MOLLY AND ME – NEVER APART AGAIN
I’ve recently returned from a five-day visit to my family in Johannesburg. Just
as much as it was a blessing to be with them and to meet my six-week-old great
granddaughter, it was severely traumatic for Molly.
I told her many times that I would be away for five days. Unfortunately, our
level of understanding didn’t accommodate such intricate information. Instead,
as when my friend and I make our short trip to buy our Sunday roast, she
expected my return within an hour.
For five days, I was missing. She did not know where I was, and she could not
find me. She lived through those days, tenderly cared for by a loving
substitute mother, in the company of her best furry friends but, at the same
time, so alone.
Then the moment came when she heard my voice…
Molly hailed my return with ecstatic joy. Her wriggling dachshund body and
violently-wagging tail told me that she was delighted to have me home. She
could not have told me more visibly that she was pleased to see me.
I assured my little dog that I would never leave again!
Before His departure via the cross, Jesus told His disciples that He was going
away. Unlike Molly, they understood the ominous words He spoke but, at the same
time, they had no idea what He meant by “going away” or where He was
going.
“There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not
so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?… And
you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said.
“We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
John 14:2, 4-5 NLT
We are also, like Molly waiting for our Beloved’s return. We sometimes feel
lonely and abandoned. We are busy with His work but feel the pain of His
absence and, yet…
Unlike my absence from Molly, Jesus is with us always and even more. By His
Spirit, He is in us. We cannot feel or hear Him, but He speaks in ways we can
understand. His love and peace steady us in life’s storms. His Word guides in
the darkness. His presence surrounds and protects us in a dangerous world.
Molly needed to see me and hear me to know I was here. We know the presence of
Jesus by faith in His promises. He said He was going away but, He also promised
us a representative exactly like Himself to be with us forever.
Do you know His presence? Take heart. He is Yahweh Shamma… The God who is
there!
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.”
Matthew 28:20 NLT
Category Archives: Christian Life
LOVE EQUALS OBEDIENCE
LOVE EQUALS OBEDIENCE
“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If
someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person
is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show
how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those
who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:3-6 NLT
How many church goers today live in self-deception! Claiming to be
“born-again” believers is no criterion unless obedience to Jesus as
Lord accompanies the claim.
Jesus gave His disciples a simple test… “Do you love me? Then do what I
tell you.” He asked a question of those who persistently followed Him
without ever having any intention to be true disciples.
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I
will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching,
and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and
lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against
that house, it stands firm because it is well built.”
Luke 6:46-48 NLT
Obedience to Jesus’s teaching is the only proof that we are His disciples, in
union with Him through the indwelling Holy Spirit and representing Him to an
unbelieving world. Such followers experience the power of His life working in
and through them.
Unfortunately, there are streams in the modern church that go after “signs
and wonders” to prove their allegiance to Jesus. Some claim supernatural
offices and accompanying “ministries” as their superior authority in
the church.
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
On judgment day, many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name
and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But
I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “
Matthew 7:21-23 NLT
Jesus set a different, simple test to authenticate a true disciple.
“Knowing Him” is the real issue.
“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
John 17:3 NLT
What does knowing Him mean?
King Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, failed to live up to his father’s example. He
lavished his wealth on himself instead of caring for his needy subjects. God
came down hard on him, revealing, at the same time, His criterion for knowing
God.
“But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father,
Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his
dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and
needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 22:15-16 NLT
So, we can only prove any claim that we know God to be true if we genuinely
share Jesus’ heart for people. This means doing something about their needs if
we can. Of course, we can’t save the world but, as Mother Teresa said, when
challenged, “I can save this one!”
Jesus judges the nations by the same standard as He judges individuals.
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,
then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in
his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his
left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the
world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a
drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and
you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and
you visited me.’ “
Matthew 25:31-36 NL
Just imagine, if the church, including those who fight about doctrines,
claim illegitimate authority, or sniff out those who don’t believe or do what
they do, cared more about loving Jesus by loving His people, what a witness to
the world that would be!
HE LEFT HIM TO DIE
HE LEFT HIM TO DIE
Mary of Bethany… Little cameos of Mary’s life give us insights into her
spiritual journey.
Martha and Mary, two sisters living together, with Lazarus, their brother, in a
little home in Bethany…Jesus used their home as a place of fellowship and
even refuge from the ever-present Pharisees.
Martha – the busy one.
Mary – the contemplative one.
Lazarus – the invisible one.
Mary catches my attention. She was the quiet one, perhaps introspective,
internalising her experiences and pondering deeply on Jesus and His teachings.
She sat quietly and unobtrusively at His feet as He taught about the glories of
God’s kingdom in her home. The disciples ignored her presence since Jesus
allowed her to stay in their company.
Fascinated by His teaching, Mary was forming her opinion about this man. Could
He be the Messiah? Gradually her opinion changed to conviction and trust
until…
The Lazarus event!
