Author: mamaroo43214595

 Eph 2:8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

What a wonderful verse.  Grace saved us.  Amazing grace, scandalous grace.  We, wretched sinners, have been saved, through grace.  God loved us THAT MUCH, that while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us.

And the next verse:

9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

We cannot do it ourselves, we are unable to save ourselves through our own works.  Our works cannot make us righteous, our righteousness is seen as filthy rags.  Isaiah 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Only Christ is righteous, and His righteousness is imputed to us.  So we are saved by grace,  through faith, not by works.  We cannot save ourselves, only Christ can.  He shed His blood sacrificially so that we might be saved.  We can only fall on our knees at the foot of the cross, and repenting, turn to Him, and be extremely grateful.

But but but!  James talks about faith without works being dead!  Indeed so! 

James 2: ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[a] is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

 
And Ephesians 2 continues on, saying the same thing:

10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The works that go with faith, are HIS works.  We have already discussed our righteousness being as filthy rags, so why would we think that our works would be pleasing to God, and would achieve righteousness?  When we believe Christ, believe His promises, believe that He is our Saviour, and give Him our hearts so that we can have these hearts of stone replaced with hearts of flesh, hearts full of His love, we are no longer the same person.  We now want to do HIS will, HIS works….and that is what we do.  HIS works of love.   Rahab did His works of love  Abraham did HIS works of love.  Read Hebrews 11 and find all who did likewise.

James said above:  I will show you my faith by my works.  When he said my works….this means the works that God gives him.  The works that are a direct growth of faith, that come to you because of grace.  They are from God, not your own idea.  James also talks about feeding the poor.  And Christ did too.  In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus talks about the parable of the sheep and the goats.  In the judgement, the ones who cared for the unfortunate, fed the poor, visited the prisoner, in other words those that loved as Christ loves us, were those who were rewarded with their inheritance as God’s children.  These were the sheep, His followers, and they followed the Good Shepherd.  Their faith PRODUCED God’s work.

Your own works does not produce faith.  Faith produces God’s work.  Your own works stand alone and produce nothing.

Rest in Christ.  Have faith in Him, let Him produce in you HIS works.  And show the world His love, His saving grace.

2 Cor 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

These words are used as a benediction in the church I attend, and many others.  This is a prayer and a blessing from each of the Members of the Trinity:  The grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship (or communion, in older translations) of the Holy Spirit.  And it is to all of us.  Very inclusive.

The love of God is eternal, His love lasts for ever and never dies.

The grace of Christ, His loving kindness:  He died for us, that we might be forgiven, and saved.

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit:  He lives in us.  He gives us His gifts.

With this prayer, this blessing, we are able to move out into the world to show people what God has done for us, and to spread this blessing amongst those we meet. 

To give them God’s love, show them the grace of Christ, and let them experience the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

That is our duty.  I love that duty.

1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Cephasa and then to the Twelve. 6After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.

Thus Paul starts off his chapter on resurrection.  A wonderful chapter worth reading.  But it all hinges on the Gospel.

Unfortunately not everyone knows what it is, but here Paul puts it in a nutshell.  In another place, 1 Cor 2:2, he talks about Christ and Him crucified!  Here,  in 1 Cor 15, he fills it out a little more.  ”Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, “.  According to the scriptures, He was to die for our sins, be buried, and then rise again. 

This is the story of love.  God is love.  Even though we are sinful creatures, living in a sinful world, God did not desire the death of a sinner.  2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,^a not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  So He sent His Son, the Word, the unblemished perfect Lamb of God to die, to shed His blood, so that we could be atoned for, be redeemed, be saved.  Jesus was the instrument of God’s grace, His unmerited favour, and by His death, His righteousness was imputed to us, wretched sinners that we are.  Now we are forgiven sinners, and stand before God clothed in Christ’s righteousness, not our own dismally unrighteous attempts at goodness. 

