Monday 26 September 2016

Confidence

...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.      (Heb. 10.22)


The way has been made for me to come to God. The writer has said we have confidence to come. Yes, we do. But this confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is in Him, and only in Him. He has made the way, the invitation to me is simply to follow the way He has made.

Again I hear Jesus say, "Come, follow me". After His resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven. By His death and resurrection He has made the way for me to follow. One day I will see Him face to face in Paradise. Meanwhile, I am blessed with glimpses of heaven in the here and now. I sense one such glimpse in this present moment as I realise the joy I feel in drawing near to God.

My heart is truly sincere in this. Other aspects of my thinking, speaking and doing may not always resound with sincerity to God, but I declare my heart to be sincere. He has cleansed my heart from a guilty conscience. I will not hold on to guilt. I release it through confession and repentance. I receive the cleansing that only He can give. I know the bliss of a hot shower that cleanses my body. God offers me a washing with the purest of water. Thus, with cleansed heart and a washing in pure water, I am clean inside and out. I express my gratitude to my wonderful Lord.




Almighty God,

I thank You for the cleansing and release that I find in You. I thank You for the confidence I can freely place in You. I sense that confidence grow as we continue the walk together. I thank You for the glimpses of heaven that You bless me with in this earthly state. I thank You for all this, and for You.   Amen.

Friday 23 September 2016

A sinner saved

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Heb. 12.4


Jesus shed His blood, but it was not for His own sin. He was sinless, totally free of the bonds and shackles of sin that that so bind mortals. Jesus shed His blood for me.

I am a sinner. I know this. At times I am most uncomfortably aware of my sin. At other times, I might try and convince myself that I am "not so bad". However, the truth is that I was born into a sinful world and I will struggle against sin 'til my departure from this life. I am a sinner, and I struggle against sin, but I have not yet done so to the point of shedding my blood.

I am a sinner. I know this, and God knows it also. God also knows that I cannot save myself from sin. Even if I should struggle to the point of shedding my blood, I would not be able to save myself.

And then Jesus came. Jesus came then, and Jesus comes now. He shed His blood, for me! The act was committed, the release was assured. Jesus came and gave His life to rescue me. All I need to do is to come - to Jesus. As I acknowledge Him, as I fall at His feet in confession and humble repentance, I may hear His words, "Go, your sins have been forgiven." What powerful release I receive with this sweetest blessing from Him.



Most Wonderful Lord Jesus,

You shed Your blood for me. I am undeserving, Lord, both You and I know this. Yet You came, and You gave Your very life for me. I give You heartfelt thanks, and I give You my life in humble response. Amen.

Tuesday 20 September 2016

Consider

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.   Heb. 12.3

I may never fully understand the opposition that Jesus encountered. At an early stage of His ministry He incurred the displeasure of the religious authorities, the men who had set themselves as arbiters of  God's will and way and who had done so with much smugness, pomp and self-promotion.

In a short time Jesus had become anathema to these pompous, self-righteous prigs. He undermined their hypocrisy with lavish and genuine demonstrations of compassion and a Godly love that was sincere and unconditional.

 The authorities conspired and contrived. They trapped Him with cunning and guile. They convicted Him with false witness. He was humiliated, persecuted and tortured to within a few breaths of death. And then He was ingloriously crucified. Jesus did, indeed, endure much persecution.

I am urged to consider all He experienced with the aim of encouraging and strengthening me. The writer sees my reflection on the life and suffering of Jesus as empowering me and enabling me to not grow weary or to lose heart. I may suffer or be harassed in life, but I doubt anything that I experience will take me close to the sufferings of my Saviour and Lord. Indeed I have said, more than once, "Jesus, at least they haven't yet done to me what they did to You." Let me take strength from my precious Saviour. Hallelujah!





Glorious Lord Jesus,

You suffered greatly, yet You overcame most gloriously. Lead me, Lord. May I reflect, more and more, on Your life and Your teaching. May I draw closer to You, seeing You in everything, and knowing that You are, truly, ever with me. Thank You. Amen.

Sunday 18 September 2016

The Light

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”                     John 8.12


John begins his gospel with a declaration that Jesus had come into the world as the light of life for all people (John 1.4). Here Jesus is restating this truth, and what a reality it is for those who believe and who will take hold of it.

As I read the Scriptures, the life of Jesus, His teachings and His revelations, I see the light. There are times when I focus on a passage and, suddenly, the light goes on. The light of Jesus shines through the darkness of worldly life and I see more clearly. I am encouraged to go forward in a new way, to keep pursuing that life that can only come from Him.

And today, the truth takes me to a further depth in Him. He says that, as I follow Him, I will never walk in darkness. I see this in my life. There are times when I am aware of the darkness of the world. It beckons and sometimes I am drawn in. But I recognise the darkness, and I know that His desire is that I do not walk there. Instead He calls me out into His light of life. I am grateful.

John tells me that Jesus spoke “again” to the Pharisees. Had He previously spoken to them about walking in the light? Whether He had or not, they take little notice. The account records them ignoring His offer and, in its place, accusing Him of testifying in His own behalf. They have completely missed His revelation because of the pressure of their own agenda. May this not happen to me.





