Category Archives: Christian Life

FREEDOM… FROM WHAT? – 12

Christian Life, ,

Everyone longs to be free! The desire for freedom drives people to do many strange things… like murder, for example, to get rid of someone who gets in the way of one’s “freedom”, or war to take out or subdue a nation that interferes with another nation’s freedom. What about other kinds of freedom, like freedom from financial woes, freedom from physical ailments, freedom from fear, anxiety, stress and….and….If only I could be free, my life would be so much better.

And so the quest for freedom continues. People do many wrong things for the sake of freedom but, afterwards, are they really free?

Jesus was aware of this drive in people to be free, but He also knew what real freedom is and where it can be found.

In yet another clash with His opponents, including those who supposedly believed in Him, He pointed out that they would die in their sin if they refused to believe in Him. Though they claimed to be descendants of Abraham, they didn’t behave like Abraham.

‭‭John 8:39-41 NLT‬
[39] “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. [40] Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. [41] No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

External circumstances are not the cause of real slavery. People will always blame someone or something else for what they feel inside. Slavery is the consequence of sin. Sin enslaves one to guilt, fear, and shame as certainly as the locked door of a prison cell imprisons a law-breaker.

‭John 8:31-32 NLT‬
[31] Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. [32] And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”…
[34] Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. [35] A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

In a nutshell, Jesus put His finger on the source of all slavery, sin.

The Apostle Paul put it like this…

‭Romans 6:16 NLT‬
[16]” Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

Trouble is that slavery to sin leads to terrible consequences.

Since everyone is born with a sin nature, inherited from Adam, all people are born slaves to sin. How can we get free from this enslavement since we will inevitably die in our sin unless someone rescues us?

Trying to keep rules won’t save us because, no matter how good we are or try to be now, we have a past we cannot escape. Our debt to God for disobedience is so huge that we could never repay it even if we lived a million years.

So, what’s the solution?

The words of Keith and Kristin Getty’s song answer that question.

“Oh to see the dawn
Of the darkest day
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood,

Oh to see the pain
Written on your face
Bearing the awful weight of sin
Every bitter thought
Every evil deed
Crowning your blood-stained brow,

This, the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh to see my name
Written in the wounds
For through your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live
Won through your selfless love,

This the power of the cross
Son of God slain for us
What a love, what a cost,
We stand forgiven at the cross.”

Can we be truly free, free to live our lives in peace and contentment, from from issues that cause us to react against people or circumstances?

Jesus said we can if we follow Him.

‭Romans 6:5-8 NLT‬
[5]”Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. [6] We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. [7] For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. [8] And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him….
[17] Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. [18] Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”

34]”Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. [35] A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

True freedom is a heart at rest with God, oneself, and people, forgiven, free from fear, guilt, and shame, all at Jesus’ expense!

‭Romans 5:1 NLT‬
[1] “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

WHY DID JESUS COME?

Christian Life, ,

“Is this why Jesus came?” I often ask this question when I see the religious shenanigans that go on in churches here and in other countries. Did He really come to set up a religion more ornate, elaborate, and more full of rituals and revelry than we already have in the world?

I love the latest series of “Voetspore” on TV, the second in a series of travels through South America. The first in the series took the travellers south from Uruguay to the southernmost tip of South America.

The current series is taking the team north, again from Uruguay, through Bolivia, Peru, Equador, and Columbia. How often, on their travels through great cities in South America, do they marvel at ornate churches of every size, shape, and colour. Some have already stood for centuries but all represent a brand of so-called Christianity that is far removed from Jesus’ purpose for coming into this world.

Our travellers have witnessed ceremonies, festivals, services, etc, that represent their hosts’ brand of religious faith that is far removed from the truth.

Why DID Jesus come? On one occasion,

‭Matthew 22:35-36 NIV‬
[35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

‭Matthew 22:37-40 NIV‬
[37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Unfortunately, these commandments didn’t work for most of God’s people. Their sinful nature drove them in the opposite direction. All 613 laws of the Old Testament couldn’t teach them to love God and each other as He required.

So, Jesus came, not to change God’s law but to take all 613 laws, stuff them inside five little words, model them in the life of one person, Himself, then empower them by His Spirit inside every believer to direct them to do His will.

