Do not judge or you too will be judged

‘Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7: 1 -2

These words from Jesus can be very hard for us to correctly assess our attitudes.  When does realistically evaluating or testing a situation turn into the sort of judgement that Jesus is talking about?  It is right that we honestly evaluate and ask God to help us when looking at situation or people’s actions that we may not be comfortable with. Jesus himself judged the Pharisees found in Matthew 23. 

Judgments are called decisions in some verses of the Amplified (Romans 11:33) and this can be a helpful way of looking at our motives behind our judgements.  It is what we do with these decisions.

If having evaluated something we move from there to criticism and condemnation then beware. You too will be judged in the same way and you may be found even more wanting than that which you have been criticising.  It is very easy when looking at other people’s faults and weaknesses to overlook your own and move into hypocrisy and self righteousness.  It is no coincidence that immediately following these verses  Jesus talks about talking the plank from our own eye before trying to remove the speck from someone else’s eye.  It is always easier to see someone else’s faults than our own.

Joyce Meyer tells the story of how much she suffered with sickness in one of her pregnancies having had no problems previously.  God showed her that she had judged, criticised and condemned another woman suffering with sickness in pregnancy for her ‘weakness’.  Having judged another, Joyce herself was being judged. 

If we do find the weaknesses and sins of another very trying, especially if they personally impact us, then we must forgive and bless them.  Take their weaknesses to God and ask him to help you deal with them in grace and not criticism and condemnation.  Ask God to help you deal with your weaknesses and show you the planks in your eye. Trust him that as you keep a right attitude he will deal with the other person.

Judging others can become a source of bondage for us as we hold others in judgement.  Dealing with other people in grace, humility and kindness in their weaknesses releases the same flow into our lives and our weaknesses.  As we seek to walk in ever greater freedom let us treat others in their weaknesses as we too would wish to be treated in our own.

Caleb - a man with a different spirit

 When God told Moses to ‘send some men to explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the Israelites’ Number 13:1 the idea was for the men to scout out and explore the land.  It was not up to them to decide whether or not the land could be taken.  God had promised them the land, all they had to do was take it. 

The trouble was they looked at the land, which they freely admitted was a good land flowing with milk and honey and then looked at their own abilities and decided it couldn’t be done.  The problems were too big.  They were not looking to God and his promise.  At the deepest level it was a terrible presumption because they were saying that they knew better than God. It was also a deep unbelief that the God who had performed an amazing array of miracles from the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the provision of manna and quail could not take them into the land.  They did not believe God could bring them into the land he had promised. 

Caleb however was a man with a different spirit who followed God whole heartedly (Numbers 14:24).  When the 10 spies brought their bad report and tried to turn the whole community away from God’s promise, Caleb spoke up and assured everyone that ‘we can certainly do it’ (Numbers 13:30).  Caleb knew that if God, who had delivered them from the Egyptians, the mightiest nation in the region, had promised it then they could do it.  He was looking to God.  Like Abraham, he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised (Romans 4: 20 – 21)

Caleb did not have a ‘who am I?’ mentality.  He had a ‘look at God’ attitude and he had no doubt that God was mighty and could and would do it. 

When God asks us to do something we must not look at ourselves and our abilities and resources. This leads us to re-define God’s plan to fit our abilities instead of re-aligning ourselves to fit God’s plan.  To do that is unbelief and presumption that we know better than God. Instead let us remember what Paul said to the Philippians.  ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ Philippians 4:13 (NKJV). This is not presumption, this is an assurance in the God who holds all things in his hands and who will guide us into his plans and purposes as we trust him.

Who am I?

 When Moses saw the burning bush and went over to see why it was not burning up, God spoke to him from the bush.  God told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground he was standing on was holy. It was important that Moses knew he was having a divine encounter and not just seeing an interesting phenomenon. God then introduced himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Moses hid his face for he thought if he looked at God he would die.  God then outlined the plan he had for releasing his people from Egyptian slavery and told Moses, by name, that he had been carefully selected by God to go and speak to Pharaoh! 

Moses reaction is immediate and desperate, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’  Exodus 3:11. God’s response is not to answer Moses’ question directly but to tell Moses that he will be with him.  The point being that who you are is not nearly as important as who is with you especially if that person is God for then you will be fine. Moses of course was not convinced and asked God what his name was in case the Israelites asked him. God’s response was, ‘I AM WHO I AM. Tell the Israelites I AM has sent me to you.’  Names in the Bible are not just labels but an indication of the character of the person. God is saying that He is everything that Moses or anyone else will need. 

Moses’ increasingly desperate attempts to get out of this God-given assignment touch something inside each one of us who is looking to our own resources and character to fulfil God’s tasks.  Moses’ final plea was, ‘Please send someone else (Ex 4:13). But Moses was God’s man for the job because God knew that as he worked in and through Moses, God’s plan for the release from slavery of the Israelites would be successful.

