Category Archives: Christian life

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – PARTNERS IN CRIME

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PARTNERS IN CRIME

“Herod was delighted when Jesus showed up. He had wanted for a long time to see Him; he’d heard so much about Him. He hoped to see Him do something spectacular. He peppered Him with questions. Jesus didn’t answer — not one word. But the high priests and religion scholars were there, saying their piece, strident and shrill in their accusations.

“Mightily offended, Herod turned on Jesus. His soldiers joined in, taunting and jeering. Then they dressed him up in an elaborate king costume and sent Him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became thick as thieves. Always before they had kept their distance.” Luke 23:8-12 (The Message).

Now it’s Herod’s turn — the other authority figure responsible for justice in the land. It took a run-in with the truth to show his true colours. He emerged as an even more unsavoury character than Pilate, who was at least honest enough to consider the accusations and acknowledge Jesus’ innocence.

To Herod, Jesus was nothing but an object of amusement and a plaything. When Jesus refused to dance to his tune, he tossed Him aside with contempt. It was not justice he was after but entertainment for his own pleasure. He led the way, giving the soldiers permission by his own attitude, to humiliate Jesus by their words and actions.

It was also the soldiers’ turn to confirm their guilt in this saga. By their behaviour, they condemned themselves to the same fate as all the others. They had no personal axe to grind with Jesus and yet they treated Him like an enemy, cornered prey that they could torment before killing because, for a short time, they had Him in their power, so they thought.

Always, in the background, the religious hierarchy pranced around like hyenas, there in force to ensure that the prey did not escape.

Each one in this unfolding drama reveals his true self and confirms his culpability before God. And so with us. The value of this record would be lost to us if we did not place ourselves somewhere in this story. We may not occupy a seat of justice or rulership but we have to face the same Jesus and make a decision regarding who He is.

Like the people directly responsible for His death, we have to come up with a verdict. Was He an imposter, guilty of blasphemy or treason, or was He the Son of God and King of kings? If we declare Him guilty as charged, we have not honestly evaluated the evidence. If we declare Him innocent, we stand guilty with those who condemned Him to death unjustly, because all humanity was represented in that act.

The sequel to this bizarre chain of events was the unlikely alliance that came about that day. In their unwillingness to fulfil their duty to serve justice on a condemned man, Pilate, the arrogant and ruthless representative of Roman government and Herod, the half-Jew playboy ruler of Galilee, joined hands in condemning Jesus to death and became partners in the worst crime ever committed by human beings. Pilate, by handing an innocent man over to the will of a religious mob and Herod, by his callous indifference, washed their hands of God then, but have to face Him again.

What about us? If we choose to wash our hands of Jesus now, as Pilate did then, we too will have to face Him again, and this time He will be in the seat of justice. His perfect justice will be to give us exactly what we want – nothing to do with Him.

Peter and his fellow disciples were equally guilty on that day. One denied and they all deserted Him, but they came back and Jesus forgave them on the same grounds that He always forgives, “They do not know what they are doing.” They had no idea of the implications of their behaviour. Neither did Pilate or Herod but they never returned to receive the same mercy and forgiveness extended to the disciples.

How much better to return now and acknowledge your part in Jesus’ death. He was the sacrificial lamb put to death for you, blood for blood, so that you may receive the gift of His life, and never have to face the judgment that would sever you from Him forever.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – LIES UNRAVELED

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LIES UNRAVELED

“The governor motioned to Paul that it was now his turn. Paul said, ‘I count myself fortunate to be defending myself before you, Governor, knowing how fair-minded you’ve been in judging us all these years. I’ve been back in the country only twelve days — you can check out these dates easily enough. I came with the express purpose of worshipping in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and I’ve been minding my own business the whole time. Nobody can say they saw me arguing in the Temple or working up a crowd in the streets. Not one of their charges can be backed up with evidences or witnesses.'” Acts 24:10-13 (The Message).

Now, Paul, it’s your turn to pit your brilliant legal mind against Tertullius and his clients.

It was Paul’s turn to speak, to make his defense against the pathetic accusations brought by Tertullius on behalf of the Jews who were trying to use emotional hype to make their case stick. The problem was that, for Felix, it was a toss-up between administering justice for Paul or currying favour with the Jews. That depended on the governor’s character and integrity. Was this about justice or about winning a popularity contest with the influential and volatile Jewish leaders?

Paul appealed to the governor’s past performance of good governance, whether it was true or not, in the hopes that Felix would want to uphold his good name.  His defense was not based on emotion but on fact and truth.

Paul dismissed the charges of being a rabble-rouser with the contempt it deserved. He wasted no time in defending himself on that point, appealing to Felix to call the witnesses and check the evidence.

“‘But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshipped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures. And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that’s my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am.'” Acts 24:14-15 (The Message).

Paul knew what the real issue was, just as Jesus did decades before. It was about the Messiah the Jewish leaders had rejected. This was not about his criminal activity. This was about their position of power over the people, and the wealth they garnered from their offerings.  If Jesus was truly the Messiah, whom the people of the Way believed and followed, then the Jewish hierarchy would have to admit that they were wrong and that they had crucified their Messiah. They would have to eat humble pie, give up their position and follow Him.

Paul skillfully put them in a really bad light.  The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, theoretically, but they rejected the resurrection of Jesus. If they were to be true to what they believed, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus was their Messiah. Paul had them cornered because he placed himself squarely on their side. If he were guilty of believing in the resurrection, so were they. He had gone all the way and embraced the resurrection as fact and proof of Jesus’ Messiah ship. They had not.

