Monthly Archives: March 2013

Are You Listening?

Christian Life, , ,

ARE YOU LISTENING?

“‘Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.
Are you listening, really listening?'” Luke 14:34 (The Message).

Apart from its preserving and flavouring function, salt plays another important role in the rituals of Jewish religious life. The salt ceremony is part of a Jewish wedding. Bride and groom each bring a small amount of salt which is poured into a bag and shaken together. These words are spoken as the salt is shaken, ‘What God has joined together let no man separate,’ symbolising the unbreakable union between husband and wife.

Perhaps Jesus was referring to both of these functions when He mentioned salt in His teaching. In the context of what He was talking about, an ‘unsalty’ disciple is one who started out with Jesus, found the going difficult and pulled out after a while because he had not really taken time to count the cost. He lost his flavour and became unprofitable in the kingdom of God.

But what about the union that had been forged between him and Jesus, as binding and unbreakable as a marriage covenant? Perhaps this is the heart of the issue Jesus is talking about here. Divorce may dissolve a marriage legally but it never obliterates the union of two people, contracted by their vows and consummated by their physical union.

In the same way, when a person becomes espoused to Jesus through a faith-union that is consummated by the power of the Holy Spirit, he enters into an unbreakable covenant with Him, sealed by His blood shed on the cross. To renounce that covenant and to break that union is to become as worthless as unsalty salt.

The writer to the Hebrews recognises how futile such a life becomes. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance because, to their loss, they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.” Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV).

And so Jesus pleads, ‘Are you listening, really listening?’

How easy it is to ‘sign on’ when the preacher paints a rosy picture of ‘sins forgiven and a free passage to heaven’ but neglects to tell the whole story. There is an attitude that pervades both the world and the church – ‘no fear of God,’ said the Apostle Paul. How seriously do we take Jesus’ words? Isn’t that the essence of fearing God?

God is invisible but real. His presence fills both heaven and earth. He is here, now, always, but how seriously do we take Him and what He has written? The Jews of Jesus’ day chose to ignore His words and found, to their terrible loss, that He was right and they were wrong. In AD 70, Jerusalem was overrun by the Romans, reduced to rubble and burnt to the ground because they chose not to listen.

And so Jesus says to you and to me, ‘Are you listening, really listening?’ It pays to listen. If Jesus was wrong, we lose nothing. If He was right, we lose everything. If He was right about His own death and resurrection, is there any reason to doubt Him when He warns us that we cannot be His disciple on our own terms?

But the alternative is unthinkable. Not to follow Jesus is to consign ourselves to the eternal trash heap because “He who has the Son had life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 (NIV). Bottom line!

But the choice is still yours!

Zachariah Has His Day

Christian Life, , ,

ZACHARIAH HAS HIS DAY

“It so happened that, as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense…Unannounced an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralysed in fear….” Luke 1:8, 9,11,12 (The Message).

It seems to have been quite an event for Zachariah. It was his turn to enter the Holy Place and burn incense on the golden altar that stood in front of the great thick curtain that veiled the glory of God’s presence in the Most Holy Place. He must have gone over this sacred event in his mind time and again. He wanted to be sure that he did everything just right. He would be frighteningly close to the Shekinah, separated only by the curtain from seeing the symbol of God’s presence.

Finally the day came and Zachariah made careful preparation for his once-in-a-lifetime duty. Worshippers gathered outside the temple to pray and, as he mounted the temple steps and entered the sanctuary through the great door between the pillars Jabin and Boaz, he could hear them chanting the set prayers of the day as the faithful did every day at the time of the burning of incense. As the fragrant smoke on the golden altar curled upwards inside the Holy Place, so the prayers of the people rose in unison, to the throne of God.

Zachariah must have felt the thrill of that holy moment. He was part of a long tradition that stretched over more than a thousand years, interrupted only when the people’s rebellion had caused them to be driven from their land, and their temple razed to the ground by marauding enemy armies.

The great and beautiful temple, originally build by Solomon, son of Israel’s greatest king, and destroyed by the Babylonians, had been rebuilt by the exiles returning from captivity in Babylon and restored by King Herod the Great in more recent years. It was the pride of Israel as it kept its silent watch over the city of Jerusalem.

Zachariah was enclosed at that moment by the thick walls of the temple in the awesome quietness of the Holy Place, in the gloom of that windowless room lit only by the golden menorah, the lamp that symbolised the fervently-anticipated Messiah who would be sent by God in the anointing of the seven-fold Spirit of God.

