Waiting

 

Morning meditation:

Isaiah 29:18   “But the LORD still waits for you to come to Him, so He can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God.      Blessed are those who wait for Him to help them.”

Isaiah uses the word ‘wait’ many times. 

The LORD waits. A real person who wants to connect. He wants to show love and compassion. He operates on faithful terms  - we turn to Him in admission of our wandering ways, He restores our souls. The filial relationship enables us to walk in fruitful ways .

Then the verse ends -  we wait on Him as dependant, obedient children. Then we are empowered to know Him and walk in His sunshine.

The chapter goes on to describe that sunshine:

He will be gracious

He will respond instantly

He will be with you

You will hear His voice

The Lord will bless you.

Leading or feeding appetite

 

I hesitate to write this. But after much pondering about one of Australia’s deepest problems that is now affecting politics, labour market, families, church etc. I write for you to think it through.  Four destructive words – “What do you want…….?”

Sounds ok, sounds normal, even Jesus occasionally used them!

Yes, but please take time to ponder their destructive implications when used unwisely.

Illustration: You ask a child “what do you want for breakfast?” Almost always, the child will ask for something sweet and often unhealthy! Consequences – a life habit of feeding on flavour instead of healthy food.  Rather parents should wisely decide on healthy food for mental and physical wellbeing of a child. Good leadership would then say –“today we are having ………….. for breakfast – come enjoy!” Then the child would learn to  make wise choices.

This little illustration unveils a fundamental problem of Australian youth. Why do so many think the world ‘owes it to them’ ? I suggest that too many parents have fed the self centred ego by ‘what do you want?’ instead of leading  with ‘we are going to ….’.  By having choices and options for food, fun, friends, clothes, careers, cars etc, the young inexperienced mind considers it normal to EXPECT to have what it wants. Occasionally young ones are taught to make wise choices, but too often they are given what they WANT to keep them quiet. (obedience seems well out of date).

Does the Bible reflect on this – Absolutely and extensively.

“Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequence of decay and death. Those who live to please the spirit will harvest everlasting life” (Galatians 6:8) – normal flesh choices versus wisdom and understanding given by God.

“If your sinful nature controls your mind there is death. If the Holy Spirit controls your mind there is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)

Children need parents filled with the Holy Spirit to lead them. The world of media and education encourages children to gratify oneself, follow the dreams, in anyway they may choose without true reference to outcomes or God’s way.

True love is often “Tough Love” -  please read Revelation 3:19.

I mentioned politics – yes – years ago, people voted for the good of the country, now they vote to satisfy “Meism”. (what they get out of it).

Labour shortage – Most of us were happy to get a job as teenagers. Today they EXPECT easy work on max pay!

Churches – listening carefully to what the congregation WANTS, to keep the money rolling and the numbers up! (2 Timothy 4:3)

Families – working so hard to have enough money to keep the children up with the Jones’s  philosophy ‘What do you want?’.

Well, thank you if you read this through – you are welcome to disagree, but I ask you to ponder it a while, before you throw it away.

Watershed

 

I live on the top of the Great dividing Range. The height creates a pleasant atmosphere. Today it is raining and the word ‘Divide’ is significant. Water running to my east flows 150 km to Brisbane and the Pacific Ocean. Water running to the west flows 2000km to Adelaide and the Great Australian Bight.

Watching teenagers choosing the direction of life, gives me concern. Some choose Christ. Some choose to enjoy a self-centred life in the world. And the final destination  - going east or west – ending up in heaven or hell.  The great divide, or ‘the great gulf fixed’, is serious business.

 Choosing a job, choosing a car, choosing a partner, choosing a home are all significant things, but the most serious decision is to either trust and obey Jesus Christ the Lord, or reject Him. Life and death are decided from this high watershed – choose wisely. Once the direction of flow begins it is difficult to change.

I rejoice that in life there is always a way back to God from the dark paths of sin, but looking back over 70 years, it is heartbreaking to think of the many who learned the truth as I did, but chose to go their own way, to live without Jesus Christ and will die without Christ.  Abraham used two very telling words  -  “ son remember”

If you are enjoying the blessing of heavenly rain today, choose to respond wisely – your Eternity  is decided by it and your influence on many other people.

John McKee

How depressing

 

Reading the Book Isaiah.

My slow meditations in Luke’s Gospel were indeed challenging:-  the Lord said

 “no one can become My disciple without giving up everything for Me” (Luke 14:33).

“woe to them that are rich”

“Lazarus endured evil things but now he is comforted.”

“ If any will be first, let him be servant of all”

“You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only will you serve”

Thinking on the Lord’s repeated references to the Old Testament, I felt constrained to read the Gospel of Isaiah. But oh the pain of reading slowly the first 20 chapters. The visions given to Isaiah do not go soft on exposing sin and rebellion, Then the just judgements of God are horrific reading – and this is not fiction – it actually happened. Maybe the Lord is telling me not to go soft on sin and rather be like John the baptiser who bluntly told the people their sins. (soldiers abusing power for greed, people hoarding goods for themselves, businessmen taking more money than was honest, religious men living in hypocrisy – Luke 3).

It is so refreshing midst the dark descriptions of God’s wrath against sin, to find again and again the glimpses of God’s glory and salvation.

