19th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read - (1 John 3:16-20 focus v19-20) Message (Alan Burke) For the believer we look to Christ Jesus he is our example and it is only through him we know what love is. The love that was shown forth was him laying down his life for us who are by our very nature his enemies. For the believer, the follower of Jesus Christ love it is much more than words it should be seen in our lives. Let me ask you can you see in your own life how what Jesus has done has impacted your actions, that has lead you to give sacrificially to the church, materially to a bother or sister in need, has the love of Jesus impacted your desire to help those in need in the church local and universal? If we live like this it should help us to come before the Lord God, it is through things like this that we know we belong to the truth, that we are his children. This isn’t the first time that John had dealt with the matter of assurance back in chapter 2 where he said how we know that we have come to know him is if we keep his commandments (2:3), ie if we are seeking to be obedient to the word of God. How we live and how we love are both things that will help gives us assurance before the Lord our God, if we are those who belong to the truth it will be seen in our love and seen in our actions. Because if we are honest as John makes the point of “whenever our hearts condemn us” that even those who have been believers for a long time, even mature believers will be troubled by the conscience and doubt their salvation, they will lack assurance of there status before the Lord. If that is you, if you are having a crisis of assurances, if you are feeling the guilt of sin, the failure of living a life of love, then there are two ways in which you can regain our assurance, the first is to look back in your life. Has the love of Christ in you lives prompted you to live in a certain way, to love others, is there evidence of this, we should be able to look back in our lives and see a progression, that although we will never live to the standards of God, we all fall short of his glory that we have made progressive steps in our sanctification, what that means is that we are becoming holy as we turn from sin and live for Christ. The basis for our assurance though rests on God himself, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything, he knows our heart, our motivation, the things that we see as sin and the things that he knows within us that we are oblivious to as sin, yet he receives us not based on our own goodness, but based on the righteousness of Christ Jesus which as been imputed to us, given to us when the Spirit brought us to knew life in christ Jesus when we were born again. While our hearts condemn us, while others may point fingers at us, God’s promise is that if we have trusted in Jesus alone, if we are repentant for our sins then will spend eternity with him. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q46 What is required in the first commandment? The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; (1 Chron. 28:9, Deut. 26:17) and to worship and glorify him accordingly. (Matt. 4:10, Ps. 29:2)
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18th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Ecclesiastes 2v18-25) Message (Scott Woodburn) Henry Ford was something of a pioneer and genius. His Model T car caused a revolution in the world of automobiles and the fact that you probably have a car outside your house this morning owes more than a little to the life and legacy of Henry Ford. His cars were built quickly and cheaply whilst his workers were well paid and to this day the Ford motor company still bears the name of it's founder even though he died over seventy five years ago. Even so, Henry Ford lived to witness the death of his only son Edsel. If you read anything about their strained relationship it seems that Edsel could never please his father. Ford senior was known to berate his son and publicly humiliate him and yet when Edsel died, Henry Ford was utterly distraught and died just several years later. I have often wondered if part of Henry Ford's issue was that he didn't know when to stop being the famous industrialist who had transformed the world of transport. Ford loved his son but maybe Henry Ford just couldn't bring himself to pass his life's work to the next generation. Solomon understood this too and pondered the reality that everything you work for will ultimately pass to "the next guy" (v18). That is usually the normal way of things but what if the person coming behind you is an idiot? You built your business over fifty years and it took "the next guy" just three years to bankrupt your firm. Your farm was in your family for two hundred years and "the next guy" sold it as soon as you headed for the nursing home. You spent three years developing a computer system only to be told by "the next guy" that it was no longer required. This struck Solomon as more vanity, like trying to catch the wind. The notion that a life's hard work will inevitably pass to someone who didn't do any of the hard work caused Solomon to despair (v20-21). It seemed to him like vanity and even more, a great evil. That's hard language but it still resonates with us. We define ourselves by our work and we like to think our forty years of employment won't just fall to bits after our retirement. So what do we gain from a life of employment? Solomon was under no illusions. He knew that we can't go on forever and someone good or bad will inevitably follow us. Furthermore, even when we are working, our jobs can bring us sorrow, worry and often sleepless nights (v22-23). Solomon's conclusion to all of this might surprise you. I don't think Solomon would do well on TikTok or YouTube because he didn't offer "ten tips to improve your working life" or "twenty five things you can do to establish your legacy", instead the wise King said "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?" (v24-25) To pull all of this together that me paraphrase Solomon's argument - one day a fool might inherit your business and there is nothing you