How do we know what God is like when we can’t see him?

There are many things we can’t see with our eyes, yet we know they are real. Like, we can’t see gravity, or electricity, or your thoughts. But your phone is powered by electricity, and this site contains my and others thoughts and if you drop your phone you’ll gravity all too real. 

The example Jesus uses is wind, you can feel it and see its effects. We see trees swaying and clouds moving across the sky or waves on an ocean. God is like that, and above all he wants you to know he is real and that he loves you. 

 

No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart, he has told us about him. 

John 1.18

 

We can’t see God, because God is a spirit. He doesn’t have a physical body like we do. God knew that it would be hard for us to understand exactly what he is like. So he came up with a wonderful way for us to know him. God, the Father, sent his Son, Jesus, to be born as a baby in Bethlehem. Jesus grew up and lived as a man, a very special, kind, perfect man. We can be sure that when we learn what Jesus is like, we will know what God is like. Jesus is just like God, his Father in heaven. In fact, Jesus is God! Jesus shows us exactly what God is like. 

 

 

Could Jesus’s disciples have made up the story about Jesus coming back to life?

This is that disciple who saw these events and recorded them here. And we all know that his account of these things is accurate. 

John 21.24

 

If you wanted to know whether or not the moon is made of cheese, you would try to get information from people you could trust. You would need to hear the same facts from loads of people who had actually had a picnic on the moon, right? But what would make you really believe the truth would be finding people willing to die for their story, because people aren’t willing to die for a lie. 

That’s the kind of wonderful proof we have that Jesus rose from the dead. Many people saw Jesus alive. They all reported the same facts. And each of them faced the danger of death for spreading the Good News about Jesus. The disciples didn’t make up their story. They were star witnesses to the truth!

 

 

Read Matthew 28.11-15 about the efforts people made right from the start to disprove the resurrection. Talk it over with a family member about why the leaders in the passage didn’t want to believe that Jesus was alive. Did they want people to follow them rather than Jesus?

Aren’t the Bible’s rules old fashioned?

Long ago I learned from your rules that you made them to continue forever

Psalm 119.152

 

Some people think that the Bible’s commands must be out of date. After all, the Bible was written before cars, computer and on demand tv. Yet reading the Bible is like looking in a mirror. From cover to cover you read stuff that talks about you and your world in its pages. 

And it’s clear that we still need God’s rules. Take the Ten Commandments(Exodus 20.1-17). People still have problems with stealing, lying, whining to their parents and wishing they had their neighbour’s toys. Kids on the playground still swear, using God’s name disrespectfully. And all of us still forget from time to time to make God more important than anyone or anything else in our lives. God didn’t make rules that would only work for a while in the old days, and not be important today. He makes rules that last. 

 

 

Talk together as a family about how the ‘old’ rules of the Bible have helped you know how to do the right thing. How have you seen them work for your good?

Jesus and two women day 1

 JOHN 4:1-42; 8:1-11 

Once upon a time, they were two little girls with hopes and dreams. They thought about what it would be like to grow up, get married and have children of their own. They imagined what they would wear on that day, who would be invited, what the party would be like and how long it would last. Like so many little girls, they played that scenario out in their minds as the day drew closer and closer. 

They never stopped to think that their lives might end up the way they did. 

One woman went through five husbands. We don’t know why. Maybe they all died. Maybe they all left her. Maybe she left some of them and some of them left her. We don’t know, but there are several possible scenarios, all leading to the same outcome: Her heart had been broken more than once. 

The end of a marriage is like a death in the family. Nothing prepares a person for it. And to some extent, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is; when a marriage ends, a heart breaks. Maybe it was her fault; maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it wasn’t anyone’s fault; maybe it just happened. Regardless, she must have been devastated. 

Now imagine what it was like to go through it again, and again, and again, and again. Five times she gave her heart away. Five times it was broken. We can understand if she was willing to only go halfway now; she might live with a guy, but get married? No thanks. 

The other woman had been caught, the door broken down just as dawn was breaking. She was still in bed with the man when they came in and dragged her out. Did she even know his name? Was he a long-time friend? We know nothing of the man; it was the woman these religious ruffians wanted to shame. 

They hustled her through the streets to the Temple, throwing her to the ground at the feet of Jesus. To them, she had ceased to be a person; she was an object, wielded for their purposes. They were using her to make a point, to win an argument, to defeat the enemy they found in this traveling rabbi. 

Two little girls — full of innocence and wide-eyed wonder — had grown up to be two women who knew the pain of this world. Their eyes had been opened, and they shuddered at what they were forced to see, until the moment they saw Him. 

In this strange man, whose name they did not even know, they found the ultimate fulfilment of all the hopes and dreams they had carried in their hearts since childhood. They found a faithful Man who didn’t want them because of what they could do for Him. They found a Rescuer who refused to condemn. They found a Provider who would never abandon them. They found a Messiah who knew everything about their pasts and loved them anyway. 

 

Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, life in this broken world is fraught with so much sorrow and pain and with so many broken dreams and hopes. In our heart of hearts, we know what the world should be like and we long for that better world. Yet we do not have the power to make it happen, because we lack the inner resources to become the people You intended us to be. I thank and praise You that You have come into the world to rescue us from ourselves by drawing us to You. In spite of the ravages of human rebellion, You have come with compassion and grace to transform us into Your image and empower us to live a new kind of life with dignity, purpose and hope. In spite of our sinful and broken lives, You come to us with the gifts of acceptance, forgiveness and love. I magnify Your Name because of the awful price You paid with Your own blood to give us this new and eternal life. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen

Did Jesus actually die on the cross, or did he just faint?

