Monthly Archives: March 2013

How Much Faith Do You Need?

Christian Life, , , ,

HOW MUCH FAITH DO YOU NEED?

“The apostles came up and said to the Master, ‘Give us more faith.’ But the Master said, ‘You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.'” Luke 17:5, 6 (The Message).

Faith ‘fitness’, like physical fitness, only comes with exercise. Some of us who are not fitness freaks, would love to be physically fit without the effort! It seems that the disciples wanted to be faith-full without the practice that it takes to increase faith.

But what is faith? Can we have faith in different measures? According to Jesus, yes. He classified faith by words like no faith, little faith and great faith but, at the same time, even the tiniest bit of faith produced results.

Faith is the confidence in the trustworthiness of another. People can have faith in each other to do what they said they would do or to be what they said they would be. The value of faith lies in the faithfulness of the one who promised. Likewise, the value of our faith in God lies is His willingness and ability to fulfil His promises. Faith is also the energy that is released when we put our confidence in the God who promised.

It is understandable, then, that it is not so much the measure of faith we have but the reliability of the one who promised, that is at stake. Faith no greater than a ‘mustard’ seed, the size of a grain of pepper shaken from a pepper pot, will get a response from God because He will never let Himself down. His reputation of faithfulness is at stake in the mix, therefore He cannot deny Himself.

Confidence in the faithfulness of God grows, not by God’s miraculously adding to it but by our personal experience of Him. This is true of the trust that grows between people. It is not something that automatically happens when two people meet and become friends, for example. As they spend time together and interact with each other, they learn to know one another and to trust one another. That trust is either betrayed or vindicated by their behaviour.

In the same way, the strength of our trust in God grows as we test and prove the trustworthiness of His promises until we are so confident of His faithfulness to His word that we would never doubt Him for a moment.

But there is another aspect to this ‘faith’ thing that we tend to forget. God is faithful to His own nature as well as to His promises. We have a tendency to want to hold Him to what we want Him to do rather than what He said He would do in the context of His nature and His will. He is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness but He is also wise and all-knowing. He sees the end from the beginning and knows where every situation is going.

We tend to use faith as a way of trying to get what we want by holding God to His word, often out of context. The devil tried this one on Jesus, only to be soundly rebuked. He tried to get Jesus to manipulate God by suggesting He jump off the parapet of the temple so God would send His angels to catch Him! That was not faith; it was foolishness.

We need to move from trusting God for things as though faith were some magic way of getting our wants fulfilled, to trusting God, period, when it’s too dark to see the way ahead. It’s saying, ‘Not my will but yours be done,’ when all of me is screaming to get out of where I am. It’s nestling in the arms of the Father in the midst of the storm knowing that I can trust Him because He is there, He is good and He is in charge.

Every Chance If You Trust God

Christian Life, , ,

EVERY CHANCE IF YOU TRUST GOD

“Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, ‘Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God’s kingdom? I’d say it’s easier to thread a camel through a needle’s eye than get a rich person into God’s kingdom.’

“‘Then who has any chance at all?’ the others asked.

“‘No chance at all,’ Jesus said, ‘if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.'” Luke 18:24-27 (The Message).

Jesus’ terse comment when the rich man turned away, stirred up some silt in His disciples’ thinking about salvation.

They followed the general understanding of their day, that wealth was evidence of God’s favour and blessing; hence a rich person was a natural candidate for ‘salvation’. This way of thinking didn’t necessarily take into account the way that riches were acquired. Jesus’ statement blew a hole in that idea!

Perhaps they also thought, like this young man, that they could work their way into God’s favour by earning ‘brownie points’, keeping the law as best they could.

Unlike any other man-made religion in the world, becoming a disciple of Jesus is not a do-it-yourself or self-help religion. In fact, it is not a religion nor was it ever intended to be.

Following Jesus is a partnership based on the choice to believe and accept His forgiveness, and backed by God’s powerful response in which He, by His Spirit, brings a person’s dead spirit back to life – “As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins…But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…” Ephesians 2: 1,4,5 (NIV), and brings about a transfer from slavery to Satan’s control by deception into the freedom to believe and trust God because of His son’s sacrifice for sin.

This transfer has some pretty surprising results. We are brought from death to life and from darkness to light. “Darkness” refers to our natural disposition towards selfishness and greed; “light” implies a new disposition of God-awareness in place of self-absorption, and generosity towards others in place of self-centredness. From slavery to sin and the devil, we become the sons of God with all the rights and privileges of sonship, brothers and co-heirs with Jesus of everything that belongs to Him by His right of sonship.

Our destiny is instantly changed from the rubbish dump of wasted potential to life in the realm of the eternal God where death is abolished and we rule, in partnership with Jesus, over God’s entire recreated order, according to how we served our apprenticeship here on earth.

Now, for those who are willing to take the long look, that’s a trade-off even a fool would not want to miss. But what’s the catch? Jesus said, ‘Money!’

