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  • You are here: Blogs Directory / Devotionals / Stuart Rankin's Blog Welcome Guest
    Stuart Rankin's Blog
          A place where spiritual observations are exposed & aired. Working with: www.counselling4him.org.uk

    Mon, Jul 31st - 3:02PM

    Ramblings after the main event.



    I was drawn to this ramble by various verses that have appeared from time to time.  It starts with John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, according to John!  There he was in a quarry in Patmos a Greek Isle which my friend Jim will be visiting in September of this year.

    John a prisoner for the Lord, really must have wondered what it was all about, prayed about his situation I have no doubt, was led on a most amazing journey by the Holy spirit.  John you remember was the one person, who immediately believed when he was shown the empty tomb & the folded grave clothes, his faith is so great that at the end of his life he is still waiting for the promise of eternal life.

    Here his eyes & ears were truly opened as to what will happen at the end times. The supremacy of Christ which John already appreciated was to lead on to the final victory over death & hades. He was a witness to the final scenes, the very "consumation of the heavenly reality".  This book has been studied by the best scholars, the best critics & still it remains a mystery. What a mystery it really is, the final days where Jesus, in coming again will be the one who has the final act in God's global plan of Love & grace.

    The final chapter is my favourite: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the niddle of the street of the city. I love verse three, the curse that God put on Adam & Eve and therefore all mankind is lifted,  "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and  the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him".

    WoW!      Wonders of Wonders,   do you feel the wow factor, the awesomeness of the whole situation, the curse which God put on Mankind has been lifted in the very last days!!!!  The people who are in the city, will see his face, remember Moses had to be in the cleft, hidden, so as not to be burnt up, but those who are there will see his face.

    There will be eternal daylight as the 'Shakinah'  Glory of the God will be more than sufficient for all to see, no more sun, for God will be our light. What a revelation John received, working in a quarry as a prisoner, his only crime in being a confessed believer in Christ Jesus. Here at his lowest ebb, he was priveleged to see all this,  Christ saw him & showed him that all his suffereing was not in vain.  God's promises that have been revealed in scriptures are all worth waiting for, here John was shown the truth of all he believed.  Hallelujah what a Saviour.

    So my friends as we think on our troubles, have we been in prison for our beliefs? Have we been forced to work as a slave for our love of Christ?  When we think of all the things which are wrong in our world, the war in the Middle East, the earthquakes & famines which abound today. What are our thoughts?  Have we reached the end of our tether? Have we in the light of this revelation, loved & reached out to our neighbour today?

     The hope that we have in the resurrection of Christ is going to come about in a real way, it will manifest itself to us as it was layed out before John when he needed to be shown. That is what we must tell a world which is tearing itself apart, that is what we must say to our neighbour, invite them to a meal & explain why you have invited them. Do not thrust the Gospel upon them, but tell them what it is all about & why you believe.

    Do not despair for the Gospel, act out  Mt 28:16ff in your lives today.  The revelation John received has been shared with you, it is given us as the climax to our lives.  Friday is here my brothers & sisters in Christ, but Sunday is acommin'

    Our God has invited us to share in His Heavenly reality, lets make sure we do not get lost on the way.

    Love in His Name   Stuart



    Comment (2)

    Mon, Jul 24th - 2:25PM

    Ramblings from Colosse



    It has happened again, as I was quietly reading the over view of the book it struck me just how important this letter is for us today.  The epistle which Paul wrote to the believers in Colosse was written to overcome the teaching of gnosticism, this is a basis for heretical teaching even today. This was found in early paganism, a special knowledge of revealed by "The higher power" to chosen people who became influential & even rich because of this.

    Small wonder Paul wrote his letter when he heard what was happening in Colosse, cipient gnosticism. That Christ was one of the higher power's messengers, sent  to impart wisdom & knowledge to the chosen few.  It was superficially Christian & therefore was read by members of the early Christian Church. Who were still trying to get to grips with a crucified dying Jesus being raised by God to Glory.

    So that is the reasons that here in this letter,  we have some of the highest Christology in the scriptures.  Paul explains in detail the "Supremacy of Christ" That Jesus was not an angel, or messenger, but is the Son of the living God.

    The Apostles prayer from 1:9 for the believers are in great detail about who Christ is & exactly what he has done for each of them & each oh us.  Not just giving thanks to the Father, but goes on to say, "who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light". No, he says Christ is not a messenger but is the son of God who is the kingdom of light.

    Jesus he says is the image of the invisible God.  People at the time of writing Circa 60AD had not only heard of Jesus but some had seen him in the flesh. Paul then writes a beautifully crafted letter, that Christ was not for just the few, but was everyone who believed.  What a work of praise for God & his message to the world.

    2:8 tells where Paul warns the early Christian church just what is being offered by the pagan people who are infiltrating the Church; hollow & deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition. Comparing the old ways of circumsicion to the new way of receiving fellowship with God through the circumcision of Christ through the act of God raising Jesus from the dead.

    Another warning this time about  "angelology"  the actual worship of messengers taught by unsound teachers & thus leading them astray. This is a practice which with some slight difference is still being put about today.  Do certain sects not talk of having a special knowledge which has been handed down over the years?  Special messengers who claim to have heard from God? Unverifiable & dangerous words have been claimed to have their origin in god.  Yes folks it is still happening about us, think of Waco. Be aware of what Paul is saying.  The message is there for all to see, when someone says the he or she has a special message from God, a departure from the written word, then we are to be very careful in accepting it as it stands, that is a special one off, which cannot be verified. 

    This glorious letter finishes with Paul reminding the people of all that Christ has done for them & how they & we are to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God. What a wonderful book this really is, no wonder it was included in the Canon of Scripture.   When we do all these things, Paul reminds us in 3:23   "Whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for men.  Since you know that that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving".

