Tag Archives: Romans

Generous and trusting love

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The King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance.. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in… whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

(Matt 25.34&35,40)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves… Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

(Rom 12.9&10,13)

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God

(Rom 15.5&6)

When we left our previous home 8 months ago, we had no idea what lay ahead, we could make no plans, put down no real roots. It was a difficult experience, waiting and wondering and trying to enjoy each day for the gift it was instead of searching the future. One of the good decisions we made in that time was to commit to attending a church where we had a few contacts, and where we knew the gospel was preached, and lived, week by week.

And what a blessing they have been to us! Knowing that we could not stay for ever, knowing that we could not commit to long-term service and membership, they yet opened their hearts and homes to us and made us welcome. I will never forget the slight anxiety I felt on our first visit to our local homegroup – a strange house, with a room full of people whom we did not know.. by the end of that evening, we were family and how sweetly encouraging and refreshing that was to our unsettled hearts.

This experience has shown me so clearly what a deep bond exists between all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their saviour, and live to love and serve him. We may know nothing about one another except that one thing, and that is the only one that matters.

When the saints make one another welcome in Jesus’ name, then he is glorified and his love works through us to minister to one another, providing for our needs, whatever they may be. I have needed community in some form, and found it in these loving folk who have let me share their lives, prayed with me, studied the bible with me, and let me share their burdens too. I am in their debt, but I know that they delighted to be generous to me – and I trust and pray that in turn I might follow their example in welcoming the stranger and making myself vulnerable that they might be blessed.

Of course, the drawback of a generous love is the pain of parting; but as believers we know that our parting is not forever. Although our times together in the future may be limited and sporadic, yet in the glory of God’s new creation we will have boundless time and opportunity to share in praising, serving and delighting in Christ together – we will never again run out of time to enjoy one another in his presence!

Heavenly Father, from whom each of us receives our name as your beloved child, I worship and praise you for your goodness to us as we minister to one another in your name, offering grace, love and practical support to friend and stranger.

How beautiful it is to have family that we haven’t met yet, and to know that we glorify you when we meet one another with open and generous hearts. Thank you for this provision which encourages and strengthens us as we journey through life, that we are never without a spiritual home to belong to.

May the Holy Spirit continually soften our hearts to be willing and ready; to be prepared to love even though it may bring the grief of parting; to be prepared to give without thought of return and caring only that the Body of Christ might be built up in love and faith. For the sake and the exaltation of our Lord Jesus, hear this our prayer, Amen

Nothing to be ashamed of?

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Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no-one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

(Ps 145.3-7)

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God..the Lord, who remains faithful for ever..

(Ps 146.3-6)

How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! …He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds..the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love

(Ps 147.1,3&11)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..

(Rom 1.16)

So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord..our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a hearald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him…

(2 Tim 1.8,10-12)

My readings in the book of Psalms have reached the closing section, an extraordinarily powerful series of songs exulting in the God revealed in creation, through his dealings with the people of Israel and his inspired word. I have found them deeply helpful and encouraging in these days when our lives continue to be restricted and the only certain thing about the future, is that it is completely uncertain!

What relief to know that I am not meant to put my faith in humanity, to rely on ingenuity, science, brute force or any scheme by which humankind seeks to find meaning and purpose, let alone to control this world in which we live. The multiple levels of crisis now occurring around the world are demonstrating so very clearly that as a species, we are our own worst enemies, in process of destroying both ourselves, and the planet on which we live. What hope can I have, if I must trust even the noblest of the species? They are mortal too, they suffer the same sin-fracture, which brings even the best lives to an end, and reduces their plans to nothing.

What a relief to know that my life in this world is not my sole chance for a joyful, fulfilling existence, and that injustice, pain, deprivation and loss are passing things. I am made for a greater life, perfect and rich, and my hope for that life is in the gospel of grace revealed in Jesus. In his death, and especially in his resurrection to new life, I see the guarantee and can look forward with confidence to a new earth where I will have nothing to be ashamed of anymore, and will be lost in wonder, love and praise of my Saviour.