Zachariah, too, held that fervent hope of Messiah in his heart but he had no idea that God had chosen him and his barren wife Elizabeth, to be players in the greatest drama of history to begin in his own lifetime. The very pain of seemingly unanswered prayer would be a part of God’s story. In their old age and childless marriage, God would step in to carry out His greater purposes in the bigger picture that Zachariah in his feeble humanness could not see.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Zachariah was suddenly not alone, as the gloom of the Holy Place was lit up by the glory of an unearthly being and the quietness broken by the sound of an unearthly voice. Zachariah was overcome with terror. This was not supposed to be part of the deal! But he was about to be told about the greatest event in his life and the melting of his forgotten hopes into God’s greatest plan for His people and for the world.

Your Kind of Knowing

Christian Life, , , ,

YOUR KIND OF KNOWING

“‘You’ll protest; ‘But we’ve known you all our lives!’ only to be interrupted with this abrupt, ‘Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don’t know the first thing about me.'” Luke 13:26, 27 (The Message).

Jesus defined eternal life in this way: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3(NIV).

There are at least three ideas in the word ‘know’. We can know about someone by having a nodding acquaintance with him; we can know a person by spending time with him and getting to know his nature and personality; we can know someone by living in an intimate union with him and reproducing through that union.

The ‘knowing’ of the people to which Jesus was referring belonged to the first group. They lived in Jesus’ ‘neighbourhood’ implying that they knew He was around and perhaps even took an interest in what He was doing but never became personally involved with Him or committed to Him in any kind of personal relationship.

These are the people who say they ‘believe’ in God, but that belief is the same as saying, ‘I believe in the sea, or the sky, or the stars.’ Sure, these things are there, but they make no difference to their lives (unless of course they are foolish enough to believe that these ‘things’ can affect their lives in some mysterious way!). They might even tip their hats to God by going to church at Christmas and Easter.

The second group of people’s ‘believing’ moves them a step further. They go to church every Sunday, sometimes read the Bible, seldom pray except in emergencies, and give money to the church when their conscience pricks (this is not an accusation but an observation). They know quite a lot about God. They have a working knowledge of His nature and ways but it is purely academic. They call themselves Christians, but when the chips are down, their behaviour resembles the rest of mankind rather than the Master they profess to ‘know’.

Jesus’ response to these two groups who protested at being shut out of the wedding banquet was shocking to them, ‘You don’t know the first thing about me.’ Why did He talk like this? Not to shock but to awaken them from a false assumption before it was too late. When the verdict was given and the door was shut in their faces, it would be too late to do anything about it.

So what is the ‘knowing’ that gives us access into the eternal presence of God? There are two aspects to this knowing. The first is a personal, permanent and passionate commitment to Jesus Christ as Teacher and Master. This involves relinquishing all rights to ourselves and moving out of the control centre. Because He created us and bought us back from slavery to Satan, He has the right to be in the command centre of our lives.

This is not a coup de etat; it is both a relief and a delight because He takes over responsibility for guiding us unerringly to our destiny. He is always good. His love is non-negotiable and we are eternally safe in His care.

The second step to knowing Him is developing the intimacy with Him and becoming one with Him through His Word, fellowship (prayer), submission and obedience which transform us into His likeness and issues in generosity of attitude and action towards all people. The more time we spend with Him, the more sensitive we become to the needs of those around us. God can then use us to show His love to them when we love, forgive, and give of our resources to bless them.

This is a lifetime commitment to knowing and growing like the God we worship. And once again…

The choice is yours…

You’re In The Wrong Place

Christian Life, , , ,

YOU’RE IN THE WRONG PLACE

“He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honour at the table, He said, ‘When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honour. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘ You’re in the wrong place. The place of honour belongs to this man.’ Red-faced, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.'” Luke 14:7-9 (The Message).

Seating around the table at a Middle Eastern dinner party in Jesus’ day was somewhat different from the way westerners do it. The table was low and the guests reclined on cushions on their left elbows. This meant that each guest had his back to the person on his left. The place of honour would be the place on the left of the host because that person was close enough to engage in conversation with the host.

The one on the right of the host would be on the right of the host at the end of the table – leaning against the host. This was probably the place occupied by John at the Last Supper and the place of honour, on Jesus’ left, by Judas because Jesus was able to converse freely with him and offer him the sop.

What is it about us human beings that we have a craving to be noticed? From early childhood, the little one cries, “Look at me, daddy; look at me, mommy!” To be the guest-of-honour was to be noticed, to be important in the eyes of the host. Why do we crave to feel important? Is it because we have a deep, inborn sense of worthlessness which we can only deal with by constantly seeking affirmation and approval? Every guest wanted the place of honour, to be noticed by the host.