    An Awesome piece of writing by an awesome God, Hallelujah what a Saviour.

    Love in His Name  Stuart

    Be careful friends

     



    Comment (7)

    Sun, Jul 16th - 9:34AM

    Ramblings about relationships



    I realise the title relationships may mean different things to different people, but what I am talking about is: What is our relationship with ourselves?  How do we feel about ourselves before a God & before a Saviour who will someday judge us on this very topic!

    The opening verses in Romans twelve remind us that;  We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God - this is our spiritual act of worship. Then we are to be transformed by renewing our minds, we will be able to test what is true!.

    Paul then says, By the grace given to him by God, we are not to "Think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but rather think of ourselves with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given each one of us."  The measure of faith seems to be the key words here, God has given each one of us a measure of faith, & we in the light of it are to judge ourselves accordingly.  Paul I take it refers to our individuality in the body of Christ, that is the Church. we are all given different measures of faith or gifts that we might use these measures of faith in the building up of the Church, that is each other.  We are to service one anothers needs in the light of spiritual gifts or measures of faith given to us by God the Holy Spirit for this specific purpose. 

    You by now may understand why I said at the beginning relationships with ourselves. In the Spirit how do we feel about our gifts of faith & other gifts in the light of this passage?  Do we still maintain that God has not called me to do this task?  or todays message was not for me?  God is calling everyone who is a member of his Church to help in the task of building our church.  Look soberly at yourselves & see what gift of faith God has given you!  Some he has given gifts of prayer, others gifts of healing, others he has given the gift of discernment. That is one we are all to excercise, & practise if we are to test what God's perfect will is v2b  then to help others overcome their dark days. 

    This passage is not dissimilar to the sermon on the mount by Jesus or Luke's sermon on the plain.  So we understand that the Gospels are in tune with Pauls writings here. The same spirit authored them all.  It is now up to us as individuals to follow the way Christ wishes us to go.  When people say to me what is God's will for me, there it is, Examine youself, soberly, working out which spiritual gift God has given you & act upon it for the building up of God's people.  So when people have little or no self esteem how can they be doing God's will, if we think nothing of ourselves, how can we begin to appreciate what God has entrusted us to do for him?

    The realisation that God does not need us for anything, but chooses to use us is really inspiring.  The God who created the Universe & life in all its various forms, uses people to to achieve his purposes is a gift in itself. The grace is all His, The Glory is all His, The Honour & Worship is all His.  Hallelujah!!!!

    God has trusted us with special tasks for him, he has given us all the tools to carry out those tasks, now from v9 onwards he tells us how to carry out those tasks using the gifts he has given us, he trusts us, so we must trust ourselves.  Transform your mind by renewal both spiritual & practical & go in peace knowing that God is an Awesome Father, Christ his glorious victorious Son, & led by the Spirit of This God, how can we fail in the task?

    May the God of Hope fill you with all joy & peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy Spirit.

    Love in His Name   Stuart



    Comment (4)

    Thu, Jul 6th - 4:17AM

    Ramblings in Prayer



    During my morning quiet time I was asking God to, "take me as I am I can come no other way"  Then I got to meditating on that, what ways are there to come to God?  Where does God come into the ways I am?  Where does teachings & life's experience come into the equation?

    When I am full of pride & haughtiness does God get a chance to enter, when I am on my knees asking for grace does God listen as I have become arrogant?

    Then the passage from James; "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds......."  Jas. 1:2ff 

    Life is full of options & decision making.  When I take the wrong option I go down that road & along comes the consequences of that choice.  God in his wisdom puts check points on that consequence & brings me back on course, James calls that a 'Trial'  It makes me more malleable to God's word because my thoughts have been allowed to soften as I seek a way out of my dilemma & therefore makes me more of a ready listener to that still quiet voice!   This in turn makes me more positive giving me that perseverence all the Scripture Writers tell about.  see also 2 Peter 1:3ff  Thus strengthening my faith & hopefully making me a useful tool in the Church's work for God, making me a better member of the team that Christ has raised for his purposes.

    We as Christians work well when we are in a team, we may of course work alone at times but not in isolation, the team is always there somewhere in the background. That is what makes each individual strong, the fellowship of believers.  Each one has been going through the process which will eventually produce the people God wishes us to be, I think that this will be in the next phase, after the Lord's return.  I think there will never be a time when we know it all, but the learning curve is to be enjoyed, it is not just to be endured!  I think that is what James is talking about here. 

    We all make wrong decisions, we sometimes even sin, we tell lies, but that is all part of the learning curve, we are a forgiven people, not because we deserve forgiveness, but because of God's  Grace.  Why else would James go on to talk about the small member the tongue?  James calls that the reality of faith tested by the tongue,

    The way forward is for God's people to  remember the prayer of the Pharisee & the sinner, one tells God what he is & the other tells God what he wishes to be,  a forgiven man.  "Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man"  Lk. 18:13

    The question is where are we in God's scheme? Where are we on the journey of our faith? 

    I find myself back where I was when I started thinking about this:   "Jesus take me as I am, I can come no other way"  My hope for my salvation is built on the one who was despised & rejected, the one who is the capstone of the Christian Church.  My Jesus, My Saviour,  How Awesome you are

    Love in His Name  Stuart



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    About Me

    Name: Stuart Rankin
    ChristiansUnite ID: shar
    Member Since: 2005-09-07
    Location: Livingston, United Kingdom
    Denomination: Christian
    About Me: I am a retired Pastor, I still preach in any Church that invites me, although it is usually Evangelical independant ones, I am licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland, & often do. My background in Christian Brethren & I took my training at Glasg... more

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