Holy God,

I read again of Jesus’ offer to follow Him and walk in the light. I accept. I pray that I may never walk in darkness. I may wander, but I ask Your Holy Spirit to alert me, and draw me back into the light. I pray also that I will not, at any time, allow my own agenda to conflict with Your way for me. I ask these things in the glorious name of Jesus.                  Amen.





My book “God Talk” is available through major Internet booksellers.
A taste of the book's content can be seen in the You Tube clip
(Search: Peter Francis - "God Talk").

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Anyone without sin...

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”           
                                                                                                                       John 8.7

Jesus answered the persistence of the accusers with a declaration that silenced them all. He brings out the truth that Paul repeats in his letter to the Roman church: …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3.23)

As much as I’d like to think otherwise, the truth is that I am a sinner. In fact, everyone is, and there is no one who can legitimately accuse another from a position of his own sinlessness. No one, that is, except Jesus. And He says to me, to us, what He said to the woman that day, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” (v11)

We hear nothing further of her so we do not know if she remained without sin. My human frailty tells me she likely continued to sin. And Jesus just as likely continued to forgive her as she offered herself to Him in repentance.

I receive two clear messages from this reading today. The first is that I am a sinner, but so is everyone else. I should, therefore, be understanding of this and be ready, always, to forgive. The second is that Jesus is always there to forgive me. I need not be afraid to come to Him, regardless of what I have done. In humility and penitence I can seek His forgiveness, receive His release and continue on my way, free of any condemnation. Hallelujah!





Loving Lord Jesus,

I hear You remind me that I am forgiven by You. I thank You. But You are also entreating me to adopt an attitude of forgiveness towards others. This is not always easy, Lord. I ask Your help. I realise more and more that I cannot live without You. Draw me to You. Strengthen me in You, and let me show Your qualities of love and mercy in my life, in You precious name I ask.                Amen.


Monday 12 September 2016

Rebirth

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?”                                                                                  John 7.50,51


Nicodemus is an interesting person. He had previously gone to Jesus, under cover of night, to ask about this “new way” that Jesus preached. Here he is sort of standing up for Jesus. At least, he’s making noises about Him getting some sort of hearing. At the end of his gospel, John relates how Nicodemus accompanied Joseph of Arimathea in removing Christ’s body from the cross and anointing it in burial. Something has been happening for Nicodemus. We hear nothing further about him, so we don’t know if he became a true and dedicated believer, nor if he made any more open declaration of faith.

Nicodemus is not alone in his experience. I sense that some people attend church without any real commitment to living in obedience to God as a true follower of Jesus. Indeed, many may not have experienced the birth from above, the spiritual birth of which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. I pray for such people, that they will experience God’s sovereign move of rebirth, that they will cast off lukewarm-ness, and embrace the fullness of Christ and live in His Spirit.

I pray also for myself, that I may never be ashamed of my faith, that I may live it, to God’s glory.





Holy Father,

The story of Nicodemus intrigues me and causes me to think of those who seem to be nominal in their commitment to You. I pray for these souls, and I ask You to touch them in power. May they know the rebirth that comes from above. May they find themselves on fire for Jesus.

Lord, I pray for the sleeping church. I ask You to wake it up into the fullness of spiritual life.

I ask also for myself, that I may ever live out Your wonderful love and faithfulness in my life.

I ask these things in Jesus’ name.                               Amen.


Friday 9 September 2016

Thirsty

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”                                                                                                            John 7.37b,38


John continues the narrative by telling us that Jesus is talking about the Spirit. Because Jesus had not yet been glorified, believers had not received the Spirit. But, after Jesus’ ascension, and the glorious events of Pentecost, the Spirit came in power.

And so it is today, though many are reluctant to enter into the spiritual, supernatural ways of God. Not so me! I am thirsty for Jesus and for all He has for me, not only in the glorious life to come, but in the here and now in my present living and being.

I an ever ready to drink what my Lord would have me partake of. I see myself, seated with Him in relaxed but expectant mode. We are obeying and partaking together. The Holy Spirit that powered Him through His time here on earth is available to me. The supernatural enabling of the Spirit is there for me to drink in, in copious quantities.

Now I feel greedy. I want to gorge myself on the Spirit. And all the while, I sense Jesus encouraging me. It’s as if He’s saying, “It’s not greed that motivates you to receive the fullness of the Spirit. This is the will of God at work in you. You cannot fulfil God’s purposes for you in this life without the empowering Spirit. So come, relax, and drink your fill, even to overflowing.”






Lord Jesus,

I come. I sit with You in peace and I rest fully in You. I give myself over to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. I release myself. Let nothing obstruct or bar me from the fullness of You. Fill me, and let that living water flow out of my heart and my whole being. May it touch others and wash them with Your grace and mercy, Your love, healing and blessing. I come to receive, in order to give away. Fill me, Lord, in Your holy name I ask. Amen.





My book “God Talk” is available through major Internet booksellers.
A taste of the book's content can be seen in the You Tube clip
(Search: Peter Francis - "God Talk").