Beginning with God

Someone may well be asking - "Where do I begin, to be right with God?"

An old promise still hold good today:

"You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart"  (Jeremiah 29:13)

The Lord Jesus Christ repeated this:

"Seek and you will find"  ( Matthew 7.7)

Paul directed the people in Athens to " seek God   .... He is actually not far from each one of us." (Acts 17.27)

Let me share with you a promise 

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. "

Everyone  who believes in Him , will not be put to shame "   ( Romans 10.9-11)

In the quiet of your own soul, you can know HIM.

johnmckee@internode.on.net

The Blessing of the Lord

“God blesses those who realise their need for Him”

                                                 Matthew 5.3NLT

This first line of the sermon on the mount summarises the whole discourse. Other translations use “poor in spirit” and that is good. We ought not to be conceited, haughty or proud. But I think the NLT has captured the real point of the whole discourse. It is about a relationship with God as Father, that creates a reflection of God’s character along with a childlike dependence upon Him. This creates peace and stability as well as security.

The kingdom of God is characterized by this – a people who are insufficient of themselves, who look up to God as holy and God as Saviour and Lord. These are the ones He can teach to pray. The prayer the Lord taught the disciples was not about informing God concerning what He already knew, but expressing to God Almighty how much we need Him.

The blessing of God on ‘those who feel their need of Him’, leads to a walking with Lord.  To trust Him for every daily need, in obedience to His directions . This gives stability when the inevitable storms of life arrive. Such are ‘kept by the power of God.’ (1 Peter1)

I had thought that with study and age, I might have developed a sense of capability and confidence. And at times I have tried that position, only to fail. Rather I have learned the deep meaning of the simple prayer “ Lord help me” – whether in the details of everyday living , or in service for the Master. And thus this single line from the sublime teaching of Jesus Christ the Lord, has become very precious to me. I trust it will likewise be precious to you.

It is so much like the first line of Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my Shepherd,  I shall not want”

He becomes our all sufficiency, and ‘His strength is made perfect in our weakness.’(2 Corinthians 12)

J McKee

Trust in God

Mystery?

If the man, Jesus of Nazareth, was truely the Son of God, why was He so slow to let people know? He even commanded the demons not to speak about Him.

This is indeed the beauty of God’s character. He wants us to know Him, not through some public list of qualifications (as is done by celebrities and prominent people), rather He wants us to discover Him through the activity of His character. This is “knowing” God through personal interaction in the present.

When John the Baptist announced the presence of the Messiah, he said ‘He is among you, whom you do not know’’. This is just like God would do (in Old Testament appearing as an angel)  - in humanity taking up servant status – “He came not to be served but to serve.” (Mark 10, Philippians 2)

Study of the scriptures is good and essential to knowing about God, but more precious is the experience of ‘knowing’ God in the interactions of daily life. He loves, He reveals, He chastises, He cares and in His sovereign power overseas our lives.(1 Peter 2)  One we can trust in the big issues and the small issues of life.

If you don’t know Him, seek Him today. Discover His greatness and His interest in the small detail of your life.

John McKee

Who is this man?

The Son of God   - the Christ

These two terms seem interchanged in Acts 9:20,22.   In Psalm 2 , they are used together. Yet they have different meanings.

“Son of God” is the term expressing relationship. This is quite different to ‘child of God’ which refers to generation – having a beginning and created by God into the family with parental and childhood responsibilities. ‘Son of God’ refers to relationship with, and representation of God.

The Lord Jesus is the perfect representation of God, so much so that He is called the ‘image of God’. He is one who proceeded out from God (only begotten) to reveal the Father. The Bible never speaks of Jesus as a child of God (except for a translation error in KJV), but many times in Old and New Testament as the Son of God. He became the child of Mary by becoming a man, but always was the Son with God the Father. Reading the Gospel by John, confirms in detail that He who was the “Word”, was manifest to reveal  God as the Father.

“The Christ” is that beautiful expression linking the Old Testament prophecies with the New Testament events and also into the future.

‘Christ’ is the Greek, ‘Messiah’ is the Hebrew. The prophets in the Old Testament times foretold of one who would come, a king who would be revealed as the Son of God and the Servant of God and the Son of man and the Saviour of the world etc. It was anticipated that the child to be born as the Christ would be anointed by God to fulfil the mission given Him. This is exactly what happened beside the river Jordan, as the Spirit of God descended on Him in the appearance of a dove. Jesus identified Himself as the Christ at Nazareth  and on many other occasions.

