Monthly Archives: July 2023

I HAVE LOVED YOU….

Christian Life, ,

I HAVE LOVED YOU….

Without the awareness of the greatness of God’s love for us, living in His kingdom would be just another set of rules to obey. This love of God binds our hearts to Him in a powerful union of trust, submission and obedience which are the hallmarks of a true son.

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.”

John 15:9 NLT

“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.”

Jude 1:20-21 NLT

Can you see how important it is that we understand that all we experience as believers in Jesus must be filtered through this love of God? His love underpins everything that has happened and will happen to us because He is “passing by”, to reveal Himself to us, in each situation, according to our need.

To put our trust in and root our lives in God’s love means that NOTHING can get between His love and us. Paul assures us, based on everything God did for us through Jesus…

“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39 NLT

God’s love for us didn’t begin when we came to faith in Jesus. God loved us before He made the world.

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”

Ephesians 1:4 NLT

God was watching and intimately supervising the formation of the unborn child and setting out the days of its life before it came into the world.

“You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

Psalms 139:15-16 NLT

He loved us even when we were living in sin in our unregenerate days.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Romans 5:8 NLT

The Old Covenant was an interim covenant given to Israel to teach them that God is holy and that sin separates sinners from a holy God and is punishable by consequences. To apply the consequences of sin, which Jesus atoned for by His death, to believers in Jesus in the New Covenant is to cancel what Jesus did on the cross.

So, believers cannot be rooted in God’s love and be subject to generational curses at the same time.

I found another contradiction in the context of deliverance in general. Isaiah prophesied that Messiah would set His people free…

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the broken-hearted and to proclaim that captives will be released, and prisoners will be freed.”

Isaiah 61:1 NLT

Jesus confirmed that He was the Anointed One…

“The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Luke 4:17-21 NLT

… and that it was His role to set captives free.

Free from what?

Free from sin and all its effects.

Jesus is passionate about setting His people free from everything that opposes, contradicts, or attempts to replace God’s grace and that has any control over them other than the Holy Spirit. God gives His grace freely to those who realise they are nothing and depend on Him for everything that enables them to live free… from sin, and from self – effort.

Jesus sets us free when we realise that real freedom us living in the absolute confidence of God’s love for us, revealed and confirmed in the death of Jesus.

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”

Romans 8:31-32 NLT

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Colossians 2:6-7 NLT

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

HOW DID JESUS OVERCOME THE WORLD?

Christian Life, ,

HOW DID JESUS OVERCOME THE WORLD?

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

What did Jesus mean by “the world”? How did He experience the world? The world represents everything that people say, do, think, and react to that is the fruit of unbelief in Jesus and falls short of God’s perfection.

It was prophesied that Jesus would be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. Why was that, especially since He was also “anointed with the oil of joy…”? We must remember that, as the God-man, He fully experienced both the perfect joy of heaven and also sorrow for a world of people without God.

Therefore, He could rejoice with His disciples when they experienced tiny glimpses of God’s kingdom at work when the demons were subject to Jesus’ authority through them.

Hebrews tells us, also, that it was the anticipated joy of a mission accomplished and His consequent return to His heavenly existence together with the reward for His obedience, a new family just like Himself, that enabled Him to “endure the cross”.

“… Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.”

Hebrews 12:2b NLT

He also grieved over the unbelief of His people and  their failure to understand what He came to reveal about the Father, His grace and mercy. He wept over Mary’s disillusionment when she thought He had apparently failed to come in time to save Lazarus from death.

He felt the full might of the world’s sin in His day-to-day interaction with people. The common people were fickle and unpredictable. His opponents. the religious leaders whom He exposed for their hypocrisy, hated Him. Even His own disciples vacillated between trust and unbelief. Most of all, He was aware of the daily conflict with the devil who used every subtle trick to try to undermine Him.

“Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people…”

Hebrews 12:3 NLT

How would we cope with such “stress”?

Peter gives us the answer, in one jewel of a statement.

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

1 Peter 2:23 NIV

Despite every form of abuse Jesus endured throughout His life, He lived the life of a perfect Son, in perfect obedience and submission to His Father. Never once did He react or behave like a “sinner” in thought, word, deed, or attitude. So, He could ask of His opponents….

“Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?’

John 8:46 NIV

No matter how people in the world treated Jesus, they could not induce Him to behave like them. He was always the perfect man, as Adam was before the fall. Therefore, He proved that He was sinless, and eligible to be the perfect atoning sacrifice. He also made it possible, through His grace and by His Spirit in us, for us, also, to live the life of trust and obedience that does not give in to the flesh but overcomes the world.

Since He overcame, we have no need to fear anything the world can produce against us or do to us. Therefore, we can rejoice. Hallelujah!!!!

