Monthly Archives: June 2024

HOW DO WE COME TO FAITH IN JESUS?

Christian Life,

When God joined heaven and earth in the creation of the first man, He intended this link to be the permanent and only way in which humans are to live on this earth. The union of the divine and human in a bond of fellowship and partnership by faith is to govern every aspect of our lives.

Jesus made it simple.

‭John 15:5 NLT‬
[5] “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Sin, which began with Adam’s rebellion against God, broke this union, separating man from God, and sending man on the path to self-destruction through his declared independence.

However, humans have not taken kindly to God’s intervention. Humans, in the main, hate relinquishing their independence, regardless of its consequences.

Romans 10:16 NLT‬
[16] “But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

God’s daring plan to restore the union worked. Jesus, the God-man, came, Iived the life of a perfect son, died the death of a rebel, and rose again to vindicate His claim to be the Son of God. He stood in for us as a sinner, took God’s wrath against sin on our behalf, and promises forgiveness and reinstatement as God’s sons if we return the reins of our lives to Him.

This restoration of fellowship with God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, – through trust and obedience, is also an eternal partnership between heaven and earth. No human can arbitrarily choose to believe in Jesus, and God cannot force anyone to believe.

So, how does it happen? It’s a mystery to us because we don’t understand God’s ways, but we must trust His wisdom, so much greater than ours. It’s a process that begins in eternity.

‭Romans 11:33 NLT‬
[33] “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!”

GOD’S PART

It begins with God.

‭Ephesians 1:4 NLT‬
[4] “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”

Every detail of His plan for the universe and our place in it was predetermined. God left nothing to chance.

God’s choices are not arbitrary, as we think. He chooses people for salvation to suit His purpose.

‭Romans 8:29 NLT‬
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

God’s design is to create a human family of sons and daughters exactly like Jesus, in nature and in function. They will reign over His creation in His kingdom, each person in an appointed place in partnership with Jesus.

‭Daniel 7:27 NLT‬
[27]” Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”

God gave those whom He chose to be in His family, to Jesus, guaranteeing by this ‘election’ that everyone chosen will be saved.

‭John 6:37-39 NLT‬
[37] “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. [38] For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. [39] And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.”

How do we come to Jesus?

‭John 6:44 NLT‬
[44] “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.”

Since God is sovereign over His creation, no human can override His purposes. He will do what He has planned to do, and nothing or no one can stop Him or thwart His plans. He draws the ones He has chosen to Jesus, and they will come to Him.

As much as God initiates His plan and our response to Him, He gives us freedom to choose to receive or reject Him. Yet, in a mysterious way we cannot fathom, those whom He has chosen will come to Jesus.

OUR PART

Faith in Jesus begins with the message about Jesus, faithfully preached by those whom God has sent to preach.

‭Romans 10:14-15 NLT‬
[14] “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? [15] And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

The message about Jesus initiates faith in the heart.

‭Romans 10:17 NLT‬
[17] “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.“

God brings heaven and earth together in a powerful response to faith in the message of Jesus…

‭1 Peter 1:23 NLT‬
[23] “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.”

God raises the dead spirit to new life, reconnecting the Spirit of God to the spirit of man in an act so powerful that Jesus called it being “born again”.

‭John 3:5-7 NLT‬
[5] “Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. [6] Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. [7] So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ “

‭Ephesians 2:1, 4-6 NLT‬
[1] “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins….
[4] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) [6] For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

Without God’s supernatural act of spiritual resurrection, no amount of going to church or acting like a believer will change the heart. Change requires God’s power and God’s intervention.

‭Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT‬
[26]”And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”

Faith in God’s Word triggers the moment when heaven and earth come together to create a new species, a son or daughter of God.

‭2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT‬
[17]” This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

This moment of salvation on our part, begins with the confession by mouth of His supreme authority, confirming faith in the heart that God raised Him from the dead.

‭Romans 10:9-10 NLT‬
[9] “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.“

Salvation is both an event and a process. The new birth into God’s kingdom begins a new life of submission and obedience to Jesus as Lord…your supreme authority in ever decision, choice, and action. Gone the rebellion and independence that reduces your true humanity to less that you were created to be, a son in the family of God.

