Spirituality

You were thought of in the mind of your Creator before the world came into existence. Before atoms and molecules were spoken into being there was a reason for creating you. Before the movement of this planet, or the touch of the sun and moon upon our orbiting world your Creator knew of a time when you would arrive. You were thought of before the painting was on the canvas, or the ingredients of the Universe were mixed together in a pageantry of colour and harmony. Before the advent of time there was, in the mystery of eternity, a plan to create mankind. There was a plan to create beings able to partake in all the wonder and beauty of this world, and also reach beyond it to fullness of life with their creator. Yes, before mountains and valleys were shaped and moulded, or the orderliness of seasons was set in place there was a decision made in eternity. There was a decision made to create a being, able to benefit from the love of another. You are special, you are unique, you are noticed; you were created to be loved and to love.

“Every man, woman, and child has a powerful need to be valuable and worthwhile, but as we have seen, the world-view under which most individuals live, has no special basis for assigning a high value to man; if man is just the product of an impersonal universe, from where does his value come?”

Prof C. Evans in ‘Existentialism and the Quest for Hope’, p58.

Now think of an egg – a human egg – a human fertilised egg – not visible to the naked eye. Just stop and think about it for a moment. This fertilised egg contains all the genetic information for the most complex computer in the Universe – the human brain. You are fearfully and wonderfully made and so much more. You are body and soul-spirit, birthed into existence for a life, which was made to partake both physically and spiritually. You are special, and you have a heavenly Father who wants to share His life with you.

You are an awesome creation. Encoded within that miniscule fertilised egg which we have briefly been considering, is all the information for cells, organs, bones and the mile upon mile of blood vessels that make up our human frame. Each cell within your body is like a perfectly designed hustling, bustling small city of activity. You are awesomely designed. You are no accident; you were created to be noticed. You are not just one amongst billions of clones; you are unique and were made to know the love of your creator.

Someone out there knows all about us. He watches over us and wants to be known by us. But due to separation from our true environment, we are unable to see clearly with our mind and heart. Despite having such awesome senses with which to engage with creation, we struggle over our identity. Even though our eyes are so amazingly created, our minds have become clouded. We do not see as we should be seeing, and we are restless beings, far from home.

“The human eye has 107,000,000 cells. Seven million are cones, each loaded to fire of a message to the brain when a few photons of light cross them. Cones give us the full band of colour awareness and because of them we can easily distinguish a thousand shades of colour. The other hundred-million cells are rods, backup cells for use in low light. When only rods are operating we do not see colour (as on a moonlit night when everything looks in shades of grey), but we can distinguish a spectrum of light so bright that the brightest light I perceive is a billion times brighter than the dimmest.”

Dr P Brand in ‘Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, p 23-24

The search

Mankind is often like a child that is lost. We are all so preoccupied with what we think we need to be doing. Why do we struggle so much? Why are we so restless? Do we have the real blueprint of life to work with?

People are looking for help but are so often left with little more than an emotional fix. The ‘help’ they receive often tarnishes and wears out before time has marched on for even a handful of days. They are not being given the real blueprint of life.

People scramble through the highs and lows of an increasingly fragmented society. Fellow human beings are seen as competitors and, within families, loved-ones become strangers. We strive to build and succeed, yet often end up with only ruins. At times we can appear so powerful, however, in reality we are struggling. We deny the spiritual aspect of our lives, and we live as if the here and now is all there is.

Meanwhile, across all age groups there are many who end up addicted to substances and a multiplicity of brief encounters as they look for the fast hit, the ultimate high. Even those who have found worldly success and recognition struggle with lack of fulfilment as if something is missing. We exist in fragmented lives, amidst the crumbling walls of the world we have built, and on the rare occasions when we slow down, we look for guidance – but where?

We look for guidance in the market place of life: in religion, psychology, the New Age and untold so-called ‘spiritual courses’ – but who are we, and where are we going?

If we are honest, there are occasions when we are too scared to stop and take a close look at ourselves. Instead we allow the roller coaster of life to hold our attention, and often fail before we have travelled very far. We rush through life like a person hurrying to eat a carefully prepared meal. We do not enjoy the subtle flavours; we are not fulfilled. We have an existence, yet are suffering; achieving, yet still empty; having friends, yet still lonely; building homes, yet inwardly restless. We are not rooted, or established; there is no intertwining of physical and spiritual. We are seeds planted in the wrong soil – the soil of our own thinking. But just as a small children was never meant to be on their own, so too we were not meant to be left on our own. How can we grow? How can we mature? How can we flourish? How can we find inner peace and harmony, wholeness and healing? Why do we suffer – perhaps something is wrong? Perhaps there is a spiritual side to our lives, and we need to engage with our Creator.

You are a human being. You are both physical and spiritual. You are body, soul/spirit. Your body is not the product of impersonal forces, and soul-spirit is not to be seen as if it were no more than an early-morning mist floating over the river. Neither is it like the cloud-like fog of an autumn day that softens the world for a brief moment in time. Spirit has substance, and speaks of the power of life. Spirit speaks of thoughts, feelings, will and development. It speaks of where ‘me’ resides amidst the chaos of the world, and was birthed along with the fabric of my being with the ability to reach out to another, far beyond the realms of time. You were created to know, to feel, to reach out, and to connect with the author of all life.

More Than Physical

You are a unique person, and personality – where ‘me,’ (the person that I am), resides – was created to know and develop, to feed and grow in wisdom knowledge and understanding. You were created to reach out of yourself; to connect with others.

But we struggle; we fall at the first hurdle and the words of others often cripple the life we seek to nurture. We fire on three cylinders; we live on a diet of inadequacies and half painted pictures. We are often unaware of the real blueprint of life, and of the Creator who wishes to lift us from mere existence so we can connect with real life in all its fullness. Our thinking is confused, imposed upon, ridiculed and challenged. We live for the opinions of others, or strive towards artificial goals that often leave us feeling useless and labelled as worthless.

Whose blueprint for life do we live by? Do we realise that when thinking is wrong, so too are our feelings and actions? Imagine a friend walking into a meeting and wrongly assuming that others in the room had been talking about them. Imagine how they might feel. Imagine how they might act. Can we see how wrong thinking, (assuming others had been talking about them), can lead to wrong feelings and actions?

You are not a sophisticated animal that has fought its way up the struggling heap of evolutionary ‘development’. You are human, awesomely and wonderfully made, the pinnacle of this creation. But by whose blueprint do you live?

You were not created to function on a purely physical plane, nor created to function according to artificial standards imposed by others. You are not something to be tinkered with or fixed and improved upon. You are not something for others to manipulate or distort with their words and actions which leave you confused, unsure of who you are, and thinking life has just passed you by. You are not simply a bunch of chemicals – you are body and soul-spirit; awesomely and wonderfully made.

Unlike an animal, you have the capacity to learn from the past. Animals cannot learn from the experiences of past generations. For example, a horse cannot tell another horse, “Watch out for that man over there. My grandfather had a really tough time with him, and I know how to deal with the situation.” Unlike animals, you can keep a record of past events, and learn from previous generations. But what if some of the things we have learned are not right? Where does that leave us? Perhaps you have been hurt and damaged by the past? Perhaps you have had power and success, but still feel a void deep within? Maybe a new day is about to dawn.

You, along with your fellow man have the capacity to think about the goal and purpose of your existence. You can make voluntary decisions to improve yourself; an animal cannot do this. In the animal kingdom there may be radical change when, for example, a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, but this change is not something that the caterpillar does voluntarily. The caterpillar cannot say, “I’m not going to change into a butterfly because I don’t like heights.”

Unlike an animal you have the capacity to voluntarily seek to change, to move away from what you have become and into fullness of life. But who has the right map to follow? How many of us are aware of a Person (our creator) who is willing to reach into the tangled web of our lives, with the power to lift us out of the pain of just existing? There is someone out there who knows you, and who wants to be known by you. You are special. You were not created simply to exist like a small blade of grass in the corner of an overgrown garden that no one ever visits.

Do you realise that, when compared to the animal kingdom, you alone can be considered to be free? Animals are completely under the domination of their body and cannot make a free choice. For example, no animal can decide, “I’m going to run a mile a day in order to lose weight.” The ability to deny a bodily desire is unique to human beings. When an animal denies a bodily desire, such as hunger, it is simply doing so because of fear of retribution. For example a hungry dog will not approach a carcass whilst a lion is present. It’s not a case that the dog sees the carcass as the lion’s property, or assumes it is morally wrong to steal. It is simply the case of knowing that if it attempts to eat the carcass whilst the lion is present, it will be killed. There is no real choice in the matter. But it is different for you. You can choose to say “no” to something simply because it is morally wrong. There is such a thing as absolute truth – some things are always going to be right; others will always be wrong.

“When is suppression of desire uniquely human? When there is no possibility of detection and retribution, yet the person suppresses a desire and restrains himself only because it is morally and ethically wrong. This is something which animals cannot do.” Rabbi Tverski.

Body and Soul-Spirit

In the beginning, when time had just been taken out of its wrapping; when the world was still like a fresh spring flower stretching forth from the ground, man was created. When all was fresh and new, like the first golden rays of sunlight bathing a beautiful summer’s day washed by the dew of early morning, a man was brought forth from the dust of the ground. Spirit was breathed upon dust and man became a living person – body and soul-spirit. The heart began to pump; lungs drew in fresh air. Eyes were opened and touched with myriads of colours; sounds were heard, cool air was felt. Muscles were stretched, life was experienced and a world was given in love to the first human being.

You are a person – you are body and soul-spirit, yet these are not to be seen as separate entities. Spirit impacted flesh and man became a living soul – a person – not one among many, but unique. Think of a picture – you don’t look at the individual colours, but that which those colours reveal. Think of a cake – you don’t think of the separate ingredients – the cake is the whole. You are not a body with a soul-spirit floating about inside you. You are not trapped inside yourself – you are one, and you are unique.

“Man is not now a soul and then again a body. Man is a single being, a self, an ‘I’ or a ‘you’. Scientifically man’s integrated nature becomes apparent in the study of emotions. The individual receives a message from a loved one or bad news, or he tells a lie. Automatically, in normal circumstances, his heart beats faster or slower, his breathing amplitude and rate change, adrenalin may be discharged into the blood stream. These and other events are then spoken of as psychosomatic. But man remains one being.”

At the beginning of time, when spirit was breathed into the dust of the ground, man was created. Man became a soul-spirit. Body speaks of being able to engage with creation – it speaks of that which is the vehicle of sense consciousness. Soul-spirit speaks of self-consciousness, and our ability to think and interact with those around us – not seeing others as competitors but participators in life. The spiritual aspect of a person speaks of the strength and power of life and ability to know, think and interact with God our Creator. But man made wrong choices, and is fallen and separated from the heavenly Father.

We think we know what is best, and in doing so, continually miss the mark of our high calling. We live out our own ideas, and in doing so, ignore the food of life. We are out in the cold and unable to experience the love of our heavenly Father. We do not benefit from the wisdom, knowledge and understanding from above. We need to come home, yet do not know that there is a home waiting for us. Our damaged minds and the attitudes that others foster on us can sometimes make it difficult for us to receive the real help that we need.

If I don’t drink water I will suffer the consequences; if I do not eat, I will soon go hungry. If I sowed mustard seeds, I cannot expect daffodils to grow in their place. Our actions separate us from God; they make us His enemy and there is a price to pay.

Ultimately it is God alone who has the right to judge our lives since He has the original blueprint. The world is like a flower plucked from the garden. The world is like a child that has run away from home and reaping the consequences of doing so. The ultimate fruit of this futile existence is separation from our heavenly Father. Yet a message has been going forth from the beginning of time and a life has been given so that we can come home. Love always seeks to reach out to a loved one: are we willing to take the hand that is offered? Are we willing to see things a different way?

Thousands of years ago, when a man called Job began to think he knew the answers to life, his heavenly Father challenged him with these words:

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Job 38:4-16

We are restless and hurting. We are like a plant pulled from the ground and placed in water. For a while we look the same – yet we are not as was intended by our heavenly Father. “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” (Ps 103:15-16). But it does not have to be this way. When you embrace the offer of life given by the Son of God the secret wound we hide within can be healed.

A Personal Experience

My knowledge and experience within the field of psychotherapy, cellular-healing and spiritual teachings, taught me a lot about others and myself. Whilst on my ten-year journey in search for the meaning of life, I found myself mixed up with all sorts of weird and wonderful people (and a few dubious character along the way). Most of them were well meaning and offered all sorts of therapies and healing techniques. This often encouraged and gave hope to people for self-healing. What really intrigued me in all of this was that the healing process could be achieved within self, supposedly with the help of spirit-guides and guru’s. This world of mysticism was quite seductive, but it did not really convince me.

They danger of relying on yourself and others to fix a problem (whether it is physical or emotional), is that it can cause more harm than good, especially if you are in desperate need to find a cure. The vulnerable are often preyed upon by the many cults and the New Age who, at times, promise healing from everything from life threatening illnesses to emotional problems. However if you thinking is unhealthy, or you are even slightly depressed, there is the real danger that you can become over analytical and more confused than ever.

When we have been living lives that are damaged and distorted, we can feel as if we are running on a hamster’s wheel and never really getting anywhere, despite apparent changes.

Sadly, many people spend thousands of pounds and lots of time and energy looking for the reasons why they feel the way they do. I am not saying that none of what they find is helpful, but the danger is that our search can put us on our own path to self-destruction. In searching for reasons for our behaviour or illness we can become self-obsessed. We can also end up blaming others and pushing away those we love, causing unnecessary heartache to many.

Whilst I was at counselling college I remember a fellow student saying that her husband had commented on how distant and ‘I’ orientated she had become. “Where has the ‘we’ gone in this relationship?” he asked her. He then suggested that a book be written for the partners of anyone taking such a course, on how to support them

In my quest to find myself I became selfish; but I just didn’t see it at the time. This is because I was desperate to change and did not want to stay a victim to past events. Therapy, self-help books, and spiritual teachings tell us that we have to think in the ‘I’. I must come first; I must not be co-dependent. Only then can I be a fully functioning human being. Unfortunately this is the illusion that traps many people into believing that they can have true freedom. In reality they are really entering into a fantasy world of airy-fairy seduction and lies.

Have you ever thought about dependency? It seems to be one of the main words in the counselling vocabulary today. People are told time and time again not to rely upon family and friends and to simply become independent. It’s as if we are brought up to trust in some of the people around us and then suddenly we’ve got to go it alone. Yet all this does is simply add to the pressure, since we are struggling in the first place, and are now left, more than ever, with only ourselves.

In many ways we are dependent on each other. A child is bought up to feel safe and depend on his or her parents. Then, all of a sudden, when they reach a certain age they are expected to become an adult and be instantly independent. Yet, as we all know, it takes time to adjust and learn skills for coping with life and getting through each day.

The Bible teaches us that we are God’s children, created for a relationship with Him. We were not made to be totally independent, but live in a loving relationship with our heavenly Father.

When I started to find out about Christianity I realised I’d been searching for God in the all the wrong places, and had thought of God as some sort of energy and nothing more. It was after trying so many different avenues that in desperation I turned to the Bible. To my surprise I found Christianity to be very different from my ideas of old-fashioned buildings, legalism and do-gooders. Instead I found the truth: I found Jesus Christ – or rather He found me.

Jesus is the One who showed me what forgiveness and unconditional love was really all about. He did not come to me out of sorrow or pity, but came to give me life and fill the emptiness in my heart. He came to bring me back to my true home.

My search was over when I found such perfect love in Jesus. It is a love that transcends worldly love – it is a love that has no limits. In Jesus I found someone who loves and accepts me for who I am. I did not have to fight to prove that I was worthy of His love, and through Jesus I found forgiveness and reconciliation; I found freedom and absolute truth. He is the only Saviour that anyone will ever need.

The Cosmic Saviour Who Stoops Low – My Friend

In Jesus we see what God is like, because in Jesus we see God stooping low so that we can understand Him. I was made to know Him. I was not made to go it alone. I was not made to look within myself for the answer to my problems, but to look away from myself to Jesus. He is the author of life and it is Jesus who fed my heart and mind and refashioned my thinking. In doing so I did not lose my identity, but only what I had become. With His help and guidance, I, along with so many others, have been able to develop true spirituality. Through Him personalities can become strong and powerful, overcoming difficulty and knowing healing in areas that are so often self-destructive.

