Monthly Archives: February 2023

TWO FEET OF PEACE

Christian Life, ,

TWO FEET OF PEACE

“Stand firm, then…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…” (Ephesians 6:14a, 15, NIV).

I often wonder why this verse is interpreted as an encouragement to evangelise, as though preaching the gospel somehow acts as a protective measure against the devil’s schemes. I prefer to understand it in the context of Paul’s counsel, in this passage, to “stand firm”.

It takes two feet to stand firm and maintain one’s balance. Someone standing on one foot is easily unbalanced.  What is the “gospel of peace”? Isaiah offers an explanation in Isaiah 52:7, (NIV).  “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace…who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’.”

The good news is that, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” (Romans 5:1, NIV). We have a firm footing in grace because we have believed that God does not count our sins against us because Jesus paid our debt.

Peace with God secures our eternal destiny but what about our day-to-day struggles in a world of trouble? It is imperative that we fully appropriate the legacy of peace Jesus left us to steady us in this world where we need it the most. To stand only on the “foot” of peace with God will leave us unsteady and unbalanced when the crises come and we are tempted to collapse in a heap of fear and doubt.

The Apostle Paul addresses the other “foot” in Philippians 4:4-9. Since the battle with Satan goes on in the mind our minds need to be secured against his wiles. Transforming our minds is the way to secure them and Paul gives us a plan of action.

The first step is to live in God and not in our circumstances. “Rejoice in the Lord.” (vs 4). When we derive our happiness from the good things that happen, we will lose it when things go wrong.

Secondly, we are to “let (y)our gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” (vs 5). We must not punish other people for the way we feel. God hasn’t gone anywhere. He is still near and He’s in charge!

Thirdly, we must be honest with God about our anxieties. “Don’t be anxious about anything.” (vs 6). It‘s not our problem that’s the problem; it’s our anxiety that blocks the channel of our faith. We must confess our anxiety to God and He will exchange it for His peace.

Lastly, Paul says, “Fill your mind with good things and the God of peace will be with you. He will powerfully support you and act for you.” (vs 8,9).

Since the battle is in the mind and Satan’s ploy is to unbalance us, we need both feet of peace with God and the peace of God to stand firm.

KINGDOM FIRST

Christian Life, ,

KINGDOM FIRST

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33, NIV).

I have read several books by Dr Myles Munroe – a man who has extensively studied and written on the kingdom of God. Why the kingdom?

A fifteen-day fast resulted in a two-word instruction to him from the Holy Spirit, Kingdom first. Dr Munroe embarked on a 30-year quest to understand, seek, and live in the kingdom of God and teach it to the church.

If God’s instruction to him was Kingdom First, it should be no different for us because the command comes from the lips of Jesus Himself.

Jesus said we are to make the kingdom of God our priority and, in saying so, He turned the value system of the world on its head. What is the priority of the world? Things! Although we may think that money and things are the true measure of our lives, what is more significant is the way we use our time. Time is the currency of life and how we spend it reveals our priorities. Tragically, the priorities of the people in the church are often no different from the priorities of the people in world. Why?

We do not understand how the kingdom of God works.

We don’t take Jesus’ instruction to make the kingdom a priority seriously;

We find it difficult to trust Him to keep His promise that He will provide all the resources we need to fulfil His command.

Priorities are determined by our purpose. When we have no purpose or don=t know our purpose, we squander our currency of time with no return.  Says Dr Munroe, ANothing is more tragic than a life without purpose.@ (Applying the Kingdom, page 31).

According to Dr Munroe, this is what will happen if we choose to reject God’s purpose for His people and focus on the wrong things in life i.e. making a living instead of living a life.

Without the right priorities we waste time and energy on the wrong things, we do the unnecessary, we are preoccupied and major on the unimportant, we invest our time and money in what is valueless, we use our resources ineffectively, we abuse our gifts and talents, and we will ultimately be a failure in life because we did not do what we were called to do.

What is Jesus’ solution to this misunderstanding?

Firstly, our priority must be the same as God’s priority, which is:

To loose the chains of injustice; to set the oppressed free; to share your food with the hungry; to provide the poor wanderer with shelter; when you see the naked, to clothe him; and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood. (Isaiah 58:6, 7)

Secondly, His promise will come into effect:

“The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.” (Isaiah 58:11a, NIV).

God’s requirement in the New Covenant is simple.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:21-24

DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD

Christian life, ,

DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD

“Do not love the world, nor anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him…The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God, lives forever.” (1 John 2:15, 17, NIV).

What is this “world” of which John speaks? It can surely not be the natural world since, at the time of creation, God declared it “good”.

There is a “world” within the world that represents an alien and unseen domain that is superimposed on the good earth God created. The Apostle Paul called it “the dominion of darkness” (Colossians 1:13) over which the devil, “the god of this age,” (2 Corinthians 4:4), presides, and blinds the minds of those who do not believe..

Why should believers not love the world?

Firstly, the values of the world are opposed to God’s values. The world espouses, applauds and panders to the cravings of sinful man. Those who live comfortably in the present world system are nurtured in self-centredness, self-will and self-gratification. 

We live in a world that is drunk on entertainment, promoting values that titillate the senses; its value system is based on situation ethics – it is right as long as it feels right regardless of who gets hurt in the process. There are no absolute standards of right and wrong in the world because God has been written out of the text.

