"God speaks to us ... "

God speaks to us of His love. He tells us that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

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Job 38:39- 40:14

"I am unworthy - how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth...I have no answer...I will say no more" (40:3-5). God speaks to us about our sin: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." He tells us that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Why does God speak to us like this? He speaks "so that every mouth may be silenced" (Romans 3:23, 19; Isaiah 64:6). We must stop talking about our own righteousness and start listening to what God is saying to us. He speaks to us of "His love." He tells us that, "while we were sinners, Christ died for us." This is Good News - "the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin." No more excuses - "I'm not such a bad person. I'm really quite good!" Let's "confess our sins" and receive God's forgiveness (Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:7-10).

"God Speaks To Us ... "

God speaks to us of His love. He tells us that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

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"I am unworthy - how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth...I have no answer...I will say no more" (Job 40:3-5). God speaks to us about our sin: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." He tells us that "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Why does God speak to us like this? He speaks "so that every mouth may be silenced" (Romans 3:23, 19; Isaiah 64:6). We must stop talking about our own righteousness and start listening to what God is saying to us. He speaks to us of "His love." He tells us that, "while we were sinners, Christ died for us." This is Good News - "the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin." No more excuses - "I'm not such a bad person. I'm really quite good!" Let's "confess our sins" and receive God's forgiveness (Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:7-10).

Making A Good Start To The New Year

Malachi 1:1-2
As we move into the New Year, here are some wonderful words from the beginning of the final book of the Old Testament: '"I have loved you" says the Lord' (Malachi 1:2). This is a great message from the Lord. Let's make a good start to the New Year. Let God's love reach your heart, change your life and flow out from you in blessing to others.

Christ: King Of Glory, King of love - May The Glory Of His Love Shine In Us.

‘The Lord reigns’ (Psalms 96:10; 97:1). ‘The Lord is King!’

He is not only ‘the King all-glorious above’. He is ‘the King of love’. He is ‘our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’

He is not only ‘the King of heaven’. He is ‘the God of grace’. He is ‘the King of mercy’ (Church Hymnary, 35, 36, 388, 360, 86).

His reign is not to be restricted to some faraway heaven. It is not to be a reign that is far removed from the practicalities of our everyday life.

He is to reign in our hearts. He is to reign in every part of our life.

Let His reign of love begin. Let His grace and mercy control all that you do.

We must pray, ‘Reign in me, Sovereign Lord, reign in me’. When we say, ‘Let Your Kingdom come’ and ‘let Your will be done’, we must pray, ‘Captivate my heart. Establish there Your throne’(Mission Praise, 570).

Jesus Loves Us So Much More Than We Love Him.

Jesus loves us so much more than we love Him. In love, He comes to us to draw out from us a greater love for Him. I find great encouragement in the story of the restoration of Peter in John 21. Peter had denied the Lord three times. For each denial, Jesus came to Peter with the question, "Peter, do you love Me?" Three times, Peter reaffirmed his love for Jesus. Following on from this, there is the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when the Lord works through Peter in a very wonderful way. Three thousand people are brought to faith in Christ - for each denial, a thousand souls brought to faith! What a wonderful restoration! May we have much cause to say of the Lord, "He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake" (Psalm 23:3). May our ministry of His Word prosper - "those who turn many to righteousness shall shine like the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).

God's Love Is Unchanged, Unchanging And Unchangeable.

1 Kings 18:17-19:21
Life is full of ups and downs. For Elijah, there was a very high point. He prayed. ‘The fire of the Lord fell’. ‘All the people said, ‘The Lord, He is God’’(37-39). This was followed by a very low point: ‘O Lord, take away my life’(4). We are so changeable. Often, we feel like we are being torn apart. Our emotions pull us in different directions. Sometimes, we are full of joy. At other times, we are at the point of despair. We find ourselves in a turmoil of confused emotions. What are we to do? Are we to ‘pull ourselves together’? This seems to be the very thing we can’t manage to do. Are we to ‘hope for the best’- ‘Some day, some way, things will get better’? We think about this, and we wonder, ‘What happens if things get worse?’! Look to the Lord. His love is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable.
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

We Are Blessed Because God Loves Us And Christ Died For Us.

Leviticus 26:1-46
'Every spiritual blessing' is 'in Christ' (Ephesians 1:3). The moment you begin to feel superior - 'I am blessed because I am obedient' (There is too much of 'I' in this!) - , remember: 'in Christ'. We are blessed because God loves us and Christ died for us. It is His grace which changes us. Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Our obedience comes from Him. Our disobedience comes from ourselves. We do not deserve His blessing. We deserve His judgment. There is only one way to blessing: Humbly confess your sin, turning to the Lord in whom alone there is blessing. We must not 'be proud' of our 'obedience'. There is only one thing about which we should 'boast': 'the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Galatians 6:14). Thank God for His 'new covenant' (42,44-45; Hebrews 8:8-13; 1 Corinthians 11:25).

