Monthly Archives: July 2024

ASK AND KEEP ON ASKING – JESUS

Apologetics, ,

Matthew 7:7, 9-11 NLT
[7] “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you….
[9] “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? [10] Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! [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.”

This prescription Jesus gave His disciples about prayer seems to imply that God responds to nagging. God will give us what we want if we nag Him long enough! Is that really what He meant?

As always, the context will reveal the true meaning.

In Matthew 7:9-10, Jesus compares the attitude of human fathers with the attitude of the heavenly Father. Although human fathers are basically sinful, they don’t substitute their children’s needs with harmful or worthless things like stones and snakes.

“How much more, then…” The Father’s love and goodness are far greater than those of human fathers. He will give better gifts to His children than even the basic needs of bread and fish.

So, Jesus urges, never stop asking, seeking, and knocking because we are approaching a loving and caring heavenly Father who gives what we need and much more. We can be assured that He is greater, wiser, more loving, and far more able than any earthly parent to supply the needs of His children.

GOOD GIFTS FROM A HEAVENLY FATHER

Apologetics, ,

Matthew 7:11 NLT
[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.”

Luke 11:13 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.”

Why is there a difference between these two records of Jesus’ teaching? Are they a contradiction or are they saying the same thing in slightly different words?

The key, I think, is in one small word, not in the original text in Luke 11:13, but added by translators to expand on the “good things” in Matthew’s text.

The Holy Spirit’s title, in the Greek text, is ” ‘o pneuma hagios’, translated “the Holy Spirit”. The word ” ‘o” is the Greek definite article translated “the”. Wherever the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Scripture, He is given His full title. This little one-letter word signifies that the person addressed is one-and-only “Holy Spirit”. Nowhere in the New Testament is ” ‘o” omitted when referring to the Holy Spirit.

In Luke’s record of Jesus` words, “… how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him”, there is no
” ‘o” in the original text which means that it cannot be translated as “the Holy Spirit”.

How does this mistranslatiion fit with the teaching of Scripture?

Nowhere in the New Testament are we instructed to ask the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was poured out on “all flesh” on the day of Pentecost as God promised and has never or will never been poured out again or withdrawn.

Two incidents in Acts show us how the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on specific non-Jewish believers as part of the “all flesh”, ie, on Samaritan believers…

Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17 NLT
[14] “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. [15] As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. [16] The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

… on Cornelius, a Roman Centurion and his household….

Acts of the Apostles 10:44-45 NLT
[44] “Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. [45] The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.”

…and on twelve Ephesian believers who had not yet been baptised into Jesus…

Acts of the Apostles 19:1-2, 5-6 NLT
[1]”While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. [2] “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
[5] As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.”

The Holy Spirit takes up residence in every person who receives God’s promise of salvation through faith in Jesus.

Acts of the Apostles 2:38 NLT
[38] “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV
[13] “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

Would Jesus, then, instruct His disciples to ask for the Holy Spirit?

This pernicious teaching in some parts of the church has led to the idea that to be a “spirit-filled“ believer, i.e., one who has received “the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues”, is in a class higher than ordinary believers.

Jesus would have none of that since all of His followers have been immersed in the Holy Spirit through faith in Him. The onus is on the believer to ba “filled” with the Spirit by obeying His leading and by nou quenching or grieving Him.

What did Jesus imply by His teaching in Luke 11?

Let’s go back to the Greek text and look again at the context. Since the Father is greater than earthly fathers, He gives “good gifts” to those who ask Him, good meaning “functional”. The Greek words imply that God will give a holy disposition, mental attitude (words derives from “pneuma” meaning wind or breath). to those who ask for (desire) it.

Is this promise, then, of “good gifts”, the “much more” that the heavenly Father will give, more than basic human needs that earthly fathers provide, to those who ask for ( earnestly desire)
a holy disposition?

This interpretation perfectly fits the whole drift of Scripture. There are so many verses that urge us to seek the Lord, draw near to Him, acknowledge Him, that we cannot ignore Jesus’ assurance that the Father will surely give and do much more that we can ask, think, or even imagine if we ask Him for “holy desires”!

Ephesians 3:20 NLT
[20] “*Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

I WANT TO KNOW CHRIST – PAUL

Apologetics, ,

Philippians 3:10-11 NLT
[10] “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, [11] so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”

Once again, two English words inserted into the Greek text without reference to the context, changes the meaning of what Paul intended his readers to understand.

Paul was explaining what had happened to transform his life from a fanatical, law-keeping Pharisee into a humble and faithful disciple of the Jesus, whose followers he had so viciously persecuted.

Philippians 3:6 NLT
[6]”I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.”

How did this transformation happen?

Paul believed that he had it made! He was faultlessly righteous according to the “Law” until he had a personal encounter with Jesus.
From that moment, everything he clung to as evidence of his own righteousness fell away from him. He dumped them in the garbage by embracing an entirely new way of being righteous before God.

