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GALATIANS 2:17-22 (KJV)
But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
It is said that Prime Minister Harold MacMillan coined the remark "Events, dear boy. Events!" as the reason why the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley (Robert Burns 'To A Mouse'). And recent times have seen events whirling around or through us with alarming rapidity. Storm and tempest continues to rage causing landslides, flooding and loss of life - and now we have terrorist attack on Israel, and thus outbreak of war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, with the civilian population now being denied water, food and power. And forget not the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We do not need to take sides in any conflict to be appalled at such barbarity.
Such things are always with us to a greater or lesser degree — not to in any way diminish the confusion, horror and assault on every life they bring. They are no easier to bear, even if encountered before. These are world events, and in the midst of the overwhelming cataclysm, there are the personal tragedies and difficulties. As has been said, life as we know it is a tragedy, it is only the Presence of The Living God that ameliorates the horror and brings not only a peace, but joy. That is because His Holy Spirit touches us in the deeper places within — and if we allow ourselves to be touched by Him, we can have peace, even in the midst of the greatest of horrors and the ratings of war. He has overcome the world and will be with us so that we may do likewise. We can do nothing without His inner presence.
His Holy Spirit reveals that all these troubles are harbingers of the end of times and of Christ’s coming again.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. What does this verse say to you? Does it thrill you and give you comfort? These words signify the deepest identification with the person of Jesus Christ. This does not speak of a mere personal saviour — this is the Almighty purposing Himself in the midst of me and you. We need fear no evil may befall us because of that presence. Our lives are assured in this life and the next. He is there in the midst of every trial and test and will never, ever release you from His grip if you hold fast to Him.
Be encouraged, dear ones, in this darkest of times. As believers in Him, we are made imperishable in His name.
Such things are always with us to a greater or lesser degree — not to in any way diminish the confusion, horror and assault on every life they bring. They are no easier to bear, even if encountered before. These are world events, and in the midst of the overwhelming cataclysm, there are the personal tragedies and difficulties. As has been said, life as we know it is a tragedy, it is only the Presence of The Living God that ameliorates the horror and brings not only a peace, but joy. That is because His Holy Spirit touches us in the deeper places within — and if we allow ourselves to be touched by Him, we can have peace, even in the midst of the greatest of horrors and the ratings of war. He has overcome the world and will be with us so that we may do likewise. We can do nothing without His inner presence.
His Holy Spirit reveals that all these troubles are harbingers of the end of times and of Christ’s coming again.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. What does this verse say to you? Does it thrill you and give you comfort? These words signify the deepest identification with the person of Jesus Christ. This does not speak of a mere personal saviour — this is the Almighty purposing Himself in the midst of me and you. We need fear no evil may befall us because of that presence. Our lives are assured in this life and the next. He is there in the midst of every trial and test and will never, ever release you from His grip if you hold fast to Him.
Be encouraged, dear ones, in this darkest of times. As believers in Him, we are made imperishable in His name.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5
NO LONGER I — Limitless Worship
PRAYER REQUIRES WORSHIP…
BE THE ONE who worships God and who lives in holy relationship to Him. Get into the real work of intercession, and remember it is a work, a work that taxes every power; but a work which has no snare. Preaching the gospel has a snare; intercessory prayer has none.
[from ‘My Utmost For His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #529 THE REMNANT OF JACOB
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PROVERBS 15:1-4
A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
The eyes of the LORD are in every place,
Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
I thought to start this word with something else entirely, but instead The Lord showed me something completely different through a recent real life experience.
On Saturday, we had the worst of weather — not storm, hurricane or typhoon, but heavy rain like we have never known before. Rivers burst their banks and hills and mountains collapsed sending mud and rock to block roads and bring a type of apocalypse imagined only in the movies. Those who interpret these things say that this is just the beginning — climate change in action. How does a soft answer turn away such wrath?