In Jesus we see One who hated the outward pretence of man-made religion. In Jesus we see One who walked in perfect unity with His heavenly Father – who interrelated both physically and spiritually. In Him we do not see a religious freak, ghost or guru that is out to exploit us. In Jesus we see great power and authority revealed in such love, gentleness and compassion. In Him we find One who challenges us to the very core of our being – One who asks us to lay down the existence of what we have become, and know forgiveness and life in Him.

Jesus mixed with all people regardless of class and upbringing. He was a man filled with a passion and desire to do His father’s will. Jesus was always willing to share His life with the downtrodden and the outcasts of society. He also reached out to the powerful, rich and successful; for all men can be restless, frustrated and lonely; no matter the outward trappings.

Jesus loved people and was prepared to meet with them at a deep and personal level. He met the needs of Nicodemus, a ruler amongst the Jews (John 3:1-21), and He met the needs of a Centurion regarded as a thorn in the side by many (Mark 8:1-13).

On one occasion, Jesus reached out to a tax collector caught up in wrong trading. He did not condone the man’s actions; neither did He condemn him. The impact of His actions and words entered the heart of the tax collector and his chains fell away as he became free. In most societies when someone does something wrong, they are remembered for it. Sometimes, when a friend falls out with a friend, it is simply a few misplaced words spoken over a handful of minutes that have caused it to happen. All the good times are forgotten – the laughter, the fun, the sharing – the years of being together. All that is now seen is that little handful of minutes – the person has been ‘forgotten.’ Jesus is not like this. Whether it was the enemies of Israel, the woman caught in adultery or the thief on the cross, Jesus saw the whole person. He saw people in need and was willing to offer all people forgiveness through Him. He came to live the life we could not live, and pay the price that we could not pay.

Throughout the New Testament we see Jesus interacting easily with people at any level, enjoying their company and sharing Himself with them. The only time He was away from people was to have times in prayer with His heavenly Father.

Jesus came against the religious leaders of His day, and on one occasion cleansed the temple by throwing out those who exploited and profited from the lives of others. In doing so the barren, empty temple, once more became a place of vitality and life, “the blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them” (Matt 21:12-14). Jesus is the only One who can bring life into our hearts and minds, for He alone is the author of life.

On one occasion a friend of Jesus, ‘John the Baptist’, was in prison and finding it difficult. He had told many people about Jesus but was now wondering if Jesus really was God stooping low. He sent some of his own disciples to talk to Jesus. Jesus did not rebuke John. Nor did Jesus moan at him, or challenge him to stand firm. Instead He sent back a picture that would have thrown down John’s walls of doubt. Jesus said, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Mat 11:4-5). That’s the sort of person Jesus is. He seeks to encourage and lift up. He seeks to heal, not to harm people.

Jesus did not condemn the disciples when they walked the dusty roads of their own thinking, through lack of understanding and familiarity of old ways. Instead in His love, power and a compassion that was breathtaking to behold, He opened their eyes and engaged their minds with the knowledge of life.

No one exercised such authority as Jesus did. His authority from on high was such that He could calm the storm (Matthew 4:39), reach through death to raise Jairus’ daughter (Luke 7:11f) and by His word the tissues of the leper’s body were brought back into fullness of health. In Him we see the Master of Life going about His business. He did not come to condemn, but to save. Jesus came to suffer and die; yet death could not hold Him.

Jesus was whipped and beaten beyond recognition, and a crown of thorns was stuck on His head. Crowds mocked and looked on with hearts set against a man who had done nothing wrong. Yet not one thought of malice, hatred or vengeance could be found in His heart. Jesus had chosen to withhold His glory and power for a season, yet the events around Him could not overcome the Servant King. He came so that we could find forgiveness. He came with the offer of life. He came so that we could find the way home.

There was a thief on the cross next to Jesus. He had ignored the rules of society and certainly turned his back on God. To those viewing the crucifixion he was nothing but a parasite, someone getting his just deserts. But Jesus did not write him off, as millions of others would have done.

The thief was a desperate and vulnerable man who, in undergoing the first pains of crucifixion was bereft of all hope. All doors were closed; all avenues of escape were blocked. He had been found out and death was on the horizon. The thief dealt with his frustration and pain by joining the crowd in tormenting Jesus, yet something about Jesus broke through the thickening mist of bitterness and suffering. He heard the words of the Suffering King as He spoke to His heavenly Father. He heard an abused and beaten man say, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34), and his mind broke free from the chains of despair. The thief cried out, “remember me when you come into your kingdom” and Jesus replied, “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:39-43).

Even in the weakness of the flesh and horrific circumstances that would destroy any other man, we see the power and love of God shining through His Son at Calvary.

God’s nature and character is pure and unsoiled. It is not tainted by evil and is far greater than our sense of perfection. He sees all the evil and wrongdoing in our world and will bring about His righteous judgement one day. But there is hope, for at present His hand is still extended to all who would take it through Jesus. He wants us to come home and only He can bring us to our true position in Him.

Each and every one of us is special to and loved by God. Yet not all of us can benefit from that love because we are still far from home. God hates some of the things we have done, but through Jesus we can find forgiveness. He knows how to put things right. He knows how to feed, nurture, encourage and uplift us. This does not mean that it will always be easy – but it will be life.

Despite the tragedy there is hope, despite the pain there can be healing. Despite fragmented lives, there can be wholeness – but only through Jesus Christ and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him…The Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things.” John 14:23,26.

Spirituality

In the Bible we see what spirituality really is: it is full humanity, and full humanity speaks of an ever-deepening relationship with our heavenly Father.

According to our heavenly Father we are not as we should be. We have become separated from God through taking our lives into our own hands, and we often end up suffering the consequences of our actions and those of others around us. But there is hope. Our Creator has entered the dusty realms of this beautiful, yet struggling world. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit we can find our true home with our heavenly Father.

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Faith

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“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Heb 11:1-3

In Hebrews 11 we read of ordinary people who did extraordinary things – all out of proportion to their powers. I’m sure that, at times, this must have been a surprise to themselves as well as to others, yet it is because of the Holy Spirit within them that they were able to do these things in obedience to God.

The Bible is full of great men and women of faith, yet we must not make the mistake of belittling our own lives through seeing the amazing things that others do for the Lord. God did not tell us about great men and women of faith so that this could happen. He tells us and shows us His faith-enabling presence, so that we can root ourselves in Him, feed on all He says and does, and walk in the power of His Spirit, just as others have done before us. It does not matter whether this exercise of faith is giving a glass of water in His name, or running an evangelistic mission. The important point to remember is that God does not trivialise anything, and that what He wants is for us to live in and by the power of His Spirit.

Faith is more than intellectual assent

“…Your faith without works is dead.” James 2:26.

The above verse is in a letter to struggling believers from a Jewish background (James 1:1). These believers had probably made a quick exit from Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen, which resulted in widespread persecution. Apart from this, there would have been many questions in the minds of these believers. For example, how were they to relate to their Jewish neighbours who had not accepted Christ, and how were they to relate to the Gentile community around them? Where was God in all this, and why had He let such things happen?

We all know of occasions when life has got a little tougher than expected. At such times we need to know the presence of our Father and not just have head knowledge concerning scriptures. After all, there is a big difference between having a note in our pocket that says, “Your father loves you”, and having our Father helping us in all we do.

Faith is not simply a matter of intellect. Jesus did not arrive on this amazing planet just to write the words of God on a blackboard in a classroom. He is the Word of God in the flesh. Nor did Jesus come to announce the good news as if it were merely a nice sounding philosophy; He is the good news, because the gospel lies in a person. Neither did Jesus come to offer us a system by which we could earn forgiveness; He is the forgiveness of God.

Faith is not simply a matter of intellect, but it will become just that without the moving of the Holy Spirit within us, because it is the Holy Spirit who uplifts and strengthens natural abilities so that we can live the life we have been called to. Many of those that James writes to were not living this way, and some had nothing more than an intellectual knowledge of God. This ‘faith’ can never produce life if it is not acted upon the right way. Faith is not simply a matter of the intellect; neither is it just about feelings.

Faith is not just about feelings

On some of our youth trips to Dorset we go and visit a man who has a passion for archery. He has bows from all over the world, varying in age from 400 years down to just a few months (he makes them!) During a demonstration he shoots all sorts of arrows (including those that would pierce a Knights armour) with many different bows. His favourite bow has a pull of 140lb and shoots an arrow so fast that you can’t see it.

There are those who seem to think that faith is something they drum up and then fire at God with all their might, not unlike an arrow from a bow. This is no more than faith in our effort, our input, our feelings and our view of life rather than faith in God. Faith is not simply a matter of intellect, or feeling, and without true faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).

What Jesus said

Jesus said that whatever we ask for in prayer we will receive if we have faith. He also said that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20; 21:22), we would be able to say to a mountain, “be removed into the sea.” One of the problems for us is that we often look at such verses and then think about all the prayers we didn’t get answered. We then seek to drum up faith, or loose sight of the importance of prayer, or stop praying altogether and rely upon others to pray for us. Yet scripture states that even if we don’t know what to pray the Holy Spirit does, and will help us (Romans 8:28-9).

So what is faith? Is it something, regarding prayer for instance, that we drum up in ourselves until we hit the right decibel level, so to speak, for God to hear us and suddenly act? No. This idea of faith is so wide of the mark that we might just as well be saying, “Faith is a girl I know who lives down the road.” Real faith comes by hearing. (Romans 10:17)

Where the mustard seed comes from: Faith comes by hearing

The Bible speaks of great men and woman of faith (Heb 11:3ff), but before we get caught up in how great they were we need to realise something very important. The reason that anyone can have faith in God in the first place is because God wants to be known. We see this right from the outset of Genesis where man is made in the image of God (Gen 1:27), understands something of God’s creation (Gen 2:19), and only began to find any hope after falling into sin because God initiated conversation by calling out to him (Gen 3:19).

Elsewhere in scripture (Numbers 12:7-8) we read of Moses being spoken of as ‘faithful in all God’s house.’ Whilst not detracting from the fact that Moses had to reach out and take what was on offer, we need to recognise that God was the one who enabled Moses to have faith. Without the burning bush and subsequent conversation, Moses would have remained with the fruit of his own ways. It is true that Moses had to put his trust in God, but could only do so because God was about His business in the first place: He shows us someone we can hold onto – Himself.

In Jewish households parents would be responsible for teaching the ways of God to their children in both word and action. Children would hear that God is gracious and full of loving-kindness, and they should see this in their parents. They would also know, for example, that God disciplines those He loves because, as a heavenly Father, he wants the very best for them. They would also know that their standing in the land was not because of anything special within themselves, but because of God’s grace and favour.

Why so many of Paul’s prayers are about knowing God

Think of a young child who comes running into the parental home having just cut their hand so badly it is going to require stitches. Initially the pain and the shock may be so great that

the child holds their hand to their chest and doesn’t want anyone to look at it. It’s as if their way of dealing with it is going to be OK. Yet with the gentle support and encouragement of his or her parents, the young child will eventually extend their hand to those who can help. This is because they know and trust their parents, and this, I believe, helps us see one of the reasons why so many of the Pauline prayers are about getting to know God, rather than how to get out of this or that sort of situation. Take for example, some of the words of a prayer in Ephesians 3. Paul has just reminded his readers that God wants to strengthen them with power through His Spirit so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. He then says, “…I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge so that you many be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Paul never wrote reams and reams of plans to get people out of difficulty. Instead He wrote to tell people about God’s plan and what God was like. Our lives are very complicated and intricate, and when we run into difficulty and deal with it the wrong way, we struggle and sometimes act like a child who thinks holding a hand that needs stitches is good enough. Paul always knew that God alone could see what is really going on, and has the power, love and willingness to do something about it. He constantly encouraged people to have faith in who God is, and open their lives to Him.

Faith speaks about being rooted

To the Hebrew mind the word faithful speaks of firmness since it is the Lord who speaks with certainty, enabling all people to see things as they really are, and place their trust in His nature and character. This is how it is that David could say, “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness (firmness) known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness (firmness) in heaven itself.” (Psalm 89:1-2)

All too often we have faith in what we think God is going to do in a given situation, yet real faith is firmly anchored in God’s nature and character first and foremost. This explains why some of the Hebrew pictures of faithfulness are of a tent peg in solid ground, or that of a tree rooted and established in God’s promises, (e.g. Psalm 1) which so clearly reveal His nature and character as one who is full of loving-kindness. If we are to be rooted in God’s love then we need to realise that He loves us and wants the very best for us.

A missionary once wrote about a time when, as a young evangelist, he got frustrated after a meeting where no-one seemed to respond. He was exhausted and went out and sat under an apple tree. Of that time, he wrote, “The Lord seemed to come to me and say, “you’re tired, aren’t you? “ “Yes,” I replied, “I am, because I have worked hard.” “And you are out of patience aren’t you?” “Yes, because these people seem unresponsive.” Then He quietly said, “Do you see this apple tree? How does it bring forth fruit? Does it work itself up into a stew trying to be fruitful? Or does it simply keep the channels open, taking in life from soil and sky and allowing life to flow through itself into the fruit? And is it not all unstrained? Then if you’ll not fret nor worry about results, but simply keep the channels open, letting My life flow through you, then you will bear fruit naturally without strain of drain.” I arose relaxed and released. I didn’t have to succeed – I only had to keep the channels open. God did the rest.

The disciple Jesus loved

In one of the gospels we find John speaking of himself as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ (John 20:2, 21:7, 25ff). This can sound a little strange at first; after all, weren’t the others loved as well?

If you put a sub-standard fuel in your car, it is obvious that the car is not going to run so well. In a not dissimilar way, if you have let the wrong ideas about someone or something fuel your actions, things can go wrong when trouble arises. Part of the ‘fuel’ that drove the disciples came from the current thinking of the day, which anticipated a political Messiah who would deal with Rome. Other areas where their thinking was wrong can be found in Luke 9:54, Mk 9:34 and Mk 10:37-8. The disciples would have seen their hopes dashed, with the events leading up to Calvary, and yet at Calvary John is still present; (John 21:25ff) but why?

John may have had his hopes dashed but he was aware of something much deeper than his ideas about what should happen: Jesus loved him. This is why John could speak of himself as the disciple Jesus loved. It was not that Jesus did not love the others, but that the ideas fuelling them, also acted as a block preventing them from seeing God’s love for them.

Everything else may have fallen apart for John, but John still knew that Jesus loved him, and being rooted in this knowledge meant that he was able to receive love, and be at the cross with Jesus regardless of circumstances and shattered dreams.

Sometimes we get so caught up with what we think should or should not have happened that we forget the simple truth that God loves us. Sometimes a step of faith is simply standing still and recognising this. Our ideas and agendas will fuel us with self, yet not be able to withstand some of the difficulties we face, or help us reach out in His power. His love enables all things that are good, just and true.

Jesus encourages faith

In the gospel of Mark we read of a father who brought his possessed son to Jesus. The disciples had not been able to set the boy free, and the man was undoubtedly struggling badly. He wondered if Jesus would help him, and in reply Jesus said that everything was possible to those who believed. The distraught father then said, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”(Mark 9:23-24). Jesus did not rebuke him for a lack of faith; nor did he tell him to increase his faith. Instead he healed the boy, thus birthing greater faith into the heart of this struggling parent.

Another person we find struggling is John the Baptist who was in prison. He sent His disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah. In His reply we see that Jesus did not rebuke John, or have a go at him in any way. Instead he sent back a picture, which would encourage and uplift John in the faith. He said, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Luke 7:22-23)

Jesus seeks to encourage us to trust Him; He encourages us in our faith. Think, for example, about the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how he encouraged their faith (Luke 24:13ff); think of Thomas who doubted, yet did not shut the door, and how Jesus encouraged his faith (John 20:24ff). Now think of how Jesus encouraged Peter whilst having breakfast with the disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21). Now think about self.

Do we see from God’s word that we are not trivial or insignificant in His eyes? Do we see that we are totally accepted through Jesus Christ and are indwelt by His Spirit? Do we see that Jesus accepts even a short stumbling prayer? Do we see that He really does know everything about us, yet does not write us off? Do we see that God says He notices when a glass of water is given in His name – in other words nothing is too small for Him, even if others look down on what we do. His ways are clearly seen throughout the scriptures and in many many verses such as, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those who have young.” (Isaiah 40:11). Hold on to who He is – God loves you.

