All posts by Luella Campbell

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS…ISRAEL, GOD’S TREASURE – 1

Bible Study, ,

The Bible is full of treasures, both God’s treasures and ours. If we mine for these treasures, we will surely find them. 

Israel was God’s treasure. 

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Before time began, God chose one nation out of all the nations on earth to be His own possession.  

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession”, that is, His “segulah”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After He had created the nations, He assigned to each nation a governor, a member of His “divine counsel”,  

“When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…but He chose Israel to be His personal responsibility. 

So close and intimate would this relationship be that God entered into a marriage covenant with Israel. In the language and cultural protocol of the children of Israel, He betrothed them to Himself to live within the boundaries of His covenant relationship. 

In Hebrew culture, when a young man sought a bride, he would choose a young woman out of all the maidens in Israel, get to know her, and then make his intentions known to her. 

Using the first appropriate word in this process of courtship, “lachah”, which can mean “I want to take you,” she would know that he intended to marry her. After a period of time, when he was sure of his choice, he would seal his intention with the next accepted word, “segulah”. 

“The Hebrew word “segulah”means a “treasured possession” or “special, peculiar treasure”. It refers to something of great value, a beloved and carefully guarded possession, such as a king’s prized trophies or the nation of Israel as God’s special people. The term can also refer to segulot (plural), which are small items or practices intended to bring good fortune or a blessing, like a bride’s jewelry used by a single woman to attract a spouse.” (Sourced from Google) 

At Sinai, God entered into a betrothal pact with His people. It was in this covenant commitment, embodied in the word, “chesed”, the strongest Hebrew word used to express God’s love and loyalty to His people, that God remained  faithful to Israel regardless of their unfaithfulness to Him. This love kept Him from utterly destroying them for their rebellious defiance of His covenant. 

In the worst moments of their disobedience, exemplified in their persistent disregard for His first requirement…

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…He resolved not to destroy the completely. His indictment and judgment against them was heartbreaking. 

“Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans. My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭11‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

However, God’s covenant love for Israel prevented Him for turning them into another Sodom and Gomorrah. As He agonised over His decision to destroy them, He cried out…

““How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man— the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭11‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV

Israel has always been and always will be God’s treasured possession. He has never abandoned them and He never will. He has promised that, in His predetermined purpose for all people, He will fulfil His will for His “treasured possession. “

This is the conclusion of the matter…

“I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin….Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious….If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬, ‭11‬, ‭16‬, ‭25‬-‭29‬, ‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, God’s faithful love for Israel and His covenant commitment always to do good to them will culminate in and combine His purpose for them with His purpose for the whole human race…in one united family through Jesus.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility….Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭16‬, ‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 8

Prayer, ,

Jesus’ model prayer is not intended to be a mantra to be repeated mindlessly like the pagans do, but a framework around which, by allowing its principles to guide us, we build our fellowship with the Father and with His Son. 

Jesus has given us the main principles that should concern us in our relationship with the Father. Of course, life is far more complicated than these considerations. However,  we must never be overburdened by the details that so often are distractions from the real issues that should occupy our attention. 

Let’s summarise what Jesus  taught His disciples to focus on as they grew in their relationship to and fellowship with the Father. 

I use these two words, “relationship” and “fellowship” purposely as distinct from one another. 

“Relationship” refers to a settled state, based on our new birth, through the Holy Spirit. Through God’s grace, we have been moved out of slavery into God’s family as His sons and daughters. Once God has reinstated us, we can never be “unborn”. We can never lose our status as children of God…

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…even if we sin…

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Since we are sons and daughters of the Father, we need not do anything to cultivate our relationship with Him. 

However, our fellowship with Him implies our daily walk with Him in trust and obedience, in honesty and humility. We must keep the lines of communication open with Him by not allowing unbelief to lure us away from our fellowship with Him into independence and sinful behaviour. 

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What can we do to maintain our fellowship with God? 

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The fellowship we share with each other in the body of Christ is based on our faith in Jesus, who He is and what He did.  We share that same common ground with the Father because we all have the same relationship with Him through Jesus. 

