I'm convinced - Jesus convinced me! - that everything as it is in itself is holy.  We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.

     If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat, you're no longer a companion with them in love, are you?  These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died.  Would you risk
sending them to hell over an item in their diet?  Don't you dare let a piece of God-blessed food
become an occasion of soul - poisoning!

     God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake.  It's what
God does with your life as He sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with koy.  Your task
is to single-mindedly serve Christ.  Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone:  pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

     So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other.  Help others with encouraging words;  don't drag them down by finding fault.  You're certainly not going tp permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God's work among you, are you?

     I said it before and I'll say it again;  All  Food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling.  When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus.  So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating.  Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.

     Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others.  You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent.  But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting
in ways inconsistent with what you believe - some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them - then you know that you're out of line.  If the way you live
isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.

   15.  Those of  us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status.  Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?"  That's exactly what Jesus did.  He didn't make it easy for himself by avoiding people's troubles, but waded right in and helped out.  "I took on the troubles of the troubled," is the way the Master and Scripture puts it.  Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it's written for us.  God wants the combination of His steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever He will do next.

     May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all.  Then we'll be a choir - not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!
So reach out and welcome one another to God's Glory.  Jesus did it;  now YOU do it!  Jesus, staying true to God's purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old
ancestral promises would come true for them.  As a result, the non-Jewish OUTSIDERS have able
to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God.  Just think of all the Scripture that will come true in what we do! For instance:  "Then I'll join outsiders in a hymn-sing;
                                                             I'll sing to your name!" 
                                And this one:
                                                        "Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together!"

                                And again:      "People of all nations, celebrate God!
                                                             All colors and races, give hearty praise!"
                                And Isaiah's word:   "There's the root of our ancestor Jesse,
                                                                       breaking through the earth and growing tree tall,
                                                                         Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take                                                                              hope!"

    Oh! May the 'God of Great Hope' fill you up with JOY, fill you up with PEACE, so that your believing lives, filled with the [life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit], will brim over with HOPE!

A Word Fitly Spoken?

A Word Fitly Spoken?

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver” (Pro_25:11).

One of my favorite movies is “The Princess Bride.” Our family has watched it so many times we just about have it memorized, and we often find lines from the movie inadvertently slipping into our conversations.

In one scene, the dread pirate Roberts (which is actually “my sweet Westley the farm boy” posing as the pirate) is single-handedly sailing a ship in pursuit of rescuing Princess Buttercup (the most beautiful woman in the world), who has been kidnapped by a trio of mistmatched villians made up of Vincinni the smug Sicilian mastermind, Fezzik the rhyming Giant, and Inigo Montoya, the sword-fighting Spaniard bent on avenging his father’s death at the hands of evil Count Rugen, the six-fingered man.

Wesley (posing as the pirate) is gaining on them with great speed despite their efforts to outrun him. Vincinni repeatedly exclaims, “Inconceivable!”  He says it so many times that finally the Spaniard says, “You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.”

I mention this otherwise meaningless scene to say that many of us today do the same thing with the word ‘Grace.” We keep using the word, but “I do not think it means what you think it means.” We have unintentionally diminished the word “grace” to where it is no longer “a word fitly spoken.” Instead, it has become one more word in the big pot of Christian jargon.

Consider this, and see if it is so. On virtually every occasion that the word “grace” is used in pulpits and prayer closets, as well as in daily conversations, there is an unmistakable inference being made to God’s love, mercy, goodness, favor and blessing – none of which we deserve.

Yes, God loves us – but is that grace? No, that is love. Yes, God is merciful unto us – but is that grace? No, that is mercy. Yes, God is good to us, and favors us with blessings – but is that grace? No, that is God’s goodness. And so on, and so on.

See what I getting at? We keep using the word “grace” as though it were a synonym for God’s love, mercy, goodness, and favor. As a result we are missing out on one of the greatest revelations given by Jesus to His Church, and are consequently living less than the Lord purposes for us.

GRACE — “You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.”

I tell you what…step over here for a moment and let me show you something wonderful off in the distance on the other side of this great valley below us…. (to be continued)

The Message of the Law: Be Holy

The Message of the Law: Be Holy

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God'."  (Lev_19:1-4)
When any aspects of God's law is being considered, what is its overall message? How could a person summarize the law of God? In this statement to Moses, the Lord mentions a few of the commandments from His holy law. He speaks of proper treatment of parents, observance of the Sabbath day, and refraining from idolatry. Then, He provides a two word summary of all His law: "be holy."
In this call to holiness, the Lord holds forth Himself as the reason for, and standard of, living holy lives. "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy." God is holy, so He wants holiness to be a distinctive trait of His people.
What is the holiness of God? It has to do with His character. Holiness speaks of that which is innate with God, as well as contrasting that which is absolutely foreign to His being. In the Lord God there is perfect righteousness. On the other hand, in Him there dwells no unrighteousness of any type. In our God there abides complete moral purity. Contrariwise, in Him there is not even a trace of moral evil. In fact, everything about Him is spiritually pure and morally unpolluted

This holy character of the Lord God is the standard of life that the law holds forth for humanity. God's chosen nation, Israel, was given this standard in writing. All others have this standard written on the conscience (Rom_2:15). Every one who is born into this world is measured by God's law, which demands that the holy character of God be seen in their life before God, including how they relate to God and to one another. The message of the law is: "be holy."

