Monthly Archives: November 2021

BREAKFAST ON THE BEACH

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BREAKFAST ON THE BEACH

“As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.”  John 21:7b-8.

How predictable of Peter! He was the first to respond. Unlike Judas, who had slunk away in his remorse and committed suicide, Peter yearned for another chance. Another chance to do what? To prove to Jesus that he was no coward, after all? That he could and would make good on his promise to stick with Him through thick and thin?

But now, everything had changed. They were no longer trudging all over Israel with an itinerant rabbi. He was alive, yes, but He was different. He came and went in a flash. It was impossible to follow Him as they did before He died. The only thing Peter knew at that moment was that Jesus was on the beach and he wanted to get to Him as quickly as he could.

Why did Peter grab his cloak? The others could have given it to him when they reached the shore. To be uncovered above the ankles was regarded as nakedness. He couldn’t work with the encumbrance of his cloak so he took it off in the company of his fellow disciples, but in the presence of his Master he needed to be appropriately dressed, wet or not! 

Was this Peter’s first encounter with Jesus after His resurrection? No, it wasn’t. He had been with the other disciples in the upper room when Jesus appeared to them the first time. Why was this occasion so special? I think Jesus planned a leisurely breakfast on the beach around a fire to trigger something in Peter he would never forget.

“When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ So, Simon climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.” John 21:9-11,

Can you picture the scene? Fish cooking slowly over a fire of hot coals. Jesus waiting for a few more fish from their catch. The other disciples sitting around the fire, warming their cold hands. Why was Jesus here?  He never did anything without a reason. Every detail of this little scene had meaning.

For Peter, everything was happening at a maddeningly slow pace. Had Jesus showed up on the beach just to have a picnic breakfast with them? Why the beach? Why bread and fish? As he stood watching the fish cooking over the fire, many thoughts flooded his mind. The beach reminded him of that first moment when he met Jesus and heard Him call his name. His life would never be the same again. Bread and fish triggered the memory of crowds of people sitting on the grass while he and the other disciples distributed pieces that miraculously multiplied in their hands. Who was this man who could do that?

He could hardly bear to look at the coals. The memory of his failure almost suffocated him. He would never forget the look in the eyes of his Master as He turned His gaze on him; not “I told you so,” or “Why did you do it?” but “Oh Peter, my heart breaks for you.” Perhaps this was the meaning of the scene he could not escape. Did the Master want him to feel the terrible pain of his denial so that he would never step across that boundary again?

I have a sense that Jesus took him back to that moment — He could not be with Peter when it happened — so that He could walk with him through it again, not to condemn but to reinterpret it with him so that Peter could feel His forgiveness and never again be overwhelmed by guilt and shame. Peter had a job to do, and there was no sense in living in the past.

From Jesus’ perspective, Peter’s past had ceased to exist, washed clean by the blood He had shed on the cross. Only the His words could erase the guilt from Peter’s soul and set him free to live for his future and not from his past. The message he was to proclaim was one he had to experience so that he could preach it with passion.

Never again would the sound of a cock crowing or the sight of a coal fire bring back the feelings of guilt and shame that had imprisoned him until that moment. Yes, Jesus had a reason for every detail of his little breakfast on the beach. He had a beloved brother who needed the reassurance that he was free from his emotional prison and recommissioned to do what he had been called to do. Peter’s failure had not disqualified him, only redefined him so that he would know himself and his Master a little better.

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.

NOT FIRED BUT REFIRED

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NOT FIRED BUT REFIRED

“Afterward, Jesus appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” John 21:1-3.

Does this sound vaguely familiar? When did something like this happen before? Perhaps many times during these fishermen’s lifetime, but only recorded once before in the gospels. Jesus had been preaching on the shore of the lake. The crowd hassled Him so much that He asked permission to use Peter’s boat as a pulpit.

It was daytime, not the normal time for fishing but, when the preaching was done and the crowd dispersed, Jesus instructed Peter and Andrew, his brother, to go back into deep water after a fruitless night’s fishing and throw in their net again. Every fisherman knows that you don’t catch fish by day. In any case, the night’s fishing had yielded nothing, so what was the point of trying to catch fish by day? Peter protested but they did it anyway and landed such a huge haul that they had to call for help to pull it in.