The “invisible” brother enters the picture. Until now, we know
nothing about him. Did he have reservations about Jesus that kept him out of
the story? Was he skeptical, indifferent, opposed to Jesus and His friendship
with Martha and Mary?
Despite his absence from the story, he was beloved, both by his sisters and by
Jesus.
Lazarus falls deathly sick….
“So, the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your
dear friend is very sick.”
John 11:3 NLT
Jesus was close to the Father. He recognised the moment… the Father’s
opportunity for Jesus to reveal Himself to this family and far beyond.
And so, Jesus begins the course of events that would bring Him to the greatest
revelation of who He was, through to the final countdown to His death.
The sisters’ message goes unanswered. It’s as though He had not heard their
plea to come quickly. His disciples are puzzled. It was not like Jesus to
ignore an urgent request. He just stays where He is, makes no effort to get
back to Bethany.
One day, two days go by then, finally, Jesus moves. “It’s time, guys.
Let’s go back to Bethany.” His disciples are, by this time, convinced that
He was hiding from His enemies. What now?
Jesus ignored the danger He was in. He had work to do regardless of the plot
against Him. This Lazarus event was the key to His future. Lazarus had to die
to live again. So, He, too, had to die to live again.
His return to Bethany, albeit too late to save Lazarus, sparked a mixed
response from the sisters. Martha, quick to meet Jesus with her rebuke,
“Why didn’t you come?” expressed her disappointment in this
“Messiah” she had come to trust. Her rebuke runs into one of Jesus’s
greatest claims, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Wait and see,
Martha. I will show you who I am.
This exchange between Jesus and Martha is almost a theological discussion,
somewhat detached from Martha’s heart, her true feelings about Jesus and His
failed response to their predicament.
Mary, the quiet one, shuts herself away, so disappointed, devastated, and
disillusioned that she doesn’t even want to see Jesus.
“Martha, where is Mary?” Reluctantly, Mary leaves her room and goes
out to meet Him at His call. Same words of rebuke as Martha’s, but loaded with
anger, doubt, and grief, not only because Lazarus was dead but because JESUS
LEFT HIM TO DIE.
Mary is distraught. Her anguished sobs move Jesus to tears. He is angry, not
with Mary, but because Mary’s grief and disillusionment have brought her into
this unnecessary pit of despair. Her faith in Him did not go far enough.
Had Mary only trusted Him beyond the present, she would have reaped the full
glory of this Lazarus event. Her heart would have rejoiced in the victory of
true faith devoid of regret for not trusting Jesus.
How often does Jesus not weep for us when our faith falls short of victory! We
could save ourselves from emotional devastation if we would just wait until He
has completed what He has begun.
“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
Perhaps our greatest life’s lesson is that final moment when patience wins over
unbelief. Only when we choose to wait on the Lord and allow Him to bring the
test to its conclusion, will we understand that God is utterly faithful and
reliable to do what He has promised.
“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 reward for
trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:6-7, 9 NLT
A few more minutes of expectant faith in the Jesus she thought she trusted
would have saved Mary from her terrible grief. Could He raise the dead? After
four days? This Mary must learn, as did Mary, the mother of Jesus, that…
“With God nothing will be impossible.”
Luke 1:37 NKJV
Had Jesus, her Messiah, the one she thought she had come to trust implicitly,
failed her?
Mary had to learn that He was writing her small story into His big story,
leaving no detail out but putting everything into the perspective of eternity.
“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they
produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”
2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT
We have a glimpse, in the following chapter, of the outcome of Mary’s fiery
trial.
“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in
Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was
prepared in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate
with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from
essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her
hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”
John 12:1-3 NLT
Mission accomplished! Her fiery trial produced pure gold. Mary had
finally become a worshipper.
” But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who
will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must
worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:23-24 NLT
GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED
GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED
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 emergency.
“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
BEARING FRUIT
BEARING FRUIT
It seems that bearing fruit is something important to God, so much so that Jesus said that our bearing fruit glorifies the Father.
“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
John 15:8 NLT
If fruit-bearing is so important to God, then we should know and understand what the Bible means by “fruit-bearing”.
SEED PRODUCES NEW LIFE
First, God’s Word is a seed. Therefore, any fruit we bear in our lives must come from the seed that has been sown in our hearts.
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word.”
Luke 8:11 NLT
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT
God’s Word produces the “new birth”, therefore, the first fruit we bear is the new life that comes from believing the Good News about Jesus and what He has done for us.
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
1 Peter 1:23 NIV
Hearing the message about Jesus gives birth to faith in our hearts, and begins the process of bearing fruit in our lives.
“So, faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”
Romans 10:17 NLT
New life in Christ, then, is the first shoot that grows from the seed of God’s Word. However, every plant, every tree, doesn’t grow for the sake of growing. It grows to produce fruit in which the next generation of seed forms to reproduce itself.
