Missions Paul

HELL ON EARTH.

Last week we had the disturbing news from the Philippines of children being used by their parents for online sexual activities. Incredulous to think I just typed and you just read the word ‘parents’!
Clearly something is wrong when parents are willing to sacrifice their children for their own personal gain! Hell on earth.
Today I read an article regarding parents who mutilate their own daughters in the name of culture, Hell on earth.

JEREMIAH 7

Jeremiah is appalled to his core at what people are doing. Even more so with it being God’s people. He complains about their turning back to idolatrous worship but also brings warning of judgment for their child sacrifice in the valley of Ben Himmon.
That any parent is possible of such a thing is beyond all of us. But it is what happened. In the valley of Himmon the first born children were sacrificed by their parents as sacrifices to gods. This valley became hell on earth.
How God’s people followed suit and why is beyond us and that of even God who says “nor did it enter my mind” that they were capable of it, v31.
After the Babylonian exile the Jews turned this valley into a rubbish dump where fires were continually seen burning the waste of the city. Executed criminals were also burnt here. Hell on earth.
Even in Jesus day it was still referred to as hell. Jesus called this valley by the Greek name Gehenna in Matthew 5:22.
A few years ago I was blessed to be in Jerusalem with a team and I looked out onto this valley. There was no rubbish. It was beautiful. There was no evidence of evil. It looked normal.
There is still hell on earth today in many places where people commit evil even though they may think it normal.
I believe in hell. Those who commit hell if they do not find God’s grace at some point will be thrown away like rubbish into the Valley. Hell on earth becoming life in Hell.

CROSS-ROADS

Judgment is looming for Jerusalem, an army is coming, we are reading gloomy chapters at the moment.
However yet again there are hidden pearls of treasure if we would slow our pace of reading.
Jerusalem did not see these pearls, will we?

JEREMIAH 6

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ v16

Stand and look
I have just watched a tv debate where an atheist used the theory that because she can speak to someone on her mobile device in Australia in a second only shows that those who still hold to old-fashioned beliefs such as God are bonkers. The advancement of technology, it’s speed, attention to detail, it’s accuracy is truly startling. But God is asking you to slow it down. To stop. Find some time to stand and look. Observe and view what can not be viewed at 70mph.

Ask and walk
What did we do before the satnav? We asked for directions. Except if you are a man in which case we got lost. Men are so thankful for this development for to ask stupidly appears weak. We know the way. We know what to do. Leave it to me. But all that is fallacy. God says ask about the ancient paths. How did the older generation walk with God? What values did they hold to? What decisions did they make? Walk in these ways. Not all that is modern is best.

Rest not fight
The inner man, our soul need not be restless nor agitated. As I write this I think of one person I know who has not been part of a worshipping community because of the fight that has gone on within their soul for over a decade now. Find rest in God. Lay the fight down. Stop resisting and surrender.

CROSS-ROADS. Roads to and from the cross. Pearls. Pay attention to them.

SAND ON THE SEASHORE

The pictures of the many towns along the British coast are etched in our mind of the sheer power of the sea. It is frighteningly awesome. A powerful energy that is attractive and devastating, which breaks into pieces anything that stands in its way. Does this prove that nothing is more powerful than the sea?

JEREMIAH 5
“Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it, v22.

The sea, symbolically known throughout the Bible as something to be feared is seen as under the command of Gods laws and subject to the sand.

What do you fear? Is it the sea?
Are you being knocked about? Are the attacks coming like wave after wave crashing in on you? Is your circumstance speaking louder than you can think?
There is an unfailing boundary which commands the wind and waves no more. The sea may rise and shout but the sand resists its pressure.
What is this powerful sand?
A recent newspaper article stated: “Viewed at a magnification of over 250 times real life, tiny grains of sand are shown to be delicate, colourful structures as unique as snowflakes. When seen well beyond the limits of human eyesight, the miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock.”

So what can we learn?
Do not fear the loudest noise or the biggest scenario. Fear Him who made sand with its complexities and smallness which can resist the roar. Trust is small yet more powerful.
One UKIP this last week wrote to the Prime Minister to suggest the reason the sea broke through the defences was because of certain new laws of the government. Britain is under God’s judgment. Whether that is true or not, what is true is if we do not trust God then maybe He will make sure we begin to do so.

ON THAT DAY

JEREMIAH 4

3 things to hold on to on that day …v9

Don’t lose the courage to rule and order your life. (The kings)
Don’t lose the ability to minister because of overwhelming fear. (The priests)
Don’t lose the power to speak out. (The prophets)

When the bad news comes.
When the bad day strikes.
Don’t.

Baa!

We all know the Bible refers to us as sheep. Many may think that’s because we are so daft. However, I have just read an amazing story in a 2006 report on a page of the BBC website that clearly suggests sheep are not stupid!

“Last week shepherds in Yorkshire, England, found that they had a group of sheep to care for that were not only stubbornly prone to stray, but also crafty. One of the sheep figured out a way to transgress the boundaries: it laid down and rolled over the grid. The other sheep in the herd followed the example of the stray leader, and soon the sheep had spread over the countryside and found their way to neighborhood gardens, where they ate the food and flowers of local residents.”

JEREMIAH 3
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding, v15. From this verse we can see 10 keys of a Pastor’s life:

1. Pastors are God-appointed.
2. Pastors are a gift to people.
3. Pastors love their people as a shepherd does their sheep, even if they keep straying.
4. Pastors know they are not alone, carrying the weight of the world, they are plural, there are many of them and they need to recognise this.
5. Pastors pursue the heart of God.
6. Pastors are God-like.
7. Pastors lead people.
8. Pastors are known for their knowledge.
9. Pastors are known for their wisdom.
10. Pastors feed others what they know.