Peter was so overwhelmed by this unusual event that he pleaded with Jesus to leave him alone. ‘Go away from me,’ he said, ‘for I am a sinful man.’ He recognised something about Jesus that was not like any other person. But not only did Jesus comfort and reassure him, He called him and his fishing companions, Andrew, James and John to follow Him. At His cal,l they left their huge catch and the equipment for their livelihood and followed Jesus.

Just over three years had gone by. So many things had happened in the interim. They had become disciples of an unusual and popular rabbi which was a lifetime calling. Then things had turned sour and their rabbi, young as He was, was executed on a Roman cross for what could only be described as a trumped-up charge. They were left stranded. What were they supposed to do?

By this time, they were quite a close-knit group and even more so since Jesus’ death. They were bonded together in their bewilderment and grief and stuck together even though some of them were not fishermen. They had gone back to Galilee, perhaps to try to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on. Peter, as always the leader, on an impulse perhaps, decided to try a spot of fishing. Surprisingly, his boat and net were still there after more than three years. The others joined him, and they set out at sundown to try their luck. It was a fruitless night.

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” John 21:4-6.

Exhausted, weary and disillusioned, they were pulling towards the shore when they saw something unusual. A lone figure stood on the beach over a small fire. Who would be out so early in the morning? At first. they did not recognise Him. He called out to them, ‘Guys, did you catch anything?’ and when they answered in the negative, He instructed them to throw in their nets on the right side of the boat.

Hadn’t they heard that instruction before? When they did it, they got the same result — fish galore, so many that the net was too heavy to drag to shore.

“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!'” John 21:7a.

Of course! Who else could it be? They had seen Him in Jerusalem, but they were not expecting Him to turn up in Galilee. There was only one person who could issue a foolish instruction like that to seasoned fishermen and get the result they got. They remembered the previous occasion. It was the never-to-be-forgotten moment of their call to follow Him.

What was He saying to them? Was He setting the scene for a renewed call? Was He about to recommission them because He was alive? They had gone back to the old life because they thought their time with Him was over. But it wasn’t. What they thought was the end was only the beginning of a new chapter for them. Jesus had not fired them for their failure. They were about to be refired for a whole new life!

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.

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A GLORIOUS CHURCH

Christian Life, ,

A GLORIOUS CHURCH

“And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”

Ephesians 1:23 NLT

What is our view of the church? It all depends on our perspective.

Sadly, our understanding of “the church” is coloured by our personal experience. Many, like me, have enjoyed a fragment of the true family of God, where love, harmony, and peace have been taught and fostered by a shepherd who leads by example and does not usurp Jesus’ position as head of the church.

Others have become disillusioned with the church and walked away because of the business-like, sterile, programme-orientated institution of their local church rather than the living organism of Jesus’ body, patterned for us in the New Testament, that it is intended to be.

The church is a mystery. It is the vitally alive, growing and maturing body of Jesus Christ. It is made up of people from every nation who have been born again into the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The church is one world-wide body, united through faith in Jesus as Lord, across the globe and across the generations. It is not subject to doctrinal or denominational differences. It has a simple mandate from Jesus, to believe in Him and to love one another. These are the distinguishing characteristics of the true Church, and the witness to the world that the Father sent Jesus to be the Saviour of the world.

The Apostle Paul paints three word-pictures of the church that give us a clearer understanding of what Jesus intends His church to be as it lives in the world as His witness before He returns to claim His people for eternal life with Him.

THE CHURCH IS A BODY – its function

Jesus gave His disciples the first clue to the nature of the church.

“Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:19-20 NIV

Many Bible scholars have misunderstood this passage because they do not understand the way of Hebrew thought. This is not about the cost of following Jesus. He was not poor. He was a rabbi who was well supported by the people, especially a group of faithful and wealthy women. Judas kept the group’s money bag from which he stole, according to John, so, there must have been money available to take care of their needs.

In Hebrew thought, Jesus referred the places where creatures multiply. Foxes and birds reproduce in dens and nests. They don’t live in them. Jesus, as the head, did not yet have a body from which He would reproduce Himself. After Pentecost, when the church was born, Jesus, as the head, would multiply Himself through His body to build His church until it is complete before His return.

The purpose of Jesus’ body is to be one with the Godhead and with one another. This unity is to reveal to the world the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit so that the world would believe in Jesus.

