Monthly Archives: April 2014

Truth Is Intolerant

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TRUTH IS INTOLERANT

“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.'” John 14:5-7 NIV.

Sensible question, Thomas!

Jesus had been talking about going away, and yet He had not clearly stated where He was going. Did He assume that they would know what He was talking about? His thoughts and words were on a different level from theirs. Unless He told them, they would surely get it wrong again.

By the way, one thing about Thomas, although for some erroneous reason he got the name “Doubting Thomas”, was that he was honest. This time it wasn’t Peter blurting out his thoughts, but Thomas asking an honest question. If Jesus did not tell them, how were they supposed to know where He was going and why they could not go with Him?

Although He seemed to be speaking in riddles, if they had taken in what He kept telling them, they would have realized that He was once again referring to His death. It took Thomas’ question for Jesus to make the statement that gives all believers the security of knowing that their faith in Jesus alone ensures that they will get to the Father.

It also earns for Christianity the adjective ‘intolerant’ from all the other religions that claim that all roads lead to God. ‘It’s just a different name for God and a different way of looking at things.’ Of course the devil would have people believe that their man-made way is okay because he is behind the false religions and heresies that deny that Jesus is the only way. He will do whatever it takes to deceive people into thinking they are worshipping the true God.

Why is Jesus the only way to the Father?

Sin broke the oneness between God and His human family and barred the way to Him from the first moment when Adam and Eve chose to believe that it was okay to do things their way. God taught His people through the sacrificial system that sin demanded the shedding of blood to pay the debt we owe Him. Animal blood was shed as a picture of the death of God’s pure and sinless lamb, His own beloved Son, whom He would send to live a perfect human life and then be sacrificed as the atonement for the sin of the world.

How can there be any other way to remove the barrier between man and God? The debt of sin is unpayable. Even if we were to obey God perfectly from now on, which is impossible, what of the debt of our past? Because He had no sin of His own, Jesus took the debt of all people for all time on Himself and died in our place. He cried out, ‘Finished!’ Paid in full! Cancelled! The debit column of all our sin has been erased, deleted; there is nothing to pay. We are free to approach the Father with confidence because He looks upon us as He looks upon Jesus, pure, spotless and perfect.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who has promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23 NIV.

If Jesus did that for us at such cost to Himself, how can we risk even thinking that we can add any other way to His way? No! Jesus is the only way to the Father. And the only God who is the true God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the WAY to the Father, He is the TRUTH of everything He said and did, and He is the LIFE that He gives when we embrace Him and His Words and follow His way which takes us to the Father.

Will You Marry Me?

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WILL YOU MARRY ME? 

“‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.'” John 14:1-4 NIV.

Such familiar words! Like the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm, we learned them at our mother’s knee and heard them at every funeral we attended.

But this is not funeral talk; this is wedding talk! Wedding talk? Yes, this is part of the prospective bridegroom’s proposal and the conclusion of his courtship.

When a young Jewish couple has drawn up their ketubah, their pre-nuptial marriage contract, and signed it in the presence of their fathers, the groom would formally propose to his bride. If she agrees to marry him, and by this time, of course, she has indicated her intention to say yes, he would tell her, “I am going to my father’s house to prepare the bridal chamber.” She would reply, “When will you return?” and he would respond, “When my father is satisfied with the bridal chamber, he will send me back to take you to his house that where I am you may be also.”

This exchange would mark the beginning of the betrothal period which was as legally binding as the marriage itself. To break the engagement was regarded as divorce — hence Joseph’s dilemma when he found out that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant out of wedlock. He decided to divorce her privately rather than publicly disgrace her and risk her being stoned for infidelity.

In all the confusion of the escalating events and the disciples’ misunderstanding of Jesus’ intentions, did they catch the magnitude of what He was telling them? God (Jesus) had betrothed Israel to Himself at Mount Sinai, but they were persistently unfaithful to Him by their idolatry until He finally “divorced” them by allowing them to be sent into exile in Babylon. Now He was offering them a second opportunity to accept His marriage proposal and to be a chaste bride, unlike their forefathers, faithful to Him, their bridegroom.

The Bible is full of the imagery of a marriage to God. The Apostle Paul expressed his concern over the church at Corinth because, it seems, they did not understand the seriousness of the condition they were in. Some of them were dabbling in their old sinful ways, and he pleaded with them, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2 NIV.

Would they have understood that Jesus was inviting them into a relationship with Him as intimate as a marriage relationship? In the last tender moments with them before He left them for good, He wanted them to know that this was not the end of a lovely friendship. Unlike earthly friends or marriage partners who are separated when death comes His departure was to be the beginning of an association far closer and more intimate than His presence on earth with them had been.

