Monthly Archives: June 2023

FAITH MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

Christian life, ,

FAITH MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory, and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

I am a fan of Bear Grylls. In case you don’t know who Bear Grylls is, let me tell you about him. He is a British adventurer and survival specialist. He hosts a programme on TV called “Running Wild With Bear Grylls” in which he takes celebrities on a two-day adventure into the remotest, most inaccessible and inhospitable places on earth.

The Amazon jungle, Colorado mountains, and the snow-covered peaks of the Dolomites in northern Italy, the Nevada desert, the steep cliffs on the coast of Wales, and even the remote interior of the Great Karoo are his playground. He guides his novice adventure companions through impossible terrain to survive the rigors of the journey to their extraction point.

He takes no food, eats what they can find, sleeps in caves, under trees, in holes in the snow, in hastily constructed shelters, or just wherever he and his companion can be safe.

Bear’s most important piece of equipment is his rope. It is long, strong, and reliable enough to bear his weight and the weight of his companion, sometimes together, scaling mountains, rappelling down steep cliffs, slipping and sliding down frozen waterfalls, and crossing raging torrents and deep gorges.

However, Bear’s experience and survival skills have taught him that confidence in his rope is not enough. If he does not anchor his rope around a strong object that will support a heavy weight, he will fall to his death if the anchor gives way. He uses chunks of ice, boulders, trees, clumps of bushes and even a crevice in a rock if it grips the rope firmly enough to secure it.

Bear’s adventures in the wild teach us a powerful  lesson about the nature and purpose of our faith.

Ancient Hebrew words reveal some of the secrets of God’s truth. Take the word “wait” in Isaiah 40, for example.

“… Those who hope in (wait on) the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:31 NIV

The word “qavah”, here translated “hope”, is often translated “wait” in other versions. Its origin is the idea of twisting, referring to a rope maker who twists strands of thread together to make a sturdy rope.

While we “wait” for or “hope” in the Lord, we twist together our life experiences to develop our “rope” of faith. God often delays His responses to test the genuineness of our faith in Him or, to change the metaphor, He puts our faith through fire, like gold, to remove the impurities.

So, if our faith in God is genuine, like Bear’s rope, our rope will be strong enough to bear our (wait) weight when the severe tests come.

However, as important as our faith is, since it is our only link with God, we must also be sure of the object of our faith. To what or to whom do we anchor our trust when we have mountains to climb or deep gorges to cross?

Who is the God upon whom we depend? Is He the great “Sugar Daddy” in the sky whom we can manipulate to give us what we want? Is He the sovereign God whose character and motives are so flawless that we can trust Him to make the best choices for us? Is the One to whom our faith is anchored worthy of our trust?

There is expression believers often use that unwittingly reveals their “anchor”. “I am trusting God for…” This is the Sugar Daddy tree or bush or rock on which their faith depends. This “god” does not exist since he does not fit the description of the God of the Bible, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our faith is misplaced. Trust in this “god” will always disappoint us.

Bear’s adventures have yet other important considerations… the motive for their journey and the goal which they strain to reach, their extraction point. At the end of their journey is a vessel or vehicle that will take them home. Their destiny is not to remain in the wilderness but to take the lessons they have learned with them as they go on in life.

The two adventurers don’t allow beautiful views or intriguing discoveries to distract them from reaching their goal. Home is where they are headed regardless of their experiences on the way.

We also must consider the motive of our faith in God. Take Job, for example. There was a sting in the tail of Satan’s taunts when God drew his attention to Job and his upright character. Was God baiting Satan to test the motive of Job’s faith in Him?

Was Job’s trust in God “Sugar Daddy” faith, or was he firmly anchored in God’s character, no matter what?

Job initially subscribed to the philosophy of his day, expressed in the accusations of his three so-called friends. “God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked.” Therefore, Job must have done wrong to have been so severely punished.

Job’s denial of wrongdoing flew in the face of this shaky belief. He was forced to rethink his values and his motive for trusting God even in the severest of trials. Would he give up on God because his faith had failed to get him what he wanted? Would he keep trusting even if he had no explanation for his trusting?

At no point did God, in His response to Job’s adamant defence of his innocence, explain His actions. To have disclosed the conversation between Himself and Satan would have ruined and thwarted the purpose of the test.

Did Job blame the devil for what he was suffering? No! His issue was with God, not the devil, and the challenge to his belief that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked.

God’s silence frustrated Job. Where was God? Why didn’t He answer him? The more he questioned God’s motives, the deeper he got into his own muddled thinking until God had had enough. “Shut up, Job!” He shouted. “Listen to me.”