Human beings are so dazzled by money and things that they are completely blind to its transience and vulnerability. Money and possessions only apply to this life. Even if we could line our caskets with dollars or their equivalent, they would stay in the coffin and rot like our physical bodies because they belong to this present order of things and have no value or influence in the life of the spirit.

Looking at it from Jesus’ point of view, we realise how impossible it is for anyone to ‘achieve’ eternal life on his own. No self-help can cure blindness. It has to be a work of God, a rescue, if you will, from the fatal grip of ‘things’. But what does it take to get free? An honest recognition of money’s snare and a cry for help is where it begins. That’s all it takes for God to hear and respond.

It doesn’t only have to be money. It can be anything that comes between us and Jesus; addictions, emotions, habits, choices, people, reactions; whatever it is that blinds us to the value of eternal life can be removed by the power of God. All it needs is a ‘want to’ and an honest confession of need.

And Jesus does the rest!

Eating Dinner in God’s Kingdom

Christian Life, , ,

EATING DINNER IN GOD’S KINGDOM

“That triggered a response from one of the guests.’How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God’s kingdom!’ …..’Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get as much as a bite at my dinner party.'” Luke 14:14-24 (The Message).

There’s a sting in the tale (!) of Jesus’ response to the comment made by the dinner guest. He never allowed the thought to pass that God makes arbitrary decisions for people, bypassing their freedom to choose and their responsibility for making the right choices,

God’s kingdom has been flung wide open to all people, but there are still rules by which people gain entrance. This man (the one who made the comment) was more than likely a Jew, traditionally a member of God’s chosen people. Jesus forcefully drew his attention to the history of his people. In spite of God’s goodness to them, they ignored His invitation to a life of blessing and prosperity by doing life His way. The ‘dinner table’ had been set and laden with the bounty of His love and favour, but it required  ‘coming to the party’ by being obedient to His commands.

God has not prepared His banquet for nothing. There is more than enough for everyone but He will not force anyone to accept His invitation and neither will He waste His grace on those who think their way is better. ‘Go out,’ He instructs His servants, ‘and find those who are willing to come in. I must have my house full of guests.’

Those who are decent and properly dressed but refuse the invitation will be left out and those who are ‘misfits, homeless and wretched’ will be welcomed to the banqueting table simply because they accept the invitation. God is not concerned about the condition of their lives. He can take care of that. His forgiveness is sufficient to clean up their past and give them a new start as long as they accept His offer.

It was imperative for the man to understand that membership of God’s chosen people did not automatically give him entrance into the kingdom of God. That required a personal response to God’s invitation. Once again, unlike man-made religion that does not understand the inborn freedom and responsibility to choose, God does not intrude into the non-negotiable gift of free will.

Jesus made it clear to Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel and one who should have understood the nature of God’s kingdom, that no-one can ‘see’ or ‘enter’ the kingdom of God without a radical, Spirit-energised ‘new birth’ into the realm of God’s rule (John 3). This is God’s powerful response to the simple decision of any person, regardless of his present state of heart or behaviour, to recognise who is in charge, submit to His authority and surrender the right to direct the course of his own life.

Entering God’s kingdom involves a change of destiny (from hell to heaven), a change of direction (from self to God), a change of master (from Satan to Jesus), and a transformation of disposition, (from selfish greed to selfless service), and it all happens through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in those who make the simple decision to believe what God says and accept His invitation to ‘eat at His table.’

Strange how the ‘table’ of the world has nothing to offer but misery, loss and futility and yet people continue to choose that in place of the limitless bounty of God’s love, forgiveness and blessing. You can have either but

The choice is yours…

Don’t Look Back

Christian Life, ,

DON’T LOOK BACK

“‘When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get it on God’s terms.'” Luke 17:31-33 (The Message).

Jesus issued a warning about “looking back”. ‘Don’t do it!’ He said, ‘because it has serious implications.’ Of course, here He is speaking both literally and figuratively. Literally, it would be as impossible to go back into the house for anything, as trying to retrieve possessions from a house that had just been hit by a bomb. The implication is – don’t leave decisions regarding your eternal destiny to the last minute because there will be no ‘last minute’.

Secondly, in the life that awaits us after the present order of things is changed, there will be no need for coats and other precious possessions. Who will need identity documents, bank cards, investment policy numbers, digital and electronic equipment or any of the other things that are a vital part of our present lives? Everything that makes life easy in this present order of things will go up in a ball of fire. The life that Jesus promised is life in a different dimension altogether.

‘Looking back’ has spiritual implications as well. The letter to the Hebrews addressed this problem to a group of Jewish believers who were tempted to abandon their faith in Jesus for their old way, to evade the persecution that threatened their lives. Jews were tolerated in the Roman Empire at that time, but not Christians, because they challenged the supremacy of Caesar. Going back might save their skins but not their souls.