Secondly, selfish desire is the engine that drives the machine. Media advertising, entertainment, provocative fashion, music, literature, all fire the basest desires of fallen human nature and then go in for the kill. 

Thirdly, greed and ambition are the prime motivators in this system. The whole world worships at the shrine of “mammon”, professions that were once the expression of compassion; nursing, medicine, law, education, are now classified as “business”. Relationships flounder on the rocks of greed, mercy bows to the mighty dollar and people unashamedly climb on the heads of others to get to the top.

There is a frenzied purpose behind this “dominion of darkness” – to kill, steal and destroy because the devil knows his time is short.

John’s sober counsel is, “Do not love the world”, and there is a very good reason for this.

These values belong to a dominion that is doomed to destruction. The writer to the Hebrews warns that everything that can be shaken, will be shaken, and only that which is eternal will remain. There is a kingdom whose values express the eternal nature of God, love, goodness, and truth, which will remain when the dominion of darkness passes away. Since these are two opposing kingdoms, to love the world is to repudiate all connection with the Father.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire”.” Hebrews 12:28, NIV).

Those who are glued to this world system will be part of the trash that will be disposed of in the lake of fire. So, do not love the world, if you do, you will go down with it.

GOD’S FINGERPRINTS AND FOOTPRINTS

Christian Life, ,

GOD’S FINGERPRINTS AND FOOTPRINTS

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

How do we know that God exists? This is a big question that not even philosophers and scientists can explain. It’s all theory… until one steps through the door of faith into a wonderland of revelation. “…Anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists…and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).

The psalmist, David, recognised God’s fingerprints in the sky. Without a telescope, he gazed at the stars and marvelled at God’s handiwork. They tell the wordless story of a mighty, wise and beautiful Creator. He saw the skill of his Creator in the miracle of his own body and exclaimed, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14, NIV).

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Roman church, chided unbelievers for not recognising God’s eternal power and divine nature from the things He has made. (Romans 1:20). In Ephesians 2:10, he called believers “God’s poems”, masterpieces created to reflect His beauty by their “good works”.

When we open the eyes of our hearts, we see the signs of God’s presence everywhere, in the beauty of nature, in the marvellous bodies we live in and, most of all, in the miracle of people transformed by the power of His love.

If God’s fingerprints are all over creation, then His footprints are all over history. History is His story, God with us, God writing His big story, blending our small stories into one big story of His love and power at work, redeeming and restoring everything that was broken when we messed up His plan.

The beauty of God’s story is the He invites us to be a part of it. We are the pens He uses to write the story of His great love for a lost and broken world. We are the hands and feet that show, and voices that tell the story of a Father who passionately longs for His lost sons and daughters to come home.

Until we read history through God’s eyes, it seems like a never-ending story of man’s cruelty to man. But, amid the chaos man has created, God sent His Son from His side to show and tell us that He cares about us, that He can fix everything that is broken and that He is moving history towards a destined end. From God’s perspective, history is not a random series of events but a carefully executed plan to expose the usurper who has created the chaos and to install His king in his place.

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain…The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them…saying, ’I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.’” Psalm 2:1,4,6, NIV).

We can take heart and rejoice that God really exists and that He has written the story’s final chapter.

PETER’S RESTORATION

Christian Life, ,

PETER’S RESTORATION

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’” John21:15, (NIV).

Have you ever worried that you have sinned yourself out of God’s plan for your life?

That’s probably what Peter thought after he had denied Jesus and fled from the scene of his Master’s crucifixion. He went back to fishing together with some of his buddies. Perhaps he thought, “I’ve blown it, so I might as well go back to the old life and forget about this ‘call’ thing.”

I find it fascinating – the way Jesus handled it. 

It was on the beach that He had met Peter the first time and called him to follow Him.  Peter and his business colleagues had been fishing all night – caught nothing. Jesus arrived on the scene and gave them a crazy instruction: “Go back, in broad daylight, and throw in your nets again.” They knew it wouldn’t work but they did it anyway and the result was startling. Jesus’ word had driven the fish into the net and Peter knew he was dealing with no ordinary man. On the strength of that he responded to Jesus’ call, “Follow me.”

Then Peter messed up and thought his life as a disciple was over.

Same place, same scene.  Once again, the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing. Now they couldn’t even do what they were supposed to do best catch fish. Imagine how dejected they must have felt. How did Peter feel? He couldn’t be a disciple and now he couldn’t even fish. 

A lone figure stands on the beach in the early morning.  “Caught anything?” He calls.  “Nothing,” they call back. “Throw in your nets on the right side of the boat.” There is a familiar ring to that instruction. Right side? No, wrong side! Fish don’t swim into nets there.  But they do it anyhow. Again, Jesus word drives the fish into their nets and John cries out in recognition, “It’s the Master!”

Something stirs in Peter’s memory.  It was in a moment just like this that Jesus called him to follow Him. Perhaps…If only…

After breakfast they walk along the beach and Jesus quietly takes Peter aside. Peter waits for the bomb to explode but instead, Jesus stops, looks him in the eyes and asks, three times, “Peter, do you love me?”  Not, “Why did you do it?” or “What’s your problem, man?” but “Do you love me?”

Is that all that matters to Jesus?  Yes. He is not interested in why you blew it. He isn’t surprised either because He knew you’d fail before you ever did it. All that matters is, do you love Him? All He needs is that reassurance from your mouth. It’s easy to answer, either “Yes” or “No”.

“Peter, do you truly love me?  Then follow me.”  That’s all you need.