From A Park Bench - 1 Corinthians 7 v 22

I Corinthians 7 v 22

And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ.

A few years back I traveled on a coach across Europe for a holiday in Prague. It was only a few years after the fall of communism and the formation of the Czech Republic. After years of oppression freedom had come to the people of old Czechoslovakia. As the coach traveled through the newly formed country the roadside was littered with young teenage girls offering themselves to rich western visitors. It struck me that these teenagers had traded one type of slavery for another type of slavery. Freedom is only freedom if it brings freedom from oppression.

In New Testament times people sold themselves into short term slavery to pay off debts. This common practice of giving up freedom and willingly entering into slavery is a picture of what many Christians do to themselves when they start to try to get from God what they already have by grace.  God has already blessed very Christian with every spiritual blessing and we are seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father adopted by God in his righteousness through the predestined ransom of Christ.

Christ’s death was enough to keep me eternally free. Too often we are then told by well meaning people that through our effort we need to stay right with God. I went to a men’s conference where the speaker said, “The grace of God is all we need and it is by his grace that we are saved. Now God wants us to grow up and be men of integrity, so lets leave behind grace and make ourselves walk pure before God.”  I understood exactly where he was coming from but in the end he was preaching salvation by works. The essence of the lie is that by my holiness and good living I make and keep myself acceptable to God. The truth is that by Christ’s finished work at the cross, I am holy and righteous and I do not have to add anything of my works to keep it. My sinful nature died at the cross and I am a new holy creation In Christ.

Grace is the motivation of my life, freedom is the state of my heart, joy is the wellspring bubbling up inside and all that I do is in union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit inside of me.  The more I drown in the ocean of God’s grace the more I enjoy God and the less I want to enjoy the world. To live in the realm of the Spirit changes my motivation, and my focus. It has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my performance and nothing to do with my right living, it has everything to do with Christ living in me and working through me.

I have been made free in Christ by and through his grace to go back into self-righteousness and my performance is to go back into oppression and slavery. The only slavery that sets me free is my slavery to Christ and to his life permeating every cell of my body.

Bygone Times - Milk Tray Chocolate Bar

One of the strangest confectionery delights to grace the counters of the local newsagents in the 1970’s was the Milk Tray chocolate bar.

A whole box of Milk Tray Chocolates molded together into one bar, with 9 different centers to choose from:

 

Coconut Ice

Turkish Delight

Crème Strawberry 

Almond Swirl

Orange Creme

Caramel

Coffee Creme

Lime Barrel

Fudge

It was always difficult to keep your favorite to last, but I loved the – Lime Barrel and Fudge

.

I must admit my least favorite was Turkish Delight, so I always ate this first, to get it out of the way.

There was only one down side to this incredible invention, sometimes if you were very unlucky the chocolate bar broke and split causing the crèmes to spread and infect the other choc’s.  It was heartbreaking to open a bar and discover that the ‘best’ one (Lime Barrel) had been obliterated.

Our Sunday School teacher gave me a bar every Sunday when I  attended church, together with the magazines ‘World of Wonder’ and ‘Look and Learn’ . To be honest I loved the magazines but the Milk Tray Bar was the real treat.

My two sisters’s used to fight over which chocolate they wanted and that still left 7 for me.

It was a timeless classic that still brings a smile to my face.

Tuesday’s Track -Amazing Love by Rachel Robinson.

Tuesday’s track is Amazing Love sung by Rachel Robinson.

I have heard this song on UCB over the last month.

The words are just brilliant and really speak of all that Christ won for us at the cross.

It is so good sometimes to let a melody float in your head and when the words are full of truth they speak faith into our hearts.

We are forgiven, eternally.

We are accepted, eternally

We are alive, forever

God’s spirit lives inside us

All by grace

The Amazing love of God

That Christ died as me.

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken
I'm accepted you were condemned
I'm alive and well your spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken
I'm accepted you were condemned
And I'm alive and well your spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again

Amazing love how can it be
That you my king would die for me
Amazing love I know it's true
It's my joy to honor you
In all I do I honor you

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken (yes)
I'm accepted Lord you were condemned
Now I'm alive and well your spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again

OHH amazing love how can it be
That you my king would die for me (yeah)
Amazing love I know it's true
It's my joy to honor you
In all I do I honor you
Oh God I honor you

You are my king
Jesus you are my king
You are my king
Jesus you are my king

Amazing Love how can it be
That you my king would die for me
Amazing love I know it's true
It's my joy to honor you

Amazing Love how can it be
That you my king would die for me
Amazing love I know it's true
It's my joy to honor you
In all I do I honor you
In all I do I honor you

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken

Grace Notes - Luke 2 v 52

Luke 2:52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man."

