Psalms 34:4-7 (ANIV)
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Verse 5 is fantastic, especially for those of us who all too readily accept the enemies’ accusations that we somehow do not measure up to the perfection we THINK is expected of us. Our society “demands” that we are this or that; that we perform flawlessly; that we measure up & juggle all the balls well & with a smile plastered on our faces at all times! But really it is the quiet whispered accusations of the enemy of our souls who keeps laying expectations upon our overloaded backs until we creak under the strain.
His goal is not to perfect us, but to break us.
Of course we “hear” his accusations in the first person; “I should do better”, “I didn’t do that very well”, “I should shape up & be more like, x,y,z”. But accusations “heard” in our imaginations in the first person are from Satan.
We HAVE to resist his insidious accusations... But how do we do that?
God’s word is powerful to the pulling down of strongholds. We must rely on what the Word of God says, not the whispered, poisonous warped words of the enemy, which are designed to knock us down & keep us down... sometimes with our own absent-minded consent.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (ANIV) says, ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’
I rather like the Message version of that scripture which reads, ‘We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.’
‘powerful God-tools’ = The Bible; the Word of God, which speaks the truth to us at all time. Rely on what we KNOW God has said, through the Bible, not on our own thoughts which are so variable, wavering & subject to outside influence.
‘...for smashing warped philosophies’, that’s a GREAT way of describing the evil, soul-destoying accusations of Satan!
Psalms 34:5 reminds us (& boy, do we need daily reminders!!!) ‘Those who look to him [God] for help WILL be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.’ That verse reminds us that DESPITE all the fears, insecurities & ideas that we don’t measure up; that we’re not good enough, the FACT is, that Jesus MAKES us sinless, such that we do not have to accept the enemies accusations any more.
We need to learn to disregard ANY thought that accuses us; disregard ANY thought that says we don’t measure up; disregard ANY thought that says we don’t perform well enough. Any “voice” that says these things to you is not “for” you, but against you.
God loves you...
don’t gloss over that 3 word sentence without REALLY dwelling on it & realising the truth of it. If God loves you, then He ISN’T going to accuse you. God has paid far too high a price (in the death of Jesus) to accuse you & “put you down”. That’s not what God is about AT ALL. Any & all performance anxiety you face never comes from God, it is an accusation from the enemy of our souls. After all, Jesus described his yoke as easy & his burden as light, right? (see Matthew 11:30)
The FACT is, the death & resurrection of Jesus the Christ is MORE THAN ENOUGH sacrifice to remove ANY & ALL sin from our souls. The work of Jesus REMOVES any claim Satan has over us any more. The cross of Jesus IS ENOUGH to save us.
So don’t listen to that small inner “voice” that accuses you. The Holy Spirit DOESN’T accuse, He CONVICTS. There is a BIG, fundamental difference between accusation & conviction.
We need to learn the difference, then we ‘ll correctly identify the source of the “voice”, every time.
If anyone (outside or inside) accuses you, then they are not speaking God’s Word in love... so disregard at once!
Keep your shield of faith up at all times.
Psalms 34:5 reminds us, ‘Those who look to him [God] for help WILL be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.’ That means that never, ever will God accuse us, & therefore, never EVER do we have to accept shame. We ARE free of all shame - that is our on-going condition, even if we don’t feel like that is true. Just because we don’t feel it, that doesn’t change the fact that, through Jesus, we ARE free of all condemnation, accusation & shame.
So don’t accept that thought-accusation - kick it into touch! It isn’t from God, so you don’t have to accept it.
Remember: the shield of faith is there for your defence: use it.
Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Friday, 22 February 2013
The tiny/huge step: needing faith like a child
I have just been reading about the life of Thomas Aquinas, sent to me as an article regularly by BibleGateway (BibleGateway@e.biblegateway.com). He wrote extensively & compiled his Summa Theologica, which was the most comprehensive treatise on theology ever written (at that time, in the late 13th Century.)
What grabbed my attention was the assertion that Aquinas proved the existence of God with his "Five Ways", a sequence of logical thought progression... I was intrigued by that, so I looked up the "Five Ways" on Google; it proved to be an interesting read.
(source: http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/aquinasfiveways_argumentanalysis.htm).
Then I noticed 4 articles down the list on Google an atheist article entitled, “Refuting the five ways of Aquinas” (Source: http://patas.co/articles/opinion/refuting-the-five-ways-of-aquinas/)
Although the arguments against Aquinas seem not very well constructed (a bit like this sentence!) I took the point that for every logical argument FOR God’s existence, there is an equal logical argument AGAINST God’s existence.
I think there will always be arguments for & against the existence of God. We quote from astronomy, cosmology, evolution, logical reason, quantum physics, etc, etc, & use these mental frameworks to bolster our own beliefs; to uphold the positions we have already adopted, either in support of our assertion that God exists, or, using exactly the same evidence (!) in support of our assertion that God does not exist!
For me, the only logical conclusion is that logical argument is INCAPABLE of proving God’s existence in either direction. It seems to me that logical reasoning & logical rationalism is a “tool” incapable of actually shedding any light on the subject of God’s existence or non-existence. As I have explained in other blogs, I believe that we human beings are bound into a temporal, physical cosmos, with physical cause & effect, & therefore can not use observable data from within that cosmos to assert anything about a being who may or may not dwell outside that cosmos.
We can tie ourselves up in knots by trying to find evidence either for or against the existence of God. The pursuit of either seems to be never-ending, & there appears to be no single piece of irrefutable evidence either way. As a Christian I am left to wonder if perhaps that is exactly what God intended!
”For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
Jesus the Christ shed some light on the whole subject of how to approach (the kingdom of) God, in Luke 18:15-17 (NLT), which says, ‘15 One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. 16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ‘
Jesus himself says that we need to approach the kingdom of God as a child. And that unless we do, we will not enter it.
What does that mean?
I think he was saying that our adult thinking, which seems to always require evidence & proof before we are prepared to enter into something, is simply UNABLE to help us to enter the kingdom of God. I don’t think Jesus was saying it is wrong to have a questioning mind. Questions are good! I don’t think Jesus was saying that critical thinking doesn’t have some value in certain situations. As anyone who has children, or works with children will know, children ask a LOT of questions! Would Jesus have been cross with the many questions he would have been asked by children (& adults alike) - No, I think not. The Bible doesn’t show Jesus ever getting angry with anyone who had genuine questions for him.
Atheists & the search
I’m not trying to “bash” atheists in my blog writings. All of our questions from ANY viewpoint or stance, are really our attempts to try to uncover the truth, to discover what is REAL & what is RELIABLE. So an atheists’ questions are as important & invaluable in uncovering the truth about the universe as anyone elses. An atheist is a person who has simply not found enough compelling evidence to switch from not believing in God to the reverse position. If that is you, then simply be happy in your current assertions. But please, do make sure you have weighed up all the alternative positions. Please don’t let someone else’s thoughts bias your own thinking: examine the arguments for yourself. Find your own position, don’t just adopt someone else’s.