It is because of God’s love that we can have faith

Imagine being out walking and seeing a man struggling along on the other side of the street with a huge pile of books in their arms. The books were obviously too heavy for the person to carry and every so often they dropped one and struggled for a few minutes to pick it up. As they slowly struggled along the street, bumping into people as they did so, you saw the titles on a few of the books. They included, “broken relationships, “failure”, “bitterness,” “hurt”, and a whole host of other titles that spoke of the experiences the man had gone through. No one thought to help this man, but then something amazing happens.

A stranger walks up to the struggling man and starts to lift the burden of books from his arms. He takes all the weight of the books on his own shoulders and struggles under the burden. Yet suddenly the books start disappearing, and as they do so, the man who had been carrying the books begins to straighten up and look as if new life had been poured into him. In this we catch a small glimpse of God’s love. Many of us have areas in our life that we find difficult. We need to learn to hand our lives over to God, rather than tell God how we think He can sort the areas of difficulty out, whilst we neglect our real needs.

Jesus, the living Word of God, took all our sin and pain and made it His personal responsibility. This is what Jesus had always intended to do because when God created the world, the unseen cross was already upon His heart, for as 1 Peter 1:19-20 states, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” It is because of God’s love that we can have faith; hence His presence is a faith-enabling presence to those who really want to know Him. Let us be encouraged in this, and hand the whole of our lives over to Him and not just the problems we see. Love always seeks to lift the burden of sin from others. Do we have the faith in who Jesus is to hand our whole life over to Him on a daily basis, so that the indwelling power of His Spirit can cleanse us and renew us and help us stand up in His victory?

Acknowledging our failings and our limitations

In the parable of the Tax Collector (Luke 18:10) we see a man who was acutely aware of his failings. If he’d seen God as a harsh tyrant he would never have found his way to the temple; but here he now is, in the temple. So what does Jesus say about such a person? He says that this sort of person will be raised up. Think about that.

Faith means accepting what God says about our lives as true, yet building on the life that He has given us. Yes, we need to acknowledge that we are weak, and dysfunctional in many ways, yet we do not stop there, for as Paul writes of himself, “Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.” 2 Cor 13:4

Faith is not simply intellectual belief; nor is it trying to drum up some sort of emotional power to get God to do things. Faith involves being honest enough to acknowledge our weaknesses, yet hold on to God’s grace no matter the negative picture our circumstances may try to paint. The person who stands in his own strength gains nothing but trouble; the one who calls out to the Lord in open honesty will be lifted up. In being lifted up they uplift the name of God, (His nature and character). For example, in Genesis 15:5-6 we read that, against all odds, Abraham believed in God and it was credited to Him as righteousness. In the actions that were birthed out of his trust in God, Abraham lifted up (by being lifted up by God) the ways of God (one who reaches out to the sinner in mercy and loving-kindness) for the world to see. It is in recognising and understanding God’s great love, that hurt and damaged people are able to lower the barriers that have been put in place and find healing and wholeness.

God has crossed the road to meet you

God continually reaches out to us with Himself and in Him we see what friendship is all about. Friendship is about being where others are, crossing over to see them, being prepared to slow down in what we do in order to help, support, and nourish others, as we walk with them a while.

In Jesus’ approach to the Samaritan woman (John 4:7ff) we see this love and the offer of friendship. Jesus had gone out of His way (there were quicker routes to where He was going) in order to reach out to a ‘nobody’ in the eyes of the world. There is nowhere where Jesus is ever out of place, because the world is His and He is a light to all situations and circumstances everywhere He goes.

The woman Jesus spoke to was a Samaritan (despised), and had probably come to the well in the heat of the day when others would not be around to mock her, or point yet another accusing finger (she was living with a man and had previously had five husbands. All too often people are written off because of our snap judgements and assumptions concerning their life style. I have met many women who have gone from abusive relationship to abusive relationship because they have so low an opinion of themselves that they think they deserve it. We need to be careful not to impose our judgment upon lives that we often know nothing about. We do not know how the Samaritan women ended up the way she was, but we do know something. We know that in the conversation that Jesus had with her she found hope, and began to see that she was somebody, despite her dysfunctional past.

The power and love of Christ impacted her life, and she could not keep the encounter with Jesus a secret. The revelation was too important and too hope inspiring and others needed to hear it, and so she went and told others that Jesus knew everything she had ever done (John 4:39-40), and yet had not rejected her. The fruit of this was that many started to believe in Jesus. He knows all about us, and still wants to be our friend whilst being against what we have become by way of the world.

Friendship is not just liking someone; it is about desiring the best for them. Friendship is seeing beyond the things that separate, and the difficulties and hardships in life, and valuing others. This is the sort of friendship that God reaches out to us with, through the work of His Son, and we are called to see this and so to live by faith in Christ Jesus (Rom 1:17).

The Power of the Holy Spirit

God has intervened in our existence and the power of God is always present where His truth is spoken in word and deed. From this we see that our faith is the evidence of God’s power working in and through our lives by His Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we only have an intellectual knowledge in our heads, and a set of self-empowered emotions that can’t unravel the hurt and rebellion in our lives, nor help us grow in any way. We need to be open to the Holy Sprit, because the Holy Spirit is the One who extends the life of Christ into our lives. The Holy Spirit is the continuing work of Christ within us

We would do well to remember that Jesus is not a Person who has come along to impose Himself upon our lives. He is life itself, in all its wonder and power, and the Holy Spirit continues this work of Christ within our lives.

You have a choice to make: A garden of words or a garden of flowers

Imagine going around the gardens in two stately homes. In one garden all you find is concrete and plastic stickers on the ground with words such as, dandelion, grass, rose and so forth. In the other garden you find beautiful flowers and amazing fruit trees. Which garden are you going to spend time in? Which garden would you rather be in – the former or the latter?

The first garden. The opposite of faith is unresponsiveness; a total lack of willingness to honestly and openly reach out to the Lord. Unresponsive people refuse to acknowledge the barriers in their lives, and continually carry on in their own strength with a smattering of intellectual knowledge about God. Sadly, they are often in a barren, dry, and somewhat hopeless place that is partly of their own making.

The second garden. In Hebrew thought a mother was seen as faithful, and the Hebrew picture behind the word mother is that of strong water. Strong water refers to that which was dependable like a pool of water bubbling up from the ground that enabled vegetation to grow around it, thus forming an oasis in the desert. Think of this picture. The Hebrew word for mother (em) is incorporated in the Hebrew word for faith (amen). Faith is that which God enables us to have; by helping us to see Him and providing the means for us to reach out to Him. He nurses us like a mother, and builds us up so that we are firmly rooted in what is right. Therefore, in Hebrew thought faithfulness is the life of the mother, the soil of good teaching and love and encouragement poured into our lives.

Concluding thoughts

When Jesus says, “Whatever you ask for in prayer you will receive if you have faith,” He is talking about intimacy, as is ‘asking in His name” (John 14:13). He is not talking about drumming up faith. Jesus wants to help us understand just what His Father is like, and just how much the power of the Holy Spirit is present to help us in all areas of life. Even if we have but a small glimpse of God (a mustard seeds’ worth), He will help us to see more, receive more, and reach out in His power and ability. It is when we take time to know God, rather than just guess what He will do, that we begin to see what to pray for, or see that even if we don’t know, we can trust the Holy Spirit to help us (read Rom 8:26-27).

Apart from all this we know that it’s OK to tell him how useless we feel at times, because we understand that He wants to help us gain faith and does not simply write us off. We also see from His word that we can ask for things like the power and wisdom to be all that he wants us to be.

In all of this, faith is our response to God, which in turn is possible because of the touch of God on and around our lives in the first place. As we grow into maturity in Him, He moulds and shapes our hearts so that we become our true self and naturally start desiring the things that are good and true. So let’s slow down and make time for meditation on the word of God, and ask God to help us grow in the bond of friendship that He gave us through all that He has done and is doing.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:3-9

The following is from a recent article in a United Christian Broadcast daily reading guide.

You say, “It’s impossible.” God says, “…What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). You say, “I’m exhausted.” He says, “But those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength…” (Isaiah 40:31). You say, “Nobody loves me.” He says, “…I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jer 31:3). You say, “I can’t go on.” He says, “…My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9). You say, “I can’t do it.” He says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). You say, “It’s not worth it.” He says, “…We will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9). You say, “I can’t forgive myself.” He says, “…in Christ God forgave you” (Eph 4:32). You say, “I’m afraid.” He says, “…God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power…” (2 Tim 1:7). You say, “I can’t handle this.” He says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you…” (Psalm 55:22). You say, “I’m not smart enough.” He says, “…if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask god for it…”(James 1:5). You say, “I’m all alone. “ He says., “…I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5).

We Are The ‘Yes’ Of God

about 4 months ago - No comments

During one of my placements I worked in a police station for a few days. After a hard day’s work I stopped to read a newspaper a few minutes before clocking off. As I was reading the paper I suddenly I realised that the room had gone quiet. A man had come into the room and was staring at me. I kept on reading the paper whilst thinking to myself, “I’m sure I’m supposed to recognise you from somewhere.” Unfortunately I failed to realise that it was the Chief Inspector in charge of the station, until after he’d started having a go at me. No one on the room bothered to say anything in my defence, and before I could open my mouth he had walked out.

Occasionally people have a picture of God as some sort of authoritarian who has no real interest in what goes on in their lives. Yet is this really God?

Think of finding yourself in a difficult situation, with little hope of getting out of it on your own. As you begin to panic you suddenly see a hand outstretched in front of you, and a voice saying, “Reach out and take hold of my hand – I will help you.” In Psalm 40:2-3 we get an idea of who it is that gives such help, because David speaks of his heavenly Father when He writes, “ He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” A ‘new song’ speaks of a balanced mind that is able to rest in the Lord and grow in His strength and provision.

Another picture in scripture reveals Joshua the High Priest, (representing Israel before God) clothed in filthy rags as he stands before the angel of the Lord (Zech 3).The angel of the Lord tells those around Joshua to take off his filthy clothes and replace them with new ones, saying, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.” God has all power and authority, and seeks to save that which is lost. The only reason that this can happen is because of the work of Jesus the Great High Priest (Heb 10).

The Priesthood – the ‘yes’ of God

Scripture states that ‘life is in the blood’ (Lev 17:11), and that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22). In Genesis 4 we see the first two men outside of Eden approaching God with offerings. They would have known how to make this approach because faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17).

Cain’s offering was unacceptable to God and made man the giver and God the receiver. Abel approached God with something only He could provide (blood – a life), and was accepted. God is both the giver (showing man how to approach and providing the means) and the receiver. The offering had no value in of itself, yet provided temporary remission of sins pointing forward to the ultimate provision of God: the life of His one and only Son (John 3:16).

The priests of Israel (initially family heads, Job 1:5 and then the Levitical priesthood Numbers 3:32) always came to God through the blood. The priesthood was seen as the ‘yes of God’, the ‘heart of God’, in that man knew that God was both the giver and receiver in all things. God had chosen to come alongside man and help him to not only get things right, yet also benefit from all that God gave of Himself. Remember that God has no need of sacrifice; we are the ones who need it.

The way of sacrifice that God allowed the priesthood was temporary and could never remove man’s transgression. When Jesus came He did not offer a sacrifice but became the sacrifice so that we could receive forgiveness and reconciliation.

“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:11-12

To the Jewish mind the priest is the heart that says ‘yes’ – the heart of God that reaches out, restores and sustains new life. Because of this heart we can approach God with full assurance of faith (Heb 10:22) knowing that we need mercy and can also receive amazing grace (Heb 4:16).

Receiving

Throughout our lives we receive from others. We started receiving before we were born, and this receiving continues today in a variety of ways. Behind all this, and at a much deeper level, the reason we can receive anything is because God has always been willing (even before the beginning of time, revealing God’s loving-kindness), to reach out to us so that we could know His love in a deep and personal way.

“We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”

1 Peter 1:18-21.

God has always been aware of man’s failings, yet did not stop reaching out to Israel, or to people like Hagar; Rahab the prostitute; cities such as Nineveh and Babylon, and so on. You may think God stopped reaching out to His people when He allowed such things as Babylonian captivity, but this is not so. God’s ‘absence’ was still a teaching tool to those whom He loved.

In Jesus, the great High Priest (Heb 10:21) God says a loud ‘yes’ to helping man the rebel. He stood in our place, and took our punishment and then gave us new life when we approached through repentance and faith.

We became part of the royal priesthood of God when we received forgiveness and were indwelt by His Spirit. So, whatever else we many think about ourselves, we need to recognise that we are all priests, (Rev 5:10). We are not priests because of the church we go to, or because of the particular role we may fulfil in the church. We are priests solely because of the work of Jesus.

We do not approach God through our good works, but through His Son, and our priestly role is to come back to God in thanks and praise for all that He does in and through us by His Spirit. This is a reciprocal loving relationship. I receive the help of the Holy Spirit in all that I seek to do for my Heavenly Father, and come back to Him in awe and wonder and thankfulness for what He has done. Because of our openness God then enables us to grow and know and experience even more of what He is doing. This, then, is the true Father/ child relationship that God desires for us all.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Heb 13:15-16

Praise speaks of genuine appreciation for God’s nature and character revealed in His words and actions. It is a sincere and deep thankfulness for all that He says and does.

You are part of a royal priesthood

We are part of a royal priesthood, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We are the fruit of God’s heart and, as Heb 13:5-6 states; God will ‘never leave nor forsake us.’ In these words the writer of Hebrews quotes Deut 31:6, where Moses reminds the people to be strong and courageous because God is with them. Moses was about to leave, and Israel needed to know that God’s blessing was because of His loving-kindness for them and not because of any particular leader or group of people.

We are to present our lives as living sacrifices (Rom12: 1-2; Heb 12:1-2) to our heavenly Father. This speaks of the intimacy of relationship that Jesus had with His father; a deep and powerful giving and receiving of great blessing.

We should not be sacrificing or spending’ all our strength and energy on bitterness, anger, gossip, feelings of inadequacy, fear of failure, or personal goals which shut out everything else and eat away at the very life we are trying to live.

In our homes, workplaces and times of recreation we are the ‘yes’ of God’s heart to a fallen world. No matter how we feel about ourselves, this is true because God has made it so. We have a High Priest who can help us in every way (Heb 2:18), so be encouraged to talk to Him about all things.

We may think that we are so busy, so useless and so much of a failure that God could not work with us in any way. This is not true. Even if we cannot see how, we can take a simple step of faith and ask Jesus to help us to know His presence more and more at home, in the workplace and in our times of recreation. There are no no-go areas for God – it is only us self that so often lacks the vision to see Him as he is.

Remember that you are the ‘yes’ of God. Even if you feel totally unable to talk to others, talk to God and pray for those around you. This is part of what it means to be a living sacrifice: putting God first. You will be surprised at what God can do – so much so that your frustrations and doubts will give way to strength and praise as he transforms us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).

“…He put a new song in my heart.”

Psalm 40

The Fire of Our Actions or the Fire of His Presence

about 5 months ago - No comments

Once I saw a beautiful church building made up of rejected pieces of marble that were brought together into a whole. It made a very beautiful sanctuary. I have picked out certain things; pieces left over from the reckage of my life, and am trying to put them together into a temple of God – a workable way to live. If our life has gone to pieces, take the pieces and give them back to God, and he will make something out of them. It is amazing what God can do with a broken heart, or life, when you give him all the pieces.”

Dr Stanley Jones in ‘The Divine Yes’ page 117

When we feel useless and as if everything is wrong, we need to remember that God is still present, and He is the One who helps us deal with all that is wrong, and enables us to move deeper into our new life by His Spirit.

An ordinary man

Seven hundred years before Christ, there was a prophet whose name meant ‘God saves’ who lived near the Temple in Jerusalem and who came from a royal lineage. A prophet speaks of God taking the initiative to reach out to people, and so, in this man, we find God speaking into the reign of four kings at a time when the nation was existing more in he own strength, than in the strength and power of the Lord.

“Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before

you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.” Isaiah 1:7

Being of royal blood, and a man who sought the Lord, Isaiah could have thought himself a cut above some of those around him; but he was not. In an amazing vision he was confronted with something of the power and holiness of God, and his own sinfulness.

