Posts from 2009 (Page 5)
Character from the Bosom of God’s Grace
‘The Christian life is not lived to the honour of God without effort,’ writes John MacArthur on 2 Peter 1:5, “giving all diligence…”. Having described what God has done in and for us, Peter is saying that we are to give ourselves to the task of developing Christian character and maturity in Christ Jesus, and that this should be don’t with serious commitment and energy or…
Elijah (5) – God’s Ways, Our Faith (1 Kings 17: 8-16)
We don’t know how long Elijah had been waiting, but no doubt he was glad that God spoke to him again, telling him this time to leave the brook Cherith – after all the source of water so essential for life was dried up. But in so calling Elijah to move on God makes it clear that though the brook had…
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Paul is talking about death, but more specifically that when we die, when we leave the body behind, we go to be with the Lord. How could Paul be so sure? Paul says that we walk by faith. We take God at His Word. Our security is not found in the things we can see and feel, but in the living God who has given His Word to us. As we return to Elijah we see that this is not…
James (3) – WISDOM N.O.W. (James 1:5-8)
JAMES HAS BEEN TELLING US that God’s glorious plan is to make us “perfect, lacking in nothing” but also that God’s methodology is one that utilises trials. That is, that we are to look on trials we face as Stepping Stones to God’s glorious future for us in Christ. That’s why we should respond to such times with joy. The joy he speaks of is a result of the realisation that…
Elijah (4) The Lesson of the Drying Brook (1 Kings 17:7)
Last week we noted that by sending Elijah to the Brook Cherith God was doing several things – He was declaring to Ahab and the nation an act of judgment, such that the Word of God which had been despised was now removed, a famine of the Word; and he was declaring to Elijah that he could fully…
What’s going on?
‘What’s going on? How am I supposed to respond? What are we to do now?’ Here we are enjoying the blessing of God upon our lives, family, ministry, local church – when suddenly the resources that God has given us start to diminish, and despite our prayers now they have dried up, just like a creek in a drought. Where is God in this ‘drought’ – especially as it affects…
James (2) – Stepping Stones to Glory (James 1:2-4)
As a boy my brothers and I often played in the bush that bordered on the housing estate where we lived at Frankston. It was not uncommon that to get somewhere we had to cross a creek. We would look for tufts of grass, outcrops of stone or earth or some other dry and solid-looking area and, stepping…
Elijah (3) – By the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-6)
Elijah’s means “the Lord is God.” Elijah’s ministry corresponded exactly to his name, for he was sent by God to confront the worship of Baal by God’s people, and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no other.
The first act of the battle scene, as it were, was Elijah the…
Surprise!
Isn’t it true that the unexpected gives life a certain freshness.
It can be little things or big things. Maybe it’s a bunch of flowers when it’s not your birthday or Valentine’s Day. Maybe it’s a surprise birthday party, or a visit from someone you haven’t seen for ages. Maybe it’s the boss calling you into his office and giving you a bonus – now, you’re thinking,…
James (1) The Key to Christian Living (James 1:1)
‘Give me a relevant message!’ This is the cry every generation of Christians utter if they are in even the smallest way engaging with non-Christians, whether in overt evangelism or in some ministry of compassion. But it is also a cry they are sensitive to personally as they seek to come to grips…