That said, I pray to my God that you will find that the atheist position is not really the “end game position” but is, in fact, the “starting position”... obviously we are all atheists before we believe in God! I hope you will come to see that what you are looking for (THE answer) is not found in unbelief at all. I pray that you will find the lasting peace, security & hope we all want. We just have to be honest in our own hearts & minds, about that search. But, of course, I believe you will only really find that answer & position, in Jesus the Christ. I can’t help but pray to my God, that you will find the lasting peace, lasting hope & eternal meaning that we all seek.
The limited scope of logic & reason
When it comes to the kingdom of God (& therefore God & His existence) I do believe that Jesus was asserting that logic & reason was incapable of catapulting us from unbelief into belief. I think Jesus was alluding to the position that any amount of logical thinking, reasoning, & the adult’s need for proof before agreement & adoption of an alternative lifestyle, would be UTTERLY incapable of taking us from unbelief in God to belief in God. I think that is why it is impossible to “prove”, either way, using logical & reason, that God either exists or does not.
What then is required?
Two quotes from Bible commentaries are useful here, please note, I have put the key words (as I perceive them!) in upper case letters, to draw your attention to them:
‘In these words Jesus was stating that a person must come to Him in HUMILITY in order to enter the kingdom. Children come with EXPECTATION and EXCITEMENT. They come realizing that they are NOT SUFFICIENT in themselves. They DEPEND totally on others. If these same attitudes are not present in adults, they can never enter into the kingdom.’
(Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.)
‘Jesus explained that little children have the kind of faith and trust needed to enter the Kingdom of God. Anyone of any age who exhibits their kind of faith and trust is PROMISED access to Jesus and to the Kingdom. Children represent the essence of discipleship, coming to Jesus in humility and receiving his blessing as a GIFT. Unless we can completely TRUST in God, we will never get into the Kingdom of God.’
(Source: Life Application New Testament Commentary.)
There are some great points about the attitude we need to have, if we want to enter into the kingdom of God. And it seems to depend on attitude more than anything else.
Taking these points, it seems we need HUMILITY in order to enter the kingdom of God. Pride & arrogance will not get us there. Pride is exhibited in believing that we can do it ourselves. Self-help books are, by definition, reliant on me: my efforts to improve myself; my efforts to “fix” myself. Jesus explains that we simply are not able to work our way back to a perfect, unsoiled, spotless condition.
Romans 3:23 (NLT) states, ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.’
No matter how hard we try, WE can not undo our wrong-doing. Of course, an atheist may not believe in their own wrong-doing. But if we are truly honest with ourselves, we can all look back on a less-than-perfect past performance in our own lives. No matter how small the error, we have all done wrong.
In the commentary quote above, the words NOT SUFFICIENT & DEPEND (or dependent) stand out: because the wise person realises that they are simply not able to repair their own damaged lives, no matter how hard they try. We try to fix ourselves with bigger & better jobs, cars, houses, & other “stuff”, but none of it brings real, lasting contentment. To the atheist: simple denial of your condition does not change it, however hard you try to think yourself into a better state of being. It is very frustrating, I know, but the truth is we are incapable of fixing ourselves, & the only person who can repair our damaged, broken lives is the person you don’t want to believe in: Jesus the Christ. That is the truth. And I simply want to point you in that direction, because Jesus loves you, no matter what you may have done in your past. It is love that wins us back to Jesus from the atheistic starting position we all begin with.
EXPECTATION and EXCITEMENT, these are two very notable characteristics of children!
And I think Jesus wants us (adults) to have the same child-like expectancy & excitement when we want to encounter God. In truth, I think we all have needs & from the believers side of the fence, I can tell you that all our needs can be met & are met, when we chose to believe in Jesus the Christ. Atheists have needs, just like everyone else, but unlike a Christian, those needs can not be met if you “growl” & “bite” the loving hand of Jesus which is constantly extended to you, & in which all your deepest needs are met.
The kingdom of God is PROMISED & is a GIFT, freely given to anyone & everyone who wants it.
TRUST is required: the simple, uncomplicated trust of a child.
It is not a problem to God that we have tons of questions, He welcomes our questions. Indeed, our curiosity & questioning minds have carried us forward into technical advances & devising new break-throughs which benefit us all. God knows, questions are useful tools for us!
But... if our questions stand in the way of us believing in God, or getting to know God, then just how useful are those questions? As adults, we often say that we will only believe in God & Jesus if He proves Himself to us; if He appears to us: thereby asserting that “seeing is believing.” But it isn’t! We see yet still we refuse to believe. The same evidence put forward by an atheist to assert that God does not exist (quoting from the sciences, logical thoughts, micro-biology, etc) can be used by a Christian to assert the exact opposite: that because of that evidence God does exist!
Coming back to the two articles I read at the beginning of this blog, it seems to me that we can always find supporting arguments for our positions. It isn’t hard to find them. But in the end we have to ask ourselves what we REALLY want?...
Do we want to shake off the worries & concerns of our own past performance?
Do we want to exceed our own experiences?
Do we want to be content?
Do we want to be truly confident?
Do we want to be excited by the future instead of fearing or dreading it?
Lifting up my eyes
I don’t know about you, but I have found that all the reasoning, logic, rational thought, sciences, etc that I have studied have not brought that result. However, I can report that when I focus my attention on the love & nature of Jesus the Christ, then contentment comes my way.
When I lift my eyes up from my problems & look to Jesus, then those problems shrink to their real size, & my Saviour, & his kingdom become more “real” than the problems. That is not denial of my situation: the problems do exist! It’s just that God can & does go to work on them with me, & together, we will solve each & every one of them.
I’m living proof that God can “speak” to anyone, & bring them into his kingdom. I am the lowest & the least likely of people to have become a Christian, yet here I am! Talk about having doubts - that’s me! Talk about trying to hang on to science, astronomy, philosophy, any other comforting mental cushion - that’s me! But none of that man-made stuff has ever really, truly brought me comfort, peace, confidence or excitement about my past, present & future.
But Jesus the Christ, in his infinite patience, kindness & love, is coaxing me onwards, ever more gradually forwards, into His kingdom. He is SO patient with my doubting, uncertain, quivering-like-a-jelly faith! He is so patient when I run away from anything I don’t like the look of! He is so kind & loving & encouraging. God “jumps for joy” at my least, tiny, hesitant step of faith, like the proud Father in heaven He really is!
If God is like that to me, then He can be just like that & more so, to you.
What do we truly believe?
In the end I believe we all face the BIG question: what do I truly believe. I have come to realise that belief is a choice, rather than a response to any evidence that we might put forward. I hope I’ve shown that all so-called evidence can be viewed in either way: as “proof” for, or against the existence of God. In the end, what is required is a step of faith: if you want to believe in Jesus, then it is only a matter of asserting that you choose to believe in Him.
For me, on the “having already decided to believe in Jesus” side of the fence, I can report that everything changes, & improves, once you do make that choice. Yes, your problems remain, but there is peace, contentment, & power to overcome, which we did not have before that decision.