No man or woman has any right to stand before God in his or her own strength, and Isaiah must have felt totally useless and acutely aware of his predicament. He was an ordinary man, but God is no ordinary person, and reaches out with a burning coal and releases him from his troubles, and calls him to a task he must have felt totally inadequate to do. Isaiah was very aware of his own sin, yet also very very aware of God’s grace, which, hundreds of years later would be seen in all its glory as Jesus stood in man’s place at Calvary. God makes our sin His business; now that’s really amazing.

Three pictures behind the word ‘sin’

Sin is our failure to live as His Son or Daughter. In this failing we end up becoming a slave to our own smallness and often build pictures of others that are based on our small perspective. For example, when you were young did you ever do anything wrong when you were out, and then go home and think that your parents must know because you thought they were looking at you a strange way? Yet in reality they had no idea. Living our own way means we impose our thinking on people a lot of the time – and we often hurt them and hurt ourselves. What happens in all of this is that our feelings and emotions become all mixed up, and we don’t know how to unravel the knot, or deal with the pain it causes. All to often we ‘defuse’ ourselves by lashing out at others, or blaming God.

“A hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation which we bear in ourselves. That is why we are inclined to commit such acts as a way of deliverance “ Simone Weil in Gravity and Grace.

When we fail to strive for what is right and just and good, we find ourselves having to fight against all that is wrong, unjust and evil. Think about it: striving for what is right be all about His strength in our lives. Fighting against what is wrong is about our strength seeking to deal with the mess we often find ourselves in. Which will it be?

Sin is a missing of the mark: shooting at a target and never hitting it. Sin is never being able to get the best out of the life that God desires for us because we rebel and want to do things our way.

In Hebrew thought sin also speaks of ‘the fire that destroys the name’. ‘Name’ speaks of nature and character (eg Dopey the dwarf is called Dopey because he is dopey).

No one in his or her right mind would burn a five-pound note, yet when we sin we are doing much more than this. We are burning/destroying the very life we seek to protect. Apart from this think or all the suffering and tragedy in our world that is due to sin. Think of a child that has been made to feel useless. Think of how lonely and isolated they must feel. Sin hurts; it burns and destroys our lives; it makes us weak. The words that we speak can be like a fire that destroys others (James 3:6), and apart from this, Paul speaks of the ways of Satan as fiery arrows (Eph 6:16).

“Psychological death of the self. Death may come from greater and greater devotion to sensation (sex, violence, or drugs) or from retreat into the isolated, machine-like world of the careerist ego – cold, calculation, often fuelled by amphetamines. In either case there is an ever-tightening self-inflicted solitary confinement based on continually repressing the need for love.”

Prof P.Vitz in Psychology and Religion.

Isaiah was a sinner just like us, and just like us he would have had times when everything in his life seemed broken and disjointed. In being confronted with such a powerful vision of God, He is acutely aware of God’s greatness and his own smallness. God takes the initiative and reaches out to release this man at his point of confessed need. This happened because of the covenant relationship with Israel. This help in purging sin, and finding power to live is ours, right now because of Christ, by whose stripes (Isaiah 53:5) we are healed from the ravages of sin.

The Fire of God’s Presence

God’s sheer perfection is often symbolised as fire, which can cleanse and renew. In light of this let’s ask ourselves the question: What sort of fire do we want? Do we want the fire of our own making (destroying our nature), or the fire of His presence, which seeks to destroy sin and refine our lives?

On occasion the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire to the Israelites (Exodus 24:16ff). On another occasion when the Psalmist speaks of God, he does so with these words: -

“Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are magnificent. You are robed in splendour and majesty. He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain, and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. He makes the clouds his chariot, and travels along on the wings of the wind. He makes the winds his messengers, and the flaming fire his attendant.”

Psalm 104:1-4.

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), the book of unveiling speaks of His eyes as like flaming fire (Rev 19:12). One day in the history of this planet, Jesus will be revealed from heaven in blazing fire and with his powerful angels (2 Thess 1:7).

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was accompanied with what looked like fire (Acts 2:3), and in Heb 12:28-29 we read that we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, and that our God is a consuming fire.

Jesus is the One who can purge away all rubbish when we confess our sin, He can refine and strengthen us for the task at hand as we learn to embrace more fully the life He has given. If we come to Him honestly and openly seeking to be rid of rubbish and given strength to live the right way, then He will make something out of all the broken pieces of our lives. So whose fire do we want?

Concluding thoughts

Think of a five-pound note burning. You are of more value than £5. Going our own way misses the mark, consumes our lives and separates us from our heavenly Father. It really doesn’t have to be this way.

Meditate on these things and seek God to consume all that is wrong and give us more of His power to do what is right.

Don’t give up. Others will have hurt you at times, and you will have hurt yourself at times as well. Let the barriers down, and ask God for help.

A Brief Overview Of The Bible

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The Bible consists of sixty-six books that were written over a 1,600-year period. Yet despite this vast period of time the Bible contains a continual non-contradictory thread of truth throughout all of its books. It speaks of a God who loves us, and, although it instructs us concerning how we are to live our lives, most of the Bible is about telling us what God has done.

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, tells us that God created a world of order and not disorder. All the laws of the universe were thought of in the mind of God before time. He then spoke these thoughts into existence and the world in which we live was created. Man was placed in this world to look after it, and benefit from a loving relationship with God. We did not come about by accident (as evolution would have us believe), and there is meaning and purpose to life. God created us to know His love and benefit from all that He provides.

In order to have love you need freedom of choice, yet this freedom of choice also contains a risk – the possibility that a wrong decision will be made. Genesis tells us that man made the wrong choice, and he then came under the penalty of death.

We think of death as that time when our bodily functions fail and the spirit of man departs; yet death is more than this. Death is not primarily the end of biological existence: it is separation from God. Through sin (a missing of God’s high mark, and rebellion towards Him), we now live in a world of disorder. Our world often speaks of needless suffering and hardship, yet think about it. Our modern-day world is also one in which man has more power at his disposal than ever before. Despite this wealth and power in many parts, man still continues to reveal a lack of willingness to help others.

The book of Genesis (book of beginnings) tells us that although God is the one who has been wronged, He is the one who reaches out to man so that we may come back into a relationship with him. Genesis also contains prophecy, which speaks of the one who will come to stand in man’s place and put right all wrongdoing. This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The first five books of the Bible are known as the Pentateuch and were written by Moses. He wrote them under God’s guidance and instruction, and in following them a certain amount of freedom came to man. Adhering to the Highway Code gives us all a certain amount of freedom when it comes to driving on the road. God’s laws given to Israel were instructions on how to live that enabled them to have freedom to experience life rather than just be dictated to by it. But more about Israel later – let’s get back to beginnings.

In society you always find people who think they never need to listen to others. This is also clearly seen in the Bible, which does not seek to cover up faults, even if they are found in those who profess to serve God. Although God graciously reaches out His hand to fallen man, we find that at one time man became so perverse and disobedient that God rid the earth of rebellious man, whilst saving Noah and his family in an Ark, which He taught Noah how to build. In most of the ancient histories of the world you find the flood mentioned, and there is also geological evidence clearly pointing to a time when the earth was flooded. One small example of this is that sedimentary rock has been found on the tops of all our highest mountains, showing that they had been under water at some time in their history.

After the flood man followed God for a period of time, but again, due to his rebellious nature we find many starting to go their own way and live by their definition of life, despite being so small when compared to the rest of the Universe. However, there were also noted exceptions with many choosing to follow God. Eventually the population of the world built a huge tower that was called Babel, where man wanted to make a name for himself.

Babel was what archeologists now call a Ziggurat, and all across what was the Ancient Near East we find remains of Ziggurats. A Ziggurat was shaped like a mountain with stairways and different levels and sometimes a temple on the top. Man was supposed to be able to meet the gods in some of the temples, and walking into the temple was often seen as walking into heaven itself. Man is very industrious when it comes to finding God, yet is walking in the wrong direction to find Him.. The Bible teaches us that it is God who has always found wayward man.

God looked at what man was doing at Babel and scattered him all over the world, confusing the people by giving them different languages. There was no point in having everyone walk up the wrong ‘garden path’ so to speak, and there was purpose in this scattering as shall be seen. Morphologists (who study language and its formation) confirm that language suddenly appeared on the scene as very complex, and a lot more intricate than what we have today.

Something else which points to the truth of the Bible concerning Babel is that man is also seen to be an explorer at a very early stage of existence, which is not surprising since, having been scattered over the world, he would have been aware that there were others ‘out there somewhere’. God does and will one day punish all sin. There is a price to pay for wrong-doing and man has not got the ability to pay it.

Many of us do not like this idea of a price to pay, but let’s remember that every action has, in a sense, its price tag. For example, if I go running I need to replace energy, if I study I need to rest and so forth. If I park on a yellow line there is a fine to pay, and so on. Society functions better when there are fair and just laws in place, which are there to protect us all. In breaking any law – including God’s Law – there is a price to pay. I can choose what to do, but I cannot always choose the consequences.

People ended up in separate groups all over the world, and many took their version of religion with them. All our so-called primitive religions in the world were monotheistic (belief in one God) as early records reveal. Those scattered across the world kept records of history (hence the mention of the flood in so many cultures) but also started adding to revealed truth. This was due to man’s rebellious nature, yet also points to the fact that when we are vulnerable we soon start to build walls around us to make ourselves feel more comfortable.

The Old Testament reveals that those who did not accept God’s revelation quickly became polytheistic – believing in many ‘gods’. Anything that was bigger than man was soon deified and worshipped. It was either this or man ‘developed’ a weird and ‘wonderful’ system about different gods, yet nearly always saw himself as a lackey to the gods, and little more than a pawn in some cosmic chess game. Both scripture and ancient history reveal that on occasion man sacrificed his fellow man to false gods, abusing others in horrific ways. People viewed each other with suspicion, saw others as competitors, or preyed upon the weak and strangers who wandered into their territory. Yet when we look at Israel when she genuinely served the Lord we find a completely different society. God instructed Israel to take care of all people – even those that others thought were useless – because they themselves were once slaves in Egypt when God came for them. But why did God work with Israel anyway?

Scripture shows that, despite the fact that many people refused to listen to God, He still reached out to them in grace, mercy and love. To get a very brief glimpse of why Israel was chosen to be a light to others, think of it this way: -

Imagine that two garages both said that they were experts at repairing your car, but you did not know which one would do the best job on your car. In order to find out you’d want to see the fruit of their work. The garage that ‘produced the goods’ so to speak, would obviously be the right one to entrust your car to. This little illustration helps see just one reason why God worked with Israel. It was not that Israel was any better than anyone else, or that God was showing favouritism. What He was effectively saying was: “you won’t take my word for it that my way is the only way to live so I’ll show you, through Israel. I will work with them in such a way that you see that it is not human might or power that achieves anything, but me.”

The Bible goes on to tell us about the people of Israel and how they became a powerful nation, despite their initial weakness amongst other nations. However God did not make Israel powerful in order for her to ‘lord it over others,’ and when she genuinely served God, and not her own ideas, a great contrast is seen when comparing Israel with surrounding people groups.

As we have already mentioned, many of the nations around Israel sought to placate the gods they had invented, or demonic forces that were oppressing them.

On occasion they sacrificed children to them and oppressed the weak. People not known to them personally were preyed upon and abused. But when Israel followed God things were different.

Israel was commanded to look after the alien and the poor, the widow and the orphan – to give out to those who could give nothing in return. Israel was also told to take one day out in every seven, not to do good works for God, but to sit down and remember that all goodness they had received came from their heavenly Father, and was not their own doing. An imperfect being can never pay the perfect price for his wrongdoing, and Israel needed to remember that blessing was received and not achieved.. All blessing came from God’s goodness, and this is why Christianity is more about what God has done than anything else, because in Jesus we see God stooping low to reach man.

Despite great blessing from God the Old Testament reveals that Israel still rebelled and went her own way on many occasions. In light of this it is hardly surprising that we read of Israel being taken into captivity on more than one occasion. In allowing this, God was chastising His people, and allowing them to experience the true fruit of their actions. However He always brought them back to Himself, and throughout their history spoke to them through prophets who whilst warning them of impending judgment, also spoke about God’s Son who would come and pay the price for man’s sin – but why did Jesus come to do this?

Jesus came so that man could come out from under condemnation and back into a relationship with God. Because man is imperfect he could never make this change by himself. All those (in Old Testament times) who realised this, and put their trust in God’s promise of a Messiah were saved, even though Jesus had not yet arrived. The Messiah was to come through Israel, and so God prevented other people groups from wiping Israel out, which would have stopped this from happening and quenched the only light.

In the four gospels, found at the beginning of the New Testament, we read about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is God in the flesh, God who has drawn close so that we can really see what He is like. He came in the flesh to show us what man could really be like in relationship with a heavenly father, and he came in the flesh because this is the only way He could identify with us and pay the price for our sins by dying in our place.

In Christ we see that God had no time for the religious leaders of the day who laid heavy burdens upon the lives of the people. These heavy burdens came about, in part, because Israel was now under the domination of the Roman Empire. They now thought they had to work hard at pleasing God in order to get out from under Rome. Yet their idea of works put them against God. They were ignoring revelation and saying: “This is what God wants.”

God had said that He would send His Son for all people, but Israel now reinterpreted the prophecies about the Messiah to mean that He would come and destroy those who oppressed them and set them free – but only them! Such is human nature. Yet God did not send His Son for a select few, but so that everyone could take up the offer of salvation. That offer is open to you as well. It does not come through a priest or a religious leader, or a particular church. It is the direct offer to you from your heavenly Father. God loves you.

God did not have to send His Son into this world because there was something He needed from us to make Him look bigger and better; neither did Jesus have to come. Jesus came because although God is the most powerful being, He is also the most compassionate. Power and gentleness are not usually found together – but in Jesus they meet, and are expressed in a life that continuously reached out to all people regardless of religion, race or background. Most of us can think of someone we do not really want to associate with (such as a murderer) and see a great distance between this person and ourselves. The distance between God and us is far greater, and God is the Holy One with standards that are much higher than anything else in the world, and one day He will judge sin wherever it is found. Yet still He comes to offer us reconciliation – to offer us life.

Jesus came and lived the perfect life we could never live, and then gave His life to pay the price that we were due to pay for our transgression of God’s laws. Jesus also rose from the dead and ascended back into heaven, and sends the Holy Spirit to be with all who believe. The Spirit leads us into all truth, and gives us the power to live. Speaking of the resurrection we note that even the early historians who slated Christianity did not deny the resurrection because so many people saw Jesus. As we have already said, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, but He does not leave us alone. His Spirit (who is sent in to our lives to help us live rather than merely exist) meets all who ask Jesus to forgive their wrongdoing and come into their lives.

The rest of the New Testament, after the gospels, speaks about how the early church was shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit. The church is not a building but a group of people who have accepted Christ. They are ordinary people from all walks of life and make mistakes at times. Yet all those who make up church, under the headship of Christ, seek to live as God intends them to, under the guidance of His Spirit who leads us through the written word – the Bible.

In the New Testament we are shown how to live by the Spirit and through the many letters that are written can learn how to deal with problems around us. Dealing with problems is only part of the picture because God also leads us deeper into Him, helping us to become truly human. We all make mistakes at times, but as Christians the Bible shows us that we are to pick each other up and help one another in times of difficulty. After all, no-one is better than anyone else, and the best way to live is by being honest about our situations and helping each other in God’s strength, rather than judging or trying to dig deep in to private lives to find the so called ‘problem.’ God is a God who loves us and answers prayers. He is the one who brings meaning to life and healing and wholeness are found in Jesus.

The last book of the Bible is called Revelation (meaning the unveiling) and speaks about the return of Christ to planet earth. This time He will not come as a servant but as a king to call all the living and the dead to account. If we know Him we will live with Him. If we have refused to accept what He has done then we live by our own choices eternally separated from God in punishment. There is no need for this to happen. God has done everything we need in order to know forgiveness and find real life. He reaches down to the very door of our life. The choice is ours.

After reading a passage of scripture it may be helpful to ask yourself the following questions…

What is going on in the lives of those to whom God is speaking?

What does this passage tell me about God? For example, look at what He says and how He deals with people.