Through God’s choice and power, and our response of faith, we have closed the door to independence. Instead, we have begun a journey in fellowship with Jesus that grows stronger and more fruitful as we learn to live in and out of our union with Him.

TOGETHER

Once heaven and earth are joined together, this partnership continues throughout our lives and into eternity.

‭Romans 8:14 NLT‬
[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

We are now reconnected to heaven and indwelt by God’s Spirit whom the Father assigned to be His presence in us. The Holy Spirit is the administrator of everything God has provided for us through Jesus, the Guide who leads us into all truth, and the one who enables us to submit to and obey the Father.

One thing hold this fragile union together. Faith is the link between heaven and earth.

‭Hebrews 11:6 NLT‬
[6] “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.“

2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT‬
[7]” For we live by believing and not by seeing.”

We read, hear, and trust in the truth of God’s word, and obey His instructions. Then our union with God grows stronger as we continue on the path of trust and obedience, following Jesus who promised to take us to the Father.

GOD WON’T FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED

Christian Life, ,

God is sovereign! He calls the shots!

Many believers have the mistaken notion that prayer is about getting God to do what we want. We come to the Father with our ‘grocery list’ of requests, wants, and demands, and expect to receive them ‘by next week’!

Where did we learn such a twisted version of the truth? Mostly from listening to our fellow believers pray.

Trouble is that we not only pray like that but we also live like that. We engage in many activities without any consultation with or direction from the Father, and then expect Him to bless our plans or fix what goes wrong.

Take the Christian woman, for example, who marries an unbeliever and then expects God to save her husband when she has disobeyed His instructions and the marriage becomes a war zone.

‭2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT‬
[14] “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? [15] What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?”

What about believers who ignore the instruction to abstain from sex outside of marriage and to remain faithful to their spouse in marriage?

‭Hebrews 13:4 NLT‬
[4]”Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”

The excuse that an engaged couple can behave like marriage partners because they will be getting married anyway, is no excuse for disobedience. A baby conceived outside marriage is not God’s fault and will not, somehow, go away.

The same principle applies in the business world. A believer cannot expect God to prosper a business partnership with an unbeliever in direct contradiction to His instructions. Trouble is that, when conflict happens or the business fails, God is either blamed or called in to fix the problem.

When we drag our old nature’s way of self-sufficiency and independence into our new life in Christ, we forget that we have died to the old life and begun a new life of submission and obedience to Jesus as Lord.

‭Romans 10:9 NLT‬
[9] “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Salvation is not only about sins forgiven and a new destiny in heaven. Salvation is about the restoration of God’s original intention for His human family. Life here and now, on this fallen planet with all its wicked people, is a preparation for living in that realm forever where God reigns.

‭1 Corinthians 15:24-25 NLT‬
[24] “After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. [25] For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.”

Jesus reigns on earth right now, sovereign and supreme over everything and everyone but… those who refuse to acknowledge His authority, defy His every instruction to their own destruction and will face His wrath on judgment day.

‭2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NLT‬
[7] “And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, [8] in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. [9] They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.”

What is God’s passion for those whom He has rescued from this self-destructive independence that dogs our way, day and night? He desires a union with Him so close and intimate that we function in tandem with Him and His will and ways, just as Jesus did.

‭John 8:28-29 NLT‬
[28] “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. [29] And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”

‭1 John 4:17 NLT‬
[17] “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.”

How did Jesus live in this world? He loved the Father so much that He refused to do anything on His own. Every test the devil threw at Him was an attack on His oneness with the Father. “Do it your way!” was his taunt. Jesus’ response showed the devil His determination to guard His unity with the Father and to live under the authority of His Word.

‭Luke 4:4, 8, 12 NLT‬
[4] But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’ ”…
[8] Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”…
[12] Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’ ”

Near the end of a very difficult life, assaulted from every direction, friend and foe, by attacks on His claim to be the Son of God, Jesus steadfastly trusted the Father and obeyed His Word, even to His final breath.

Surely, then, we are to become like Jesus since God chose Him to be the prototype, the blueprint for all His children.

‭Romans 8:29 NLT‬
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

How does God train us to be His sons and daughters? Wait for it….!

SUFFERING!