Thanks God for your shepherd, your Pastor! baa!

Glory Glory Hallelujah!

The word ‘glory’ in the Bible means ‘weighty, heavy’ and refers to the presence of God.
Nothing can change the presence of God. Nothing can effect His glory. It is unchanging. He will be where He wants to be. However His glory is not what is under scrutiny, it is our glory.

JEREMIAH 2 v11, “my people have exchanged their glory.”

Our glory is the original condition mankind was created with.
Adam lost it because he wanted to be somebody else instead of being happy with who God created.
Adam lost it for us and Jesus gave it back to us but we keep on losing it because we want to be somebody else other than who God made.
We want to be and we want to have and we pursue this at all costs even if that cost is our glory.
We exchange our glory by choosing to speak a certain way, or by our certain actions, or the way we spend and the way we give, what we use and what we keep. We do all those things for the image of somebody in our mind.

The question is always this: is that image the image of Jesus? If it is not, then you are in danger of losing your glory.

Keep your glory: it is who you are created to be.

What on earth is He doing?

So says the sick person, the rejected applicant, the abused partner and every other person who has experienced disappointment in God. What are you doing? Where are you when I need you?
JEREMIAH 1
Here is the tremendous call from God to the prophet and after an initial few uncertain responses from Jeremiah God presents him with his first vision.
What did he see? Was it thunder and lightning representing God’s judgment? Was it multitudes coming to God in worship showing he would be successful in ministry? What did he see? He saw a tree branch. He saw more than that though. He was seeing a branch of an almond tree, v11.
Some people only see what is dying? They only see the ordinary, a branch. But those that God uses are the ones who are able to see more than that. We need to be able to see all that is truly before us. For when we are able to do that then we will be able to see what on earth He is doing!
Almond means ‘watching’ and God showed the prophet the tree so he could see that He was watching over Jeremiah’s world.
In Jeremiahs world it looked like God was not alive in it. God was saying I am. He was active within it. He was carrying out His purposes in it, v12.
The circumstances of your world may suggest God is not here. But look again. Learn to see all that you can see in the circumstance. You can see more than a branch. You can see a God who is watching over you, who has spoken His word into your life and who will accomplish that word through your life.

It’s not a performance.

Recently I was sitting on the front row next to a lady during a communion service. The servers had received the communion emblems and then turned to serve the church. They came to the front row at which point the lady next to me closed her eyes and occupied the position of “You are going to have to tap me on my shoulder for me to realise you are there in order to take the bread because I am lost in wonder love and praise.” She also started to murmur a few ‘Amens’ and humming sounds in a deeply meaningful way. Sure enough the server tapped the lady on the shoulder a few times and she awoke from her vision to take the bread. She then had a little chat with her friend sitting next to her almost like a commercial break before the wine (juice) came and the scene was repeated. A performance worthy of a golden globe!

ISAIAH 66

How can we sum up this book?
There is no performance needed. It is a waste of time.
God esteems humility and those who respect His word in their life not those who perform.

A 5-year-old was observing his mother taking communion. He watched intently as she received the elements and bowed her head to pray.
A few seconds later, she stole a peek at her unusually quiet son to see what he was up to. He was by then intently watching his daddy at prayer after taking communion. She was delighted that he was observing the solemnity of the occasion. “Good parental example,” she thought.
Her gratification was short-lived as her son leaned toward her and whispered: “What’s in that stuff? You eat it and go right to sleep!”
A fun story and yet the sad part is that many are fooled by the performances of a few. Some get elevated to stardom status. The saddest part however is that God knows the truth and judgment will come on the performance and everyone will fail.

That’s the summary. So keep it real.

It’s all in a name

ISAIAH 65:15

In October, 2011, a deeply moving story was circulating in the press about a name-changing ceremony for girls in Mumbai, India. At birth the 285 girls had been named Nakusa or Nakushi, which means Unwanted in the primary Indian language of Hindi. The name Unwanted is widely given to girls across India where families often value sons much more than daughters. As a result, female babies have been aborted or neglected at an alarming rate.
But the renaming ceremony was an attempt to give the girls a new identity. The article reported, “The 285 girls—wearing their best outfits with barrettes, braids and bows in their hair—lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets.” Some of the girls chose new names that mean prosperous, beautiful, good, or even “very tough.” One girl who had been named Nakusa by her grandfather who was disappointed in her birth said, “Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me by this new name, and that makes me very happy.”

This powerful and delightful story pales into insignificance with the identity change that Jesus Christ brings to people who put their trust in Him. those who reject Jesus, their names are cursed. But for those of us who may have been cursed by man but who accept Christ receive new identities and new names in God’s sight. We have a new beginning!

Today, you are more than what others call you. You are what He calls you which is always loved.

OH

He has seen the throne of God.
He has seen His glory.
He has received a touch from the King.
He will never be the same again.
Surrounded by a nation walking away from God.
He needs God. He wants Him.
The vision begins with a burden.
And what comes from within is a cry, ‘OH’.

ISAIAH 64

Let us not be satisfied.
How can we when there are family members who need Christ?
How can we when the Church is asleep during prayer?
How can we when the Bible is carrying dust?

We need people to become dissatisfied with the status quo.
There are few conversions and fewer are commissioned.
We need God to come down.

It’s such a small word, “oh”.

Whatever you are facing today, is there hope?
Oh God is there hope?
Yes, “when you come down there is hope.”
“Come down to my world, to this problem.”
“And when you do all things become possible, even the mountains will tremble!”

OH!