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

John 17:20-21 NLT

A body has a multiplicity of unique individual parts that function together in perfect harmony to produce a living organism. So it is with the body of Jesus. However, without a brain, the systems that make up the body cannot function efficiently and the body will die. Without Jesus as the living head of His church, His body is nothing but a sterile, non-reproducing organisation.

The picture of the church as a body speaks of a living, functioning, reproducing organism of head and body in perfect unity and harmony powered by the Holy Spirit. The members of the body  lovingly serve one another, build one another up, and reproduce Jesus in the lives of others.

THE CHURCH IS A BUILDING – its purpose

The second picture of the church is a building made of living stones, an individual and corporate temple in which God dwells by His Spirit.

A temple is a place of worship, place of sacrifice, a place of service, and a place of submission of heart, will and life to God who reigns from the inside. It hosts God who makes His dwelling in the inner shrine of our hearts.

The sacrifices of the New Covenant are neither animal, nor blood. Jesus has shed His own blood to take away the sin of the world and reconcile us to the Father. The sacrifices we offer in the New Covenant are acts of worship that express the attitudes of our hearts.

Everything we do in our everyday lives, no matter how simple or mundane, expresses our love and gratitude to God for His grace and goodness to us.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT

As God’s temple, we offer the sacrifices of

Praise

“Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name….”

Good works

“… And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.”

Hebrews 13:15-16 NLT

Generosity

“At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.”

Philippians 4:18 NLT

A repentant heart

“You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

Psalms 51:16-17 NLT

THE CHURCH IS A BRIDE – its goal

A “bride” speaks of togetherness, companionship, and intimacy in a permanent, unbreakable union for an entire lifetime. Jesus came to earth to seek His bride. All who believe in Him are His beloved and betrothed bride awaiting the the day when He returns to claim her as His own forever.

The betrothal period is an important part of the bride’s preparation for her wedding day. She has two tasks to do to prepare for that day.

Her first task is to separate herself from all other men. No longer must she be alert to the invitation of other “hopefuls”. Her role as Jesus’ betrothed is to focus all her attention on her “heavenly lover”.

Her second function is to prepare her wedding gown. Her bridegroom has given her His spotless robe of righteousness bought with His own blood.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

The bride’s task is to adorn her gown with the good works that are the fruit of His righteousness.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)”

Revelation 19:7-8 NIV

What are the” good works” we are to do to adorn our wedding gown? In obedience to the Holy Spirit, we are to use our spiritual gifts to serve and built up the body of Christ until we reach unity and maturity in Christ and conformity to His image.

“So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV

So, we see that Jesus’ church is not an organisation running programmes to keep God’s people busy. It is a living organism made up of believers, who do life together, worship together, and live in intimate communion with Jesus, eagerly awaiting His coming to consummate an eternal union with Himself and to live in God’s forever family.

LIFE THROUGH HIS NAME

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LIFE THROUGH HIS NAME

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life through His name.” John 20:30, 31.

Unlike the other three gospels, John clearly stated the reason for his story. His gospel rounds off the four pictures of Jesus that the four gospels present, each complete in itself and yet incomplete because they need each other to tell the whole story.

Matthew’s gospel was written for Jewish readers. He did not state his purpose, New Testament scholars have gleaned from the book that he presented Jesus as the King of the Jews and the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy.

Matthew’s birth narrative of Jesus and the genealogy of His ancestry highlighted His royal position. Although Jesus was born in a humble place, He descended from the line of David, Israel’s greatest king, in fulfilment of Messianic prophecy. He had visitors from the East who came looking for a new king whose birth they had discerned from the movement of the stars and who brought gifts that befitted a king.

Matthew focused on Jesus’ presentation of the kingdom of God, arranging the teachings of Jesus into blocks rather than in chronological order. The gospel He came to announce was good news about the kingdom of God and to enter, one needed to repent and receive the kingdom like a little child. Matthew often referred to the things Jesus did as the fulfilment of prophecy.

Jesus was born a king, He lived as a king, exercising His authority over the demonic realm and giving authority to His disciples to continue what He had begun. He died under the written indictment: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”

Mark presented Jesus, not as a king but as a servant. There are no birth narratives — the birth of a servant was of no consequence. Jesus’ story was one of action. There is not much teaching in Mark’s Gospel; his emphasis was on what Jesus did rather than on what He said. Mark highlighted what the Jewish leaders and even Jesus’ disciples failed to grasp; that Jesus was first the Servant of Yahweh before He took His place as the king of the Jews.