The Old Covenant commandment was,

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
[37] ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as your yourself.’

Jesus reduced it down to…

“Believe in (love) me , and love one another.”

The rest of the New Testament flesh out these five simple words.

Believing in Jesus means obeying His teachings.

‭John 8:31 NLT‬
[31]” Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. “

‭John 14:15 NLT‬
[15] “If you love me, obey my commandments.”

What else did Jesus command?

‭John 13:34 NLT‬
[34]”So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

There we have it! Time and again, New Testament writers repeated Jesus’ commands just to ensure that their readers stick to the plot and do not stray from Jesus’ blueprint for the church, BELIEVE IN ME AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Everything we do, as the church, should feed into these two commands.

‭1 John 3:23 NLT‬
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Romans 13:8-10 NLT
[8] “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. [9] For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.”

Now, I ask you, if Jesus is the head of the church and the church is His body, why are the Head and the Body pulling in two different directions?

Everything the Holy Spirit says and does in us is to direct us towards obedience to Jesus’ commands. However, to many so-called believers, egged on by prosperity and faith preachers, the body’s goal is to get all its material and sensual needs met.

So, how do we deal with this anomaly?

As individuals and as a church (a local branch of the worldwide body of Christ), we must test our lives by this question, “Is this why Jesus came?” If we can answer that our believing and doing enhances our obedience to Jesus’ commands, we are on the way to maturity.

‭Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT‬
[11] Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. [13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ….
[15] Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. [16] He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

Surely, all the rest is gobbledegook!

MOLLY AND ME – SAFELY INSIDE

Christian Life, ,

Every morning, at the crack of dawn, I take Molly outside to empty her “tanks” after a night of sleep. She moons around, looking for the right place, with exactly the right smell, to do what she must do!

When she has successfully accomplished her business, she continues to mosey around in the garden to ensure that everything is exactly as she left it the night before.
Sometimes she stays outside for quite a while.

Although we live in a secure place, I still feel a little restless until she is safely inside. She is a small, defenseless little animal. Raptors flying around in our area are known to have carried off pets from their own garden. I can rest again when she appears at the door after her surveillance mission.

How like our Father in heaven! He may not be restless, as I am, until we are safely at home with Him but He certainly watches over us until it’s time to call us from this earth.

He has pledged to guard us, not only from the evil world around us but also from the evil nature within.

‭Jude 1:24-25 NLT‬
[24] Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. [25] All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

‭Psalms 121:3 NLT‬
[3] “He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
[5] The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
[7] The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. [8] The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”

‭Psalms 91:9-12 NLT‬
[9] “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, [10] no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. [11] For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. [12] They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.”

And so many more promises of His love, care, and protection.

‭Philippians 1:6 NLT‬
[6]” And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Among His many promises to care for and protect us is this one. Not only does He guarantee His protection from harm and danger in this life, but He also promises to finish what He started. We WILL BE TRANSFORMED into the image of Jesus for, when we see Him, we shall be like Him.

‭1 John 3:2 NLT‬
[2] “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”

It can’t get better than that!

‭Psalms 116:15 NIV‬
[15]”Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.”

I wonder why He wrote these words in Scripture. Does He mean that He is happy when His children are safely inside?

I think so.

MOLLY AND ME – BONDED

Christian Life, ,

My little Molly is 7 plus years old, in dog years 49 plus. She’ll eventually catch up to me at 13 when wevwill both be 91 years old if we both live that long!

We have shared our lives together for so long that we are bonded in everything we do. We share our food, our treats, our recliner, and even our bed at night. We know each other so well that we can almost read one another’s thoughts. She speaks “dog” and I speak English, but we understand each other perfectly.

When I go out, she stays in her bed and refuses to do anything until I return. She goes into limbo without me.

If Molly outlives me, and that is quite possible since she can live to at least 16, I wonder what will happen to her. No one knows her like I do. No one will ever love her like I do. No one will understand and anticipate her needs like I do. If only she could go with me to my heavenly home!

What a wonderful picture of our union with Jesus! He made it possible, through His death and resurrection, for us to be bonded so closely to Him that He lives inside us by His Spirit.

What does Jesus want of us? Three things. Firstly, He wants us to remain in Him by remaining in His love. Such a close bond with Him allows His life to be revealed in us, producing the fruit of character and increase. The more we live out His life in us, the more like Him we grow.

