Category Archives: Christian Life

A NEW OLD COMMANDMENT

Christian Life, ,

A NEW OLD COMMANDMENT


“Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.”
1 John 2:7-8 NLT

John sounds as though he is speaking in riddles. An old commandment but it’s new! A new commandment but it’s old! What does he mean?

An old adage says, “The new is in the old concealed. The old is in the new revealed.” Referring to the truths of Scripture, this implies that there is a cohesion between the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament contains many truths that we can only fully understand as they are explained in the New.

This applies to John’s puzzling statement here. The Old Testament law connected all-embracing love for God and love for people together, almost as two parts of one commandment. It is impossible to love God’s people if we do not love God and… loving God inevitably embraces His people as well.

However, this commandment was impossible to obey in the context of the Law because the Law demanded compliance without the power of the Holy Spirit to obey.

The New Covenant provides the power to obey. The New Covenant is new, not in its standards of obedience to God, but as His provision of grace through the death of Jesus and the restoration of His Spirit to His people at Pentecost.

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Romans 5:5 NLT

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us…. We love each other because he loved us first.”
1 John 4:12-13, 19 NLT

Those who were bound to God in the Old Covenant, although they had God’s word, still lived in the darkness of sin. Only a few of His people understood His way of faith in His Word that gave them access to His Spirit. David, for example, trusted in God’s mercy for forgiveness rather than in animal sacrifices.

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin… Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me…. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”
Psalms 51:1-2, 10-11, 16-17 NLT

David enjoyed the blessing of forgiveness through his repentance and trust in God.

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”
Psalms 32:1-2 NLT

How God longed that His people would acknowledge and repent of their sin and return to faith in Him, but they refused. Time and again He called them back through His prophets, but they stubbornly continued in their wickedness.

” Now,” says John, “you have a new way to obey an old commandment because you are no longer in darkness. The full light of God’s work in Christ and the presence and power of His Spirit are here. Now live in that light and power as God’s transformed and obedient children.”

So, as God’s children in His dispensation of grace, we have been transformed inside, motivated and empowered to love God’s people and to show that love by being generous gracious towards them in every way.

Without the evidence of this transformation working in our lives, we remain in the darkness of selfishness and unbelief.

WE CALL GOD A LIAR

Christian Life, ,

WE CALL GOD A LIAR

What do we do to God when we don’t believe His word? We call Him a liar.

“If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”

1 John 1:10 NLT

This truth hit me hard a few weeks ago. If I ignore or doubt anything that God has said in His Word, I call into question God’s faithfulness, truthfulness, and integrity, and I cancel every promise He has made regarding His salvation, His presence in me, and His provision for me, material, physical, and spiritual. I can no longer worship Him or count on Him as God.

Satan insinuated to Adam in the beginning, that God was lying. Adam believed his lie and it cost him and every person born into the world through him, their destiny. Had God not intervened with His salvation plan, every human would die eternally with no hope of reprieve.

I cannot choose to believe the promises that are to my benefit and ignore God’s instructions and warnings. I do so to my peril. If I choose to doubt anything God has said in His written word, I cancel everything else He has said, including every detail that affects my past, present, and future. My salvation and the hope of glory disappear like the morning must. I stand before Him naked, judged and condemned.

If, on the other hand, I believe what He has said, including what may be difficult or distasteful, my faith joins me to the most powerful Being in the universe. Alone, I am nothing. In union with Jesus, I am invincible and indestructible.

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:13 NLT

The world is on its way to hell because people in the world system do not take God seriously. People who fear the Lord, believe what He has said and act on His Word, have a life now and a destiny after death beyond human imagination. Why… because God has said so!

So, why do we pray? Why must we pray? We pray because God said that He will answer us according to our need and for His glory, and He doesn’t lie!

PRAYER

Thank you, Father, for your patience with me. I realise that I often delay your working in me and through me because of my unbelief. I question your reliability by my doubts and fears. I hesitate to obey your instructions because I think that you will fail me. I don’t ask you for help in my weakness because I think you won’t respond, so I just try harder.

Forgive me, Father, for insulting you and calling you a liar. Lord, help my unbelief. Teach me how to believe in you when everything around me is dark and threatening. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that cleanses me from all my unrighteousness.

WAIT ON THE LORD Concluded

Christian Life,

WAIT ON THE LORD Concluded

The second Hebrew word translated “wait” seems obscure, but it is, nevertheless, a vital part of our waiting that builds faith and patience.

“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”
Isaiah 64:4 NLT

In Paul’s explanation regarding the mystery of God’s redemption plan, which was hidden from the fallen spiritual rulers of the nations, but revealed in Christ, he quoted from Isaiah 64:4

“No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:7-9 NLT

The unspiritual mind i.e., those who are dead to God because of sin, cannot conceive of or even understand the mystery of God’s plan for those who believe in Him, or as Paul puts it, those who love Him. How does this statement connect with Isaiah’s?