I think Jesus showed intense & searing wisdom when He said, ‘For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.’ That statement effectively strips away all the logical arguments, all the adult “Show-me-proof-before-I’ll-belive” attitudes.
For me, Jesus & the Bible are both Real & Reliable.
All that is really required is simply a desire to believe. God answers our deepest, most endearing, most urgent questions... but only if we choose to approach Him in a child’s humility & with a child’s faith. Will you put your faith in this amazing Saviour Jesus the Christ?
Additional information:
Here’s an interesting article I just found focussing on what it might mean to have Faith like a little child. It’s well worth a read.
“What did Jesus mean by ‘Faith like a little child’? Dawkins on curiosity.”
http://sntjohnny.com/front/what-did-jesus-mean-by-faith-like-a-little-child-dawkins-on-curiosity/365.html
What grabbed my attention was the assertion that Aquinas proved the existence of God with his "Five Ways", a sequence of logical thought progression... I was intrigued by that, so I looked up the "Five Ways" on Google; it proved to be an interesting read.
(source: http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/aquinasfiveways_argumentanalysis.htm).
Then I noticed 4 articles down the list on Google an atheist article entitled, “Refuting the five ways of Aquinas” (Source: http://patas.co/articles/opinion/refuting-the-five-ways-of-aquinas/)
Although the arguments against Aquinas seem not very well constructed (a bit like this sentence!) I took the point that for every logical argument FOR God’s existence, there is an equal logical argument AGAINST God’s existence.
I think there will always be arguments for & against the existence of God. We quote from astronomy, cosmology, evolution, logical reason, quantum physics, etc, etc, & use these mental frameworks to bolster our own beliefs; to uphold the positions we have already adopted, either in support of our assertion that God exists, or, using exactly the same evidence (!) in support of our assertion that God does not exist!
For me, the only logical conclusion is that logical argument is INCAPABLE of proving God’s existence in either direction. It seems to me that logical reasoning & logical rationalism is a “tool” incapable of actually shedding any light on the subject of God’s existence or non-existence. As I have explained in other blogs, I believe that we human beings are bound into a temporal, physical cosmos, with physical cause & effect, & therefore can not use observable data from within that cosmos to assert anything about a being who may or may not dwell outside that cosmos.
We can tie ourselves up in knots by trying to find evidence either for or against the existence of God. The pursuit of either seems to be never-ending, & there appears to be no single piece of irrefutable evidence either way. As a Christian I am left to wonder if perhaps that is exactly what God intended!
”For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
Jesus the Christ shed some light on the whole subject of how to approach (the kingdom of) God, in Luke 18:15-17 (NLT), which says, ‘15 One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. 16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ‘
Jesus himself says that we need to approach the kingdom of God as a child. And that unless we do, we will not enter it.
What does that mean?
I think he was saying that our adult thinking, which seems to always require evidence & proof before we are prepared to enter into something, is simply UNABLE to help us to enter the kingdom of God. I don’t think Jesus was saying it is wrong to have a questioning mind. Questions are good! I don’t think Jesus was saying that critical thinking doesn’t have some value in certain situations. As anyone who has children, or works with children will know, children ask a LOT of questions! Would Jesus have been cross with the many questions he would have been asked by children (& adults alike) - No, I think not. The Bible doesn’t show Jesus ever getting angry with anyone who had genuine questions for him.
Atheists & the search
I’m not trying to “bash” atheists in my blog writings. All of our questions from ANY viewpoint or stance, are really our attempts to try to uncover the truth, to discover what is REAL & what is RELIABLE. So an atheists’ questions are as important & invaluable in uncovering the truth about the universe as anyone elses. An atheist is a person who has simply not found enough compelling evidence to switch from not believing in God to the reverse position. If that is you, then simply be happy in your current assertions. But please, do make sure you have weighed up all the alternative positions. Please don’t let someone else’s thoughts bias your own thinking: examine the arguments for yourself. Find your own position, don’t just adopt someone else’s.
That said, I pray to my God that you will find that the atheist position is not really the “end game position” but is, in fact, the “starting position”... obviously we are all atheists before we believe in God! I hope you will come to see that what you are looking for (THE answer) is not found in unbelief at all. I pray that you will find the lasting peace, security & hope we all want. We just have to be honest in our own hearts & minds, about that search. But, of course, I believe you will only really find that answer & position, in Jesus the Christ. I can’t help but pray to my God, that you will find the lasting peace, lasting hope & eternal meaning that we all seek.
The limited scope of logic & reason
When it comes to the kingdom of God (& therefore God & His existence) I do believe that Jesus was asserting that logic & reason was incapable of catapulting us from unbelief into belief. I think Jesus was alluding to the position that any amount of logical thinking, reasoning, & the adult’s need for proof before agreement & adoption of an alternative lifestyle, would be UTTERLY incapable of taking us from unbelief in God to belief in God. I think that is why it is impossible to “prove”, either way, using logical & reason, that God either exists or does not.
What then is required?
Two quotes from Bible commentaries are useful here, please note, I have put the key words (as I perceive them!) in upper case letters, to draw your attention to them:
‘In these words Jesus was stating that a person must come to Him in HUMILITY in order to enter the kingdom. Children come with EXPECTATION and EXCITEMENT. They come realizing that they are NOT SUFFICIENT in themselves. They DEPEND totally on others. If these same attitudes are not present in adults, they can never enter into the kingdom.’
(Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.)
‘Jesus explained that little children have the kind of faith and trust needed to enter the Kingdom of God. Anyone of any age who exhibits their kind of faith and trust is PROMISED access to Jesus and to the Kingdom. Children represent the essence of discipleship, coming to Jesus in humility and receiving his blessing as a GIFT. Unless we can completely TRUST in God, we will never get into the Kingdom of God.’
(Source: Life Application New Testament Commentary.)
There are some great points about the attitude we need to have, if we want to enter into the kingdom of God. And it seems to depend on attitude more than anything else.
Taking these points, it seems we need HUMILITY in order to enter the kingdom of God. Pride & arrogance will not get us there. Pride is exhibited in believing that we can do it ourselves. Self-help books are, by definition, reliant on me: my efforts to improve myself; my efforts to “fix” myself. Jesus explains that we simply are not able to work our way back to a perfect, unsoiled, spotless condition.
Romans 3:23 (NLT) states, ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.’
No matter how hard we try, WE can not undo our wrong-doing. Of course, an atheist may not believe in their own wrong-doing. But if we are truly honest with ourselves, we can all look back on a less-than-perfect past performance in our own lives. No matter how small the error, we have all done wrong.