Being important has temporary significance but it is, in fact, like an addiction which has to be fed. Significant people’s approval stills that craving for a while but it keeps coming back. What lies behind this ‘approval addiction’? Is there some deep-seated insecurity that drives us to seek attention and to be important to someone? When the father-child relationship is disturbed for whatever reason, the need for approval from someone significant drives people to seek attention elsewhere.

If alienation from our earthly fathers fuels that craving – how much more alienation from our heavenly Father? When we have settled the problem of sin that created the rift between us and God, through Jesus, we experience a sense of security in Him which sets us free from that need to be noticed.

That brings me to something else. What was it about people that Jesus noticed? He noticed the Pharisees and was thoroughly put off? He also noticed the tax collectors and sinners and was drawn to them. Why? I think it was the difference between hypocrisy and honesty. The Pharisees liked to draw attention to their external ‘righteousness’ to get people’s approval, but Jesus saw through them. It was a cover-up for the rottenness inside which they refused to admit.

The other group had nothing to hide. They knew they were bad; they knew Jesus was good but they loved to be with Him and He loved to be with them anyway. Their bad behaviour did not put Him off as much as the Pharisees’ dishonesty did. Jesus can handle our sin but He cannot handle our pride.

We often find it easy to be honest about other people. We open our mouths freely about what we don’t like about them and take pride in our being ‘straight’ with people, but what about honesty about ourselves? That’s a different matter because it takes humility to own up to who we are. And that’s exactly the point! God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. If you are honest about your own faults, guess what! Jesus has no issues with you. You will be free to occupy the seat of honour at His table.

But it’s your choice, once again…

Wrapping Things Up

Christian Life, , , ,

WRAPPING THINGS UP

“Just then some Pharisees came up and said, ‘Run for your life! Herod’s on the hunt. He’s out to kill you!’ Jesus said, ‘Tell that fox that I’ve no time for him right now. Today and tomorrow I’m busy clearing out the demons and healing the sick; the third day I’m wrapping things up. Besides, it’s not proper for a prophet to come to a bad end outside of Jerusalem.'” Luke 13:31-35 (The Message).

How typically Jesus! Still headed for Jerusalem, He was unperturbed by these Pharisees’ scare tactics. ‘That fox!’ was His response. ‘I’m not afraid of him. My mission and my destination are fixed and Herod can’t do anything about it,’ In any case, Herod did not feature in Jesus’ life as he did in John the Baptist’s. John owed his demise to his attack on Herod’s morals. Jesus had declared war on the warped religious system of the Pharisees that robbed God of any real heart. If anyone was out to get Him, it was the Pharisees, not Herod. Jesus did not buy their story.

What was His mission, then? He put it in a nutshell in His reply. “To clear out the demons, heal the sick and wrap things up on the third day.” Clearing out the demons and healing the sick was His mission to His suffering people – to demonstrate and announce the kingdom of God; and wrapping things up on the third day was the purpose of His coming – to reveal the heart of the Father and to reconcile His alienated family to Himself by giving His life for them.

Jesus knew that His end would come in Jerusalem, the seat of religious power and the symbol of God’s presence among His people, the temple. Jerusalem represented the core of the power struggle between two kingdoms, the dominion of darkness and the kingdom of God. The cry of victory from the usurpers of God’s authority would be short-lived because of ‘the third day’. The religious hierarchy thought that they had silenced Him for good when He hung lifeless on a Roman stake. They did not take seriously either His promise or His power. The ‘third day’ proved them oh, so wrong!

It is ‘the third day’ that vindicates everything Jesus said and did. Other religions may challenge His authority and His supreme Lordship but, for all their theories and their following, all they prove is that they have been horribly deceived. No self-proclaimed prophet, philosopher or seducer of people can silence the voice of the resurrection or disprove its truth. The greatest legal minds have tried and failed. There is too much evidence to prove that Jesus ‘wrapped things up’ when He rose from the dead on the third day and is seated at the right had of the Father in power and glory.

Since He rose from the tomb and is alive today, every believer can be sure that everything else He said is equally true. That means that, for example, He is the only way to the Father. He is the Light of the world; only in Him can we have peace in a troubled world and hope in every hopeless situation. He is the only true revelation of the Father because to see Him is to ‘see’ the Father. He is the source of truth and life.

Jesus calls us to follow Him and those who follow will never walk in darkness. He has given us His Spirit, resident and at work in us, to transform our hearts from greedy and self-centred people to sons of God who resemble the Father in loving generosity and unselfish service to all around us.

Millions of people in every nation who have believed and followed this risen Jesus, are living proof of His resurrection, and so are the millions who have laid down their lives and who are still being martyred today, on the strength that Jesus lives and that His word is true. They have been murdered through the same religious fanaticism that murdered Jesus but, because Jesus lives, so do they. And so can you!

But it’s your choice…