Tag Archives: submit

HOW CAN WE LIVE CLOSER TO JESUS?

Christian Life,

I can hear, echoing in my memory, the haunting sounds of the old song,

“Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, let it be…
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.”

As emotional as the words of this song may be, they don’t accurately reflect the message of Scripture.

What do we mean when we sigh, and yearn, and pray to walk closer to the Lord? Is there something we expect the Lord to do to draw us “closer” to Him? What do we mean by “closer”?

Jesus placed the requirements and the initiative squarely on us. Too often we cry and moan and pray that the Lord will draw us closer to Him when, in fact, He has done everything necessary to remove the barrier and open the way to fellowship with the Father and with Himself. He leaves it up to us to take the initiative.

Let’s see what the Bible says and follow this way instead of waiting for God to do more than He has already done.

First, He has given us a new status! He has dealt with our spiritual condition that blocked our way to Him. He has made us righteous, freed from guilt and shame through the blood of Jesus.

He has drawn us to Jesus. He has opened our hearts to the message of salvation and even given us faith to receive the truth.

John 6:44 NIV
[44] “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

It’s the Father’s initiative to draw us to Jesus.

He has brought our dead spirits back to life.

Ephesians 2:1, 4-6 NIV
[1] “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins..
[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…”

He has seated us next to Jesus on His throne in the closest proximity possible. We are as close to Jesus in spirit as we can ever be. In fact, we have become one with Him through the Holy Spirit in us.

Did you get that? God did something we could not do! He brought our dead spirits back to life, joined us to Jesus, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realm. So, where are we now? Seated with Christ in the heavenly realms! Can we be any closer to Him than that?

Second, we have an open-ended invitation.

Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV
[19] “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, [20] by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] LET US DRAW NEAR to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

Again, did you get that? Now, the initiative is ours! It’s up to us to act, by faith, on what God has done.

James 4:7-8 NIV
[7] “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Submit…resist…come near! These are all attitudes we must adopt, mindsets we must cultivate, truths we must believe, not to FEEL near to the Lord but to LIVE near to Him. Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight (or by feelings)”.

One thing blocks our fellowship with the Father…sin! Sin, in its many forms… thoughts, attitudes, words, deeds…puts up a barrier between us and others, and between us and God. Sin, in its worst form, is doing anything without reference to the Lord. If we make choices and decisions without communicating and doing what Jesus tells us, then we have taken control and He is no longer Lord for us.

John wrote…sin is the barrier to fellowship. Deal with it!

1 John 1:5-10 NIV
[5] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. [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. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

God has provided the solution to our lack of transparency. Forgiveness! Use it! As long as we are harbouring sin, we cannot function in the realm of closeness to the Lord.

Jesus has a solution to our desire for closeness…

John 15:4-5 NIV
[4] “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] “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.”

Remaining in Jesus is a choice we must make and an attitude we must cultivate, based on what He said. We cultivate the awareness of His presence by choosing to believe that it’s true, and by communing with Him in our hearts continually.

How do we maintain this union? By “walking in His commandments”. What are His commandments? “Love one another.” It’s as simple as that.

Romans 13:8 NIV
[8] “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

How can we know that we are close to the Lord? He has given us one simple test…His peace! When we have peace in our hearts, we know there is no barrier between us and the Lord.

Colossians 3:15 NLT
[15] “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

Do you get it?

The most powerful and accurate monitor of our closeness to the Lord is His peace in our hearts. Keeping our thoughts aligned with His Word and our attitudes and actions towards others loving, we can know and experience His closeness to us.

Philippians 4:6-9 NLT
[6] “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [7] Then you will experience GOD’S PEACE, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. [8] And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. FIX YOUR THOUGHTS on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. THINK ABOUT things that are excellent and worthy of praise. [9] Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then THE GOD OF PEACE will be with you.”

Once again, God has given us, in His Word, the way to cultivate and experience the closeness to Jesus that we desire. He has done His part. Now it’s up to us to do our part. As we position ourselves, by faith, in union with Jesus, in the realm where He is sovereign, His peace guards and protects us from all the dangers and challenges the enemy uses to lure us away from that place of perfect peace.

Isaiah 26:3-4 NLT
[3] “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! [4] Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.”

HOW NOT TO PLAY GOD – 1

Christian Life,

Playing God” is as rife within the body of Christ is as it is in the world outside the church. The methods may differ but the purpose is the same… control. Why do people everywhere want to control one another? My guess is that control is the way people try to manage their insecurity. “If I can control my family, my circumstances, my fellow human beings etc., I will feel more secure in my life in general.”

We see this phenomenon in churches where the pastor is the boss and where squabbles and factions break out among the leadership and the members. Real unity is impossible where people try to enforce their will on others in the body of Christ.

Trouble is, first, absolute control over everything that controls life is impossible. Second, our attempts to control clash with the next person’s efforts to control and the outcome is…war! Self-wills clash and get out of hand until destruction happens, and in society, even crime of every description.

Let’s examine the ways in which both God and His arch enemy exercise control. When we understand the principles of God and Satan’s methods, we can better identify the rule under which we live…and the ways in which we relate to our fellow humans.

