I TRUST IN JESUS

"I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one,`Go!` and he goes; I order that one, `Come!` and he comes; and I order my slave, `Do this!` and he does it."

Why are some people easier to trust than others?

I travel by aeroplane a lot these days and each time I board the aircraft I unconsciously choose to trust the pilot. I found myself thinking about this recently and wondering why it seemed relatively easy to trust this person who, for a few hours, would carry a significant responsibility for my life. On every trip, in prayer, I put my life into the hands of Jesus, but clearly I also need to put some trust in particular people.

It occurred to me that I was particularly encouraged when I noticed the uniform that the pilot and crew were wearing. I realised that this was not just that they looked smart but it signified something hugely important for me in my ability to entrust the safety of the flight into their hands. The uniform reminded me that they were men and women operating not just in authority but under the authority of the airline company. I realised that I felt safe to allow them to exercise serious life or death decisions, on my behalf, because I believed that they had been delegated rightful authority and also given the ability to do the job successfully. This reflects something of the godly order that we see described in the Bible.

It seems that the Roman officer, in the verse above, recognized this order in the life of Jesus and was thus able to entrust the well-being of his servant into His hands. The officer knew that those that exercise safe and effective authority and power need to be under right authority. Jesus was not wearing a uniform but the complete submission of His life to the Father was clearly evident in the way He presented Himself, not just promoting His own identity, but always seeking to reflect the One who sent Him. In the Body of Christ those who are truly trustworthy will be the people who are seeking to operate in rightful order and under godly authority, increasingly reflecting the character of the One who is the true Head of this Body, Jesus Christ. 

Prayer

Father God, help me to be a trustworthy member of the Body of Christ. I understand that there is nobody perfect on this earth, but please continue to cleanse me so that others may increasingly discern Your authority and character in my life. Amen.

BELIEVE AND BE BAPTISED

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

 At Ellel Grange last week we had the privilege of conducting a baptism in our indoor swimming pool. David Silvester, our team pastor, an ex Baptist pastor, explained the significance and symbolism of full immersion water baptism. We were all touched as the baptismal candidate gave her personal testimony, answered some basic questions and, on the profession of her faith in Jesus Christ, was submerged in the pool and raised up out of the water. She was, as it were, buried with Christ and rose to new life in Him as it says in the Bible - ‘buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead’ (Colossians 2:12). We then returned to the Meeting Room to celebrate Communion and a new life in Christ.

The occasion reminded me that for a number of years when I was working in London I used to meet with a friend who was a Messianic Jew. Each time we met for lunch he would challenge me and ask if I had been water baptised, reminding me that it was a command in the Bible. It took me a while to make the decision, but eventually I was baptised in the pool at Ellel Pierrepont in 2000. It was a very special moment for me, but I think the spiritual significance took time to sink in. If I have died with Christ and risen to new life in Him then who I am doesn’t really matter any more. The question is am I living in the resurrection power of Christ?

Some years ago I read the story of a missionary lady in Africa who walked every day along a stretch of road where people were often attacked and robbed, some had been killed. “Aren’t you afraid?”, asked a concerned friend, to which the missionary replied, “I have only a Bible that someone could steal and I have already ‘died’ so I have nothing to fear as they can do nothing to me” She had clearly ‘died to herself and her own desires’ and continued to walk that road unharmed for many years.

Romans 6:4 says ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life’. And the Apostle Paul says, ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’.(Galatians 2:20) For me water baptism was an important start to dying to self and living a new life in Jesus. 

Prayer 

Thank You, Lord, for the meaning of water baptism. Thank You that I can surrender my life to You and be re-born into everlasting life in You. May my life be hidden in You, Jesus, that day by day I should grow less and You become more. Help me to walk into the fullness of life that You purchased for me. Amen.

IN OUR HEARTS SET APART CHRIST AS LORD

"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyonewho asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

 ‘Jesus is Lord’ is the earliest Christian confession of faith. For those first century believers the saying was used as a contrast to the greeting among Roman citizens, ‘Caesar is Lord’. Despite threat to their lives they refused to swear allegiance to Caesar and the Roman Empire. In calling Jesus ‘Lord’ they were saying that He, and not Caesar, deserves honour. It was a public insult to Caesar that held the threat of death.

Peter exhorts his readers to make Jesus Christ Lord in their hearts. He is saying that when Jesus is truly Lord of the heart there will be no reason for fear, even in face of suffering. Lordship means obedience and to live in obedience is to trust Jesus every step of the way. Trust in Jesus is the antidote to fear, independent of circumstances.

