Category Archives: Christian Life

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT “ALL THINGS”?

Christian Life, ,

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT “ALL THINGS”?


I love definitions because they add meaning and colour to the words that I so often use without understanding.

Take, for example, the word “good” in Romans 8:28.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Romans 8:28 NLT


“Good” can mean anything I want it to mean, or it could mean nothing to me without a definition.

I found the meaning of “good” in Strong’s Concordance intriguing.

– Lexical: ἀγαθός
– Transliteration: agathos
– Part of Speech: Adjective
– Phonetic Spelling: ag-ath-os’
– Definition: intrinsically good, good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not, the widest and most colourless of all words with this meaning….

Another meaning of “good” according to ancient Hebrew understanding is “functional”, i.e., that which works.

So, God is working for us, in all our circumstances, good or bad, that which is functional, whether we see it like that or not.

Now, isn’t that comforting! This truth puts God in the centre of what is happening in our lives at any time. Nothing is accidental, coincidental, or purposeless, not matter how unpleasant or uncomfortable it may be at the time.

Of course, this does not mean that God causes our difficult circumstances. Sometimes we are the engineers of trial and trouble through our own foolishness. It does mean, however, that He uses the adversities, whether we cause them or not, for our good.

However, the meaning of “good” can be very broad. We need to read it in its context to understand “good” in greater detail.

Our problem is that we often don’t read enough to connect our word with its context. When we read on in Romans 8, the context focuses us in, like binoculars, on the purpose for the good God is working for us.

“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29 NLT

Suddenly, what was vague becomes clear. Again, like a pair of binoculars, we see God zeroing in on Jesus His Son, as the prototype of every person born into His kingdom. He requires that all His children should be perfect replicas of Jesus!

Wow? How is that possible? He does it by using “all things” to shape and prune us until everything that does not resemble Jesus, is removed. God is determined to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10), sons who love, trust, obey, and submit to Him in all things, to be like Jesus who is the prototype of all His brothers.

We will never reach perfection in this life but, thankfully, John puts the final piece into the puzzle.

“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.”
1 John 3:2 NLT

That’s it! God will put the finishing touches to His work when we come face to face with Jesus. The sight of His glory, which we saw only partially in this life, will transform us instantly into HIS perfect likeness.

“So, all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT

So, what does this all mean for us?
1. Submit joyfully to God’s “all things”!  Submit, submit, and again I say, submit.
2. Gaze unceasingly on the glory of Jesus. Gaze, gaze, and again I say, gaze!

We become what we focus on. Some believers see the devil behind every bush. It’s no wonder they struggle so much with sin! Others see Jesus in every dark cloud, and problems become opportunities.

So..

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4 NIV

THE LAZARUS EVENT

Christian Life, ,

THE LAZARUS EVENT


Something drastic changed Lazarus forever!

Why did Jesus leave him to die? Couldn’t He have just healed him to accomplish His purposes?

Jesus never does anything by half measures. Even if it takes time and distress for those involved, He will do a thorough and complete work for our good and His glory.

Many details come together in this Lazarus event. Jesus was destined for the cross. He called it “being glorified”. Raising Lazarus from death was the final event that triggered the religious leaders to move against Him… the final nail in His coffin, if you will.

First get rid of Lazarus because the sight of him made them mad at Jesus. Then kill Jesus because He was the thorn in their flesh.

“When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.”
John 12:9-11 NLT

“Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”
John 12:17-19 NLT

Whenever we read snippets about the Bethany siblings, Lazarus is missing. Why? Did he have an issue with Jesus? We don’t know. Perhaps he stayed out of the way because he was not convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. His sisters were fascinated with Jesus but not him!

So, Jesus needed a powerful way to convince Him that He was who He said He was. Then Lazarus became deathly sick….

In tune with the Holy Spirit, Jesus whiles away two more days before He moves to go back to Bethany. The disciples are puzzled. According to Jesus, Lazarus is beyond help, so why go back to the danger zone?

We know well the events that happened on His return to Bethany. Jesus appears to be sure of His every move. Encounters with the sisters, patiently dealing with their rebuke and confusion over His seeming indifference to their desperate cry for help, He’s got it all in hand.

