Posts Tagged salvation

Her Name was Veronica

Today I met an elderly lady at a church I was preaching at.

This is her story.

As a younger woman, she was in hospital, ill, near death. Her husband was in the process of leaving her with three children to take care of. Her illness led to her becoming isolated, alone. After years of poor living, bad choices and hurting this woman, a struggling mother, she was left scared and desperate in the house.

Her husband threatened to take her children from her, as she was emotionally and mentally ruined. Veronica was a wreck of a person, and this is the wreck Jesus met.

One day when out of the house, accompanied by a nurse, a kind lady spoke to her. She asked, would you like for the minister to visit you?

“I’d like that” she replied
“Where is it that you live”
“I… I don’t know where I live”

The nurse confirmed this, and proceeded to give this kind lady Veronica’s address.

This brief… almost insignificant exchange was revolutionary.

The pastoral visit was straightforward. They came and shared the message of Jesus, that all our sins could be forgiven through him.

‘What, even me?”
“Most certainly, you can be accepted by God too, through Jesus”
“Well, it can’t mess my life up any more than it is already”

And with that, the Lord took Veronica by the hand, loving, guiding, comforting. She was baptised at a local church, and the Lord worked through her to see 37 more people baptised in the next 2 years.

A little old lady named Veronica spoke to me, a month after her husband had departed this world. Jesus Christ had become her treasure and her great reward. This woman, closer than I to the veil of eternity, knew what it meant to be captivated by Jesus in all things.

She blessed me in more ways than I could ever put into words here.

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Born again, again

It happened again. You know, that thing.

I don’t know what it is for you, but for me it’s always that one thing which seems to be the measure of my faith. If I do this thing, or don’t do that thing, then I know I’m a Christian. I know I’m saved.

But I failed again. I did that act or thought that thought or didn’t do that thing I was supposed to do.

And so, I know I must again pray:

Dear God, forgive me.
I’m sorry for failing you.
Help me not do do it again, please be near me now

Amen

I’ve memorised several of these prayers and I cycle them round each time I fail God. I pray them fairly often. I come to Christ to be forgiven and receive new birth, again.

What about you? I spend vast amounts of my time feeling like a failure, failing God, failing the expectations of others and failing my expectations of myself.

I just don’t want to do that one thing anymore! Read the rest of this entry »

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People Management in the Wilderness

In my country, I have the privilege of having a Bible in my own language, and have no problem getting my hands on one. God is good.

A few months ago, I realised that I had no excuse not to read this book. I mean, I am a fairly fast reader and 20 minutes a day really isn’t a great cost. So when I go over myself, I committed myself to read the Bible every day. In fact I’m on track to get through the Bible in a year. If you’ve never done this, I’d recommend it. It’s a wonderful discipline and frankly the only discipline I have enough self control to actually put into practice. I follow this reading plan which you can download into your favourite calendar application.

So at the moment I’m halfway through Exodus and loving it. In case you’ve never read the Bible, it’s a thrilling story. Human beings have messed it up big time, But God chooses this guy called Abraham (Genesis 12) and through him decides that all that bad stuff is going to be undone. The part of the story I’m up to now is a few centuries later, when Abraham has become the nation of Israel, who were slaves in Egypt. But God decides to demonstrate his character by saving this nation, and bringing them out of Egypt.

Then they spend a lot of time wondering in the middle of nowhere.

After Egypt, the people are in the wilderness somewhere between Egypt and Palestine.

It’s a great story.

Moses is the hero, who leads the people out of Egypt, who stretches out his hand and parts the sea, who hits a rock and fresh water comes out. He of course became the leader of the people.

But Moses forgets that he’s not the hero of the story. God is.

This guy called Jethro watches Moses judge all the people. Moses decided things for the people when they had an issue. And Jethro, in what must be an almighty flash of common sense, says ‘What you are doing is not good’ (Ex 18:17). Moses is going to burn himself out.

Additionally, nowhere before this point has God actually given the people any laws, yet Moses says he makes known the laws of God.

But this isn’t how it works in God’s community.

Moses gets a bunch of guys he can trust, and sets them up as elders over the people to encourage them to obey God. But what to obey?

The 10 commandments are famously dictated to the people from a mountain top. Why? So that all people would know that God is bigger than one man, God is bigger than our ideas. And he shows that no one gets a special privilege. Everybody gets the chance to hear what God says.

I find it interesting that God gives his laws AFTER Moses sets up these leaders. Literally the next chapter, God speaks to the people.

It’s like God is saying ‘This is me, this isn’t Moses’ ‘I’m your hero, I’m your king, I’m your rescuer and your love.’

The elders and decision makers exist to hold people accountable to a law they have all heard. They don’t get to make it up.

God is so committed to his people that he sets up this system where people can ask questions and have help in applying his laws to their lives. That’s his grace.

I wonder if I have those around me who will encourage me to obey God. It’s not about people telling me their best ideas, but examining the scriptures and honestly holding my life in that light. I ask God for such men and women in my life, and thank God for those he has given me.

People management in God’s community is not about good ideas, but about honestly seeking to obey him in all things.

Glory to his name.

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John Piper on Sexual Sin

The root of the issue is the ‘joy of our salvation’

The misuse of sex is a symptom of a loss of our relationship with God

This has been real ‘good news’ for me.

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