Jesus, the Lamb Sacrificed for Us

 Jesus is the pure and spotless lamb sacrificed for us. Our sins are covered by his blood, a full and perfect atonement. Jesus is also the only High Priest who could offer up the once-for-all-time perfect sacrifice. He has made the WAY for us, the only way, out of the jaws of death and damnation back to our Creator in whose arms we truly belong. 

There is much to reflect on at Easter as we trace Jesus’ last days — the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the last supper, Gethsemane, betrayal and desertion, torture and the mockery of a trial, agonising death by crucifixion, burial in someone else’s tomb, and finally the resurrection. My prayer is that God will guide you as you reflect on this and that you will hear His heart for you. God bless you this Easter. 

Throughout his life he resisted the persistent temptations of the evil one till now, and we have these wonderful word in Hebrews:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in ever way, just as we are — yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15

Because Jesus was a person like us, he knows the temptations to which we are exposed. He will help us to resist them, and he paid the full price for all our failures. Fantastic!

Eternity, no beginning and no end!

 

I’ve started reading 1 John yet again. So good!! Jesus was from the beginning… but was there ever a beginning? Eternity has no beginning and no end. My mind cannot grasp that. God has ever been, and ever will be. No beginning, no end!
There are vast universes out there. They are endless. Are we the only place where there is intelligent life? Has God created beings in his own image elsewhere? Could be. Have they done better than us? Perhaps so.
How vastly different is our little world trapped in time and space when compared to God with his infinite timelessness and infinite universe, with no beginning and no end. We cannot begin to grasp it as much as we may try. There is no logical explanation. Yet God made us in his own image, and desired to have fellowship with us because he loved us, his own creation. By giving us free wills he introduced a tremendous wrinkle in it all. Jesus has and continues to deal with that wrinkle.
By choosing him our wrinkled will is lined up with God’s. We are then inheritors of eternity. What a healing that will be and already is!

Thank you, Jesus!

Winter is around the corner

 It's late autumn here in southern Australia, and winter is just around the corner. Yesterday we had a frosty morning and a lovely autumnal day followed.

This morning we had another frost... and was it a good one! Temp was -3.6 Celsius but the feel like temp was -6.6 Celsius.  It has not warmed up very much since.

We still have 11 more days of autumn so I wonder just how cold winter is going go to be this year. We already had snow May 7 though it was only flurries. Brr... time to keep the fire going and to stay cosy and warm.

On Gratefulness

I have a lovely little app (called Presently) on my phone which daily in the evening reminds me to consider the things for which I’m grateful in that day. I’m finding this a good way to end the day.
With so much happening in the world which has such a depressing effect on us it is good to look at those things for which we can be grateful. It does lift the spirits!
It may be things such as:
It’s spring and the garden is full of colour, or I had a lovely chat with a friend over Skype today, or my bed is so comfy, or I finally got some good weeding done in the garden.
There is much for which we can be grateful… really the possibilities are endless.
A grateful heart is a healthy heart.
Be blessed today and think of the things for which you are grateful.

A Year of Dramas

It's been several years since I wrote anything on this blog. I have been meandering my way through my life and times. This past 12 months have been a challenge in so many ways. Let me just review a little of what that has meant...
1) Australia has been experiencing a drought, a rather long one. Everything was so dry, so dead looking. The grass crunched beneath my feet as I walked. I didn't need to mow since nothing was growing. Gardening was mostly at a standstill except watering a little to keep the garden alive.
2) In September we had a snow storm, the first I'd experienced in the 9 years I'd been here. Such a beautiful sight even though it melted away fairly quickly and gave nourishment to the soil and plants.
3) Then came the bush fires!! What an awful time that was for NSW and Vic. The fires came very close from several sides over the summer months. The winds blew fiercely making things much worse. Each time it looked as if we would 'get it', the wind changed and we were safe again.
4) With the bushfires came the smoke. There was no escape and going outside was a challenge for breathing. I had to stay inside and deal with life from there though the smoke smell did permeate the house.
5) Then early this year the Corona Virus appeared on the scene. COVID-19 has disrupted life across the world in ways we could not have imagined this time last year. Australia has fared better than other countries (thus far). And living out in a rural area has been a blessing so that lockdown has not been as traumatic or stressful. We have had no postive cases in the region. The economy has taken a huge hit. And, there is no end in sight for the pandemic coming to an end.

So, what does the future hold? I don't know. What I do know is that through it all God has given me peace. My times and my life are in his hands. He is well aware of what is happening all over the world, AND he is still God.

My prayer is that God will bring good out of all these awful things that have been happening.

I am continually impressed to trust Jesus, and not look at the wild storms all about me.

May you be able to do the same.

God's Great Love and Mercy

We have such a merciful heavenly Father! It's hard to believe that he still loves us when we sin. It's hard to believe that he really cares when we go off on our own way. It's hard to take in that he loves us no matter what. It's hard to comprehend how he knows every single thing that is going on in the whole universe... that's everything to do with every star and planet, everything to do with every black hole and whatever else is out there, everything to do with absolutely everything on this earth--us humans and our thoughts and actions, the birds and animals, all of nature itself (remember he knows about every sparrow that falls to the ground). I cannot keep track of anything much, yet he sees it all, knows it all intimately, and loves all he has made. What a thought! He loves all he has made... even the caterpillar that snacks on my vegies! He takes delight in his creation... and I suspect is longing for us to be able to enter into the beauty of all he has created. I am so little, so small in my understanding and appreciation of God, and yet he is not daunted by my wayward ways. His love and patience with me covers the many years since I became a Christian, and even longer because he planted the seed in my heart and into my family line. Oh, that we would turn to Jesus and find the life he's intended for us.

Father Heart of God

Back in 2003 I was thinking about God as Father. I was particularly struck by what Jesus said of his own relationship with Father God all through the gospel of John. It seems like it would be good to come back to what I wrote all those years ago. May Father God bless and encourage you as you read and think about God as your own heavenly Father.
We need to experience God’s father heart towards us. What we know of a father’s heart is pretty pitiful. For some it’s as a tyrant who demands unquestioning obedience and who uses physical force or verbal abuse to achieve that obedience. For some it’s as a slave driver who requires “work” to pay one’s way. For some it’s like a school teacher requiring perfect scores. For others though there may be a physical presence, the father is emotionally absent. For many there is no father because of death, divorce, or other circumstance causing separation of the family.
Our experience of our own fathers’ hearts becomes our view of God’s father heart so that our sense his heart may be one or more of the following:

He’s a tyrant waiting for me to put one foot out of place
He’s violent and vengeful
He’s distant and disinterested
He’s unapproachable
He doesn’t listen
He only pays attention if I get all my ducks in a row
He doesn’t care about me or what I feel
He won’t help me, I have to figure it out myself
He doesn’t like me (because I’m ugly, stupid, slow, lazy, fat, careless, a girl, a boy, not like him, whatever)

Here are some scriptures to help you meditate on Father God. God is emotionally present, kind, loving, gentle, and understanding of our limitations. Our minds may know this but our hearts don’t.

• Psalm 103:13, 14 says, “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he understands how weak we are; he knows we are only dust.”
• Isaiah 9:6 “Mighty God, everlasting father …”
• Matthew 6:9 “Our Father in heaven may your name be honored …”
• *John 10:30 “The Father and I are one …” Look at Jesus to get a view of the father heart of God.
• Romans 8:15 “Father dear Father …”
• Hebrews 1:5 “Today I have become your Father …”
• Ephesians 4:6 “Only one God and Father …”