Philippians 3:7-9 NLT
[7] “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. [8] Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ [9] and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through FAITH IN CHRIST. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”

This is what follows, according the translators…

“I want to know Christ… “

… but the Greek text says

“… To know Christ…” excluding the words “I want”.

The meaning is different without the words “I want”, in keeping with Paul’s explanation of the change in his life, and following on smoothly from verse nine.

Faith in Jesus made all the difference!!

So, now, it was by faith that Paul became righteous before God, came to know Christ, and became a particplant in His death and resurrection.

Philippians 3:10-11 NLT
[10] “… to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead, to suffer with him, sharing in his death, [11] so that, by this means, I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”

What Paul was expressing was not a desire to know Jesus and the effects of His death and resurrection on him. Rather, he was declaring that, by faith, he was already a part of what Jesus had accomplished on the cross.

Why would he write, in an earlier letter to the Galatians…

Galatians 2:20 NLT
[20] “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

… and then contradict himself by expressing a desire for what he was already experiencing?

So, if we exclude the words, “I want…” and simply follow on from verse 9, the translation reads like this excluding the words in brackets.

Philippians 3:9-10 NLT
[9] “….I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. [10](I want) in order to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead, (I want) to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that (one way or another), by this means, I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”

Can you see how a few words injected into the text can change the writer’s meaning?

Let us be faithful to the whole of God’s Word by careful study and application of the breadth and depth of Scripture. Let us not be afraid to differ from the scholars who have interpreted to Word rather than translated it faithfully.

HE HEALS THE BROKEN-HEARTED

Christian Life, ,

Psalms 147:3 NLT
[3] “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.”

I love to watch the video clips on my phone of a group of men who rescue seals entangled in discarded fishing gear. (If only these people who carelessly ditch their useless lines and nets into the sea, could just catch a glimpse of what their thoughtlessness does to our valuable sea creatures.)

These dedicated men sacrifice hours on the beach at Pelican Point in Namibia, scanning the area for entangled seals. They spend time and energy netting the victims and carefully cutting them free from their painful imprisonment. Some seals are close to death because they are being suffocated or unable to feed. Lines, ropes, and nets indiscriminately inhibit their freedom.

Sometimes seals have deep
wounds cut into their flesh. To release them causes severe pain, but they are often patient while their rescuers probe the wounds to find the strands that cause so much damage.

Imagine the joy of freedom that drives them into the healing water of the ocean where they can frolic and feed without hindrance.

How like our own experiences in life! Who is not wounded by the thoughtless deeds and words of others? How many of us carry the damage deep in our hearts for years, unable to free ourselves from the hurt others have inflicted on us.

We compound the damage by our own toxic attitudes and reactions. So, the wounds fester and grow, fed by our bitterness and self-pity.

I have also observed and experienced how God works, sometimes over many years, to cut the cords of pain and hurt, and free the sufferer from the entanglement. He heals the wounds in the ocean of His love, leaving only scars that remind the sufferer of His grace that rescued and healed all the emotional wounds.

There is no longer any pain to remind the sufferer of his agonising years. Unanswered questions are no longer important. He can look at the person or persons who caused the wounds with complete indifference, feeling none of the anger and resentment that once captured his mind and emotions.

Truly, there is only one who can rescue us so completely that even the memories no longer hurt.

If we trust ourselves to the love of the Father and patiently wait for His work to be done in us, He will sever the cords that bind us to the hurt. He will heal the wounds that others have caused. He will cleanse our hearts from all unrighteous thoughts and attitudes that embittered us. He will turn our memories into memorabilia that only remind us of events, not emotions.

Psalms 55:22 NLT
[22] “Give (Hebrew -” throw down” or “fling”) your burdens (Hebrew – “that which Providence has given you”) to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

Sometimes, the things we hate in life are God’s way of allowing us to experience His grace. Without the pain we have suffered, we can never know the joy of release and freedom. We may not fully understand the purpose of suffering but, if we are willing to receive it as grace gift-wrapped in pain, hardship, trials and tests, we can learn to celebrate our hardships because our weaknesses qualify us to receive His strength.

THE BATTLE SONG OF ISRAEL

Christian Life, ,

There is a recurring refrain in Scripture that was Israel’s national anthem, war cry, and battle song. For example, when the kingdom of Judah went into battle under King Jehoshaphat’s command, against an amassed army from surrounding nations, assured of victory…

2 Chronicles 20:13-15 NLT
[13] “As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, [14] the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph. [15] He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

So, … they sang this song as they went into battle…

2 Chronicles 20:21 NLT

“Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”

What is the significance of this confession?