We too can have a ‘Who am I?’ mentality and like Moses either argue with God or worse still we just don’t do what God is asking of us.  I have heard so many people say, ‘O I couldn’t possibly’.  The problem is we are looking to ourselves and not to God.  The minute we disqualify ourselves from God’s plans for our lives, we miss out on a great opportunity to bless others and be a blessing.

God knows our strengths and weaknesses and he will not ask us to do anything for which he has not equipped us.  God loves us and will always be there guiding and helping.  He truly is everything we need and we can trust him that as we step out in faith, he will be there.  He will not let us down.  Moses found this to be true and so can we.

The veil is torn in two

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  Mark 15: 38

As Jesus died on the cross, various phenomena occurred and one of these was that the curtain or veil of the temple was torn in two.  This curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place and it was torn from top to bottom – torn by God not be man.  It signified that access into the most holy place was no longer the preserve of the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement but sinful man now had access to the throne room of the Father because of the precious shed blood of Jesus.

The question though is in what manner do you enter the throne room?  Do you enter as a royal prince or princess, walking in a stately and regal way and taking your place on the dais as a son or daughter of the king?  You know you are a blood bought child of the Father, a brother or sister of Christ and a co heir with him of the Kingdom.  You know you have access to the Father at all times and can enter the throne room freely. You know you can sit next to Jesus and besides the Father and that your place and position in heaven is assured.

Maybe you enter the heavenly throne room cautiously with downcast eyes, realising that through the blood of Jesus you have access to the throne room but you are very nervous because of your sin.  You know you have done many things wrong and some of them are very recent.  You know God has forgiven your sin but you still feel guilty and are not totally confident of the reception you will get.  Your conscience condemns you even though something tells you it shouldn’t.  You approach the throne of grace, very conscious that God knows your failings and weaknesses but hoping that his love will overlook them.  You take your place on the steps below the throne with downcast eyes hoping for God’s mercy.

Or maybe you cannot imagine yourself even entering the throne room at all.  You are just not worthy to be in such exalted company.  You are too sinful, too dirty, too unclean.  Jesus may have forgiven your sins in theory but the reality is that you still feel like a sinner.  There is no way you can approach the throne of grace.  You could not possible walk past the host of heaven.  They might know just what an awful sinner you are and throw you out.  Far better not to go in there in the first place.

Or maybe you are a small child, utterly assured of your Daddy’s love and acceptance.  It never occurs to you that he might be busy with some important business.  He always loves to see you and always welcomes you.  You just rush in past the heavenly host, run up the steps and jump onto his knee, totally confident of the reception you will receive. You are not disappointed.  No matter how you come, his knee is always there for you and he loves to hear all you have to say.

How do you enter the throne room?  The answer to this question will say much about how you view ‘our Father in heaven.’ Too often the saints hang back letting their guilt and shame keep them from fully coming into the Father’s presence.  They cannot believe they can freely access the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help them in their time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  They just don’t feel good enough.  The truth is of course that we are and never will be good enough.  We can never do anything to earn this access into the Father’s presence because is a free gift .  It cost Jesus everything and us nothing.  Don’t let guilt and shame keep you from the Father’s presence.  Jesus has taken that away as well.

So whether you rush in as a small child and jump onto daddy’s knee or take a more sedate route and sit down next to Jesus, the important thing is that you enter right in.

This is the place where prayers are answered and that won’t happen if we are shaking and shivering with fear outside the throne room.  Nor will it happen if we are fearful of our reception and frightened to look up at our Father in case he accuses or condemns us. But the child of God who knows that to enter the throne room is all about Jesus and that their welcome and place are secure, will see their prayers answered as they will pray with faith and confidence to the only one who can answer them.  They are not sitting afar off, they are not sitting with downcast eyes but are sitting next to their heavenly Father who is eagerly listening to all they have to say and is waiting with all the provisions of heaven to answer their requests.

Hope does not disappoint us

 'And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out (and continues to pour out) his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.'   Romans 5:5 

my words in brackets

Disappointment is one of the most crippling conditions known to man as it saps hope from our lives.  Without hope, life is very dismal.  In the Bible hope does not refer to an optimistic anticipation of some future event; hope is the sure expectation of God doing what he has promised which is why Paul was able to say so confidently that hope does not disappoint us.

Disappointment happens when we place our hope on anything other than God; exam results, career prospects, winning the lottery, getting married, having children, the pastor promoting our ministry, children looking after us in our old age, good health.  When we place our hope on these sorts of things all goes well till they let us down as they inevitably will. Then our world collapses and disappointment floods in.

As it says in Proverbs 13:12 ,’hope deferred makes the heart sick.’   Disappointment causes us to pull back from God and other people.  We feel like we have put our hope out there and we have become vulnerable and now we have been let down.  It makes us wary of trusting people and God and so we lose our expectation and hope to protect ourselves from further disappointment.

