Grains of Sand

Pixabay Sigmund Brouwer tells this story in his beautiful book, The Carpenter's Cloth . " During Jesus' time there was one way a carpenter let the contrator know a job was finished. A signature, so to speak. "Imagine a hot afternoon in Galilee. Jesus has completed the final pieces of a job he has worked on for several days. The hair of his strong forearms is matted with sawdust and sweat. His face is shiny with heat. He takes a final—and welcome—drink of cool water from a leather bag. "Then, standing to the side of his work, he pours water over his face and chest, splashing it over his arms to clean himself before his journey home. Wth a nearby towel, he pats his face and arms dry. "Finally, Jesus folds the towel neatly in half, and then folds it in half again. He sets it on the finished work and walks away. Later, whoever arrives to inspect the work will see the towel and understand its simple message. The work is finished. "Christ's ...

A friend posted an interesting statement on FACEBOOK which I re-posted. Here it is: “ When ministry becomes performance, then the sanctuary becomes a theatre, the congregation becomes an audience, worship becomes entertainment, and man’s applause and approval becomes the measure of success. But when ministry is for the glory of God, his presence moves into the sanctuary. Even the unsaved visitor will fall down on his face, worship God, and confess that God is among us .” (drrichardlmoore). I re-posted the statement because I believe it to be true, but it was the last bit that connected with what I read this morning in my time of meditation. I’ve been doing advent readings leading up to Christmas and today’s passage was from John 12. These two verses particularly stood out: “ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself ” (vss. 31, 32). Jesus is once more announcing His death ...

Google Images Those last words from the cross tell it all: “ Jesus said, ‘It is finished ’” (John 19:30). Instantly, as I read this verse, the words to this Gaither song came to mind: There's a line that is drawn through the ages, On that line stands an old rugged cross. On that cross, a battle is raging, To gain a man's soul or its loss. On one side, march the forces of evil, All the demons, all the devils of hell. On the other, the angels of glory,     and they meet on Golgotha's hill.  The earth shakes with the force of the conflict,     and the sun refuses to shine. For there hang's God's son, in the balance,     and then through the darkness he cries. It is finished, the battle is over. It is finished, there'll be no more war. It is finished, the end of the conflict, It is finished and Jesus is Lord. Yet in my heart, the battle was still raging, Not all prisoners of war had come home. These were battlefields of my own making, ...

“ I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more ” —Isaiah 43:25, NIV Isaiah is perhaps the most “evangelical” of the Old Testament books. In this particular chapter the Lord, through the prophet, reminds Israel of some of the many ways God, their Redeemer, (43:14) has delivered them in spite of their rebellion against Him. I am intrigued by the phrase “ for my own sake ” in this verse. Israel’s rebellion against God made God an object of ridicule among the neighbouring nations, particularly when disaster came upon the nation as a result of that sin. What kind of God couldn’t keep His subjects in line? What power had a God whose subjects ignored and abused Him? The restoration of Israel was as much a matter of restoring God’s damaged reputation as it was of restoring Israel to a place of blessing. But there is another feeling we get as we read Isaiah’s words. If ever the loving heart of God is exposed in the pages of the Ol...

Paul writes in Romans 6:14: " For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace ." The verses that come before this one are part of Paul's explanation on how life changes after an encounter with Calvary. It's a God-thing; specifically a Holy Spirit thing. Paul admits that old habits die hard, but the truth is that they are dying. The believer, now under new ownership, strives to finish them off as he yields daily to the prompting of the Spirit of God, now resident in his life. The evidence of this new life will be there for all to see. A believer can't help but seek to please his new Master, and to fight to remove all those things that were characteristics of his old life under his old master. Paul knows that believers, new and old, will often have doubts about their relationship with God. The constant struggle with the old habits, and the occasional failures that dog our steps, can be discouraging. Which is the reason for this last...

It's just a phrase, but in those few words lies a world of meaning. " But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us " —Romans 5:8 NIV. Two pieces of bread wrapped around a slice of meat. God loves us. Christ died for us. Then comes that phrase that so often gets missed: " While we were still sinners… " Think on that for a bit. God didn't wait until you, or I, were good enough to be worthy of being saved, or showed some kind of promise that made his investment in our lives a good one. From before the foundation of the world, he was prepared, and willing, to show us his love through the sacrifice of his own Son. Peter writes: " …you were redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ…he was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in this last times for your sake " (I Peter 1:18-20). There is nothing I can do to earn the grace of God. There is nothing I NEED to do to earn the grace of G...