Tag Archives: good news

GOD’S WORD IS THE SEED – 2

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‭1 Peter 1:23-25 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. [24] As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. [25] But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.”

Let’s gaze, for a moment, at Peter’s next gem of truth. Like a seed sown in good soil, that produces new life, so God’s Word sown in a believing heart, will bear the fruit of eternal life because His word cannot fail. Peter endorses Paul’s explanation of the way of salvation in Romans 10…

‭Romans 10:8-9 NLT‬
[8] “In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: [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.”

… But Peter takes a step backwards. He adds the truth that the seed of God’s Word is the agent of our salvation. The message of Jesus is the seed we have received, and will always accomplish its mission. As Isaiah’s prophecy declared,

‭Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT‬
[10] “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. [11] It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

Peter’s words, then, put our salvation into the category of certainty and security. Since God’s Word is the beginning of our salvation, the seed that produces the growing ‘plant’ of wholeness in the believer, we have the assurance, again, that God will finish what He started.

The Holy Spirit plants the seed of our salvation securely in our hearts when we believe and receive the message of Jesus. God’s ‘power pack’ is in the seed, guaranteeing its fruitfulness despite all odds. The seed in us also secures the end result of our faith, the holiness and likeness to Jesus that gives us our place in God’s heavenly kingdom forever.

As we rely on God’s promises, so we persevere in this life of faith through the trials and tests we face, with determination to endure to the end.

‭1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT‬
[6]”So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. [7] These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

‭Romans 5:3-5 NLT‬
[3]” We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

To crown all the reassurances that we will safely reach our destination because God’s promises can never fail, is His priceless gift of the Holy Spirit. He journeys with us because He is in us. He keeps us on track, monitoring and guiding us through every thought, choice, decision, and action, and calling us back when we wander off the path. He reassures us that we are chosen, called, greatly loved and highly favoured, children of God who are being groomed for an indescribably wonderful future.

God’s seed plays a powerful role in us on every level. His seed produces eternal life in us, reproduces the fruit of His Spirit in our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviour, and protects us from a life of sin.

The Greek word for ‘seed’ is ‘sperma’, meaning ‘something sown’. Imagine that! God has sown His sperma in us!

‭1 John 3:9 NIV‬
[9] “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed (sperma) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”

It is God’s ‘sperma’ that produces life in us. This life of God in us, given to us through the work of His Spirit, raises us from death caused by sin, and continues to work life in us by protecting us from the sinful ways of our past. His Word, through the Spirit, alerts us when we sin, arouses our conscience, and leads us back to the path of obedience to Jesus.

What a treasure to lay hold of in a dark and threatening world!

TWO FEET OF PEACE

Christian Life, ,

TWO FEET OF PEACE

“Stand firm, then…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…” (Ephesians 6:14a, 15, NIV).

I often wonder why this verse is interpreted as an encouragement to evangelise, as though preaching the gospel somehow acts as a protective measure against the devil’s schemes. I prefer to understand it in the context of Paul’s counsel, in this passage, to “stand firm”.

It takes two feet to stand firm and maintain one’s balance. Someone standing on one foot is easily unbalanced.  What is the “gospel of peace”? Isaiah offers an explanation in Isaiah 52:7, (NIV).  “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace…who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’.”

The good news is that, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” (Romans 5:1, NIV). We have a firm footing in grace because we have believed that God does not count our sins against us because Jesus paid our debt.

Peace with God secures our eternal destiny but what about our day-to-day struggles in a world of trouble? It is imperative that we fully appropriate the legacy of peace Jesus left us to steady us in this world where we need it the most. To stand only on the “foot” of peace with God will leave us unsteady and unbalanced when the crises come and we are tempted to collapse in a heap of fear and doubt.

The Apostle Paul addresses the other “foot” in Philippians 4:4-9. Since the battle with Satan goes on in the mind our minds need to be secured against his wiles. Transforming our minds is the way to secure them and Paul gives us a plan of action.

The first step is to live in God and not in our circumstances. “Rejoice in the Lord.” (vs 4). When we derive our happiness from the good things that happen, we will lose it when things go wrong.

Secondly, we are to “let (y)our gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” (vs 5). We must not punish other people for the way we feel. God hasn’t gone anywhere. He is still near and He’s in charge!

Thirdly, we must be honest with God about our anxieties. “Don’t be anxious about anything.” (vs 6). It‘s not our problem that’s the problem; it’s our anxiety that blocks the channel of our faith. We must confess our anxiety to God and He will exchange it for His peace.