Paul’s quote seems to present an interpretation not found in Isaiah’s statement. He uses the word “love” in place of “wait”. How does he express his connection with Isaiah?

The word “wait” in Isaiah 64:4 has an alternative meaning which translators ignored. The word “chakah”, translated “wait” comes from a primitive root associated with piercing.

Where in the Bible is the concept of piercing used?

“But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.”
Exodus 21:5-6 NLT

The love of the slave for his master and family caused him to submit to the ritual of ear piercing. The blood on the door post was a perpetual reminder that he belonged to his master and could never be sold to another.

“Blood on the door post”? Another picture of belonging! The children of Israel were saved from the angel of death in Egypt because the blood on the door posts of their houses indicated that they belonged to God.

Jesus was pierced for us that we might belong to God.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honour God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

It is our love for Jesus and our obedience to His Word that indicates that we are bound to Him forever because He was pierced for us. We participate in that piercing by being “in Christ” through faith in Him.

How does this concept of piercing connect with waiting on God?

Our love for God is based on our confidence in His trustworthiness. We can wait for Him by weaving our “faith rope” because our “piercing” guarantees that He will answer us for our good and for His glory in His time.

What a marvellous reassurance… that, because we belong to God through His Son’s death, He will always do the best for us. Our faith grows stronger as we wait, our character of steadfastness, patience, and loyalty grows in the likeness of Jesus.

Waiting, then, is not idleness, kicking our heels impatiently while we beg God to intervene. Waiting is a period of steadfast growth in faith and character as God works His will for us.

WAIT ON THE LORD

Christian Life, ,

WAIT ON THE LORD


How often we are told in Scripture to wait on the Lord!  We have an issue; we cry out to God for help; then we are told to wait…. The last thing we want to do us wait when we need a solution NOW.

So, what is this waiting about? What does it mean to wait?

So far, I have found two Hebrew words, translated “wait”, that throw light on the process of waiting for God to act on our behalf.

The first word is “qavah” meaning, among other ideas, to bind together by twisting. This is a picture, in ancient Hebrew, of a rope maker. He buys strands for his rope from the peasants in the market. Some strands are good quality, others inferior, but he uses them all in the making of his rope.

This illustrates the process of “twisting” our life experiences into a “rope” of faith that connects us to God. As we wait, i.e., “twist together” the strands of our lives, good and bad, and we are creating the faith that connects us with God.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 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

So, waiting is the process of developing the faith that God rewards. Patience is an essential part of that process. The Greek word, “makrothumia” implies longsuffering, the willingness to endure whatever it takes to get the outcome you desire.

God works in His way and in His time to develop in us those qualities which reflect His nature in us. His agenda is always, in the end, to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. He uses all of our life experiences, including those we struggle with and cry out to Him for help, to twist together a rope of faith that waits for Him to work “for our good in all things.

This kind of faith takes us from “trusting God for… ” (the way in which we get what we want) to “trusting God…” (the person in whom we put our trust).

To be continued…

THE PROBLEM OF INSECURITY

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THE PROBLEM OF INSECURITY
We have focused on the two Sauls in Scripture, the one who failed because of his insecurity.  He didn’t trust God. The other who went all the way to death, secure and at peace, because he believed God’s promises.

The problem of insecurity is unbelief. When we refuse to take God at His Word, we put our confidence in things or people that are bound to fail us – money and possessions, fame, physical beauty, or achievements. All are worldly crutches which will not last.

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
1 John 2:15-17 NLT

We can only be secure and at peace when we trust and live in what God has said about us. Our condition was hopeless – helpless sinners, separated from God, guilty, condemned, and headed for eternal death until God stepped in.

Jesus died in our place. He took our sin, paid our debt and removed sin’s guilt and power forever.

We are now forgiven, cleansed, redeemed, and set free from sin’s power, restored to fellowship with God, filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, given God’s nature, united to Jesus, adopted into God’s family, loved by God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, part of the Body of Christ, His Bride, and eagerly awaiting His return.

As if that is not enough, God has promised us an eternity in His presence, in His Kingdom, with eternal rewards we are yet to discover.

How, then, can we ever be insecure in a topsy-turvy world unless we don’t believe what God has promised.

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises…”
2 Peter 1:3-5a NLT

We have only ourselves to blame if we are not secure and at peace regardless of what goes on around us.

PRAYER
O God, forgive my foolishness for not believing every promise you have made regarding my security in you. I doubt your Word because your promises seem to be too good to be true.

But you, God are true. You said, “I am who I am.” That means that you are always true to yourself. You can never go back on what you have said.

Lord, please help my unbelief. I choose to take your promises at face value and make them my own. In an uncertain world, I need the security of your unchanging Word based on your unchanging character.

Thank you, Lord, for rescuing me and setting my feet on the solid rock of your truth.