God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. God is the One who raised Christ from the dead, and he will give life through his Spirit that lives in you. 

Romans 8.11

 

When Jesus rose from the dead, it was a one of a kind event. It was so out of the ordinary that many people have said it couldn’t possibly have happened. In fact, some say Jesus never even died on the cross. He just fainted, and in the cool air of the tomb he woke up and walked out. 

But that’s impossible to believe when you understand what Jesus went through the day he died. First the soldiers beat him. Then they nailed him to a cross. He hung there for six hours before he died. He was taken down from the cross only after a Roman soldier promised the Roman governor that he was dead. We can be sure that Jesus died. And we can be certain he came back to life. 

 

 

If we get rid of the Resurrection, we get rid of Christianity. That’s why so many non Christians have tried to prove that Jesus never rose. No wonder Paul said we would be “the most miserable people in the world” if Christ were not alive.(1 Corinthians 15.19) We would face all the trials, struggles, and problems of the Christian life, and then die with no hope of heaven. Thank God that he had a better plan. 

Unconventional day4

 Anyone who has ever delivered a sermon or a Sunday school lesson has heard this, “That message was so good. I know just the person who needed to hear it.”

As a regular listener of podcasts and sermons whilst I walked around doing my work, who would for about two years leave a phone at the back of the hall recording services, I’ve certainly heard my share of that phrase being said. So many would want to get a recording of it so they can give to someone else, someone else more in need of correction than themselves. Or they want to know what next week’s message will be so that they can bring a certain friend who really needs to hear what they’re talking about. No one wants to apply the message to him- or herself. Many sit and wonder if that person across the aisle is listening, or they practice “the ministry of the elbow” to make sure that their spouse is paying attention.

Martha seems to have suffered from this affliction — this preoccupation with what others were doing. She was certain that Mary was doing the wrong thing, she was so certain that she felt comfortable saying, “Excuse me, Jesus? Isn’t there something You’d like to tell my sister?” She just assumed that Jesus would agree with her. Who wouldn’t agree with her? She was right, of course, and it never occurred to her otherwise.

But Jesus refused to endorse her perspective.

This certainly caught Martha off guard. Perhaps that was His intention. Sometimes you have to jar someone to get her attention. It wasn’t the first time Jesus used this tactic, nor would it be the last.

It’s easy to spend too much time evaluating the actions of others and too little time looking in the mirror, practicing the all-important task of self-evaluation. Jesus asked, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Mt 7.3). The apostle Paul echoed Him: “Each of you should test your own actions. Then you can take pride in yourself, without comparing yourself to somebody else, for each of you should carry your own load” (Gal 6.4-5). How much more effective might Christians be if we spent as much time looking at ourselves as we spend pointing the finger at others? After all, pointing out what’s wrong with our world is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. And who really changes their ways because Christians look upon them with disapproval?

Rather than grading the performance of others (especially with the assumption that God will surely agree with us) an effective church empowers its members to take individual responsibility for their own walks, allowing the faith community to be an encouraging force.

That doesn’t mean we have to ignore sin in the camp, but it does mean being slow to pass judgment, especially in areas that don’t have anything to do with sin. Martha crossed that line and Jesus refused to hear her complaint. Let’s not make the same mistake she did.

 

Prayer

 

God of grace, Your Word often convicts me about things that need to be changed; yet I often resist it, supposing that others need this message more than I do. I am often tempted to focus my attention on the errors and shortcomings of others because these are so easy to spot, and it costs me nothing to observe. But You have made it clear that I must first examine my thoughts and actions before criticising others. Like the psalmist David, I ask You to search me and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. I thank You that when I invite the Spirit to search my heart to reveal any areas that are displeasing to You, Your conviction comes not in generalities but in specifics. You graciously reveal the things I need to deal with one at a time, and You give me the power to respond in obedience.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

 

Are parts of the Bible make believe, or is everything true?

The things that happened to those people are examples. They were written to teach us. 

1 Corinthians 10.11

 

Even though Jesus lived 2000 years ago, and many Bible events happened long before he lived, everything in the Bible is real. The Bible writers knew the difference between make believe and real life, and God gave each of them direction as they wrote carefully about their experiences with him. 

Luke, for example, was a doctor who used reports from Jesus’s closest followers and others who had been with him to write an organised summary of what Jesus said and did.(Luke 1.1-4) And John tells us why he wrote carefully about the amazing miracles of Jesus and his awesome rising from the dead, so we could know for sure that when we believe in Jesus, he becomes our Saviour.(John 20.30-31)

 

 

Find in the Bible some of the stories of Jesus’s miracles. Like Jesus feeding over 5000 people from five loaves and two fish.(John 6.1-14) Or Jesus walking on water.(Matthew 14.25) Or Jesus helping those who were blind to see.(Matthew 9.30) Then turn to the book of Acts, in which Luke points out that the events recorded in the Bible “were not done in a corner.”(Acts 26.26) Many people saw these events and agreed that they were true. 

Are ‘little’ sins ok with God?

 Warning:I’m using hyperbole in the second part, I am in no way encouraging or advocating such activity. 

 

Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. 