However Paul assures us that hope (the confident expectation of God’s goodness) will not disappoint us.  The two disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ death and resurrection were terribly disappointed (Luke 24:13 – 35).  They said to the risen Lord, not realising who he was, ‘but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel’ (verse 21).  They had placed their hope in God but were still disappointed – why?  They explain to Jesus in great detail why they were disappointed but these very reasons should have been a source of hope not disappointment!  Jesus though was there in the midst and explained it all to them and then revelation comes!  They realise that Jesus himself has been with them all the time.  The very person they had hoped in, had not disappointed them.

If you are sitting with disappointment weighing heavily on you, take it to Jesus. Explain to him exactly why you are disappointed and let him bring you his hope in the midst of it.  You may have been placing your hope on things or people other than Jesus or you may just have misunderstood his workings in your life. 

 

Let God restore hope to you today and let him pour out and continue to pour out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Keeping a soft heart

Yesterday we saw how God wants to give us a soft heart of flesh, responsive to him. Hard stubborn hearts of stone are closed to God and the things he is doing.

A good example of this is that after Jesus was raised from the dead he came to the disciples who were struggling to believe he had been resurrected and ‘he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen’ Mark 16: 14. Before his crucifixion, Jesus had told the disciples many times that he would be put to death but that on the third day he would rise from the dead.  Now some of their own friends told them they had seen the risen Lord but still they refused to believe. The disciples had stubbornly hardened their hearts to the truth and Jesus rebuked them for this.

There will often be things we do not understand about God.  Let’s face it if we understood God completely he wouldn’t be God.  However stubbornly refusing to believe something may be of God is unbelief and unbelief is the killer of faith.  It is faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) and he hates unbelief because it robs the believer of what he is doing. 

All down the centuries God has been doing amazing things that may not be in the Bible but that does not mean they are not God inspired.  Today things such as gold teeth, gold dust, jewels appearing and cent coins sticking to walls are all happening increasingly but none of them are in the Bible.  Stubbornly refusing to believe they are of God means we may miss out on a blessing and the wonder of God being God. 

All the stories of God’s miraculous workings seem unbelievable whether it is feeding 5000 men plus women and children with 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish or Jesus walking on the water or calming the storm.  If we only believe what we can see and understand God becomes rather small not Almighty.

On the other hand we must not be gullible and believe everything that is happening is of God but nor do we need to fear that which we cannot understand.  Instead we need to turn to the Bible and let the Holy Spirit help us understand or assure us of His workings. We may need to look at principles such as ‘God only gives good gifts to his children’ to help us rather than specific examples.

Let us seek to not only let the Holy Spirit give us a new heart of flesh but to maintain it by trusting him to help us when things seem unbelievable.  Let us guard our hearts against unbelief and keep an open, trusting attitude to our Father who loves us so much.

A heart of flesh

 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh    Ezekiel 36:26

Ezekiel was speaking to the Israelites who had been taken into captivity and exile in Babylon because of their hard and stubborn hearts.  Time and again they had been warned that unless they repented and turned away from their idolatry, they would be exiled.  They had refused to listen and now far from home Ezekiel seeks to bring them God’s comfort.

The heart of course does not refer to the organ that pumps blood around the body but the very centre or wellspring (Proverbs 4:23) of our being. Our heart represents our mind, will and emotions.  It is how we think, feel and therefore how we act and speak.

‘For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks’ Matthew 12:34

Before we became Christians we too had hearts of stone, unresposnisve to God. When we turned from our sins to God, He promises to give us a new, soft heart of flesh.  So often life has hurt and disappointed us, people have been unkind and rejected us and we have sought to protect ourselves from further hurt, disappointment and rejection by putting a shield around our hearts. This causes us to have a hard shell around our heart that no one can penetrate.  God wants us to have soft, open hearts to both himself and others. 

This can be very hard for us.  Hurts go deep and are very painful but we need to let the Holy Spirit bring forgiveness to others and healing to our lives. He will gently soak off the hard shell of our hearts with his love.  He wants to take away the hard heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh that is soft and responsive to him. 

It takes time to learn to trust God to shield our hearts from further hurt and rejection and not do it ourselves.  Soft, open hearts feel very vulnerable but God will teach us how to keep our hearts soft and pliable and trust him to protect us.  As we allow God to penetrate the deeper areas of our hearts where hurts, disappointments and rejection lie buried, he will bring light and healing to these places. 

God will never hurt us, he loves us too much.  Let us trust him with our hearts.

Be prepared

The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, ‘Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?’ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace and all my people are to submit to your orders.  Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’                           Genesis 41: 37 – 40

When Joseph woke up in prison on that life changing day, he did not know that by the end of it he would need a 14 year plan to save Egypt from famine.  He may have been confident that if asked to interpret dreams, God would give him the interpretation.  Certainly when he was brought from the prison to the palace he had no problem acknowledging that ‘God will give Pharaoh the answer (to his dreams) he desires.’  And God did. 

