Anyone who is following the current general election campaign will have heard that David Cameron is speaking a lot about change.
Whatever your political views maybe as Christians we all know that God will challenge us about the changes that are needed in our life. But are we willingly to change?
Here is a link to an article I previously wrote on change.
This morning I was reading Psalm 15 in which David asks the question “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” He lists some characteristics of such a person and then at the end of verse 3 says, “and casts no slur on his fellow man.”
According to the dictionary the word “slur” means: a disparaging remark, an insult or slight.
The Bible contains much teaching on the importance of the words we speak and James warns us that praising God and cursing men, who he has made, out of the same mouth is not acceptable.
Most of us no doubt have opened our mouths and said things that we later regretted. At work we can recall emails and resend them if we decide to rephrase something we have said. However you cannot do that with words that you speak. Once you open your mouth and say them it’s too late to recall them!
These days we also have to remember that we can slur someone by a comment we might leave on a blog or something we might post on any of the social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.
We need God’s grace to help us ensure that our words are honouring and pleasing to Him.
Prayer: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. O Lord. my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a remarkable preacher who at his funeral service was called the “Prince of Preachers.” By his early 20′s he was regularly preaching to crowds of several thousand and his sermons are still read widely today. He obviously had a very special gifting and calling from God.
However what he was really like in private? What was his prayer life like? What was his attitude towards the Bible? Peter Morden in this very readable biography endeavours to answer these questions as he seems to reveal the real Spurgeon to us.
The book contains twelve chapters in which the author looks at different aspects of Spurgeon’s life. Each chapter ends with sections entitled “Digging Deeper” and “Engage” in which we are challenged to see what we can learn about Spurgeon’s life and how God may be speaking to us through this famous preacher.
If you are looking for a book that covers Spurgeon’s life and ministry in great depth then this book is not for you. However if you want to really know what Spurgeon was like and if you believe there are lessons that you can learn from Spurgeon’s life and are prepared to think through the issues raised in each section then this book is certainly for you.
The author recommends that you have a notebook with you and take notes as you read each chapter. I would recommend this too. Also I would suggest that you read one chapter a day of the book rather than read it straight through as that will help you gain more from it.
This morning I came across a posting entitled Act Like a Soldier of Christ which reminds us that we are soldiers of Christ and that we must not neglect the battle against sin, the world and the devil.
Being a member of the Anglican church I see a number of baptism and thought that it would be good to remind myself of the following part of the baptism service:
The sign of the cross
The minister will make the sign of the cross on the forehead of the child using the water. This is a sign to remind us of how Christ died for each one of us on the cross. As Christ died for us so we are now signed with the cross -the badge of our faith – to remind us that we must not be ashamed to profess our faith and fight against all that is evil.
Minister: I sign with the cross, the sign of Christ. Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified.
The congregation says: Fight valiantly under the banner of Christ against sin, the world and the devil, and continue his faithful soldier and servant to the end of your life.
May we all indeed fulfil these vows and be true soldiers of Christ!
Today around the world many Christians will greet each other with the words “Christ is Risen” to which the respond will be “He is Risen Indeed!”
I wonder how the first disciples felt when they heard that Jesus’ tomb was empty and He was alive? We have an advantage over them in so much as we know that Easter Sunday follows Good Friday. However the first disciples did not realise that when Jesus was crucified. They thought that was the end. Their world was shattered. All their dreams destroyed.
When Mary Magdalene and the other women told the disciples what they had seen at the tomb, the disciples did not believe them. Jesus then appeared to them and they were terrified. Slowly it began to dawn on them that Christ had indeed risen as He revealed Himself to them. The joy, excitement, amazement, wonder they must have felt.
This Easter lets ask God that we might too experience these emotions. The resurrection of Jesus must not be something that we just believe in our minds. We want our hearts to be truly amazed and excited as we hear those wonderful words: He is Risen!
Scandalous written by D A Carson is a book about the cross and resurrection of Jesus. On the back cover of the book the author says that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the most central thing in the Bible and it is important for us to know what these events mean.
The book is based on a series of five sermons that were preached by the author and cover the following:
As D A Carson looks at each subject he brings out fresh and exciting thoughts from the texts which helps the reader really understand afresh the importance and significance of these events. The early followers of Jesus had their lives turned upside side by the death and resurrection of Christ and we too need to experience that not only this Easter but everyday.
The book is only 168 pages long so it can be read over a weekend and is very easy to read. I thoroughly recommend it!