Galatians 4.7

 

Lots of people wonder if God gets angry at ‘little sins’, and we all have our ideas about which sins are little. We might think we can lie, gossip, or cheat without making God too mad. 

Wondering if we can be just a little bit bad, however, makes us miss the loving purpose behind God’s rules. God hates all sin,(Hab 1.13) and that should be a big enough reason for us to stay away from sin of any kind. But here’s another reason, God commands you to be good for your own good. Jesus died not only so your sins could be forgiven but to free you habits that hurt you and others. Being bad, even a little bad, keeps you a slave to sin and makes you miss out on God’s very best for you!

 

To point out the absurdity of the question think of these examples. It is okay hit my thumb with a hammer as long I leave the other fingers alone? Is it okay to key my parents car if it’s only the right wing mirror? It is okay to drink toilet cleaner if it’s only a capful? You see how silly it is to ask to do something stupid if you do a tiny bit of it. If it is bad, the smallest part of it is bad. If we really love, we show it by not trying to get away with sins, even little ones. 

Unconventional day3

 The story of Mary and Martha is often used to beat up on busy, fast-paced, achievement-oriented, multi-tasking people. However, those adjectives pretty well describe someone the writer of this post lives with, so I’m going in a different direction!

As we’ve seen, Jesus was staying in the home of Martha and her sister, Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, just like a disciple would sit with a rabbi. Martha was busily working in the kitchen, complaining about having to do everything herself; she was in the same house with Jesus, but they might as well have been on other planets. Proximity does not always equal intimacy.

Jesus said to her, “Martha, you’re all tied up in knots about so many things. Only one thing is necessary. Your sister has chosen the best thing, and that will never be taken away from her.”

What exactly is Jesus saying here? Is He saying that Mary’s personality is better suited for discipleship than Martha’s?

That’s the lesson that some have taught from Jesus’ words. Teachers use this story to say, “See, the quiet, introspective types have an advantage over those busy-bee, type-A folks with their constant activity. If only they would learn to sit quietly, then they would know the joy of true discipleship.”

It’s easy to say that when it’s your job to study the Bible. But what about folks who actually work for a living? What about the mother with three kids under the age of five? What about the guy who just got his first big promotion and is trying to overcome a huge learning curve at work while continuing to keep his commitment to coaching his son’s football team?

Does spending time with Jesus mean we have to stop everything and sit really still? Because if so, it may just have to wait for a lot of us. Maybe when the kids are out of the house and we’re retired from our jobs, living on a beach in Torquay — maybe then we’ll be able to sit still long enough to have a relationship with Jesus.

Now is when it’s important to remember that one of the names Jesus bore is “Immanuel,” which means God with us. Not “God with us when we stop doing things and sit quietly.” He’s God with us while we prepare the meal. God with us while we do the dishes. God with us while we drive. God with us at work. God with us at rest. God with us once and for all.

The obstacle to intimacy may not be our busyness, it may be our unwillingness to believe that He wants to be with us while we do the things we do every day.

 

Prayer 

 

Lord, I want to echo the words of Your servant George Herbert when he prayed, “Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see, and what I do in anything, to do it as for Thee.” You are intimately involved in our lives, and everything we do matters when it is done in Your Name and for Your good pleasure. Grant me the biblical perspective that reveals the importance of everything, so that I will grow in the realisation that all things should be done to the glory of God. May I come to see my work as part of my ministry and that when I do it with excellence in the service of others, it becomes a form of worship. I want to offer all the areas of my life to You and seek to be pleasing to You in all respects. May I grow in the wisdom of practicing Your presence in the most mundane and ordinary activities, knowing that is of value because it is done in Your Name.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

 

Did everyone in the Bible think Jesus was God?

Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 

John 1.12

 

It’s sad, but not everyone who met Jesus recognised him as God’s Son, who came to be the Saviour of the world. They should have! After all, God had said for hundreds of years that he would send a Saviour to free his people from sin. The Old Testament has many special promises called prophecies. Long before Jesus was born, these prophecies described what the Saviour would be like. He would be born in Bethlehem,(Micah 5.2) do miracles,(Isaiah 35.5-6) be betrayed by a friend,(Psalm 41.9) have his hands and feet pierced,(Psalm 22.16) suffer and die for our sins,(Isaiah 53.5) and rise from the dead.(Psalm 16.10)

Jesus perfectly fit not just a few, but hundreds of prophecies spoken hundreds of years before his birth. To anybody willing to see, this was powerful proof that Jesus was who he claimed to be!

 

 

 

The probability of one person fulfilling even 48 major prophecies, according to Peter Stoner in Science Speaks, is 1 in 10 to the one hundred and fifty seventh power. That’s the number 10 followed by 156 zeros. The chance of someone fulfilling just eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the seventeenth power. 

The chance that Jesus would fulfil just eight out of hundreds of prophecies is the same as the chance that you could find one specially made pound coin out of a pile of pound coins in a pile two feet deep covering the whole state of Texas!

Did Jesus ever do anything wrong?

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any. 

Matthew 26.59-60

 

We must never picture Jesus as just another super nice person, like a girl or boy at school who never talks out of turn or cuts in line. Jesus isn’t just pretty good. He’s the Son of God, and he’s perfect. 

