Monthly Archives: July 2021

OPPORTUNISTIC FAITH

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OPPORTUNISTIC FAITH

“The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with His disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

“Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.” John 6:22-24.

Strange! How did Jesus get back to Capernaum when there was only one boat and He was not in it when the disciples returned from their impromptu picnic?

The crowd had obviously spent the night in the vicinity so that they could be on site when Jesus reappeared the next morning. They knew He must be there because He stayed on the mountain when the disciples set off across the lake. Now He had mysteriously disappeared. They waited in vain for Him to come. Eventually they returned to Capernaum, using the available boats moored nearby.

“When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ ” John 6:25.

Did He give them the slip in the night and walk back to Capernaum? It would have been a long overnight trip and He certainly would have been too tired to be up early and about His business again. They were curious to know how He had returned without a boat, but He didn’t answer them. He was not obliged to satisfy their curiosity. His response went straight to the point.

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs performed but because you ate the bread and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.’ “ John 6:26, 27.

These people were opportunists, and Jesus saw right through them. He ripped the cover off the most heinous of all motives for following Him, self-interest.

The book of Job, the most ancient of all the Old Testament writings, explores this “factory fault” in the make-up of all fallen human beings. Behind the scenes and unknown to Job, God boasted to the devil of Job’s righteousness. ‘Only because you mollycoddle him!’ the devil shot back. ‘Touch the possessions you have lavished on him and he’ll turn on you,’ he challenged. ‘Okay,’ the Lord replied, ‘You can take away everything he has but you can’t touch him.’

Satan let rip on Job and mercilessly stripped him of everything, including his children. In the midst of this devastation, Job responded with humble submission to the will of God. ‘What about his health?’ the devil hissed. Again, God agreed to let him afflict his body but not to take his life. ‘Then we’ll see what happens,’ He confidently declared.

Job was bewildered by this sudden turn of events but, in spite of his grief and confusion, he refused to “curse God and die” as his wife suggested. The process to understanding was painful, but Job passed the test. He was not as concerned about his loss as he was about God’s silence. He felt that God was angry with him and he could not understand His reason.

How tragic that we so often, with the whole Bible at our disposal and the Holy Spirit within us to interpret it, have fallen for the devil’s lie that salvation is all about us and that God is here to serve us. When things go wrong, many of God’s people turn on Him and demand an explanation.

This arrogant attitude undermines the very foundation of what God did for us in Christ. His love was the motive, not our need or even our worth yet often our attitude exposes our hearts. We think that God owes it to us. “Why me, God? What have I done to deserve this?” Job’s heart was right and had passed the test, even though he knew nothing of the reason for it.

Can God have the same confidence in you, that “though He slay you, yet will you trust in Him? “Or are you in it for what you can get out of it?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

WE CAN TRUST HIM!

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WE CAN TRUST HIM!

“When evening came, His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But He said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” John 6:16-21 (NIV).

“With Jesus in the boat…!” How often have you heard that message preached?

Why did John include this incident in his story? Remember that he was giving evidence that Jesus is the Son of God so that his readers would believe in Him. Every incident was a sign that His claims were true because His miracles authenticated who He claimed to be. Every sign pointed to some aspect of His person and work as the Messiah that gave clarity to what He came to do.

Mark added a detail to his account of this incident that makes it spring to life. “He was about to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost…” Mark 6:48c. If Jesus was walking on the water to go to them, why would He want to pass by them? It makes no sense unless there is something more to His intention than meets the eye.

We have to look for the use of this phrase somewhere else in Scripture to capture its meaning.

In Exodus 34, in response to Moses’ request, God was about to reveal His name to him. He had instructed him to bring another two stone tablets up the mountain with him because Moses had smashed the first two tablets in his anger against his people. While he had been up the mountain with God, they had persuaded Aaron to make them a calf-god out of gold which they were worshipping with undignified frenzy when he returned.

God promised to hide Moses in a crevice in a rock and reveal His name to him. “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord.

“And He passed by in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness…’ ” Exodus 34:5, 6.

Would His disciples have got the message? If they understood their Scriptures, they would surely have realized what Jesus was doing. He was making a very bold move to reproduce what He had done on Mount Sinai many centuries before, to reassure them that it was okay to trust Him because He was no phoney. A sign like that would have added to the weight of evidence they already had to convince them of His identity.