“Come now and let us reason together says the LORD” (1:18)

Then the promises  of a Messiah brighten the page:

“The branch of the Lord shall be beautiful” (4:2)

“ A virgin will conceive and bear a son .. “ (7:14)

“He will become a sanctuary….” (8:14)

“For unto us a child is born, a son is given….”(9:6)

But for all the entreaties of the LORD God, the rebellion of all nations spells out Divine judgements. Many of Isaiah’s prophecies are now history, but I fear the cycle is being repeated today – nations that have been entrusted with truth are turning against God. They are sinking rapidly into moral and spiritual  depravity. God must judge and the way it is all happening links closely with the predictions of the Lord Jesus Himself – “as it was in the days of Noah….”

 

Yet He warned with hope “be alert, be watching for you know not when your Lord will come”

“Even so come Lord Jesus”

Baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ

 

Baptism

Why immerse a believer in Jesus Christ in water?

It is enough that the Lord Jesus said to do so!  But why is this ceremony so significant?

The Apostle Peter insisted on it among the Jewish converts, as the public sign that the people had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, Lord  and Saviour. He had no space for fake believers – all talk with no evidence.

The Apostle Paul taught believers baptism, but often arranged for other to do the baptising  lest any think he was seeking to create a following after himself. He insisted that baptism was in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Himself taught the fullness of the act (Matthew 28): – by submission to Christian baptism (people old enough to actually believe), that person was openly declaring acceptance of the LORD God as Father, Jesus Christ as His Son, and the Holy Spirit as the power to live a new, clean, God centred life. And so when people of all nations identified with this triune God, the Holy Spirit could guide, empower and use people for God’s glory. So it has been happening for 2000years.

For anyone to neglect or refuse to be baptised, it is rather an insult to the worthiness of Jesus Christ as Lord.

This unusual immersing of a person in water is much more than a ceremonial cleansing. It does show that a believer has a good conscience , having accepted forgiveness of sins obtained by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. But more it is a declaration that the old life has finished (like a person is dead), and the future is a new life in Christ ( like Jesus rising to life again). In Gospel terms, it is words in action.

1                     Mt sins deserve eternal death but Jesus died for me, I ashamed of my old self centred life, I have died with Christ.

2                   I will live by the faith of the Son of God , now alive to God, no longer I but Christ living in me.

This indeed is an action of progress in the new spiritual life. But it is not something of credit to the one baptised – indeed the opposite – the person effectively renounces all honour to self and gives the honour to Jesus Christ. The strength to live a godly life is not in self, but by the Holy Spirit given to all believers.

Hence the celebration, the clapping, certificates of attainment seem most inappropriate. For most Christians (i.e . China, Iran, India etc) the act of baptism brings persecution, loss of privilege, family hatred, and even death for Christ. Why is it that unbelievers react so violently to baptism? They know that talk can be cheap, but the action is confirming the conversion to Jesus Christ as Lord, the Son of God.

Connected to other Bible baptisms passages:

John’s baptism in the river – repentance to forgiveness

Baptised to Moses – identification with the leader

Cutting off the old man – renunciation of the old natural life

Washing away sins – disconnection from sinful actions of the former life

 

Questions:

Is baptism essential for salvation – no

Is baptism in water important – yes

Is infant sprinkling valid – no

Does baptism make a person a member of the church – no

Are we baptised like Jesus was – no

 

I have not cluttered the page with Bible references , but such will happily be provided on request. If you wish to disagree, please use messenger or email

johnmckee@internode.on.net

God worthy of all praise

 

Worship

For some this is done by actions, some by attitude, others by words.

When the Hebrews heard the message of God, they bowed their heads and quietly worshipped. Some have prostrated themselves on the ground in reverence to the Almighty. Daniel prayed on his knees. The seraphim covered their face in the presence of His Holiness. The priests of Israel were to lift up the censor of fragrance. Such expressions of adoration are fitting for we unworthy ones, yet we have been called to something more significant than modes of worship.

“Those who worship the Father, must worship in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4)

Christians are not to be occupied with the mode or the place of worship. Rather to be alert to the Holy Spirit lifting our spirit to intelligent (truth) honour , praise and glory to God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. It is well for us to take a lowly posture in a place of quiet contemplation (like Jesus did). Rather than following ritual, the Holy Spirit can give us glimpses of heavenly glory (Isaiah 6), can give us unfoldings of Divine grace (John 1), can transport our minds to the contemplations of undeserved love at Calvary (Galatians 2), and all this will enable the genuine Christian to worship!

The vision of the glorified Man, Jesus Christ, caused John the Apostle to fall down as one dead in worship of His majesty (Revelation 1). It is from this attitude of personal nothingness that His glory shines so brightly – and we worship in spirit, in mind and in heart.

The unending days of eternity will be unending visions of the glory of the Lamb once slain, and ours will be the eternal joy to join the chorus of worship:-

“Blessing and honour and glory and power belong to the One sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever!”

Amen – even so come Lord Jesus

The light of God

 

Bible reading - Isaiah 2:5

“Come people of Israel, let us walk in the light of the LORD” – this is the solution to the war in Gaza!

It is also a beautiful invitation to all nations to live in the sunshine of God’s illumination.

In the previous vision of Isaiah, the same light exposed the rebellion and need of the people. It included the invitation: “Come now, let us reason together says the LORD, no matter how deep the stain of your sins , I can remove it…. “

In this 2^nd vision, Israel and all the nations are invited to be taught God’s ways so as to obey Him (verse 3). The outcome is brilliant – wars cease and prosperity abounds. History records it happening, and the power of the LORD can make it happen again. It just needs the Hebrew word in action – “Shuv” -  to turn back to the LORD.

I am thrilled to find a good number of people wanting to have a Bible. I pray that they will invite the Holy Spirit to guide them into the light of the LORD.

Let us all take significant time out to read and meditate on God’s word. He will reveal Himself .

“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise.” (Colossians 3)