Jesus has to be Lord in our hearts because in Scripture the heart is the centre of our being and from it spring emotions, thoughts, motives, courage, actions, attitudes, longings and character. The Bible warns us to guard our hearts – ‘Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life’ (Proverbs 4:23). If Jesus reigns in our heart our words and actions will portray Him to the world. Jesus Himself said, ‘Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks’ (Matthew 12:34).

In the human heart there is a throne. The big question is who sits on the throne. It could be said that there are three different kinds of heart. Firstly there is the heart of the unbeliever, where self sits on the throne. Secondly there is the heart of the double-minded Christian who wants to be in control of his, or her, own life and wants to share the throne of their heart with Jesus. But it’s true that ‘If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all’. Thirdly there is the heart of the believer who truly loves Jesus and who owns Jesus as Lord, not simply in words, but in loving obedience to Him day by day. Not partial obedience – full obedience - the whole of one’s life surrendered to Him.

Identification with Jesus involves more than simply saying, ‘Lord, Lord’ (Matthew 7:21). ‘But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have’. The meaning of these words from 1 Peter 3:14-15 hasn’t changed with the centuries. To truly own Jesus as Lord is to be loyal to Him whatever the cost. ‘Jesus is Lord’ is an oath of obedience to Him. To truly mean what we say involves living for Him alone, dedicated to walking in His will and abandoned to Him so that our lives speak that confession to a lost world desperately in need of knowing Him.

At our last Church service in Lancaster (before we moved south) the final hymn was by Bishop Dudley Smith. The finishing verse was – ‘Lord, for ourselves, in living power re-make us, self on the cross and Christ upon the throne; Past put behind us, for the future take us, Lord of our lives to live for Christ alone’.

Prayer  

Dear Father, search my heart and know me. By Your Holy Spirit bring to light the things hidden from me that keep me from abandonment to the Lordship of Jesus in my life. May the words of my lips and the reality of my heart be pleasing to You so that I am the same on the inside as the outside. Amen.

NICOLE C. MULLEN: "THE LORD CAN TAKE A LITLLE AND MAKE IT MUCH"

In this interview, Nicole C Mullen bares her soul about how inadequate she feels and her gratitude to God for doing something with a "nobody"

Nicole C Mullen is one of the most respected artists in contemporary Gospel and R&B but the Dove and Grammy Award winner says she never ceases to forget her humble background and that she is not the most qualified before God.

“I’m here not because I’m the greatest singer or the greatest writer, or because I’m the most qualified, I’m here because God decided saying, ‘I’m going to use that one to show My glory’ and that was His decision but it’s for us to be available and to open up our lives to Him and say ‘flow in me',” Mullen told The Christian Post.

Mullen said that her lifelong career only allowed her to see that “the Lord is able to take the little and make it much”.

At a glance, her life while growing up was far from glamorous. She was very upfront and said, “I see the hand of the Lord who can take a little girl from Cincinnati, who stuttered badly, who sucked her thumb, who wet the bed, who was least among us.”

But despite her weaknesses, she was excited to say that through her, God was able to prove that He could do something with a “nobody” for His glory. As she smiled she said that everything she has been able to accomplish was purely for His glory.

"That’s probably my greatest reflection," she said.

The 47-year-old wants people to remember that above being a singer she also wants to be looked at as a mother, a mentor, a wife and foremost as a lover of Christ.

Although being away from her husband and five children, two of whom are adopted, is one of the hardest things for her to do – as well as singing the same songs all the time – she knows that her sacrifice doesn’t compare to Christ and that if everything was self-centred nothing would get done.

“When I remember that it’s so not about me, it’s not about how I feel, it’s not about my agenda, but it’s about His kingdom, it’s about Him being glorified then all of the sudden, 'me' shrinks and He grows and I think that’s the object of it all.”

Early this year, it was announced that Nicole will be formally inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame on November 5. When asked about the best advice for aspiring artists, she said that “First of all I would say, take your gift and pray about it, give it to the Lord. If you feel like he has gifted you to sing or to play or to do drama or anything in the arts make sure you are committed to Him” - that followed by a recipe of incessant practice.

She also wants them to know that if they have to begin their career by performing in small venues, or even nurseries or just in front of three people then let it be because “if you are found faithful in the little then according to the scriptures He’s able to make a little bit much”.

Her formula for success constitutes having absolute faith because without faith “we will lose a whole lot; we will not have gained anything.”

Her new album “Captivated” was released early this month. This was her first worship project in partnership with Maranatha Music. The album is titled after the song, “Holy Captivated”, a personal song that talks about how her “soul is commanded to bless you; it is a journey to scream out, Holy is the Lord God all mighty, worthy is the lamb to receive our greatest adoration”.