The outcome was equally startling. The moment Jesus stepped into the boat, they arrived at their destination. We could, of course, argue that they were so taken up with watching Him walk on the rough water that they did not notice how near they were to the shore. That could be true but John made a point of reporting that His presence in the boat contributed to their speedy and safe arrival back at Capernaum.

“Passing by” seems to be a euphemism for revealing Himself to His people; God to Moses on the mountain and Jesus to His disciples on the lake. He was not abandoning them but alerting them to the deep truth He wanted them to be sure of. Just as it was God on the mountain reassuring Moses that, in spite of His people’s rebellion and failure to believe in Him, He was still the gracious and compassionate God who would forgive them and reinstate them as His covenant people, so also Jesus, on the lake, was reassuring His disciples that He was God; that He was with them and would graciously forgive and receive His people if they would put their trust in Him.

Their fear turned to relief when they realized who He was and they gladly assisted Him into the boat. The stormy lake lost its terror for them and, before they knew it, the boat scraped the shore and they were safely home after a very eventful day.

Jesus was slowly building a case for who He was. The disciples still wavered and doubted until the resurrection. From that moment on, nothing could shake their confidence in Him as their Lord and God.  With the same power of the Holy Spirit in them that had energized Him, they set out to turn the world upside down, but it took them a long time to get there.

We are also on a faith journey. Every incident in which Jesus is “passing by” strengthens and reassures us that He is who He said He is and we can trust Him.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THEY GOT IT WRONG!

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THEY GOT IT WRONG!

“Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”  John 6:10-13.

What a phenomenal miracle! It was one thing to heal individuals of their various ailments and quite another to feed a crowd of people from a lunch basket only big enough for one person.

The implications were huge and the people were quick to see the possibilities. This crowd was probably more than twice the number of men, at least ten thousand people if one counted the women and children. Imagine having a king who could supernaturally take care of all their needs including their need for food when it was scarce! No one would ever be in want again.

Jesus was the sort of king they needed, one powerful enough to sort out the Romans once and for all; and to take care of all their physical and material needs if only they could persuade Him to co-operate. Life could be really cushy for them — no more worries and minimal work to keep things ticking over.

“After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’

“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.” John 6:14-15.

Did these people think back to the prophecy of Moses, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to Him.” Deuteronomy 18:15? Didn’t Jesus perfectly fit the bill? He was a Jew and He was doing miracles just like Moses did. Didn’t Moses deliver them from their oppressors? Didn’t he provide them with manna in the wilderness for forty years? Jesus must surely be the Prophet.

Perhaps Jesus heard the murmuring in the crowd. Perhaps He noticed the furtive glances and discerned their intention. Perhaps He had a warning in His spirit from the Holy Spirit. Before they could grab Him, He slipped away after instructing His disciples to disperse the crowd while He withdrew to pray alone on the mountain.

Why did Jesus not welcome the people’s acceptance of Him as their king, which was, after all, why He came? He kept teaching them about the kingdom of God that was among them but it was not the sort of kingdom they envisaged. They were focusing on the political and the material, anticipating a life of ease and plenty while He was pointing to a way of life that mirrored the nature of God and issued from within, from hearts that were transformed by the power of God from greed and selfishness to loving and generous self-sacrifice.

There has been a subtle shift in recent times towards the same motivation that drove these people to want to make Jesus king. God has become the celestial Source of everything that contributes to cushy and comfortable living. Both the faith and prosperity teaching that has flooded the church have steered people away from God’s intention to recreate us into the image of His Son.

Check out these words: “His divine power had 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 that is in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3, 4.

God did not give us His promises so that we can prop up our lives with luxury and wealth. He gave us His promises so that we can become like His Son, lovingly submissive and obedient sons and daughters of God, living our lives to please the Father and to make other people’s lives better at our expense,

God has promised to take care of our needs as we take care of the needs of others. Have you embraced the life of loving sacrifice that Jesus offers?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

GOD HOSTS A PICNIC

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GOD HOSTS A PICNIC

“Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed Him because they saw the signs He had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with His disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.”  John 6:1-6.

John’s Gospel is a masterfully written piece of literature. John skilfully wove his theme, Jesus is the Son of God, into his story, using carefully chosen miracles as evidence that Jesus was who He said He was, and the discourses He had with His opponents that ensued from His miracles to enlarge on and explain His claims.

On this occasion, Jesus and His disciples had crossed the lake to take time out from their busy lives,,  according to the other gospels. He wanted to be alone with them to get some rest but, when the crowd arrived, instead of being annoyed with them, He graciously received them and spent days teaching them because He recognized their need, much to the annoyance of His disciples.