God’s challenge to Job shook him to his foundations. Job had to learn that he had no part in God’s creative power and wisdom. “Where were you when I did all this stuff?” God demanded.

God’s response smartly put Job in his place. Since He was solely responsible for all the mysteries and miracles of nature and was not in consultation with or answerable to Job, He was under no obligation to explain His actions when He permitted Job to be stripped of his wealth and comforts to the bone.

Did Job pass the test? Was his motive for trusting God pure or tainted with selfishness and greed? Apparently, God’s confidence in Job’s integrity was not misplaced. Satan lost the challenge. Despite Job’s misery, grief, and complaints, never once did he give up on God. Time and again, he affirmed his faith in some of the loftiest statements in Scripture. “I know that my Redeemer lives…” and “… when I am tested, I shall come forth as gold.”

Job’s final response was to repent in dust and. ashes. God was right and he was wrong.

What of our motive for enduring suffering with a robust faith in God? What is our motive for hanging on to our rope when we can’t see the bottom?

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess what the goal and motive of our faith is. God Himself tells us His dream.

Paul expresses God’s heart in one sublime and confident statement, “We know…”

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Romans 8:28-29 NIV

“… In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose….”  This is the God to whom we anchor our rope… the God who has the power and the will to work in all things for our good because He has a motive and a goal.

When we embrace His motive and goal for us, we are right on track to reach our “extraction point” and to go home.

So, what is our motive for trusting Him? We know that He is painting a bigger picture on a bigger canvas than we can see. A family of sons and daughters, exact replicas of His beloved Son, is what He is working on, on His canvas.

How will He accomplish His purpose? By chipping away, through hardship, trial and suffering, everything that obscures the image of His Son in us. What does Jesus look like? A perfectly submissive, obedient, and trusting Son, guarding His unity with the Father no matter what it cost Him because of the love that binds them together.

When we are distracted by the tinsel and trinkets of a transient world by our “trusting God for…” we exchange our God-given goal of likeness to Jesus for self-centred ambitions that take us on a deadly detour to end in loss.

Only calm assurance that God’s goal is best will keep us through suffering with joyful anticipation of its outcome.

And His motive?

“… That he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Jesus, always Jesus!

For more information on the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the firstborn in the Bible, clearly explained in the article, “Why is the firstborn so important in the Bible?”, go to gotquestions.com/firstborn-in-the-Bible.html

God has exalted Jesus to the highest place as the supreme authority (Lord) over all things. So, in the end, all the glory for who He is and what He does and has done, must reflect on Him.

“Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV

If our suffering and hardship does not accomplish the goal for what it is intended, that we be transformed into the likeness of Jesus, we will never see the bigger picture. If our motive is not to endure with patience and joy the trials we experience because of the outcome that Jesus may be exalted through us, then we cannot rejoice in the glorious future the Father has planned for us. Our faith will have been a futile exercise, achieving nothing.

DO YOU LOVE JESUS?

Christian Life, ,

DO YOU LOVE JESUS?

I have learned…

As I read the letters of the Apostles in the New Testament, I came across these words “I have learned…” So much of our walk with the Lord Jesus comes from experiential knowledge, confirmed, and explained by God’s Word.

What have I learned on this journey of life?

Something Jesus said electrifies me. On at least two occasions, He said to a specific group of people, “I never knew you…”, to the foolish virgins in Matthew 25,

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “

Matthew 25:10-12 NIV

… And to the group who appealed to their “spiritual gifts” for authentication,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “

Matthew 7:21-23 NIV

Both groups called Jesus “Lord, Lord,” but that did not qualify them for being true disciples of Jesus.

What was the problem? To say that the foolish virgins did not have the Holy Spirit, as some interpret this parable, is to go against the teaching of Scripture which clearly says that, if one does not have the Spirit, one does not belong to Jesus. These foolish virgins were on the guest list to attend the wedding celebration.

Two groups of virgins, one group wise, the other group foolish. Foolishness in Scripture means knowing the truth but not doing it. So, the wise virgins knew the truth and did it, the foolish virgins did not.

Both groups were a part of the wedding feast but only the wise virgins were allowed to go in. What did they do that gained them entry? They had oil in their lamps. The foolish virgins used up their oil and their lamps went out. They no longer had light.

Scripture also teaches us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Since the oil in the lamp gave the light, the implication is that the wise virgins were living in the light of God’s Word while the foolish virgins were no longer doing so.

Jesus rejected the foolish virgins’ request for entry because He now longer “knew” them, i.e., He no longer had intimate fellowship with them.

Jesus also rejected those who appealed to their spiritual gifts for the right to enter God’s kingdom, because, although they claimed to have spiritual gifts and used them, and called Him “Lord”, they did not do His will.