HOUNDED BY GOD’S GOODNESS

Christian Life, ,

HOUNDED BY GOD’S GOODNESS

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes, small details irk, stress, and frustrate us. We grumble and complain about the little bumps in the road that have easy solutions. There is always someone who knows more that we do to help us iron out our problem.

At other times, life-changing disaster hits us head-on and we are left reeling and staggering. Is there anyone who can help to ease the pain of loss, or lift us out of the pit of financial disaster, or heal a broken relationship?

Since we cannot escape the small or big troubles that Jesus said would always be part of this life, the Bible must have an answer for the tears and pain we are continually suffering. It does, and if we are willing to heed its counsel, life’s pain will begin to take on meaning and purpose.

There IS something we can do when no one else can help us. First, we can change our perspective. If it’s only about me, then suffering has no meaning. If it’s about God and me, then God in the mix changes everything. Job’s story can be our story if we cling tenaciously to God and believe what He said.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Romans 8:28 NLT

Can God really make my troubles work for my good? Yes, if I am willing to trust Him. When trouble strikes, God’s goodness is the first thing we question. Is God really good, all the time? How can God’s goodness affect my situation? Our reaction to trouble often exposes our unbelief in God’s goodness.

Instead of wringing our hands when trouble hits, resisting with noisy complaints, and running hither and yon to fix the problem, let’s slow down and wait for God’s goodness and mercy to catch up with us. And it will.

He wants us to trust Him for the outcome before we go into a tailspin and mess up the good He wants to do for us. God often draws our attention to His word before He demonstrates its truth in our experience so that His Word will be indelibly written on our hearts.

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalms 23:6 NLT

If there is something we can do to solve the problem, then let’s do it BUT, do it without grumbling and complaining because there is often a hidden blessing in the trouble. If the solution is out of our hands, then His goodness will catch up with us if we wait for Him.

PRAYER

Thank you, Father God, for the reassurance in your Word that you are always with me, especially in times of trouble and in my darkest days. You are near to the broken-hearted and you always hear the cry of those who call on your name.

Help me, Lord, in my weakness. I need your grace to overcome my doubts and fears at this time. I need faith to trust you when I can’t see the path ahead of me. I need patience to wait for your answers. Help me to slow down, to stop running in panic, to stop trying to fix my own problems so that your goodness and mercy can catch up with me.

Thank you, Father, that you have heard my cry.

THE HOLY SPIRIT OR HOLY DESIRES?

Christian Life, ,

THE HOLY SPIRIT OR HOLY DESIRES?

Did Jesus say that God will give us the Holy Spirit if we ask Him?

Let’s look at what the Scripture says.

11 So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Matthew 7:11 NLT

13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Luke 11:13 NLT

Why is there a difference between Matthew’s version and Luke’s version if they both used a common source? Are they saying the same thing? Were these translations the opinion of the translators rather than an accurate understanding of the original text?

Firstly, let’s ask the question, “Did we receive the Holy Spirit by asking or by believing? “

What did Paul say?

“You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.”

Galatians 3:2 NLT

Therefore, if Jesus said that we receive the Holy Spirit by asking God for Him, we are making the Bible contradict itself. The whole drift of Scripture, according to Paul’s teaching, is that the Spirit comes to indwell us when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, what is the meaning of Jesus’ words according to Matthew and Luke?

Matthew speaks in general terms of “good gifts”. Luke is more specific. He said that God gives ‘pneuma hagios’ – holy spirit, to those who ask Him. Is there a difference between ‘holy spirit’ and ‘the Holy Spirit’?

The Greek term for the Holy Spirit is ‘o pneuma hagios’. There are no capital letters in ancient Greek. Therefore, the little word ‘o (transliterated ho), meaning ‘the’, indicates that the writer is referring to THE Holy Spirit. Every time the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Scripture, the term, ‘o pneuma hagios’ is used.

In Luke 11:13, the ‘o is omitted, hence it cannot mean ‘the Holy Spirit’. Not only do the translators assume that it means ‘the Holy Spirit’, but their translation also contradicts Scripture, since we receive the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus as Lord, not by asking.

How, then, should we translate ‘hagios pneuma’ in Luke 11:13. In Matthew 7:11, Jesus said that God, the good Father, will give us ‘good gifts’ if we ask Him. Luke elaborates on the ‘good gifts’ by telling us that God will give us ‘holy spirit’.

‘Holy’ means separate from sin, separated to God. ‘Pneuma’ means ‘breath’ or ‘spirit’. Since the meaning is found in the context, in the context of Luke 11:13, ‘breath’ can also mean ‘disposition’ or even ‘aspiration: or ‘desire’. Would it not make sense to translate this verse like this?