God sees Christ’s righteousness and we are declared His adopted sons and daughters!  How wonderful is that?  We will spend eternity with Him.  In fact eternity starts now, because we who are Christ’s have passed from death to life.  John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Back to 1 Cor 15:  20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.

Christ rose from the dead.  He defeated death.  Still in 1 Cor 15:  54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”g

55“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Jesus lived in the glories of heaven.  This was His birthright.  He gave it all up to become a helpless babe and lived among us, and living the life of a normal human.  He began His public ministry and taught His disciples that they, even though they were to lead others to Him, were to be each  other’s servant, and to bear each other’s burdens.  This He did Himself.  He healed the sick and cared for those who needed help.  He taught us about God, that God is love, and that we are to love, because we have been loved.  We are to forgive each other our trespasses, just as we are forgiven.

Then He did the ultimate.  He died the death that we deserved, to save us.  He was the sacrificial Passover lamb, and exemplified sacrificial love to us.  Then, after sabbath in the tomb, He rose triumphant, in His glorified body, and showed Himself to the women, and then to His disciples.

This then, is the Gospel, the good news, of salvation, of love from God come down to earth.  No greater love hath any man. 

Without the Gospel, we would be doomed.

Written earlier.

Church in Australia has changed for the duration of the corona virus.  Church gatherings have ceased, except for weddings and funerals, and those are very limited in size.  Normal weekly services have ceased.  Holy communion services are no longer being held.

Church has definitely changed. But we are the church, we the people are the body of Christ.  We are still His followers and we still do His will.  The thing that has changed really, is the manner of meeting together and worshipping together.  We cannot at the moment meet in a church building.  We are limited to how many can visit us to have a service in our home. Our services are still available, but they are online.

I am reminded of a meme I saw once for introverts:  Introverts unite!  Meet together!  Separately!  In your own home!

So that’s what we as Christians must do for our services, we meet separately in our own homes.

But is meeting for church all there is to being a Christian?  Not at all.  There are still people to be helped.  There is still the Gospel to be proclaimed.  There are still people to witness to.

In Australia, this year, we have had a year of disruption, and tragedy.  First we had bushfires of  a magnitude we’ve never had before.  And drought.  Then we had floods, with some areas of our land still in drought.  Where I live for example, we are still on level 2 water restrictions.  And now this.  But even though the phrase “unprecedented” is used a lot, is it really?


We have had a lot of epidemics and outbreaks in recent years.  In 1918 there was a flu pandemic that killed more people than died in the Great War.  Right through history there have been plagues – bubonic plagues and the like, and Christians were at the forefront, caring for people who had been affected.   Because this is what Christians do, they care for their fellow man.

However this time the Government has stepped in and forbad public gatherings.  So we can’t worship corporately, but we can still care for people.  One of the ladies from church used to visit the elderly.  So she rings them.  Another younger one has volunteered to do any and all shopping they might need doing.  Another brings/takes in their garbage bins on rubbish day.  There are constant messages to contact a particular person if you need any essentials, eg, toilet paper.  Other people just need someone to talk to, and that is done by phone, or safely through the front screen door.

The work of Christ is still going on.  Services continue, though online.  Care is taken, so that our vulnerable people stay safe, and Government orders are obeyed.  Jesus said we need to do this in Romans 13.  In a way we have gone back to the way things were with the primitive church…they had no church buildings either, but they witnessed for the Lord and the church grew. 

Perhaps we might see the church grow too.   Remember the church is not the buildings…it is us the people, the followers of Christ, the Body of Christ.

At the moment, we are indeed being His hands and feet.

Written at Easter.

Happy Easter! 

Χριστός Ανέστη!

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Alleluia!

Today is the day some traditions of Christianity celebrate the resurrection of Christ in corporate worship.

Today, and every day, is when Christians of all traditions celebrate the resurrection of Christ in their individual worship.  We celebrate the fact that the plan of God, which started before the creation of this world, came to fruition, and death was defeated.  Christ, the first fruit was the first to be resurrected, and even though we might die physically, we too, will be resurrected and given a new glorified body, with which we can worship God for ever.