On that Saturday evening we gathered with a few friends and neighbours in the local hotel. The sort of thing we all do in times of uncertainty and bewilderment. The community comes together to show support one to another. Sadly not all, for a next door neighbour with a grudge — and heavily under the influence of ‘we know not what’ — decided to ‘raise issues’ at the top of his voice — not merely at Milady and I, but at our friends also. Our soft answers to his wrath were as nothing, but the barmaid merely spoke quietly to him and he left, with nothing but a twisted look through the window as a parting shot — very like something out of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Does this suggest that the words in Psalm 15 are not valid? Most certainly not. We do not always know how our Lord works. It is a mystery. The barmaid’s soft but firm words immediately worked, although our little group were left somewhat beaten. But that is not the end of the matter; we are assured that the soft answer turned away wrath, but there is work yet to be done both in us and in the one of wrath.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place. He watches over all, and we see at the tail of our reading, that there are consequences for the unbridled tongue. So, yes we can say unequivocally that a soft answer turns away wrath, but not always in the way one might expect.
We have to see what we mean by soft? Soft implies weakness and timidity to man’s eyes, yet also says tenderness, compassion, to mollify, placate and bring peace. That tenderness and peace is the essence of our Lord, and the young girl — used to dealing with tough cases (so we understand) — brought peace to a difficult situation, because she was calm, clear and authoritative. The Lord used her to bring peace, because there was no argument in his leaving.
That is how our Lord speaks — clearly, peacefully and with authority. His gentle and peaceful answer turns anger into contrition, argument into acceptance and belligerence into peace. But how does this answer my original question about climate change chaos? Peter Horrobin in the latest post on his website mentioned this from Matthew 24:6-8…
On Saturday, we had the worst of weather — not storm, hurricane or typhoon, but heavy rain like we have never known before. Rivers burst their banks and hills and mountains collapsed sending mud and rock to block roads and bring a type of apocalypse imagined only in the movies. Those who interpret these things say that this is just the beginning — climate change in action. How does a soft answer turn away such wrath?
On that Saturday evening we gathered with a few friends and neighbours in the local hotel. The sort of thing we all do in times of uncertainty and bewilderment. The community comes together to show support one to another. Sadly not all, for a next door neighbour with a grudge — and heavily under the influence of ‘we know not what’ — decided to ‘raise issues’ at the top of his voice — not merely at Milady and I, but at our friends also. Our soft answers to his wrath were as nothing, but the barmaid merely spoke quietly to him and he left, with nothing but a twisted look through the window as a parting shot — very like something out of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Does this suggest that the words in Psalm 15 are not valid? Most certainly not. We do not always know how our Lord works. It is a mystery. The barmaid’s soft but firm words immediately worked, although our little group were left somewhat beaten. But that is not the end of the matter; we are assured that the soft answer turned away wrath, but there is work yet to be done both in us and in the one of wrath.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place. He watches over all, and we see at the tail of our reading, that there are consequences for the unbridled tongue. So, yes we can say unequivocally that a soft answer turns away wrath, but not always in the way one might expect.
We have to see what we mean by soft? Soft implies weakness and timidity to man’s eyes, yet also says tenderness, compassion, to mollify, placate and bring peace. That tenderness and peace is the essence of our Lord, and the young girl — used to dealing with tough cases (so we understand) — brought peace to a difficult situation, because she was calm, clear and authoritative. The Lord used her to bring peace, because there was no argument in his leaving.
That is how our Lord speaks — clearly, peacefully and with authority. His gentle and peaceful answer turns anger into contrition, argument into acceptance and belligerence into peace. But how does this answer my original question about climate change chaos? Peter Horrobin in the latest post on his website mentioned this from Matthew 24:6-8…
And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
These words were spoken by Jesus, who concluded: But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Pray. Pray like never before. Only He can save us. And pray for a soft answer.
Pray. Pray like never before. Only He can save us. And pray for a soft answer.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,
to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.
For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
TITUS 3:1-7
A GENTLE ANSWER (Proverbs 15:1) — Leah Carolan
PRAYER REQUIRES WORK…
OVER AND OVER again men have turned to prayer, not in the extreme of weakness, but of limitation; whenever a man gets beyond the limit he unconsciously turns to God. Eliphaz claimed to know exactly where Job was, and Bildad claimed the same thing. Job was hurt, and these men tried to heal him with platitudes.
