Monthly Archives: April 2025

FOUNDATION STONES – 17

Christian Life, ,

THE LOVE OF CHRIST

Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT
[18] “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. [19] May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

The love of Christ…what is it?

Today, we will look at Jesus’ love from another perspective. We usually understand this love of Jesus as His love for us that kept Him faithful to His mission. He saved us from sin because He loved us so much!

I think the Bible adds a dimension to this love that we, perhaps, have not considered. What the Bible says about the love of Christ doesn’t downplay His love for us. Rather, it shows the reason for His perseverance through the worst of human suffering to accomplish what He came to earth to do.

Biblical writers insist that it was not His love for us that brought Him from heaven and took Him to the cross. It was His love for the Father that bound Him to the Father’s will and kept Him on course from birth, through His life and death, to His resurrection and glory, to save us.

Yes, Jesus loved us. The Apostle Paul assures us of His love.

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.”

Jesus is God, and God is love. However, in His humanity, Jesus was subject to the Father. As a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. His reverent submission to the Father qualified Him to be the perfect sacrifice and Saviour of sinners. His love for us was His love for the Father expressed in His obedience to the Father’s will.

Throughout His public ministry, and especially in His conflict with the religious leaders, Jesus testified to His love for and obedience to the Father.

The Father sent Jesus to do the His will.

John 6:38 NLT
[38] “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.”

Jesus loved, obeyed, and pleased the Father in every detail of His life. His love for the Father coloured everything He was and did…

John 4:34 NLT
[34] “Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”

Loving His Father fuelled His every thought and action.

John 5:30 NLT
[30] “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”

Jesus had a mission to accomplish, planned in eternity before creation. Nothing would deter Him from His purpose to do what the Father sent Him to do.

John 6:38 NLT
[38] “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.”

With utmost confidence and transparency, Jesus testified to His obedience to the Father.

John 8:29 NLT
[29] “And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”

Why was Jesus so meticulous about His obedience to the Father?

John 14:30-31 NLT
[30] “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, [31] but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I LOVE THE FATHER. Come, let’s be going.”

Obedience and love are two sides of the same coin.

John 15:10 NLT
[10]” When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

No amount of tempting or persuasion could drag Jesus away from His avowed purpose to protect His unity with the Father by trusting Him and doing His will. Whatever His circumstances, however much He fell foul of the religious leaders, was misunderstood, maligned, insulted, accused, and rejected, Jesus trusted the Father’s love for Him and loved Him in return.

Matthew 4:3-4 NLT
[3]” During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Even to His last drop of blood, Jesus remained steadfast in His determination to do God’s will.

Matthew 26:39 NLT
[39] He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Every word Jesus spoke, every decision He made, every test He passed speaks of His love for the Father. Such love could never fail. It was cemented by the Father’s love for His Son.

This is the love, infallible and indestructible, that Jesus calls us to trust as the foundation of our obedience to Him. Just as Jesus loved the Father, so He loves His children.

John 17:23 NLT
[23] “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

Through His obedience to the Father, powered by His love, even to death, Jesus opened the circle of the Trinity to everyone who would receive and participate in His love. This love is so strong that it triumphs over every test and trouble, and that not even hell itself can overcome.

Romans 8:38-39 NLT
[38] “And 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. [39] 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.”

On this love, God’s Word calls us to build our lives. Whatever may come our way, whatever disaster may reduce our lives to rubble, God’s love, seen most clearly in the love of Jesus for the Father, will always hold us steady until we reach our eternal destination.

FOUNDATION STONES – 16

Christian Life,

BE JOYFUL, PRAYERFUL, AND THANKFUL

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
[16] “Always be joyful. [17] Never stop praying. [18] Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Three stones in our foundation that should be cemented together to provide stability and strength.

These stones are all about attitude.

What is attitude?

Meta AI defines attitude as…

“… A person’s feelings, disposition, or mindset towards a particular situation, person, or thing. It encompasses their emotions, beliefs, and behaviors, influencing how they perceive and interact with the world around them.”

Attitudes can be positive, anticipating good outcomes… negative, pessimisticly expecting unpleasant situations…fixed, refusing to change for the better… or flexible, willing to view life from a different perspective.

Attitude is like the weather. When our circumstances are sunny and calm, we launch into our activities with a positive attitude…no wind or rain to curb our plans…no cloudy sky to cast a gloom over our outlook for the day. Stormy circumstances can easily change our mood to restlessness or insecurity.

Unlike the weather, we can choose the outlook, mood, and attitude that will influence our thoughts and actives for each day and each situation. Think of it this way. If we get out of bed already anticipating trouble for whatever reason, our mood will be sombre and our expectations coloured with thoughts of conflict, hurt, or whatever the circumstance might threaten to be.

What if, instead, we choose to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful despite any situation we may face. I listen to fellow believers speaking of “stress” when they see problems on the horizon that may never happen. Did Jesus offer His followers rest, only to be frustrated by the expected or unexpected situations we face each day?