Lastly, Paul says, “Fill your mind with good things and the God of peace will be with you. He will powerfully support you and act for you.” (vs 8,9).

Since the battle is in the mind and Satan’s ploy is to unbalance us, we need both feet of peace with God and the peace of God to stand firm.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – INTRODUCTION

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FOLLOWING JESUS THROUGH MARK’S GOSPEL

INTRODUCTION

Our journey with Jesus must inevitably take us through the gospels because they are the record of much of His life and teachings that we are called to understand and to imitate.

Why Mark’s Gospel first?

According to Biblical scholarship, it is the first and earliest written record of the life and teachings of Jesus and it is the main source of Matthew and Luke.

It is the shortest and simplest gospel, written for Gentile readers, especially the Romans with explanations of some of the Jewish beliefs and practices.

It presents Jesus as the servant of the Lord, which is a powerful model for the disciple to follow.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1: Verses 1-8

 

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” —
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ’Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

 Matthew and Luke begin their stories with the previous generation, Joseph and Mary, Zachariah and Elizabeth, and the events leading up to the birth of their respective sons. Mark’s story is open-ended – no record of who John was, who his parents were, and how he came to be carrying out a prophetic role; no record of Jesus’ human origins. He plonks the reader down in the middle of a story and leaves the other gospel writers to fill in the gaps.

At the same time, though, there’s a kingly majesty about the human figure of Jesus. He has a crier announcing His coming and preparing the way for Him. In true godly fashion, His forerunner is not dressed in finery, coming from the royal court in pomp and ceremony. He bursts from the wilderness because anywhere is God’s royal throne room. He appears from the courts of heaven, from years of tutoring in the wilderness school of God, dressed simply and eating simply. The focus is not on the messenger but on the message.

John was not merely mouthing the words of the prophet Isaiah. He was soaked, marinated in the words of the prophet. He had a burden and a burning in his spirit which, like Jeremiah, he could not keep shut up in his bones. It was a passion so fiery that he released it by shouting it to the wind. At first no-one heard it. He announced it to nature and nature listened.

Then one here, one there, who happened to be in earshot, began to hear, to listen and to call in a friend, a neighbour, a brother, to come and listen. It was a radical message like no other message they had ever heard. Messiah! Kingdom! Holy Spirit! New life! Change! Repent! God is here!

What was this? They had not heard from God in 400 years. Now a strange, scantily clad, wild man appears, shouting so convincingly that they had to respond. A tide of hope begins to rise within them. No man speaks so boldly unless he knows and speaks the truth.

 

THE BOOK OF ACTS – CRIME SCENE WITH A DIFFERENCE

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CRIME SCENE WITH A DIFFERENCE

“After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took Him down from the cross and buried Him. And then God raised Him from death. There is no disputing that — He appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known Him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that He is alive.

“And we’re here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children — for us! He raised Jesus exactly as He described in the second psalm.

“My Son! My very own Son!

Today I celebrate You!”

“When He raised Him from the dead, He did it for good — no going back on that rot and decay for Him. That’s why Isaiah said, ‘I’ll give to all of you David’s guaranteed blessings.’ So also the psalmist’s prayer: ‘You’ll never let your Holy One see death’s rot and decay.'” Acts 13:29-35 (The Message).

This was a crime scene in reverse. Forensic science is so advanced that it is possible to prove that a murder had taken place without the evidence of a body. Jesus, on the other hand, was put to death in a public place. There were many witnesses to His murder and His burial place was known and even guarded by a platoon of Roman soldiers.

There was no need to cover up the heinous deed and no scheme to hide His body. His murderers needed to make sure that the body stayed where it was and that everyone knew it was there to prove that He was well and truly dead. He said He would walk out of the tomb and they did everything they could to prevent it from happening.

But He did the unthinkable. He walked out of the tomb and turned up among His friends to show them that He was alive. Has any other murder victim ever done that? Has any other religious icon ever done that? God Himself put His stamp of approval on Jesus by raising Him from death into an incorruptible and indestructible new body and by owning His as His Son.

All the characters in this great drama had inadvertently played their part to perfection, guaranteeing that God’s plan would come together just as He said it would. No amount of effort to cover up Jesus’ resurrection could disprove the fact. Their own prophets had accurately predicted it would happen and not just one — the same event was predicted by many different people across the centuries.