If I could sum up in one sentence what I have learned, what would that sentence be?

THE NEW TESTAMENT – THE ORDER IS THE MOST LIKELY ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN ACCORDING TO SCHOLARSHIP.

MARK

The earliest and simplest Gospel, thought to have been written around AD65. Mark shows us the humanity of Christ.

MATTHEW

Written circa AD 80 and 90. Matthew writes from the Jewish perspective. Jesus is the Messiah, and Matthew is conscious of the unbreakable link between the old and the new, hence he traces the genealogy of Christ back to Abraham.

LUKE

Written between A.D. 80 and 90 by the only Gentile writer in the N.T. Luke’s called by God to show Jesus in his all-embracing love – hence he traces the genealogy back to Adam. He sees Jesus in terms of the whole world.

ACTS

Also written by Luke. Without Acts we would have very little knowledge of the history of the early church. Luke does not give us a consecutive history so much as open a series of ‘windows’ through which we catch a glimpse of how the early church spread under the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit.

JOHN

John wrote around AD100. By this time Christianity had spread well beyond Judaism and was encountering (and dealing with) false teaching etc. John starts his gospel by pointing out that Jesus is the Word. The Greek for ‘Word’ is ‘Logos’ and Logos has two meanings, which no single English word can express. Logos means ‘word’ and Logos means ‘mind.’ A word is an expression of a thought and so in Jesus we see the mind of God. Look at Jesus and how he reached out to people and cared for them. This is the mind of God revealed. Now that’s good news.

GALATIANS

Not written to a specific church but to congregations in the area of Galatia. Paul is under attack from those who think you must be a Jew before being a Christian and follow set laws once you’ve become a Christian to get right with God! Paul effectively says “No-way; you cannot earn any favour with God by your own good works – Jesus Christ has done it all, and the Holy Spirit is with you because of Jesus Christ.” There is no such thing as a second-class citizen in God’s kingdom. You are precious to Him. Legalism does not get you anywhere.

1 AND 2 THESSALONIANS

Paul was in Thessalonica for about 3 weeks before having to be smuggled out. However people had come to Christ and the Spirit’s work continued after Paul had gone. Through Jesus people had come home to their heavenly Father. However, at that time they wondered when Jesus was going to come back and so some were doing nothing and becoming a little lazy. Paul deals with the issues.

1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS

Paul paints it as it is!! The church at Corinth was in a real mess – but note his opening comment. The church still belonged to God. It was just that people had to spend a little time working things out – partly because of the difficult lifestyles they would have had in a place known for it’s ‘anything goes’ attitude. Paul comes against favouritism and those who just carry on with the old life. When God breaks in there is a real Spirit-empowered difference, and no excuse for not seeking to change.

ROMANS

Paul wrote this long letter circa AD57 whilst he was in Corinth. He begins by showing the universal failure of man on his own – but goes on to speak of a right relationship with God and that all is of grace. Grace means unmerited favour. It was a word, for example, that spoke of the act of giving a gold coin to soldiers when a new Emperor came to the throne. The soldiers did not earn it – it was purely a gift to receive. Jesus is a gift to receive. If you think you can earn salvation, then sorry, you haven’t met the right Jesus.

EPHESIANS

Ephesus was a strong occult centre with temples that had been around for upwards of 400 years. The main pagan worship system was centred around Diana/Artemis, and was a female-dominated cult. However the occultism at Ephesus was no match for God. Paul points out that it always was God’s plan to reach out to people and that people did not come to another power in the market place, but to the one true God, the power behind the Universe, who seeks to be like a Father to those who are lost. The Ephesians did not need sophisticated strategies to deal with the evil around them; they needed to know God, hence the particular way Paul prays for them.

COLOSSIANS

Paul wrote this letter around AD62 when he was under house arrest/prison, in Rome. Heresy was threatening the church, and people were beginning to think that all physical things were evil and spiritual things good. The particular belief of the day saw Jesus as an emanation from a spiritual God who could not touch the physical world. Paul points out who Jesus is and what He came to do. Jesus comes into the mess of our lives and makes it His personal business so that we can be free in Him. Now that’s real love. In Jesus the fullness of the deity resides in bodily form (Col 2:9).

PHILEMON

Paul wrote (Circa AD 62) to his friend Philemon from prison. Philemon’s runaway slave had been saved and was now returning.

PHILIPPIANS

Another letter from prison circa AD 62! Paul’s answer to all difficulty and hardship is that in all things we should seek to be like Christ. In Jesus we see what we were created to be like (he’s the real blue-print), also seeing the depth of fellowship we can have with our heavenly Father. Jesus – our heavenly King- exchanged riches for rags and made our sin His personal business so that we could exchange our rags for His riches, and know the power of His Spirit in our lives.

1 AND 2 TIMOTHY, TITUS

These letters contain a lot of instruction about the church. The message can be summarised in the words of 1 Tim 3:15 – how to behave in the household of God.

HEBREWS

No one is sure who wrote this letter – although it was obviously under the inspiration of God for our benefit. The main point of this letter is to show how Jesus is greater than all previous institutions etc and is therefore the fulfiller of all things. Some of the things in the O.T. – like the priesthood – are a shadow. A shadow points to that which makes the shadow. Everything points to Jesus. So I suppose you could say that He takes the black and white of the world and turns it into colour!!! There is much more to life than meets the eye.

JAMES

A very practical letter challenging those who said they were saved but did not have much in the way of a changed life. This sort of faith without works is dead. It’s not that works save you, but they do show if a person has changed or is just going through the motions of being a Christian but has never really met Jesus. Sorry, but the church can be full of such people!!

1 AND 2 PETER

1 Peter stresses Christian responsibility to God and Jesus: – You received new life so get on and work with it. If you get a computer for Christmas it is yours but you still have to learn how to use it. Engage your minds with the ways of God – that is what they were made for.

2 Peter is a reminder and warning to watch out for false teachers – these sort of people were dealing with myths and giving different meanings to scripture to suit themselves. It can all sound a bit confusing at times – but think of it like this: The more pieces of a jig-saw you put down, the more likely you are to see the full picture – get it?

JUDE

He encourages people to keep themselves in the love of God, which is so unique that you have to keep looking at it!! He seeks to challenge those who do their own thing, or have gone off the rails a little.

1,2 and 3 JOHN

It has been said that a suitable title for these letters (they’re small so we could call them postcards!*!) would be, “The Tests of Life.” John reminds the people he writes to that Jesus really did come, and encourages them to walk in the light. God is love, and the way He demonstrated this great love for us was by sending Jesus – who willingly came – to die in our place.

REVELATION

This book contains a lot of imagery and to understand this we need to look to the O.T. and see how it is used. Why use imagery though? Well, think of it this way: – If you had to explain to a man hidden away in Africa how fast a car could go, when he’d never seen a car, you’d have a problem wouldn’t you? What you’d have to do is to use something he could identify with. So you could say “A car is as fast as a Cheetah.” Get the point?

John wrote the book of Revelation whilst exiled on Patmos. Christians were going through a tough time and some were being, or soon to be, forced to choose between Caesar and Christ. John reveals how God is in control of all history and will bring things to the end he desires.

An atheist historian called Edward Gibbons wrote a famous series of books called “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.” In them he grudgingly admits that the only thing left standing when the Empire fell was the most persecuted people of all – the Christians! Life may not always be easy – but I’d rather go through it with Jesus than on my own. Christ is building His church – and you are a part of that. Always see yourself as God sees you. You are a Christian, accepted through the work of another – Jesus, His Son – and empowered by the work of another – the Holy Spirit. You are a son or daughter of the living God. He knows every hair on your head. He knows all the things that affect you, bother you, and may have stained and damaged your mind over the years – and He knows how to deal with everything so that you can really know what life is all about.

An overview of the Old Testament periods of revelation

1. Beginnings.

a. Biblical source: Genesis 1:1- 11:26 (up to time of Abraham).

b. Revelation’s form Person to person, from God to man. God is personal – He takes the initiative (eg 3:8f)

c. Content of revelation: God’s plans and actions – he speaks of His covenant ( a legally binding agreement between two parties) revealing grace and mercy. Origin of the nations.

d. Persons: Adam and Noah.

GENESIS: Key word = Beginning. Message = The failure of man met by the salvation of God.

Human failure is met by God’s grace and activity.

2. Patriarchal Period.

Biblical source: Genesis 11-50. (Abraham to birth of Moses circa 2166-1527BC)

Revelation’s form: Theophanies (God appearing in human form), dreams and visions to his chosen ones.

Content of revelation: Personal communication and instruction. The election of a nation for his purpose (light to all nations).

Persons: Patriarchs (‘patriarch’ meaning head of father’s house, founder or ruler of tribe), especially Abraham.

3. Mosaic Period.

Biblical Source: Exodus – Deuteronomy and Psalm 90 (Moses). Circa 1527-1406BC.
Revelation’s form: Theophanies, miracles, signs, oracles, prophecy, written law, forms of worship.

Content of revelation: God’s providence – the redemption of a nation. He rescues, He communicates, He educates, and He enables.

Persons: Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

EXODUS: Key word = Redeem. Message = Redemption by blood. Between close of Genesis and the opening of Exodus 3.5 centuries intervene. Genesis speaks of man’s failure under every test and condition but Exodus shows God coming to a nation’s rescue. His purpose is to bring us home. His purpose is to dwell in the midst of His people.

LEVITICUS: Key words = Holiness and Atonement. Message = Access to God through blood / lifestyle of the redeemed. The original HEBREW title of this book is Va-yich-rah, meaning “And He Called” Access to God is on the basis of what He provides. Sanitation laws were unlike anything else in the Ancient Near East and modern science finds no fault with them.

NUMBERS: Key word = service. Message = Saved to know and serve. Watch out for unbelief. Called ‘Numbers’ because it records two numberings of Israel – at Sinai (ch 1) and in Moab.

26). Hebrew name is B’midbar, meaning ‘In the wilderness’, The book covers wanderings and experiences of Israel in the wilderness, and is partly historical and partly legislative.

DEUTERONOMY: Key word = Obedience. Message = The motive for and necessity of obedience.

Obedience does not earn anything from God – it reveals what is already present.

Open your curtains in the morning and you do not earn the sunlight – you reveal what is already there….get it?

4. Period of consolidation (Israel’s slow establishment in Canaan).

Biblical source: Joshua and Judges, Ruth , Samuel. Circa 1406-1010BC.

Form of revelation: The Spirit move on men, God spoke. Miracles, angels, priestly oracles, prophecy.

Content of revelation: Communication of God through the judges about establishment of Israel in the Promised land. Confirmation of revelation through blessing for obedience and punishment of sin. Joshua: Possession of a nation;

Judges: Oppression of the nation; Samuel: Stabilisation and expansion of the nation.

Persons: Joshua, and Judges (eg Samson, Gideon) Samuel and Judges possibly compiled in part by Samuel.

JOSHUA: Key word = possess. Message = Faithfulness of God. Shows God’s faithfulness, and His hatred of sin. In order to enjoy God’s gifts we must appropriate them. Up to this point God had spoken in dream, vision or by angelic ministry. There is also the ‘books of the law.’

JUDGES: Key words = “Right in his own eyes”. Message = Spiritual decline and God’s grace in restoration. Book takes its name from the 14 Judges who ruled and delivered Israel. The book covers the period between the conquest of the land and death of Joshua to judgeship of Samuel and introduction of the monarchy in Israel. Shows the proneness of the human heart to wander away from God. The amazing thing is that God pursues and restores His backslidden people.

RUTH: Key words = Rest, Redeem. Message = Rest through redemption and union. Shows the power of pure love to overcome all difficulties. One of the chief purposes of the book is the tracing of the genealogy of King David. The primary message of the book is rest. This book is a pre-intimation of the calling of the Gentiles. The Moabite shut out by Law (Deut 23:3) is admitted by Grace. Ruth found rest through redemption and union with her redeemer

1 & 2 SAMUEL: Key words = Prayed; before the Lord. Message = The place and power of prayer, and, sin is always found out. Shows the suffering that polygamy brings (1:6), disasters that indulgent fatherhood brings (2:22-25); the danger of outward ritualism (4:3, “IT” not the Lord “may save us”).Samuel is given by God in answer to prayer (1:10-28) Victory was given to Israel through Samuel’s prayer (7:7-10); Samuel seeks the Lord in prayer (8:5,6). A praying man learns secrets from God (9:15). The second book of Samuel is devoted to the history of King David.

5. Davidic Period (40 year reign of David 1010 – 970BC

Biblical source: Psalms, Samuel, and info from 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.

Form of revelation: The Holy Spirit, especially through David (note anointing of kings)

Content of revelation: God’s will in how kingdom should function, – the expansion of a nation.

Note man’s inability to succeed on his own. Song and poetry of God’s deeds through Israel.

Persons: Samuel, David and Nathan

6. Disruption Period.

Biblical Source: Wisdom Literature: Proverbs, some Psalms eg 72, theological explanations from 1 and 2 Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Ecclesiastes, Job. Circa 970-760 BC. Although the nation Solomon inherited became more and more powerful under the leading of the Lord, Solomon later sowed seeds that led to division and downfall.

Form of revelation: Period covers Hebrew rise and decline under Solomon, and the period of divided kingdoms up to appearance of inspired writing prophets. Written observation and reflections of wise men, miracles of Elijah and Elisha, prophecy. God speaks.

Content of revelation: Ethical teachings, wisdom literature emphasised what is best in life in view of God’s purpose for life.

Persons: Solomon, Elijah, Elisha.

1 /2 KINGS: Key words = As David his father / According to the word of the Lord. Message = God is sovereign over Israel and the fulfilment of the Word of the Lord. Gives the first hint of a new chronology. In 1 Kings 6:1 the period between the Exodus and the beginning of the Temple building under Solomon, is given as 480 years, whereas it was 573 years. BUT! The difference of 93 years is exactly the length of time covered by the captivities in the book of Judges. So this is God’s spiritual chronology.’ During the 93 years Israel was under the heel of the oppressor, not God. The book (1) shows the causes of the establishment and decline of the kingdom. Men failed to reach the human standard, (as David his father: 3:3,14; 9:4,33,38; 14:8; 15:3,11) let alone God’s. Second kings contains the history of Israel and Judah from Ahab to the captivity, a period of circa 300 years. The first half of the book is taken up with the account of Elijah’s ministry of 66 years. The second half deals with events leading to the fall of Samaria and captivity of Israel, and fall of Jerusalem and captivity of Judah. Israel had 19 kings, not one being good, whilst Judah had 19 kings and one Queen – eight of whom were good.

1 &2 CHRONICLES: Key words: God reigns over all / prepare the heart. Message = The Lord is Sovereign over all, and seeking and serving the Lord. From beginning to end 1 Chronicles is occupied with magnifying God and giving Him His right place in Israel Pre-eminence is given to the activities of the Lord on behalf of His people. In 1 and 2 Chronicles the history of God’s people is viewed from the ecclesiastical and NOT the political standpoint, from the Divine and not from a merely human point of view. For example: In Kings 7:8 we are told that Solomon built for Pharaoh’s daughter a separate house, but Chronicles (2 Chron 8:11) informs us that it was not built in Jerusalem, because Solomon felt that an idolatress (though his wife!) should not dwell in the holy city. Another example: Chronicles points out that in his apostasy, Jeroboam not only worshipped the golden calves, but also devils (2 Chron 11:15). Another example: 2 Kings 21 has much to say concerning Manasseh’s wickedness, but it is only in Chronicles (2 Ch 33:1-16) we are told of his captivity in Babylon, and his restoration to God and his throne. Because of this he has been called the “Prodigal of the Old Testament.”

ECCLESIASTES: Key words = Under the Sun. Message = Life without God is a disappointment.

Israel divided into two ‘nations’ – Israel and Judah.

King Solomon imposed a heavy burden on the nation with forced labour and high taxes to aid his building projects. After his death (c 922BC) his son Rehoboam refused to lighten the burden. This caused the ten tribes in the north of Israel (north of Bethel) to declare their independence – and, confusingly for us, called themselves Israel. They were initially under the leadership of Jeroboam (previous head of forced labour under Solomon). Their capital was Samaria, meaning ‘look-out.’