The wonderful truth of the New Covenant is that Christ now lives inside every believer. God is not distant, aloof, detached or away. God is not is some place, somewhere and needs us to search and seek him. When we believe, he comes and dwells within us, in all his fullness and glory.

The difficulty I have is that I don’t realize and recognize the amazing God I have living inside of me. Years of bad thinking, incorrect theology, worldly wisdom and lies had dulled me to the amazing new creation within me.

I need to grow in the truth of that which is already evident in my new spirit. My mind needs to be awakened and transformed to the grace of God.

Jesus had to grow and learn in his physical body. He had to immerse himself into all the treasures of wisdom of God's ever increasing grace.

Andrew Wommack explains that Jesus became like us : -

How could it be that Jesus, who was God, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, increased in wisdom?

God is a Spirit. Jesus, as God, had existed as a Spirit forever.

When He came to the earth as Jesus, he was Lord at birth, but that was in His Spirit. His Spirit didn't have to grow or increase in wisdom but His physical body did.

The Lord could have done things differently, but He didn't. Jesus came into this world in His physical body exactly as we did. He had to grow and learn.

He became just like us so that we could become just like Him.

This is the great exchange. He became like us so that He could bear all our iniquities and become a mercy high priest for us.

Christianity does not produce a changed life but an exchanged life. Christ does not reform us, but He transforms us through His union with us. In the same way that the Eternal Christ could come and inhabit the body of an infant and still retain all His deity, He now inhabits our bodies through the new birth in all His glory and power. Like Jesus, grow in your wisdom and understanding of who you now are in Christ.

ConneXions - Power belongs to God

Power belongs to God

Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty?  - Job 11:7

Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. – Romans 1:20

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. – Psalm 33:6

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. – Hebrews 1:3.

O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!  Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord? You are entirely faithful. You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves. You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. – Psalm 89:8-10

Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle. – Psalm 24:8

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. – Romans 1:16

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 1:18-20

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6

He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. – Daniel 7:14

Jesus was.....

Jesus was crushed so that God would never crush you.

Jesus was pierced so that God will never ever pierce you with sorrows or with sickness or with poverty.

Jesus was punished so it is a guarantee that God will never ever punish you!

Jesus was made a guilt offering by God so you will never feel guilty.

Jesus was cursed so that God could remove the curse from you

Jesus was condemned so that God would remove all condemnation from you

Jesus was made powerless so that God could empower you to have victory over sin.

Jesus was separated from God so that you could have an eternal living vibrant union in Him.

Jesus was stripped naked so that God could clothe you in his robes of righteousness

Jesus was crucified so that you could receive all the riches of God through his lavish grace.

Overflowing Love by Bill Thomas

As the river bursts it’s banks and overflows to all around;

As the avalanche of snow fills the valley to it’s depths;

As the rains teem from the sky in monsoon climes;

So flows the love of God from on high.

Uncontainable, overpowering, overwhelming,

Such is this love of God.

The depths and vastness of mighty seas,

The height and majesty of splendid mountain ranges,

The unlimited vastness of universes and boundless space,

All pale into insignificance before this unconditional love,

This so amazing love, this unerring love,

This love so rich, so pulsating with vehement fervour

That even God Himself cannot hold it in;

It must fly, cavort, rejoice, and finally find it’s place

In the heart of man, of undeserving man.

And the rivers of our lives finally burst into overflowing,

The valleys of our souls are filled to it’s depths,

And we find we are in monsoon climes,

drenched in a love so all-consuming that we cannot hold it in;

And we too must overflow, we too must fly, cavort, rejoice,

And finally surrender to the inevitability

Of loving the unlovable.

By Bill Thomas

From A Park Bench - Romans 6:14

Romans 6 v14

Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Rules and regulations dominate our lives. Right from a very early age we are taught to obey, follow instruction, do the right thing. This is so embedded into us that when we are offered a self-righteous religion it seems very inviting.  It works in a very subtle method that we often miss, if I keep my part of the bargain, God will be pleased with me and therefore bless me. This self-righteous attitude of doing my bit to please God is right from the pit of hell, birth by the tongue of the deceiver in the garden of Eden, and self-righteousness is the essence of sin,

There is only one way to God and that is through Christ and his death on the cross. Christ became my sin and took all the punishment I deserved and in exchange gave me all the riches of heaven by grace. I now have complete freedom through his subsitutuional sacrifice.  The law with its rules and regulations has been made obsolete and I have Christ living and dwelling inside.