The words ‘faithful love’ are an attempt to translate the untranslateable Hebrew word, ‘chesed’. This ‘chesed’ of God is an attribute that enshrines everything He is in His legally-binding covenant commitment to His people.

“In the Hebrew Bible, the word “hesed” (also spelled “chesed” or “ḥesed”) is a significant term that is often translated as “steadfast love,” “lovingkindness,” “mercy,” or “faithful love,” among other similar expressions. It represents a unique concept that combines elements of love, kindness, loyalty, and faithfulness.

“Hesed is used to describe the covenantal relationship between God and His people, emphasizing God’s enduring faithfulness, mercy, and lovingkindness towards them. It is a quality that embodies loyalty, devotion, and compassion, often demonstrated through acts of kindness, grace, and generosity.

“The term is not easily captured by a single English word, as it encompasses a range of positive attributes that reflect God’s character and his relationship with humanity. Hesed is seen as a fundamental aspect of God’s nature and is often used to describe how God interacts with His people, showing mercy, forgiveness, and compassion even when they do not deserve it.

“Overall, hesed is a rich and multifaceted concept in the Hebrew Bible that conveys the depth of God’s love and faithfulness towards His people, highlighting the importance of kindness, mercy, and loyalty in relationships.”
(quote captured from the app, “Quora”, answering the question, “What is the real meaning of the Hebrew word ‘hesed’ in the Bible?”)

The ancient word picture of chesed, I am told, is that of a mother swan. Before she lays her eggs, she plucks the softest down feathers from her breast to line the nest for her young.

This is a reminder of God’s tender love for His people.

The simplest meaning of chesed is ‘to bend down’, the picture of a stork with a bent neck. Enshrined in these pictures are some of the shades of meaning expressed in the above quote which highlight His faithfulness to His people in a covenant relationship. He bends down to minister to His people whatever they need because of His everlasting love.

The Greek word, ‘agape’, is the counterpart of this love in the New Testament.

There is a phrase omitted from this song, quoted in Psalm 118.

Psalms 118:1 NLT
[1] “Give thanks to the Lord, FOR HE IS GOOD! His faithful love endures forever.”

This psalm, (118), tells of the psalmist’s victory over his enemies because of God’s ‘chesed’. He calls on all his fellow Israelites to celebrate ‘chesed’ with him because God is good.

A quote from Jeff Benner throws more light on God’s goodness.

“Very few sermons in our Western synagogues and churches would include the passage “I [God] form the light and create darkness, I make peace and I create evil, I am the LORD who does all of these” (Isaiah 45:7) as our Western mind sees these two forces as opposing opposites. However, the Eastern mind sees them both as equals and necessary for perfect balance. In the Western mind, God is only good and therefore unable to create evil. The Eastern mind sees God as a perfect balance of all things including good (tov in Hebrew, Strong’s #2896) and evil (ra in Hebrew, Strong’s #7451)…

“To understand the words “good” and “bad” from a more Hebraic understanding, these words should be understood as “functional” and “dysfunctional”. God is both functional (such as seen in the Creation Story of Genesis one) as well as dysfunctional (such as seen with the destruction of the flood).”
(Jeff Benner, article “Good and Bad”, Ancient Hebrew Research Centre, Hebrew Word Studies)

God’s goodness is expressed in another of His supurb attributes, His wisdom, which reveals that everything God does, good or bad, is in the end, ‘functional’.

When we declare that God is good, we are expressing our confidence in His wisdom, that which always works. Even if things seem to be bad, He promises that it will work out FOR us because He is at work IN us for our functionality.

In our worship of God on our journey from independence to dependence, from self-rule to submission to God’s authority, from discontent to peace, how can we measure our progress?

I think one word shows us how far we have come…gratitude!

Many times, after Paul’s explanation of what God has done for us in the New Covenant, he urges his readers to be thankful. He himself learned to celebrate his weakness in his struggles and hardships as God’s way of delivering him from pride.

2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV
[10] “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Gratitude shifts the focus from self to God, loosens our grip on present circumstances, and willingly looks beyond now with its needs, wants and demands to the bigger picture.
Gratitude begins to recognise God’s hand in the trials and tests we encounter. Gratitude displaces discontent as the core attitude of
our hearts despite adversity.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

A grateful attitude “in all circumstances” is what God desires so that our trust in Him circumvents mistrust and discontent, and chooses to rest in all that He is.

Can you see, then, how we can trace the growth of our faith by our response to our circumstances. A grateful heart in everything reveals a trust in the Father’s love that is willing to wait until God has finished what He started. Gratitude rests in the `chesed’ of God, His goodness, that cannot and will not fail or fall short of its promise.

To declare sincerely, as an expression of worship,

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His unfailing love endures forever”…

… Is committing ourselves to a God who is functional and dependable, who will aways work in us and for us what is perfectly in line with His unfailing love and goodness.