In the commentary quote above, the words NOT SUFFICIENT & DEPEND (or dependent) stand out: because the wise person realises that they are simply not able to repair their own damaged lives, no matter how hard they try. We try to fix ourselves with bigger & better jobs, cars, houses, & other “stuff”, but none of it brings real, lasting contentment. To the atheist: simple denial of your condition does not change it, however hard you try to think yourself into a better state of being. It is very frustrating, I know, but the truth is we are incapable of fixing ourselves, & the only person who can repair our damaged, broken lives is the person you don’t want to believe in: Jesus the Christ. That is the truth. And I simply want to point you in that direction, because Jesus loves you, no matter what you may have done in your past. It is love that wins us back to Jesus from the atheistic starting position we all begin with.
EXPECTATION and EXCITEMENT, these are two very notable characteristics of children!
And I think Jesus wants us (adults) to have the same child-like expectancy & excitement when we want to encounter God. In truth, I think we all have needs & from the believers side of the fence, I can tell you that all our needs can be met & are met, when we chose to believe in Jesus the Christ. Atheists have needs, just like everyone else, but unlike a Christian, those needs can not be met if you “growl” & “bite” the loving hand of Jesus which is constantly extended to you, & in which all your deepest needs are met.
The kingdom of God is PROMISED & is a GIFT, freely given to anyone & everyone who wants it.
TRUST is required: the simple, uncomplicated trust of a child.
It is not a problem to God that we have tons of questions, He welcomes our questions. Indeed, our curiosity & questioning minds have carried us forward into technical advances & devising new break-throughs which benefit us all. God knows, questions are useful tools for us!
But... if our questions stand in the way of us believing in God, or getting to know God, then just how useful are those questions? As adults, we often say that we will only believe in God & Jesus if He proves Himself to us; if He appears to us: thereby asserting that “seeing is believing.” But it isn’t! We see yet still we refuse to believe. The same evidence put forward by an atheist to assert that God does not exist (quoting from the sciences, logical thoughts, micro-biology, etc) can be used by a Christian to assert the exact opposite: that because of that evidence God does exist!
Coming back to the two articles I read at the beginning of this blog, it seems to me that we can always find supporting arguments for our positions. It isn’t hard to find them. But in the end we have to ask ourselves what we REALLY want?...
Do we want to shake off the worries & concerns of our own past performance?
Do we want to exceed our own experiences?
Do we want to be content?
Do we want to be truly confident?
Do we want to be excited by the future instead of fearing or dreading it?
Lifting up my eyes
I don’t know about you, but I have found that all the reasoning, logic, rational thought, sciences, etc that I have studied have not brought that result. However, I can report that when I focus my attention on the love & nature of Jesus the Christ, then contentment comes my way.
When I lift my eyes up from my problems & look to Jesus, then those problems shrink to their real size, & my Saviour, & his kingdom become more “real” than the problems. That is not denial of my situation: the problems do exist! It’s just that God can & does go to work on them with me, & together, we will solve each & every one of them.
I’m living proof that God can “speak” to anyone, & bring them into his kingdom. I am the lowest & the least likely of people to have become a Christian, yet here I am! Talk about having doubts - that’s me! Talk about trying to hang on to science, astronomy, philosophy, any other comforting mental cushion - that’s me! But none of that man-made stuff has ever really, truly brought me comfort, peace, confidence or excitement about my past, present & future.
But Jesus the Christ, in his infinite patience, kindness & love, is coaxing me onwards, ever more gradually forwards, into His kingdom. He is SO patient with my doubting, uncertain, quivering-like-a-jelly faith! He is so patient when I run away from anything I don’t like the look of! He is so kind & loving & encouraging. God “jumps for joy” at my least, tiny, hesitant step of faith, like the proud Father in heaven He really is!
If God is like that to me, then He can be just like that & more so, to you.
What do we truly believe?
In the end I believe we all face the BIG question: what do I truly believe. I have come to realise that belief is a choice, rather than a response to any evidence that we might put forward. I hope I’ve shown that all so-called evidence can be viewed in either way: as “proof” for, or against the existence of God. In the end, what is required is a step of faith: if you want to believe in Jesus, then it is only a matter of asserting that you choose to believe in Him.
For me, on the “having already decided to believe in Jesus” side of the fence, I can report that everything changes, & improves, once you do make that choice. Yes, your problems remain, but there is peace, contentment, & power to overcome, which we did not have before that decision.
I think Jesus showed intense & searing wisdom when He said, ‘For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.’ That statement effectively strips away all the logical arguments, all the adult “Show-me-proof-before-I’ll-belive” attitudes.
For me, Jesus & the Bible are both Real & Reliable.
All that is really required is simply a desire to believe. God answers our deepest, most endearing, most urgent questions... but only if we choose to approach Him in a child’s humility & with a child’s faith. Will you put your faith in this amazing Saviour Jesus the Christ?
Additional information:
Here’s an interesting article I just found focussing on what it might mean to have Faith like a little child. It’s well worth a read.
“What did Jesus mean by ‘Faith like a little child’? Dawkins on curiosity.”
http://sntjohnny.com/front/what-did-jesus-mean-by-faith-like-a-little-child-dawkins-on-curiosity/365.html
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Be reconciled... what’s that?!
How do I know that God loves us?
The Bible is God’s response to that question. But just looking at one little part of the answer; the apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans on this subject...
Romans 5:8-11 (ANIV) - ‘8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. ’
The first verse states clearly how absolutely certain we can be that God loves each & every one of us: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Whilst I was still sin-soaked, still separated from God by an enormous gulf of wrong-doing, Jesus died on the cross, to reconcile me to God. God didn’t require me to take the first step - I couldn’t, because my own wrong-doing prevented me from getting to God. Instead, Jesus paid for all my sin, & so opened up the way for me to get to God.
A dictionary definition of the word “reconciled”:
1. To reestablish a close relationship between, as in marriage: The estranged couple reconciled after a year.
2. To settle or resolve.
3. To bring (oneself) to accept: He finally reconciled himself to the change in management.
4. To make compatible or consistent: reconcile my way of thinking with yours.
5. To become compatible or consistent: The figures would not reconcile.
(Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reconciled)
The word reconcile sounds a bit formal, or legal, but when you look at the description, it reveals the depth & incredible scope of the meaning involved: to settle differences & BRING BACK into close relationship, like a marriage. To become COMPATIBLE OR CONSISTENT, to fit together properly once more.
Wow! When put like that we can see that God’s plan to reconcile us to Himself is anything but cold & legal, it is full of passion, desire & deep love: God wants us to believe in Him, come back to Him, trust & love Him. From that reconciled position, we can have an on-going, ever deepening relationship with the Creator God, moving from closer to still closer friendship - amazing! I want that... how about you?
The Bible is God’s response to that question. But just looking at one little part of the answer; the apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans on this subject...
Romans 5:8-11 (ANIV) - ‘8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. ’
The first verse states clearly how absolutely certain we can be that God loves each & every one of us: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Whilst I was still sin-soaked, still separated from God by an enormous gulf of wrong-doing, Jesus died on the cross, to reconcile me to God. God didn’t require me to take the first step - I couldn’t, because my own wrong-doing prevented me from getting to God. Instead, Jesus paid for all my sin, & so opened up the way for me to get to God.