However having interpreted the dreams, Joseph then goes straight into the plan to conserve food during the 7 good years and store it up in barns to help the nation through the 7 years of famine (Genesis 41: 33 – 36).  That is not the sort of plan that Joseph would have had in his head in case such an opportunity arose.  That plan was developed on a much smaller scale during the years of servitude in Potiphar’s house and during the years in prison.  This is where he learned to be ‘discerning and wise’.

Joseph had learned his lessons well and knew the voice of God so that when a nation saving plan was needed, he could come up with it.  We have seen before that if Joseph had harboured a resentful, bitter heart to his circumstances he would never have learned the necessary lessons to save not only Egypt but his family in Canaan.  He had served faithfully and well and when the call came for him to take his place of destiny, he was ready. 

We may never be required to come up the kind of plan that Joseph did but we too need to be ready for whatever God may ask of us.  We never know what each day will hold but if we are ready it will be full of God opportunities to serve and to share the love of Jesus in many situations. 

We prepare by focusing our lives every day on God and by serving faithfully in whatever situation we may find ourselves.  Joseph had to learn to trust God is some very unpromising situations with just some dreams from many years before to sustain him.  We too can trust God with our lives.  He has our best interests at heart and as we focus on him and trust the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us on a daily basis, we too, like Joseph, will be ready.

Ancient paths

This is what the Lord says:

Stand at the crossroads and look;

Ask for the ancient paths

Ask where the good path is and walk in it

And you will find rest for your souls                            Jeremiah 6:16

 In this modern world there is a great tendency to despise the old way of doing things.  New is best and the latest in everything is essential.  Old ways of doing and ancient paths are just that ancient, out of date and irrelevant.

God’s ways of doing things though are eternal, always relevant and always essential to our well being.  It is a truth that Christians through the ages marvel at that God’s word written thousands of years ago by those of different nationalities and culture is as relevant and its truths timeless for everyone today of any nationality, culture or background. 

David in the Psalms was always asking God to teach him his ways.  My favourite is Psalm 86:11:

Teach me your way O God and I will walk in your truth
Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name

David knew that God’s ways are the best ways.  God does have our best interests at heart as any loving Father would. 

We don’t need to be looking for a new way or trying to update God’s truths to make them relevant.  They are just as relevant for us today as they were for Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, John, Paul and the millions of others that have gone before us. 

If you are standing at the crossroads or troubled about the way forward, the instruction is LOOK and ASK.  Look for the good way, read the Bible for wisdom and ask God and your Godly friends for Godly advice.  Moses, David and many others asked God for the right way and God showed them.  God will show you too. Then God promises we will find rest for our souls.  God’s ways are the paths of peace.  Let’s walk in them with confidence. 

Chosen people

 You are a chosen people …. I Peter 2:9

The whole Bible is full of God choosing people. The doctrine of this is called election but the bottom line is that God chose individuals to be in relationship with him, to know his love and to work out his salvation plan for mankind.

God chose Abraham to be the ‘father of many nations’ Genesis 12:5.  He also chose his sons and grandsons.  Isaac was the son of the promise and it was scheming Jacob who also inherited the promise and whose name was changed to Israel which became the name of the nation. 

God chose Joseph of all the 12 brothers to be the saviour of Jacob’s family.  God chose Moses, the murderer, in spite of his great reluctance to lead the Israelites out of slavery.  God chose Aaron, even after he led the nation into idolatry, to become chief priest of the newly freed nation. God chose Gideon to free the Israelites from the oppression of Midian.  God chose David from his 8 brothers to be king and Solomon, not his first born son to be king after him.

The list goes on.  God chose Cyrus by name, before he was even born, to be the instrument of bringing the Jews back from exile and rebuilding the temple.  God chose Mary to be the mother of his beloved son.  Jesus chose the 12 to be his disciples and God chose Paul, the persecutor of his people, to be his instrument to take the Gospel to the Jews and Gentiles. 

And God has chosen you and me.  We know that we are a chosen people because the Bible assures us of that over and over again.  If in any doubt do read Ephesians 1: 3 – 14.  He takes ordinary people and does extraordinary things through them to bring about his plans and purposes.  As we have seen before, it is grace and grace alone that called us.  Immediately following the verses on being saved by grace it says, ‘For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10).  We have been chosen for a purpose.  We need never doubt our worth or the value in which God holds us.  The devil wants to persuade you that you are useless, worthless and a huge disappointment to God.  It is lies.  You are loved, appreciated, approved, valued, worthy and a source of great joy to God. 

You have been chosen by God. 

Treasure in heaven

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.   Matthew 6:21

Jesus was teaching the crowd about right living when he spoke these words and he encouraged them not to store up treasure on earth but to store up treasure in heaven.  If our treasure is here on earth not only can rust and moth destroy it and thieves steal it but this also will be where our hearts are.  Paul told us to ‘set our minds on things above not on earthly things’ (Colossians 3:2). Remember the parable of the rich fool who stored up his treasure on earth thinking he could spend years enjoying it.  That night he died and all his treasure was left behind. What good was it to him then? 