The Bible is God’s love letter to me, his words of grace. To see it has an instruction manual on how to live my life is to go back to living by self-righteousness.  The Bible is not a set of rules and instructions on how to behave and live, it is an overflowing stream of love from a father gentle guiding me and encouraging me to express the freedom I have received through grace.

When I was born again my old sinful nature was buried and I have a new sinless nature. I was made holy and righteous in Christ and the grace that saved me is the same grace that works in me and takes me from one degree of glory to another.

Ten Truths from Andrew Wommack

1. God the Father forsook Jesus so you and I would never be forsaken. All that you and I would have suffered, through billions of years in eternity—the grief, the pain and, worst of all, the complete separation from the presence of God—Jesus experienced. And He experienced all of this for us.
2. Grace is what God has already done for us, independent of any worth or value on our part. If it’s tied to some goodness of ours, then it’s not true grace. God, by grace, has already provided everything we will ever need.
3. Any blessing you could ever need or desire from the Lord is not something to strive for but something you already have. God made the provision before you had the need. It is just a simple matter of receiving what He has already done.
4. That’s what the blessing of God is; it’s His divine spoken favor. And that blessing, if mixed with faith, will produce abundance in spirit, soul, and body.
5. The good news is, you are already blessed. The bad news is, most don’t know the power of that blessing. They would rather have a miracle.
6. If we will believe we are blessed and act accordingly, we can avoid many of the problems that make us candidates for miracles.
7. In heaven, you won’t answer for your sin; Jesus already has. You will answer for your acceptance or rejection of Jesus.
8. There is a difference between fighting to get healed and fighting because we have been healed. That difference is the difference between success and failure.
9. If God hasn’t already moved by His grace, then your faith can’t make Him.
10. Salvation is everything Jesus purchased for us through the atonement. Sozo, the Greek word from which “salvation” was translated means more than forgiveness of sin; it also means healing, deliverance, and prosperity. It’s a word that summarizes everything that Jesus provided for us through His death, burial, and resurrection.

Remembering Richard Briers

Growing up in the 1970’s there were certain TV sitcom’s that our family watched with religious fervor.  Some Mothers Do Have Them, Are You Being Served and The Good Life.

The Good Life was for my parent’s top of the list, the hilarious antics of Tom and Barbara Good as they gave up the middle class life for self-sufficiency in their back garden.  Pigs, chickens, homemade appliances all things cobbled out of odds and ends added to the great family oriented humour.

Therefore it is with great sadness that I read of the death of actor Richard Briers, who was Tom Good in the sitcom.

Although he was an accomplished stage actor, it is for his Tom Good role that he will be forever treasured in my memories.  The lone man battling against the elements of nature, the system of the world and life. He was the 1970’s equivalent to Richard Hannay,  Shane, and all those other greats that have found themselves battling the system for the oppressed.

I can see him now sitting on his homemade lawn mower / vehicle driving around the middle class suburb. Classic moments.

A few weeks ago i watched an episode of Midsomer Murders where he appeared as the murderous vicar, reaping vengeance on the village inhabitants with an ancient Indian sword.  He had an instantly recognizable and familiar face and was always a pleasure and joy to watch.

Thank you Richard for many great memories and many magical moments,  you were truly a TV great.  

Forgotten Heroes - John Wesley Mitchell, 8th Battalion, A.I.F.

John Wesley Mitchell, was born on 16 March 1891 at Tarranyurk, near Dimboola, Victoria, fourth child of Australian-born parents Joseph Mitchell, farmer, and his wife Eliza, née Milkins.

While working as an engineering cadet at Warracknabeal, Jack served in the Militia and was commissioned (1912) in the Victorian Rangers (later 73rd Infantry Regiment). On 24 August 1914 he was appointed to the Australian Imperial Force. Five ft 9½ ins (177 cm) tall, with dark hair and blue eyes, he was allotted to 'E' Company, 8th Battalion, which embarked for Egypt in October. He was quietly spoken and popular, and able to handle 'all the jobs of a subaltern'.

Landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, Mitchell was wounded that day and admitted to hospital. He rejoined the battalion on 26 May and on the following day became its adjutant. By October he held the rank of temporary captain and was employed as a company commander. He returned to Egypt in January 1916, reached the Western Front in March and was promoted major in June. Absent from his unit in July-October when stricken with influenza, he was away again from January to March 1917 attending the Senior Officers' Course in England. On 14 April 1917 he was promoted lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the battalion.

Mitchell showed great courage in carrying out reconnaissance. In the operations at Lagnicourt and Bullecourt, France, in April and May 1917 (in which he won the Distinguished Service Order) his personal example influenced his men to push ahead and secure tactical positions. On 28 October, although gassed, he remained on duty. During the capture of Rosières Station and the village of Lihons on 9 and 11 August 1918, his battalion suffered heavy casualties; Mitchell twice went forward under fire to reorganize the line; he won a Bar to his D.S.O. For his leadership of the 8th Battalion, he was also awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre and mentioned in dispatches five times. In October and November he had temporary command of the 2nd Brigade. His A.I.F. appointment terminated in Australia on 5 April 1920.

Employed by the Victorian Department of Lands and Survey as an inspector of land settlement and later as a member of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Inquiry Board, Mitchell provided practical assistance to former servicemen who settled in the Wimmera and the Mallee. On 2 May 1927 at St John's Anglican Church, Horsham, he married Margaret Blanche West, a 31-year-old nurse; they were to remain childless. He continued to serve in the Militia, commanding the 21st Battalion (1921-22), the 1st Armoured Car Regiment (1934-38) and the 20th Light Horse Regiment (1939).

ConneXions - Ambassadors of Christ

Ambassadors of Christ

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  - 2 Corinthians 5:20.

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.  And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” – Acts 9: 15-16.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should. – Ephesians 6: 18-20.

My chosen people can be refreshed. I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world. – Isaiah 43: 20-21.

Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: “I am with you, says the Lord!” - Haggai 1:13.

An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing. - Proverbs 13:17.

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” – John 4: 28-29.

Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did! – John 4:39.

Eternity Within Me - Dave Thorpe

Eternities within me and I will never die,

For I’m living in Christ Jesus, so death I will deny,

For He has gone before me and prepared the way for me,

Made ready for my coming into eternity.

So eternity’s within me, and shall forever be,

So with a heart of gratitude, to Christ I bow my knee.

For I am in Christ Jesus, and this is where I dwell,

I find delight in all Christ’s done, and of this truth I tell.

This truth is written in Gods word, and sealed by Christ’s own blood,

Upon these truths I meditate, and with them, my mind flood.

Eternity’s within me, as through deaths valley I do go,

But death is not my destiny, Christ’s life is all I know.

Christ is my life, and in Christ’s life I hide,

And throughout my earthly walk, I in that life abide.

So eternity’s within me, and I will never die,

For I’m living in Christ Jesus, so death I will defy.

by Dave Thorpe 

Trinity

In eternity

Father, Son, Spirit,

Delighting in perfect union,

 A joyous, exuberant affectionate dance,

Love flowing out and reflecting back,

Dwelling with each other in glorious goodness

Loving father, perfect son, glorious spirit, overwhelming grace,

Interwoven love sharing in harmony, a radiant illuminating light,

Amazing Trinity poured into creation, celebrating and delighting in us.

From A Park Bench - John 17:22-23

John 17:22-23

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

The mystery of the Trinity is the mystery of the glorious God that now dwells inside the believer. Here just before he is betrayed and arrested Jesus prays for himself and his disciples.

God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one, inexplicably united in a wondrous union of love, delight and joy.  Forged before time in eternity in a lavish dance of intimate joy and as Christ and God are eternally interwoven, so we become interwoven into the trinity when we come into Christ though faith in his finished work and righteousness.

Immanuel ‘God with us’, Jesus Christ is the Lord our God living inside of me.

Jesus Christ is not hidden away in the universe somewhere, patiently counting the minutes until he can become a real factor in the universe. Jesus Christ is the one in and by and through all things exists and is held together, including you and me.

We are perfectly one in Christ, he is present in every believer. Jesus is wonderfully and humbly sharing himself and his life with his Father in us

We have been baptized in the glory, the fullness, the excellence, the beauty of the trinity.

Jesus is sharing his rich life with us, every moment; every second we breathe we are interwoven into God.

There are no mundane days, there are no worthless moments. When we met and talk to people Christ works through us. He works through us when we make the family sandwiches, when we clean the house, when we wash the laundry, when we fix the office photocopier, when we give our work mate a lift home, in everything we do, God in Christ works through us to bring Christ into a fallen and fragile world.