When the enemies of Jesus wanted a reason to put him on a cross to die, they tried hard to find bad things he had done. They couldn’t find any! So they asked people to lie and say bad things about Jesus.(Matthew 26.59) But Peter said, “He never sinned” (1 Peter 2.22) and he is “the sinless, spotless Lamb of God”. (1 Peter 1.19) Hebrews adds that he “did not sin”.(Hebrews 4.15) Jesus always did what was right. He obeyed his Father perfectly, so he is a perfect example for us. 

 

 

How does it feel knowing that Jesus never did anything wrong? How does it help you to know that Jesus was perfect? That it means that Jesus could become our Saviour when he died on the cross. But during the time when he was alive on Earth, he also was a wonderful example for us. The Bible tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus”.(Hebrews 12.2) That means we should look at what Jesus did and learn to be like him. 

Unconventional day 2

 Jesus was a teacher, a rabbi. He is referred to as “Rabbi” 14 times in the New Testament — 40 times as “Teacher.” That was His job, and it’s important to note that there were standards associated with His chosen profession. Not just anyone could go around calling himself a rabbi. There was a system in place, a fairly intricate system.

For a young boy growing up in Israel, being a rabbi was the greatest aspiration. Beginning around the age of six, male children began learning the Torah. From the age of 6 to the age of 10, a little boy would sit at the feet of a teacher from dawn until afternoon, memorising and learning about Torah. Day after day, week after week, chanting and reciting the Law of Moses. Around the time a boy reached the age of 10, it was time to learn the family trade, and that was the end of his studies.

But some showed a special aptitude for learning, and these were invited to learn from rabbis how to apply the Law to everyday life. The rabbinical method of teaching was focused primarily on asking the students questions, such as “How do you honour your father and mother?” and “What kind of work is acceptable on the Sabbath?”

By the time a studious boy reached the age of 14, he had the entire Old Testament memorised, Genesis through Malachi. If, at that point, the student wanted to continue his studies, he went to find a rabbi he admired and asked if he could become one of the teacher’s followers — a talmidim.

A rabbi never recruited students. That was considered beneath a rabbi’s dignity. Students came to the rabbi, the rabbi never went to the students. In fact, students had to apply and submit to a series of screening tests. They had to prove that they were good students, that they had memorised large portions of the Scriptures and were able to rightly interpret portions of the Law. They had to interact with various schools of rabbinical interpretation.

If the student was good enough, the rabbi allowed him to become a follower.

If a rabbi accepted the student, the young man left everything behind for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn from a master teacher. The goal wasn’t just to gain information from the rabbi, but to study him, observe him, learn how to live like he lived. A good student never let the rabbi out of his sight for fear of missing something he could learn.

Jesus was a rabbi. He taught with great power. Everywhere He went, He caused a great stir, and people were amazed at His teaching.

But — and this is amazing — Jesus went out and recruited followers.

Jesus not only recruited followers, He went out and recruited people no self-respecting rabbi would want, uneducated fishermen, tax collectors, rebels and revolutionaries.

And women!

He allowed a woman to sit at His feet! There was a saying back then,  “Better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman.” But Jesus was a rabbi of a different kind. He went to people who had been told that they didn’t have what it takes to really know God. They had been told that they didn’t have the mental aptitude or that they were born the wrong gender. And this rabbi with amazing authority told them, “I believe in you. I think you’ve got what it takes. You come follow Me. No prerequisites. No admission tests. I’ll be your rabbi,  you’ll be My apprentices. Learn from Me. Watch Me. And one day, you’ll not only know what I know; you’ll live the way I live.”

He calls the most unlikely people. He’s even calling you.

 

Prayer

 

Holy Son of the living God, You did what no one ever did and taught what no one ever taught. Unlike other teachers and rabbis in Israel, You taught out of your own authority and revealed truths that were previously unknown. You taught that the standard of righteousness the Father requires is nothing short of His own perfection. When the religious leaders were trying to externalise the moral law and reduce it to manageable proportions, You taught the radical truth that the Law concerns not only what we do, but also what we say and even what we think. You revealed that the problem is not external but internal; it concerns the corruption of the human heart. Our only hope is the new birth in which You implant a new heart and nature within us. I praise You that You perfectly fulfilled the Law in thought, word and deed and that You impute your righteousness to all who trust in You.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

 

Did Jesus really come back to life after to life after he died on the cross?

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me, that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. 

1 Corinthians 15.3-4

 

Can you imagine a more astonishing miracle than a dead man coming back to life? The Bible tells us several big facts about the totally real rising again, or resurrection, of Jesus. 

First, Jesus died.(John 19.28-37) Second, Jesus was buried.(Luke 23.53) Third, Jesus really rose from the dead! You probably know that Jesus’s closest friends found his empty tomb.(Luke 24.1-7) Later his closest friends saw him alive.(Luke 24.35-49) But did you know that Jesus also appeared to hundreds of people in his fully alive body?(1 Corinthians 15.6) Jesus wanted people to know his resurrection wasn’t a crazy, made up story. He wanted to make it easy, even for us today, to believe that he is alive. 

 

 

After Jesus’s resurrection, he explained that soon he would be going back to heaven to live with his Father God. But before he left, he had some very good news. It is because he has come back to life, we can too. After you die, you can live forever with Father God and Jesus in heaven. God lies you very much, and he wants this for you. He wants you to believe in him, and wants to forgive your sin so you can live in heaven forever. 

Did Jesus know he was God?

Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?” They replied, “Not for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, have made yourself God.”

John 10.32-33

 

Many non-Christians agree that Jesus was one of the most important leaders who ever walked the Earth. They admit he was an excellent teacher of right and wrong, and an especially good person. 