can do about that. In the meantime, try and find something in your work to enjoy, sit at the dinner table tonight with a thankful heart and enjoy every bite of that steak or every sip of that coffee. Why? Because work, eating and enjoyment are given to us by the Lord. I cannot stress this enough - the Christian life is not expected to be endlessly dour, hopeless and humourless. Yes we know and accept the vanity of life but our faith in Christ has changed our outlook on such things. My business might fall into the hands of someone else but Jesus deals in the eternal which we cannot lose. My work my not fill me with joy but Jesus blesses me with daily bread which I am to receive thankfully. My sleep may be interrupted with thoughts of tomorrow's boardroom meeting but Jesus prays for me and calls me to rest in Him. We don't deny the vanity of this world but in the midst of life under the sun we confidently look to Jesus who gives meaning even when all seems futile. Brothers and sisters, eat your dinner with thankfulness, do not fret about the abilities of "the next guy" and strive not to place all your worth in the job that you do. Your greatest treasure is Christ and one day you'll see that you did not believe or work in vain. Come Lord Jesus we pray. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q45 Which is the first commandment? The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 16th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Ecclesiastes 2v12-17) Message (Scott Woodburn) Christians don't believe in "karma" and I'm sorry to tell you that good deeds don't guarantee an easy life or bright future. What is karma? It's not the sauce you enjoy with your chicken on Friday night, instead the idea of karma comes from various eastern religions. In simple terms, karma describes the theory that if you put good things into the universe then you will receive good things back. Equally if you live a life of wickedness then you can expect bad things in your future. Furthermore, in those religions that believe in reincarnation, good karma is sometimes linked with how you will live your next life. Good people will be reincarnated in good ways like a rich King or a mighty eagle. The wicked will come back as a rabid dog or poverty stricken leper. None of this is true but I'm always amazed at how the notion of karma has crept into society and even the church. As Solomon considered life and the search for meaning he was fairly certain that living wisely was a better path than living as a fool. He was sure that the wise life had more gain attached just as there is more gained in light than in darkness (v13). Try getting out of bed tonight and all the way to the bathroom with the lights off. It's a much easier task to switch the light on and use the eyes in your head to navigate. The wise person sees clearly while the fool walks in constant darkness (v14). If we believed in karma we might say that the wise person is rewarded for their wisdom whilst the fool constantly bumps his head in the dark but Solomon didn't come to this conclusion. David's son understood that the same event happened to both the wise and the foolish (v15), death will come to both (v16). Such knowledge caused a great melancholy to fall upon Solomon as he said that he hated life (v17). This can strike us as an extreme reaction but can we honestly say we've loved everyday and every sad event? I don't know anyone that enjoys seeing suffering in the world. Who looks forward to going to the Royal Victoria Hospital? Do you wake excitedly on the day of a funeral? There is much under the sun which grieves us and much which is a chasing after the wind (v17). The frustrations of this world are common to both the Christian and the unsaved. Both succeed and fail. Both laugh and cry. Both live and die. Even so, the Christian who knows the worst of days has still no need of the world's pity. The one who has trusted in Christ has a blessed hope in both life and in death. Christ intercedes for us in our brightest and darkest of days and Christ calls us to His side when our final moment comes. I may not have the answers to life's grievous questions and if I'm being honest I have often said "I hate life" but even so I trust my God and His providence. The pagan fool and the wise Christian both live under the sun but they couldn't be more different, it is as Paul once wrote "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1v18). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q43 What is the preface to the ten commandments? The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 17th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read - (1 John 3:16-20 focus v17-18) Message (Alan Burke) Did you hear how ‘Sir Howard Davies’ and if you’re not sure who he is, he’s the Chair of NatWest and he said that it’s “Not that difficult to buy a home”. Ok I know that he makes pennies compared to most people with his experience but the amount that he earns is mind boggling when compared to the median household income in Northern Ireland. According to the NI Executive figures for 21/22 that was £28,939 and Sir Howard earns £750,000 a year, that is almost 26 times more and of course buying a house on that kind of money isn’t going to be a problem. There are many days I deal with people who if they were given just 0.1% of Sir Howard’s salary that is £750 it would be life changing. There is a reason why I start like this, but before we get into that remember what we ere told in v16, how we know what love is because of Christ Jesus and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. The thing is for most of us we are not going have to lay down our lives unless NI goes to the dogs even more than it has but what is being emphasised is that we are to love in a way that will be sacrificial, just as our saviour Jesus Christ showed a self a self giving, sacrificial love we to are to show that love in our lives, it is a love that transforms us, from death to life, from hatred to love a love that means we give up our self will, our self interest, the times when it is costly, the countless little opportunities that