Trust

Only the Lord is worthy of the confidence of His people.

Life is full of trust  - trusting things (like the brakes on my car), trusting people (like the doctor prescribing medicine), trusting friends (like the one I confide in).  Yet in the final analysis, only the Lord is worthy of total confidence.

Life has many lessons, and one of the greatest disappointments is when people let us down – untrustworthy. I am not pointing the finger of accusation, rather admitting to the incapacity of humanity to consistently rise to the expectation of others. Only the Lord is capable. God certainly changes people to develop trustworthy character, but just when you think you have found someone, disappointment sets in. Why? – God wants the focus of our faith to be on HIMSELF – to maintain trust in the only one who is worthy of our confidence.

Whether it be the matter of salvation, forgiveness, eternal life etc, or the details of life, food, shelter, safety, purpose etc, HE alone has the power and wisdom to honour our trust.

A very old proverb put it so well:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart

       And lean not on your own understanding

         In all your ways acknowledge Him

              And He shall direct your paths.”

                                    Proverbs 3:5

or as the little chorus puts it:

'Trust in the Lord and don't despair,

He is a friend so true

No matter what your troubles are,

Jesus will see you through.'

This  is not just some sentimental pill from a depressed writer. No, this is the teaching of the prophet Isaiah (2.22), the Apostle Peter (5.7), the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 1.9) and the Lord Himself (Matthew 6,7)

and so we can sing "simply trusting every day

                                    trusting through a stormy way

                                      even when my faith is small

                                        trusting Jesus , that is all"

JRM

PS if you would like to receive the meditations regularly, fill in the subscribe spot. I don't know who subscribes, but it is my desire to encourage people to know the Lord and trust Him.

God at work

God has done something interesting. Among the Dead Sea scrolls, the best preserved book is the prophecy of Isaiah .The orthodox Jews would have been much more delighted if it had been the Torah (first five books by Moses), but God in His providence ha put into the special museum in Jerusalem, the writings of Isaiah.  Why ? I suggest that God’s  compass is pointing beyond Moses  to the ultimate ‘Servant of the Lord’- Jesus Christ.

 Perhaps more clearly than any other prophet, Isaiah foretold the person, character, work and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For example

Chapter 9 – the child born was also the Son given

Chapter 11 – He was the shoot out of the root of Jessie

Chapter 42 – He was the ‘no disappointment ‘ servant of the Lord.

Chapter 53 – He was rejected , yet became the sacrificial Lamb

Chapter 60 – He is God’s minister of great grace and judgement

The inspiration of Isaiah by the Holy Spirit is self evident, but Divine confirmation comes from the lips of the Lord Jesus. He quotes and applies chapter 53 as fulfilled in Himself.

It is easy to become depressed by the record of the failure of Israel and the nations, but it is this dark background that sets forth the glories the true Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only the brilliance of His glory, but also the character of His service.

One lesson to be learned, is the need finally and pre-eminently to focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews returning from Babylon needed walls for the city, a temple for the sacrifices, a king to lead but all this without focus on the true Messiah was in vain.

So today we need above all other ‘first love’ for Jesus Christ our Lord. (Revelation 2)

Keep reading - precious gems lie hidden beneath the surface.

John McKee

A final word from Peter

Words from Peter the apostle

In my meditations I come to 1Peter 4:17  “what a terrible fate awaits those who have never  believed God’s Good News.”

History is full of evidence of God’s providential judgements. For example Herod the king set himself up as one to be worshiped and did not give God the glory, so God sent an angel to smite him. The Israelites persisted in idolatry, so God organised for them to be deported to Babylon to learn to put God first.

Again and again the Bible ( our reliable compass)  warns of justice being done by God. Evidently justice is not always done in a lifetime for God operates in eternity. For those who in their lifetime have rejected God and His Good News, He has reserved for them darkness, desolation, torment and memory. His judgements are and will be just by His standards, not by distorted human standards.

In contrast to the judgements upon the unbelieving, Peter concludes this chapter with  beautiful encouragements –

“So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to the god who made you, for He will never fail you.” 1 Peter 4.19NLT

Peter had previously encouraged the people to ‘fear God’ (1Peter1), then explained ‘God at work (1Peter 1,2,3) and now he says ‘trust Him’. The God who is so great as create a universe, is so interested in small detail that He wants to live within our hearts. So Peter encourages all believers to humble themselves under the mighty power of God, to give all their worries and cares to God – for He cares for you.

God has called the believer to the privileges  of being called by His wonderful name, called to share in His never ending glory and honour, called to His eternal glory by Jesus Christ.

How good is God!

Just in case someone missed the point of Peter’s letter, He concludes with his intended purpose:-

“ My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that the grace of God is with you no matter what happens”  1Peter 5:12

Let me encourage you to read and reread this short letter from Peter the apostle. You will be blessed.

Th Lamb of God in 1 Peter 1

For many the word passion connects with the word lust.. However in 1 Peter 1.14 ‘passion’ seems to refer to the ardent, fervent attempt to keep Moses law without knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a tragedy that still continues today among Orthodox Jews – passionate zeal for reading and keeping the Torah, yet rejecting Jesus Christ as the Lord from heaven.

This also happens in other religions. The sincerity and passion of many is admirable but zeal without knowledge is dangerous. Even so among Christians. Some people develop a passion for the correctness of their own group.. Others have an extreme unbalanced emphasis about a particular doctrine or practice. The apostle Peter quickly turns the minds of the believers to God who is HOLY. He calls on the disciples to obey Him and be conformed to Him in thought, belief, behaviour and conduct.

Peter goes on to show the holiness which is complete in God is the foundation of God’s dealings with humanity.

1 Peter 1:16 – God is the Father who judges impartially – holy

Verse 18,19 –He is the redeemer who understands the lostness of humanity (holy assessment), and He is the one who stepped in to pay the ransom price – the precious blood of Christ. Such an expression is meaningless apart from the holiness of God.

Verse 20 – The extreme value of the ‘Lamb’ is referred to – His pre-existant perfection and purpose. After the death of the Lamb (Jesus Christ dying on the cross), God in His holiness raised Him from the dead and has given Him the greatest glory, the highest place.

  By this God has established for us a hope beyond law keeping and ceremony – in the living Lamb of God.

John writes of the heavenly vision   "I saw in the midst of the throne a Lamb" Revelation 5

The theme of the Lamb runs through scripture and would be good for you to study.

John McKee

A ray of searching light on our life

A quote from another:

‘People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance. We drift toward disobedience and call it freedom. We drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation. We slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism. We slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.’

D.A.Carson

One dies for another.

Why the Cross?

So much of the teaching of the Bible points to the death of the Lord Jesus. Neither His perfect life, marvellous teaching nor His powerful miracles are the focus of the Bible’s message. Above all else, the Son of God came into the world to die.

What makes His death so important?

The answer is that He died as a substitute, a sin bearer and a Saviour. All people are lost, guilty and helpless before God’s holy law.

How can they escape God’s righteous wrath?

The Bible answer is this – “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” . As an amazing rescue plan, God’s Son volunteered to take the place of the guilty and bear the penalty of their sin.

He Lives – a Saviour!

In raising Christ from the dead, God demonstrated that He accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the place of sinners. Now all people may be saved by repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will become your Saviour if you receive Him.

johnmckee@internode.on.net