No elaborate cover-up schemes worked because Jesus walked out of a sealed and guarded tomb. No one can outwit God! His new resurrection body was not subject to earthly barriers. He moved in and out of locked rooms like a spirit and yet His disciples could see and touch Him and He even ate in their presence. No ghost can make a fire and cook breakfast on the shore of the Galilean lake!

Paul himself had encountered this Jesus in a blinding flash of light on the road outside Damascus. He had heard His voice and been transformed in an instant from a vicious persecutor to a humble servant who was willing to lay down his life for Him.

All in all, the proof of His resurrection was overwhelming but what was the point of it all? For God to come to earth in human form, to live as a human being for thirty three years and then to die as a felon for crimes He did not commit, is incomprehensible except for a very good reason.. The death penalty He had spoken over the human race because of our forefather’s rebellion was carried out on Him and yet He was innocent of the crime for which He was paying.

This was really good news! Now every criminal — that’s us — can go free because our debt has been paid. And God can receive us back into His family as His sons and daughters if we accept His free gift of forgiveness and become reconciled to the Father.

Jesus And The Kingdom Of God

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JESUS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Jesus spoke repeatedly of the arrival of God’s kingdom, both present and future as “good news”. What did He mean by “good news”? What was the good news He announced by His coming? When the Romans arrived on the scene in the already-occupied-by-Greece land of Israel, for the Jews it was bad news. The presence of the Roman authorities was not only an affront to their sovereignty as a nation and their freedom as a people, but it also brought with it many forms of suffering.

They could never forget that they were an occupied nation. The Romans were everywhere, waiting to clamp down on them and quell any signs of rebellion. The people were subjected to severe taxation which left many of them impoverished and resentful of their overlords and those of their own people who worked for them. What’s more, their religious hierarchy were in cahoots with Rome, benefitting handsomely from applying whatever pressure was necessary to keep the peace.

Jesus’s announcement of good news might have sent His disciples’ pulses racing but for one thing – He made no attempt to deal with the Romans. In fact He practised and taught the opposite; He healed people indiscriminately, in response to their faith and not according to their race; He taught His disciples to love their enemies, and to submit to their overlords. That did not sit well with the religious zealots who were more than eager to get rid of the Romans by whatever means it took.

So, if the good news was not about ridding Israel of Roman occupation and re-establishing the glory of the Davidic kingdom, what was it about? To understand His message, we must go back to the Old Testament. Isaiah prophesied of a day that was to come when Jerusalem would be restored after the devastation of captivity. He offered good news to the people of Zion.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say in Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. (Isa. 52:7-8)

“Your God reigns!” That was the good news but what did it mean and when would this happen? God would finally dealt with their core problem – sin – and deliver them once for all from the ravages of sin through His Suffering Servant. Isaiah graphically described, in fifteen verses (Isa 52:13- 53: 12) the nature of this deliverance – the sacrifice of the innocent for the guilty so that the guilty may be forgiven and be reconciled to God.

Inherent in Jesus’s message of good news was the restoration of God’s authority over His people when their sin was atoned for and removed once for all. This was not about Rome. This was about an occupation far more sinister and far-reaching than Rome’s. Their hearts were occupied by a usurper whose power over them had to be destroyed by exposing his deception and breaking his hold over them so that they could return to the God who had called them into a covenant with Him.

Jesus announced that the time had come for this to be accomplished. God was at hand to establish His reign in their hearts once again. Through them, He would extend it into every corner of society and every part of the globe until Jesus returns to dispose of the devil and establish His eternal kingdom on earth.

Adam and Eve sold out to the deceiver who aspired to usurp God’s place as Lord! Over the millennia, the devil has done everything in his power to own and keep this title by enslaving the human race through the sin, sorrow and suffering that came with their disobedience. The good news Jesus brought was truly “good news”. God said, “Enough is enough! Satan has had his day and now the time for deliverance has come.”

God’s reign is intended to restore righteousness and justice in the earth where evil reigns and destroys. When Jesus is acknowledged as Lord by every person who has ever lived and every angelic being, good or evil, Satan and all evil will finally be disposed of to the place where he belongs. All creation will know that Jesus is Lord and not the devil or any of the false gods he has hidden behind from the beginning of time.

The new era of the kingdom of God was ushered in when Jesus came, which He demonstrated by His words and works. The kingdom of God is among us now, but not yet in its fullness. It will only come fully when Jesus returns to reign over His redeemed people and a renewed and restored earth.

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

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