Luke focused on Jesus’ humanity, and presented Him as the Son of Man. However, the title, “Son of Man” was not only a reference to His humanity as God addressed Ezekiel, but also a Messianic title as in Daniel 7:13, 14:

“In my vision at night I looked and there before me was like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and people of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and His kingdom is one that shall never be destroyed.”

Luke traced His ancestry back to Adam, the father of the human race. He presented Jesus as one who was totally dependent on the Holy Spirit; conceived by the Holy Spirit, baptised in the Spirit; driven by the Spirit into the wilderness; and one who prayed. Jesus was true man; He had the emotions and weaknesses of human beings. He entered fully into the experiences of humanity but He was truly the Son of Man.

John completed the picture of Jesus by presenting Him as the Son of God. Not birth narratives but rather a commentary on Genesis 1 is where he started. Jesus existed before He became flesh and took His place among humans. He was God’s Word, bringing all of creation into existence, enlightening every human being born into the world and giving Hs life to restore them to their rightful place as sons of God.

John recorded only seven miracles, referring to them as “signs”, pointing his readers to the nature of Jesus – the Son of God – and the outcome of each sign – faith in Him. The controversy between Him and His religious opponents raged around His claim to be the Son of God and His ringing statement, I AM…”

Four gospels, four pictures, King of the Jews, Servant of Yahweh, Son of Man and Son of God. This is who Jesus is. Our only response is John’s longed-for desire for his readers; to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and by believing, to have life through His name.

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.

BELIEVING IS SEEING

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BELIEVING IS SEEING

“A week later His disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’

“Thomas said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'” John 20:26-29.

Poor Thomas! It was his misfortune to be absent when Jesus appeared to His disciples the first time. I often wonder whether it was doubt that drove him to demand his own personal audience with Jesus. Could his doubt have been linked to a disappointment that had caused him such deep pain that he was not willing to take the risk of entrusting himself to anyone again?

Perhaps we should call him Disappointed Thomas, or Disillusioned Thomas or even Devastated Thomas rather than Doubting Thomas. I think his doubt was a symptom rather than the cause of his unwillingness to believe the story that Jesus was alive. He had not yet learned that, unlike fickle human beings who are fallible and unfaithful, he could trust Jesus’ word because He will never break a promise. He said He would rise from the dead, and He did!

Did Thomas do what he said he would do? I think that it was enough that he saw and heard Jesus and witnessed with his eyes that it was indeed the crucified one. He didn’t need to finger Jesus’ wounds to be sure that it was Jesus. All his doubts, disappointment and disillusionment were swept away in that moment. He fell on his knees and cried out, ‘My Lord and my God.’

What was it that convinced Thomas once and for all that Jesus was both Lord and God? Was it the wounds in His body that spoke of His death and yet He was alive? Was it the teaching and miracles that Thomas had heard and seen, now suddenly come alive in Him? I think the fact that Jesus invited Thomas to do what he said he would do when Jesus was not present that convinced him that Jesus was God. How did He know what he had spoken unless He was invisible yet present?

The memory of Jesus’ gentle rebuke and tender invitation would remain in Thomas’ mind forever. Many months before, Jesus had asked His disciples the question: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Peter responded with little understanding, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!’ Now Thomas was convinced that He was the Son of God and would go to the ends of the earth and face the fury of hell because he knew!

Thomas saw and was convinced. But that is not the way of the kingdom of God. God works in another way. It is not seeing that released faith but faith that releases vision. Faith is the invisible link between the unseen realm and power of God and the natural world in which we live. We bring God’s power into action on earth through faith in His word. Miracles do not beget faith. Faith begets miracles.

The mighty miracles of God which the children of Israel saw in the wilderness did not produce faith. Every time a new crisis arose, they forgot God’s miraculous intervention and turned on Moses with accusations and demands. Jesus responded to faith with healing power. ‘Your faith has made you whole.’

The more confidence we place in Jesus, the more we experience His intervention in our lives. True blessing, the supernatural favour of God on us, comes when we are willing to stake all on His promises because He delights to be trusted.

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.