First, Satan is insecure. He knows he is not God and never will be God but he still aspires to be God through deception. His passion is for the creatures God created and owns, to worship him. He must first convince them that they belong to him by enslaving them to his ways, and then by forcing them to acknowledge his ownership so that they will not be able to be free from his dominion.

Satan uses three methods to enslave and keep people in slavery to himself; intimidation, manipulation, and domination. He enforces his control by the lies he feeds into people’s beliefs. He operates first in the mind…

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT
[4] “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Satan’s entry point is the mind and, unfortunately, the mind is open to his lies because the nature of fallen man is in rebellion against God and is bent towards self and sin.

Satan’s modus operandi, then, is to sow beliefs in the mind to control the behaviour. Lies are his weapon of choice. He manipulates what we think and believe with lies, intimidates through threats and fear, and dominates by overwhelming us with sinful desires and by condemning us when we fail.

By contrast, God’s passion is for His human creation to worship Him by choice. He created the human race, He owns it by creation…

Psalms 24:1 NLT
[1] “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”

… and by redeeming humanity from Satan’s clutches through the death of His Son.

John 3:16 NLT
[16] “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

He owns and bought us back from Satan’s control at a great price but the devil tries to deceive us into believing that we belong to him.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
[19]”Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

God set about reclaiming His lost possession, not by force but by revealing His nature of love through creation, and through the gift of His own Son to rescue the world from its self-inflicted destruction. He calls and draws us to believe and be transformed by the truth butv He leaves the initiative to respond to us.

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

John 6:44 NLT
[44] “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.”

Those whom the Father draws will believe in Jesus.

John 6:37, 39-40 NLT
[37] However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them…
[39] And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. [40] For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

God’s way, then, is not to control by force but by revelation. He reveals Himself through His goodness…

Romans 2:4 NLT
[4] Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”

… and draws people to Himself by His love.

1 John 4:9-10, 19 NLT
[9] “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins…
[19] We love (each other) because he loved us first.”

He even allows us to set the standards of our own judgment.

Matthew 7:1-2 NLT
[1] “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. [2] For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged”

God did not create human robots. He created humans in His own likeness, to be like Him, free to make choices, and responsible for the choices we make and their consequences.

When we try to enforce our will on others, we play the game Satan plays to control by messing with what they believe. Either by domination, or by intimidation or manipulation, we exercise illegitimate authority over others which God does not sanction.

What should we do?

First, we should recognise the difference between God’s way and Satan’s way. Satan’s method is based on lies. God’s way stands on the truth. Satan’s method is force. God’s method is choice. Our own way to lrad must be built on the truth, allowing others to choose.

Second, we should resist trying to enforce what we want on others, by leaning on the truth in every situation. Never may we override another’s right to choose. Provide options but never inflict your will on others.

Ephesians 5:21 NLT
[21] “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

We should not use force even on our children. We should train them to submit and obey by choice because this is God’s way.

Ephesians 6:1-3 NLT
[1] “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. [2] “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: [3] If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Ephesians 6:4 NLT
[4] “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

God’s way enlightens the mind with truth and draws people to Himself by persuading them of the truth, but….

The choice to believe or not to believe is still up to the individual.

Consider Jesus’ way…

Mark 10:17-22 NLT
[17]”As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [18] “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. [19] But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’” [20] “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” [21] Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [22] At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

When we follow God’s way, we are truly God’s children, living in His kingdom, and doing His will on earth.

To be continued…

PRAY THE PATTERN – 16

Bible Study, ,

Ephesians 5:18, 20, 21, 22a, 25a NLT‬
[18]”Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life…. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit…
[20] And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[21] And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
[22] For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord…
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church”….

Paul’s ‘therefores’, following his teaching on God’s grace in this letter, form patterns of behaviour for those who have been saved by grace. What does he mean by ‘saved’? Only when we understand what sin has done to us can we begin to fathom the extent to which God’s grace has gone to rescue us from sin’s consequences.

So, Paul says, God has given us a blueprint for life after we have been rescued from death and made alive by God’s Spirit. His patterns include every category and level of the people who make up His family.

God has chosen His Son to be the model for every child of His. Jesus is the only one qualified to be the model since He is the only human who lived on earth as a perfect Son. He is the blueprint for God’s children, the one after whom the Holy Spirit is patterning everyone who has been born from above and saved from sin.

Included in these patterns is God’s blueprint for marriage. God intended marriage, between one man and one woman for life, to be the visual aid of the intimate union between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the Trinity.

God is a family. His plan was to bring into His family the humans He had created to enjoy family life with the Godhead. He instituted marriage on earth to be a family, including the children born from that union, to give us a taste of life in His heavenly family.

The fact that humans failed to follow His pattern did not deter God. He set up His plan of salvation, based on His grace, to bring His pattern back on track. Through Jesus, He brought us back to Himself and restored His power to live life His way.

Although God’s patterns are for us to follow in every situation in life, He akso has another purpose for them.