13 So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give a disposition (or aspirations) that are set apart from sin to God, to those who ask him.”

Luke 11:13 NLT

This rendering of ‘holy spirit’ is completely in line with the drift of Scripture.

4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalms 37:4 NIV

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6 NIV

31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way…

1 Corinthians 12:30-31 NIV

The Bible teaches us that we have been made holy by the blood of Jesus, but it also encourages us to work out what God has worked in us.

“… Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:1-3 NIV

Although we have become new creatures in Christ, complete with God’s nature, we still have the remnants of the old nature in us. Our flesh is at war with our spirit in which the Holy Spirit lives.

Our desires pull us either towards the flesh or towards the Spirit. How important it us, then, for us to have holy desires or aspirations that draw us away from our fleshly appetites towards God and an overcoming life in Jesus.

“12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

Romans 8:12-13 NIV

Why do I need to ask God for holy aspirations?

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

James 1:13-15 NIV

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

Romans 7:18-19 NIV

Not only do we have evil desires in our flesh, but our flesh is also too powerful to resist in our own strength.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:12-13 NIV

How important are our desires, good or bad?

“14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

James 1:14-15 NLT

Our desires are the outcome of our appetites. A child who lives on junk food has no appetite for healthy, nourishing food. We, also, develop an appetite for the things we most feed on. If we live on the junk food of the world, we will have little appetite to “seek those things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”

Does it not make sense, then that Jesus would teach His disciples, in the context of prayer, to ask the Father for a holy disposition with holy desires and aspirations that will feed our spirits, and draw us towards godly living? Then the Holy Spirit who is in us by faith, will lead us and keep us on track as we move towards the Father and our eternity with Him.

If we do not actively seek to live holy lives, our old, ungodly nature will pull us away from God and sink us into the cesspool of worldly living in this world which is transient and passing away.

How important it is, therefore, both for this life and the life to come, that we ask God for the holy disposition and desires that lead us away from satisfying our fleshly appetites. If we live for the flesh we will be disconnected from God, but if we desire and seek after the Spirit, we will have the life of Jesus in us, bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus.

HALALUJAH

Devotion, ,

HALALUJAH

‘Hallelujah” is a familiar word in our ritual of church “praise and worship”. However, we miss its beautiful meaning through our ignorance of its use in ancient Hebrew.

“Halal” in ancient Hebrew meant “the shining of a star”. To understand how it came to mean praise in association with Jah, i.e., halalujah (praise Jah), we must go back to its use in navigation. Before the invention of modern instruments, sailors would plot their course by the light (shining) of the stars.

This practice formed the idea behind praising God. When we praise Him, we focus on His “shining”, His glory, His attributes, His goodness, mercy and compassion which become the pattern upon which we model our lives.

So, we navigate an evil and uncertain world by gazing at Him and living our lives by the light of His instructions (torah), His truth about Himself revealed in His Word.

In the New Covenant, we have the perfect “shining” of the Morning Star, Jesus, (the Son), who “radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God…” – Hebrews 1:3a.

This wonderful imagery is lost in so much of today’s Christian music which focuses on our experience rather than on the glory of Jesus and the marvel of God’s grace in the gospel.

Paul encapsulates our true “halalujah” in his matchless prescription for transformation.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

Many churches have ditched the great hymns of the past that contemplated in verse and music the “shining of the star” in favour of tuneless ditties that often bemoan our spiritual poverty and focus on our emotional whining.

Compare, for example, the words of Fredrick William Faber. 1848…

My God, how wonderful Thou art,

Thy majesty how bright;

How beautiful Thy mercy seat

In depths of burning light!

How dread are Thine eternal years,

O Everlasting Lord,

By prostrate spirits, day and night

Incessantly adored!

How wonderful, how beautiful

The sight of Thee must be,

Thine endless wisdom, boundless power,

And aweful purity!

O, how I fear Thee, living God

With deepest, tend’rest fears,

And worship Thee with trembling hope,

And penitential tears!

Yet I may love Thee too, O Lord,

Almighty as Thou art,

For Thou hast stooped to ask of me

The love of my poor heart.

No earthly father loves like Thee,

No mother, e’er so mild

Bears and forebears, as Thou hast done

With me, Thy sinful child.

Father of Jesus, love’s reward,

What rapture will it be,

Prostrate before Thy throne to lie

And gaze and gaze on Thee!

… with some of the songs we sing today.  Of course, there are many modern, beautiful songs that gaze at the shining of the star, but why do we ignore those that were written by great poets and hymn writers of the past who had a deep sense of awe in the presence of God, as though they are out-of-date?