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Think on these things

Imagine what a pathetic spectacle it would be if a child never grew. Physical growth is expected, and so too it is expected that a ‘child of God’ should grow spiritually. But how can spiritual growth be measured? D. L. Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899) the famous American evangelist, collected quotes and anecdotes he could use in his preaching. On the subject of spiritual growth, he wrote, “Doctor Bonar once remarked that he could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his Master, talk less of what he was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun. Jonathan was willing to decrease that David might increase; and John the Baptist showed the same spirit of humility.”  - ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ John 3:30.

 

 

‘… that ye may grow …’ - 1 Peter 2:2

 

“He must increase, but I must decrease” - John 3:30

The words above were spoken by John Baptist. He had in mind that his own ministry, that of proclaiming the coming Messiah, was drawing to a close. He had fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy [40:3] and had been ‘the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord!’ Christ would now be in the ascendancy and John’s voice would soon be still. Christ must INCREASE! In Daniel ch.2 we are introduced to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, in which he sees a large human image symbolising four great world kingdoms that would dominate world history. This unusual statue is broken in pieces by ‘a stone was cut out without hands’: a picture of the Second Coming of Christ. ‘The stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and FILLED the whole earth.’ Isaiah anticipated this future global Messianic kingdom when he wrote, ‘of the INCREASE of His government and peace there shall be no end’ Isaiah 9:7

 

 

 

FEBRUARY  2024
JANUARY 2024

John Baptist, at first, was unwilling to baptise Jesus as he recognised that He, being sinless, had no sins to confess. Following His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ William Barclay points out, ‘The voice which Jesus heard at the baptism is of supreme importance … That sentence is composed of two quotations. "This is my beloved Son", is a quotation from Psalm 2:7. Every Jew accepted that that Psalm as a description of the Messiah, the mighty King of God who was to come. "With whom I am well pleased" is a quotation from Isaiah 42:1, which is a description of the Suffering Servant …’ In a later chapter, the prophet Isaiah will reveal more about this ‘suffering Servant’ – ‘by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.’ [Isaiah 53:11]. This takes us to the cross!

 

‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ - Matthew 3:17

‘It is another who bears witness concerning me’ - John 5:32

In legal matters, the principle set down in Deuteronomy is well accepted - 19:5 ‘At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.’ The Jewish people struggled to accept that Jesus of Nazareth was their long-awaited Messiah, so in John ch.5, the Lord appeals to a five-fold witness to His Person. (1) The witness of John Baptist v.33 ‘he bore witness’. (2) The witness of the miracles – v.36 ‘for the works … that I do, bear witness of Me.’ (3) The witness of the Father – v.37 ‘the Father Himself, who has sent Me, has borne witness of Me.’ (4) The witness of Moses – v.46 ‘for if ye had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me. But if ye do not believe his writings, how shall ye believe my words?’ (5) The witness of the Scriptures – v.39 ‘the scriptures [which you search], they it is which bear witness concerning Me.’ The nation was without excuse!

 

MARCH 2024

‘Jesus said to them, “Come and dine” - John 21:12

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 – 2004) was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. In his own autobiography, Reagan shared his early fascination with how nature points beyond itself to Almighty God. At age five, his family rented a house in Galesburg, Illinois, and the attic contained “a huge collection of birds’ eggs and butterflies enclosed in glass cases.” Reagan recalled how he “escaped for hours at a time into the attic, marvelling at the rich colours of the eggs and the intricate and fragile wings of the butterflies.” He said “the experience left me with a reverence for the handiwork of God that never left me.” Following his death, they found among his personal papers, a set of ‘one-liner’ cards which he would use at his public talks. On one of the cards he’d written, “Ask an atheist who’s just had a great meal if he believes there’s a cook!”

 

MAY 2024
APRIL 2024

Having been rescued from certain death by the Roman commander in Jerusalem, the apostle Paul was allowed to speak to the frenzied Jewish mob, who, just moments earlier, had attempted to tear him to pieces. He spoke to them in Hebrew. This surprised the crowd who’d assumed he was a Greek. A noticeable stillness prevailed, and the mob listened well as Paul gave his personal testimony. Their attentiveness, however, was short lived, and soon they cried out, “Away with such a fellow … he is not fit to live!” What was it that caused this sudden outburst? Paul had just told them that Jesus had commissioned him, “TO WITNESS TO THE GENTILES.” That God should bless the Gentiles with salvation, was a step too far for these Jews who prided themselves in being the CHOSEN people. They overlooked the fact that it had always been God’s intention to bless the Gentile nations – See Genesis 12:3

 

JUNE 2024

‘And they listened to him until this word’ - Acts 22:22

- Luke 15:24