we have. As John continues he builds on this by speaking of how that sacrificial love will be seen and says; ‘If anyone has material possessions'. We all have material possessions that are much more than the shirt on our backs and if we have material possessions and see our brothers in need but have not pity on him the question is how can the love of God be in him. But the opposite is true, that if we have material possessions and see our bothers in need and have pity on him then the love of God is in us. What this means is that where we can in the opportunities that are presented to us by God that we do not ignore the needs of others. There is an emphasis for the church among those who are within it to show love by acts of mercy, in practical ways, where there is need. We all play a part in this as individuals but also as the church. Where there is need if we can we are to help and to show the love of God here in this place, that love is to be giving up of our self will, self interest, there is times that it will be costly and it will hit is where it hurts the most, in our pockets and it is the task of us as individuals as well as a congregation to do show mercy as necessary, often done quietly without the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing. For us as individuals is there someone who is amongst us that we see that there is a need, where we know we can help, that we could made a difference in that persons life. Are we willing to help our brothers and sisters, using our finances for the benefit of others, those things that we fill our houses with that we no longer need. What makes this so hard for us to do is that we have bought into the lie that is sold to us by this world, by advertisers, by this western materialistic society that what we have will make us happy but it wont, instead we should be those who are seeking to invest in eternity, how can we give up those things we do not need to provide for believer who lack, who are struggling.We are to be a people who love not only when it is easy but when it is hard, when it is costly. Loving those who love us is easy, when it is reciprocal it knows little cost to us but we are to be those who love no matter how we are responded to, we are to love our brothers and sisters. Sir Howard might be out of touch with reality and earn a measly £750,000 but I know the reality for many is a struggle and in the Church for our brothers and sisters we should be those who love one another as we have been loved and that will be seen in our lives. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q 44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us? The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. (Luke 1:74–75, 1 Pet. 1:15–18) 15th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read - (1 John 3:16-20 focus v16) Message (Alan Burke) We’ve in the last decade seen slogans like “love is love” and “love wins” used as rallying cries but scripture gives us a very different view of love than the one that has been popularised, than the drivel that is served up to us by the culture and that love is exemplified in Christ Jesus. Without Jesus we cannot even begin to comprehend what love is, for the believer we know what love is because of how our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ exemplified love towards us. He did that as he laid down his life for us. It is much more than the crucifixion, it is seen from the moment he condescended, that he who was God and was with God in the beginning but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross where he experienced the wrath of a Holy God against sin for us (Jn 1:1, Phil 2:7-8). This love that has been shown towards us is a love that we do not deserve, that we could never earn although sadly it can loose its lustre for us. When we first understand it we marvel in the wonder of what Jesus has done for us, the amazing grace that we receive but then after a while we forget, familiarity with the gospel, the wonder of what Christ has done for us fades. We are told in Romand that while we were his enemies that God showed his mercy to us; Romans 5:7-8; “7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8). What deserve is his wrath and Jesus took it on our behalf. Without Jesus Christ, without his life and death we cannot begin to understand love. It is a love that we do not deserve, a love that was shown to us while we were still his enemies. That Jesus willingly entered into this world, took upon himself our flesh and blood that he might lay down his life for us, suffering, dying for our sake so that we might be forgiven, that is how we know what love is, he did not need to lay his life down for us but willingly laid down his life by being lifted upon that cross. Those two words at the end of that statement, “for us”. Jesus died as John makes clear for us, for my sake, for yours, for those who are part of Adam’s sinful race, he did it for us, for you for me, for all those who have and will repent of their sins and believe in Him. The wonder of what Jesus Christ has done should never be lost on us either as we think too highly of ourselves or that we become too familiar with the old old story, of that wonderful redemption, God's remedy for sin. Notice though what this love leads us to do, to lay our lives down for our brothers, we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. The Love of God that was so vividly displayed in Jesus Christ, in him laying down his life for us is not something simply that we acknowledge but do nothing with, no, it is rather a love that will lead us to live in a certain way. Just as our saviour Jesus Christ showed a self giving, sacrificial love we to are to show that love in our lives, it is a love that transforms us, from death to life, from hatred to love a love that means we give up our self will, our self interest, the times when it is costly, the countless little opportunities that we have. As you face the day ahead know the love of Christ and live the love of Christ in your life, ignore the drivel that the culture that surrounds us makes love into and look to Jesus and love like him, lift your eyes to the wonder of what Jesus has done for us. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q 42 What is the sum of the ten commandments? The sum of the ten commandments is, To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves. (Matt. 22:37–40) 13th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Ecclesiastes 2v9-11) Message (Scott Woodburn) What is it to be great? Solomon once offered a fairly modern answer to this question. As far as Israel's kings go, Solomon was one of the most successful on record. In later years Israel would be divided into two and both the northern and southern kingdoms would be destroyed. In 586BC Nebuchadnezzar seized Jerusalem destroying the temple that Solomon had built and by the time of Christ's day, Israel was far from her previous glory. Even so, all of these events would come long after Solomon and as far as he was concerned, his reign was a success and he surpassed all who came before him (v9). He was certain that at no point did he lose his famous wisdom (v9b) and as reward for his work, he gave himself all that his eyes could see and all that his heart desired (v10). That all sounds like a happy, successful and great kind of life doesn't it? Nevertheless, as Solomon considered all of these "rewards" he came back to his original conclusion that "all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." (v11). Years after Solomon's "great" life came to an end, Jesus spoke about greatness. The Lord taught that He had not come to abolish the Law and Prophets but to fulfil them (Matthew 5v17). Christ was actively and passively obedient to all of God's commands and those who follow Jesus must also take obedience seriously. Let me be clear, we are not saved by good works or our level of obedience. Christ's work was enough and remains enough. When we receive Jesus by faith His righteousness is credited (imputed) to our account and that is where we must rest. However, the Christian fears God and seeks to honour Him throughout life. Obedience is the child of God's response to the Lord's extraordinary grace. Jesus said whoever keeps God's commandments "and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5v19). That's certainly a different definition of greatness isn't it? It has nothing to do with earthly success but all to do with our fear of the Lord. You're probably not considered great in the eyes of the world, no one outside your community knows your name and your YouTube channel has only three subscribers with one of those being your mum. Don't fret. Paul's words remain true "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1v26-27) Thanks be to God. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q41 Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? The moral law is comprehended in the ten commandments. 12th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read - (1 John 3:11-15 focus v14-15) Message (Alan Burke) The matter of assurance before the Lord is one that I have known many brothers and sisters to struggle with. The evidence of their faith has been clear but for whatever reason in that moment they are filled with doubt over their eternal destiny. The reasons vary, sometimes it comes at the beginning of the individuals walk with the Lord and others near the end. That may be you today as you read this devotion, if not it may be you in the future although I pray not. Here though John tells us how we can have assurance not some religious experience in the wee hall but because we love, we can have assurance in our lives because we have loved our brothers and sisters. Again what is meant by brothers is not in a biological sense, I have no brothers biologically, so this isn’t talking about those who are our brothers in Christ. Now John’s not saying that your salvation is dependant on works, that certain conditions need to be fulfilled, rather if you, you are desiring to walk in the light, and you are trying to obey his commandments, this is the characteristic of the knowledge of God and that it is seen in the love you have for your bothers and sisters, your fellow believers here in this place, it is not a condition of salvation, it is not a means of earning God’s favour, rather if we love God it is tangibly evidenced in our lives in how we love one another. If you are trying to do these things then you are a child of God. The church should be filled with those who love God and who love each other our brothers and sisters, if we truly love God this will be evident in our lives, evident among us, it will be evident in what we do and say. If we in the past have done those things, or are doing them right now, been people who have fallen out over trivial matters, gurning, complaining, gossiping, pretending, writing anonymous letters, showing discontent, always wanting to get that dig in, what ever it is then repent, confess your sin to God, make amends to that person who have hurt, if you are a child of God you will seek to love, to live for him. If we are the children of God it should be seen in how we live, if we are the children of the devil then it will also be seen, we must in our lives show our love of God in how we love one another. We must show then in our lives, that we know God in how we love our brothers and sisters. The test of the genuineness of faith is not on that experiential moment, that religious experience that one has had, when we put our hand up at a meeting, or how exiting and exhilarating that we found sining those twenty songs when we went to that other church, the ultimate proof is in the daily, detailed, disciplined obedience as in our love for God seek to obey him and he transforms us more into his image as we walk in his light. Anyone though who hates his bother, his sister is a murderer and there is no eternal life in him (15). I do not know your heart this day but are you harbouring hate? While you may never have killed anyone like Cain but if you are harbouring hate and not love then you need to get that sorted. For the believer there are times that you may feel hatred towards your brothers and sister but you will repent, love will then be the thing that defines your relationships, not hate, not grudges, not hating those who are believers, you should hold no records of wrongs, you should seek the Lord and ask him to transform your heart if you are struggling with a brother or sister. While their actions may have we feel justified our hatred towards them we are the people of God and we are to love, it is the love that gives us assurance that we are the children of God, without love we can have no assurance. