Accessorise!

I went to the Women and God weekend at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick with the Home League ladies from Ripley Salvation Army corps, which was from the 24th to the 26th of June. The  theme of the weekend was accessorise. There was a dressmakers dummy at the front of the hall when we arrived arrayed with all kinds of things, scarves, jewellery etc.

One of the first things they did was to take off all the accessories from the dummy which reminded me of Paul when he said, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1.

I remember a few years ago going to see my daughter, I very rarely went anywhere without my backpack at the time, I had to go into town for something for her and started walking, I remember that it wasn’t a particularly great day regarding the weather in fact it was rather dull and overcast, but I had such a lightness in my step that I had to stop and wonder why. Then I realised I didn’t have the backpack, I had left the weight behind. Everything in it was of some use but it wasn’t absolutely necessary for my journey, and this weekend reminded me that whilst many things in my life are useful they are not always an absolute necessity.

There are many things that can weigh us down in our Christian walk, we have to prioritise. There was the constant reminder all through the weekend, In Christ Alone. Not by any effort on my part, I don’t have to muster up strength, I am weak my strength is in Him. I don’t have to work for salvation, my salvation is by faith in Him. I am covered with the robe of righteousness which I have because of Him. In Christ alone is my strength, my hope, my joy, my peace, my salvation, my righteousness……. Etc.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Keith Getty and Stuart Townend  

So what accessories do I need?

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:14  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Ephesians 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Colossians 3:12  Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

All of which are not accessories but necessities as we walk daily in Christ.

Put on the Garments of Praise  Robin Mark

A Young Convert

You are a young convert. You have come to Christ, and have been saved by Him. God knows this, and you know it; but God wants you to let others know it. He wants you to own that you belong to Christ. This is what is meant by “confession”.

 Take your stand for Christ!

 Wherever you may be, in the barracks or trenches, on the battleship, in the office or at the bench, and above all at home, take your stand for Christ at once. Keep close enough to Him to be at a long distance from an evil man, a foolish jest or a wicked story.

Proverbs 14:9 Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favour.

From the side of Christ down to the company of fools who make a mock at sin, is a deep descent indeed, and you will find the return difficult and sorrowful. Be careful what you laugh at. Christ, the living Bread, which came down from heaven, is your daily food

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Do not let the ungodly suppose that you have a relish for unholy talk. If Christ is your life, then say with Paul: “To me to live is Christ.”

“What’s your name, Doctor?”

It was on the battle-field. A soldier lay bleeding to death. Seeing a surgeon passing near, he faintly called, “Doctor, please.” The surgeon dismounted, attended to the man, gave all possible relief, and ordered him to be conveyed at once to the hospital. As he was leaving, the wounded man asked, “What is your name, doctor?”

“Oh! No matter.”

“But doctor, I want to tell my wife and children, who saved my life.”

Surely that was becoming gratitude, and do you not think the Lord Jesus deserves as much from you? Does He not say to you as He did to another,

Mark 5:19 “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”

 Tell it out, dear young believer. It will strengthen you. It will be a safeguard to you. It is more likely you will stand from if you openly confess the name of Christ.

Is confession easy? No, it is not. And it becomes no easier because it is postponed. Today you may confess Christ with blushes and awkwardness, with blunders and stammering lips. Never mind; better to confess Christ so than be silent. Tomorrow it will be much easier, and soon you may be strong in His strength that you cannot help saying with the Psalmist “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul” Psalm 66:16

After all, you will not have to lay down your life to seal your witness for Christ. It is your confession brings suffering, which many have endured before you. The history of confession is written in blood and flame, and tender boys and girls have their record on its pages. During a massacre of Christians at Marash in Armenia, some years ago, a young lad was given the option death or of denying Christ, and was instantly beheaded. When his headless body was taken to his mother to terrify her, and to convert her to Mohammedanism, she kissed the dead son’s hand, and said, “Rather so, my son, than living to deny our Lord and Saviour.”

Do not be a coward, but follow in the track of such brave confessors, who are passing heavenward, led by Christ Himself. You have countless blessings, may you not miss this one:

taken from The Journey and its End, compiled by A. J. Pollock

Brotherhood

All about us, evermore, are human needs and sorrows, which make their mute appeal to us. We are our brother’s keepers. It will not avail as excuse for us that we did our brother no harm. Did we do him the good that his condition needed? It looks from the story as if the priest, when he came to the wounded man, kept his face turned away, so that he could not see him. There are many people that do the same these days. They refuse to see the misery and sorrow about them. But keeping ourselves ignorant of human needs will never excuse us for not relieving them. 

J. R. Miller. D. D.

No distance breaks the ties of blood;

Brothers are brothers evermore;

Nor wrong, nor wrath or deadliest mood,

That magic may o’erpower.

So it is with true Christian hearts;

Their mutual share in Jesus’ blood

An everlasting bond imparts

Of holiest brotherhood.

O might we all our lineage prove,

Give and forgive, do good in love,

By soft endearments in kind strife

Lightening the load of daily life.

Taken from A Daily Message from Many Minds

Assurance for the Saved Sinner

The message comes to a sinful man that he may have his continual abode in the Most Holy; that, the more real and near than with his nearest earthly friend, he may lie in unbroken fellowship with the Most High God. He is assured that the blood of Christ can cleanse his conscience in such power that he can draw nigh to God with a perfect conscience and with undoubting  confidence, and can ask and expect to live always in the unclouded light of God's face.

Taken from, Let us Draw Nigh by Andrew Murray page 46