SERMONS & MEDITATIONS
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Unless otherwise stated the articles are by David W. Norris
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NEW EVERY MORNING
"The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." (Lamentations 3:25)
The mercies of God are new every morning. We do not carry yesterday’s sins with us, but neither are the mercies of yesterday sufficient for today. Many try to live from what God did in their lives many years ago and wonder why they come no further forward, why it is God does nothing new in their lives.
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NOT HEARERS ONLY...
The indispensability of good works
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)
There are plenty of talkers about, blatherers and windbags. Commentators, journalists, self-appointed and opinionated talkers are all ready to add their tuppence-worth of nonsense to the reigning confusion. Ministers and preachers stand in their pulpits rehearsing the same empty words, or debasing the truth into a series of platitudes. Few offer any suggestions about what we can actually do to bring about change, fewer still are those ready to put themselves out to initiate anything effective. Perhaps it is that no one really knows what can be done, or think that nothing can be or ought to be done. Then the liars and deceivers of men are always with us, opening their mouths wide, making sure they speak loudly and long enough for everyone to hear. They are always active, always ready to move into the space left empty by others.
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LIVING THROUGH EVIL DAYS
Some thoughts for today based on Psalm 37
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN DAYSPRING #16, Spring 2013
PART ONE
Today it would seem as though the evil aspirations of godless men are reaching out towards ever new heights; at the same time, their deeds sink to ever lower depths of wickedness and depravity. There is a brash anti-Christian haughtiness abroad, a brazen godless arrogance unrivalled in living memory. It is not alarmist or fanatical, nor is it beyond denial to say that there exists a nexus of evil, a bond among many in high places who, as the Scriptures say, “take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Psalm 2:2-3). They would cast off the cords divine authority. The evidence for this is clear. These individuals have quite openly set themselves the task of eradicating from the life of our nation everything that is remotely Christian and their actions are well-known.
PART TWO: The believer’s refuge
Some further thoughts for today based on Psalm 37
THIS COMPLETE ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN DAYSPRING #17, Spring 2014
A new worship has taken hold in the world with new altars. It makes temples out of banks, out of global businesses, finances houses and stock exchanges. Almost gone from us is the worship of gods of wood and stone, the sun or the moon, or the mythical beings of Mount Olympus. In their place are pounds, Euros, and dollars. The only thing worth having is money. The author, Martin Amis, recently observed that class is no longer as important in English society as the amount of money each person has. Money has won in England, he maintains. Lust, avarice and greed are now our gods, the driving force of our devotions. We all bow our knees before the impulses of greed and epicurean luxury; mammon exceeds and overrides all other forms of worship. There can be no halt to this movement until every nation is subjugated under one rule and dictated to in all aspects of its life. Every tie of nationality, every bond of family or race, every distinction of religion must be dissolved. All must be melted into one great universal fellowship and kingdom of men.
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THE LIVING CHRIST, THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH
Herman Bavinck (1854-1921)
Dutch Reformed theologian and churchman
The peculiarity of the Christian religion as has been shown so often, and acknowledged even by opponents, lies in the person of Christ. All other religions are independent, to a certain degree, of their founders, because those founders were nothing more than their first confessors. But Jesus was not the first Christian; he was and is the Christ. He is not the subject, but the object, of religion.
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