Category Archives: Christian life

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

Christian life, ,

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

Hello to all my faithful readers. We have come to the end of yet another Bible study series, this time on 1 John. “Where now?” I asked. What can I share with you that will be of practical value for you in your walk with Jesus?

Let’s talk about being disciples of Jesus.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16

The church, in the main, has not understood what it means to be a disciple or, if it has, it has slowly, over the centuries, veered off course until today we have, in the main, an institutionalised kind of religion that stands alongside and tries to complete with other world religions. It has missed what Jesus intended when He came from the Father – to reveal the true nature of the Father to His people, to take us to the Father and to teach us to follow Him so that we can also be true sons of the Father.

To do this, He chose the rabbi/disciple model which was the way of passing on the knowledge and way of life of one generation to the next among the people of God.  

Jesus called twelve men to be His disciples. In His day, being the disciple of a rabbi was an honoured calling. Rabbis in Israel were essentially roaming (called “peripatetic”) teachers who moved about from place to place engaging people in debates about the meaning and application of the Torah.

Those who were recognised to have authority, called sh’mikah, developed their own “yoke”, their way of understanding and applying the Torah according to what they believed was God’s intention. They gathered around them a group of men whom they chose from the Beth Talmid, the school of young men who aspired to become rabbis. They chose those whom they believed would become like them and would do even more than they did.

Jesus did not choose His disciples from those who aspired to be recognised teachers. He went to the lake and chose fishermen, a tax-collector, and other ordinary men who had no designs on becoming rabbis. In fact, it was not His intention to train them to be rabbis but rather messengers – men who would replicate Him so accurately that they would carry Him and His yoke to the rest of the world.

On one occasion a ‘teacher of the law’ came to Jesus with the request to follow Him (Mat. 8:20). Jesus’ response seems almost like a rebuff.

Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.

Commentators have invented some ‘weird and wonderful’ interpretations of Jesus’ words, simply because they have not understood the way Hebrews think. We would take Jesus’ words literally, thinking that He meant that He was poor; He had nowhere to lay His head. Not so Jesus. Those who heard Him would ask the question, “What do foxes do in dens; what do bird do in nests?” The answer, of course, is that they don’t sleep in dens and nests; they reproduce.  

What did Jesus mean? At that moment, He was the head but He did not yet have a body on which to ‘lay’ His head to reproduce Himself in the world. On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on the assembled believers, the church was born, which is His body. From that time on, He as the head, worked through His body, the church, to reveal Himself to the world. Those who wanted to be His disciples at that moment needed to wait until His work on the cross was complete and the Holy Spirit had come to indwell His body to replicate Him in them and fill them with His life.

Jesus took His disciples to Israel’s “red light” district in the region of Caesarea Philippi where pagans worshipped the goat-god Pan by having intercourse with goats. It was in this disgusting environment that He asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”

The first step for anyone who would be a disciple of Jesus is to be convinced of His identity. Who is He? Who did He claim to be? How did He authenticate His claims? Is He who He said He is?

Peter answered for the rest, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He may not have understood all of the implications of his confession but one thing is sure. Jesus accepted his testimony as the truth and a revelation from God. It would take many more experiences for Peter to understand the full implication of what he had just said, including the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and culminating in the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

Until the would-be disciple comes to that unshakeable conviction that Jesus is the Son of God. it is impossible to be His disciple.

WRITTEN IN THE DUST

Christian life, ,

WRITTEN IN THE DUST

“As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.”

John 8:3-6 NLT

I am indebted to Pastor Ken Legg for his teaching on this passage of Scripture.

Jesus and His opponents were locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse. His claim to be the Son of God had sent His enemies into a frenzy of murderous hatred.

On this occasion, recorded in John 7, during the Feast of Tabernacles, the religious leaders instructed the temple guards to arrest Him, but the guards returned empty-handed. Why? The temple guards were overwhelmed by Jesus’ words. “No one ever spoke like this man, ” they responded.

The high priest had concluded the Feast of Tabernacles with the water ceremony, pouring water on the ground from a large pitcher. The water disappeared into the hot soil, never to quench the thirst of any thirsty person – symbolic of the failure of Isreal’s religion to satisfy. Jesus, in response, called thirsty people to come to Him and He would give them living water.

The religious leaders had failed to arrest Jesus, so, incensed by His invitation, and intent on their purpose to silence Him, they set a trap to catch Him out as a law-breaker.

They brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery. What would He do as a Rabbi with authority? Would He uphold the law or apply His  yoke of mercy in defiance of the law? 

They gathered around Jesus, clamouring for His response. Jesus knew the Scriptures. Silently, He bent down and wrote on the ground. What did He write? Many have guessed, but perhaps God’s Word itself provides the answer.

Look at Jeremiah 17….

“10 “I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”… 13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

Jeremiah 17:9-10, 13 NIV

Was Jesus acting out Jeremiah’s words by writing their names in the dust?

Why did Jesus write their names in the dust?

“The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.“ Proverbs 10:7 NIV

He was warning them of judgment. There are only two places in Scripture where the names of people are written.

The Lamb’s Book of Life – (the palm of God’s hand) is an indelible record of the names of the righteous.

The dust of the earth – is a transient record of the names of the ungodly. Just as their names would disappear from the dust, so these men would perish and be forgotten.

Jesus looked up at them. His action and His gaze said it all. “I know you.” In that moment, their guilt was exposed and they slunk away, mortified and convicted but even more determined to silence Him.

What was the outcome for the woman? With the witnesses gone, Jesus could apply His yoke of mercy.

This story reminds me of another encounter Jesus had with a loose woman. He met her at a well and offered her living water. To her, he was just a man. She was interested and fascinated until He revealed the shocking truth… “I know you.”

Unlike the scribes and Pharisees, who shrank from Jesus’ disclosure, the woman of Samaria, finally convinced and with excited joy, rushed back to the village to share the news with her fellow villagers.

“29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

John 4:28-29 NLT

The Scriptures assert,

27 The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.

Proverbs 20:27 NLT

“13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Hebrews 4:13 NIV

David, in Psalm 139, reveals the wonderful purpose of God’s intimate knowledge, to protect, guide and bless.

“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head…  9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me… 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Psalms 139:5, 9-10, 17-18 NLT

This revelation of God’s knowledge should lead us to pray, with David…

“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Psalms 139:23-24 NLT

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

IF ONLY…

Christian life, ,

IF ONLY…

I have an avid interest in a series on Open TV called “Masterchef Australia” . Beginning with twenty-four of Australia’s best home cooks, the search for the best of the best to become Australia’s “Masterchef” starts its course. The winner gets a huge monetary prize, a spot in Australia’s most prodigious culinary magazine for a year, his/her name engraved on a floating trophy, and the title of “Masterchef” for that year.

Over the three months of the contest, with the involvement of world-renowned chefs from across the globe and through a process of elimination, the number of hopefuls is whittled down to two grand finalists. These two experts must fight it out in the toughest of cooking tests to determine who is the ultimate best.

2016 produced two brilliant finalists, Matt and Elena. Their growing skills and consistently high standard of cooking brought them into the final battle. Where Matt’s strength lay in his cooking of savoury dishes, Elena was excellent in both savoury and dessert.

This finale was not only a test of cooking skills but also of determination, perseverance and calm and clear thinking. Since every test took place within a strict time limit, any mistake put the contestants in danger of not completing their task.

The grand finale consisted of three rounds in which both contestants had to produce an entree, a main course and a dessert. Three judges, skilled chefs who had coached and tested the home cooks throughout the process, each scored the efforts out of ten. After 2 rounds, Matt was ahead of Elena by three points.

The final round was a “pressure test” of unbelievable difficulty. The contestants had to produce an exact replica of a dessert prepared by one of the most skilled chefs in his field. Each was given a step-by-step recipe for the dish and all the ingredients needed for each element.

Unfortunately for Matt, in his haste to complete, he misread a step and had to redo his work, putting him behind in his time constraints. Elena also made a mistake but worked consistently and steadily, finally reproducing the chef’s quality dish flawlessly.

As Matt watched in horror, his family in the gantry sharing in his pain from above, his beautiful dessert began to fall apart, and with it his dream of becoming “Masterchef 2016” and the prize which would kick-start his new career.

I watched his face and the reality of his dream melting away before his eyes. I could almost read the thoughts that slowly gathered in his head; frustration, anger, remorse, regret, hopelessness… “If only! If only! If only I had been more careful to follow the recipe. If only I had thought about what I was doing! If only I had stayed focused!” But it was too late!

Elena won the prize, and the title, and the trophy, and the glory of the moment, and the means to fulfil her dream. Matt had to settle for “runner-up” in the grand finale and a lesser prize to help him start his dream.

What lessons can I draw from this magnificent series?