Even if they did not understand at that moment, He was sowing the seeds of His word into their minds which the Holy Spirit would bring to remembrance at a later time. Sorrow, uncertainty, apprehension, misunderstanding and confusion blocked them from making sense of what He was saying. As always, He tried to calm their fears with His reassurance, “Don’t be scared. Just trust me.”

That’s all He asks of us when stuff happens and life makes no sense. Hindsight will help us to understand but, in the meantime, Jesus encourages us as He did His disciples, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” It is not easy when our whole world rocks or falls apart. Trusting Him means being still and letting Him guide us through whatever is happening. When our minds are in turmoil, we make foolish decisions out of our emotions.

Isaiah gives us a solid rock on which to stand while our world is “rocking”. “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3, 4. NIV.

Hard Lessons Are The Best Lessons

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HARD LESSONS ARE THE BEST LESSONS

“Simon Peter asked Him,’ Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.’ Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.'” John 13:36-38 NIV.

Before we come down heavily on Peter for denying Jesus, let’s stop a minute and ask a few questions.  Firstly, was he sincere? I do believe that he could not have been more sincere in his expression of loyalty to Jesus that at that moment. After all, had he not stuck with Him through thick and thin? There were many occasions when he could have disowned him and walked away, but he didn’t…

What about the times when Jesus had a go at the Pharisees, calling them whited sepulchres, liars, murderers and children of the devil? The disciples must have cringed and felt like crawling into the nearest hole. And what of the very recent incident in the temple when He caused a huge furore by driving the merchants and out of the temple court, upsetting the money changers’ tables and sending the animals fleeing in all directions? Don’t you think the disciples wanted to disown Him at that moment?

And as for their visit to Caesarea Philippi, the “red light district” of Israel! Jesus deliberately took His group of conservative Jewish men to a place where they were confronted with a spectacle too disgusting for words; the devotees of Pan, the goat god, shamelessly and publicly having intercourse with goats as part of their religious ritual! What was He thinking?

Yet Peter and his fellow disciples stayed with Him regardless. No other rabbi in Israel had ever said and done the outrageous things Jesus did as part of the training He put His disciples through. Having come this far, Peter had no intention of deserting Him now.

Secondly, did Peter believe at that moment that he had the courage to endure whatever he had to? I’m sure he did. He wasn’t afraid to take risks. He was always the first one to respond to Jesus, no matter what the circumstances. Didn’t he go fishing in broad daylight at Jesus’ instruction, knowing from a seasoned fisherman’s point of view that it was a useless waste of time? Didn’t he get out of the boat and walk on the stormy lake, knowing full well that he risked drowning? As long as Jesus was close by, he knew he was safe.

Thirdly, did Peter really know himself? No, he didn’t! That was the whole point of Jesus’ warning. Peter was confident but unfortunately, he was over-confident. He did not know the limit of his ability to stand up under testing. In spite of his reassurance that he was willing to give his life for Jesus, he did not yet know that something would paralyse him when it came to the crunch — fear! Fear would crush his resolve and expose him as a cursing coward.

In the moment of truth, Peter would become who he really was. As long as circumstances were favourable and he was not exposed to any risks when Jesus was not there to rescue him, he thought he was as brave as a lion! He had to learn the very hard and unforgettable lesson that without Jesus, he could do nothing.

For Peter when he looked back, this moment of denial would be a moment of grace. He would take Jesus’ warning with a pinch of salt because he didn’t really believe Him and because he thought he knew himself. His greatest sorrow and deepest regret would be that he ignored Jesus’ words and trusted in himself. But that was part of God’s grace because the pain was so deep that he would not walk that way again.

Some of our hardest lessons are learned when we think we are stronger than we are. But just as Jesus knew what was coming for Peter, He knows us. We can never disappoint Him because He already knows what will happen before we fall. Why does He not intervene? He knows that we need these lessons to discover what we are capable of doing without Him so that we realize how much we need Him.

It’s as simple as that!

Dynamite In A Small Package

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DYNAMITE IN A SMALL PACKAGE

“When he was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will glorify the Son in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me and, just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now. Where I am going you cannot come.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'” John 13:31-35 NIV.

Was Jesus talking to Himself at that moment? Is almost sounds like it, doesn’t it?

As soon as Judas was out of the picture, He breathed a sigh of relief, With Judas gone, the tension in the room lifted. He could now concentrate on what was most important to Him, putting His Father’s glory on display during the coming hours of His passion. It was up to Him to live through those hours right to His last breath in the disposition of the Father — gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and full of love and faithfulness, forgiving sin…

He had another important task to fulfil. This was the moment when He would gather up all the teachings of the Old Covenant into one pithy but powerful instruction couched in three words — “Love one another!” Paul caught the spirit of Jesus’ words when he wrote, “Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law…Love does no harm to his neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.” Romans 13:8; 10 NIV.