The remainder of the now divided nation became Judah (the southern kingdom) and was made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with Jerusalem as the capital. Israel went into idolatry and Judah was weakened by attacks from Egypt that greatly reduced her wealth. Centuries later the Assyrians lay siege to Samaria in the Northern Kingdom and in 722BC Israel went into captivity. In 597BC the Babylonians captured Jerusalem (capital of S. Kingdom), which was again defeated in 586BC.

7. Period of the 8^th century B.C. prophets.

Biblical Source: Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah..

Form of revelation: Men moved upon by the Holy Spirit. Prophetic Visions.

Content of revelation: Messages of judgement and promise that called Israel back to her former faith. Sovereignty of God in history. Concerning Isaiah we note some of the prophecies about Christ: Ministry of the Messiah (11:1-16), Jerusalem’s ideal King (16:5) foundation stone (28:16), teacher (30:19-26). God’s new government (32:1-2), ministry of the servant (42:1-17), success of servant (49:1-13), confidence of servant (50:4-11), suffering servant (52:13-53:12), great invitation (55:3-5) Persons. Isaiah (740-690) & first six prophets writing before Judah was sent into exile for disobedience. Obadiah (worshipper of God) 840-830. Theme: Warning against: Pride. Anti-Semitism.

JOEL: (The Lord is God) 830-820. Taught the value and importance of repentance. Nothing is really known about Joel apart from his name.

JONAH: (Dove) 780-760. Commission. The extent to which God goes to enable people to come to repentance. Jonah was a Galilean who began his prophetic career as Elisha chose him. A prophecy of his is preserved for us in 2 Kings 14:25-27 – therefore he was a fully accredited prophet.

AMOS: (Burden Bearer) 755-750. National sin =national judgement. A native of Tekoa, which was 12 miles from Jerusalem, and 6 from Bethlehem. Therefore he belonged to Judah. Amos was an ordinary working man, a herdsman and ‘dresser’ of sycamore trees. The sycamore fruit (the wild fig only eaten by the poorest) can only be ripened by puncturing it. Though native to Judah he prophesied in and against Israel. His ministry began two years before the earthquake (1:1). It must have been a big one because Zechariah speaks of it nearly 300 years later (Zech 14:5)

HOSEA: (Salvation) 760-710 Showing how willing God is to restore the backslider. Hosea was a contemporary with Amos, Isaiah and Micah who laboured in Samaria before retiring to Judah

MICAH: (Who is like God?) 735-700. God hates injustice/ delights in pardoning. Nothing really known about him apart from that he belonged to Judah, was a contemporary of Isaiah and that Isaiah must have been prophesying 17-18 years before he began his ministry. To Micah, God was everything.

ISAIAH: (God saves / has saved) A man of royal blood, his father, Amoz being a younger son of Joash, King of Judah. Isaiah was a strong and committed man who became a statesman, and wielded great influence for good in the State. He married a woman who shared the prophetical gift, had at least two sons, laboured for 60 years and died a martyr in the reign of Manasseh, according to tradition.

8. Later prophetic period

Extending from the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586BC. Prophecy was restricted to southern Judah; Samaria having already fallen.

a. Biblical sources: Books of 7^th cent minor prophets: Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah.

b. Form of revelation: Personal communication from God to man, prophetic visions, acts of revelation in judgement (captivity).

c. Content of revelation: Messages of judgement and promise to Judah.

d .Persons…

NAHUM (Compassionate) 650-620 Theme: destruction of Ninevah for oppression & idolatry. A native of Galilee and contemporary of Hezekiah and Isaiah. Upon the Assyrian invasion and deportation of the 10 tribes he escaped into the territory of Judah, and took up his residence in Jerusalem where he witnessed, seven years after the siege of that city by Sennacherib, and the destruction of the Assyrian host, when 185,000 perished in one night,

ZEPHANIAH: (Hidden by God). 630-620. Judgement on Judah and protected nations.

HABAKKUK : (Embraced) 620-605. Justice/ justification by faith. Judging from 1:5,6 Hab must have lived and laboured in the later part of the reign of Joash (see 2 Kings 22:18-20)

JEREMIAH: (Established by God 625-585 Warning/ expectation of God). Covenantal reaffirmation on Christ. Jeremiah was the son of a priest in the land of Benjamin. Started speaking in the 13^th year of the reign of King Josiah in BC 626. A teenager when he started.

9. Exilic Period.

Biblical source: Books of Daniel and Ezekiel.

Form of revelation: Vision, dream, rapture (carried to distant place/scene eg Ezek 8:3)

Content of revelation: Expectation of nations religious and political restoration by Christ.

Apocalyptic. The glory of God, and goodness and severity of God.

Persons: Daniel (God is my Judge) Ezekiel (strengthened of God). Both were among the captives carried to Babylon on the occasion of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Palestine.

DANIEL: (God is my Judge). A young captive carried to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Palestine. Probably belonged to a family of high rank. His whole life was spent in Babylon (69 years). Shows how powerfully God can work with a person even amidst his enemies and as part of a nation undergoing punishment.

EZEKIEL: (God will strengthen) A priest belonging to the aristocracy of Jerusalem. At the age of 25 (11 years before the destruction of the Temple) he was carried captive to Babylon. (He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel). He lived in his own house in Babylon (8:1) and was married. He began his ministry five years after reaching Babylon.

10. Post-exilic period.

Biblical source: Books of Ezra, Nehemiah + portions of Chronicles, Haggai, Zechariah and

Malachi.

Form of revelation: God’s Spirit moved upon men.

Content of revelation: Authorisation of Jew’s return to Palestine and revelation of coming of ‘Elijah’ (John the Baptist).

d. Persons. As above yet also including Cyrus!

HAGGAI: (festive) circa 520. (exile ended in 538) Theme: encourage those who returned, but had given up due to pressure.

ZECHARIAH: (God remembers ) c.520 Same as above. Zech was probably born in Babylon. He was a priest as well as a prophet and began his ministry in the 8^th month of the 2^nd year of Darius in BC 520

EZRA: (God is help) c.457/Jerusalem Call back to Lord/build etc. By birth Ezra was a priest but unable to exercise his priestly duty due to captivity in Babylon. He was a descendant of Hilkiah, High Priest in the reign of Josiah who found a copy of the law (see 2 Chron 34:14). He gave himself to the study of the word of God (7:10), and realised that his people did not really know the Law or the commandments.

NEHEMIAH: (God consoles) c.455?/Jerusalem Rebuilding etc. Nehemiah wrote the last historical book of the O.T. He was probably born in exile ( of the royal house of Judah) and became a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. Although comfortably stationed in Shushan, his heart was in the ruined city of his fathers (Jerusalem).

ESTHER: (a star) c. 460BC. God’s protection.

MALACHI: (messenger) c.433 Reassure/ warning Day of Lord. Nothing is known about Malachi.

May His Face Shine Upon You

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Numbers 6:24-26

A Rabbi once told a story about two brothers. One brother was married and had three children, whilst the other was a bachelor. They both worked the land their father had left them, and at harvest time started cutting the wheat and placing it in bundles. During the first night of harvest the bachelor awoke and thought of all the mouths his brother had to feed. He got up and cut a few extra sheaves, then placing them in his brother’s pile. Later the same night his brother awoke and thought about how his brother would find difficulty in old age with no children to support him. He then got out of bed and cut a few extra sheaves, placing them in his brother’s pile so he’d have extra finance to prepare for future years. Over the next few nights both men repeated their actions, unbeknown to each other. At the end of the harvest they counted their sheaves and were surprised to see they both had the same number. After talking and realising how this had come about they looked at one another and embraced, recognising how much they were loved.

God looks at us in love; He wants us to know His ways and experience His loving-kindness. Our Heavenly Father wants His nature and character to shine upon us through the work of His Son as He helps us to grow.

Background to our verses

The Hebrew name for the book of Numbers is ‘B’Midbar’, meaning, “In the wilderness.”
The first ten chapters are about organising the tribes – hence we call the book ‘Numbers.’ God seeks to reorientate wrong thinking. He seeks to straighten His people out so that they can be all they were destined to be. God wants to be a Father to His people, hence the blessing of Numbers 6.
Verse 27 reiterates this, “so they (the priesthood) will put my name (bring my nature and character to bear) on the Israelites (tell them in word and deed that God really cares for them).
The rest of the book is about wilderness wanderings, which came about through Israel going about life in her own strength, rather than trusting in the Lord.

Focusing on the word ‘Face’

“….the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.”

The Hebrew mind would know that the word ‘face’ (panah) speaks of that which turns. When a person turns and faces us it speaks of their life. Hence ‘face’ is ‘that which speaks of life.’ God has not given up on us; He willingly turns towards us at great cost to Himself.

My wife Ann once wrote these words concerning ‘face,’ “The face is a portrait of the heart, it reveals what is going on deep inside. The face expresses a person’s character – it can display kindness, compassion, excitement and enthusiasm for life itself. The lines, wrinkles and contours of the face can be as an open book, revealing a life of experience. The eyes in particular can be windows into a person’s heart and mind. In them we catch glimpses of love, sorrow, anger, frustration, loneliness and longing. We can reach into a person’s life with just a look.”

When we face someone we are giving him or her our full attention. God chose to turn His face towards Israel because He willingly upheld His side of the covenant made with Abraham. He did not give up on Israel and sought to bring them to life in all its fullness. This would involve seeing God as a Father and living according to the blueprint of the One who is totally opposed to sin, yet loves the sinner. God wants His nature and character to shine forth on the believer as He heals wounds and corrects wrong thinking.

As mentioned above, when a person turns and faces us, it speaks to us of their life. What we turn and face also speaks of what we focus on most in our lives. So where is our focus right now? Some people focus on their failings and this fuels them, propelling them into a state of hopelessness and inadequacy. Others may focus most of their attention on their finances and their homes. This can build a ‘mountain’ of thinking that prevents them from seeing the One who can help them most. In the Bible strength is often spoken of as ‘seeing properly.’ If we are genuinely focused on the Lord, we will become strong, and not pushed this way or that way in our thinking.

In the book of Numbers (the book of ‘in the wilderness’) Israel ended up wandering around because she was proud and thought she knew better than God. In the Bible pride is lifting up one’s own strength – something that was going to be woefully inadequate and offensive to God.

Yet God did not turn His face from them. Throughout their wanderings they were made aware of many things, and one of them was that ultimately it is God who feeds and sustains His people. What has He got to do with us to make us realise this? He wants to shine the blessing of His presence on us.

Hundreds of years later we come across another situation where God reveals His face (His nature and character / His life) in a particular way to Ezekiel (read Ezekiel 1:25-28). Ezekiel was in captivity in Babylon, an amazingly powerful and beautiful city with huge temples and great wealth. God knew that Ezekiel needed the encouragement of seeing that God was much bigger; hence the particular vision. God knows just how we need to see Him today – maybe as someone who has not given up on us, for example, or as someone who really does not like what we are doing. How do we need to see God today? Maybe as the One who can help us overcome our inadequacies; maybe as the One who will overcome our pride (lifting up our own strength).

Hundreds of years on from Ezekiel we see God clearly revealed in His Son Jesus Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12), and a few decades after His resurrection we read of another group who were not seeing God eye to eye: the Galatians. So Paul helps them to see the face of God, so to speak. He points out that the power of the cross delivers from sin (Gal 1:4); the power of the cross delivers us from what self has become: (Gal 2:20). The power of the cross delivers us from the world (Gal 6:14). It is because of the power of the cross that we have God’s Spirit with us (Gal 3:14). It is because of the power of the cross that we have the gifts of the Spirit present in the church (Gal 5:22-26)

Concluding thoughts

May His face shine upon us. There is no need for any of us to be a double-minded, unstable person (James 1:8, 4:8) such as many in Israel were, due to their own thinking. Perhaps it is time to ask God to deal with those feelings of failure and inadequacy, which often hold us back. Perhaps it is time to say, “I want to give up doing things my way, even though I cannot seem to let go of them” and allow His power and strength to enable us to live life as it should be lived. Let us focus on the Lord and see Him as He really is: to do so in open honesty is to become strong in His strength. As Jesus said, “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

“Turn toward me and extend mercy to me, as you typically do to your loyal followers. Direct my steps by your word! Do not let any sin dominate me! Deliver me from oppressive men, so that I can keep your precepts. Smile on your servant! Teach me your statutes!

Ps 119:132-135

Blessing

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As a young seven-year-old African-American girl Ruby was taken to a mixed school, the first of its kind in the USA. Mobs lined the pathway to the school, and were held back by police as they hurled insults at parents and children. Inside the school, child-psychologists waited to talk to any child that might be frightened or traumatised. Think of how the children must have felt.

One day Ruby was seen to stop briefly and say something under her breath. The counsellors asked her the matter was, and what she had been saying. Ruby replied that she asked God to forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing. Ruby had her heavenly Father looking after her, and the Great Shepherd walking with her by His Spirit.

In Numbers 6:24 we read of Aaron, the High Priest, saying to the people of Israel, “The Lord bless you.” The root meaning behind this picture of blessing is that of one person bending down and presenting a gift to another. Think of a Father bending down to help a child and we begin to get the picture.

In the incarnation (Phil 2:5ff) we see God stooping low and coming into the world in order to provide a way of reconciliation to those who were, by nature, His enemies. God wants the very best for us; He wants to bless us.

Blessing is about receiving from God, and what God gives is Himself. Look at Luke 11:13, where Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Throughout scripture we see that God always takes the initiative in blessing, which speaks of receiving from God so that we can be the very best we can be. Our heavenly Father always blesses according to his riches (Phil 3:19) and always because of His grace and mercy. When God asks us to do something so that we will be blessed, our action does not earn blessing, but enable us to receive what is already present because of God’s love. In Christ, God comes alongside us in order to make a way for us to come out from condemnation and be blessed.

In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33), we see the Samaritan kneeling down to help a man who had been beaten, stripped of his clothes and left for dead. In the Ancient Near East a person was recognised by their accent and the clothes they wore, hence this man’s identity was no longer clear – yet still the Samaritan helped even though the injured man could have been a potential enemy. So what is the point here?

In many ways our wrongdoing and own way of dealing with issues made us like a person who’d lost their true identity, yet still God came. We were against His ways, yet still He offered us life through His Son Jesus Christ. The whole point in the story of the Good Samaritan is not, who is my neighbour, but who am I going to be a neighbour too? Who am I going to bless with the blessing God had given to me?

In a day and an age where so many are giving advice, and quick-fix plans, or opinions as to why we are in difficulty, it can be hard to make sense of life. Meditate on the truth: Jesus seeks to be with us, and encourage us. We, in turn are to be a blessing to others in our marriages, friendships and the way we reach out to others. Sometime we need to remember it is not always what we say that counts first and foremost, but what we do by way of reaching out and supporting others. After all, we are being supported right now.

All that God has for the church has been given through Christ, the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23); all blessing is found in Him and because of Him.

“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” 1 Cor 1:30-31

Be blessed!

Worship

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What is worship?
When we stop worshipping God, what happens?
What is the difference (if any) between worshipping and worshipping in spirit and in truth?
How important is worship?

In worship we focus on all that God has already done, and recognise that we are blessed because of His hand of grace and not our own achievements.

“…Israel’s worship shows the same dynamic as Israel’s ethics; namely, that it is based on God’s prior action. God had already acted in blessing; therefore Israel was to celebrate that in worship and praise.”

Dr C. Wright in O.T. Ethics For Community of God, p 45.

Worship in the Old Testament

“On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:4-5.

Worship: ‘Shachah.’ To depress, bow down, prostrate oneself as before a monarch; one in superior position and/or power.
When God is the object of worship there is the emphasis on praise, prayer and worship. So what does the word praise mean?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” Psalm 111:10

Praise: ‘Tehillah’ – genuine appreciation for God’s nature and character revealed in His words and actions; a sincere and deep thankfulness for all that He is and does.
Other Hebrew words translated into the English word ‘praise’ include, yada – to praise; ranan – to sing, and barak – to praise/bless.
Most occurrences of the word praise, and its associates, are in the plural revealing that communal praise is emphasised. The true believer meets with others, no matter their background, in order to bring praise and glory to God.
In praise and worship there is a strong intellectual content. We know whom it is that we are worshipping.

“Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness.” Psalm 48:9-10

We worship and praise the One who gives life through His Son Jesus Christ, and enables us to live out our calling by His Spirit.