So, John says, we must maintain our fellowship with the Father, the Son, and with each other by our shared faith in Jesus and our honest and transparent lives with one another. He calls this “walking in the light.”

“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

First, then, we don’t only share this fellowship through our faith in Jesus and all He is and does, but we also have fellowship with one another through our shared our interests and concerns in prayer. 

Jesus taught us how to pray by giving us the guidelines that keep us focused on what is important to Him.   

Praying together is a powerful force in the world. God knew that unity had power when He scattered the people in the ancient world because they acted together in rebellion against Him. 

“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭11‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Second, what are the main issues around which we share fellowship in prayer?

God is “our Father”, we are His family. We approach Him freely as His children. He is Father but He is holy. We give Him the reverence, respect, awe, and honour due to Him. We give our attention to what is most important to Him, His kingdom and His will on earth. We forgive one another to keep our fellowship with each other open and uncluttered by guilt and grudges. We take responsibility for our own wrongdoing and and ask for help in dealing with the sin nature that leads us astray. 

Since the greatest commandment in the New Covenant summarises and simplifies the 613 laws of the Old Covenant…

“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

… it stands to reason that our unity be built around our faith in and obedience to Jesus as Lord and our love for one another as fellow members of His family. In this togetherness, we share His heart for the world, His kingdom on earth and our part in administering His kingdom in partnership with Him. 





A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 7

Prayer, ,

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why is it that the devil draws so much attention when it comes to the issue of temptation and sin?  The translation of Scripture from its original languages is a case in point. When we examine the meaning of the Greek word, “poneros”, translated, “the evil one” in the above verse, we will discover something different from the meaning the translators implied in the translation. 

As we have learned from our studies in the Word, many of the original words get their meaning from the context. In this verse, “poneros”, often translated “the evil one”, can have a variety of meanings.  However, to be true to the whole scope of Scripture, in this verse the devil is not named or even implied because most often when “the devil” is intended, he is named. 

The tendency in our thinking is to blame the devil for the bad things  we think and do rather than to take responsibility for our own behaviour because we have been given the freedom to choose. James tells us…

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In verse 13, James uses the word “kakos” for evil which refers more to character than action. God never tempts us to evil actions because He is not “kakos”. 

In Jesus’ prayer, “poneros” implies the results of our actions which stem from our corrupt “kakos”, our evil nature, including the pain and anguish, not stated here, which are the results of our evil behaviour. 

How different is the implication of Jesus’ prayer from our inclination to shrug off responsibility for what we say and do by palming our “poneros” onto the devil! 

When we work through the epistles in the New Testament, we can never escape the truth that our problem is not the devil but our own fallen nature.  For example, in Romans 8, Paul explains, first, how through God’s grace in Christ, we have been delivered from sin and death. We have a new nature which must be nurtured and obeyed. Then he continues, through the whole chapter, to teach us that there is a mortal conflict between our new and old natures. We are responsible for the outcome of this war. By putting to death the deeds of our old nature and by submitting to and obeying the Holy Spirit who is in us, we can overcome the “poneros” that remains in us. 

God is at work through all our circumstances, good and bad, to restore the nature of His Son in us. The Holy Spirit both reassures us that we are God’s children and helps us, in our weakness, to partner with God in prayer according to His will. 

Yes, we have a treacherous old nature that is always seeking to please self above God. Yes, the struggle is a life-and-death issue in which the devil plays his part. He eggs us on to independence and disobedience but…we have a powerful Helper inside us who gives us the strength to obey the Father instead of the flesh when we lean on Him. 

So, Jesus instructs us to ask the Father not to test us above our limits and to keep us from straying into the evil things that stem from our corrupt natures. He promises, as Paul assures us…

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let us not be deceived into thinking that we are helpless pawns in the devil’s hands. He is a defeated foe. Jesus unmasked and overpowered Him at the cross. He tries to keep us captive by holding us responsible for breaking God’s law. However…

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 6

Prayer, ,

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The next request in Jesus’ model prayer is pivotal to receiving answers from God. For Him, unforgiveness was not a once-off consideration but an on-going issue between people, that forms a barrier, not only between humans in conflict but also between God and unforgiving people. 