Leviticus 27:1-34
'Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord' (28). We are loved by the holy God. We are precious in His eyes. In love, He has reached out to us - through the Cross of Christ (Romans 5:8). We are 'greatly beloved' (Daniel 9:23). The Lord takes great joy in every sinner who returns to Him (Luke 15:7,10). 'Most holy to the Lord' - This is how the holy God looks upon those who have 'faith in Jesus' (Romans 3:26). We are to be 'devoted' to the Lord: The Lord must come first - 'All the tithe... is the Lord's' (30). The bringing of the tithe (tenth) to God was an outward sign of an inward commitment. Do you love God? - Let it show in your living and giving. Let it be Thanksgiving (I want to) - not Grudge Giving (I have to) or Duty Giving (I ought to): 'God loves a cheerful giver' (2 Corinthians 9:7).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

‘God First Loved Us’ - Before We Ever Thought Of Loving Him!

1 John 3:19-4:21
‘God is greater than our hearts’. When you are deeply aware of your sinfulness, remember - God loves you. God’s Word is brutally honest - about us: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’God’s Word is wonderfully encouraging - about His love for us. He ‘knows everything’ about us - and He still loves us: ‘God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’(3:20; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:8). What a great Saviour we have. He is ‘without sin’- yet He is the Friend of sinners. He ‘receives sinners’. He ‘came into the world to save sinners’(Hebrews 4:15; Luke 15:2; 1 Timothy 1:15). Whenever we start getting too full of ourselves, too full of our own importance, we must remember: ‘He first loved us’(4:19) - before we ever thought of loving Him!

1 John 5:1-21
What a great blessing we receive through faith in Christ - ‘Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God’(1). Our life as God’s children is not a life of tranquility. We face conflict, real conflict - a battle. In this spiritual warfare, we have God’s promise of victory. In verse 5, we have a question: ‘Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?’. The answer is contained in the question. Our victory is in Christ. We are not victorious because our faith is so strong that we couldn’t possibly fail. Many times, we fail. We take our eyes off Christ - and we are defeated. What are we to do? - when temptations seem to be so many and so powerful. When you feel so weak, let Christ be your Strength. ‘With Christ within, the fight we’ll win’.
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

We Love God Because He First Loved Us.

1 John 1:1-2:17
‘Jesus Christ’ died ‘for our sins’. This is Good News. It is not to be kept to ourselves - He died ‘for the sins of the whole world’. We have ‘fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ’. ‘We have fellowship with one another’. These blessings are not to be kept to ourselves. We must share the Good News - ‘the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin’. We must seek to bring others into ‘fellowship’- not only ‘with us’ but, ‘with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ’(2:1-2; 1:3,7). We are called to a life of obedience - ‘he who does the will of God lives for ever’. This obedience comes from our experience of God’s love. ‘The love of the Father’ leads to ‘love for the Father’: ‘We love’ God ‘because He first loved us’(15-17; 4:19). Let’s love the Lord - and do His will.

1 John 2:18-3:18
Through faith in Jesus Christ, ‘the Son of God’, we receive ‘eternal life’(22-25; John 20:31). Our enjoyment of eternal life has already begun - ‘we are God’s children now’. Our full enjoyment of eternal life is still to come: ‘It does not yet appear what we shall be...’. We have begun to experience Christ’s victory: ‘The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil’. We look forward to our full enjoyment of His victory: ‘When He appears, we shall be like Him...’(2,8). Some will try to ‘deceive’ us. We must keep our eyes on Christ - ‘He laid down His life for us’. We have received His ‘love’. We must show His love - ‘Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth’(7,16,18). Do you believe in Christ? Live the life. Be a believer - in deed’!
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

‘Keep Yourselves In The Love Of God’- He ‘Is Able To Keep You From Falling.’

Jude
The wrong kind of people had come among God’s people: ‘certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you...godless men...’(4). Such people do not like to hear the words, ‘The Lord rebuke you’. They ‘speak abusively against’ those who speak the Word of the Lord to them (9-10). God’s Word warns us against such people: ‘In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit’(18-19). With people like this around - life gets like a ‘minefield’. You never know where the next “explosion’ is going to come from! How can we ‘stand tall’ and not be dragged down by this kind of thing? ‘Keep yourselves in the love of God’- He ‘is able to keep you from falling’(21,24).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

What Kind Of Person Are You Becoming?