Our prayers are often based on the problems we encounter. Families are struggling, for example, and our prayers focus on what’s going wrong. We end up giving God advice or telling Him what to do.

However, God has told us the purpose for marriage and the ‘how-to’ in Ephesians. So, He says, pray the pattern, not the problem.

We know that God hears us if we pray according to His will.

‭1 John 5:14-15 NLT‬
[14] “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. [15] And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

Instead of praying lengthy, wordy prayers, (like the pagans), for ourselves and others, just say ‘amen’ and ‘thank you’ to His pattern because it has already been approved.

‭2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT‬
[20]” For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

So, we can apply this principle to every situation we encounter for a sure solution. It’s God’s prerogative to answer in His time and in His way, but it’s our responsibility to trust Him by giving thanks for His answer.

God wants to change people. He allows situations to happen so that He can apply His grace. He gives us opportunity to participate with Him through prayer to reveal His grace to us too. In that way, we worship Him and He gets the glory, which is the ultimate purpose of prayer.

‭John 15:7-8 NLT‬
[7] “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! [8] When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

OBEY – RIGHT OR WRONG

Bible Study, , ,

OBEY – RIGHT OR WRONG

“But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to inflict punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants who give their full time to governing.

“Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, then pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.” Romans 13:4b-7.

Apart from it benefitting the whole of society when we obey the governing authorities, there is another even more important reason for believers to submit to the government, good or bad – because of who we are.

We have Jesus as our example. God wants us to respond to people and situations as His sons and daughters, not because of what people do to us. Just as we used to be reactive, now we are to be responsive. That means, as Jesus responded in every situation and to every kind of person as the Son of God, representing and being a mirror image of the Father, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness, and submissive and obedient to His Father, so must we.

“In this world we are just like Jesus.” 1 John 4:17b.

According to Paul, our response is a matter of conscience. When we act like Jesus rather than rebelling and resisting because we don’t like or agree with the law or the treatment we are receiving, no matter how we are misused or treated unjustly, we will have a good conscience before God. Better to be unfairly condemned by others than to have our conscience condemn us because we have acted against God.

There is a second consideration – the matter of our tormentors. Will they misuse us and get away with it? What if God allows people to treat us badly because it is part of His discipline to refine our faith in Him? Peter speaks at length about the trials he and his readers were suffering at the hands of their persecutors, both Jewish and Roman. Why did God allow it to happen to them? 

Habakkuk struggled with the same problem. He could not understand why his people were wicked and yet, God sat on His hands. God’s response was shocking, to say the least.

“Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am doing something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves.” Habakkuk 1:5-7.

Habakkuk was appalled. “How can you do that to your people?” he protested. Again, God’s response was sobering but, in the end, satisfying. “Every person will carry responsibility for his own behaviour.”

“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” Habakkuk 2:4.

What is God saying? You may be mistreated by godless people, but submit anyway; hang in there and continue to trust God. They will not get away with it. God is giving them an opportunity to do the right thing. If they do not, they will face His judgment for what they have done to you.

“God is just; He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8.

We can safely obey God, not matter what, and trust the outcome to Him.

Acknowledgement

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

THE SHEPHERD OF SHEPHERDS

Bible Study, ,

THE SHEPHERD OF SHEPHERDS

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe, yourselves with humility toward one another because

‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5: 4-7)

Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd, He is also the Chief Shepherd. That means that He is the Shepherd of all shepherds.

Shepherds need a Shepherd just as much as the sheep do. Those who are called to lead are not only accountable to the Chief Shepherd for the sheep with which they are entrusted. They also need a model and a mentor for the responsible task that is theirs. Jesus is both the Good Shepherd to the sheep and the Chief Shepherd to those who are called to care for the sheep.

God had an issue with the shepherds of His ancient people because they failed to fulfil their calling to care for the sheep. Instead they exploited them for their own benefit. Did Peter have these words in mind when he wrote to God’s people?

The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? . . . You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. . .’ (Ezek. 34: 1, 2, 4)

What an indictment against the leaders of God’s people! And yet there are spiritual leaders today who are no different from those who received God’s judgment in Ezekiel’s day.

Peter’s strong counsel is, ‘Don’t do it! You are accountable to the Chief Shepherd for the way you lead His flock.’ Peter himself had received the mandate from the mouth of Jesus: ‘Feed my sheep; tend my lambs; take care of my flock.’

For both Peter and Paul there was the anticipation of a reward for fulfilling their calling. Paul’s crown was a crown of righteousness:

For I am ready to be poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing. (2 Tim. 4: 6-8)

Peter’s crown was an indestructible crown of glory:

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5: 4)

To the flock he wrote: Be humble and submit to your leaders. In this way the unity of the flock will be maintained. There is no place in the company of God’s people for a democratic attitude or for rebels or loners. Harmony is the way of unity. Mutual submission produces harmony when authority is respected and everyone is willing to submit to each other for the common good.

How does one learn to submit? By casting one’s anxieties on God. Whatever your issues, don’t beat the other sheep with them. Roll them onto God and at the right time He will vindicate you.

Cast you cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psa. 55: 22)

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.