This weekend has been different to previous years.  Because of self isolation and quarantine due to the corona virus, we have not been able to meet together for our various services marking the crucifixion of our Lord, and join in the celebration of His resurrection.  It has been a new experience “attending” church online.  We can take comfort in the fact that we are all in this together.  Still, compared to the early church, our experience is neither here nor there.  Many of them gave their lives for this wonderful news.  We are alive, but inconvenienced. 

These early Christians were witnesses for our Lord.  We too must be witnesses.  We have to show with our lives how thankful we are for what Christ did for us.  How thankful we are for His atoning death, and forgiveness of sins.  For imputed righteousness.  For God’s grace.  For eternal life. 

He died for us, He rose for us, rejoice for what He has done!

Happy Easter!

Written earlier.

At the moment Australia is suffering probably the worst yet season of bush fires.  And we are in drought.  Australia is used to bush fires AND drought.  Or so we thought.  At the same time, there is extreme weather world wide.  This seems to be part of it.  And of course, every time this sort of thing happens, we get someone coming along and announcing we are being punished.  Are we?  Are the people going through the bushfires, having their home destroyed and in some cases losing their lives any worse than anyone else?

We are all sinners and deserve punishment.  Does God see sin all the same, or are there “grades” of sin?

Matthew 12: 31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

God can see people’s hearts.  1 Kings 8:39.  We cannot.  We do not know whether they have committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  So it is wrong for us to make that judgement.  All we know is that we have sinned, everyone has sinned.  We ARE sinners.

God is Love.  Because He is Love, even though we are sinners, and our righteousness and our works are as filthy rags, and even though we are guilty sinners and deserve punishment, He sent His Son to live among us, and to take our punishment for us, so that we could receive what is His by right.

My eyes tear up at the thought of the plan of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was planned before the foundation of the earth (1 Peter 1:  19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you)

This then was always Plan A.  It wasn’t something quickly thought up when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, because it caught God unawares.  He KNEW what would happen.  He KNEW what would become of the world, and He made prior arrangements.

What love!  Like the father of the prodigal son, like many a parent today who knows very well that their child’s plan will only end in tears, He allowed it to happen, because He had a solution!  And that solution would glorify His Name.

And so…..Jesus was punished in our place.  That just blows my mind.  The Word of God, incarnate, sinless, was made sin so that we, unrighteous wretches that we are, would be atoned for.  We have done nothing to deserve this or to achieve this.  This was all Jesus’ doing.  He gave us a gift, and the only part we have in this is to accept.  We are free to ignore His entreaties, and many have and do…..but I have accepted.  I realised my wretchedness and fell at the foot of the cross and thankfully accepted His gift.  I pray you do too.

Back to the original paragraph.  Are we being punished? Or is this a symptom of the state of the world?  The disasters that Jesus warned us about?  I along with so many others really hope that they are the forerunners of what must happen before Jesus return. 

Instead of crying woe is me or complaining how awful life is, here is an opportunity to show the love of Christ, to show kindness to a neighbour suffering because they have lost everything.  Buy some water or snacks for the firemen, or clean the   toilets in the fire brigade building.  Do the jobs they do not have the time or energy for.  Give a meal to someone that needs it.  Be a friend to all.  If you cannot do anything else, pray!

You just never know whether the person you are helping sees you as help from Christ.  In times like this, people turn to God for help…..and whatever you do might just cement that for them, and they might repent. 

This is an opportunity for us to proclaim the Gospel…..in our lives, in our deeds.

May the Lord be with you.

And thank you for your prayers.

written earlier

Today is ANZAC day, a day of commemoration throughout Australia and New Zealand in memory of all those who have died in war and those who have served in our armed forces.  Because we are in lockdown, we are not able to have local services, so I watched the service live streamed from Duntroon Military College, where all people involved in the service practised social distancing.  The last hymn was just wonderful, Be Thou My Vision, and the address was even better, it was the Gospel, based on Romans 5.