O Holy Father, I worship You for Your perfect holiness. None is holy, O Lord, besides You. You are pure and righteous in all of Your being and all of Your doing. Father, I am aware of, and convicted of, my lack of innate holiness. I confess that I could never produce a life that would measure up to Your holy standards. I thank You for the gracious forgiveness that is available in Your Son, Jesus Christ. I take comfort in, and find hope in, the righteousness that Your Son can bring into the lives of those who trust in Him day by day, in His name. Amen.

BIBLE READINGS FOR YOU TO GROW IN SPIRIT

                                                       



Mat 1:1  The family tree of Jesus Christ, David's son, Abraham's son: 
Mat 1:2  Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob, Jacob had Judah and his brothers, 
Mat 1:3  Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar), Perez had Hezron, Hezron had Aram, 
Mat 1:4  Aram had Amminadab, Amminadab had Nahshon, Nahshon had Salmon, 
Mat 1:5  Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother), Obed had Jesse, 
Mat 1:6  Jesse had David, and David became king. David had Solomon (Uriah's wife was the mother), 
Mat 1:7  Solomon had Rehoboam, Rehoboam had Abijah, Abijah had Asa, 
Mat 1:8  Asa had Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat had Joram, Joram had Uzziah, 
Mat 1:9  Uzziah had Jotham, Jotham had Ahaz, Ahaz had Hezekiah, 
Mat 1:10  Hezekiah had Manasseh, Manasseh had Amon, Amon had Josiah, 
Mat 1:11  Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers, and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile. 
Mat 1:12  When the Babylonian exile ended, Jehoiachin had Shealtiel, Shealtiel had Zerubbabel, 
Mat 1:13  Zerubbabel had Abiud, Abiud had Eliakim, Eliakim had Azor, 
Mat 1:14  Azor had Zadok, Zadok had Achim, Achim had Eliud, 
Mat 1:15  Eliud had Eleazar, Eleazar had Matthan, Matthan had Jacob, 
Mat 1:16  Jacob had Joseph, Mary's husband, the Mary who gave birth to Jesus, the Jesus who was called Christ. 
Mat 1:17  There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ. 
Mat 1:18  The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) 
Mat 1:19  Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. 
Mat 1:20  While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. 
Mat 1:21  She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus--'God saves'--because he will save his people from their sins." 
Mat 1:22  This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: 
Mat 1:23  Watch for this--a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). 
Mat 1:24  Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. 
Mat 1:25  But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus. 

Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!










GROW IN GRACE,and in the KNOWLEDGE
of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.”2Pe_3:18

“Grow in grace”-not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fullness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward -having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to “grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.” He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know him is “life eternal,” and to advance in the knowledge of him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of him yet. Whoever hath sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ doth satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction, that the appetite is not cloyed, but whetted. If you know the love of Jesus-as the hart pants for the water-brooks, so will you pant after deeper draught of his love. If you do not desire to know him better, then you love him not, for love always cries, “Nearer, nearer.” Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven. Rest not then content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of him in his divine nature, in his human relationship, in his finished work, in his death, in his resurrection, in his present glorious intercession, and in his future royal advent. Abide hard by the Cross, and search the mystery of his wounds. An increase of love to Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of his love to us is one of the best tests of growth in grace.


“And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.” Gen_42:8
This morning our desires went forth for growth in our acquaintance with the Lord Jesus; it may be well to-night to consider a kindred topic, namely, our heavenly Joseph’s knowledge of us. This was most blessedly perfect long before we had the slightest knowledge of him. “His eyes beheld our substance, yet being imperfect, and in his book all our members were written, when as yet there was none of them.” Before we had a being in the world we had a being in his heart. When we were enemies to him, he knew us, our misery, our madness, and our wickedness. When we wept bitterly in despairing repentance, and viewed him only as a judge and a ruler, he viewed us as his brethren well beloved, and his bowels yearned towards us. He never mistook his chosen, but always beheld them as objects of his infinite affection. “The Lord knows them that are his,” is as true of the prodigals who are feeding swine as of the children who sit at the table.
But, alas! we knew not our royal Brother, and out of this ignorance grew a host of sins. We withheld our hearts from him, and allowed him no entrance to our love. We mistrusted him, and gave no credit to his words. We rebelled against him, and paid him no loving homage. The Sun of Righteousness shone forth, and we could not see him. Heaven came down to earth, and earth perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days are over with us; yet even now it is but little that we know of Jesus compared with what he knows of us. We have but begun to study him, but he knows us altogether. It is a blessed circumstance that the ignorance is not on his side, for then it would be a hopeless case for us. He will not say to us, “I never knew you,” but he will confess our names in the day of his appearing, and meanwhile will manifest himself to us as he doth not unto the world.

GIVE JESUS YOUR ALL!

Satan's primary activity and main weapon against us is accusations.
He accuses us to make us feel guilty.
You might say, "Well, why doesn't God silence Satan?". Simply, because God has given us the means to silence Satan and He is not going to do it for us.
This means, to do that, is praise "out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants". It is praise that ascends through the heavenlies, reaches the throne of God, and silences Satan's accusations against us. 

 

                                                                                       

Lisa Lim

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Overwhelming problems are opportunities to experience God's help. When problems arise unexpectedly, they can cause you to become discouraged, to lose hope, to feel sorry for yourself, or to forget God's promises to you. At those times, it's helpful to remember God's past faithfulness, which helps you trust Him today, and gives you the hope you need to help you face your problems tomorrow.