The writer pointed out, firstly, that to go back was to abandon the truth that Jesus alone is supreme over angels and even over Moses who was the man they revered the most in their religious lives. Jesus was perfectly qualified to be both High Priest and sacrifice.

Secondly, to return to the types and shadows of Judaism was to exchange reality for rules and ritual and, by implication, to renounce the efficacy of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice of atonement for animal blood that had no power to forgive sins. That would be a backward step from the spiritual reality of removal of sin forever by the blood of the Lamb to the promise only symbolised by animal sacrifices.

This is a serious reversal of status from the kingdom of God back to the dominion of darkness under the rule of Satan; from life back into death; from light to darkness; from freedom to slavery. It would be a considered decision that living in bondage to the devil and in the fear of death is better than being a beloved and treasured member of the family of God with all its blessings and privileges. Who, in their right mind, would make a choice like that?

And yet there are many who make that decision by default – what the book of Hebrews calls ‘neglecting so great salvation’. Neglect – doing nothing. When tough times come, instead of holding on to the promises of God in spite of suffering, as did the great heroes of the faith recorded in chapter 11, people ‘neglect’ to stay in the Word, to believe what God says rather than what circumstances say, to trust in God’s love and faithfulness and to wait patiently for His plans to be fulfilled. They look back to what they think is the security of being in charge of their own lives.

Some even foolishly look back to the ‘pleasures of sin’ which are both temporary and unfulfilling, and abandon life for the futility of pleasure that eventually leads to death.

In order to gain and experience the life of God which can never end, we must let go of this selfish, self-centred and self-controlled temporary existence and follow Jesus because He is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’, and He alone can take us the Father.

Dont’ Get Between Them and Me

Christian Life, , ,

DON’T GET BETWEEN THEM AND ME

“People brought babies to Jesus, hoping He might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. ‘Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.'” Luke 18:15-17 (The Message).

There are so many things that Jesus said and did that startle us because they are so different from the way we think and from the culture of the people of His day.

This little interlude tells us a whole lot about the disciples, about Jesus and about little children.

Women and children occupied the lowest rungs in society and were treated accordingly. It was quite natural for the disciples to be offended by these mothers’ audacity to bring their children to Jesus for a fatherly blessing. Jesus was an important person in their culture — a rabbi with authority. It was surely their duty to protect Him from them and to screen those who took up His time.

The disciples were still very much part of their own culture. Although they had been with Jesus for some time, they had not yet absorbed His kingdom perspective. They thought like the rest of their people, and to them, children were a nuisance and in the way. Jesus had more important things to do than to be bothered with a bunch of kids!

But Jesus was always the perfect representative of His Father. He was first and foremost the Son of God. Not to accept and welcome children, no matter how insignificant they were in His society, was to betray the passionate love of the Father for all people, big and small. He was not only true to the character of the Father; He was true to Himself because He and the Father are one.

As always, Jesus’ vision was long-term. He saw the end from the beginning and recognised potential rather than actual. To Him, babies and little children were not snot-nosed brats to be tolerated but people with potential to fulfil the Father’s purpose for them; they were worshippers-in-the-making, and to get between them and Him in this early, formative part of their lives was to hinder God’s working in them. To Him, that was a far more serious issue than the immature behaviour of the little ones.

To Jesus, children were adults-in-formation, at the beginning of their journey towards fulfilling their purpose in God. Any adult attitude or behaviour which interfered with their natural disposition of trust, simplicity and helpless dependence on Him would put obstacles in their way which they would have to, and some might never, overcome. Both the circumstances of their lives and the way they were treated by those who influenced them in any way, would determine their understanding and belief about God.

Jesus’ attitude to all people, women and children included, was to recognise their place in the kingdom of God, and His treatment of them was always to remove whatever hindered them from taking their place in the kingdom, whether it is physical, emotional, intellectual, relational or any other issue that clouded their understanding of the Father’s love for them.

All children have two characteristics that need to be developed and can easily be squashed by misunderstanding the circumstances of their lives and by those who are placed in their lives as mentors and guides — potential and helplessness. It is the role of parents to recognise and nurture potential and to train their children for responsible adulthood.

We raise our children to be independent, and that is good if we remember that it is important for them to become independent of us but not of God. The father’s primary role is to represent the Father by teaching their children obedience so that, as they grow up, they transfer their obedience from their earthly to heavenly Father.

Too many children are abused, harassed or neglected by their fathers so that they cannot wait to go out on their own and do their own thing. No wonder the world is full of messed-up adults who have no idea of who the Father really is, and who hate God so much that they do everything they can to defy the very conscience He put inside them as their basic guide in life.

The first step to healing our world is to acknowledge our ‘father’ issues, forgive those who have got between us and Jesus, and to go back to where Jesus is, receiving us as little children, recognising and cultivating the potential in us, and teaching us to rely on Him as closely as a baby at its mother’s breast.