So it is with the believer. New birth is not static. Like a newborn baby, it needs food and time to grow, mature, and reproduce. Therefore, we desire God’s Word, and Jesus, the Living Word, and we satisfy these desires by feeding on God’s Word .
“But Jesus told him (Satan), “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4 NLT
SEED REQUIRES NOURISHMENT TO GROW
However, to return to the metaphor of a seed, without the correct soil and nourishment, the new seedling will die. For the seed to germinate, grow, mature, and bear fruit, it must have sunshine, water, and nutrients, and a weed-free environment in which to flourish.
So, for the spiritual fruit that God desires in our lives, we must provide the environment for growth. We do this by nourishing the soil of our hearts with right living, right company, right spiritual food, and an environment free of ungodly company and temptation to do wrong.
How do we keep our hearts pure?
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.
John 15:1-3 NLT
Again, Jesus provides the answer in the metaphor of the vine.
Remaining in Him as a branch is attached to the vine keeps the life of the vine flowing through the branches. His life in us overshadows the pull of the flesh and keeps moving us towards maturity.
NEW LIFE PRODUCES FRUIT
The purpose of new life is to grow into a mature plant that will produce fruit in which seed will grow. Fruit nourishes the present generation while the seed in the fruit produces the next generation. So, the cycle of life continues.
FRUIT REVEALS THE NATURE OF THE SEED
Fruit is the delicious, edible part of the plant which identifies the plant’s nature.
“Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”
Matthew 7:20 NLT
Just as fruit is the expression of the tree’s nature, so our mouths reveal the nature of our hearts. Out of our mouths comes the evidence of what’s inside.
“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad…. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.
Matthew 12:33, 35 NLT
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs 18:21 NIV
FRUIT HIDES THE SEED OF THE NEXT GENERATION
The final purpose for fruit-bearing is to produce the seeds that will reproduce the plant. What the plant or tree is, the new plant will become, and so, when the tree or plant has finished its work and dies, it will not be lost.
NATURE’S LESSONS
How wonderfully God illustrates spiritual truth in the natural world! Jesus often used parables about nature to teach His disciples the deeper truths of His life in them.
Two lessons emerge from this metaphor regarding fruit-being.
1. The character of the believer – the fruit of the Spirit in him/her.
Since the fruit reveals the nature of the tree, what kind of fruit grows in the lives of those who are connected to the True Vine?
Paul answers the question in Galatians 5:22-23.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Since God’s focus is always on people and relationships, the Spirit produces fruit in us that fosters loving and harmonious relationships in three directions….
With God – love, joy, peace – Jesus’s legacy to His disciples before He died (read John 14 to 16).
God’s love is an unconditional guarantee that nothing can ever happen in our lives that He has not filtered through His love for us. We can be so sure of that love that we rest in the security that He is working, in all things, for our good.
The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into us so that we, in turn, can love Him and His people with the love He has for us.
Living in the love of God produces such joy and peace that we are free to worship Him in everything we do with continuing thankfulness.
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”
Colossians 3:15 NLT
“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
Colossians 3:17 NLT
“You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”
1 Peter 1:8 NLT
With others – patience, kindness, goodness…
Harmonious relationships with one another depend on attitudes that reflect God’s nature in us. God gave us His nature and the potential to live it out, through His promises.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
When we are patient, kind, and good to others especially when they treat us badly, we are displaying God’s nature and grace working through us.
With ourselves – faithfulness, meekness, and self-control…
These are qualities that show to what extent we have control over our old sinful nature. Where selfishness still reigns, the old nature still dominates. There is an ongoing war between flesh and spirit. With the Holy Spirit’s help we are to kill the works of the flesh.
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
Romans 8:12-14 NLT
… We are evidencing the Spirit’s work in us.
With these attributes of God reigning in our hearts…
With harmonious relationships with people around us – patience, kindness, goodness – the qualities that smooth conflicts and make friends of enemies.
With peace in ourselves – faithfulness, gentleness (meekness), self-control – the qualities in our relationship with ourselves that rein in the flesh by dying to self and being led by the Spirit.
…we bear witness to God’s life in us.
2. The reproduction of the life of Jesus in others – the fruit from him/her.
It is the fruit of of character and harmonious relationships that alerts unbelievers to the supernatural work of the Lord in us.
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:35 NLT
“I am in them, and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”
John 17:23 NLT
The love and unity that exists in God’s family can never be reproduced in the world where selfishness reigns.
So, this is the place where the two kinds of fruit come together. Without the witness of the character of Jesus being formed in us, our witness to the world will be empty of truth. The life of Jesus becomes real to others when they witness it at work in us.
Bearing fruit, like the branch in union with the vine, requires no effort on our part but the “effort” of remaining in union with Jesus. His life is us through the Holy Spirit, as we live by the Spirit, will mature us in our character, freeing us from the power of sin and molding us into the image of Jesus.