Tag Archives: sons of God

“LORD, WHAT NOW?”

Christian Life, ,

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

My thoughts, in recent days, have been repeatedly drawn to this verse. My question is, “Is it possible to be so in fellowship with the Holy Spirit that I can be led by Him in everything I say and do, every moment of my day?”

I look at Jesus, a man, yes, but a man filled and led, every moment, by the Spirit in all He said and did.

‭Luke 4:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, [2] where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.”

It’s difficult to imagine that the Holy Spirit would lead Jesus straight to the wilderness. Here, Satan would be let loose on Him to test Him in the extreme circumstances and dangers of the wilderness as well as physical deprivation. Yet, that’s what the Bible says the Spirit did.

Jesus was so close to the Father and to the Holy Spirit that He literally did nothing without them. Can I live like Him?

‭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.”

I often recognise the Holy Spirit’s leading on hindsight. Sometimes I follow a prompting and later realise, to my relief, that the Holy Spirit had protected me from a foolish decision or action. On other occasions, I have doubted a prompting, ignored it, and and found out, to my frustration, that the Holy Spirit was leading me away from a mistake or a time-wasting incident I could have avoided. Instead, I was angry with myself for not listening.

‭John 10:27 NLT‬
[27] “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

The next question I ask is, “Does the Holy Spirit lead me only in matters that relate to my spiritual safety and wellbeing? Can He also lead me in everyday decisions and activities? Can He be so intimately involved in my life that everything I say and do is Spirit-controlled and Spirit-directed?”

I believe that the Bible says “Yes, ” and that the goal should be to hear and follow the Spirit’s voice all the time. After all, it is we, not the Bible, who make the distinction between “sacred” and “secular”. In fact, the Apostle Paul urges us to glorify the Lord in everything we do.

‭1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT‬
[31] “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Stories about King David astonish me because I read about a man who got it right most of the time. Even when he allowed his flesh to dominate him so much that he committed gross sin, David did not run from God. He ran to Him for forgiveness and restoration.

‭Psalms 51:1-4 NLT‬
[1] “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. [2] Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. [3] For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. [4] Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just…
[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. [11] Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Did God respond to David’s plea? Yes, God forgave and restored him, although there were unavoidable consequences.

On many other occasions, when David was in danger or in trouble, the Lord led him out of them as he called on Him and obeyed the Holy Spirit’s directions.

Sometimes those direction came directly from God…

‭1 Samuel 30:1-2 NLT‬
[1] Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. [2] They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone….
[6] David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God….
[8] Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you.! “

… and sometimes they came through a person. For example, Abigail begged David not to kill her family because her husband, Nabal, refused to provide for David and his men in exchange for their protection.

David recognised God’s intervention and stopped the raid.

‭1 Samuel 25:32-34 NLT‬
[32] “David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! [33] Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. [34] For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.”

Time and again, David sought God’s help. God rescued him, won great military battles, and ruled over the kingdom of Israel through him, expanding the territory to its greatest extent during his reign.

If this was possible through a man who lived under the Old Covenant, how much more we, who have the Holy Spirit within us, have the potential to live daily under the Spirit’s leading.

God promised, through Solomon, to make a straight path, uncomplicate our lives, if we acknowledge Him in everything we do. If this is His promise, then He will do it when we fulfil the condition.

‭Proverbs 3:5-6 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.”

Trouble is that we so often go our own way first, get into trouble, and then seek the Lord to get us out of the mess we have created. How much better to seek the Lord’s way and let Him lead us before we get into trouble!

So, my desire is to cultivate such a God-awareness that He is my first recourse before I make any decisions. Then I will become more sensitive to His leading in the ordinary things.

I know He wants to be intimately involved in my life because He even plants ideas in my mind when I am working on my hobby! When I ask Him, He is quick to show me new and better ways to achieve my goal.

“Lord, what now ?” will get a response because it is God who desires intimacy with us but it is we who initiate the process.

‭James 4:8 NLT‬
[8]” Come close to God, and God will come close to you….”

I need to stop waiting for the Holy Spirit to act. I need to expect and anticipate His involvement with me in the normal flow of my life as I live “in Christ” and He lives “in me”.

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

Christian Life, ,

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

“Blessed are the peacemakers because they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:9-11

The bookends in these final beatitudes are “Blessed are the peacemakers…” and “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

What are peacemakers?

Firstly, if we look at the ministry of Jesus especially described in Ephesians 2:14-18, making peace and reconciling are the same ideas. He put Himself between the two opposing parties, God and man, and brought them together by paying the debt that man owed God for his sin. Jesus bore the brunt of the enmity between God and man so that He could bring them together in peace.

According to Jesus, there is an irreconcilable rift between people who understand God’s heart and bend all their energies towards living God’s way, and those who are trapped in the world system of greed, selfishness and wickedness. This difference in disposition creates such enmity that those who are righteous are victimised by those who are selfish and greedy. 

Jesus Himself is our prime example. People hated their hearts to be exposed. Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John 3:19-20.

When we take the role of a peacemaker, bringing reconciliation between warring parties, and especially between man and God, we are re-presenting the work of Jesus and revealing our resemblance to God. When we do that, we reflect the disposition of our rabbi, Jesus, who is the Son of God.

If we are persecuted for doing this, strangely enough this will bring us real happiness.  This seems rather contradictory unless we look at the reasoning behind it.

1. It is proof that we understand and are living out God’s kingdom in the world and showing the world what it is like to be a son of God.

2. We are in good company because the prophets were in the same boat.

Secondly, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom which has the connotation of wholeness of body, soul and spirit. We live in a world full of broken people, fractured and wounded by their own behaviour and by the offences caused by others. It is God’s desire to restore broken people to the kind of wholeness where everything in their lives fits together in unity and peace. As we live in the kingdom of God, we are being made whole through the work of the Holy Spirit. Our role as peacemakers is to partner with Him in bringing wholeness to others. In this way we will truly be showing our nature as sons of God.

To work at reconciling people to God, to one another and to themselves will result in shalom, and will bring us true happiness, regardless of the persecution we may experience.