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience? The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law. (Rom. 2:14–15, Rom. 10:5) 11th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Ecclesiastes 2v1-8) Message (Scott Woodburn) Solomon wondered aloud about the point of everything asking what is achieved by working forty years and then retiring with a clock for the mantle piece? His answer was that everything under the sun was vanity, like trying to catch the wind. Perhaps the pursuit of wisdom could bring answers? Solomon tried that too and despite surpassing his peers in wisdom and knowledge, the Preacher still fell short in answering life's questions. I'm sure we can agree that there is more to life than work or wisdom and Solomon grasped that too. He said to his heart “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” (v1). If life is often fleeting then maybe we better enjoy ourselves while we can? The pleasure filled life was Solomon's next port of call. Laughter struck Solomon as madness and pleasure left him asking "What use is it?" (v2). Next he sought to cheer himself with wine seeking to grab on to "folly" to see if there was anything worthwhile in life (v3). Solomon lacked no resources and so he built houses, vineyards, gardens and parks (v4-5). These places were filled with fruit trees and these trees were watered by Solomon's very own pools (v6). Yet the king went even further. As he sought meaning in endless pleasure he gathered extraordinary wealth (v8), massive herds and flocks of animals (v7) and even copious numbers of slaves (v7). The King was a slave owner and these slaves spent so much time in Solomon's service that even their children were born under Solomon's roof (v7). It seems that no part of Solomon's day was spent without pleasure. He enjoyed the finest singers during the day and by night he enjoyed sexual intimacy with his many concubines (v8). Who or what is a concubine? Solomon had women under his roof who were not his wife, these were his concubines and he had a physical relationship with them. Scripture tells us that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11v3). Solomon denied himself no earthly pleasure but still found only vanity. So is the Christian life to be grey, dour and humourless? By no means! We can and should be thankful for the pleasures of this world. Many of you sat down about two weeks ago and enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner with people you love, humanity's ability to create can sometimes leave us breathless and although we don't speak of these things in polite company, sexual intimacy with our husband or wife is a wonderful gift. So the Christian life is not supposed to be like a wet weekend in a caravan with a leaky roof but equally the pleasures of this world are not to be turned into "gods". We are to enjoy the pleasures of this world wisely and in thankfulness to the God who made all things, but we are never to replace the Lord with a "god" who can't speak, answer or save. Many have realised to their cost that money, sex, possessions or laughter are poor "gods" indeed. Christ taught exactly this when He spoke about the foolish man who built bigger barns to store his possessions before losing his life that same night (Luke 12v13-21). Two things can be true - life need not be drudgery and our hearts need not be captured by pleasure. Instead life under the sun is best lived enjoying God and the multitude of gifts He gives us every single day. Thank him today for that lovely cup of tea, the car that makes your daily commute easy and the home full of memories. These things and more are little glimpses of God's goodness and a reminder that the best is yet to come. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q39 What is the duty which God requireth of man? The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will. 10th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read - (1 John 3:11-15 focus v12-13) Message (Alan Burke) We are to love one another, this is the message that we have heard from the beginning, this is what John is making clear to those whom he wrote to and to us. The thing is even though many of us have heard this message for most if not all of our lives we find it hard, it can be hard to love those around us, when they have wronged us, when they have said those hurtful things, when they weren’t there for us when we needed them. But as John goes on he gives us an example, an example that is to emphasise to us why we should continue to love and as Christ does and that example is the example of Cain. We know about Cain and his brother Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve, we’re told about them in the book of Genesis. These two brothers, were brought up in the same home, they were both taught about the same God, they became the first farmers, Cain in arable, Abel in livestock. They lived as God intended, they cared for God’s creation, providing the necessities to live by. Both bring offerings but the Lord only had regard for Abel and his offering. What ensued is that Cain warned by God about his sin and it mastered Cain as he led his brother out to the field and murdered him (Gen 4). In Hebrews 11 we are told it was by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. While Cain and Abel were from the same family, they shared the same blood, it ran through their veins, the same upbringing but they couldn’t be more different. The reason is because they were not part of the same spiritual family, while they were brothers in a biological sense they were not brothers in Christ, brothers of faith, Abel was a child of God through faith whereas Cain