Trusting In Christ’s Love, We Learn To Love.

The Pharisees lived by law. Jesus lived by love. The law of God - ‘holy and just and good’ (Romans 7:12) - had been distorted by the religious hypocrites. They were saying, ‘love your neighbour and hate your enemy’ (Matthew 5:43). ‘Love your neighbour’ is found in Leviticus 19:18. ‘Hate your enemy’ is not found in the Old Testament. For the Jews, ‘neighbour’ meant their own kind. They wrongly concluded that Gentiles were to be hated. Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan makes it clear that we are to love our enemies as well as our friends (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus’ disagreement is not with the law of God. It is with man’s misuse of it. Jesus’ teaching is simple - Love is not to be limited. It is demanding - love is all-embracing. We dare not bring love within our reach. We always fall short. We can only come to Christ. Confessing our lack of love and trusting in His perfect love, we learn to love.
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This is the fourth and final part of an article from my blog, entitled, "Special Days – Remembrance Day: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 20; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 5:38-48."

Come To Christ And Dwell In The House Of The Lord For Ever.

God has given us a glimpse of a future which is heavenly, eternal and glorious: ‘the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God - It shone with the glory of God’. Is this ‘eternal life’ for everyone? Will all people ‘dwell in the House of the Lord for ever?’ Will everyone be saved? Is this what the Word of God teaches? ‘God wants everyone to be saved.’ He wants everyone to ‘come to the knowledge of the truth’, to ‘come to repentance.’ Sadly, there are many who ‘refuse to love the truth and so be saved’ (Revelation 21:10-11; John 3:16; Psalm 23:6; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:10). Who will be saved? - ‘only those, whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life’. ‘Come’ to Christ - ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they...may go through the gates into the city’ (Revelation 21:27; 22:17,14).
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This is the third part of a post from my blog, entitles, "Special Days – Remembrance Day: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 20; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 5:38-48."

Jesus Christ Is Our Saviour. Let Us Bring Our Song Of Praise To Him.psalms

‘We boast of the Name of the Lord our God...Through the steadfast love of the Most High’ we ‘shall not be moved’ (Psalms 20:7; 21:7). We do not trust in things that ‘collapse and fall.’ We build on ‘the Rock’ (20:8; Matthew 7:24-27; Psalms 18:1-3; 62:5-7). We ‘rejoice’ in our God. He has made us ‘most blessed for ever’ (Psalm 21:1, 6; Ephesians 1:3). Think of Jesus Christ your Saviour. He is absolutely trustworthy. He is completely dependable. His love is an ‘unfailing love’ (Psalm 21:7). In Him, there is salvation. In Him, there is joy. With His strong and powerful love, He has saved us. He has given us ‘a new song’ to sing, ‘a song of praise to our God’ (Psalm 40:1-3). Let us lift our hearts and voices to Him in praise and worship: ‘Be exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength! We will sing and praise Thy power’ (Psalm 21:13).
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This is the second part of a post from my blog, entitled, "Special Days – Remembrance Day: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 20; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 5:38-48."

Looking Back And Looking Forward

‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name… You have done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what God has done for us. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. We rejoice in Jesus Christ who died for us. We rejoice in Jesus Christ who rose again for us. We look forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to the Day when ‘He will swallow up death for ever.’ On that Day, ‘the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces’. On that Day, we will look back and say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.’ On that Day, we will ‘rejoice and be glad in His salvation’ (Isaiah 25:8-9). Here and now, let us learn to ‘trust in the Lord’. We can trust in Him ‘for ever’. He is ‘the everlasting Rock’- ‘the Rock of our salvation’ (Isaiah 26:4; Psalm 95:1).
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This is the first of part of an article from my blog, entitled, "Special Days – Remembrance Day: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 20; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 5:38-48."

The Prayer Of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79) Calls Us To Worship The Lord, Walk With Him And Witness For Him.

We are called to join with Zechariah in saying, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel ... (68). As we worship the Lord, we are confident of this: He will “guide our feet into the path of peace” (79).Worshipping the Lord and walking with Him, we are led to follow the example of John the Baptist, "a prophet of the Most High". We are to "give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins" (76-77). May God help us to respond to His call. Let us worship God. Let us walk with Him. Let us witness for Him.
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This post is the fourth and final part of an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

The Apostle Calls Us To Pray To The Lord - In Our Worship, Walk And Witness.

Paul prayed for the Thessalonians and he asked them to pray for him. - He prayed that God would ‘comfort their hearts and establish them in every good work and word’(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). - He prayed that they would enjoy peace: ‘Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in all ways’(2 Thessalonians 3:16). He asked them to pray for his ministry - ‘pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may speed on and triumph among you’(2 Thessalonians 3:1). Paul was writing to the Thessalonians, ‘You keep on praying for us and we’ll keep on praying for you’. We must not forget each other. We must remember each other - in prayer. Far too often, we forget. It becomes a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. We’re not to live in the past. We are to keep on praying for those who belong to our past. Don’t forget to remember!
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This post is the third part an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

The Psalmist Calls Us To Worship The Lord, Walk With Him And Witness For Him.

Psalm 9 will help us to worship the Lord. It will help us to walk with Him. It will help us to be His witnesses. ‘I will give thanks to the Lord...’ (1-2). The enemy is defeated (3-6). ‘The Lord sits enthroned for ever’ (7). ‘The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble’ (9). What an encouraging Psalm this is! We have the victory in Christ. Nevertheless, it is not easy when we face determined opposition from the enemies of Christ and His Gospel: ‘Behold what I suffer from those that hate me’ (13). In this situation, we must call upon the Lord: ‘Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail’ (19). Though the conflict is raging all around us, we must - taking our stand in Christ - declare God’s praises and rejoice in His salvation (14). ‘The Lord dwells in Zion’(11): ‘Blest inhabitants of Zion, Washed in the Redeemer’s blood’, may we always say, ‘Let the world deride or pity, I will glory in Thy Name’.
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This post is the second part of an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"

The Prophet Calls Us To Worship The Lord, Walk With Him And Witness For Him.

Micah speaks to those ‘who hate good and love evil’ (Micah 3:2). He calls upon them to change their way of living. He calls upon them to worship the Lord - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord’ (Micah 4:2).He calls upon them to walk with the Lord - ‘We will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever’ (Micah 4:5). How do we learn to ‘walk in His paths’? - We come to His ‘House’.We worship the Lord in His House.We listen to His ‘Word’.We pray that His Word will come to us ‘with power’.We ask Him to ‘teach us His ways’.We pray that we will be ‘filled with the Spirit of the Lord’ (Micah 3:8). Gathered in His House for worship, we ‘receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us’. Through His power, we are equipped for witness: ‘you will be My witnesses...’ (Acts 1:8).
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This post is the first part of an article posted at my blog. The article is entitled, "Special Days: Remembrance Day – Micah 4:1-8; Psalm 9:9-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5; Luke 1:68-79"