Category: Church

Nothing But Leaves

May 30, 2024 testadmin

 

 

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find
out if it had any fruit.
When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it
was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May
no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples
heard him say it.

Mark 11:12-14

 

…”But, further, the church or individual whose religion runs to
leaf is useless to the world. What does the world care about
ceremonials and the externals of worship? and a painful orthodoxy,
and the study of the letter of Scripture. Nothing. A useless church
or a Christian, from whom no man gets any fruit to cool a thirsty,
parched lip, is only fit for what comes after the barrenness, and
that is, that tree bringeth’ not forth good fruit is hewn down and
cast into the fire.’

The churches of England, and we, as integral
parts of these, have solemn duties lying upon us to-day; and if we
cannot help our brethren, and feed and nourish the hungry and thirsty
hearts and souls of mankind, then-then!

the sooner we are plucked up
and pitched over the vineyard wall, which is the fate of the barren vine,
the better for the world and the better for the vineyard.

from:Alexander Maclaren’s “Expositions of Holy Scriptures” on the book of Mark

Alexander Maclaren (11 February 1826 – 5 May 1910)

The Church

August 28, 2023 testadmin

Merely to mark time in missionary work during the war is a fatal blunder,

We must go forward.

Let the call of Christ be heard and heeded through the din of the world’s conflict,

and let the Church rise to a worthy
endeavor to accomplish speedily the work entrusted to her.

 

A quote from Rowland Bingham (1872-1942)

in
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
“Rowland Bingham Into Africa’s Interior” by Janet & Geoff Benge

 

The Church

June 5, 2022 testadmin

Merely to mark time in missionary work during the war is a fatal blunder.
We must go forward. Let the call of Christ be heard and heeded through
the din of the world’s conflict, and let the Church rise to a worthy
endeavor to accomplish speedily the work entrusted to her.

Rowland Bingham (1872-1942)

The Cup

December 15, 2021 testadmin

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too;

you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.

1 Corinthians 10:21

 

Repent

July 28, 2020 jakin7

if my people,

who are called by my name,

will humble themselves

and pray

 

and seek my face

and turn from their wicked ways,

then will I hear from heaven

 

and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.         2 Chronicles 7:14

The Betrothed

April 13, 2020 jakin7

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1,2

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

John 5:24

…Thus, then, is it evident that both sin and the law are utterly powerless to condemn a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

…No legal obedience – no personal merit or worthiness of the sinner whatever – is taken into the account of his discharge from condemnation.

…God will pardon sin, and justify the sinner, but it must be by a process supremely glorifying to himself.

…the case, strange and difficult though it is, is met, fully, adequately met, by the satisfaction of Jesus. The Son of God became the Son of Man. He presents himself to the Father in the character of the church’s substitute.

… It is the simple belief of this fact that brings instant peace to the bosom. A present discharge from condemnation must produce a present joy.

“Christ has made atonement, and with it God is satisfied; and if so, well may you be satisfied – delighting yourselves greatly in the abundance of peace, and going forth even now in the light and liberty of your present enlargement.”…

As all the nations of the world were federally and mystically in Adam when he fell: so the “holy nation,” the Church of God, was federally and mystically in the Second Adam, ” the Lord of heaven,”…

In Christ they were chosen – to Christ they were betrothed – with Christ they were united –

by Christ they are saved , – and, sitting with Christ on his throne, they shall reign with him for ever and ever.

From No Condemnation In Christ by Octavius Winslow (1808-1878) pp 6 -9 First Published 1853 First Banner of Truth Edition 1991

Palm Sunday

April 5, 2020 jakin7

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ” Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle
and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. Matthew 21:1-6

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. John 12:12

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” John 12:13


Listen Carefully

March 27, 2020 jakin7

He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes,

if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees,

I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.”

Exodus 15:26

“We, too, pass through the Red Sea,

through the desert,

across the Jordan into the promised land.

With Israel we fall into doubt and unbelief and through punishment and repentance experience again God’s help and faithfulness.

All this is not mere reverie but holy, godly reality.

We are torn out of our own existence and set down in the midst of the holy history of our God on earth. There God dealt with us, and there He still deals with us, our needs and our sins, in judgment and grace.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together, p 53 Harper & Row 1954

Now Make Confession

March 26, 2020 jakin7


“And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” Ezra 9:2b

When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.

Ezra 9:3

Then,…I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and prayed:

“O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.”

Ezra 9: 5,6

“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.”

Ezra 9:8

“But now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we have disregarded the commands you gave…”

Ezra 9:10,11

“What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. “

Ezra 9:13

“Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will.’

Ezra 10:11a

The Bride

March 22, 2020 jakin7

The Bride of Christ ought take her stand.
Her time is always, but particularly now.
If she doesn’t, she has no legs, no heart,
no brain, no voice, and no face.

Will the Bridegroom return for a ghost?
He will prepare her for His appearing.
The true Church will be made ready. God is
holy and will be glorified.

The true Church will prevail.

Walley

But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating
of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of
cattle that I hear?” I Samuel 15:14

Why did you not obey the Lord? I Samuel 15:19a

“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said.” I went on
the mission the Lord assigned me. I Samuel 15:20 a,b

But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the
voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion
is the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of
idolatry. I Samuel 15: 22-23a

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight
in his commands. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is
steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:1b,7

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over all the
nations. Psalm 22: 27,28