Jesus, however, claimed to be much more. He said he was God! Listen to this example, just one of many in the New Testament. Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.”(John 10.30) The religious leaders understood exactly what he meant. They shouted, “You, a mere man, have made yourself God.”(John 10.33) They picked up rocks to throw at him, trying to kill him. To everyone around Jesus, his claim to be God was shocking, shockingly clear. 

 

 

In John 10, blasphemy means claiming to be God when you’re just a human person. But Jesus is God, and he knew it. 

Read Philippians 2.6-11, where we hear the promise that one day we will all bow to Jesus. Talk about a sad day that will be for those who never believed that Jesus is who he said he is. They will bow down to Jesus, not because they love him, but because they have to finally admit he is God. What a great day, though, for all of us who do believe that Jesus is God’s Son! We’ll be able to love and worship him forever. 

Unconventional day 1

 LUKE 10:38-41

 

Unconventional. That’s the word for it. Unseemly. That’s another good word for what is going on in the other room.

Maybe things were different in Nazareth or Bethlehem or Egypt or wherever this itinerant rabbi was raised, but here in Bethany, women keep to their places and men keep to theirs. Outside where the children play, there might be some interaction (and of course, in the bedroom). Other than that, though, men talk about men things in the men part of the house. Women keep to themselves.

But Mary! She’s in there with her brother, Lazarus, and the rest of the men, sitting on the floor, listening to Jesus. Learning from the rabbi as if — it’s laughable, unthinkable really — as if she intends to become a disciple herself.

And she’s left poor Martha in the kitchen all by herself. No one to talk to. No one to help her prepare refreshments.

It’s unconventional. Unseemly. Unwomanly.

Martha continues to stew, the heat slowly rising, her thoughts simmering for a while until they burst into a rolling boil. Convention flies out the window as she bursts into the room, demanding that Jesus tell her sister to get back into the kitchen where she belongs.

A woman, telling Jesus that women have no business exchanging ideas with men.

Ironic. That’s the word for that.

But Jesus, gentle and firm at the same time, refuses to be cowed by Martha. He affirms Mary’s choice, giving a divine stamp of approval to women and learning, liberating countless generations of women who will follow her to assume unconventional roles in His kingdom. And after opening that door to the sisters, He becomes as close to them as He is to their brother.

Unconventional. Unseemly. Ironic. These are all words that describe the things Jesus did during His life on earth. These are also words that accurately describe the ongoing activity of Jesus through His people. Wherever Christianity has gone, conventions have been broken, stereotypical roles have been redefined. Men and women serve side by side, for the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are so few

Liberty. Approval. Affirmation. These are also words that describe Jesus and His followers. At least they should be.

 

Prayer

 

Holy Father, all glory, honour and praise are Yours not only because of who You are but also for what You have done. You have broken the yoke of sin and of slavery in the lives of those who trust in You, and You have overcome the enmity and alienation that plague relationships among those who embrace your rule and authority. Wherever the true gospel of salvation and sanctification by grace through faith has spread, people have been transformed in the wake. Because of the Good News, the old distinctions that separated and estranged people need no longer rule our hearts. In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. I praise You for the gift of freedom that overcomes the bondage of sin and unites us together into one Body, of whom He is the head.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

Do I have to tell people about Jesus?

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. 

 

Did you know that you have been given the most important job on Earth? Yes, you! If you trusted in Jesus as your Saviour, then God has appointed you to be his messenger. He asks you to spread the Good News that offers forgiveness in Jesus. It’s one of the biggest commands Jesus ever gave. He said to “go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”(Mark 16.15)

God doesn’t expect you to do the job alone. He has surrounded you with other Christians who have the same job, and Jesus himself promises to be with you. Telling others about Jesus is a task God commands you to do. But it’s also a job you should be glad that God allows you to do for him. 

 

 

 

So what should you say? How should you say it? Who should you say it to? Well you need to practice these, maybe if they are Christian role-play with a member. Good examples of people who you can share your faith with is people you would see on a daily basis. 

And the first thing you can share is a time when you have experienced Christ’s love and what he has done for you. Take some time to write them out and use the role play time to see how you would say it. 

Transfiguration day 4

 The story of Jesus’ Transfiguration has a command in it, spoken directly from God the Father to the three disciples. It may be one of the most neglected commands in the Bible: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mk 9.7). 

Every person who claims to be a follower of Jesus must reckon with these two questions. What do you think Jesus is saying to you right now? and How do you know it’s Jesus and not someone else? Obviously, answering requires a high level of discernment, but as followers of Jesus, we can know that He wants us to know His voice and do what He says (Jn 10.27). 

But how does that happen? How does Jesus speak to us today? The three disciples standing there on the mountaintop could follow Him literally and speak with a human. It’s a little more difficult for us. 

Still, it’s possible. 

Broadly speaking, there are three primary ways Jesus speaks to us now. 1) Through His words; 2) through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit; and 3) through the collective wisdom of the Body of Christ — that is, the Church. Let’s take a closer look at each of these. 

It’s probably obvious by now that I like the Bible. I advocate Bible reading. I’ve written blog posts about the Bible, because I believe there is great wisdom to be had by reading from all portions of Scripture. But there is something special about reading the words of Jesus Himself, allowing your mind to steep in the wisdom of the smartest man who ever lived. We neglect the “red letters” to our own peril. 