So, what have i learned through these two incidents of rejection about Jesus’ requirements for “knowing” Him? Two things stand out in answer to this question.

1. After Peter denied knowing Jesus, although he fell badly, Jesus asked him only one question.

“Simon (the old nature), do you love me?“ Three times, the same question.

First qualification, loving Jesus, takes in everything it means to believe in Jesus. In place of the greatest command of the Old Covenant, John tells us…

“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

1 John 3:23 NIV

To believe in His name implies a total commitment to Jesus as Lord, our supreme authority, because of who He is… fully God and fully man. I confirm my love for Jesus by believing in and obeying Him as my Lord.

2.  Second qualification… loving one another. I think that one of the most important things we have to learn is to love one another since we confirm our love for Him by doing what He commanded.

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me….”

John 14:21a NIV

So, this is what I am learning…

We cannot love Jesus if we don’t love His people.

How do we show our love for Jesus? By loving His children in real and practical ways.

1.  By taking care of the physical and material needs of His people.” Look after my sheep,” Jesus told Peter.

John wrote,

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

1 John 3:16-18 NIV

‘Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

1 John 4:20-21 NIV

2. By being gracious to one another

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Ephesians 4:1-2 NIV

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

3. By preserving our unity through mutual submission.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Ephesians 5:21 NIV

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Ephesians 4:3 NLT

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

Philippians 2:3-5 NLT

4.  By building each other up in our faith until we attain unity.

“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. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Ephesians 4:11-13, 15 NIV

We all have different spiritual gifts and can show our love for one another by using our gifts to meet each other’s needs, whether they be physical, material, emotional, or spiritual. We don’t all have the same abilities but we can all, like a mosaic that becomes a complete picture when all the pieces are in place, contribute to the peace and harmony in God’s family.

“If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!” 1 Corinthians 16:22

I said to the Lord, “I don’t ever want to hear those words, ‘I don’t know you…'” We never will if we participate, together with God’s children, in loving our godly family by taking care of one another. By walking in God’s Word, our “lamps’ will be full of “oil” when the Bridegroom returns, and we will be welcomed into the marriage supper of the Lamb, to share in the perfect life of God’s family forever.

“Let us be glad and rejoice and let us give honour to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

Revelation 19:7-8 NLT

DID JESUS SWEAT BLOOD?

Apologetics, ,

DID JESUS SWEAT BLOOD?

Amazing how people can build a superstructure of belief on a faulty foundation.

Take, for example the words of Jesus in John 10. Not once in His discourse on the good shepherd does He mention the devil. He was teaching the people the difference between the shepherd who loves and cares for his sheep and the hireling who does the job for money, a veiled comparison between Himself and the religious leaders.

When the life of the shepherd is threatened, he willingly gives himself for the sheep. The hireling, on the other hand, deserts the sheep when his life is at risk.

Jesus was clearly comparing Himself with the religious leaders who opposed Him. While He was committed to the care and safety of His sheep, they were in it only for gain. Hence, the hireling, in the end, was not beneficial but destructive, killing, stealing, and destroying for his own benefit. Where, in this story, is the devil involved?

Now let’s look at Luke’s record of Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Each Gospel writer puts a slightly different slant on his recording of this traumatic time.

Matthew seems to focus on Jesus’ agitation… He prays the same prayer three times, interspersed with going to His disciples to rebuke them for their indifference at this crucial time. Back and forth He went between prayer and checking on them.

Mark, similarly, comments on Jesus’ agitation but also reveals Jesus’ submission to the Father’s will in His prayer.

Luke, in keeping with the theme of his gospel focusing on Jesus, the Son of Man, zeroes in on Jesus’ emotional and physical agony. Let’s look at Luke’s exact words.

“He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.”

Luke 22:44 NLT

“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

Luke 22:44 NIV

“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Luke 22:44 KJV

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Luke 22:44 NKJV

Now let’s examine the Greek word “like” in the original text. The Greek word “hosei”, according to Strong’s Concordance, means “like” or “as if”. There is a difference between “like” and “was”. Luke implies a comparison between Jesus’ sweat and blood flowing from a wound.

Medical science has even been drawn in to provide examples of this phenomenon. Possible as it may be in extreme circumstances, Luke’s specific choice of the Greek word “hosei” excludes the fact that Jesus sweated blood.

My point is…? We cannot inject meaning into original words in the Greek text and build a superstructure on a meaning that simply isn’t there. We are, always, required to be absolute faithful to the original text.

Does this change any of the intensity of Jesus’ suffering? Not at all! If anything, it enhances Luke’s description of His agony, perspiration pouring from Him like a river of blood!