There is a positive and negative side to this commandment which Paul sums up in Romans 13. There is no sentimentality in this kind of loving, just practical involvement with others. Here is a simple definition of this love — meeting the needs of others at one’s own expense. Isn’t that what Jesus did? The other side is simply refraining from doing anything that would hurt another person.

There is much discussion, preaching and teaching about what believers in Jesus are supposed to do with the law. It is subdivided into moral law and ceremonial law. Some say that we are obliged to keep the moral law but not the ceremonial law. Some groups teach and practise strict adherence to parts of the ceremonial law, like the dress code and the food laws. Others insist that, because we are under grace, the law does not apply to us at all.

Firstly, we must ask, “Why did God give His people the law in the first place?” For two reasons: To show them what He was like, and to show them how impossible it was to live up to His perfect standards. Jesus was a perfect human being and He perfectly kept the law. We cannot possible hope to live like He did, perfectly loving God and His neighbour.

Secondly, if God knew that we could never reach His standard, did He do away with the standard? No way! What did He do with the law? He placed it and all our debt to the broken law on Jesus at the cross. Jesus gave us a new commandment which perfectly sums up everything He requires of us in three words — LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now instead of rummaging through the Ten Commandments and all 613 laws of the Old Covenant to find which one would suit the circumstance, we can turn to the Holy Spirit who is in us and ask, “How do I love in this situation?” He not only shows us how but gives us the power to do it.

“And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who had been given to us.” Romans 5: 5 NIV.

Is Jesus command impossible to keep? Not if we love Him. “’If you love me, keep my commands.'” John 14:15 NIV.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”1 John 4:10, 11 NIV.

This is dynamite in a very small package!

His Last Chance

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HIS LAST CHANCE

“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread he went out, and it was night.” John 13:17-30 NIV.

 

What was it about that little piece of bread that tipped Judas over the edge? Jesus’ gesture was packed with meaning.

It was Middle Eastern custom for the two most honoured guests to sit on the right and left of the host. John would have been seated on Jesus’ right because he described himself as leaning on Jesus; resting on his left elbow and reclining on Jesus, leaving his right arm free to eat his meal. Judas was probably reclining on Jesus’ left, the other place of honour, because Jesus would have dipped morsel of bread into the common bowl of sauce and put it in Judas’ mouth. This gesture was the host’s way of expressing his greatest love and esteem for one of the guests at the table.

Why did Jesus choose Judas? Why not Peter; or John or one of the others? Did He love one disciple more than the others? I think Judas did not feel a part of the group. His guilty conscience alienated him from Jesus and from the other disciples. John knew that he was a thief; most probably so did the others. Jesus must surely have been aware of his dishonesty.

Was Jesus being hypocritical or did He have an ulterior motive? Not likely because it would have been completely out of character for Him to act underhandedly. I believe that in true “Jesus” style, He was reassuring Judas of His love no matter what he was planning to do, and giving him an opportunity to change his mind, even at the last minute. In spite of the prophecies about him, they were not set in stone.

Judas was as much a son as all the others in spite of his behaviour. It was up to him to come clean, confess his sinful attitude and behaviour, and become one of them again. By giving him the sop, Jesus was offering him the opportunity to reconnect with Him and with his fellow disciples. But how did Judas read the gesture? Would his hard heart be melted by it or hardened into a resolve to carry out his plan?

Jesus must have watched Judas’ face as He deliberately placed the bread in his mouth. There is no evidence that Judas refused it. This makes his action even more heinous. In that moment when he received Jesus’ act of pure love in spite of what he was planning to do, Satan clinched the deal by taking over his mind and his body. Judas had dabbled in the thoughts of the demonic realm for too long to back pedal. In that final instant Satan gave him no choice. He had him and he would not allow him to back out. The iron doors of his heard clanged shut and Satan was inside.

Jesus read the expression on his face — cold, hard and empty. ‘Okay, Judas, you’ve made your decision. Now get on and do it!’ Judas clearly read the grief in Jesus’ voice but he felt nothing. Pure love and pure hatred had collided at the table and Judas has chosen to side with hatred. His action would set in motion a chain of events in which the Son of God would receive and absorb in His own body the worst that humans and hell could do to a fellow human.

Was Judas caught in a web of destiny from which he could not escape? Was he predestined to be a traitor? If that were so, God would be responsible for his sin. No, Judas had chosen his path and had walked on it from the first moments when he stepped off the trail to go his own way and make his own rules. Satan gently lured him on until he had him in his grip and could simple step in and take over.

This should be a warning to us to beware of those first thoughts of rebellion and disobedience. Like Judas, we might be followers of Jesus but that does not immunize us against the devil’s deception. When we foolishly take the first steps on the wrong path, we have no idea where we will land. Our only safeguard is to stay close by our Master and to check every inclination against the infallible truth of His Word.