One of the greatest deceptions in the western world is the belief that money and possessions equal happiness.  Most people are constantly pursuing greater amounts of wealth to fuel an ever increasing and expensive life style. Even the richest people on the earth do not think they have enough!   

‘Whoever loves money never has money enough

Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income’   Ecclesiastes 5: 10

Jesus and the writers of the New Testament as well as Solomon, one of the wealthiest men ever, warn us again and again that wealth and possessions do not bring happiness.  Contentment in what we have brings happiness and a deep trust that God will happily be our provider for everything we need and usually a lot more besides.  God does not want his children poor, needy and in debt.  He wants his children content, generous and thankful people.

The writer of Hebrews says, ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you”’ (Hebrews 13:5).  The people who are most content are those who enjoy what they have and are thankful.  They know God will look after them and they are generous.  Acts of kindness, love and generosity store up true treasure in heaven. We cannot take our earthly possessions with us when we die but we can ensure there is an eternal treasure in heaven waiting for us. 

Let us resolve today to be content, to be thankful and to be generous.  No matter how little you have you can always give – remember the widow and her small coin?  God is not mean, he is a lavish generous giver to those who love and trust him.  Instead of seeking wealth and possessions, let us be storing up true treasure in heaven. 

When I consider your heavens

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

The moon and stars which you have set in place.

What is man that you are mindful of him?

The son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

And crowned him with glory and honour                               Psalm 8: 3 – 5

I can imagine David staring up at the moon and stars, marvelling at the beauty of the Milky Way and was blown away that the Creator of this beauty knew and cared about him.  Have you ever stood under a really dark, clear, night sky away from all the light pollution of our cities and towns and like David marvelled at the incredible beauty of the starry host?  It is truly amazing!

Today there are radio telescopes that can pick up images from farther and farther away in space of the most awesome ‘clouds’ of stars and planets.  If man were to travel to the edges of what is the known universe, it would take thousands of light years.  Yet there is so much more – all created by our God. 

Like David it makes us think, 'what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?'  The phrase ‘mindful of'’ literally means remember and remember does not mean call to mind something that is forgotten  but rather to express concern for someone and to act with loving care towards them.  So when we think we are just one of billions of people on a minute planet of a tiny solar system in a corner of a small galaxy and wonder if we matter?  The answer of course is ‘yes’.  We are loved so much that the Creator of all that we marvel at, sent his own son to die for us so we can know him and spend eternity with him. 

When we gaze up at the heavens, we can be overwhelmed by the greatness of our Creator God and feel so insignificant.  God however has graciously made us in his own image to rule over creation on his behalf. We are not to exploit, waste or spoil the creation but to care for and use it for God’s glory and purpose.  What a privilege it is to be one whom God considers and is mindful of and as David said, God has crowned us with glory and honour. We are not an insignifcant dot in the vastness of space but a treasured and valued child of God.

God’s mercies are new every morning

‘Because of God’s great love we are not consumed
For his compassions never fail
They are new every morning
Great is your faithfulness’                                           Lamentations 3: 22 – 23 

These wonderful verses come in the very centre of the book of Lamentations, one of the most tragic books in the Bible.  It was written probably by Jeremiah following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.  It starts with

How deserted lies the city once so full of people

How like a widow is she who was once great amongst the nations
She who was queen amongst the provinces
Has now become a slave                                             Lamentations 1:1

Jerusalem the beautiful city with the awesome temple built by Solomon lay in ruins.  Her people had been taken into exile and the land was deserted.  The king, princes, priests, prophets, elders and commoners had all been taken away to Babylon.

The nation of Israel enjoyed its heyday in Solomon’s time.  ‘King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart’ (I Kings 10: 23 – 24). 

The reign of King Solomon was both the high point and turning point of the nation of Israel.  Despite being so fabulously rich and wiser than any other man, Solomon turned away from God, married many women and had hundreds of concubines against God’s instructions and they turned his heart away from the Lord. Despite some temporary reprieves during the reign of some of the later kings, it was a downhill slide for the nation into idolatry and disobedience and finally God brought the judgement that he had promised onto his beloved people.

This was not a violent outburst by an angry God but the inevitable consequence of a disobedient and wilful people who refused to stop sinning and had turned their back on God. He had such great plans for his people but their relentless desire for independence had ended not in triumph over their enemies and blessing but in defeat and exile. 

The prophet agonises over the land and the terrible things that have befallen it but here in the centre of his lament he reminds himself of God’s amazing love and compassion which never fails.  Despite all that had happened, God’s mercies are new every morning because of God’s faithfulness.  He encourages himself to wait for the goodness of the Lord.

If Jeremiah could find hope in God's love in the midst of this national disaster, we too can find hope in the midst of our difficulties. You may have been struggling through some difficult times when it feels like God has forgotten you.  Your prayers seem to be hitting a brass ceiling.  You feel deserted and alone; no one understands.  Remember God’s love and compassion.  He never leaves or forsakes you.  He is there.  His mercies are new for you this morning. Wait for him and he will answer and turn your situation around. 