First, be joyful. Joy is not dependent on our circumstances. Rather, our joy leans on our connection to a faithful, unchanging Father who is always with us, always in charge of our lives, and always working for our good in all our everyday circumstances. Paul counsels us to “rejoice IN THE LORD?” Joy is the solid, immovable stone under our feet based on our relationship with our heavenly Father. Tying our joy to anyone or anything else will eventually lead to anything other than joy.

Second, be prayerful. Jesus said, “Remain in me.” When our attitude is to stay connected to Jesus in all circumstances, we choose to let Him carry our burdens and straighten our path. Through constant communication, i.e., prayer, we choose to stay in touch with headquarters and get our directions from Him, not from the world around us or the mood within.

Third, be thankful. A thankful heart is a trusting heart. Why should our mood be sombre and our outlook gloomy when we have a Father who loves us unconditionally, knows us perfectly, and lives in us powerfully by His Spirit?

Paul asked a rhetorical question and answered it with a resounding and irrefutable declaration…

Romans 8:35, 37-39 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. [38] And 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. [39] 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.”

Whatever catastrophes are on our horizon or lie in our pathway, we stand immovable and unshakable on God’s reliability and faithfulness. We can afford to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful, no…it is imperative that we are always joyful, prayerful, and thankful in all circumstances because there is no other way to overcome IN the situations that threaten to overwhelm and destroy us.

These attitudes are not automatic and they don’t come easy. We cultivate them by trial and error. We practise by choosing to be joyful in the Lord, prayerful, and thankful to the Lord in all circumstances because He is the buffer between us and everyday life’s ups and downs.

When you build these stones into your foundation, you will always be…

1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT
[58] “… strong and immovable… working enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

FOUNDATION STONES – 15

Christian Life, ,

EMBRACE SUFFERING

Hebrews 12:7 NIV
[7] “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”

Really! Who wants this stone in the foundation of life? We want lives free from hardship, not lives that are invaded by problems and difficulties!

We do everything possible to make life easy and try to dodge things that are unpleasant or difficult. When we do wrong, we try to cover it up. We complain about the consequences. We blame God or the devil for what we have done. We shrug off responsibilities. We cultivate a “victim mentality” to protect ourselves from having to come clean. We run, dodge, hide, or whatever it takes to escape from our own stupidity.

God’s way of shaping us for life in His eternal kingdom is not to shield us from hardships but to use them to chip away everything that does not look like Jesus. He is determined to restore the image of His Son in us. He wants a family of sons and daughters exactly like Jesus. To do that, He must follow the blueprint and remove through discipline, suffering, and the ministry of His Spirit and the Word, every thing foreign to His model.

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.”

Cushy and comfortable lives free from tests and trials never make people of sterling character. As a good Father, God knows that “overindulgence”, as Dr Phil said, “is the worst form of child abuse.”

What we think is punishment, is really discipline. Punishment focuses on what what we did wrong. Discipline fixes wrongdoing and guides us on the right way.

As a good Father, God works, in our hardships, to teach us the two great requisites of sons and daughters… submission and obedience. Don’t think that Jesus was excluded from the training. He was not exempt from the suffering that produces a true son. Unlike us, He never sinned, but He had to learn to be a son just as we do.

Hebrews 2:10 NIV
[10] “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.”

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…”

Do you get the picture? Jesus had to learn submission and obedience, not by trial and error as we do, but by submitting to and obeying the Father perfectly and always. If we are to be replicas of Jesus as God planned, we must also learn submission and obedience through suffering. There is no other way.

God requires holiness, utter separation from sin. Jesus made us holy through His own blood but we must confirm in us what He has made us to be. Since our greatest battle is to live by the Spirit and not to give in to our sinful desires, God allows us to face and fight this war through His grace so that we are fitted to live in His eternal kingdom. There is no place for rebels in His heaven.

Revelation 22:14-15 NLT
[14] “Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. [15] Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.”

The Apostle Paul, to whom God gave the responsibility to suffer with Jesus as a model for us, shows us how to respond to the hardships God allows in our lives.

Paul was in danger of becoming proud because of the out-of-body revelations God gave him. So…

2 Corinthians 12:5, 7 NLT
[5] “That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses…
[7]…I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

What was the nature of Paul’s suffering? A thorn in his flesh, the fiery darts of Satan, poking him in the places where his flesh could respond in anger and retaliation! O, how Paul realised, in his battle to overcome his fleshly reactions, how weak he was.

Romans 7:15, 18 NLT
[15] “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…
[18] And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.”

So, in desperation Paul wanted to escape the discipline.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT
[8] “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. [9] Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

Paul had to take a new path. Instead of resisting the troubles as enemies, he had to embrace them as friends! Instead of trying to dodge the fiery darts, he had to receive and hug them as precious gifts! If he allowed the arrows to pierce his soul, he would have become bitter. To accept and rejoice in his suffering was the only way to neutralise the poison the enemy desired to inject into his soul.