Judges 9:1-49
Things were going from bad to worse! The people of Israel had forgotten ‘the Lord their God’(8:34). ‘The enemy’ was ready to ‘come in like a flood’(Isaiah 59:19). Abimelech - Gideon’s son by ‘his concubine who was in Shechem’(8:31) - was very unlike his father. Gideon had pointed away from himself to the Lord (8:23). Abimelech was eager to draw attention to himself. He murdered his seventy brothers, paving the way for himself to become king (1-6). Abimelech spelled trouble! Things were only going to get worse with Abimelech. There was ‘an evil spirit’ at work among God’s people (23). Where was God in all this? - ‘Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct’(Romans 1:28). What kind of person are you becoming? Each of us must choose!

Judges 9:50-11:11
With verses 56-57, read Romans 1:18 - ‘The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth’. Doing ‘what was evil in the sight of the Lord’, ‘the people of Israel’ brought themselves under God’s judgment (10:6-9). When Israel began to return to the Lord, He said to them, ‘Mean what you say’(10:10-14). When they persisted with their confession of sin, He answered their prayer - ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted... In His love and in His pity He redeemed them’(15-16; Isaiah 63:9). God’s answer came in the shape of Jephthah, ‘a mighty warrior’, a man who ‘spoke all his words before the Lord’(11:1,11). Thrust out by men (11:1-2), he was loved by the God of grace - His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9)!

Judges 11:12-12:15
Israel was not looking for trouble - ‘Let us pass... through your land to our country’. The Amorites insisted on fighting with them. They had to be faced and defeated (19-21). The Christian life is like an ‘obstacle race’. We do not go out looking for problems. Sometimes, we cannot avoid them. Obstacles can become opportunities - for spiritual growth (James 1:2-4). Watch what you say (29-40; Ecclesiastes 5:2-6). Watch how you say it (1-6). The accent is not the important thing. It is the attitude. Is the accent on Christ? Let the attitude be less of self and more of Christ. Proclaiming the same Christ is more important than pronouncing the words in exactly the same way! Be slow to say, ‘He is not one of us’. Be quick to say, ‘Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice’(Philippians 1:18).
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Blessings in Christ
Christ in all the Scriptures
http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

What Part Will You Play In Bringing God's Blessing To Others?

Esther 1:1-2:18 This is a very human story. It is the story of a man - Ahasuerus - and two women - Vashti and Esther. It is the ending of one love and the beginning of a new love (1:19; 2:17). It is also a very important part of the Divine Story. God is at work here. This story teaches us about God’s love for His people. It teaches us that ‘all things work together for the good of those who love God’(Romans 8:28). It was no accident that Esther was chosen to become the Queen of Persia. God had chosen her for a very special purpose. She was sent there by the Lord. Esther was one of God’s people (2:5-7). She was to serve God’s purpose. She would play an important part in bringing the blessing of God to the people of God. What part will you play in bringing His blessing to others? Esther 2:19-4:17 ‘Haman sought to destroy all the Jews’(3:6). This is the work of the devil. He ‘comes only to steal and kill and destroy’(John 10:10). To oppose such determined enemies of the Lord is never easy. Esther knew this. She was ready to put her life on the line: ‘If I perish, I perish’(4:16). She knew that this was not a time for remaining silent. She must speak up for the Lord’s people. She was to serve God’s purpose - the deliverance of His people from death at the hands of His enemies (4:14). Esther was prepared to suffer death for the sake of God’s people. Jesus did suffer death for us. Jesus tells us why He came to this world: ‘I have come that they may have life...’. He tells us why He died: ‘I lay down my life for My sheep...I give them eternal life’(John 10:10,15,27-28). _________________ Blessings in Christ Christ in all the Scriptures http://christinallthescriptures.blogspot.com

The Greatness Of God's Love

The Lord is greater than we could ever imagine. There is no greatness like the greatness of the Lord. All human greatness cannot even begin to compare with the greatness of God. His greatness is not only the greatness of His power. It is also the greatness of His love.
When we sing, ‘How great Thou art’, we sing not only of His power - ‘Thy power throughout the universe displayed. We sing also of His love - ‘And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin...’
God loves us. He loves us with a faithful love, ‘an everlasting love’, a love that will not let us go. His love ‘never comes to an end’. Nothing can separate us from His love (Jeremiah 31:3; Lamentations 3:22-23; Romans 8:38-39).
What have we done to deserve such love? Absolutely nothing! We are ‘sinners’. We do not deserve to be loved by God. We have done nothing to earn His love.
Love begins with God. It comes from Him.
How do we know that He loves us? Have we proved ourselves worthy of His love?
No! - ‘God shows His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8).
To God be the glory!