The Spirit has come in place of the bodily presence of Jesus, so a person follows Jesus only to the extent that he or she follows the leading of the Spirit. But the Spirit of God rarely shouts; He simply will not clamour for our attention. If we want to hear His voice, we must shut out the noise that so easily and often distracts us. Turn off the television and the iPod, the computer and the Xbox and ask the Spirit to speak. 

Finally, as communities of faith, we must develop the capacity to listen together for the voice of Jesus. When we come together, there is so much to do — songs to sing, announcements to be made, sermons to deliver. But is there ever time to pray and listen collectively for what Jesus might want to tell His people? If we are to hear Him and discern together that He is truly speaking, there must be. God the Father said, “This is My Son. I love Him. Listen to Him!” What could happen if His people took Him seriously and did what He said?

 

Prayer 

 

Lord, teach me the wisdom of taking the time and care to listen to Your voice and seek Your wisdom and will for me. May I pause to hear what You want to tell me, and may I regularly make room for this to happen in my life. When I am busy and driven, I cannot hear what You want to tell me, and I crowd You out as I rush from one thing to the next. Instead, I ask for the grace to expose myself to Your Word and listen to its life-giving counsel. I also ask for a greater capacity to give attention to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit as He counsels, comforts, exhorts, convicts, encourages and inspires me. May I additionally listen to the collective wisdom and insight that is available through the communion of saints, so that I will not endeavour to live the spiritual life on my own, without these rich resources that You have given to me.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

Why did Jesus die?

He was wounded for the wrong we did, he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment which made us well was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds. 

Isaiah 53.5

 

Who would take the punishment for your sins? A friend couldn’t pay for your sins, because friends sin just like you do. A parent couldn’t take your place, because even the best parents do wrong too. A pet couldn’t die for you, because an animal could not take the blame for a human being’s sin. Only Jesus could die in your place. He is the only person who ever lived who never sinned, not even once. There was no reason for him to die. Jesus is the Son of God, and he was punished for your sins, so you could be forgiven!

 

 

This is the most important part of the Good News. Jesus was our stand in. He died in our place, taking the punishment we had coming. Here’s another verse to explain it. “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.” (Romans 4.25)

Does it matter which God people believe in?

How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, there is no other God.

2 Samuel 7.22 

 

At the time the Bible was written, people worship many different gods. Yet those who wrote the there is only one God worth believing in. In Exodus 34.14 we read, “You must worship no other gods, but only the LORD, for he is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.” And Acts 4.12 makes it very clear why believing in the God of the Bible matters so much, “Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. We must be saved through him.”

If we really want to know God, we need to know the one true God, and his real plan to make us his friends.

 

 

Do you know anyone who follows a different faith, or who doesn’t seem to believe in God at all. Or people who ‘believe’ in God but don’t follow him, or commit themselves to ideas or faiths but don’t believe Jesus is God’s Son. Our goal is not to put down these people, or stop being friends with them. Our job is to talk to them about Jesus’s love for them. We want them to know Jesus can save all of us from sin. That he gives us joy and peace now. And his death on the cross makes it possible for us to live with God forever someday if we trust him. 

Transfiguration day3

 History is moving, slowly but steadily, toward a day when the glory of the Lord will be revealed and recognised. The whole earth is already filled with His glory (Psa 72.19), but the whole earth is not yet filled with the knowledge of His glory (Hab 2.14).

One day, however, it will be. 

In the meantime, we must often persist through suffering and darkness in this world. We persist in hope, though, because we know that God is moving toward the day when His Son will be revealed, and every person who has ever lived will see His glory. 

But wait! There’s more! 

According to the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration, we will share in His glory. Moses and Elijah appeared alongside Jesus in glorious splendour, and they shared in the glory that radiated from Jesus. The sight must have been staggering for His young disciples. For almost three years, they had witnessed some of Jesus’ glory in His miracles and teaching. But this time, they were seeing something altogether new; they saw what He will look like when His kingdom comes in its fullness.

But they saw more: Moses and Elijah were humans, but when they stood in the light of Jesus’ glory, they radiated His light. Evidently, regular human beings can be transfigured into something glorious as well. As the Son gave His closest friends a glimpse into His future, He was giving them a glimpse into their own future as well. 

Elijah and Moses were great men, but they were men. They had their share of failures. Moses had quite a temper; he murdered a man and was kept from entering the Promised Land as a result of his inability to control himself. Elijah saw one of the greatest miracles of the Old Testament — calling down fire on Mount Carmel — but he got so depressed when he was persecuted that he actually asked God to kill him! 

They were two great men, no doubt. But they were human beings with baggage and failures and despair — just like us. But on the top of that mountain, they shared in the glory of Jesus Christ. And if they can do it, so can you. 

Because you were created for eternity. Once you come into existence, you never stop existing and you never become someone else. Moses was still Moses. Elijah was still Elijah. You will still be you. Think about it: Somehow Peter recognised who these guys were. We have no idea how that happened; there weren’t any photos of them! But somehow God allowed Peter, James and John to know the identities of Jesus’ visitors. Odds are, your identity will not only remain intact in the Kingdom that is coming, but you will be known as well. 

After all, God’s plan has always been to create a community of people who don’t just relate to Him but relate to each other, too. One of the great joys of the next life will be the joy of seeing the glory of God reflected in ourselves and the light of Jesus shining through people we love. 