John did not comment on the extended time of teaching Jesus had with them; only that they needed food and He was as much aware of their physical need for bread as He was for their spiritual nourishment because they were like shepherd-less sheep. He was quick to grasp the opportunity to put His disciples to the test and to teach them to look beyond the natural to the supernatural where the Father was waiting for them to tap into His limitless resources to meet their needs.

Philip’s response to Jesus’ question, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat, each one to have a bite!'”?’ – John 6:7 (NIV). reveals his un-readiness to see what Jesus saw — an opportunity to put God’s glory on display by partnering with Him in the world’s greatest picnic.Philip’s response would have been perfectly natural for a man who not walked with Jesus long enough to know that He always viewed crises as opportunities. Philip was caught off guard and responded from his awareness of the facts.

A vast crowd of people needed a large amount of money to feed them and (unspoken) a very large stock of bread which was unavailable in a remote place like this. Philip’s response, when he looked at the circumstances was, in a nutshell, ‘Impossible!’ This is a normal, natural human response when we, too, are faced with impossibilities. We look at the situation, shrivel up and throw up our hands in despair. ‘Impossible!’ says unbelief, and we weep with frustration.

Andrew chipped in with a tentative solution which sounded equally pathetic when he verbalized it. “Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?'”- John 6:8, 9. The emphasis on “small” was Andrew’s attempt at making Jesus aware that He was setting them an impossible task. There was food available (if the boy was willing to part with it), but it was ludicrous to think they could feed the crowd with it!

That was enough for Jesus to interrupt their pathetic inadequacy with His plan which had been in place all the time. It was obvious to Him that they had not yet caught on to His modus operandi. When one view’s things from God’s perspective, it becomes easy and when one uses every situation to put God’s glory on display, God will do His part.

When we read John’s gospel, it becomes clear that Jesus was never at a loss when faced with a crisis. He was in partnership with the Father and used people’s needs to reveal the compassionate heart of the Father.

Jesus’ response to the most impossible of crises was “Let’s see what God can do!” What a difference it would make if we saw our situations in the same way!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE FACE OF THE FATHER

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THE FACE OF THE FATHER

“‘I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me, but if someone comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes only from God?

”But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?'” John 5:41-47 (NIV).

Listen to this man! Every word He spoke to the Pharisees drove the nails deeper into their coffins.

Jesus claimed to be the truth (John 14:6) and if He was who He said He was, these men who were so convinced that they were right, ought to have taken heed to what He was saying because it was His word that would, in the end, be their judge (John 12:48).

He put His finger on the thing that was the chasm between them and Him – ‘I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.’ Had they captured God’s heartbeat throughout the course of their history, when He agonized over their failure to understand His love for them and His passion that they would be to one another what He was to them, they would have recognized that Jesus was the mirror image of the Father.

They claimed Moses as their authority and yet Moses was the one who recorded all God’s dealing with them through their years of wandering in the wilderness. The evidence of God’s love was there if they would open their eyes and ears, but all they could see was the rules and ritual that turned them into the very slave-drivers from whom God had set them free.

The face of Jesus is visible throughout the pages of the Old Testament if they would only look for it but they were too blinded by their own self-interest to see it. They were too drunk on the accolades they received from others to recognise the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

There is great pathos in the words of Jesus. He does not utter them with accusation but with grief because He knows what they have forfeited by their blindness. He knew that the day would come when their lives would be paraded before them, every scene, every response and every choice. The blindfold would be off and they would see the implications of every refusal and every rejection of the potential that was in them.

God is not a vindictive judge, waiting to get even with those whose blindness prevents them from seeing the glory that could be theirs if they would only take Him seriously. His heart breaks for the wasted potential of those who throw their lives away on useless pleasure, self-indulgence and even self-contempt that leads them down the road of self-destruction.

The arms of Jesus were wide open to the very men who were planning to kill Him. Hear the sob in His voice when He said, ‘You will not come to me that you might have life.’ It takes courage to admit that you have been wrong; that your way does not work; and that the road you have chosen leads to a dead end.

His adversaries were nit-picking about carrying a mat on the Sabbath. Jesus was offering them the gift of eternal life which no amount of rule-keeping could earn for them. They walked away in disgust and resolved to silence Him when they got the opportunity because they did not want the life He offered.

What about you?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.