I have learned much about human interaction from the judges and contestants alike; the contestants’ camaraderie, their bonds of friendship, their support of one another despite being contestants, their handling of stress and pressure, their shared joy of success, their desire to learn from failure, their hopes and dreams, the judges love of fun, lightening the load at times and always giving encouragement and positive input, all made a deep impression on me.

However, most of all, it was Matt’s emotional reaction to his mistakes that set me thinking. Despite his loss, Matt could go home and set up his new career, a food truck to supply the most delicious of dishes cooked by a Masterchef finalist.

Elena would also, no doubt, return home with a substantial amount of money in her pocket, the title of Masterchef 2016, and her name engraved on the floating trophy, all under her belt. What then? She would also get on with her life by doing whatever was needed to establish her culinary career.

Another chapter in the lives of these two contestants would be closed. The pain of costly mistakes would be forgotten as they built their lives on their experiences in the Masterchef kitchen. They used their opportunity to participate in a gruelling contest that prepared them to fulfil their dreams.

There is a far more significant contest being fought in the arena of life that is preparing every human being for a future that will never end. Everyone on earth has a death to die and after that the judgment.

What words will you hear when you finally face the Judge? “Well, done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord…?“ or, “Depart from me…? ” I cannot imagine the horror of hearing Jesus say to one and another who never took the time to prepare for this moment, “Get away from me. I never knew you.”

If Matt’s regret was painful as he watched his dream slip away, what of those who will spend an eternity of regret as they watch all light, love and goodness fade into eternal darkness, separation from God and everything good and sink down into an eternity of hopeless regret…”If only…”

The world is full of atheists, both those who live as though God does not exist, and those who vehemently deny that God is real. However, the truth is that God does exist and He is real. The wonders of the natural world are enough to testify that there is a God, so that all people are without excuse. These evidences alone point to the one who made eternal live possible for those who believe that what He has written is true.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed —a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

‘But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So, they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

Romans 1:16-20 NLT

Like a circular tape that plays the same words over and over, those who forget God will remember again and again their wasted opportunities. They could have had an encounter with Jesus and received the gift of eternal life but they did not. They could have confessed Him as their Lord and believed in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, but they did not. They could have secured a future in the presence of God, enjoying the glories of heaven by believing in His name, but they did not.

They were too busy playing in the world of transient pleasures to heed His call and His warnings. They considered the world’s trinkets of more value than eternal life.

Could an eternity of excruciating regret be the fires of hell of which Jesus spoke? Could everlasting, relentlessly driving, but unfulfilled lusts, ungodly desires and addictions be the burning passions of hell?

“If only…” is a regret that will never have closure in the life to come if you never answer the one most important question in this life, “Who do you say that I am?” If you do not bow to Him as your Lord (your Supreme Authority in this life), you will fall before Him as your Judge to be consigned to an eternal hell of regret, “If only…”

The greatest of all sin, leading inevitably to all lesser sins, is to ignore and reject the one who commands you to repent and believe the good news.

“… When the Lord Jesus appears from heaven, He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NLT

We have been warned. Satan told Adam, “You will not die!“, but, sadly, Adam believed his lie, and death came upon the whole human race. Do not allow his lies to keep you from believing and embracing the truth.

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 NLT

Read the “recipe”…read the Book. All the instructions you need to believe and receive the gift of eternal life are in the Book.

JESUS IN A DISTURBING DISGUISE

Christian life

JESUS IN A DISTURBING DISGUISE

“He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’

‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’

“Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray Him, and that is why He said not everyone was clean.” John 13:6-11 NIV.

Don’t you just love Peter? No one can fault him for his passion!

As for his discernment — he was so much in the moment! And so proud! Once again, he was the one to react against Jesus’ action. John said nothing about the other disciples. His focus was on Peter. Was he having a little dig at him because of their constant rivalry?

The scene on the beach after the resurrection is another one of John’s little pokes at Peter! Jesus had reinstated Peter after his ignominious denial at His trial. Assured of his love, Jesus restored His commission to Peter to care for His sheep. Not satisfied with his own task, Peter questioned Jesus about John’s future. In polite terms Jesus told him to mind his own business…and John put that in his story!

Peter’s reaction to Jesus says a lot about his character. True humility submits to the person who is willing to serve in a humble task like the one that Jesus wanted to perform on him. The amazing thing is that this kind of submission bonds the served with the server. Was Jesus using this opportunity to test the attitude of His disciples to Him? Were they humble enough to allow Him to wash their feet? It was not difficult for Him to serve them, but how difficult was it for them to accept that service?