I have spent the afternoon watching old British War Movies, which I first saw as a kid on Saturday afternoons with all the neighbourhood kids.  It was a weekly outing for us, where it cost us 1 shilling to get in, and we had 1 shilling to spend on sweets.  I nearly always spent mine on jaffas and wouldn’t let the boys get hold of them, because they took great delight in rolling them down the aisles!

I digress.  Australians and New Zealanders take this day very seriously, when so many died to keep our lands free.  And the service today likened this sacrifice to Christ’s though on a much deeper level, a spiritual level.  The sacrifice of these men and women gave us freedom for this life time, Christ’s assures us of eternal life.  Even though we die we will still live.

Christ’s atoning death assures of a life spent in complete service to Him, complete worship, and a life free of the trials we now face, free of illness, free of sadness. 

Through Jesus, eternal life starts now!

34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another.35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

I have been told by legalists and sabbatarians that Jesus did not give any new commandments, just amplified the old ones.  Well there you are folks.  Jesus said it Himself.  A NEW commandment.  Goes with the new covenant He instituted. 

He was the New High Priest of the New Covenant, with New laws….of love….which the Holy Spirit has put in our hearts.

Every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper we celebrate this.  Every act of love we do, we are doing His Work, we are keeping His commandment.  His NEW commandment.

A miscarriage is when a pregnancy ends before gestation is complete, with the death of the baby.  It can be a traumatic event, and can also be fatal to the mother, although mostly it is only the baby’s life that is ended.

There is no CHOICE with a miscarriage, the pregnancy is ended.  Doctors say in most miscarriages, there is normally a problem of some sort with the development of the baby and the baby dies, and is expelled from the woman’s body.

MANY women have at least one miscarriage, some are unfortunate enough to have many.  The baby that you look forward to dies, and you mourn.  It is similar to having a still birth, or losing a child.  You mourn, and you are altered for ever.

An abortion is a planned miscarriage.  There is choice involved.  The pregnancy is ended.  There are many reasons for this.  Very rarely it is for the physical health of the mother, more often it is for matters of convenience, socio-economic problems, mental (emotional) health of the mother.  The pregnancy ends.  Actually the pregnancy is ended, by chemical or physical means.  The baby is killed.  And many women mourn, and some feel guilty over what they have done, or in some cases, been forced to do. 

Miscarriage and abortion.  Different names, similar outcome, different reasons.  Medically, a miscarriage is called a spontaneous abortion, but there is nothing spontaneous about a planned abortion. 

Both are heart breaking.

If you have a miscarriage, you might have it at home, but go to hospital to make sure you’re alright.  For an abortion, you go to a clinic, which  is often privately run, or run by a public hospital or in countries where it is illegal, someone’s house.  In the USA there are hospitals which do the abortions, run by the SDA church.

The SDA church pretends they do not support abortion, but this action of their church run hospitals says otherwise.  The church prides itself on “keeping the commandments” but doesn’t seem to worry about the sixth.  Is this hypocritical?  Keep the 4^th but don’t worry about the 6^th?  Is it because they think life doesn’t start till birth?

Is it the money talking?

1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.^a 2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you^b free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,^c he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus^d from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

This is one of the readings we had this morning. One that is dear to me, starting with the wonderful verse that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  How wonderful to be reminded of that!

The very next verse explains how.  The law of the SPIRIT of life, has set us free from the law of sin and death.  Instead of death, which are the wages of sin, we have life in Christ Jesus.

We cannot of our selves keep the law.  Our mortal selves, our fleshly bodies, are weak.  But God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, His Word made flesh, He fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law.  And because we walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh, we belong to God.  His righteousness has been imputed to us, and we obey the law of the Spirit, the law of love, and His Spirit lives in us.

Those who live by the flesh do not have the Spirit of God.  Their minds are on the things of flesh, not the things of the Spirit and they do not belong to God.

We need to ask ourselves are our minds of flesh, or the Spirit?