Yes, the very things we hate and from which we shrink – hardship, discipline, suffering, weakness, problems, trials, and difficulties are all God’s way of destroying our independence.

You see, our trust in God is of paramount importance to Him. Mistrust is the worst insult we can throw at God. Faith is our only link with Him in the spiritual realm. When we do our own thing, we are telling God we don’t need Him. He responds by leaving us to go it alone and take the consequences.

So, every trial and struggle we endure tells us two things…

You are weak…

You need God…

He will continue to test our faith in Him until the day we die. The quicker we ditch our stubborn independence and learn to partner with Him, the less we will have to endure the tough tests that help us to know where we are on this journey to the Father.

God has pledged to finish what He started, not what we start. Trust Him.

‭Philippians 1:6 NLT‬
[6] “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

WHAT IF JESUS HAD FAILED?

Gospel, ,

Hebrews 5:7-9 NIV‬
[7] “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. [8] Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered [9] and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him… “

The success of Jesus’ mission on earth hung on the fragile thread of His life as the Son of God. Unlike us, His life as a son had to be perfect in every detail for Him to qualify as an acceptable human sacrifice for sin. One slip, one failure in one minute detail would have disqualified Him, lost Him and us forever.

God appointed Jesus to be the last Adam. In other words, He was born with the same nature as Adam, able to sin but able not to sin. In the first Adam, heaven and earth came together in dust and divine breath. Adam had to confirm his connection with God by living in obedience to His instructions. He didn’t! Jesus was also born from earth and heaven. He had to confirm His connection between God and humanity by living a life of perfect obedience to the Father’s instructions. He did!

‭1 Corinthians 15:45-47 NIV‬
[45] “So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. [46] The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. [47] The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.“

Jesus’ life of perfect obedience was entwined in His life of prayer. Hebrews refers to “His days on earth”. This must surely refer to more than His prayer in Gethsemane. It seems that He also had a constant struggle with temptation throughout His life, as we do.

‭Hebrews 4:15 NIV‬
[15] “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

What was the core of every temptation Jesus ever suffered? We can deduce, from Satan’s frontal attack in the wilderness, that he wanted Jesus to act alone, without consulting the Father, to break His union with the Father and to act independently, as did Adam. But…

‭John 8:28-29 NIV‬
[28] “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. [29] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

Jesus proved, by His life and His confession, (which He challenged anyone to disprove), that He protected His unity with the Father even to His obedience to a criminal’s death on the cross.

‭John 8:46 NIV‬
[46] “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”

So, Jesus communion with the Father included “loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death.” Yes, Jesus was saved from permanent death by His resurrection but…. He was also saved from eternal death through His reverent submission and perfect obedience.

We can only imagine how tough Jesus’ life on earth must have been for Him to plead with the Father for victory over a heart that battled independence. After all, He was God, wasn’t He! He didn’t need
the Father’s permission or power to do what He came to do.

Jesus came from heaven where He had the absolute authority He shared with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but He chose to lay aside His privileges of deity and live in total dependence on the Father and on the Spirit as a man.

He learned the meaning and significance of obedience, the hallmarks of a true son, not by trial and error, but by obeying the Father implicitly and perfectly in every move He made, every word He said and every attitude He displayed.

‭Philippians 2:6-8 NLT‬
[6] “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus was totally dependent on the Holy Spirit in His actions…

‭Matthew 12:28 NLT‬
[28] “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”

His words…

‭John 6:63 NLT‬
[63] “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

And even His death…

‭Hebrews 9:14 NLT‬
[14] “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”

It was by the Holy Spirit’s power that He was brought back to life.

‭Romans 1:3-4 NLT‬
[3]” The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, [4] and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The entire biography of Jesus’ life on earth is the story of a man entirely infused with the life of God. This was also God’s intention for the first human pair, and it is still His intention for every person born into His kingdom by His Spirit.

However, without the obedience and reverent submission of His Son, God’s plan would have come to nothing. Not only that, but Jesus Himself, as our representative man, would have suffered the same fate as every unrepentant sinner will suffer.

Praise God, Jesus NEVER failed the test.

‭Hebrews 7:11, 16, 23-25 NLT‬
[11] “So, if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?…
[16] Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed…. “
[23] There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. [24] But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

This salvation, bought and paid for at such a high price, is complete. There is nothing for us to do…. but there is!

