Lord, You're calling us to be holy - and You're calling us to be joyful.

2 Chronicles 29:1-36 

Lord, You're calling us to be holy (2 Chronicles 29:5) - and You're calling us to be joyful (2 Chronicles 29:30). It's not to be holiness without joy. It's not to be joy without holiness. It's to be holiness and joy. Lord, make us holy - and make us joyful.

Help us, Lord, to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You.

Ezra 1:1-2:35

"Rebuild the House of the Lord" (Ezra 1:3). This, Lord, is what You're calling us to do. Who are You calling? Is it just a few 'special' people? - No! It's "all those whose spirits God had moved" (Ezra 1:5). Help us, Lord, never to say, "There's nothing for me to do." There's always something we can do. Help us to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You.

When, Lord, we sin, help us to come to Jesus.

Job 34:21-35:16 

“If you have sinned” (Job 35:6). Help us, Lord, to think about Job, about Jesus, and about ourselves. “Job feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Job wasn’t being singled out for special punishment, because he was much more sinful than anyone else – but this doesn’t mean that he had never sinned (Job 7:21; Job 13:26). Help us, Lord, to look beyond Job to Jesus. He did not sin (Hebrews 4:14-16) – but He did suffer: “He suffered for us … He bore our sins … He died for us … He died for our sins” (1 Peter 2:21-24; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour. When we sin, help us to come to Jesus. He is our “Redeemer” (Job 19:25). He gives us “quietness” and “songs in the night” (Job 34:29; Job 35:10). Help us, Lord, to “be still and know that You are our God.” Help us to “shout for joy to You” (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 98:4).

Lord, help us to listen for the voice of Your love – and not to be deceived, discouraged, and distressed by words that come to us from Satan.

Job 25:1-27:6

Lord, we hear biting sarcasm in Job’s response to his ‘comforters’: “How you have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no strength!” (Job 26:2). We hear Job’s searching question: “With whose help have you uttered words, and whose spirit has me forth from you?” (Job 26:4), and we pray, “Lord, help us to listen for the voice of Your love – and not to be deceived, discouraged, and distressed by words that come to us from Satan.”

What effect do our words have on other people?

Job 18:1-19:7

“How long will you torment me, and break me in pieces with words?” (Job 19:2). Lord, we read Job’s reply to the harsh words, spoken by Bildad, and we ask, “What about us? What effect do our words have on other people? Lord, You speak to us about our use of words “The tongue is a fire … set on fire by hell …With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not happen!” (James 3:6,9-10). As we think about what You are saying to us, help us to pray that “our conversation will be always full of grace” (Colossians 4:6). Lord, may our words “bring a blessing to those who hear” them (Ephesians 4:29).

Approaching the Lord’s Table: Forgiveness, Victory, Faith, God’s Word, God’s Love

As we approach the Lord’s Table, let’s think about two verses of Scripture.

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

“Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler” (Psalm 91:3).

The first of these verses speaks of the forgiveness of our sins.

The second speaks of victory over Satan.

Through the precious blood of Christ, we receive the forgiveness of our sins (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Through the precious blood of Christ, we are victorious over Satan (Revelation 12:11).

Let us rejoice in God’s gift of forgiveness. Let us also rejoice in His gift of victory.

We do not earn God’s forgiveness. It is God’s gift. Victory is not earned. Like forgiveness, victory is God’s gift.

How do we receive these great gifts of God?

We come to the Cross of Christ. At the Cross, we learn that Christ to bring us forgiveness – and He died to give us victory.

We receive these gifts by faith.

Forgiveness and victory do not come to us without faith. Faith is the response by which we receive God’s gifts.

What is faith? How does faith change us? What part do the reading and preaching of God’s Word have in the strengthening of our faith? How does the celebration of the Lord’s Supper help us to grow in faith?

* Faith is centred on Jesus Christ. It is putting our trust in Him.

* Faith is not only believing with our minds. It’s being changed in our hearts. Faith does not leave us where it finds it. Faith leads us on a journey of discovery. It’s a journey in which we learn more and more of our Saviour. We are learning to love Him, follow Him and serve Him.

* Faith does not take any glory for itself. Faith gives all the glory to God. Faith does not say, ‘Glory for me.’ Faith says, ‘Glory to God.’

In this journey of discovery, what part is played by our gathering together for worship?

* We gather to hear the Word of God. It is read to us. It is preached to us. Faith is part of a conversation between ourselves and our God. He speaks to us. we are learning to speak to Him. unless God speaks to us, we will be unable to speak to Him. God’s Word is spoken to us. God’s Word creates our response. God speaks, and it is done. He says, “Let there be light, and there is light.” God’s Word is our shining light in a dark world. When His light shines upon our life, we walk in His light. It is the light of His love. This is the light that inspires our faith.

* We gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This is a special time of remembering Jesus. It’s a special time of being reminded that Christ loves us. His love is the greatest love of all. There is no love like the love of Jesus. we gather at the Lord’s Table. We learn that we are loved. we are loved with an everlasting love. It’s a love that will not let us go. God loves us long before we ever thought of loving Him. When our love is weak, His love is strong. this is the message that comes to us from the Lord’s Table. This is the love which gives strength to our faith.

On To Victory

In Christ, we have the victory: “they have conquered Satan by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:7-12).

God is calling us beyond the conflict. He is calling us on to victory.

We don’t live in a perfect world. We’re not perfect people. We wish things could be different – but they’re not! Not yet! We pray, “Your Kingdom come” – but we’re still waiting for God’s complete answer to this prayer. The Book of Revelation provides us with a vision of God’s coming Kingdom. As we await His Kingdom, the words of Habakkuk 2:3 are very helpful to us: “the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

* There is conflict with the world.
We commit ourselves to living for Jesus Christ. There are plenty of other people who don’t want to have anything to do with Him. This is something we must live with. “We do not lose heart” when we face opposition. We give thanks that “God’s mercy” has reached us, bringing to us the forgiveness of all our sins and giving to us the great privilege of being Christ’s witnesses in this sinful world (2 Corinthians 4:1).
* There is conflict within ourselves.
Though we have committed ourselves to Christ, we are deeply conscious that we do not serve Him as well as we should. Our problems do not always come fom the world around us. Often, we create problems for ourselves. There is too much of self and not enough of Christ in our lives. He has given Himself for us. How much have we given ourselves to Him?
* God is calling us beyond the conflict.
“Just as I am, though tossed about, with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings within, and fears without, O Lamb of God, I come.”
The conflict, the doubt, the fightings, the fears – these things don’t just disappear. Satan makes sure of that! As we look to the Lord, we receive His strength. He enables to say from the heart, “I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1-2). These words take us to a ‘high’ place – but we are quickly reminded that there is also a ‘low’ place. Psalm 9:3 begins with the ominous words, “My enemies”!
Beyond those whom the Psalmist describes as “my enemies, there is another enemy – Satan! As we read Psalm 9:3-6, we must catch a glimpse of the final defeat of Satan. Here on earth, we face conflict. Our life in Christ isn’t an easy life. Satan sees to that!
Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This is something we must never forget.
Revelation 12:9-10 tells us while Satan may be very powerful, he is less powerful than Christ. The victory does not belong with Satan. It belongs with Christ.
“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”
How does this victory become ours? – “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Revelation 12:11).
The victory is not easily won. It was very costly for Christ. He went to the Cross to win for us the victory over Satan. Revelation 12:12 reminds us that it will be very costly for us – “the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Whatever the devil may be doing – in the world and in his attacks upon ourselves, may us learn to say from the heart, “I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1-2).