Contend for me Lord.
There is nothing new under the sun. The longer one lives the more one sees that life repeats itself. David's experience as relayed in Psalm 35 reflects on a situation which of course also happens to people today. We see this in international relations between countries, business relations between competitors, scorned friendships, work situations. Even apparent fellow believers can be guilty of digging pits and laying traps to trip up people they perceive may be in their way for whatever and various reasons. It could even be when a new pastor or ministry leader comes into a position, or It may be a Christian ministry or a secular work situation, where the team, or middle management are not happy with their new boss, maybe because she/he doesn't possess some special knowledge or skill they have, or perceive is needed, or it may be due to something which occurred in that person's life decades earlier, and so they work and conspire against their employer to poison relationships, sabotage, undermine, trap, slander and remove that person. So, what should be done in these situations? Sadly, when people get caught up in these sorts of things, the situation can develop a life of its own. Those in the middle of it cease being rational or biblical in their behaviour. Gossip and hearsay and slander take the place of reality and it spreads like a virus. Most people feeding, and being fed by, these frenzies are most significantly leaving God out of the situation. They are forgetting who is actually in control. In thinking they need to go to such lengths to bring about their desired results they forget that it is better to leave it with God and seek His ways and His will in every situation. So, David rightly gives us the answer to what we should do, when he asks God to contend for him. Likewise, call on God to help you, leave vengeance to God and the results. Psalm 35 (an abbreviated version): Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise-- may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin. “Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.” Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing. Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it.” Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God; do not let them gloat over me. Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!” or say, “We have swallowed him up.” May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.
0 Comments
Who wants life, joy, and never-ending pleasures? Like Abraham’s question below we do not need to wait for the answer. It is generally a given. We spend much of our earthly life seeking good things, desiring them, longing for them, working for them. It is almost as if deep down we kind of know they are achievable. Our text here is telling us that they are achievable. True life and the good things we are saved to, once we are saved from death, are attainable. However, we are wasting our time trying to attain them in our own strength and looking in the wrong places. It is only by God’s grace that we are saved, and that because of His great love and His perfect justice and mercy. If you do not know God. If you have not put your trust in Jesus. If you have not looked to the Son and trusted in Him and received eternal life, I urge you to not delay, to not put off seeking the truth about Jesus. Act on it today, ask Jesus for it and receive this precious gift of true life from your Creator, from the One who made you, who owns you, who loves you and who wants to have a living relationship with you. If you have already looked to Jesus in complete trust then you are made alive in Christ. Whereas before: “you were dead in your transgressions and sins,… gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Whereas before you “were by nature objects of wrath.” But now, “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved…, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9): Jesus Christ and His atoning death on the cross is at the centre of God’s plan to redeem His creation and a people for Himself by justly dealing with sin and reconciling sinners to Himself. Let us therefore live out our earthly lives reflecting the love and mercy which our Redeemer God has shown to us. As Abraham asked, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Gen. 18:25) We know that God's holy nature requires justice, we must be judged for our sins for them to be removed, the judgment being eternal death (Rom. 6:23). We also know that God is love. We know that He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to die for His people's sins (John 3:16). Jesus died as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29b). We are justly saved because of God's perfect plan of salvation demonstrating His perfect justice and His perfect mercy. Therefore, being saved from eternal death, saved for Jesus’ name sake, and saved to a new life in Christ Jesus, let us live out our earthly lives in light of this reality, seeking the fullness of joy in glorifying our loving, just and merciful God. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) “With what mercy does He overthrow their prospects of worldly wealth and bring down their hopes of earthly power and greatness that He may give them the heavenly treasure … With what love does He ruin their reputation among men, breaking in pieces their good name which was their idol that He may show them the vanity of human praise, leading them to desire the honour that cometh from God and to know that in His favour is life and that the light of His countenance is the very sunshine of heaven.” Horatius Bonar.
Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Three (of many) points we can focus on from this passage are:
It is helpful to realize that if Jesus is telling His followers to “Go and do likewise” then we can be assured that the resources we need to do so will be provided. After all, He is the owner of all the resources. So, while we obviously need to be good managers, and good stewards of the resources we have, we should not focus as much on worrying about getting the resources as we should on doing the work of mercy ministry. Let's seek opportunities to serve and to help people in need and watch and see how God responds. In these culturally dark and lost times, maybe Christians in the West could just double-down and intentionally ramp up mercy ministry. While we wait for Heaven, lets aim to be as active as we can in doing good to others. Combining deeds of mercy with evangelism and discipleship allows us to reach into our community, break down barriers and plant seeds of good in people’s lives. Healing a broken heart, a community, a nation. We generally should be a people who aim to meet the needs of people around us, no matter who they are. Christians should be doing so much good in our community in so many ways that people not only notice but are confounded and confused by us. With prayer and faith, this could have a ripple effect and cause a groundswell of change in our community, advancing the Gospel and God’s Kingdom. In A.D. 361 Roman Emperor Julian noticed the Christians doing lots of mercy ministry in the community and said, “It is disgraceful that…while the Christians support their own poor as well as ours, all men see that our own people lack aid from us”. (Timothy Keller, Ministries of Mercy, p87) Throughout other periods of history, it has often been the Christians stepping up to help people. During plagues, famines, natural disasters, pandemics, and often putting themselves at personal risk to help people. The greatest good we can do for a fellow human being is of course to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ with them. There are two ways we can do this, with words and with deeds. What better way to spend our time while we wait for heaven. Eventually, like the early Christians did to the Romans, we too will confound our enemies around us and potentially God may use us as a witness to lead many to Heaven. Prayer: Father, please help us to be a neighbour to our neighbours in need. We know we need to change. I need to change. Please give us a greater measure of your Holy Spirit and fill us with a greater measure of compassion for others. Bring them across our paths and show us how to be like you. May this bring glory to you and advance your Kingdom. We know you have used small groups of people to do amazing things in the past. If it be your will please use us likewise. (The post is abbreviated from a larger article by Craig Manners called While We Wait.) Just consider the bloodiest century in human history, the 20th century. Communism and Nazism were haters of God and religion, their wars were not caused by religious people, they actively sought to eradicate religion. Just think of WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, Korea, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Communism in Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea... they are all anti-religion. Click below for a 1.48m message from Denis Prager.