Through her new songs she wishes to comfort people who only see disaster after disaster when they turn on the news, such as the recentl uprisings in the Middle East, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and starving people.

Her concluding words were, “more than ever, we need for God to intervene, more than ever we need Christ to come and rescue us and so the song is a cry from our heart to His that ‘Lord please let Your Kingdom, the domain where You sit as King and Lord”.

“At the same time as believers in Jesus Christ [we need] to come forth, to arise to our places and to do what He has called us to do. He said ‘I’ll know that you are My disciples by the way that you love each other’ and so we have plenty of opportunities on a daily basis to prove to the world that we love Jesus and the way that we actually love each other.”

Copied from www.christiantoday.com

THE REASON I LIVE

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Mat 11:28

 How often in life do we find ourselves standing at the crossroads unsure of what lies ahead of us, trying to battle the storms that rage within? Perhaps there are many instances when our faith is tried and tested. Whether we are able to pass with flying colors is always a big question mark.

A beautiful depiction of the same is given in the incident when Jesus walks on the water and calls out to Peter to come to him. At first, we see Peter walking confidently on the water but later his faith takes a blow and he starts sinking. He cries out to the Lord to help him. The Lord immediately reaches out his hand and pulls him up.

I must admit that there have times in my own life when my faith was on sure footed ground and I was so confident that it would never be shaken. But, when the winds of trials and difficulties started to blow, my faith too started crumbling and I started to sink in my own tears. But as always, the Lord immediately reached out to me and I could almost hear Him ask me the same question as He did to Peter “O ye of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I have been taking recourse in one of the significant hymns where the soul soothing words are actually healing my spirit. “Give them all to Jesus, shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys and He will turn your sorrow into joy.”

I guess, as long as we keep on holding firmly to our problems instead of giving it to the Lord, he can never mend or repair them. Unless we let go of all our pains and disappointments and place them at the foot of the cross, He cannot help us. The moment we let go and surrender, He takes over and like the true Captain of the ship steers us to the harbor of joy and freedom.

The sweet strains of this song further consoles with the words: “He never promised you only sunshine, He never said there would be no rain, He only promised you a heart full of singing, For the very thing that once caused pain.” This clearly points out that life will never always be a bed of roses, we have to face the thorns as well at some point in time. But sooner or later, the joy will definitely overshadow the pain and He will save us in His mercy.

When we cry out to the Lord, He rushes to comfort us. His promises are so great. In Psalms 91, which is a wonderful prayer for protection, The Lord has pledged to put His angels in charge of us wherever we go. The Lord Himself has spoken; “When they call to me, I will answer them, when they are in trouble, I will rescue them. I will reward them with long life, I will save them.”

It is we who fail to recall His great words in times of distress. We forget how precious we are in His eyes. We end up being prejudiced against our own faults and forget that we have to first forgive our selves. We still hold on to our shortcomings in spite of the Lord having forgiven us.

Recalling the great words of William Shakespeare: “To Thine own self be true and it must follow, as the night the day.” We are always anxious about tomorrow. But as the saying goes “Do not worry about tomorrow, because God is already there.” When we look at the problems of others, our own problem seems minuscule in comparison. We see how Jesus tells his apostles in Luke 12:25; ”Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

It all depends on what stance we adopt in difficult moments. We can ask God the way Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane to either take away the cup of suffering if possible or give in and affirm that we will faithfully drink from it if the cup cannot be passed by and allow His will to be done.

We can continue to walk on the water if our gaze is fixed on Him walking from the opposite direction. To look into His love filled eyes and know that we are safe. If Love can be ever seen clearly, it is always seen in the eyes of those who love us.

The season of Lent is the perfect time to draw close to the Lord, to be united with Him in the passion of His suffering, to contemplate on His salvific death and await for the stone to be rolled by to herald His glorious resurrection.

The very reason that we live is to worship Him; the Lamb upon the throne. Every breath we take is given by Him to be used for His purpose, to honor and praise Him. He gave us life and will fill our moments with an abundance of peace and happiness. Our hearts will be at rest when we know we can count on Him. We can live life to the fullest under His constant gaze of protection.

When a friend asked my birth date recently, I told her that I celebrate my birthday daily because I receive gifts in the form of blessings every day from the Good Lord above. Indeed, each new day is a celebration of life. Every sunrise holds the promise of life. It arrives fresh and blooming with its own purpose and moments of glory to love the Lord, to hold love, give love, share love and express our love for others in whatever way, language and style, to keep on hoping and believing, to deepen our faith and realize the full potential of life. The formula for life is to smile through our tears and walk confidently as if we will never sink.

After all, Heaven trims our lamps while we sleep so that we awake to a shining day filled with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.