BE A LOSER TO BE A WINNER

Christian Life, ,

BE A LOSER TO BE A WINNER

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Luke 6:27-30

“What are you saying, Jesus? You can’t be serious!”

Oh, but He was. If you want to know what power is, this is real power. There is no true power in retaliation. It only takes a bit of physical or emotional energy to hit back when someone hurts or offends you. But what kind of power does it take to absorb the blows and respond with kindness and generosity? It takes power over one’s own self not to give back blow for blow.

But it takes far more than sheer will-power to stop oneself from hitting back. That is a perfectly natural reaction coming from a human point of view, but Jesus was talking about an attitude that is far more than what comes out of our fallen human nature. He was talking about a changed disposition that comes from a completely different perspective.

What will it take to change us from reacting to responding? Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that, to “see” and enter the kingdom of God will take the equivalent of going back to the beginning of our life and starting over again with a new nature. That is impossible in the natural, as Nicodemus discovered, but God can do it through His power at work in our spirits.

Paul speaks of this superanatural event as “being raised from the dead” — a spiritual resurrection that is like waking up to a new realm where we understand everything from God’s point of view.

God is not a tit-for-tat God. He treats us according to who He is, not according to the way we speak or behave. That’s the way His rule operates. Human parents would understand this. If your son misbehaves, he is still you son, no matter what. A good parent will address the behaviour, not bully or disown the child because he has behaved badly.

When we were born from above, God gave us the potential and the power to respond to situations out of who we are in Christ, not out of who we were in Adam. And He gives us opportunities to show the ones who offend us what He is like by absorbing the wrongdoing and not adding to it by retaliating.

But it’s even more than that. Jesus said that its not about non-retaliation. It’s about actively responding with generosity. That’s how God treats us. The best way to “destroy” your enemy is not to beat him up or kill him but to make him your friend. He will cease to exist as an enemy and come alongside you instead of standing against you.

What kind of perspective can change our attitude towards the ones we perceive as enemies? There are two things that have helped me see things from God’s point of view. Firstly, God wants us to treat everyone with dignity because we have all been created in His image. To dish out cruelty to another human being is to treat God with the same attitude. Who would want to do that?

Secondly, people’s words and behaviour reveal who they are, not who I am. I don’t have to mirror who they are by retaliating. I want to mirror who God is by offering kindness and generosity for unkindness and meanness. Absorbing the blows will stop them right there and offer your enemy the opportunity to change his mind as well.

Have you tried it? You can, with God’s grace.

CAN I FORGIVE MYSELF?

Christian Life, ,

CAN I FORGIVE MYSELF?

How often I hear this this statement, “I just can’t forgive myself!” after a massive blunder that rocks a life.

I have to ask the question, “What is forgiveness?” Can I forgive myself or is this a fallacy that holds me and many other people in the grip of guilt that is… well… Illegitimate. Yes, this lie has its roots in a belief spawned by the devil to keep people in bondage.

Jesus told a story recorded in Matthew 18 that clearly illustrates the core issue of forgiveness. A king called his servants to account for the money they owed him. One servant’s debt was so great that he could never repay the king.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35

The king had two options; jail him until he paid his debt or cancel the debt and release him from all obligation to repay. The king chose the latter option out of compassion for the servant and his family.

The core issue is simple. All sin is an unpayable debt of one person incurred against another. What can a person do to undo the harm he has caused to another? Nothing can be done to repay his debt. The debtor must either be held in bondage to his victim, or the debt be cancelled and the debtor released from all obligation to repay.

Forgiveness is a legal transaction, the offended releasing the offender of his debt on the truth that Jesus has already paid the debt of all the sin of all people for all time by His death on the cross.

“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them….”

2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT

Orgiving ourse;ves

How, then, is it possible for me to release myself from the debt I owe me? Can you see that this is an illogical and ridiculous notion? How do I make amends for something I did to myself? I need God’s forgiveness, not mine, for the sin I have committed.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

1 John 1:9 NLT

Confess means that I agree with God that He is right about my sin. I own it, take responsibility for it and receive God’s forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. He wipes my slate clean. My guilt has gone, and I can continue in unhindered fellowship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Since it impossible for me to owe myself anything, I cannot be held in bondage to myself as both creditor and debtor. Therefore, I have no obligation to forgive myself. What I think holds me in bondage is nothing but an illusion.

We must not confuse forgiving ourselves with the regret we feel for what we have said or done. The issue is not about forgiving ourselves, but letting go of the useless regret which serves no useful purpose except to be a platform for Satan’s accusations. Letting go means choosing to forget just as God has chosen to forget our sin because He has forgiven us.