Then the miracle!  He brought others back to life, but never one whose body had already begun to return to dust. Lazarus shuffles from the open tomb, still shrouded in grave cloths…

Fast forward to the following week. A massive banquet was held in honour of Jesus…Martha in her element, doing what she loved to do, making magic in her kitchen…Mary where she loved to be, at Jesus’ feet, worshipping Him with her best gift.

Where was Lazarus? Right there at the table, sharing in the celebration meal! What had changed? Lazarus! I wonder, did Lazarus taste the terrible experience of dying outside of faith in Jesus? Did Jesus let him die to put this little family back on track?

Martha, doing what she did best with no pressure on her sister. Mary, utterly convinced and at peace with her Messiah. Lazarus, finally accepting and loving the presence of Jesus in his life. A family united in Jesus, at last!

As I said at the beginning, Jesus doesn’t do things by half measures. He always completes what He started. So, instead of trying to hurry the process or cut it short through unbelief, why not let Jesus do His work unhindered because His outcome is always the best!

THE BOUNTY OF GRACE

Christian Life, ,

THE BOUNTY OF GRACE


David’s much-loved song, Psalm 23, is a beautiful picture of our journey with Jesus, our Shepherd, through life from spiritual infancy to our eternal destination in glory.

Like the care a mother gives to her newborn baby, God cares for and nurtures us through the early days of our walk Him. “Green pastures” and “quiet waters” are what we need as young children when we are surrounded by a hostile world. We need both protection and nourishment to guide us through the season of our initiation into this new way.

Our old nature is ever present to lure us back into our old ways, but so is the new nature, powerfully working in us by the Holy Spirit to establish our hearts in union with Jesus. Our Shepherd is beside us, guiding and goading us into the ways of doing what pleases God.

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

Then comes the season of discipline and testing. Halcyon days, when nothing seems to go wrong, turn into harassing days when nothing seems to go right. What has happened? Is God mad at me? Has He left me? What have I done to lose His presence and His peace? How can I get back to that smooth and unruffled life I had at the beginning?

No, God has not left me. He has not abandoned me to my own devices because I failed/sinned myself out of grace. A new season has begun. Like the maturing process of a teenager, when discipline and training are intensified, so a loving Father begins to hone His child into a true son.

“The valley of the shadow of death” is never a pleasant experience. It’s dark… like a tunnel that seems to have no end. It’s dangerous. The path is narrow and slippery, and I have only the Shepherd’s rod of correction and His crook of protection to keep me on the path lest I fall down the precipice of fear and unbelief.

Finally, after weeks… months… perhaps years of struggle and pain, falling and getting up, standing, only to fall again. the lessons of teenage inexperience… trial and error, stubborn resistance, and rebellion… and the Father’s inexhaustible patience, begin to pay off.

I emerge from the dark valley, accompanied by my Shepherd, into the bright sunlight of a tableland of unimaginable blessing. Ahead, a table groaning with the evidence of God’s favour and goodness beckons me. He invites me to sit down and enjoy the benefits of the salvation He paid so dearly to give, freely, to me.

“What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”
Psalms 116:12-14 NIV

Fortified by this bounty, and daily drinking from the fountain of His goodness, my cup of blessing overflows without ceasing, into the lives of others.

I live in the assurance that my destination is God Himself. His house will be my eternal home if I remain on the path, Jesus… the Way, the Truth, and the Life… who takes me to the Father.

ONE THING

Christian Life, ,

ONE THING


“One thing” What is the one thing that drives your life?

For many of us, there are things that push us from behind, for example, the past – being stuck in the disadvantages and disabilities of our past which paralyse us and rob us of any progress towards our goal – or pull us from the front – the future with its unfulfilled hopes and dreams.

For others, the driving force is, for example, money, fame, education, success, achievements, or even family, etc. We work hard to fulfil our desires. We sometimes neglect the best to achieve what we think will satisfy us. Sadly, although these “many things” may satisfy us for a while, they are all temporal and transient, destined to vanish when we leave this earth.