‭John 15:4-5 NLT‬
[4] “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. [5] “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. …
[7] But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! …
[10] When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

Secondly, He wants us to be so like Him that He is completely at home in us. When our lives are full of Jesus, thinking and acting as He does, He settles down in a comfortable environment where He, by His Spirit, dwells in us and has constant fellowship with us.

‭1 John 1:3 NLT‬
[3] “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

Thirdly,He wants us to be with Him forever.

‭John 14:3 NLT‬
[3] “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

There can never be a bond closer than that.

GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED

Christian Life, ,

God’s story begins in Genesis, with a promise, strangely, not to humans but to the devil himself.

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 NLT

Let’s fast forward, past the long history of God’s wayward nation, to a little teenage girl, Mary. She’s confronted by a high-ranking angel, Gabriel himself, with another promise directly connected to God’s first promise. Put that into your memory bank, Mary.

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David…. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
Luke 1:26‭-‬27‭, ‬30‭-‬32 NLT

She, little Mary, a virgin engaged to be married, is about to become pregnant with a son, not just any son and certainly not her fiancé’s child, but God’s Son. Impossible? Not if God’s in it.

Little Mary submits and puts that memory into her bank of precious memories.

Strange and unusual things happen at the birth of this Son. Shepherds come to the house in Bethlehem where He was born. Who sent them to this address? Angels! So they said.
She puts this visit in her memory bank too.

Then two elderly people meet them at the temple in Jerusalem, eight days later. Joseph and Mary, are on their way to make the required sacrifice for the birth of a boy when an old man meets them, prophesies nice things over the baby, says a word for her that sends chills down her spine. Into her memories goes that one too.

Two years later, magi from a far Eastern country pitch at their home in Bethlehem. Who sent them? A star! So they said. Another memory to store.

Soon after, a death threat. So they flee to Egypt… and boy toddlers are murdered because of Him. Such scary things to remember, not forgetting God’s oversight in this energency.

“The murderer is dead,” so they are told. “You can go back home.” So, they return to Nazareth in Galilee, as far from the seat of government as possible.

Little Mary is puzzled by the behaviour of her always-compliant, twelve-year-old Son. He goes awol, absent without leave, after a visit to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. She can’t get inside her Son’s mind. What was he thinking? Why did He just disappear? His answer puzzles her even more. “I’m about my Father,” He says. Another piece in the story to remember.

And so the years roll by. Jesus grows up, leaves home to begin His life’s work as the Son of God. Little Mary’s memory bank is filling fast… treasured memories of a perfect Son… puzzling memories of a Son who says and does things beyond her finite understanding.

Then the event predicted by the old man 33 years before! The sword pierces her soul. She gazes, aghast, appalled at the sight of her shredded, bloodied, precious Son impaled on a Roman torture stake. Was this what He was about? All His years to end like this?

Wait, little Mary. God’s story hasn’t ended yet. One more chapter to be written.

Three days later, Mary’s Son lives. The impossible has happened. The serpent’s head is crushed, Gabriel’s prophetic message fulfilled, God’s work complete, sin atoned, forgiven, removed from the record. Salvation accomplished. IT IS FINISHED.

Little Mary’s story can be ours if we allow God to finish what He started.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Philippians 1:6 NLT

Faith in the fire loses its dross, emerges pure and precious, the highway to heaven’s glorious completion, written in blood, His blood and ours.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world…. The The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:6‭-‬7‭, ‬9 NLT

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Hebrews 6:12 NIV

Our beloved country is littered with unfulfilled promises and unfinished projects. We suffer under the reign of greedy and unreliable politicians who are in it for what they can get out of it, for themselves and their cronies.

Not God! His word is His bond. He created a planet destined to be the centre of His perfect family’s life. He created humans like Himself who will live forever on this perfect planet in harmony with Him and one another.

He provided a perfect solution for the mess humans have made by going it alone. He became like one of us so that we can be restored to fellowship with Him and become like Him.

And despite all our doubts and misgivings, God is well on the way to finishing what He started.

‭Revelation‬ ‭21:1‭-‬5‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. [2] And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. [3] I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. [4] He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” [5] And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”

And… what God says, He does.