Lord God, thank you I am not alone. You have not abandoned me nor have you turned your back on me. I do not have to depend on yesterday’s mercies because there are fresh mercies from you for this day because of your faithfulness.  Lord I trust you with my life and circumstances and I wait for your answers. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Amazing grace

 Grace – the free and unmerited favour of God. God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.  Saved by grace – unearned yet freely given. As New Testament believers we wonder afresh at God’s mercy and grace to us.  God is so good to us and we are so undeserving. However it is always good to look at grace in the Old Testament where it flowed just as freely to equally undeserving people as it does to us today.

Aaron, Moses’ brother, is a wonderful example of grace.  Aaron’s story like Moses does not start until he is an old man.  He is called to work alongside Moses and be his spokesman.  Aaron is at the centre of God's workings through the plagues to release Israel from Egyptian slavery.   He sees firsthand all the workings of God. All the way it is Moses and Aaron though gradually Moses, too fearful at first to speak on God’s behalf to Pharaoh or anyone else, takes his role as leader of the Israelites. 

Even after the miraculous passage through the Red Sea and into the desert, the people complain about Moses and Aaron and together they sort out the lack of bread and meat (Exodus 16).  All this time, Moses’ role becomes clearer and Aaron must have thought he would always just be Moses’ right hand man. God however had a role for him that was unique but it was not yet time for it to be revealed

Three months after they left Egypt, the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai.  Moses was called up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments and other laws.  First though Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders were invited up the mountain to ‘meet’ God. ‘But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God and they ate and drank’ (Exodus 24:11).  Afterwards Moses entered the cloud on the top of the mountain and was not seen again for 40 days. 

Despite all that Aaron had seen and experienced, at the first sign of discontented people, Aaron caved in and made them a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32).  Moses was up the mountain receiving from God the Ten Commandments and all the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle and the institution of the priesthood  and down below, the man chosen by God to lead the worship and offer sacrifices on behalf of the nation, was leading them all into idolatry. 

It is at this moment that most people would rapidly change their plans for priestly personnel and the last person to become chief priest would be Aaron.  The Levites honour and zeal for the Lord contrasted strongly with Aaron’s weak leadership.  3000 died by the Levites sword and the Lord sent a plague amongst the people for their diosbedience.  Moses interceded with God for the nation and God spared them and Aaron. 

Nine months later (Exodus 40:2) the tabernacle had been made and was consecrated and Aaron and his sons are ordained as priests.  Why did God not destroy Aaron after the episode of the golden calf?  Why did he still continue with his plans to make Aaron and his family chief priests?  The only answer is grace. 

None of us get what we deserve.  None of us deserves to be saved or used by God.  No one deserves to be a priest unto Almighty God and yet each of us is called to the honour. Because of God’s love and amazing grace, we get what we don’t deserve.  Paul is keen to remind us that grace is not a license to sin (Romans 6: 1 – 2) but grace encourages us to love and serve God with faithful and thankful hearts and to show grace to those who may have failed or disappointed us. 

Today let us be thankful afresh for God’s grace.

Jesus loved Martha

We are all familiar with the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10: 38 – 42.  Martha ‘opened her home’ to Jesus and then got all caught up in the arrangements whilst Mary sat devotedly at his feet listening to him.

The same thing happened at a special dinner served in Jesus’ honour (John 12: 1 – 3) at their house in Bethany at the start of the Passover week.  Martha is serving (again), Lazarus is reclining at the table with Jesus and Mary is extravagantly and devotedly pouring her love out by anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive nard and wiping his feet with her hair.  This time Judas Iscariot complains about the cost and again Mary is commended for her devotion. 

Poor Martha – forever stuck in the kitchen.  However before we get carried away on a wave of sympathy for poor Martha, let’s take a look at the one other occasion the family is mentioned when Lazarus is sick (John 11).  The sisters send for Jesus who waits two days before setting off and in the meantime Lazarus dies.  However there is a very important verse slipped in here, ‘Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus’ (John 11:5).  It is obvious Jesus loved the whole family very much but note the order here – not devoted Mary, faithful Lazarus and, oh by the way, serving Martha.  Martha comes first and Mary is merely mentioned as her sister.  This story is all about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead yet Martha takes a central role in it. 

When Jesus finally sets off for their home knowing full well that Lazarus has died but that God would be glorified, the first one out to greet him is – Martha.  Naturally she chides Jesus for not being there to heal her brother but faith is not dead because she says, ‘But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask’(John 11:22). Jesus assures her that her brother will rise and she says that she knows that on the last day he will be resurrected. 

Then this wonderful exchange takes place, Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?’

‘Yes Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’ (John 11: 25 – 26)

It is Martha who comes out with the profession of faith.  Martha who is always busy in the kitchen but she has faith.  Mary knows Jesus could have healed Lazarus but she does not have resurrection of the dead in her mind.  Martha does.