Excerpts from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 29th May 2018 address regarding religious freedom: “Religious freedom is in the American bloodstream. It’s what brought the pilgrims here from England. Our founders understood it as our first freedom. That is why they articulated it so clearly in the First Amendment. As James Madison wrote years before he was president or secretary of state, quote, “conscience is the most sacred of all property,” end of quote. Religious freedom was vital to America’s beginning. Defending it is critical to our future. Religious freedom is not only ours. It is a right belonging to every individual on the globe. Where fundamental freedoms of religion, expression, press, and peaceful assembly are under attack, we find conflict, instability, and terrorism. On the other hand, governments and societies that champion these freedoms are more secure, stable, and peaceful. As our National Security Strategy so clearly states: “Our Founders understood religious freedom not as the state’s creation, but as the gift of God to every person and a fundamental right for a flourishing society.” Full address: https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/05/282789.htm I lived my life in full display of shame, dismay, disgrace
But then one day my life was changed, when I met Him face to face I said to Him, "I don't know you, we’ve never met before" He said to me, “But I know you, will you open up the door?" "You see, I've been so close to you since the day of your first breath And I've always tried to warn you of the road that leads to death" I said to Him, "I did not know, what do you say I should do?" "Receive me now and follow me and be the real, real you" So I took that step and I followed Him and He took away my shame Now thanks to Him, The Lord and I, want you to do the same Richard Feeney Prison Fellowship Australia State Manager
Dangerous people are filling the heads of young people with dangerous nonsense. Who are these people? They are what Jordan Peterson calls “the post-modernists:” neo-Marxist professors who dominate our colleges and universities. And here’s the worst part: we are financing these nihilists with tax dollars, alumni gifts and tuition payments. Time to wise up.
QANTAS must be tolerated for using it's planes and financial resources to promote their CEO's campaign against Australia's traditional foundations but they will not tolerate any other views being promoted in the public square. What sort of society will we end up with if this is accepted? Australian rugby star Israel Folau is again under pressure from this forceful and intolerant movement for sharing the video below which lovingly and compassionately pleads for people to be reconciled with God. In response major rugby sponsor QANTAS have threatened to withdraw sponsorship. Watch the video shared by Israel Folau and you decide if it really warrants such an extreme reaction from one of Australia's corporate icons.
With the message of hopelessness and chaos being preached everywhere in our secular society by the emboldened preachers of atheism, who then insist that no one else be allowed to speak or preach, it is refreshing to see a message of hope and true love being spread through social media. Well done Izzy! https://twitter.com/IzzyFolau/status/993495121462083585 The Australian 7th May 2018
"Smartphone addiction is affecting productivity, emotional wellbeing and relationships, a study of young Australians has found. The Deakin University study of almost 400 undergraduate students found a third felt anxious if they were unable to regularly check their phones. Forty per cent felt lost without it, 34 per cent lost sleep due to time spent on their devices and more than half were on their phones when they should be doing other things. Lead researcher Dr Sharon Horwood said the findings were surprising, and added weight to suggestions problematic smartphone use is becoming an increasingly prevalent public health issue. "There's no doubt that smartphones have changed the way we do things, and given that around 88 per cent of Australian have smartphones, we must feel as though we get something good from using them," she said. "However, when usage becomes excessive it can result in a range of negative outcomes including low mood, reduced physical fitness, sleep deprivation and poorer academic performance." Dr Horwood said smartphone use becomes problematic when it begins to impact on daily functioning, including productivity, relationships or physical or emotional heath. Fear of missing out, or FoMO, is one theory for why people can become overly reliant on their phones as they feel the need to constantly stay online and connected via social media. Another major factor is the design of the phone and apps, which are "deliberately addictive" to entice users to stay on them as long as possible. But Facebook and Instagram were only part of the story, with the study finding the mindless checking of smartphones out of habit rather than need, and entertainment use, such as watching videos or web browsing, was more closely linked to problematic use than using social media. Dr Horwood said personality was a strong predictor of problematic use, with the study identifying participants with higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of conscientiousness. "One explanation could be that individuals high in neuroticism tend to rely on their smartphones to obtain social and emotional reassurance from relationships," she said. "Whereas conscientious people are characterised by a willingness to delay short-term gratification in order to achieve other goals in work, education, health and wellbeing. "The thing to keep in mind is that broad personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness influence the way we think and see the world generally, not just in relation to how we use technology." The study was published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. From the Australian. |
Craig MannersWhile much of what is written in this Blog may currently appear to be counter-cultural, given our post-truth culture, it is in no way counter-human beings. I am always for people no matter what they think, do, or may have done in their past. Where I put forward ideas or debate against certain ideology, behaviour, ideas, movements, politics, I remain very much on the side of the human beings even though I may be opposed to their worldview, behaviour and politics. Such opposition is generally out of concern for the ultimate consequences of such behaviour or ideas, especially for children. |