A dictionary definition of the word “reconciled”:
1. To reestablish a close relationship between, as in marriage: The estranged couple reconciled after a year.
2. To settle or resolve.
3. To bring (oneself) to accept: He finally reconciled himself to the change in management.
4. To make compatible or consistent: reconcile my way of thinking with yours.
5. To become compatible or consistent: The figures would not reconcile.
(Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reconciled)
The word reconcile sounds a bit formal, or legal, but when you look at the description, it reveals the depth & incredible scope of the meaning involved: to settle differences & BRING BACK into close relationship, like a marriage. To become COMPATIBLE OR CONSISTENT, to fit together properly once more.
Wow! When put like that we can see that God’s plan to reconcile us to Himself is anything but cold & legal, it is full of passion, desire & deep love: God wants us to believe in Him, come back to Him, trust & love Him. From that reconciled position, we can have an on-going, ever deepening relationship with the Creator God, moving from closer to still closer friendship - amazing! I want that... how about you?
The “Perfect” Tool in the toolbox
You have a favourite tool in your toolbox. You prefer to use that tool. You love to use that tool. You get such a high from using that tool that you use it to the exclusion of all other possible tools. Besides, “everyone else” only ever uses that tool, & they can’t all be wrong, right?! You grew up using that tool. All your school teachers & university professors told you that this one tool was the ONLY tool for the job, ANY job. In fact, they sneered if you even mentioned any other tool. They told you repeatedly that no other tool was up to the job; no other tool would ever out perform the One Tool! They told you that you were silly, uneducated, pathetic, if you DIDN’T use the One tool.
So now, naturally, you only ever use that one tool in your tool box, even when the job at hand calls for a completely different tool!
What is the “Perfect” Tool in your toolbox? Hellenistic thinking, Greek thinking. Logic & reason. Science as the only viable answer. We call it the Western mind-set.
I’m not pouring scorn on the One tool, the Western mind-set. I use it a lot myself! It’s a great tool, & no mistake.
BUT... it’s NOT the only tool in the toolbox. There are others.
Are there any alternatives to the One tool?
Are there any other tools in the toolbox?
What might some of the other tools be?
Abstract thought. Poetry. Nonsense poetry. The Hebrew (Hebraic) mind set. Australian Aborigine thinking. Actually there are a lot of alternative mind sets & ways of thinking other than the Western mind-set.
The Bible is largely written from a Hebrew (Hebraic) mind set, so reading it with a Greek (Western) mindset may not bring out all the subtle language inflections originally intended.
1 Corinthians 1:21-23 (NLT) - ‘Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom [Greek thinking - MY added], he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles [Greeks] say it’s all nonsense.’
These verses show WHY to those who insist on remaining within Greek thinking mode, the preaching of Christ crucified appears to be nonsense: it requires something OTHER THAN Greek thinking (logic, reason, science) to fully appreciate the “foolishness” of the Gospel. It requires another tool in the toolbox: FAITH.
Hebrews 11:1 (ANIV) - ‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’
The Greek mind set is only comfortable with, & believes in, what we can see, taste, touch, hear, etc. That which is unseen, mysterious, un-provable, is rejected as nonsense in Greek thinking. Hence the death of a man on a cross as a means to save me from my sins sounds foolish to the Greek (Gentile) mind.
But the Lord God has granted us the gift (tool) of faith, to take us BEYOND merely the provable & observable. Faith enables us to move, be & do things that the Greek (Gentile) mind would not believe as being possible.
Questions to ask yourself.
Do you want to live your entire life using only one tool?
Do you want to live your life tied exclusively to the One tool?
Do you actually want to live your life within the straightjacket of the One tool?
There is so much more to experience in this life, but that requires deliberately putting the one tool of Greek thinking (the Western mindset) down, & picking up another tool instead.
The One tool of Greek thinking is DEEPLY ingrained in the western mind set. Our education systems have used that One tool for centuries, we are soaked in it, so it is not easy to give up something we have been using all our lives. But God can give us faith, & a different mind set, a different experience, if we ask Him for it.
There are many dusty, long-forgotten, foreign, unused, unusual, mysterious tools available.
Do we trust these others tools? If we do, we can start to use them, if we don’t we won’t.
Faith is another tool in the toolbox... a great one to use!
Faith is something which is antithetical to Greek thinking. But Faith is a gift from God, which we can possess in bucket loads, if we simply ask God for that gift!
Hebrews 11:6 (ANIV) - ‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’
This verse shows that faith is the means by which we recognise the existence of God, & the means by which we approach God & operate in ways that please Him. In turn, God rewards those people who deliberately use their faith to earnestly seek him.
I’m aware that I am beginning to use Greek thinking again, in the construction of these sentences: one built on the arguments presented in previous sentences! Greek thinking is clearly well ingrained in us all! However, I pray that God will grant you the mysterious & powerful gift of FAITH, which transcends Greek thinking & can take you to places you have only dreamed of.
So now, naturally, you only ever use that one tool in your tool box, even when the job at hand calls for a completely different tool!
What is the “Perfect” Tool in your toolbox? Hellenistic thinking, Greek thinking. Logic & reason. Science as the only viable answer. We call it the Western mind-set.
I’m not pouring scorn on the One tool, the Western mind-set. I use it a lot myself! It’s a great tool, & no mistake.
BUT... it’s NOT the only tool in the toolbox. There are others.
Are there any alternatives to the One tool?
Are there any other tools in the toolbox?
What might some of the other tools be?
Abstract thought. Poetry. Nonsense poetry. The Hebrew (Hebraic) mind set. Australian Aborigine thinking. Actually there are a lot of alternative mind sets & ways of thinking other than the Western mind-set.
The Bible is largely written from a Hebrew (Hebraic) mind set, so reading it with a Greek (Western) mindset may not bring out all the subtle language inflections originally intended.
1 Corinthians 1:21-23 (NLT) - ‘Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom [Greek thinking - MY added], he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles [Greeks] say it’s all nonsense.’
These verses show WHY to those who insist on remaining within Greek thinking mode, the preaching of Christ crucified appears to be nonsense: it requires something OTHER THAN Greek thinking (logic, reason, science) to fully appreciate the “foolishness” of the Gospel. It requires another tool in the toolbox: FAITH.
Hebrews 11:1 (ANIV) - ‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’
The Greek mind set is only comfortable with, & believes in, what we can see, taste, touch, hear, etc. That which is unseen, mysterious, un-provable, is rejected as nonsense in Greek thinking. Hence the death of a man on a cross as a means to save me from my sins sounds foolish to the Greek (Gentile) mind.
But the Lord God has granted us the gift (tool) of faith, to take us BEYOND merely the provable & observable. Faith enables us to move, be & do things that the Greek (Gentile) mind would not believe as being possible.
Questions to ask yourself.
Do you want to live your entire life using only one tool?
Do you want to live your life tied exclusively to the One tool?
Do you actually want to live your life within the straightjacket of the One tool?