was a child of the devil. Able was a child of God through faith, Cain a child of the devil. Cain’s attitude, his sin, his heart were all characteristic, they resembled his spiritual father the devil whereas Abel was a child of God because he practiced righteousness, he brought his offering in faith brining glory to his Father in heaven. Cain was warned by the Lord about his sin, his heart attitude by the Lord God himself but it fell on deaf ears ultimately because Cain hated God and it showed forth in his treatment of his brother. If we are in Christ then we will not be like Cain, we will love, our love will show forth in our treatment of our brothers and sisters in Christ but if we are like Cain a child of the Devil then we will not love, we may not kill someone but there is much we can do with our words and actions that show hate and not love. If we love in love then the world will also hate us, we shouldn’t be surprised by this and the reason is simple for we are either the children of God or the children of the devil. Cain like all those who are children of the Devil love the evil of this world, he hated Abel and his righteousness because he hated God. This is something that the church should expect, we should expect to be hated by this world because we are not willing to call sin by any other name. People do not like their evil deeds to be called what they are, they do not like being told the truth of how that there is no other way of salvation but through Jesus Christ. We love the world by doing God’s will, by sharing the truth and the world will hate us as a result, it hated our saviour Jesus Christ and we shouldn’t expect anything different for ourselves. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q38 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection? At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, (1 Cor. 15:43) shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, (Matt. 25:23, Matt. 10:32) and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God, (1 John 3:2, 1 Cor. 13:12) to all eternity. (1 Thess. 4:17–18) 9th January 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Ecclesiastes 1v12-18) Message (Scott Woodburn) Most of us know the story about Solomon's request for wisdom. He was foolishly worshipping at the high place of Gibeon which was against the command of God. Even so, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and promised the young king that he would be given a gift from God. Solomon didn't ask for riches or victory over his enemies, instead he understood his inability to lead and so asked the Lord for wisdom. This pleased the Lord who said "I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you." (1 Kings 3v12). Solomon's reputation for wisdom grew across Israel and would one day even entice a visit from the Queen of Sheba who journeyed to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions (1 Kings 9v1) Amazingly the Lord providentially used this visit to bring the Queen to saving faith (Matthew 12v42). You would think that a man who loved wisdom, was famous for wisdom and authored three thousand proverbs would never grow tired of the pursuit of knowledge. Yet the King was still able to say that after seeking out much wisdom (v13) the pursuit of knowledge was an unhappy business (v13b). This might seem like an odd thing to say but I'm certain you've noticed that at exam time most children don't spend hours pouring over books with a smile on their face. In grander fashion the pursuit of wisdom still leaves us lacking answers. The most intelligent man in the world cannot answer everything and the most learned woman does not have the capacity to shed light on every subject. The Preacher understood that in life there are crooked things which can't be made straight and things lacking which can't be counted (v15). What did Solomon mean? We all know that in life there is much which doesn't make sense. I have known wonderful people who never seem to catch a break. I have sat at bedsides and watched the finest of Christians ravaged by disease. I have been asked questions that I could not and still cannot answer. Life often makes no sense and even though Solomon was wiser than all (v16) and took seriously the pursuit of wisdom (v17), he was still left to realise that trying to discern what is wise and what is madness is also a striving after wind (v17b). Furthermore, the King stated that much wisdom brings vexation and increased knowledge increases sorrow (v18). How so? The person who seeks wisdom is on an never ending pursuit of something they can never have. Humans are limited and for every answered question there are thousands more that must go unanswered. How are we to apply such verses? Let's be clear that the Lord isn't calling us to switch off our minds and to become unthinking robots. We are to read and think and wonder and create and ask. The teenager working hard for her GCSEs is honouring God with her attitude just as the man who loves going to the library is doing no wrong. I think in response I'd like us to become more comfortable with the mysteries of life. The Lord hasn't revealed everything to us and only He is all knowing. When the "crookedness" of this world causes us to weep and unanswered questions cause us to despair I think we are to strive after Christ rather than more and more wisdom. Scott Clark helpfully speaks about the "quest for illegitimate religious certainty" and I suspect we're all on that quest at one time or another. We ask "why? how? when? where?" seeking certainty above all and almost demanding that the Lord send us a letter with all our questions answered. You may think me simple and that's okay but often I am happy to admit that I don't have all the answers but I do have Jesus and He is enough. Maybe you need this approach too. Let the Saviour make the crooked paths straight for He is working out all things for the good of His people. I trust Him to answer every question well. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q37 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection. |
Alan
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