Three people in the Bible abandoned the “many things” for “one thing”, giving their attention to their eternal future.

David’s passion was to enjoy the Lord’s presence and to gaze at His glory.

“The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.”
Psalms 27:4 NLT

Is not this “gazing”, contemplating the Lord’s glory the very thing we are to give ourselves to that transforms our lives into that same glory?

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

Mary disregarded the protocol that disallowed her presence among men when Jesus was teaching His disciples in her home. She sat at His feet, mesmerised by His words, even ignoring her place in the kitchen where Martha was preparing the meal.

Instead of rebuking her for unacceptable behaviour, Jesus commended her for “one thing”.

“Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:39-42 NLT

Mary chose the “one thing” that would change her life forever. She listened to Jesus.

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
John 14:21 NLT

Paul, in prison once again for preaching Jesus in a hostile world, affirmed his commitment to “one thing”. Having once been at the pinnacle of his religious career as a Pharisees, he abandoned everything he had achieved… birth, upbringing, training, and religious fervour, for the ultimate prize that beckoned him heavenward.

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT

What was the prize that tantalised and honed all Paul’s ambitions into “one thing”?

… “that perfection for which Christ first possessed me”.

When we contemplate the one thing that these three people had in common, it becomes clear that they…

1. Answered the divine call.

“My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Psalms 27:8 NLT

“Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught…. There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:39, 42 NLT

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:14 NLT

2. Longed for perfection

David, by gazing…
Mary, by listening…
Paul, by persevering…

3. Chose the “one thing”

They made the deliberate choice to pursue one thing above everything else in life, regardless of the many things that took their attention. In the “all things”, they focused on one thing and made everything they did serve that “one thing”.

Everything that Jesus did as a man on earth was to serve His “one thing”, the cross, that the cross would achieve the Father’s purpose.

“In bringing many sons… to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.”
Hebrews 2:10 NIV

What is the one thing that commands my attention above all else? Is it an earthly and material consideration or is it that heavenly perfection which Jesus paid for with His life to achieve?

God’s passion and purpose is a forever family of “sons” who are mirror images of Jesus. To achieve His purpose, He sets us the task of cooperating with Him, through the Holy Spirit, to reach His goal.

“… Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

“… Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.”
Philippians 2:12-13 NIV

Everything else in life falls into place when we set our sights on this “one thing”.


NO LONGER AN ORPHAN

Christian Life, ,

NO LONGER AN ORPHAN


The world is an orphanage!  That’s true.

Have you ever considered the impact of Jesus’ words…

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you… No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.
John 14:15-16, 18 NLT

When the Holy Spirit left Adam on the day that he chose to go his way, he became an orphan and so did every person born into the world since Adam. What a tragedy!

There are biological fathers aplenty. In today’s promiscuous world, men breed children by the thousands and leave them to grow up fatherless with no name, no identity, no security, and no heritage to pass on to their offspring.

In this climate of anchorless people, Jesus’ promise must have a powerful meaning in our lives. Only those, whether they have or had human fathers in their lives or not, have a perfect Father when they become children of God through faith in Jesus.

Jesus promised a permanent place in His family. He gave us a permanent, indwelling representative of Himself and the Father, His Spirit, to affirm and assure us of His love and to guide, protect, and provide for us throughout life’s journey.

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”
Romans 8:15-16 NLT

Get hold of that! If you believe in Jesus, you are no longer an orphan. You have a Father who loves you passionately, knows you intimately, cares for you tenderly, and protects your fiercely. What more do you need?

“Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.”
Psalms 37:18-19 NLT

PRAYER
Thank you, Father God, for the reassurance that you are the only and true father that I need.

I know that my own father failed to be perfect because he is part of fallen humans. I forgive him for all his shortcomings, however they affected me. I release him from the debt he owes me.

I acknowledge that my debt to you is far greater. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your great gift of salvation, and for the grace you supply to help me in all my weakness.

Thank you for Jesus who came to reveal to the world and to me what a great Father you are.

Please help me, Father, my Abba, to live every day in the knowledge that you are my real father, and that you are Yahweh, everything you say you are. I am not an orphan! I am your beloved child.