Tag Archives: do good

LUKE’S GOSPEL…THE UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM – 12a

Bible Study, ,

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that… Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬-‭33‬, ‭36‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus was a true revolutionary! His yoke, His interpretation of Torah that led to the demonstration of a lifestyle of mercy and non-retaliation, was as revolutionary as, for example, a military operation that invades enemy territory to provide medical help to those injured through war. 

“Love your enemies…” is as unpalatable to the human mind as expecting a millionaire to give his Lamborghini to a homeless beggar. This would be unnatural behaviour at its worst for the one whose natural bent is towards “You hit me and I’ll hit you twice as hard…”  

Yet, Jesus gave this instruction as part of His yoke as though it were the way the rule of God works in His divine system. God’s boundaries, His laws, are an expression of His nature. They give us a peek into who He is and how He operates, even in the hostile world over which He rules. 

In the main, the citizens of God’s world are His enemies and utter rebels against everything that He is and wants from them. He owns the world and its people, yet those who live in it refuse to acknowledge His authority. Some deny His very existence, while others do whatever they can to defy Him. 

How does God treat those who hate Him? Does He relish His right to punish and destroy? The witness of Scripture, from cover to cover, is the story of a God who loves, blesses, and acts in mercy to the worst of rebels. 

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s mercy peaked in Jesus when He gave His own Son as a sacrifice for sinners. 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s kingdom is wide open for those who accept His sacrifice and, in response, pledge to live in His kingdom in keeping with the nature of His rule. There is no place in God’s realm for those who claim allegiance but demonstrate rebellion by rejecting His standards. 

Above all else, knowing that for the natural human to live by God’s standards is impossible, God has provided the way for ungodly rebels to be transformed into compliant sons and daughters. He gave us His own Spirit to live inside us, to transform rebels into saints by the power of His word. 

In Jesus, the Father has provided, by His grace, strength to overcome the ravages of our old nature and truth to renew our minds in the ways of righteousness, holiness and peace. 

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, for Jesus to require that we love our enemies by treating them as the Father has treated us, though it contradicts our natural bent towards selfishness, is more than a pipe dream. It is the response of grateful people whose lives are being transformed by His grace. It is the expression of obedience of a son to a father, and a response of trust that what God wants He will also do in us by His grace. It is a witness to the world that it is Christ in us who guarantees that we will be like Him when we see Him. 

God treats people out of who He is, the God who is in His essence, love….and so must we, and we can because of Him!

To be continued…

BE A LOSER TO BE A WINNER

Christian Life, ,

BE A LOSER TO BE A WINNER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No Enduring City

Bible Study, , , , ,

NO ENDURING CITY

For we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Heb. 13: 14-16).

There are some pretty bad things happening in the world around us. Apart from the things that irk us in our own country, what about what goes on in the rest of the world? It is easy for us to become despondent, to complain and to criticise, to judge and condemn and, worse still, to blame God for not doing anything about it.

Our writer says, “Don’t do that. You don’t belong here anyway. This present world with its greed, selfishness and injustice, is not your permanent home. This is your apprenticeship for the real life which is to come.” We forget that our citizenship is in heaven when life is tough and uncomfortable down here. When we keep our sights on where we belong – in the realm of God’s presence and rule, we can be optimistic and full of joy because what lies ahead for us is beyond our imagination.

This gives us reason to be a thankful people. It is not sacrifice in the sense of doing something painful when we offer God praise. It is an act of worship, continually remembering what He has done for us and raising our hearts to Him in gratitude and love for His mercy and goodness. This is the reason for our generosity towards others – God has been infinitely generous to us.

We no longer need to offer the sacrifices of animal flesh and blood to cover sin and to worship God since the blood of Jesus is sufficient for the forgiveness of our sin, once for all. However, that does not mean that we no longer need to offer sacrifices – tokens of our worship and gratitude to God. There are at least five different ways to express our love to Him which constitute our “spiritual” worship.

The writer to the Hebrews mentions two here:

Praise as an act of worship is an expression of our love to God, not only for who He is and what He has already done, but also as our way of trusting Him with our lives for the future. When we focus on God instead of on all the bad things that happen around us and in the world, we take our eyes off this world and fill our vision with the hope towards which we are moving.