‭Psalms 116:12-13 NIV‬
[12]”What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? [13] I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”

Without our response, Jesus’ mission would have failed. Everything He was and did would have been for nothing.

Our gratitude is best expressed by receiving by faith all the time benefits of His salvation and by living in obedience and submission to Him as Lord, as He did to the Father. In every circumstance and situation in life, we must “call on the name of the Lord.”

‭John 15:5 NIV‬
[5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Our response is to receive Him as Lord, our supreme authority, and to live in union with Him, under His authority, every moment of every day. Nothing more, nothing less!

PRESCRIPTION FOR AN ABUNDANT LIFE

Christian Life, ,

Our world is falling apart. Both the earth and its inhabitants are in a mess. Pollution and corruption rule. Like the world in which Noah had to function,

‭Genesis 6:5, 11-12 NIV‬
[5] “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time….
[11] Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. [12] God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.”

We are living in times just like Noah’s.

‭Romans 1:18-20 NLT‬
[18]”But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. [19] They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. [20] For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

‭2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT‬
[1] “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. [2] For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. [3] They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. [4] They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. [5] They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”

‭1 Timothy 4:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. [2] These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.”

Not only is our world in chaos,
but its inhabitants have also gone crazy. Mental health, or the lack of it, is a huge issue in our world today, and from the rising levels of criminal behaviour, more and more people are losing their grip on morals and ethics to satisfy selfishness through crime.

However, far worse than what goes on around us is the ‘meltdown’ that happens inside us. We are the victims of emotional bullying that debilitates us so much that we are often paralysed into inaction and indecision by anxiety, fear, and self-pity.

Unfortunately, these emotional ‘bullies’ fall under the diagnoses of ‘disorders’. Like diseases over which we have no control, we are led to believe that disorders are emotional sicknesses about which we can do nothing. So, we have to rely on medication to keep our bullying emotions from paralysing us.

What a lie from the pit of hell! This phenomenon is one of Satan’s most effective deceptions to keep us from functioning to the full as humans. He wants us in his clutches by getting us to believe that we are the victims of situations and circumstances that we cannot overcome.

Jesus said that He came to give us a full and abundant life. Really! How can this be true when evil rules across the globe? Why do we see so little of abundant living even in God’s family?

The solution is simple but not easy.

When we distill life to its essence, there are three qualities that are essential for our physical and mental well-being; love, peace, and contentment, but the world as it is can give us none of these things.

First, we need to experience a love that will never fail us no matter what happens, that will never abandon or betray us, whoever and whatever we are. We need to know and to learn to live in a love so real that nothing can neutralise this love in our hearts and lives.

‭Romans 8:35, 37 NLT‬
[35] “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?…
[37] No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

God’s love, revealed to us through Jesus, is the only infallible, secure, and unchanging love that can fully satisfy our need. God’s Word assures us that His love is like a fountain of pure water from which we can drink and never thirst again.

Jesus offered this ‘living water’ to a thirsty Samaritan woman who had gone through five husbands and now shacked up with a sixth man who still did not satisfy her need for real love.

‭John 4:13-14 NLT‬
[13] “Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. [14] But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Once we discover the truth of this divine love, we are to protect our precious possession with fervent passion. Satan will do all in his power to convince us that God’s love is an illusion, a myth that we believe in vain. “Look what is happening to you! Trouble, hardship, pain, suffering! Is that the way God loves you?”

Never give in to that lie. God loves you passionately and is working for your good IN ALL THINGS.

Second, we need inward peace in a turbulent and troubled world. Anxiety, fear, call it what you will, is not a disorder. It’s our response to all the insecurities we face and the decisions we have to make even when we don’t know what to do or who to trust.

We are afloat on a very stormy sea of circumstances, and very frightened of the outcome of our choices and decisions if we have no anchor.

Once again, God’s Word gives us the only effective solution to anxiety and fear.

‭Philippians 4:6-7 NIV‬
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

‭Psalms 56:3-4 NIV‬
[3]”When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. [4] In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Faith in God, trust in His love, dispels fear.

