Holding on for life

 

Last week, on my way to church for Good Friday service, I could not help but to think of all those who still reject Christ. The Bible calls them the ungodly. To us they might be strangers, dear friends or even loved ones. I felt an anger in my heart because of all the false believes, the lies and the ignorance which seems to always be on the increase.

Thinking about the ungodly, my mind also drifted to the godly or saints - those who accept and follow Christ as their Savior, not only in word but also in heart and mind and who bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. I thought of my own life as a Christian. I had to acknowledge that many times I don't get it right...often I still act in an ungodly way. My fellow Christians and I are not alone in this. The disciples and the saints in Biblical times also struggled with the sinful flesh. Peter was a passionate and bold follower of Jesus, yet at one time Jesus himself told Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" The disciples listened as Jesus taught people about love for one another yet at one point they had an argument about who was the greatest amongst themselves. There are many more examples before and after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

What then is the difference between those who don't accept Christ and ignorantly continue to live in an ungodly way and those of us who do accept Him though still battle against our sinful flesh?

Pondering on all of this, my heart instantly knew the answer.

Though as Christians we might still not get it right all the time; though as Paul said in Philippians 3:12 we cannot claim that we have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect; though we might still battle against the sinful flesh and though we might still slip in mire and mud...we are safe because we took hold of the outstretched hand of the Savior. The ungodly on the other hand, took hold of chaff. The ungodly, by choice, is without a Savior. While we are set for life, they are on a road that leads to death only.

Daniel 2:34-36 gives us this truth from the dream of Nebuchadnezzar:

"While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth."

All the worldly kingdoms, together with their wisdom, philosophies, believes and practices will be swept away without leaving a trace. Only the Rock - Christ and His kingdom will last. No saying of the Dalai-Lama or of Buddha, no yoga exercise or meditation, no palm-reading or crystals, no ancestral ritual, no honoring of the earth, no increase of human rights, no amount of religion will amount to anything. It will all be swept away without a trace. It is all chaff in the wind. It is not wisdom unto life. It is not wisdom unto salvation. Psalm 127 says, "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain." Any wisdom, philosophy or practice, however good it looks or feels, however much the world approves of it - apart from Christ it is all in vain, it amounts to nothing...it cannot save from death.

Only one thing matters dear friend, only one thing will last...the Rock...Christ.


Should I have no other wisdom than the knowledge of Christ as my Savior, I have all the wisdom needed for life. No matter how many times I might slip, how fierce the battle - in Christ my destination is secure. I am saved and I am safe.

I can say this because my hope is not in myself, my works, my virtues, my fasts, my meditations, my philosophies, my religious activities, my goodness or in any human wisdom, effort or promises. No, my hope is in Christ and the salvation that He has worked for me on the cross; in the promise that He is the Author and Perfecter of my faith; and in the knowledge that He is able to keep me from falling and to present me before his glorious presence without fault. Job 27:6 says, "I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it...". How much more will we hold on to Christ, our righteousness, and never let go of Him as someone who is shipwrecked will not let go of the rescue rope thrown at him.

• If you are not holding on to Christ, you will not live. He will say to you: "I tell you the truth, I don't know you." (Matthew 25:12)

• If you are holding on to Christ with one arm while holding on to something else with your other arm, you will not live. He will spit you out (Revelation 3:16) 

• Only if you hold on to Christ with all you have...He will grab hold of you and you will live.

 

Have you reached out to Christ and Him alone?

God bless
Lize

New life for His bride

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...In him was life, and that life was the light of men."

(John 1:1,4)

Life and light - the two things man had lost and has been in desperate need of ever since the Fall. 

 (Abstract from "Bride Adorned")

 

Often during this time of Lent and Easter, our focus is on our own sinfulness and the high price Jesus paid on the cross to redeem us. Yet today, with the cross in mind, I want to focus on life. Life - the essence, the purpose, the meaning and the hope of what happened on the cross. At creation, man was gifted with the fullness of life that is to be found in the presence and in the knowledge of God. It was a fullness of life with regard to man's spirit as well as his physical reality. Created in love and in the image of God, man not only enjoyed the fullness of communion with his Creator but also fullness of life as was found in his body and in the Garden of Eden. 

With the Fall, both of these - man's spirit and his physical reality - were touched and scarred by death itself. Lost was all fullness of life. Hence forward, life in our bodies together with all life springing up from the earth was to be cursed...broken...leading only to death on all levels. This was the plan of Satan and the doing of man.

Just yesterday, a dear friend who is battling with cancer, told me how a family member of hers asked her how a loving God could allow this suffering in her life and how she could serve, love and believe in such a God...a God who did nothing about all the pain and hurt in life.

Listening to her, Jesus' words from John 16:33 came to mind: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Maybe for the first time ever, I truly understood the full meaning of these words. Far from not doing anything at all about the pain and hurt in life, God has done the ultimate thing in Christ - He has brought a complete end to it! He has fully overcome it. It will not last. It will be no more. A time has been ordained when there will be no more sickness; when no-one will ever again fear or battle cancer or aids or any kind of disease. There will be no more addictions or depression, fear and hatred and no more broken and hurtful relationships. No more tears. No more sin, transgression and wickedness. Christ overcame and set an end to it all, and in its place He made something new...