Our gratitude to God spills over into acts of kindness towards others. It may not necessarily mean giving away material things. What about people’s need for acceptance and affirmation; expressions of gratitude and appreciation; support and comfort; or kind words instead of criticism? There are a thousand ways in which we can spread love and blessing in a heartless world. This is our way of showing our love to God.

Paul gives us at least two other ways in which we can worship God. In Romans 12:1 he urges us to respond to God’s mercy by giving Him our bodies. He is not talking about being literal sacrifices but “living sacrifices”, allowing Jesus to have complete ownership of everything we think, say and do. As he said elsewhere, “No I but Christ lives in me.”

Being generous with our money and possessions is another way of worshipping the Lord. Paul acknowledge the generosity of the Philippian church towards him for sending him money when he needed it. What was more important, however, was that they were worshipping the Lord by their giving.

I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.  They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God (Phil. 4: 18).

Jesus spoke more about money and things than He did about anything else. Why? Because He knew how big a part money plays in our lives. It either rules us or we rule it. Generosity is the way to break the power money has over us. We are to be generous with our money because God has been generous to us in every way. When He has control of what we own, we are truly free from the crippling love of money.

Above everything else, however, there is a gift God longs for us to give Him. David understood that God was not interested in animal blood. He wanted something far more valuable from us – our submissive and contrite hearts. In the midst of his guilt because of the terrible things he had done when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he said this:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise (Psa. 51: 16-17).

What is the best offering of all? A heart that is submissive and obedient to God. Without it, all our worship is worthless.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

Take It On The Nose!

Bible Study, , ,

TAKE IT ON THE NOSE!

If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or a thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel?

And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:15-19)

Suffering in this life is inevitable. It is unfortunately the lot of Adam’s descendants in a fallen world. Grief, pain, sickness, and loss are all part of the consequences of the ‘Pandora’s box’ released on the world by one man’s disobedience. No one, not even the best of us, escapes.

Suffering comes in many disguises and for many different reasons. Our bodies suffer disease and disabilities because the planet we live on is polluted; we abuse them with drugs, alcohol, gluttony, and sexual promiscuity; we overindulge in bitterness, hatred, rage, jealousy and unforgiveness. The cycle of sin and destruction continues from one generation to the next unless, through God’s grace, we stop the rot and turn the tide in our own lives and the lives of our descendants.

Make no mistake, you will suffer. No one is immune. But . . . Jesus said:

‘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)

‘If you suffer because of sin, you deserve it. You are getting what’s coming to you, so take it on the nose and don’t complain,’ said Peter. However, if you suffer for no fault of your own because you wear the name of Jesus, that’s a whole different ball game.

Something happens inside of us when we understand the purpose of the suffering we go through for no reason other than our allegiance and obedience to Jesus as our Lord. When we believed in Him, through the Holy Spirit we became fused to Him in a union so intimate that we became participants of His life. That means that His very nature became ours – the DNA of God was infused into us. A new disposition and mind-set became possible.

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. (John 15: 5)

Peter’s instruction throughout this letter is clear: If your are suffering for your confession that Jesus is Lord, take it without retaliating. This is the way to stop the rot. Jesus showed us how it works. He suffered without reciprocating. Whatever they did to Him, however cruel and unjust their treatment of Him, He absorbed it into Himself. Instead of perpetuating it by threats or insults of His own, He remained serene and at peace inside Himself because He knew that it was not His fight.

This kind of attitude is liberating for the person who is at the receiving end. He changes the environment from revenge to forgiveness. He does not add his own sin to the ones who sin against him. He does not react; he responds with a different spirit and, by doing so, exposes the wickedness of those who mistreat him. How can he do this? By stepping back and leaving the vindication to the just Judge.

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Consider this: From where do the insults and cruelty meted out against you originate? From your heart or the heart of the perpetrator? From the perpetrator, of course. He must own the guilt because whatever he says or does against you is a mirror of his own heart. If you say or do nothing to retaliate, you are acknowledging that the guilt is his, not yours. You can remain innocent and free from complicity with him if you receive the abuse without reacting.

By God’s grace you can change the environment and turn the tables on your persecutor by doing as Peter counselled:

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.