‭1 John 4:16, 18 NLT‬
[16] “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them…
[18] Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

Third, the element of contentment completes our prescription for an abundant life. Look around you. Everywhere, discontented people are frantically trying to get more! More money, more success, more acclaim, more fame, more leisure, more entertainment, more… more…, the goals are endless. A bigger house, a faster car, a better job, They never have enough.

Many of God’s children are caught up in this drive for more. The prosperity ‘gospel’! God wants you healthy, rich, famous, whatever.

What are we saying? Such behaviour shouts loudly, “God is mean! God has short-changed me! God doesn’t know what what He is doing! God doesn’t love me! Why does He bless others but not me?”

Can you hear the complaints, the accusations, the insults we hurl at God?

Paul earnestly counsels us…

‭Philippians 2:14 NLT‬
[14″Do everything without complaining and arguing,…”

‭1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT‬
[6] “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. [7] After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. [8] So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. [9] But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

‭Philippians 4:12-13 NIV‬
[12] “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. [13] I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

The attitude of contentment, and add to it gratitude, will effectively cut off the flow of grumbling and complaining.

Protect love
Preserve peace
Promote contentment…

These three great attitudes will protect us from the relentless bullies of anxiety, fear, and self-pity if we allow them to take up residence in our hearts. Free from our tormentors, we will find life an adventure, not a terrifying journey, full of opportunities for a loving Father to show us just how great He is.

“If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.”

SHINES EVER BRIGHTER

Christian Life, ,

Proverbs 4:18 NLT‬
[18] “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.”

I sit in my lounge every morning, long before daybreak, watching for the first rays of light that promise another new day. When the sky is cloudless, the moonlight and starlight slowly give way to the first rays of sunlight and the glory of the day.

What a picture of our walk with God from the gloom of earthly life to the glory of heaven! In this life, our vision of heaven and eternal life is dimmed by the imperfections we live in, in ourselves and in this fallen world. Heaven seems vague and far away while we struggle to make sense of life down here. We understand little of what God has done, is doing, and what lies ahead for us.

But we have this hope…

‭1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT‬
[12] “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Like distorted images in a broken mirror, we have distorted visions of our future in God’s presence. The Bible resembles the broken pieces of the mirror. Never do we see a picture of the real thing, just fragments here and there to whet our appetite and make us long for more…

And yet, as we grow older and gain more experience of God’s ways, a clearer picture begins to emerge like the way the growing light of dawn reveals the shapes and colours of things around us ever more clearly.

Sixteem years ago, I prayed David’s prayer, specifically and earnestly…

‭Psalms 86:11 NIV‬
[11] “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

In an older version, the prayer went like this….

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth…”

… And for sixteen years, God has been and still is answering my prayer. The older I grow, the brighter the light of revelation and understanding becomes, and the stronger my desire to walk in the truth of the insights of His ways the Holy Spirit gives me.

This Scripture is becoming more real to me as I converse at length with one who refuses to believe the truth and rejects the blessing of life in the care of a heavenly Father who has the perfect solution to every problem and wisdom for every question.

For him, God does not exist. Only as his own intellect attempts to sort out all the threads and
make sense of what is nonsense to him, can he invent a philosophical solution which doesn’t work. His mind is a mess of tangled ideas which need heavy medication to save him from insanity! What a way to live!

Perhaps my greatest discovery on this journey into light is the revelation that God’s way for us to live in this world is VERY SIMPLE. His way consists of two basic prescriptions which the situations and circumstances of our lives flesh out as we travel.

‭1 John 3:23 NLT‬
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Believing in His name is a call to submit to His absolute authority in all the details of our lives.

‭John 8:12 NLT‬
[12]”Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

‭John 8:31-32, 34-36 NIV‬
[31]” To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [32] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”…
[34] Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. [35] Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Do you get it?

Solomon’s prescription for life is the same,

‭Proverbs 3:5-8 NLT‬
[5] “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. [7] Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. [8] Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.”

Loving one another is the natural outflow of believing in His name. With Jesus at the helm, His example and His power in us, the resident Holy Spirit, enables us to do what He does, to love one another.

‭John 13:34-35 NLT‬
[34]”So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. [35] Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

That’s it! Simple! And, as we follow these instructions, our understanding of His ways grows clearer as surely as the dawn promises the brightness of a new day.