So am I living as one who has such a glorious and assured future? Does my life testify to a mind-boggling grace, to daily renewal and cleansing, to a loving and close relationship with Almighty God? Or do I live as one ashamed to be known as a believer, apologetic and tentative about expressing hope, joy and adoration?

Oh dear Lord, forgive my hesitancy, and instead fill me with the strong current of praise, confidence and boldness like that of the apostles, and the psalmists. As I contemplate your creation, may I sing your praises, and commend you to all I meet. As I contemplate the deep suffering of your handiwork, may I trust in your righteousness, your promised justice and restoration. As I contemplate the matchless love which took you to the cross, may I in all humility accept your grace, reject all pride, and choose to make you my only boast.

Praise the Lord, who holds all things secure in his loving hands; who will act justly and vindicate his name before all beings and all time; in whose covenant-faithfulness his people can completely trust. May we honour and exalt his name by living-out-loud for him, telling the story of his love and mighty works to the next generation, and NEVER being ashamed of our God!

The heaviness of holiness

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For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. All the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary….Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness; tremble before him all the earth..then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

(Ps 96.4-6, 9,12&13)

This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;..Seek the Lord and live…Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good…Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light…I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them…but let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream!

(Am 5.4,6,14&15,18,21,22&24)

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

(Rom 3.21-24)

Jesus grew up in a devout Jewish family, with the traditions of temple worship, synagogue teaching, and the books of what we call the Old Testament were his only scripture. We forget this at our peril, and if we avoid studying these books because they make us uncomfortable, or if we claim that we don’t need them in order to understand the gospel, we are in danger of developing a very innaccurate understanding of God. Jesus was not ashamed of the God revealed in the Old Testament(He called him “Father”), he did not dismiss the narratives, or set aside the wisdom and the prophets. In fact, he claimed that these scriptures foretold his coming and that he was their fulfillment.

Our housegroup is currently studying the prophetic words given to Amos, a short book, full of grievous warnings of judgement to come on the nation of Israel. In fact, they would shortly be invaded, their rulers captured, and would never exist again as a distinct entity – the end had come. At the time when Amos spoke, they were enjoying political prominence and economic prosperity – but there was a huge gulf between rich and poor, and the religious systems were approving, rather than challenging this situation. The elite were secure and scornful of the threat which Amos described, deaf to repeated entreaties to see through their worldly security to their real danger in the eyes of a holy God. Their religious observances made them feel safe, but through the prophet, God speaks of his abhorrence and anger at their behaviour.

This message recurs through the narratives and prophetic books, as God calls out to his people to remember that their hope lies in him and not in rituals, good deeds, and an abundance of religious laws and observances. God longs for their hearts to be devoted to him, to be truly Lord of their lives – so that good deeds flow as a part of their worship and obedience, not in order to earn his favour.

The truth is that God’s holiness is a burden too great to be borne by fallen humanity. Our innate sinfulness makes it impossible for us to be devoted to him as he desires – and the Old Testament bears witness to this as the covenant people repeatedly fall into idol worship and rebellion, or legalistic and superficial adherence to God. But all through the stories and prophecies, it is clear that when people recognise their sinfulness, realise how completely it alienates them from God who alone gives them hope, they throw themselves upon his mercy, and by faith depend upon him for salvation. This is the faith which Abraham displayed in trusting that God would fulfill the promise – that faith which was credited to him as righteousness.

The message of the Old Testament is that humanity needs a saviour, one who can deal with their sin, and transform them to live as God’s people ought to live – creating in them new hearts and transforming their minds by his power so that we can begin to live truly as companions of a holy God. We need a saviour to bear the proper wrath of holiness against sin, to see that justice is done, so that God can welcome us into his presence and call us his own.

The prophets call us to a profound awareness of our own sin and helplessness; they magnify the holiness of God until it is a great weight which threatens to destroy us. And so they greatly glorify our Lord Jesus, who in his life, death and resurrection opened the only way by which sinful humanity can enter into the awesome presence of the Almighty. Let us rejoice in the one who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and give him all our praise!