The Beauty of Scripture

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me´~ John 14:6 We live in a day of super-abundant tolerance. This is good if it removes those things of life which are damaging to a human spirit such as hate crimes, oppression of the poor, the sick, those of a different culture, and educational preferences due to privilege. We can and should be tolerant of other religions too, but, not to the point where we say heaven’s door is open to all. Here, we have to draw the line, for it is only by believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as the Saviour of the world, can we come to the Father. Our God is a jealous God. There is no other way, but through the sacrifice and saving grace of Jesus Christ. Christ shows us the way through His example, His sacrifice, and by His Spirit. Only by obeying His instruction, through which He communicates truth of His salvation can we have favour and access to the throne of the Father. Jesus receives...

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me ~ John 14:1 In the calendar year, we are drawing closer to Ascension Sunday, the day when Jesus left His disciples and this earth for the heavenly kingdom, where He would stand at the right hand of the Father. It is His disciples He is addressing now, to give them hope, and to not lose courage. They had not yet received His Holy Spirit, so the men spoken to here were still weak in their own confidence and power. Jesus is asking them to expect the utmost from God, through their confidence in God as Father, and through Jesus, who would stand as their mediator and protector. These men had seen Him suffer, die, and now, as the Resurrected Christ they will witness His leaving them, though promising them a spiritual and heavenly inheritance. Their hopes for a secular kingdom had been lost to them only to find there was a better kingdom waiting for them. They experience sadness and fear and joy all mixed together...

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose ~ Philippians 2:13 This is called, “working out our salvation.” I do not mean we work to be saved, no, that was done for us on the cross, but it means that we need daily to make an effort, we need to obey. God leads us to His will, but we must do the work of following His will. We cannot sit patiently still and wait for Him to powerfully accomplish in us what He will, for God will not force us, or compel us against our will. God works in us to sanctify us, to help us overcome our spiritual enemies and our sins, but we too have to have our eyes looking toward the One who saved us for His example. We were created to do good works, we are new creatures fitted now to do acts of righteousness, and holiness. God will implant into our soul principles of action, faith and love, grace and strength that is above what is naturally ours. But all this is inactive without our will. We are filled with the Hol...

I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing ~ John 15:5 Around my block there are several homes which have vines growing on fences near the sidewalk so that I can observe them with the changing seasons. In the dead of winter, the leaves may still be there on the branches, but they are brownish in colour and look dehydrated. As spring has come upon us, I see more and more greenery that is bright and new, and leaves which are just beginning to grow, thus making the vine branches look fresh and new again. This verse reminds me of those vines I pass each day. We are those branches. Without the sustenance brought into our bodies by the power of the Holy Spirit, by connection with the Father and Son, each day, we begin to wither and become dehydrated. We turn brownish in colour, and unappealing to be near. If we want to attract others to us, to our church, to our Christian family, we must look our bes...

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds ~ Psalm 77:11, 12 How and where do we see God at work in our lives? Are we even looking for Him? Is God evident in our lives, or, do we just carry on, going on our own way with God in the background somewhere? I did not choose this scripture to meditate on today, but it is amazing that it has come up as the one I should write about. Recently I asked this question of a group. The best answers I received were in the little children one worked with, and the next was answered by seeing someone whom had been ill present again in their company. My heart was broken that from a group of Christ-following people, only 3 or 4 answers came. Where is God in our lives? The psalmist here says he remembers the deeds, not only of long ago, but he will consider all God’s workings in his life, in his times of meditation, and in God’s actio...

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding ~ Proverbs 9:10 Wisdom and understanding go hand-in-hand. We can be thought to be wise in our own eyes, but it is not necessarily so. True wisdom, divine wisdom and knowledge come from the Lord alone, and it comes to us through relationship with Him. These two blessings come because we fear the Lord, in other words, we revere Him, we have a right understanding of His Majesty. We have a right conception of His holiness, His mercy, His judgement, of His perfection. In all this we take joy. In this grasping of God we then can be taught by His Holy Spirit, for we will listen. As we fear the Lord’s wisdom and knowledge, we will place the right value on the temporary and the eternal, rightly living by the principles which the Lord calls us toward. We can walk the right path as we follow His will for our lives. Without the fear of the Lord, we live a life of folly. Devotion by Pastor Julia ...

If anyone causes one of these little ones- those who believe in me- to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depts of the sea ~ Matthew 18:6 Jesus was gentle, yes, here though, we see His firmness. This speech is directed toward his disciples, not the Pharisees, as we often read. As a leader, I have always taken these words very seriously, as should every leader, but so should every lay person. How well do we know the word of God so that we can answer or teach with sound guidance, rather than with what the world mixes into our words? If false doctrine is professed for the “children”, that is, those who do not have as much experience in the Christian life, and their trust is in you because of their faith in you, they will be led astray when mixed messages enter their minds. We all have a responsibility to train and educate with the Gospel in mind so that we can face the world, and the enemies of the soul. Not...

Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows ~ Galatians 6:7 What Paul is talking about is hypocrisy. Our thoughts, words, and deeds, our acts in our life, can seem to be good, but in actual fact they are deceptions which cover a sowing to the flesh. We can draw close to God, yet it can be mere lip service, and not heart service. Yet, God penetrates into our very heart and knows its most inner thoughts. What our brother or sister may see is not what God sees. God is mocked when we pretend to be what we are not. A Christian sows seeds to the Spirit, not to the flesh. His thoughts, actions, deeds, are done in reference and in reverence to the Holy Spirit. He aims his sights at God’s glory, loves Him, serves Him, in his desires and motions. So how does a Christian sow? They sow seeds of faith in times of discouragement, in difficulty, with encouragement and endurance to run the race. They sow seeds against temptations and against nature, for our nature leads us...

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:35). This is spiritual life to the max. Paul says truthfully that everyday our bodies are growing closer to death. But inside, it is new life, everyday. Through the grace of Christ, we have a new inner make-up, which by the Spirit’s leading and prodding, brings us deeper into the sanctification process of becoming more life Jesus. We will go through hardships, yes. We may find ourselves persecuted, absolutely. But because of the grace of Christ, and the ministry He has placed upon us, Paul claims rightly that we change from our past life. We leave that which was behind, and we take on the likeness of Jesus more each day. Earlier in the chapter, Paul says we have “this treasure in jars of clay”, that is, our body. ...

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son ~ John 3:18 Not long ago a man said to me, “I cannot believe.” “Whom?” I asked. He stammered, and again said, “I cannot believe.” I said, “Whom?” “Well,” he said, “I can’t believe.” “Whom?” I asked again. At last he said, “I cannot believe myself.” “Well, you don’t need to. You do not need to put any confidence in yourself. The less you believe in yourself the better.” (D. L. Moody.) Jesus died on the cross for the whole of the world, and He died to put sin away for good, by His sacrifice. If we believe in this, if we believe Jesus died to remove the sin from our mortal beings, then we do not stand condemned before Him. Unbelief, on the other hand, is not only foolish for a man, but his fate is fixed. He has rejected the salvation offered by his Redeemer. Unbelief leaves him just as he was found. A true Christian beli...