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing and prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the "greater work" will be done by prayer.
[from ‘Baffled To Fight Better’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #528 YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME
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GENESIS 32:24-30
Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”
And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
For at least a week — maybe 10 days now — I have had a song running through my head. If I could find a recording to play to you I would do so, but there is none available that I can find. However the words are...
I will not let you go until You bless me
I will not let you go until You bless me
Bless me, oh Lord, bless me, oh Lord
I will not let you go until You bless me
Rend the veil of the flesh in me
Rend the veil of the flesh in me
Face to face I would see Thee
Rend the veil of the flesh in me
The song is of course based on the story of Jacob wrestling with what? Often described as an angel, we see that the actual expression used is a man, but could also be translated as ‘another person’, and my understanding of this is of a wrestling in the Spirit — a determination to get hold of God.
In verse 22 we see that [Jacob] arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ‘Jabbok’ means ‘emptying’ and we remember that Jesus emptied Himself...
In verse 22 we see that [Jacob] arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ‘Jabbok’ means ‘emptying’ and we remember that Jesus emptied Himself...
Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human.
PHILIPPIANS 2:7 [TPT - The Passion Translation]
That emptying is important. It means the ‘death to self’ which is so rarely preached today, but is actually an essential in fully knowing Christ. The actuality of it is also much misunderstood. For Jacob to experience a profound change spiritually, leading to that determination in getting to grips with God (literally) — and seeing Him face to face, there has to be that emptying of self, for only in that way can we know Christ within you the hope of glory.
We still possess our individual character and personality, our relationships to family and friends, but it is now hitched essentially and eternally to Jesus Christ.
The ‘crossing over to the other shore’ is something we all must do to get to know Him in His fullness, and The Lord makes that way for us, just as He did for the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea; just as He did when they were shown ‘The Promised Land’, and just as He does now for each one of us. There is a crossing over to be done, a transaction with The Almighty, that brings us into His fold.
“I will not let You go until You bless me!” In a sense it is commanding God to act for us, which seems wrong in His order of things, but the reality is that it is what Our Lord desires of us. Turn it around and look at it from His perspective. “I will bless you if you do not let me go, if you cling to Me forevermore!”
Don’t see it from Jacob’s (or our own) point of view — look to see what The Lord is doing now! Jacob had his nature changed in the wrestling. No longer Jacob [supplanter], but now Israel [God prevails*]. I pray that this be so for each one of us.
We still possess our individual character and personality, our relationships to family and friends, but it is now hitched essentially and eternally to Jesus Christ.
The ‘crossing over to the other shore’ is something we all must do to get to know Him in His fullness, and The Lord makes that way for us, just as He did for the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea; just as He did when they were shown ‘The Promised Land’, and just as He does now for each one of us. There is a crossing over to be done, a transaction with The Almighty, that brings us into His fold.
“I will not let You go until You bless me!” In a sense it is commanding God to act for us, which seems wrong in His order of things, but the reality is that it is what Our Lord desires of us. Turn it around and look at it from His perspective. “I will bless you if you do not let me go, if you cling to Me forevermore!”
Don’t see it from Jacob’s (or our own) point of view — look to see what The Lord is doing now! Jacob had his nature changed in the wrestling. No longer Jacob [supplanter], but now Israel [God prevails*]. I pray that this be so for each one of us.
- *Jacob’s new name acknowledges that his hip is out of joint. Basically, his strength, his power as a man has been taken from him, replaced by his new name — the change in his nature — God has prevailed and He is now the source of Jacob’s (Israel’s) strength.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…
Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not,[I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
HEBREWS 13:5 AMPC
YOU NEVER LET GO — Matt Redman
PRAYER REQUIRES WORK…
THANK GOD FOR all the marvelous organisation there is in Christian work, for medical missions and finely educated missionaries, for aggressive work in every shape and form; but the key is not in any of our organisations, the key lies exactly to our hand by our Lord's instruction, "Pray."
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]