 

Prayer 

 

Father, I give thanks that You foreknew me, that You chose and called me, and that You have declared me righteous in Christ. My desire is that I become fully conformed to His image in spirit, soul and body so that I will display the beauty of His light as it shines through me and blesses others. I eagerly await the fullness of my adoption as Your child through the redemption of my body. I long for the day that will come when we put off mortality and are clothed with immortality. In the resurrection of our bodies, we will enjoy the fullness of our salvation. You will do away with death, sickness, suffering and grief, and this perishable will become imperishable. We will manifest Your life and reflect Your glory through the prisms of our unique personalities, so that each of us will contribute to the whole at the great feast and in the great dance.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

 

How can Jesus live inside me?

I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.

Ephesians 3.17

 

When you hear people say that Jesus ‘lives in your heart' it doesn’t mean you have an itsy-bitsy man camping inside you. It means that when you trust in Jesus, he is present in your life. But he isn’t just with you. Now, it’s a mystery exactly how Jesus can live inside each Christian, but we do know that he made this promise to his followers before he returned to heaven, “I am with you always.”(Matt 28.20)

Each time you let Jesus help you, you make him more welcome in your life. It’s important to obey him when he helps you know in your heart what the right thing to do is. Jesus Christ living in you makes you a strong Christian. 

Who wrote down the words of the Bible?

The LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words.”

 

The words of God in the Bible were written down by kings, farmers, fishermen, poets, and even a doctor. The Bible is full of history and poetry and prayers and information. God made the most of each writer’s personality and experience.

Solomon, for example, shared wisdom God had given him. David sang songs of praise. Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah comforted God’s people, and warned them against sin. Hosea talked about his broken marriage to teach people about following God. You can think of each writer as an instrument God used to produce a beautiful song. Like the violins and trumpets and flutes and drums in an orchestra, each makes a different sound. Yet each plays a part in God’s tune.

 

Look at the way in which each Bible writer is special, which is one of its best characteristics. See the different ways God spoke through the following writers about love. Through John, “God is love” (1 John 4.8), Paul, “Let love be your highest goal” (1 Corinthians 14.1), Jeremiah, “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31.3), Hosea, “Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love.” (Hosea 10.12), and Solomon, “A bowl of soup with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.” (Proverbs 15.17)

 

 

You can also read Jeremiah 36.2, Hebrews 1.1-2, 1 Peter 1.10-11  

  

Transfiguration day2

 When we use the phrase “son of,” we mean something specific. Assuming we aren’t prone to profanity, we mean to mention a given person’s parents. “He’s the son of J.J. and Isabel” or “He’s the son of the pastor.” We use the phrase to give information about a person’s origin: “He owes his existence and wellbeing to J.J. and Isabel.” 

But ancient people used the phrase differently. Rather than using it to describe a person’s origin, they used it to describe his character or his likeness with someone or something. For example, two of Jesus’ followers, James and John, were called “sons of thunder.” A character we meet later in the New Testament, named Barnabas, was known as the “son of encouragement.” They didn’t mean that Thunder and Encouragement literally gave birth; they were being descriptive: James and John were like thunder; Barnabas was like encouragement. 

So when the Bible says Jesus is the Son of God, it doesn’t mean that YHWH literally gave birth to Jesus. (The Bible is clear about who Jesus’ birth parents were.) It means that the Son is exactly like the Father; Jesus is exactly like God. God the Father and God the Son are both eternal, self-existing and fully equal in their Persons. Neither owes His origin or wellbeing to the other. Neither brought the other into existence. Neither is superior to or greater than the other. They are alike. 

Whatever the Father is, God the Son is also. Any glory or praise or worship the one is entitled to receive, the other deserves as well. That’s why praying to Jesus is acceptable and so is singing to Him. 

To say that Jesus is the Son of God is to say that His nature is one and the same with the Father and the Holy Spirit, that He is divine in His very essence. Father, Son and Spirit are united by virtue of Their shared deity. 

Jesus’ three closest friends stood there on the mountain, mouths agape, watching the whole thing unfurl before their eyes. What were they supposed to think? Here stood Moses and Elijah, talking with their friend Jesus as casually as you might chat with your next-door neighbour over the fence on a Saturday afternoon. The author of the Law and the greatest miracle-working prophet in Jewish history — they were rock stars, and they were standing so close that the disciples could hear them talking. 

Once again, Peter blurted out the first thing that popped into his head: “Let’s build some kind of monument to mark this momentous occasion. No, wait! Three monuments; one for each of you!” 

And then came the Voice: “This one is my Son. He’s the one I love. Listen to Him.” Moses was great, but he wasn’t the Son of God. Elijah was great, but he wasn’t the Son of God. 

There’s only one Son of God—the One and Only—sent from the Father to save the world. That’s Jesus. He’s the one we should listen to. 

 

Prayer 

 

Jesus, You are the wonderful Counsellor, mighty God, eternal Father, Prince of peace, holy One, Lamb of God, Prince of life, Lion of the tribe of Judah, Root of David, Word of life, Lord of all, Son of God, Shepherd and Guardian of souls, the Messiah. You are the I AM, the bright morning Star, the chief Shepherd, the Head of the Church, the Sun of righteousness, the Resurrection and the Life, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, and the Way, the Truth and the Life. May I willingly submit to Your lordship over every area of my life; may I abide in You, hope in You, trust in You, love You, obey You and follow You in all You tell me to do for Your sake. Then I will see, with greater clarity, that Your service is true freedom, that Your yoke is light, and that Your cross is glorious.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

How do we know the Bible is from God?