There is so much more to experience in this life, but that requires deliberately putting the one tool of Greek thinking (the Western mindset) down, & picking up another tool instead.
The One tool of Greek thinking is DEEPLY ingrained in the western mind set. Our education systems have used that One tool for centuries, we are soaked in it, so it is not easy to give up something we have been using all our lives. But God can give us faith, & a different mind set, a different experience, if we ask Him for it.
There are many dusty, long-forgotten, foreign, unused, unusual, mysterious tools available.
Do we trust these others tools? If we do, we can start to use them, if we don’t we won’t.
Faith is another tool in the toolbox... a great one to use!
Faith is something which is antithetical to Greek thinking. But Faith is a gift from God, which we can possess in bucket loads, if we simply ask God for that gift!
Hebrews 11:6 (ANIV) - ‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’
This verse shows that faith is the means by which we recognise the existence of God, & the means by which we approach God & operate in ways that please Him. In turn, God rewards those people who deliberately use their faith to earnestly seek him.
I’m aware that I am beginning to use Greek thinking again, in the construction of these sentences: one built on the arguments presented in previous sentences! Greek thinking is clearly well ingrained in us all! However, I pray that God will grant you the mysterious & powerful gift of FAITH, which transcends Greek thinking & can take you to places you have only dreamed of.
Monday, 28 January 2013
Sharing Jesus in local Primary school
Last Friday (25/Jan/2013) I visited a local Primary school, to deliver an RE (Religious Education) lesson. The subject was ‘Why is Jesus an inspirational leader?’ I’d been in to the school the week before to discuss approach, content, etc. A few days before the event I put together a Powerpoint slide show of various Bible Cartoons I’ve drawn from the 4 books of the Gospels... so far so good.
Two days before I went to the school I was feeling a bit apprehensive, which is natural, I suppose. I’m not renowned for my public speaking! The thought of 30+ intent little faces looking up at me could unnerve anyone!
The day before I delivered the lesson I was listening to a Katherine Ruonala sermon. She is a wonderful Australian preacher (Glory City Church, Brisbane) who often talks about the love of God. In the particular message she gave, she said talked about needing to focus on Jesus in worship in such a way that we focus on His love, rather than on the fears we have. Her phrase, “We’ve got to receive because otherwise we can’t give it away.” really struck me. Since I wanted to focus the children’s attention on the love of Christ, it seemed to me a VERY apt sermon to hear at that time!
Here’s part of my transcription of Katherine Ruonala’s sermon at Basingstoke Community Churches, UK 19-20 January 2013:
“He (Jesus/God) ‘makes His face to shine on us’ [1], & that is the picture of God looking at us as a parent looks at a little baby & tries to get them to smile... & the whole purpose of doing that is to evoke a response. And God, always, is making His face shine on us. Because He wants us to smile! Because He loves us. I encourage our teams to really get filled up to overflowing, to look up & see His face smiling at them, loving them, so that they get filled up with joy & love. ‘We love BECAUSE He first loved us’ [2]. We’ve got to receive because otherwise we can’t give it away. So they’ll often spend an hour before they go out on the streets worshipping & getting fired up, until they’re overflowing, then they go out on the streets & they’re just bubbling & every person they meet sees Jesus in them, overflowing with joy. They get inebriated in the glory, so the fear of man goes, & the love of God, ‘the perfect love of God that cast out fear’ [3] (comes upon them).”
So... before I left home that morning, I took a leaf out of Katherine Ruonala's 'book' & simply chose to worship the Lord, & to focus my attention on Him, rather than my nervousness. I became filled up to overflowing, as she described. And guess what? My nervousness evaporated, & I looked forward to sharing my faith with the children. Instead of getting all 'hung up' on what I'd say, even before the event, I simply enjoyed my deepening relationship with Jesus the Christ. When the time came to drive to school, I was actually looking forward to it, amazing!
And Wow, did I have a great time talking to the children! They knew quite a lot about Jesus, but my Bible Cartoons helped them to learn even more. They had questions, which I was very pleased to answer. I questioned them too, to get them to think about what Jesus said to us.
We looked at the seven “I AM” statements in John’s gospel [4] & discussed them too. Pretty deep stuff, but the children seemed to understand what I was saying!
I broke up the lesson with a stint of cartooning. I got the children to draw simple round faces & to see how many different expressions they could create. They were so inventive, it was great! I showed them how to construct a human figure too, which went very well. I got a spontaneous round of applause for that, how kind!
I rounded off the RE lesson with a look at Jesus parable of the Wise & Foolish Builders. Which was well received too. The children really seemed to get the point that Jesus wasn’t talking about actual house building, but was referring to what, or more precisely, WHO we build our lives on. Of course, Jesus is the Rock on which the best house/life can be built.
Conclusions
So, the RE lesson went very well, & I was happy with the results.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to Katherine Ruonala, who really explained the concept of shifting our focus (our eyes) off of our problems (or in my case my projected difficulties!) & focussing instead on Jesus. Thank you Katherine!
Perfect love does indeed drive out fear!
[1]
Numbers 6:24-27 (NKJV)
24 "The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." '
27 "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."
[2]
1 John 4:19 (NKJV)
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
[3]
1 John 4:18 (NKJV)
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
[4]
The Seven ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of John
Jesus said ‘I am’ on seven occasions. Each ‘I am’ is a description Jesus gave of Himself and is recorded in John’s Gospel. The Seven ‘I am’ sayings help us better understand the divinity of Jesus Christ.
1. Bread
“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger.” John 6:35
2. Light
“I am the light of the world; he who fallows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
3. Gate
“I am the gate; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9
4. Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” John 10:11
5. Resurrection and Life
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 11:25
6. Way, Truth, Life
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6
7. True vine
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1
Two days before I went to the school I was feeling a bit apprehensive, which is natural, I suppose. I’m not renowned for my public speaking! The thought of 30+ intent little faces looking up at me could unnerve anyone!
The day before I delivered the lesson I was listening to a Katherine Ruonala sermon. She is a wonderful Australian preacher (Glory City Church, Brisbane) who often talks about the love of God. In the particular message she gave, she said talked about needing to focus on Jesus in worship in such a way that we focus on His love, rather than on the fears we have. Her phrase, “We’ve got to receive because otherwise we can’t give it away.” really struck me. Since I wanted to focus the children’s attention on the love of Christ, it seemed to me a VERY apt sermon to hear at that time!
Here’s part of my transcription of Katherine Ruonala’s sermon at Basingstoke Community Churches, UK 19-20 January 2013:
“He (Jesus/God) ‘makes His face to shine on us’ [1], & that is the picture of God looking at us as a parent looks at a little baby & tries to get them to smile... & the whole purpose of doing that is to evoke a response. And God, always, is making His face shine on us. Because He wants us to smile! Because He loves us. I encourage our teams to really get filled up to overflowing, to look up & see His face smiling at them, loving them, so that they get filled up with joy & love. ‘We love BECAUSE He first loved us’ [2]. We’ve got to receive because otherwise we can’t give it away. So they’ll often spend an hour before they go out on the streets worshipping & getting fired up, until they’re overflowing, then they go out on the streets & they’re just bubbling & every person they meet sees Jesus in them, overflowing with joy. They get inebriated in the glory, so the fear of man goes, & the love of God, ‘the perfect love of God that cast out fear’ [3] (comes upon them).”