Too often people say they are a bit of a Martha by which they mean they prefer to be doing and serving rather than sitting at Jesus feet.  But Jesus loves Marthas and serving is no substitute for faith.   It is not serving or sitting at Jesus’ feet – it is both. Jesus loves Marthas and Marys.

Resisting the urge to live with the enemy

When Joshua finally led the Israelites into the Promised Land, it was the fulfilment of a promise God gave to Abraham hundreds of years before and which he confirmed to Isaac and Jacob.  God would give them a land to live in and he would dispossess the nations that lived there.

Just as God had miraculously parted the Red Sea 40 years before to lead the people out of Egypt, God now parted the Jordan, flowing in full flood, for the nation to cross over into the land God had promised them.  This was the start of taking the land.

The Israelites were not meant to cross the Jordan and settle along its banks where the pastures would have been good and there was plenty of water.  They had to go to war and forcibly take the land.  God was with them and fought for them but they had to be obedient and do as God commanded.  If they had stayed by the Jordan, they would have had to learn to live with the enemy not overcome him.  Whenever the Israelites did that, it led to compromise and turning away from God. 

When we crossed our Jordan and came to salvation, God did not want us to settle down on the edge of our promised land.  He wants us to take all that he has planned and purposed for us, our families, our communities but it means going to war.  God will fight for us and teach us how to overcome the enemy but we must avoid compromise and not learn to live with the enemy.

The devil wants us to settle on the edge of God’s purposes and not press in and defeat his plans and strategies.  It takes Godly obedience but the rewards are great.  If the devil can persuade us to settle down, he can wrap us up in compromise and draw us further and further away from God.

I sense today there is a need to wake up from the peaceful sleep that the devil has lulled us into.  Let us look afresh at our lives and consider if there are promises we have let go of and land that we have still to take in our lives.  It took the Israelites a long time to finally get all God had planned for them because too often it was easier to settle down, make terms of peace with the nations around them and God had to constantly stir them to fresh action and fresh trust in him. 

Let God stir us from compromise and show us how to drive the enemy from our lives and take decisive action to press into the promises of God. 

Forgiven so that I can forgive

Forgiveness is the greatest gift we can receive and the greatest gift we can give.  There is absolutely nothing one can do to earn it and to give it requires the greatest generosity and grace.

Forgiveness though is one of the major components in our walk to freedom because forgiveness breaks the bondage of sin in our lives.  It starts first of all when we ask for and receive God’s forgiveness.  We were destined for death and eternal separation from God ‘because the wages of sin is death BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Romans 6:23.  Christ took our sin on the cross and died in our place and by faith we ask for and receive his forgiveness. The power of sin and death in our lives is broken.  We are free.

However what God has freely given us, has to be freely given.  As Joyce Meyer says, ‘if you want to walk the love walk, you must walk the path of forgiveness.’  We cannot love and be loved by God and hold others in bondage to our unforgiveness. If we only realised the damage bitterness, grudges and offence does to our souls we would forgive much more readily.  Unforgiveness is like a poison that damages our whole lives.  Forgiveness does not just release us from the poison, it causes our lives to blossom and flourish. 

In the UK there were two parents who lost their children in tragic circumstances.  One lost a son to a child murderer and one lost a daughter to an IRA bomb. The one who lost their son was a bitter, resentful person for years.  The one who lost their daughter to the bomb went on television and publicly said they forgave the bombers.  God used him greatly to spread the message of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.  He travelled the world bringing a message of hope based on forgiveness.  The other lived out her days eaten up by resentment and unforgiveness.

Forgiveness is not easy.  It does not mean nothing happened or that we pretend nothing happened.  It is not saying that it was not important or that it didn’t hurt us deeply.  It requires us to look honestly at a hurt, offence or misdeed and say I choose to forgive.  I choose to give someone a gift they do not deserve and I am going to let them go free from my criticism and judgement.  Forgiveness is a choice and has nothing to do with feelings.  We may forgive and still feel angry and hurt but as we continue to forgive and declare the other person free from our judgement and offence, our feelings will follow. 

Be quick to forgive so the devil cannot build a stronghold of offence and unforgiveness in your life which is much harder to demolish. 

   Today I encourage you to forgive those who have hurt and offended you or those whom you love.  Jesus exhorts us to show the same forgiveness that we have received from God to others (Matthew 18: 21 – 35).  Give them the same free gift that God has freely given you.

Persistent, fervent prayer

The Bible has a lot to say about prayer and how people prayed.  It is both our number one means of communication with God and our number one means of connecting other people with the will of God. 