“To encounter Christ is to touch reality and experience transcendence. He gives us a sense of self-worth or personal significance, because he assures us of God’s love for us. He sets us free from guilt because he died for us, from the prison of our own self-centredness by the power of his resurrection, and from paralysing fear because he reigns, all the principalities and powers of evil having been put under his feet…He promises us that history is neither meaningless nor endless, for one day he will return to terminate it, to destroy death and to usher in the new universe of righteousness and peace.”

John Stott, Between Two Worlds, page 154

Worship in the New Testament

“Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Matthew 4:10

Worship: ‘Proskuneo’ – To prostrate oneself as an act of reverence.
In Matthew 15:9 (they worship me in vain), the Greek word is ‘Sebomai’ – to revere, stressing love and devotion.
In Philippians 3:3 (we who worship by the Spirit of God), the Greek word is ‘Latreuo’ meaning, to serve; to render service.

“Through its corporate worship life, the community gathers to commemorate the foundational events of our spiritual existence, at the centre of which is the action of God in Christ delivering humankind from the bondage of sin.”

Prof S. Grenz in, ‘Theology For The Community Of God, p 640

Broadly speaking, worship and praise speak of direct acknowledgement of who God is – an awareness of His nature and ways, no matter what we are going through.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.” Hab 3:17-18

Worship is at the heart of what it means to be the people of God along with prayer and the reading of scripture. Worship speaks of submitting to God, acknowledging His supremacy in all things, an awareness of our failure and recognition of all that God has blessed us with because of His grace and mercy.
In many languages worship is expressed in idiomatic language. E.g. ‘to bow down before’, ‘lower one’s head’, raise one’s arms’, and sing in honour of.’

“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands , the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up — one on one side, one on the other — so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” Exodus 17:11-13

Worship – rooted in what God has already done

Worship and praise are rooted in what God has already done. We are called to remember all God has done for us, and that we are a part of His plan. “In worship we meet the power of God and stand in its strengthening” (Nels Ferre 1769-1821).

God called His people to celebrate life through feasts and ceremonies because He had already blessed them. The feasts (e.g. Passover & Pentecost) helped Israel remember that they had a history, which was the history of God’s dealings with man.
In light of this we see that worship is a response to what God has done and not a negotiation or a drumming up of emotion, in order to bring God down to us. Please think about this! Worship is not to be about placating God or trying to get God on our side, as is the case in so many ancient religions (e.g. Prophets of Baal on Carmel).
In worship there is recognition of the relationship given by God, and awareness that man is totally dependent on God for everything.
It is because of God’s blessing that life can be lived in new ways no matter the circumstances one finds oneself in.

“Non-Israelite worship was conducted as a way of winning a deity’s favour so that the deity would bless the worshippers. In Israel’s case, worship does not instigate divine blessings; at most worship contributes to the preservation and perpetuation of blessings by fostering an ongoing recognition of dependence on Yahweh for those blessings.”

T.M. Willis in, Worship p285

God’s people were able to come before Him because He enabled them too. For example, in the Passover Israel understood afresh that the God who released them from Egypt was the God who was with them now. This often required a complete change of thinking, requiring them to see that God is the only legitimate power in this universe and acknowledge Him as such.

“Israel’s memory had been rooted in a notion of governance that, in contrast to Pharaoh, was not exploitative. In the slave huts, the initial news of Yahweh’s rule was, first of all negative in its function. It served to dethrone and delegitimate Pharaoh, to assert that Israel need no longer submit to the power of Pharaoh and his empire, In the dramatic moment of Ex 8:18* Israel learnt that Pharaoh “could not” that Pharaohs claimed power was a fraud that did not need to be honoured”

Prof Brueggemann in, Israel’s Praise, p 62.

“But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.”

Exodus 8:18-19

We can worship because God wants to be known

Israel was a recipient of God’s grace, mercy and love, as is the church. Israel knew that no matter the present circumstances they had received a foretaste of the real world – a world without sin and in the hands of a loving Father.
Because of this Israel had hope – hope in what God was doing no matter the situation at hand. As a God of hope our heavenly Father often reaches in at times of man’s inadequacy and vulnerability, enabling us to see that He is still in control…
For example, a desperate young man called Gideon could worship God because God instructed him to go to an enemy’s camp and, through the mouth of the enemy, showed Gideon what was going to happen, and that He, the Lord God, was in control of all things..…

“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” Judges 7:15

In our worship we must recognise, that despite what is going on in the world around us, God is about His business. In a sense we refocus our minds and realign our thinking, as we reaffirm all that He has done and rededicate our lives as a gathering of believers.
In praise and worship we recognise that our world is not a closed system. God has reached into our lives and we are an ongoing work of grace despite having previously been His enemies.

“Basically, the gospel message can never mean anything without one’s reawakening to the fact of one’s own sin, and the fact of the wonderful love of God, as expressed in the life and the death of Jesus Christ… we need to rediscover the almost lost disciple of self-examination; and then a reawakened sense of sin will beget a reawakened sense of wonder.”

Dr W. Barclay in, ‘In The Hands Of God’ p 88.

In worshipping God we acknowledge that all other world-views are false. For example, we may have gone unnoticed and felt rather insignificant most of our life because society measured us by worldly success and others made wrong judgments about us. In worshipping God we acknowledge that this ‘statement’ about our lives is false and that the only legitimate authority in the Universe does not measure us in this way and extends His hand of grace to all.

“The God of Israel was and is the God who took and takes the initiative, the God who actually revealed himself. He was not a hide-and-seek God who required to be discovered by human enquiry or ritual, but a loving and revealing God, uncovering himself in his deeds, relationships and word. Yet the Old Testament is not only about the uncovering of God. It is also concerned with the uncovering of the human ear to hear the things of God. In the Old Testament we see the mental tools being hammered out whereby humanity is enabled to think properly concerning the being and nature of the God who so reveals himself.”

Bishop G. Leonard in ‘Let God Be God,’ page 17.

Worship was to include everyone – all are called to acknowledge their need of grace regardless of how successful or unsuccessful they may have been in life…

“And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.” Deuteronomy 16:11-12

Israel recognised that God is the one who imparts the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that man is called to live by. They also recognised that they were expected to live according to God’s decrees, and that this living was an integral part of worship.

“The primary requirement is to “do justice”…the covenant with YWHY does not maintain itself, nor can it be influenced, by any amount of prostrations; it can be maintained only by mispat. Mispat is not simple obedience but a quality of genuineness and authenticity in all human relationships.”

A Light Unto My Path, p 81

A life of worship is more than singing a few songs

In Exodus we find God calling Israel out of Egypt to worship Him. The way in which God brought His people out of Egypt clearly reveals that it is God alone who enables man to carry out His commands.

(To Pharaoh) “Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.”

Exodus 7:16-17

See also: Exodus 4:23; 8:1; 8:20; 9:13; 10:3.

At the time of the Exodus, Israel was, called to define themselves as the community of God through proper worship in the place that God chose for them. This sound a little confusing if we assume that worship is simply playing a few songs to feel good; something that is a long way from true worship!
Worship is a call to yield to God and remember all that He has done. It is a call to recognise that He is the provider of all goodness, no matter what the circumstances. Life is about His grace and not our achievements.
In a call to worship Israel was receiving a call to understand whose history they were really part of (God’s and not Pharaoh’s), and were called to understand life accordingly.

“When engaging in acts of justice on behalf of the enslaved and powerless, the faithful community images God by offering to others the gift of compassion that they themselves have experienced: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; for this reason I lay this commandment upon you today (Deut 5:15). Conversely, to refuse help and compassion to the poor and needy is to act like Pharaoh, not like God: acts of economic injustice enslave; they do not liberate.”

Prof S. Balentine in The Torah’s Vision of Worship – 197

Today we may not have the slave or the poor with us (in the West) in the same way that Israel did. However we do have those who have struggled and find it difficult to break away from old thought patterns and ways of living. We are called to exercise grace and compassion towards these people, for we too were once helpless and hopeless before we came to Christ.
In Israel (and so too the church) the inward act of remembering, evidenced in corporate praise, was also to be seen in community relationships with one another.

“Vertical thanksgiving for God’s goodness must be matched by horizontal action for the needy. My thanks to God for his goodness to me is only acceptable when matched by my determination do to for others what God has done for me.”

Dr. C..Wright in Old Testament Ethics For the Community of God, p 43.

Despite all that God had done, Israel often drifted away from God into self-sufficiency or reliance upon other religious practices that had nothing to do with God. This is a warning to us all: a warning not to forget…

“Rebellion against God does not begin with the clenched fist of atheism but with the self-satisfied heart of the one for whom “thank you” is redundant. The bankruptcy of our position without God is forgotten, the sting of our former dilemma fades, a sense of God’s conviction wears off, and our acknowledgement of God’s grace becomes routine and matter of fact.”

Prof Oz Guinness in God In The Dark page 35

One of clearest ways in which God’s community was seen, was in the Sabbath when a whole nation was called to cease from their own strivings and remind themselves afresh that all goodness came from the Lord. At times of rebellion the Sabbath was ignored as were the stipulations concerning the year of Jubilee.

“An Old Russian proverb runs, “Dwell in the past and you’ll lose an eye. Forget the past and you’ll lose both eyes.” When we lose this balance, each of us has a tendency to consider the present moment not only as unique but as autonomous. It therefore becomes a little universe of independent reality in revolt from God and the rest of time, and able to fence itself off from the lessons of the past and the demands of the future.”

Prof Oz Guiness, God in The Dark p 41

In a real sense the Sabbath was to be an act of creation keeping. Israel was called to recognise that the best way to care for others and the world they lived in was through an ongoing relationship with God. In ignoring the heart of the Sabbath the people of Israel were poisoning their own lives and the lives of their children, and all others, whether slave, free, rich, poor, animals or even the land.

“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:15.

One of the dangers in misunderstanding what worship is about

One of the major problems Israel faced (and indeed any worshipping community) was that all too often worship and praise in corporate gatherings was divorced from the call to an upright life. Because of this worship was often no more than empty ritual…

“The multitude of your sacrifices — what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?”

Isaiah 1:11-12

Contrast the words of Isaiah with the following…

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8.

“The goal and purpose of worship: “The singular devotion that humans offer to God has more than a vertical (or heavenly) dimension to it. Worship of God is for the sake of the whole creation, enabling just and honourable relationships among humans and between humans and the world of nature. In other words, Deuteronomic policy envisions worship as an offering to God and a ministry to the world..”

Prof S.E. Balentine in ‘The Torah’s Vision Of Worship’ p193.

In worship the demands of God’s covenant confront us afresh. At the same time we are confronted by His love and the grace in which we are able to stand.
In focusing our attention on the Lord we learn to see things more clearly from God’s point of view – this includes the way we view others.
Israel’s love for God was to be seen in the way she cared for all people, yet especially for those who could give nothing in return – such as slaves, widows or orphans. In this we see that proper worship involves respect for all people; yet more than this…
God expected His people to reach out with the compassion and love they had received, and were receiving from Him, and not simply because it was the discharging of a duty with no real thought to those involved.

“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.” Psalm 96:11-13

Israel was called to recognise God’s past acts of faithfulness to His people and recognise the present reality of their own limitations and failings. They were also called to recognise that the future of this world rests with God and that this God calls them to faithfulness.
Israel and the early church were called to organise their world around God’s world and not their personal experiences. We are called to do likewise. We come to God empty handed yet expectant, and reach out to others in love in an act of both devotion and obedience.

“We are not called to win or to lose, for this is for God to decide. Followers of Christ are called simply to be faithful in our moment of history. Nothing more, nothing less.”

‘No God But God’, p79. Editors: Prof Oz Guiness & J. Steel.

Concluding thoughts

The whole of our life is to be a worshipful response to all that God has done and is doing. When Israel thought she could get away with a few simple rituals she was fooling nobody but herself. Thinking we, as called out ones, can get away with simply singing a few songs on a Sunday is to have a thinking that goes against the whole thrust of scripture.
The way we treat people through the week can have a direct bearing on how we praise God in our corporate meetings. Yet sadly all around this country there are Christians who are more bothered about getting the right sort of sound than living the right sort of life.
If we really believe that God is present in our corporate gatherings we will not have a ‘take it or leave it attitude.’ We may feel very different from those around us at times. Yet the distance (so to speak), between us, and those we struggle with is nothing compared to that between us and God, and yet still He reaches out to us.
Our attitude to God is often seen in our attitude to others.

Please take time to reflect on your times of worship with God. Are they a ‘ritual’ or a deep ‘connection’ with your Creator? Are they trying to drum something up, or realising and focusing on who is already there?

Maybe God will take us by surprise when we remind ourselves of some of the things we have been looking at and seek to apply them.

Be Encouraged

about 5 months ago - No comments

This week I was sent a PowerPoint titled “Someone Cares”. The PowerPoint contained various pictures of people, along with the following words, and background music “It’s too good to be true, I can’t keep my eyes off of you.” The words? - “Had a bad day? Feel alone and abandoned? Convinced nobody cares about you? Think no one cares about your life; your work? Are you sure nobody sees your success or failure, and doesn’t care if you live or die? You are wrong. Somebody is very interested in everything you do. When everybody else quits on you…we never stop thinking of you.” The PowerPoint concluded with the logo of the Inland Revenue.

From this we see that the PowerPoint is not really about love or care at all; it’s a threat and a reminder that you can’t get away with anything. Unfortunately sometimes we can view God this way: as if He does not really care at all.

When things get tough, or things go wrong, we can feel that God must be out to get us. The truth is that things don’t always go wrong because God wants them to, but in all things God can challenge us and encourage us in our relationship with Him.

God is not out to get us; He is not out to trip us up. Neither is our heavenly Father prepared to be sidelined simply because, dare we say it, we have become too familiar with our view of Him. He is out to make us His. He’s out to challenge us with His awesome presence: He’s out to encourage us. Let’s think about that as we read the following verses.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

Paul wrote these words to a church that in a worldly sense should not have been there. When Paul had initially gone to the Thessalonians and preached the gospel for three weeks, he’d ended up in a lot of trouble. People were attacked and the whole city was in uproar. Paul had to do a runner and ended up preaching in Berea. Some of the Thessalonians from ‘the city in uproar’ also did a runner and came after him. Yet a church was still birthed in both Thessalonica and Berea; that’s encouraging. The church was going to have its share of problems, as can all fellowships; but one thing was certain. It was God’s church, and grew under the guidance of a heavenly Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and because of the work of Jesus whom the Spirit clearly pointed to in all things. As well as this, the individuals indwelt by the Spirit were going to be able to reach out to each other and the community with the fruit and particular gifts of the Spirit that God graciously gives to each person.

In light of this, and by way of encouragement we now look at three snapshot pictures to see some of the gracious ways God helps His children to trust in Him more fully.

(1) A man who had to let go

Once upon a time there was a man who thought he was dead. His friends were concerned that he might go along to the cemetery one day and bury himself and so they took him to a doctor. This doctor spent a few hours with him, showing him all sorts of slides and diagrams to prove to the man that dead men did not bleed. Finally, the man who thought he was dead said, “Yes I can see that its absolutely true: dead men do not bleed.” With that the doctor took a pin and pricked the man’s finger. The man looked at his finger in horror and then at the doctor and said, “Doc”, you’ve got it wrong! Dead men do bleed.”

Throughout the Bible God challenges us to let go of our autonomous, fragmented thinking and totally rely on the Lord. This should be an encouragement to us. God will challenge us, and in His grace and mercy He does work and will continue to work in all manner of ways to encourage us to let go of all that hinders and holds us back. His desire for us is that we lay hold of all He provides by way of relationship and encouragement as we learn to rely on Him for everything.

One man who was encouraged and challenged in this way was Jacob, and in Genesis 32 we pick up the story at a point in his life when he was struggling badly. At this point in time Jacob is a 97-year-old schemer. Now picture what’s going on in your mind’s eye, and put yourself in his shoes, so to speak.

Many years ago you’d been a little dishonest in seeking to bring about God’s blessing your own way. The result of this was that you ended up having to run from your brother Esau. Many years had now passed, and through the ups and downs of life you now had a large family. In that family unit were wives who were jealous of each other and slave girls who’d given you more children, yet had been little more than tools used by your wives as a means of getting at each other and trying to earn your love. You knew God, and you listened to God, but at times you spent a little too much time listening to self. Now, at our entry point into the story, you are, about to go back into the Promised Land.