Peter’s reaction also reveals that, in spite of his passionate love for Jesus, he misunderstood the meaning of His action. He thought that Jesus was humiliating Himself and, for him that was unthinkable. Watch how he addressed Jesus as Lord! Did he use that title purposely to make it clear to Jesus that he thought He was above what He was doing?

Jesus was quick to clarify the meaning of His action. ‘Peter, this is much more than just washing your feet. This is about restoring our oneness with each other.’ Humility responding to humility as the very essence of their relationship; Master and servant — Master serving and servant humbly receiving that service so that the servant, in turn, would serve with the same heart as the Master.

Unless Peter submitted to and received what Jesus was about to do, he would never be part of who Jesus was, the Son of God, yes, but the Ebed Yahweh, the Son who came to serve in the disposition of a slave — one who had no reputation to defend because He purposely made Himself nothing. How else could He empty Himself so completely that He could hang naked on a Roman execution stake for the sins of the world?

For three and half years Jesus had been painstakingly washing His disciples with His word. From the eternal perspective, they were already clean, except for Judas because he had refused the word. They only needed the daily cleansing from the dust of their walk in a sinful world. Washing their feet was the symbolic cleansing they needed by allowing the word to wash them daily.

What amazing lessons they were learning in this single, simple loving act of hospitality. To set it up as a religious ritual has no meaning because it contributes nothing to our oneness of heart with Jesus. True “washing” that reflects our unity with Him would be to serve someone whom we consider “lower” than ourselves because Jesus said that, if we do it to the least of these, His brothers, we do it to Him.

As Mother Theresa said, the lowliest to whom we minister is Jesus in disguise!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

FULLY MATURE

Christian life, ,

FULLY MATURE

Spiritual maturity, like holiness, is one of those Bible “goals” that we often dodge or ignore because we don’t know what it means or how to get there.

The Apostle Paul often wrote about being “complete” in Christ, or “fully mature”. He expressed, as his goal, the desire to present his beloved saints across Europe and Asia Minor…little pockets of believers who came to Christ directly or indirectly through his ministry… fully mature.

Paul was not content to make converts. His goal was to make disciples. He wanted his converts to be so connected to Jesus that they would, like newborn babies, thirst after and grow into mature believer in Christ.

How would he achieve his goal?

“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”
Colossians 1:28‭-‬29 NIV

Paul worked with the Holy Spirit to achieve his goal. It was a divine/human partnership led and energised by the Spirit and carried out by Paul.

There were many obstacles to overcome on this journey to maturity – false teachers sowing seeds of deception, fallen human nature demanding to gratify the desires of the flesh, power struggles and conflicts among individuals and groups wanting their own way, baggage from their pagan past that kept reappearing, etc.

Paul was patiently sowing truth into the minds and hearts of people whose life philosophies were formed in a godless environment. What an impossible task… if he had to do it alone.

What are the elements of spiritual maturity?

“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Colossians 2:2‭-‬3 NIV

The Apostle John, in his first letter, gives us the two commandments of the New 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

So, essentially, Paul and John were in agreement regarding the goal of the Christian ministry.
Believers learn to live out in practice the life of Jesus in them through teaching and admonishing, ie, the tools by which every believer is rooted and grounded in “the faith” – who Jesus is and who we are in Him. By guiding them through teaching and example, into expressing their new life in Christ by loving one another, they grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus.

So, that’s, what it means to be fully mature.

“So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach UNITY IN THE FAITH AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD AND BECOME MATURE , attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:11‭-‬16 NIV

Do you get the picture of maturity now?

A mature church is a group of people who are

1. Secure in the knowledge and understanding of who Jesus is and who they are in Him so that they can fully trust Him in every circumstance no matter what life throws at them.

2. Doing life together, caring for and serving one another out of, and expressing their love for Jesus by being givers and not takers.

We are mature, then, to the extent that we know God through Jesus and live out in our everyday lives the love and trust that we have in Him.

We express that love and trust by the way that we relate to one another through humility and mutual submission, honouring one another and meeting each other’s needs at our own expense.

Therefore, we all need teaching, correction, encouragement and fellowship to become a fully mature body in the body of Christ. According to Jesus, this is the greatest demonstration to the world of His life in us.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34‭-‬35 NLT

” I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”
John 17:21 NLT