All Scripture is inspired by God

2Timothy 3.16

 

The Bible was written by some of God's best friends, Old Testament heroes like Moses, David and Solomon, and New Testament followers of Jesus like John and Paul. It’s surprising that all these people, who lived in different times and places, could write a book that makes any sense at all. Yet all of the Bible writers agree on hundreds of topics that people argue about.

Better yet, the Bible brings us one very special, very clear message about how God wants to save each of us through Jesus. That’s a huge way in which we see that the Bible is more than a human book. It’s God Word. He put it together to tell us about himself. The Bible is ”inspired by God” or “God-breathed.” It’s packed by God with his powerful message that’s worthy of our trust.

 

Imagine you had no Bible, what would you know about God if he hadn’t told you about himself in the Bible? Here’s some things we wouldn’t know. How much God loves us, how God helped the likes of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David and Esther. How Jesus was born, lived, died, and came back to life, how God wants us to love him and others. And I could go on and on.

But we can thank God that he did give us a book that tells us what he is like, and how we can be friends with him.

Why did God make people?

God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way. 

Genesis 1.31

 

God made us to be his friends. When God made the sun and the moon, the land and the sea, and the plants and animals that fill our world, he was pleased. But when he made people, he said that we were an extra-special creation. We are not just smart animals, we can talk to each other and we can talk to God. Animals can’t. We can talk to him and read about him. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, there’s a clear message, God loves us and wants us to love him back. He wants us to trust him, enjoy him, and obey him. His plan is for us to live every minute as his friends. And someday he wants us to live with him in heaven forever!

 

 

Read Genesis 1.27-31, see the ways God was friends with Adam and Eve. God talked with them, provided food for them, and gave both of them someone they could enjoy being with, each other. 

Even more exciting is what the end of the Bible says about God’s plan for us to be friends with him forever. Read this special description of heaven, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” 

 

 

You can also read Psalm 8.4-8, Psalm 139.13-18

Transfiguration day 1

 MATTHEW 16:13-17:13, MARK 8:27-9:13, LUKE 9:18-36 

Jesus was confusing — even to His closest followers. After spending so much time with Him, they still didn’t really understand what was going on. So He decided it was time to get a little more explicit. 

He began by asking them a question: “Who do people say I am?” (Mk 8.27-30)

They responded with three very common views about Jesus. “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” John had been a wise and moral teacher. Elijah was a miracle-worker. The prophets spoke to the people on behalf of YHWH. 

But Jesus pressed, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” In other words, “Do you think I fit into any one of those three categories? Or is there something more?” 

It was Peter who finally stepped up and said what many of them may have suspected: “You are the Messiah.” 

Bingo! Bull’s eye! For once in his life, Peter got it right on the first try! 

But then an odd thing happened. Jesus went on to explain the implications of this whole “Messiah” thing — about how He would suffer and be rejected and die (Mk 8.31-33). Such a thought did not sit well with Peter, so he took Jesus aside and scolded Him for bringing everybody down. Jesus responded with some scolding of His own. He even called Peter a really bad name and accused Peter of trying to sabotage His plan. 

Awkward. 

We don’t know how the whole thing was resolved, but we can assume there was some tension among them. It’s possible that not a word was spoken for a full week (Mt 17.1, Mk 9.2, Lk 9.28). Jesus knew His mission would ultimately lead Him to the cross, but now He knew that those closest to Him did not understand. It must have been a lonely time for Him. And the disciples must have felt like they were walking on eggshells, wondering what the future held. 

After a full week, here’s how Jesus broke the silence. Gathering His three best friends — Peter, James and John — to Him, He climbed a mountaintop and gave them the clearest picture imaginable. His face began to change, glowing, and His clothes did, too. It was as if Jesus reflected — or better, radiated — some bright light. 

In the coming days, the disciples would see Jesus beaten beyond recognition. The light they now saw would be extinguished, but they needed to know that the darkness would not have the last word. Jesus’ light radiated from within, and no amount of suffering and humiliation would ever be able to permanently snuff it out. 

Interestingly, Moses and Elijah showed up and started talking to Jesus. And the topic that surfaced? “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment in Jerusalem” (Lk 9.31). Moses and Elijah understood something that Peter failed to grasp, Jesus’ death (His “departure”) was how YHWH’s promises were going to be fulfilled. 

Then a cloud appeared and a voice boomed out of the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love; listen to him!” (Mk 9.7). If there was any doubt at all about Jesus’ identity, or any thought of correcting His theology or His methodology, this erased it!

The cloud evaporated. Moses and Elijah vanished from view. The befuddled disciples were left alone with Jesus again, but now, when they looked at Him, He didn’t look quite the same.

 

Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, I aspire to know You better, and I recognise that at present I am only dimly aware of who You really are and what You are like. Scripture reveals wonderful truths about You, but You are unimaginably more than those words can communicate to me. I affirm that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, but my capacity to understand what that means is bounded. Your majesty and glory are beyond human comprehension, and even in heaven the journey into the knowledge of You will be limitless. And yet You invite me to know You even now. Because intimacy with You is related to trust and obedience, may I respond by obeying what You command me to do as an expression of my love for You. In this way, You will progressively disclose Yourself to me and enlighten the eyes of my heart.

In Jesus’s name, Amen