“So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. [10] That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Insults, hardships, persecutions, troubles…fiery arrows from every direction…designed to make him angry, resentful, vengeful if he gave in to his fleshly desires!

Paul assured us that overwhelming victory is ours if we treat our hardships as precious gifts from the Lord to train us to be holy.

FOUNDATION STONES – 14

Christian Life, ,

THE LAW OF THE HARVEST

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
[16] “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. [17] For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [18] So we FIX OUR EYES not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Another important stone in our foundation, whatever our age, is what I call “the long look”. No one sets out on a journey without a destination in view and a plan of the route by which to reach that goal.

Yes, some people wander aimlessly through life with no idea where they are going or how to get there. Some foolish people choose a path that they know will lead to destruction and loss, but they follow it anyway. They are so bent on enjoying the pleasures of sin that they refuse to take the long look. They try to dodge as much responsibility, hardship, or suffering as possible and hope that everything in their lives will turn out well in the end.

There is, built into God’s rule in His world, a law that determines where we will end depending on our choices. It’s called “the law of the harvest”. Like the law of gravity, it’s useless trying to defy the way God works. Our harvest, our destination if you like, depends on what we sow or where we plan to end. Everything that happens in between depends on the direction we choose.

Galatians 6:7-8 NIV
[7] “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Let’s look at it like this. If we want a harvest of wheat, planting the seeds of “weeds” will not produce wheat. If we want a destiny of eternal bliss, planting the seeds of careless living, gratifying only our sinful desires, will never take us to the Father’s house.

It takes careful planning of our destination and route and faithfully following that plan, despite obstacles and setbacks, to reach our destination. It takes planting the right seeds of choices and behaviour to reap the harvest we desire. Only fools do the same thing and expect a different outcome.

So, what stone must we include in our foundation that will guarantee our desired destination?

Paul gives us sound counsel.

When we take the long look, we refuse to allow any distractions or disruptions to blur our vision of our eternal future. At all times, despite the tests and trials along the way, we keep in mind that these struggles are temporary. However bad these may seem at the moment, they are nothing compared with what lies ahead for those who persevere to the end.

We have God’s infallible promise…

Revelation 21:4 NIV
[4]”He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, +or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

With a future free of struggle, sorrow, or trial, we can fix our eyes on what is to come. We can be sure that we will pass safely through every dark valley. Our Shepherd has promised to be with us to the end.

Let’s put this stone securely in place and stand on its promise. We have a secure destiny no matter what adversities we face on our way to the Father.

FOUNDATION STONES – 13

Christian Life, ,

RETURN TO THE PATH

Psalm 23:3 KJV
[3] “He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Today, I’m using the King James Version of this wonderful foundation stone to try to capture its real meaning. The Hebrew word “shub” has the root meaning of “return”, often translated “repent” or “restore”. This word is used in many contexts in Scripture. However, in David’s psalm, he celebrates the Good Shepherd’s work in his inner being, constantly bringing him back from the treacherous wilderness of sin to thinking, choosing, and doing life God’s way.

The meaning of repent, in Hebrew thought, is to return to the path. The children of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness helps us to understand this journey through life. We are all born into an unknown way. The path ahead is marked by signposts that help us to keep on track. When we wander from the path, we are lost and in danger of dying without God’s protection and provision of food and water. To repent means to return to the way of life God has shown us in His Word.

The signposts that show us the way are God’s instructions that teach us how to live. He has given us His Word and His Spirit to guide us through every dark valley and over every obstacle until we reach our heavenly destination.

Sin, essentially unbelief that results in disobedience, is a dangerous wilderness full of poisonous creatures that are intent on devouring us. Unless we stay on the path, we will perish in our unbelief, our choice to disregard God’s instructions and go our own way.

When we wander away from the path, when we trespass into dangerous places, the Shepherd will rescue us and to lead us back to safety. As God’s children, we have His promise that He will finish what He started. He will protect us from sin and its consequences but…there is a condition.

Only as we submit to Jesus as Lord and subject our will to His will can He keep us safe and on the way to His eternal presence. If we deviate from His way, we must “shub”, return to His path by changing our minds about Him, us, and our relationship with Him. Yes, we call Jesus “Lord” but even this confession means nothing without willing submission to Him in all things.

We must build this “stone” into our foundation if we want the solid rock of His instructions under our feet. His promise to restore our souls, like the “reset” key on our computer, will quickly put us back into fellowship with Him and on the way to His home in glory of we choose to walk in humble submission to His will. He will restore when we return, a very necessary reassurance to keep us following Jesus all the way to glory.

1 John 1:6-9 NIV
[6] “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. [8] If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

So, life is full of foolish wandering but, He will restore, patiently and whenever we “return”, forsaking our way for His until we reach the destination He promises.