As you move towards the Promised Land you are met by a group of angels, and call the place Mahanaim, meaning ‘double-camp.’ In this encounter you have a timely reminder that God was with you; yet this encouragement was about to go right out of your mind.

Apart from this, you’d sent word ahead of your entourage to inform Esau of your imminent arrival, and then heard that Esau (a man who’d wanted to kill your: Gen 27:41), was on his way to meet you with 400 men.

Not surprisingly Jacob was worried about all that was going on, as I am sure we would all be. But the main thing that Jacob needed to learn was to trust God completely and stop adding his own interpretation to what God was saying and doing. That night, because God is gracious, Jacob ends up wrestling with the Angel of the Lord But why?

Jacob had not grasped the concept that God’s gifts are gifts of grace and that the land he is going to claim is also a gift from God that cannot be earned. He also needed to realise that God really did know what was best. In Jacob’s wrestling we see, in a spiritual sense, the role-playing concerning what his life had been like up to that point.

Jacob was a schemer who had often sought to bring about things his own way. Although he had sought God at times, and was not always in error, there were times when it seems as if there was just a smattering of God added to his picture of life, for good measure. Jacob kept on and on wrestling and eventually God crippled him.

Jacob was now powerless and dependent. He was faced with the glaring fact that he was crippled and unable to overcome in his own strength. Ye Jacob still clung on. The good thing that this desperate man realised was this: He needed a blessing. So what happened?

The angel said to Jacob, “What is your name” (despite the fact that he would have already known his name). In giving his name, Jacob had to confess his nature, “heel catcher” – a manipulator and a schemer. Let’s think about that for a moment.

Imagine what it would be like if, as a baby boy you’d been named ‘Rosebud’ by your parents, or ‘Butch’ when you were a baby girl. All your life you’d kept this secret from your friends, but on you wedding day you had to give your real name. Think of how embarrassing you would find this. In a sense you were exposed.

Jacob was a worried, tired, struggling man, and had to face up to what he’d been like. He had to confess who he was, yet this was not because God wanted to ridicule Jacob; it was a time to encourage him. The angel then gives Jacob a new name, calling him Israel., meaning, ‘Prince / One who prevails with God’. Jacob now has a prophetic name. He’s not yet there, but is learning to allow God to have complete authority over his life, and not add his own ten-penny-worth to what God says and does.

When we find ourselves in difficult situations we can all panic at times, and wonder what is going on. We can be desperate to find a way out of the difficulty and make plan after plan about how things need to change. Yet in the midst of our difficulty we need to hold on to the word of the Lord, and continue to come to Him in prayer. We need to allow Him to strip away all that, deep down in our lives, we know should not really be there.

We are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. This is our position through Christ; yet it is also prophetic; it speaks of what we become in nature and character as we grow in our position in Christ. But maybe we need to give up adding our own ten-penny-worth to God’s word. For example we need to stop thinking God doesn’t really mind when we don’t deal with things in our lives. We need to stop thinking that God doesn’t really mind when we continue to chug along our own train track of thinking and forget about praying or meditating on His word. God did not say that “apart from Him we can do nothing” for fun (remembering that this refers to nothing in the ways of God in our own strength alone). God did not send His Spirit into our lives so that we could neglect Him, or get His Spirit to work to bring about our take on life.

God does mind and has given us His Spirit, and thus, in Him, the ability to do all things in accordance with His Will. As Paul says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13.

God knows that we don’t always have the confidence or ability to do what He asks us to do; but He still asks us because He wants us to learn to trust Him. Therefore, “I can’t”, should not be added to anything He says; neither should “God understands what I’m going through, He doesn’t mind about this or that, which isn’t quite right,” when His word clearly reveals that He does. Maybe we are struggling with God because He wants us to be more open and honest about our feelings of inadequacy, or even apathy, and genuinely seek His help.

Then again, perhaps we struggle with God because when we read, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” we build pictures of ourselves healing the sick, raising the dead, getting better jobs and so on. When this does not come about we think that God isn’t really there for us. We have forgotten that asking God to help us desire what is right and hate what is wrong opens the door of fellowship with Him much wider than we can image.

All too often we can say ‘yes’ to God like Jacob did on many occasions, and then add our ten pence worth of thinking. Deep down in our hearts,, if we are open and honest, we know this doesn’t really work. Yet, we go on wrestling our way through life and wrestling with God’s word as if we can make it fit what we want it do. We need to let go of everything that hinders, because Jesus has come to make us His – totally His. Jesus did not come to save us out of pity, and He did not come to make us great, and He certainly did not come to make us religious in the sense that the Pharisees and Sadducees were religious.. He came to make us Holy, and in Him we see what holiness means for man – He came to make us His.

In Psalm 20 we read, “May the Lord answer you when you are in distress, may the name of the God of

Jacob protect you”

The God who helped Jacob to face up to what he was really like, and take on all that he was able to become, will also help us if we really want to give up and let go of some of our own thinking, plans and agendas. Perhaps He is already encouraging us to do so.

(2) Lay Hold

In scripture we see that God is in the business of helping people to trust Him. That’s encouraging, and one such person who was encouraged was Gideon. Think of the prevailing mindset among the Israelites just prior to God speaking with Gideon, and put yourself in their place.

In a modern day local setting what had been happening was something like this (albeit on a much larger scale). You and your family and neighbours would often go out to allotments and plant vegetables. You’d also look after your homes and cars and families. However, every so often a large group of misfits would attack the area and take all your produce as they wrecked the allotments. They’d graffiti your freshly painted homes and smash the windows in your cars; and there was nothing anybody could do to prevent this from happening again and again. You were too small to deal with the situation, and there were problems within your own community as well. How would you feel?

Israel was in trouble with marauding Midianites who’d teamed up with some of the Amalakites. However their biggest problem was really the strength of their own mindset as they allowed others gods to be worshipped in their midst as well as offering a token service to the God of Israel. But then God, in His grace and mercy, came on the scene; the God of all good things, the One who can encourage even in the darkest of situations.

In Judges 6:13 we read of these words being spoken to Gideon. “The Lord is with you courageous warrior.” Those words are prophetic, and from Gideon’s response we see that he was very much caught up with the issues of the day.

Yet the words speak of what Gideon is going to be able to become because God is with him. This is ultimately because of God’s grace and mercy seen in that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). Let us also remember that the word ‘Lord’ speaks of one who provides for and protects those under his charge.

Through the actions of the Angel of the Lord, Gideon understands that it is the God of Israel who has come on the scene, and so Gideon names the place of sacrifice, “The Lord is Peace.” Things were about to change.

The first thing Gideon was called to do was deal with some of the idolatry, which had crept into the nation. In one way, the greatest protection we will need is from our old ways that can creep in, and the way we can panic and struggle as we forget the basic need we have to spend time with our heavenly Father.

Then, in Judges 7 we read of how God reduced Gideon’s ‘self-preservation army’ of 30,000 down to 300. With such a powerful enemy to face, it was hardly surprising that Gideon wanted to feel as comfortable as possible in the confrontation; But God knew best, and we read the words, “You have too many men for me – Israel might brag that she did this (defeat the Midianites). Gideon really needed to see that all was of God, and not personal expertise or achievement; there might be times when he felt totally incapable of doing anything, and would need to remember that God can do everything.

We need to lay hold of the fact that God is in the business of making us His, and we are not always going to feel comfortable about that; but we need to be encouraged. His challenges are because He loves us; the stripping away of some of the things we rely on is because He cares for us; the way He works with us is because He wants to encourage us.

No wonder, David could write: (Ps 18:30-36) “The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord’s promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him. Indeed, who is God besides the Lord? Who is a protector besides our God? The one true God gives me strength; He removes the obstacles in my way. He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend even the strongest bow. You give me your protective shield; your right hand supports me; your willingness to help enables me to prevail. You widen my path; my feet do not slip.”

All too often we can become over familiar with God and in our vulnerabilities build a life that is unsatisfactory and crippling. In light of this, have we ever thought about praying such things as, “I want to see more of you so that I can be in awe of you.” (A thought process that is totally in line with the thinking in God’s word.) Think about it.

Seeing God as He reveals Himself invokes awe in our lives, and a healthy understanding concerning His greatness. The fear of the Lord is said to bring: wisdom: (Proverbs 9:10), knowledge. (Proverbs 2:5), hatred of evil (8:13), prolonging of days (10:27) and strong confidence (14:26). The fear of the Lord is: a fountain of life (14:27), instruction of wisdom (15:33), and a way out of evil. (16:6). The fear of the Lord leads to life (19:23.), and brings riches and honour (22:4). All these things are ultimately ours because of God’s grace shown to us in the life, death and resurrection of His Son. When things get tough and we struggle with all that goes on in our minds and find it hard to do what is right, let’s pray that God helps us to be in awe of Him, and not just look for a worldly peace that makes us say, “It’s ok now,” when in actual fact God wanted to do a much deeper work.

Grow well

Time after time Israel sought to stand in her own strength, precariously building on her own ideas. On occasion this resulted in God dealing with her in various ways, so that Israel would learn to stand in the strength of the One who always wants the very best for us.

On one occasion, circa 500 years before Christ, there was a time when Israel ended up in Babylonian captivity due to relying on her own ways and trusting in her own strength. Whilst in Babylonian captivity God worked with Daniel. In one way God was saying, “You as a nation could not withstand the Babylonians in your strength; I can work with one man to change the outlook of the most powerful leader in a pagan nation with my strength.” Think about it.

Pagan leaders often felt that the god or gods of nations favoured their own leaders above all else. Perhaps this is why, on one occasion, the astrologers did not tackle Daniel (Daniel 3), whom they may have seen as a favoured leader among the Israelites. The pagan astrologers picked on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego instead. Yet look at what happened, and how it must have spoken to anyone who bothered to think about it.

When thrown into the fire by pagan soldiers, the soldiers, who were employed to protect the King died, whilst Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego remained very much alive. Another person (Angel of the Lord – Pre-Incarnate Christ) was also seen walking with them in the fire; their hair was not singed, and yet the cords that bound them were burnt away.

Nebuchadnezzar and the astrologers were learning something new. The God of Israel cares for all His people; the God of Israel is with His people, and everyone is important to Him. A pagan king had given Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Babylonian names, this being a way of saying, “I own you.” In all that God does, our Father says, “no you don’t; they are mine, and one day you too will bow the knee.” Sometime we allow our wrong thinking to own us in that it dictates how we live our lives. Why become enslaved to that which is not going to last, is offensive to God, and, in the long run, doesn’t treat self very well either.

God wants us to grow well, and we need to realise that no matter what we think, nothing on this planet can stop us growing in the Lord except ourselves.

Everything that we will ever need from our heavenly Father is ours because of Jesus; and all things can be overcome in Him.

For example take a look at how the church in Thessalonica came into being. As we have already stated, it seemed, on the outside, to have had no chance of being birthed, let alone surviving. Yet the young believers who made up the church were able to grow because God’s Spirit was with them.

Acts 17:2-9 “Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too, and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar’s decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!” They caused confusion among the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. After the city officials had received bail from Jason and the others, they released them.”

Paul escaped to Berea, and started preaching the gospel there. People soon turned up from Thessalonica to cause trouble. Yet later on, we find Paul writing to the church at Thessalonica. It was not a church without it’s problems, but was a church nonetheless: people growing in Jesus under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and through seeking to live out the word of God.

Scripture speaks of us as His workmanship (Eph 2:10), living stones (1 Peter 2:5), and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), we being those who receive blessing from the Lord (Numbers 6:24), and are to pass that blessing on to others. We are spoken of as a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9), in that through Jesus we belong to God and are to be like Him. Holiness begins with an encounter and leads to maturity through the working of His Spirit. We are those who have been created for growth (2 Peter 1:5-8), and are spoken of as fellow citizens; indwelt by His Spirit (Eph 2:19-22). We are those called to serve the living God (Heb 9:14). We are spoken of as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12), and led by the Spirit (Gal 5:16) to become Christ-like in all ways, and using the particular gifts that God has given us by the Spirit ( 1 Cor 3:16), for His glory alone.

Concluding thoughts

Be encouraged. Although Jacob was, at times, a caring and godly man, there were occasions when he added his ten-penny-worth of thinking to what God said. At times Jacob struggled, and at times he doubted, as can be seen by some of his actions; yet God did not give up on Jacob. In grace and mercy our heavenly Father encouraged Jacob to stop relying on self and place his full trust in God.

Be encouraged. Gideon felt useless before God, and struggled with the circumstances Israel found herself in. Gideon sought to protect his insecurities with such things as a big army (and most of us would probably have done the same!!). Our heavenly Father gently prized Gideon away from his way of feeling secure and overcoming opposition,, and helped Gideon trust God. Life is not always easy and we can feel insecure and vulnerable and ending up building that which we think makes us feel better; but does it really work? Ultimately security comes from putting God first in every situation as we confess our weaknesses, knowing that our Father will not castigate us for being weak, butt will help us to walk more fully by His Spirit. Be encouraged.

Be encouraged. Israel often thought she was strong, and could cut the corners, and get involved in wrong belief systems. Yet look at the events surrounding the life of Daniel. God, in an act of grace and mercy, allowed a powerful nation to imprison many Israelites, and then worked with ones and twos to show that His strength is the real way to overcome all that oppresses. God also revealed that he is with all people (remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), and not just a select few. Don’t drift from God through over familiarity and lack of vision concerning who God is, and what He can do. “Lord, in your grace and mercy, help us to remain in awe of you ” Be encouraged.

Finally, Paul is able to write to a church that had risen out of a rioting town, with vindictive enemies who’d followed him in order to discredit his ministry. As the following verses reveal, life was not always easy for Paul, and he did not always know what was happening; yet He knew the presence and power of His heavenly Father. Be encouraged.

2 Cor 4:7-10 “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body.”

Paul, like us, was indwelt by the Spirit, and was aware that God always knew what was best. Even in the midst of great difficulty, God was still present, and always and ever the master of every situation. Paul must have struggled and felt very low on occasion, yet was always able to grow in the ways of the Lord, because of our Father’s grace and mercy.

Be encouraged.

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Spirituality

The search

More Than Physical

Body and Soul-Spirit

A Personal Experience

The Cosmic Saviour Who Stoops Low – My Friend

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Faith is more than intellectual assent

Faith is not just about feelings

What Jesus said

Where the mustard seed comes from: Faith comes by hearing

Why so many of Paul’s prayers are about knowing God

Faith speaks about being rooted

The disciple Jesus loved

Jesus encourages faith

It is because of God’s love that we can have faith

Acknowledging our failings and our limitations

God has crossed the road to meet you

The Power of the Holy Spirit

You have a choice to make: A garden of words or a garden of flowers

Concluding thoughts

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The Priesthood – the ‘yes’ of God

Receiving

You are part of a royal priesthood

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An ordinary man

Three pictures behind the word ‘sin’

The Fire of God’s Presence

Concluding thoughts

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THE NEW TESTAMENT – THE ORDER IS THE MOST LIKELY ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN ACCORDING TO SCHOLARSHIP.

MARK

MATTHEW

LUKE

ACTS

JOHN

GALATIANS

1 AND 2 THESSALONIANS

1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS

ROMANS

EPHESIANS

COLOSSIANS

PHILEMON

PHILIPPIANS

1 AND 2 TIMOTHY, TITUS

HEBREWS

JAMES

1 AND 2 PETER

JUDE

1,2 and 3 JOHN

REVELATION

An overview of the Old Testament periods of revelation

1. Beginnings.

2. Patriarchal Period.

3. Mosaic Period.

4. Period of consolidation (Israel’s slow establishment in Canaan).

5. Davidic Period (40 year reign of David 1010 – 970BC

6. Disruption Period.

Israel divided into two ‘nations’ – Israel and Judah.

7. Period of the 8th century B.C. prophets.

8. Later prophetic period

9. Exilic Period.

10. Post-exilic period.

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Numbers 6:24-26

Background to our verses

Focusing on the word ‘Face’

Concluding thoughts

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Worship in the Old Testament

Worship in the New Testament

Worship – rooted in what God has already done

We can worship because God wants to be known

A life of worship is more than singing a few songs

One of the dangers in misunderstanding what worship is about

Concluding thoughts

7. Period of the 8^th century B.C. prophets.