Luke 18: 1 – 8 is a parable that Jesus told to help his disciples to always pray and not give up.  He told them about a persistent widow who went on and on to an unjust judge till he gave her what she wanted. An unjust judge is an oxymoron.  Judges are meant to deal in justice but this one, who on his own admission didn’t fear God or care about man, gave the woman justice because of her sheer persistence.  Jesus taught that if an unjust judge will do that, ‘will not God bring justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? I tell you he will see they get justice, and quickly’ Luke 18: 7 – 8.  The answer of course is, ‘Yes God will bring justice as he is the just judge. 

The interesting thing though is that in verse 8, Jesus finishes off this parable with the statement, ‘However when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth.’  For Jesus persistent, fervent prayer requires faith.

Sometimes God gives us prayer answers quickly but if we got easy, quick answers to our prayers all the time, faith would not grow.  Faith does not grow in the soil of easy answers.  If God quickly answered all our prayers on demand, God would become like a slot machine.  Prayer in, answer out and no faith is required for that.  Faith grows when we have to persist to get our answers.  If we have to pray fervently and persistently faith grows or we give up.  Jesus taught us not to give up.  If it isn’t important enough to persevere, it isn’t that important. 

Persistent prayer is like saving up for something.  If we immediately got everything we asked for, we do not hold it in the same value and importance as something that we have had to save up for.  When we get something that we have had to save for, we greatly value and appreciate it.  In the same way when we persevere in prayer, with faith, when the answer comes we appreciate it and we have greater faith and confidence to ask next time for even greater things. 

If you are flagging in prayer for something that you have been praying about for ages, stir up your spirit and faith again and ask God to help you pray with freshness.  Ask God too to show you if there is a better way to pray to achieve your heart’s desire – the salvation of a loved one, provision of some sort or healing.  But don’t give up.  If as you read this, you remember something that you used to pray for but haven’t recently, start praying again with fresh faith for it.

United with Christ

One with himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased with his blood

My life is hid with Christ on high

My Saviour and my God

 Many times Paul talks about being ‘in Christ’ and in Romans chapter 6 he expounds on what that means.  When we became Christians we asked God, by faith, to forgive our sins and to become Lord of our lives.  At that moment our old self died, the old body of sin, destined to death, living to please itself was ‘rendered powerless’. We were set free from sin and its grip on our lives. At that moment we were raised to a new life, we were born again and we were united with Christ.  Just as Christ died and was raised to a new life, we too died and were raised with him to a new life.

Water baptism by immersion is a wonderful picture of that.  Our bodies are immersed in water signifying our old self being put to death and then we are raised out of the water signifying being raised to a new life. 

We are now united with Christ and as that truth becomes a reality in our lives, the slavery to sin weakens day on day.  The truth is - the power of sin is broken in your life.  Sin does not have any hold on you; you have died to it so how can you live in it any longer?  Paul exhorts us to ‘reckon or count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:11).  We have been raised to a new life and we have to work this out on a daily basis with the help of the ever present Holy Spirit. 

As we let the truth that we are united with Christ, our lives are immersed in him, his power releases us every day to walk in the freedom he won for us on the cross. God has such great plans for our lives, much better than our own plans and he unfolds these as we trust him and walk united with him. 

Freedom from religion

God wants us to live in freedom.  Freedom is not doing our own thing.  Freedom is living as God intended us; free from our own selfish ambitions, free from the opinions of others, free from sin, guilt and shame, free to be God’s child.

One of the biggest hindrances to being a child of God and living in freedom is religion.  Religion is man’s efforts to reach God.  Religion looks like a relationship with God because it talks a lot about God but religion teaches us that the way to God is by rules and laws.  Religion says we have to learn to please and appease God.

Religion is very uncomfortable with grace because it feels like cheating, getting something for nothing. Even if someone can agree that salvation is by grace alone, religion teaches that they will be a better Christian if they read their Bible and pray.  Being a better Christian means God may love you more and be more favourable towards you.

At this moment, before we become even further enmeshed in the trappings of religion, we need to call a halt and with a loud STOP declare again some truth, the truth that sets us free:

• I am a child of God
• I am saved by grace
• I am forgiven of all my sins
• I am born of incorruptible seed
• I am the apple of my Father’s eye
• I am redeemed by the blood
• I am a new creation
• I am beloved of God
• I am free from condemnation
• I am being prepared for greater things in the days ahead
• I am part of the royal priesthood
• I am redeemed from the curse of the law
• I am an ambassador of Christ

(All these truths have been dealt with in greater detail in previous blogs.)

Let us establish again – nothing we do or don’t do will improve our standing with God.  All Christ’s righteousness was transferred to us when we asked him to forgive our sins and become Lord of our lives.  ‘I am the righteousness of God ‘ (II Cor 5:21) and ‘his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.’ (II Peter 1:3)

Every day take hold of what you need for this day by inviting the Holy Spirit to become the centre of your life and be Lord over all you do at work, at home, at school, at leisure, at the shops, at church, with your friends.

Stop trying to please God; you please him already.

Stop trying to earn his favour; you have it already.

Stop trying to gain his attention; his gaze is fully fixed on you already.

He loves you, accepts you, approves of you.  Relax.