What’s the issues?

God cannot forgive those who sin against Him if they refuse to forgive one another. It’s as simple as that!

Let’s unpack the real meaning of forgiveness. 

When we sin, that is, when we do not believe His Word, we transgress the instructions God has given us for living in harmony with Him and with one another…we incur a debt which must be paid before we can be reconciled. Our debt is first to God and then to the one we have offended. 

The sin-debt we owe God is unpayable because sin’s consequence is death. 

“The one who sins is the one who will die…”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭18‬:‭20‬a NIV‬‬

Our debt to God is so huge that God’s forgiveness is the only way we can escape death…that is, eternal separation from God and all that He is. 

Jesus said…

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?””

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And so, through Jesus, God has provided forgiveness so that He can acquit us from all our guilt and treat us as perfectly righteous. 

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Once our debt is paid, it is erased from God’s record. It would be illegal for God to demand payment a second time for a debt He Himself has paid. 

Now, let’s see how this applies to forgiveness between people who have wronged and been wronged.

Since, through the death of Jesus, God has erased the guilt of all people for all time, the debt of sin  incurrred when one person sins against another, has already been forgiven. 

God always acts within His own legal system. This means that when one person withholds forgiveness from another, he/she is acting illegally and automatically cancels God’s forgiveness. 

What is the solution? Forgiveness is not about emotions. It’s about doing the right thing within the framework of God’s justice system. Since the sin of the wrongdoer has already been forgiven, all the offended person must do is to release the offender from guilt by looking the person in the face or in the heart and saying, “You owe me nothing!”

If our attitude is hard and judgmental, we may elevate ourselves above our offender, reducing our expression of forgiveness to a hypocritical, hollow; and meaningless exercise. Jesus’ example will help us to overcome a bad attitude and replace it with compassion, which is the heart of forgiveness. 

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭34‬a NIV‬‬

In answer to Peter’s question …Jesus told a parable which perfectly illustrates forgiveness and the consequences of unforgiveness…

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed….”

…ending with the solemn warning…

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬-‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Can you see, then, how important it is that we include this consideration in our communication with the Father? All our interactions with God are automatically cancelled if we entertain barriers between ourselves and others. 

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ…If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 5

Prayer, ,

Give us today our daily bread.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sadly, Jesus’ next prayer request is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, and completely misses the point. 

As western, non-Jewish-thinking people, we are conditioned to focus on ourselves and our needs first. Why would Jesus teach His disciples to ask for their “daily bread” when He had just taught them that the Father knows their needs before they ask Him? Would He be so foolish as to contradict Himself almost in the same breath? 

Let’s think “Hebrew” to understand Jesus’ intention. 

Bread was, for Jewish readers, a symbolic reminder of two things…God’s “bread from heaven” provided in the wilderness and the weekly “Bread of the Presence” set out in the Tabernacle. Bread symbolised God’s provision of nourishment as they moved through the terrain that offered them nothing. God, as their provider, acted supernaturally for them during their forty years of wandering. 

Jesus Himself interpreted this event, after He had miraculously fed five thousand people…

“So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭30‬-‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As always, Jesus infused the natural with spiritual truth.  Would it not be reasonable to think that He was referring to Himself in that request…”Give us today our daily bread”? If the Father supplies our needs because He is a faithful and loving Father, why would we need to ask Him for bread whenever we pray?

Surely, in keeping with Jesus’ focus on God’s kingdom, we need to be fed daily, with the “bread of God” that has come down from heaven! In a world of deception and distractions, our attention must be drawn back to the one who is our source, the one who gives us life and is our life. 

Jesus urges us…

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is only through the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit in us that we can stay in constant contact and communion with our source of life, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.””

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, as we pray, 

“Give us today our daily bread…”

…we are asking the Father to nourish our spirits, daily, with Jesus, the bread of life, without which we would starve to death.