So... before I left home that morning, I took a leaf out of Katherine Ruonala's 'book' & simply chose to worship the Lord, & to focus my attention on Him, rather than my nervousness. I became filled up to overflowing, as she described. And guess what? My nervousness evaporated, & I looked forward to sharing my faith with the children. Instead of getting all 'hung up' on what I'd say, even before the event, I simply enjoyed my deepening relationship with Jesus the Christ. When the time came to drive to school, I was actually looking forward to it, amazing!
And Wow, did I have a great time talking to the children! They knew quite a lot about Jesus, but my Bible Cartoons helped them to learn even more. They had questions, which I was very pleased to answer. I questioned them too, to get them to think about what Jesus said to us.
We looked at the seven “I AM” statements in John’s gospel [4] & discussed them too. Pretty deep stuff, but the children seemed to understand what I was saying!
I broke up the lesson with a stint of cartooning. I got the children to draw simple round faces & to see how many different expressions they could create. They were so inventive, it was great! I showed them how to construct a human figure too, which went very well. I got a spontaneous round of applause for that, how kind!
I rounded off the RE lesson with a look at Jesus parable of the Wise & Foolish Builders. Which was well received too. The children really seemed to get the point that Jesus wasn’t talking about actual house building, but was referring to what, or more precisely, WHO we build our lives on. Of course, Jesus is the Rock on which the best house/life can be built.
Conclusions
So, the RE lesson went very well, & I was happy with the results.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to Katherine Ruonala, who really explained the concept of shifting our focus (our eyes) off of our problems (or in my case my projected difficulties!) & focussing instead on Jesus. Thank you Katherine!
Perfect love does indeed drive out fear!
[1]
Numbers 6:24-27 (NKJV)
24 "The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." '
27 "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."
[2]
1 John 4:19 (NKJV)
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
[3]
1 John 4:18 (NKJV)
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
[4]
The Seven ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of John
Jesus said ‘I am’ on seven occasions. Each ‘I am’ is a description Jesus gave of Himself and is recorded in John’s Gospel. The Seven ‘I am’ sayings help us better understand the divinity of Jesus Christ.
1. Bread
“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger.” John 6:35
2. Light
“I am the light of the world; he who fallows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
3. Gate
“I am the gate; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9
4. Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” John 10:11
5. Resurrection and Life
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 11:25
6. Way, Truth, Life
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6
7. True vine
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Why do our “roots” matter?
Ephesians 3:17 (ANIV)
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ...
Why do our “roots” matter? Think about a plant that has shallow roots, how easy is it to pull it up? Pretty easy! Now think about a plant with deep roots that go way down into the soil. That is a LOT more difficult to pull up! Even a small sapling tree is next to impossible to uproot, & as for a full grown tree... you ever tried to man-handle that out of the ground!?
In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul was praying for us specifically that we would be ‘rooted and established IN LOVE’. It is the love of Jesus the Christ that keeps us safe & sound.
If our “roots” are shallow, then we can be uprooted, given sufficient “pull”. What might that “pull” be? Perhaps an incident of some kind, an accident, redundancy, financial difficulties, health scare, etc. If we only have shallow roots into love (for Jesus) then we can be uprooted & “blown about” by the incidents & events of our lives. I am not saying that we can ever be pulled completely out of the love of God - the Bible tells us that this is impossible. But we can stunt our own root growth, & therefore be “blown about” by winds of adversity, if our roots remain shallow. Deeper roots won’t prevent adversity coming our way, but they will certainly help us to remain rooted & grounded in love (of Jesus) & to thrive EVEN in adverse conditions, if they are deep.
Distractions, difficulties, too much TV, being fascinated by what the world has to offer, these are the things that vie for our attention. What’s behind the distractions? The Devil tries to get our attention focussed on anything other than the love of Jesus, because he knows that once we are focussed on anything else, we won’t be developing roots that go any deeper into the love of Christ. That’s the Devil’s goal, to distract us from the love of God, & to uproot us from the love of God, just like in Jesus example of the first 3 types of seeds in the parable of the Farmer sowing seeds [1].
If we deliberately pour our time & efforts into getting to know God & the love of God, then our roots will grow deeper & deeper down into that love, & we will become like the tree, impossible to uproot. If we ignore the distractions of the world, the flesh & the devil, then we are making a deliberate decision to focus instead on the love of God. When we are overflowing with the love of God, then we can share that love with those people we encounter who really need it. Out of the love stored up inside us, & replenished daily, God will be able to show His love for other people, through us.
BUT WE CAN ONLY SHARE WHAT WE OURSELVES KNOW. So again, if our love for Jesus is small (like our roots) then no wonder we achieve so little in advancing the kingdom of God. (I write this to myself, rather than anyone else!)
Love is both the beginning & end: it was God’s love for us that saved us (Christians) in the first place, & it is God’s love that sustains us now.
In order to move out into mission & ministry we need to have experienced & to keep being “topped up by”, the love of God. Any type of mission & ministry is really any & all activity that involves giving out the love of God to other people. We need to be OVERFLOWING with the love of God, because any activity attempted without an overflow of God’s love will merely be done in our own strength: there won’t be enough of the love of God to “fuel” the ministry or mission activity. It’s at that (depleted) point that we may feel ourselves “running on empty” or else so concerned & distracted with the enormity of the task in sight, that we are unable to achieve it. However, if we keep ourselves so full of the love of God, that we overflow, THEN we will see God achieve great & wonderful things on our behalf, & operating though us, in the various ministry or mission activities we engage in. LOVE is the fuel for ministry or mission activities. Love is the key.
Top priority = our roots going deeper into the love offered to us every day by Jesus. From that ‘deeply rooted in love’ position, God’s love for other people will shine through us. It will be both natural & easy to love other people BECAUSE we first know Jesus’ love for ourselves. You can’t give out what you don’t have or know yourself.
The rest of the verse & next verse give us the context of Paul’s prayer:
‘And 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 — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.’
It is the our infinite delight to grasp the enormity of the love of Jesus for us. But if we don’t spend enough time soaking up the love of Christ, then we will have those small roots mentioned earlier. It’s only when we spend time contemplating the love of Christ; getting to know Him more; allowing Jesus to reveal His astonishing love FOR US, that our roots go deeper & deeper down into that love. Christ offers us His unique, monumental love every day, BUT WE HAVE TO AVAIL OURSELVES OF IT. He won’t force his love upon us, He’s far too much of a gentleman for that! So it has to be our deliberate choice to seek that love. Seek & you shall find.