Paul had dug in the knife. In the next few sentences he would slash open the hearts of these hypocrites and their slimy, useless lawyer who did no more than mouth the feeble accusations of his clients. This had nothing to do with Paul’s behaviour and everything to do with their unbelieving and greedy hearts.

This is a clear lesson for all who claim to be followers of the Messiah Jesus. There is no room in His body for people who follow Him for what they can get out of it for themselves. Jesus is about truth. He is Messiah and Lord, appointed by the Father to be the king over all things. Those who would follow Him may only do so if they abandon themselves to Him as Lord.

ONE THING!

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We all have wishes and desires and wants and dreams, don’t we …and they cover a variety of aspirations, from money and wealth to health and happiness and everything in between? What would you ask for if God promised to give you anything you want? Would He give you what you desire or would He say, “No!” because it would not be good for you?

David also had a desire, so strong that he called it ONE THING. He didn’t only ask for it; he sought it with all his heart.

ONE THING I ask of the Lord., this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple (Psa. 27: 4).

What! Spend your whole life just thinking about God! What benefit is there in that when there’s so much going on around you?

David was the king of Israel but he was also a man after God’s own heart. God loved him dearly – in fact, his name means “beloved.” He had everything his heart could desire. He had wives and children, fame, success, wealth and power. Yet, of all the things he could have desired, he most wanted to be in God’s presence to gaze at Him!

“Well,” you might say, “if I had been David, I would have asked for…”, something tangible to make my life a little easier or more comfortable.

For David, one thing was more important to him than anything else – to be in the presence of the Lord.

Two other Bible characters had one thing on their minds. Mary, Martha’s sister, sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him. When Martha complained that Mary wasn’t pulling her weight in the kitchen, Jesus gently reminded her that it was Mary’s choice to be with Him and no one could take that ONE THING from her (Luke 10:42).

The apostle Paul also had ONE THING on his mind.

But ONE THING I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13b-14).

The difference between these desires and ours is often the difference between what is eternal and what is transient. These three people set their hearts on the eternal. Another guy in Scripture chose his money over Jesus. He has kept all the commandments, yet he lacked ONE THING – fellowship with Jesus. That makes up for everything else. When you have Jesus, you have everything.

 

 

REDEMPTION THROUGH THE BLOOD

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Aren’t you glad the “silly season” has come and gone? I noticed something different this year. The words of some of the most well-known and well-loved carols were changed to promote products. I also noticed that there were far fewer shops blaring out Christmas carols this year than last year. Is the world finally recognising that Christmas is not about Jesus – it’s about making money, overindulging and having a “good” time.

Religious celebrations are a good excuse for businesses to profit. No sooner is the Christmas season over than we plunge into Easter – another “religious” season that uses Jesus as an excuse for shops to wow their patrons into wasting their hard-earned money on frivolity.

I think it saddens the heart of God when His own people engage in all the trappings that are a part of what is very precious to Him and should be to us. Our theme this month is “redemption through His blood.” What does this mean to you?

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for a special day to remember that, in His mercy, God intervened to rescue us from slavery to the devil. In fact, He planned it long before He ever set about preparing the earth for human habitation. The whole of human history, and that includes our little insignificant lives, was spread out before Him when He made a covenant with Jesus to come to earth, live a perfect human life and die as a sinner to rescue us from the consequences of our own rebellion.

Just imagine that! Long before we were born, God saved us. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ… In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Eph. 1:4,7).

How powerfully do these words affect you? Or me? Do we dwell on them and the implications they have for us who claim to be children of God? The birth of Jesus and His death should never be a once-a-year excuse to indulge in all sorts of excesses. They should be a perpetual and sober reminder of what is cost the Son of God to bring us back to the Father and restore us to His family as true sons and daughters.

Jesus instructed us to remember His death – not just once a month when we celebrate communion. Remember what it cost Him to redeem us from the devil’s clutches.

Blood…His blood, willingly given for us. A solemn reminder that we owe it to Him to live for Him.

 

 

Back on Line

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BACK ON LINE

Hello, my dear readers.

After a rather long break, I am back on line. My life has been in a big upheaval over the last few months. After serving in my church for the past twelve years as pastoral assistant with all the bits and pieces that accompany a function like this, I have moved to another city 56km away to be with my children. I still function in the church every week, travelling up on a Thursday to teach two discipleship classes and working in my office doing some of my usual functions on Friday mornings.

I am trying to get back into a routine with a small puppy to care for who takes up quite a bit of time and attention. She is the cutest little darling – a Yorkshire terrier named Tosca. She is only almost nine weeks old, very small and but very active.

Over the past months I have been studying the book of Hebrews with renewed interest in the New Covenant. My latest book, Designer Prayer, unlike my other books, is taking a great deal of research, study and prayer and is slowly taking shape with new insights into Biblical prayer as God intends it rather than as we, in the main, have created it for ourselves, patterned on either pagan prayer or prayer in the Old Covenant.

My research has taken me into the meaning and significance of what Jesus did at the cross to change everything. He set us free from whatever was required in the Old Covenant, and established a completely new situation for us.

From time to time over the next few months, I would like to share with you what I have discovered in the hopes that it will also free you to experience and enjoy totally new fellowship with the Father and with the Son through the Holy Spirit.