When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin court, the vital question was asked “ Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”  - His answer was clear   “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven”  Mark 14:62.  Because He answered “I am”, they could respond in one of two ways – bow down and worship Him, or condemn Him to death as an impostor. They condemned Him to death. What is our response?

If He was who he claimed to be, then our reconciliation to God depends on Him. Our forgiveness depends on his sacrifice in His death. The hope of  the future is totally wrapped up in His return. Future accountability will be at His judgement throne.

How good it is that He the living Christ, seated at God’s right hand, is willing to receive, forgive, transform all who truely believe in Him.

Remember the words He said so long ago, are appropriate today:

“Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...”  Matthew 11:28

johnmckee@internode.on.net

Yes or No

Australia is at a crossroad  - deciding whether to redefine marriage as being between one man and one woman or between two people.

The present debate can be  quickly summarised as ;

1    “No” vote -  Accepting what God says as final    -    (see the Bible verse at the end of this article)

2    “Yes” vote  - Denying God exists or has any moral authority over humanity –    (Human reasoning without God’ moral values)

The future implications of a change are becoming clearer – to destroy the value and intention of marriage as well as open the door for the imposing other moral perversions.

....................................................................................................................

But I ask a question, a question I have not heard or read.:

“How did we in Australia get to this low moral point, that the question should ever be asked at all?”

My answer in brief:

The Christians of the last forty years have failed to fulfil the great commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ – ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel’.

Had this Gospel outreach been the primary focus of believers in the Lord Jesus, society might have been preserved by the salt of the Gospel and the light of truth. Society has descended to the policy of “What feels good” and “what is good for me”.  Why ? – because many Christians have adopted this attitude as well as the common people. I have observed change over the last sixty years, and the change has been subtle but real. Instead of a Biblical priority of eternal values, Christians are busy making this world ‘a better place to live’. This has involved the priority of education, the idolatry of affluence  and the withdrawal of Gospel endeavour into church buildings. Even there the Gospel is seldom preached.  Evangelism, as seen in the book of Acts , is very rare. The result :- the general populous ignorantly live for the pleasures of sin as if God does not exist. (eg fornication, adultery, homosexuality, greed , abuse etc)

So what am I trying to say? The present scramble about ‘marriage equality’ is the outcome of Christian failure?  In one way Yes. We Christians have become distracted by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life, and the devil has had free reign.

I suggest the answer to the present problem is a return to the public declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the public square :- a Gospel that spells out sin as God sees it with the call to repent, and the wonderful grace of God in Christ to forgive and deliver the lost .

For those who do not like my rebuke I ask:-

What appears in your church newsletter about real evangelism?

When did you last hear a message that focused on people being lost and needing Christ as a Saviour?

How is it that we have so many mediums of communication, and yet the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ is seldom broadcast to the world.?

Why are Christians so afraid to publicly declare allegiance to His name or stand as witnesses to His word.?

Or shall I make it more personal:

When did you last give an unbeliever a Gospel message by words, by letter, by leaflet??

When did you last give a Bible  to a lost person?

When did you reach out to a Muslim person with God’s truth?

When did you last seek out a homosexual person, to win them to Christ?

Well I actually think the problem is deeper than these questions:-    -so few people actually “know the Lord” !

Shallow, half hearted, ritualistic church going has replaced the Holy Spirit inspired obedience to the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Self centred sermons that pick out the verses  to suit the comfort zones of the audience. Denying God ‘time alone ‘ with Him and His word. Reinventing doctrines from the perspective of men, instead of the Word of God.

I think you get the point – sure the general populous has strange moral values,(partly through the promotion on evolution), but who is it that has failed to be the ambassadors for God in the world . 

Hebrews 12.4 is a strong rebuke: “in your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood”

I finish with the words of the Master to His Father in heaven:

“As you sent Me into the world,  I am sending them into the world”

 (John 17)

-      And they killed HIM, but His mission, given by God the Father to seek and to save the lost, was fulfilled and we reap the benefits.

-       

Qualifying comments.

1 Corinthians 15

The Gospel – “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, that  He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.”

The effect – 1 Corinthians 6:9

“the unrighteous will  not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

“Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed, you were made holy, you were made right with God by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and  by the Spirit of our God.”

John McKee

PS  Are there any reaching out in the public arena?  Yes

I have a friend from who goes to the local market to give away Bibles. Another operates a Gospel cafe in the CBD. Others go into the public schools to teach the Bible. Yet another goes out with Gospel tracts. But after reading Acts 3,4,5,8, how we fail to rise up to the call of the Lord to be ambassadors for Him.

Choices

The Lord said to the People,

  "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. 

 But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'"  (Jeremiah 6:16)