How do we grow deeper roots? By praying to Jesus & asking Him for a better, bigger revelation of His amazing love or us. By nestling closer to Jesus. By reading the Bible, which is God’s great love letter to us. By spending time in prayer, pouring our hearts out to Jesus, & allowing Him to pour His love into our hearts in return.
It takes time to grow deeper roots, but I’m convinced that when we take the time to do it, we will become so solid in the love of Christ that we will not be able to be uprooted.
Personally...
I KNOW I need much deeper roots, in order to appreciate Jesus more; in order to move out into Bible Cartoons ministry & mission more fully. But above all, I KNOW I need the love of God to TRANSFORM me. I need a fresh revelation of Jesus’ love, daily, in order to shake off depression & sadness that has plagued me for years; in order to put behind me, once & for all, regrets; in order to move from the shadows of fear, out into the light of the love of God, & into more freedom & joy & peace, than I have ever known before.
I believe the love of Jesus the Christ is my “ticket” out of the shadows & into the light. I want to be at peace, in EVERY situation. I want to know TRUE JOY, in every situation. I want to be able to say what Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13, ‘I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.’
Lord, I want more of you in my life. Help me to daily appreciate the enormous love you have for me. Amen.
Do you want deeper roots, that go down into the love of Christ so far that NOTHING can uproot you? Then commit yourself to spending more time with Jesus, in prayer & reading the Bible. That’s what I’m going to do.
[1]
Matthew 13:3-9 (NLT)
3 He [Jesus] told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ...
Why do our “roots” matter? Think about a plant that has shallow roots, how easy is it to pull it up? Pretty easy! Now think about a plant with deep roots that go way down into the soil. That is a LOT more difficult to pull up! Even a small sapling tree is next to impossible to uproot, & as for a full grown tree... you ever tried to man-handle that out of the ground!?
In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul was praying for us specifically that we would be ‘rooted and established IN LOVE’. It is the love of Jesus the Christ that keeps us safe & sound.
If our “roots” are shallow, then we can be uprooted, given sufficient “pull”. What might that “pull” be? Perhaps an incident of some kind, an accident, redundancy, financial difficulties, health scare, etc. If we only have shallow roots into love (for Jesus) then we can be uprooted & “blown about” by the incidents & events of our lives. I am not saying that we can ever be pulled completely out of the love of God - the Bible tells us that this is impossible. But we can stunt our own root growth, & therefore be “blown about” by winds of adversity, if our roots remain shallow. Deeper roots won’t prevent adversity coming our way, but they will certainly help us to remain rooted & grounded in love (of Jesus) & to thrive EVEN in adverse conditions, if they are deep.
Distractions, difficulties, too much TV, being fascinated by what the world has to offer, these are the things that vie for our attention. What’s behind the distractions? The Devil tries to get our attention focussed on anything other than the love of Jesus, because he knows that once we are focussed on anything else, we won’t be developing roots that go any deeper into the love of Christ. That’s the Devil’s goal, to distract us from the love of God, & to uproot us from the love of God, just like in Jesus example of the first 3 types of seeds in the parable of the Farmer sowing seeds [1].
If we deliberately pour our time & efforts into getting to know God & the love of God, then our roots will grow deeper & deeper down into that love, & we will become like the tree, impossible to uproot. If we ignore the distractions of the world, the flesh & the devil, then we are making a deliberate decision to focus instead on the love of God. When we are overflowing with the love of God, then we can share that love with those people we encounter who really need it. Out of the love stored up inside us, & replenished daily, God will be able to show His love for other people, through us.
BUT WE CAN ONLY SHARE WHAT WE OURSELVES KNOW. So again, if our love for Jesus is small (like our roots) then no wonder we achieve so little in advancing the kingdom of God. (I write this to myself, rather than anyone else!)
Love is both the beginning & end: it was God’s love for us that saved us (Christians) in the first place, & it is God’s love that sustains us now.
In order to move out into mission & ministry we need to have experienced & to keep being “topped up by”, the love of God. Any type of mission & ministry is really any & all activity that involves giving out the love of God to other people. We need to be OVERFLOWING with the love of God, because any activity attempted without an overflow of God’s love will merely be done in our own strength: there won’t be enough of the love of God to “fuel” the ministry or mission activity. It’s at that (depleted) point that we may feel ourselves “running on empty” or else so concerned & distracted with the enormity of the task in sight, that we are unable to achieve it. However, if we keep ourselves so full of the love of God, that we overflow, THEN we will see God achieve great & wonderful things on our behalf, & operating though us, in the various ministry or mission activities we engage in. LOVE is the fuel for ministry or mission activities. Love is the key.
Top priority = our roots going deeper into the love offered to us every day by Jesus. From that ‘deeply rooted in love’ position, God’s love for other people will shine through us. It will be both natural & easy to love other people BECAUSE we first know Jesus’ love for ourselves. You can’t give out what you don’t have or know yourself.
The rest of the verse & next verse give us the context of Paul’s prayer:
‘And 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 — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.’
It is the our infinite delight to grasp the enormity of the love of Jesus for us. But if we don’t spend enough time soaking up the love of Christ, then we will have those small roots mentioned earlier. It’s only when we spend time contemplating the love of Christ; getting to know Him more; allowing Jesus to reveal His astonishing love FOR US, that our roots go deeper & deeper down into that love. Christ offers us His unique, monumental love every day, BUT WE HAVE TO AVAIL OURSELVES OF IT. He won’t force his love upon us, He’s far too much of a gentleman for that! So it has to be our deliberate choice to seek that love. Seek & you shall find.
How do we grow deeper roots? By praying to Jesus & asking Him for a better, bigger revelation of His amazing love or us. By nestling closer to Jesus. By reading the Bible, which is God’s great love letter to us. By spending time in prayer, pouring our hearts out to Jesus, & allowing Him to pour His love into our hearts in return.
It takes time to grow deeper roots, but I’m convinced that when we take the time to do it, we will become so solid in the love of Christ that we will not be able to be uprooted.
Personally...
I KNOW I need much deeper roots, in order to appreciate Jesus more; in order to move out into Bible Cartoons ministry & mission more fully. But above all, I KNOW I need the love of God to TRANSFORM me. I need a fresh revelation of Jesus’ love, daily, in order to shake off depression & sadness that has plagued me for years; in order to put behind me, once & for all, regrets; in order to move from the shadows of fear, out into the light of the love of God, & into more freedom & joy & peace, than I have ever known before.
I believe the love of Jesus the Christ is my “ticket” out of the shadows & into the light. I want to be at peace, in EVERY situation. I want to know TRUE JOY, in every situation. I want to be able to say what Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13, ‘I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.’
Lord, I want more of you in my life. Help me to daily appreciate the enormous love you have for me. Amen.
Do you want deeper roots, that go down into the love of Christ so far that NOTHING can uproot you? Then commit yourself to spending more time with Jesus, in prayer & reading the Bible. That’s what I’m going to do.
[1]
Matthew 13:3-9 (NLT)
3 He [Jesus] told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
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