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" (Rev 21:1-5)

Dear friend, we know that the time for this to be fulfilled has not yet come, but it will. Of this we have been given a guarantee. "He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:22) We are not left as orphans in this broken world and old order of things. We have received a divine Helper to strengthen, guide, encourage and comfort us so that we will not perish under the weight of life's struggles and sorrows. Not denying the pain, the difficulty or the cost...this is truth. Ask any Christian and they will testify to the sustaining and renewing power of the Holy Spirit within. To those who have not received the Spirit of Christ, this is above understanding but to those who have, it is wisdom and newness of life.


Yesterday evening, I myself was again reminded of this beautiful truth of new life. After just more than two years filled with the adventure, adrenalin and excitement of writing a book, I find myself in a slightly lost place - reluctant to return my full focus to the mundane tasks of the everyday life of a mother and wife, yet still without a vision for any new ministry ventures. (Does anyone else know what I am talking about!?!) As the days pass by I start to wonder about myself...how can I find myself in such a place after such a great ministry 'high'? Have I wandered away from God? Will He use me again? What is my purpose?


Then, yesterday evening, I received a text message from a very precious friend who has no idea of the strange space I'm in. As I read the message, my heart leapt at the following words: "In God's time, you will find new dreams, new growth taking place. In waiting for Him to come, you'll find He's already there." Oh how my heart rejoiced!


This is our God...He makes all things new...He gives life.

Looking at the cross, let us celebrate the 'Life of men' who poured out His blood to cover us so that eternal death would pass us over. Let us celebrate the new life He promised is coming...a life that can never again be scarred by the consequences of sin. Let us celebrate the life of the Holy Spirit in us, sustaining, lifting and carrying us through every challenge we may face whilst waiting for the glorious return of Christ, our Groom and, last of all, let us celebrate the newness of life found in the break of every new dawn...filling us with the promise of new dreams and new growth even in this life!


I wish you all a blessed, life-filled Easter.
Until after Easter (I will not be posting next week on Good Friday),
God bless



All in a bride's heart

"You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him."

 (Nehemiah 9:8)

 A couple of days ago, whilst chatting to someone, I said something that I should rather not have said. It was not something nasty, it was just touching on something that could put the other person in a difficult position. Driving back home I acknowledged to myself that I did not get it right. I made a mistake. I didn't wake up that morning with an intention of doing anything 'wrong' or bringing any harm to anyone but then the day just threw me an unexpected situation and I got it all wrong. 

Thinking of my own mistake, my thoughts drifted to that great patriarch - Abraham. God called Abraham to leave his country, his people and his father's house to go to a land that God would show to him.

"Through Abraham God was calling a people who would leave behind their old ways of living and start a new life of love and devotion to Him...God was calling a bride unto Him!" (from 'Bride Adorned')

Abraham obeyed the call of God and according to Romans 4:11, he became the father of all who believe. Though Abraham was the 'father of faith' so to speak, he did not always get it right! Still on the way to the Promised Land, he found himself lying to the Pharaoh, saying that Sarai was his sister instead of his wife. When Sarai suggested to him that he should sleep with her maidservant because God was not giving her any children, he agreed to it. Having waited so long for a son with no results, they both assumed that maybe the covenant promise would be fulfilled through Hagar and not Sarai. When God confirmed to him that the promise would indeed come through a son born to Sarai, Abraham's first reaction was to fall facedown and laugh and say to himself "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" (Gen 17:17)

Abraham, like myself, made mistakes.

The thing to ask ourselves is this: Did God count these mistakes? Did He hold it against Abraham? Did He disqualify Abraham as the heir to the covenant promise?

No, but God did see something and He did count something...

"Abraham believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."(Gen 15:6)

God saw Abraham's heart and it was a heart that loved God, believed God and belonged to God forever more no matter what.

No, Abraham did not always get it right - in Egypt he was overcome with the possible threat of the Pharaoh killing him for his wife and, in his panic, he didn't fathom that God would and could protect him and Sarai, so he lied about Sarai being his wife; when time went by and no son was born to Sarai it seems that, like her, he too started to think they might have misunderstood God's plan...that maybe God was going to work through Abraham but not through Sarai; and when God did confirm that the promise would come through Sarai, Abraham was momentarily sinical. But the One who knows everyone's heart knew that though Abraham had his moments of weakness, confusion and doubt, his heart was not rebelling against God, not rejecting God and not adulterous and disrespectful of God.

God searched Abraham's heart and found it faithful to Him.

Dear friend, as the bride of Christ, you and I also sometimes get it wrong. There are times when in the heat of the moment we make a wrong decision, we say the wrong thing, we act in the wrong way or we misunderstand God's will and plan for us in a specific circumstance...yet we love God and with our hearts we believe God.

This is not the same as the heart that ignores, rejects and scorns God and His commands! No, this is a heart that is sensitive to God's correction, a heart that can repent, a heart that can be molded by the love of God...a heart that can grow in the knowledge of God...a heart of faith.

Indeed Abraham showed that he was continually growing in the knowledge and love of God. By the time that God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham did not get it wrong. When they came close to the place of sacrifice, Abraham told his servants, "Stay here...while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." Note that he did not say, "I will come back to you" but "we will come back to you". By this time Abraham knew that God could not be anything else but faithful to His promises. He knew that somehow God would save Isaac because He had said that He would fulfill the covenant promise through Isaac. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that "Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." This is knowing God. This is loving God. This is the heart of faith that God counted and credited...not all the mistakes Abraham made on the way.

My word of encouragement to all of us today is that God does not count our mistakes but counts what is in our hearts. Therefore let each of us regularly search our hearts to ensure that it still belongs to God through our love for His Son, Jesus Christ.

Until next week,
God bless
Lize

Ps. You can buy a copy of my book by clicking on one of the links at the top of my blog J