God reveals mysteries

There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. Daniel 2: 28

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had had a bad dream and demanded that his wise men and magicians not only interpret the dream but tell him what the dream was about. Otherwise they would be put to death. When Daniel heard of this he asked for more time and he and his three friends went and sought God who revealed the dream and its interpretation. Daniel went to the king and was quick to ensure the King knew it was not because he was wise that he knew the dream and interpretation but because God reveals mysteries.

Never has there been a greater need today for the wisdom of God to come and reveal mysteries and God wants to use his people to do this. Individuals and society face intractable problems and the wisdom of God is needed as never before to find Godly solutions to these problems.

God gave me this word last October and I would like to share it with you today:

I rejoice over my children.  I embrace you and breathe my life and identity into you.  As I do this you become like me.  My life and presence will shine from you and you will take it wherever you go.  You will bring my presence into business meetings, schools, governments, media, health care, commerce and homes. You will bring my presence there and if you will yield yourselves to me, you will bring my wisdom into intractable situations. You will bring Godly solutions to ungodly messes.  The breathtaking simplicity of my answers will stun others. 

I am wisdom and as you embrace me and let me saturate you, my wisdom will flow from you.  I have an answer to every situation.  There is nothing I cannot and will not restore to those who love me and seek to serve me.  Let my presence dwell richly and deeply in you.  Take it to the world.  Share my love wherever you go.  Love cannot be force fed, it must be imparted and I will use every one of you who lets me.  Trust me, ask me and I will show you.  Make yourselves available and I will use each one, young or old, clever, rich, poor, disadvantaged, disabled, disaffected, discouraged, every wonderful one of you that is mine I will use because your difficulties are not a problem to me but an opportunity, an opportunity for you to serve me and discover how much I truly love you.

The Bible is quite clear that wisdom is given to anyone who asks (James 1:5). God wants to confide in us (Psalm 25:14).  Let us ask today and make ourselves available to give that Godly wisdom as the Lord opens doors to us.

A Sabbath day of rest

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  Exodus 20: 8 – 9

Busyness is one of the greatest deceptions of modern life. There is almost a virtue of being busy.  Christians on Facebook will tell their friends all about the wonderful things they have been doing and how busy they are. However, I am not saying that laziness is a virtue either but as the old saying goes, ‘we are human beings not human doings’. Who we are is more important than what we do.

Busyness sounds so fulfilling and satisfying with not a minute to spare but that is the very problem. When over busy, we have no time to think, meditate and often pray and read our Bibles. We are too busy to stop and if we do stop we feel guilty that we are not doing something.

That is why God instituted the Sabbath day of rest and he not only commanded it, he also did it. Right at the beginning God rested on the seventh day after spending six days creating the universe and our wonderful planet. The Sabbath was given to the Israelites before the 10 commandments (Exodus 16:23). Indeed the origin of the word Sabbath is rested. It is good to rest and God commanded the Sabbath as the fourth of the Ten Commandments. 

This is where the howl goes up that we are not under law but under grace but God in his graciousness has given us a day of rest. I believe it is to the detriment of both individuals and society that we have thrown away our rest day as casually as we throw out the rubbish. 

Several times in the Bible God warns us that when the cares and worries of life take over, we will miss out on what He is doing. In the parable of the sower, one lot of seed never came to fruition because the cares and worries of life choked it (Matthew 13: 22). Busyness fills our life with cares and worries – we have so much to think about that we have trouble thinking about God and the life he wants for us.  In Luke 21 Jesus was talking about the end times and again warns that the cares and anxieties of life cloud our vision from what is going on (Luke 21: 34). Jesus is always alerting us to watch and pray. Busyness crowds that out.

Making a conscious choice to keep one day of the week separate (holy) to the Lord is vital for believers. The busyness of modern life will choke our minds and hearts from what God is saying and doing unless we choose each week to set aside a day to rest and re-group. This is not a day to necessarily spend being all spiritual or at church all day but a day to spend with God, family and friends; a day to clear our minds of the clutter of the week and to think about other things.

Let us unashamedly grasp hold of our day of rest and use it as that – a day of rest – not a day to catch up on the chores but a day of rest. I guarantee that as we honour God with our Sabbath, he will help sort out our priorities for the week and there will always be time to get those things done that need to be done AND we will be refreshed in every way and our lives enriched. I can recommend it wholeheartedly.

Godliness with contentment

But godliness with contentment is great gain I Timothy 6:6

Contentment is a state that is hard to gain but wonderful when one can truly say you feel content. Contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction and Paul aspires that his young charge and representative, Timothy, should learn and teach how to be content. Paul himself said that, ‘he had learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in every situation, whether living in plenty or in want.’ Philippians 4: 11 – 12.

Timothy had been sent by Paul to look after the church at Ephesus. Paul had hoped to return to it but his plans changed and so in this first letter to Timothy he is giving him further instruction in looking after the church. He encouraged him to refute false teaching and one of the errors that was infiltrating the church was that godliness was a means to financial gain.

Believers today are under ever greater pressure to believe that contentment comes when you have everything you want and of course you never do. Paul however is quite clear that contentment whether in plenty or lack is the goal not having an overflow of possessions and lots of money.

Paul tells Timothy that ‘people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction’ (I Timothy 6: 9).  There are no get rich quick schemes and the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Eagerly desiring money is a trap. Jesus assures us that our heavenly Father will look after us; we do not need to worry about what we will eat, drink or wear (Matthew 6: 25 – 32). Paul says to Timothy that if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. And ladies, our Father knows we like nice clothes and he will provide those for us! Being content with what we have is a wonderful attribute.

If you have ever cleared out the house of a person who has died, it can be very distressing. We brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out. There will be many things that they valued and which they have left behind and which you may now have to just throw away because no one else wants them.  It puts possessions in perspective. Our Father knows what we need and he will give us those things we need and much else besides. He is a good God who gives good gifts to his children but let us learn, like Paul, to be content whether we are in a time of plenty or in a time of lack. Contentment helps us not to worry in our time of lack and to rejoice with thankfulness in our time of plenty.

Thankfulness is the key to contentment. Let us be thankful and content people who will be a joy to those around us.

The widow's mite

Luke 21: 1 – 4

I am sure we are all familiar with the account of the widow who put her two mites or small copper coins in the treasury at the temple. Jesus commended her because everyone else was putting in out of their surplus but she was putting in all she had to live on.

The context of this little event is Jesus warning his disciples about the religious leaders and the hypocrisy of their practices, one of which was to make an extravagant show of their giving. Jesus contrasts this with the poor widow who quietly puts in the little she has.

Underlining this story, Jesus is commending the poor widow for her generosity. Those who have little do not give it away unless they have a very generous spirit. They hang on to the little they have. The religious leaders wanted everyone to think what good people they were because they gave large amounts. The widow only had a small amount and yet she gave it. She was not putting on a show for anyone – who would be impressed by the gift of two small coins? She gave out of a desire to bless God. She would know her two small coins would make no difference to the upkeep of the temple or the religious institutions. Her gift was given to God. Only he saw her generosity when no one else did and God would have been blessed by her heart which so reflects his own generous heart.

God wants us to give freely and generously to him and others. We give because he first gave to us. ‘Freely we have received, freely give’ (Matthew 10:8).  We must never give ‘reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver’ (II Corinthians 9:7). We give out of love for all God has given to us. If you are giving out of duty or a sense that as a ‘good Christian’ you must tithe or you are giving so that God will bless you – stop!  Give because you want to give and be a blessing. The size of your gift does not denote your generosity. The size of your heart does that.

The Lord is near

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145: 18

The whole of Psalm 145 is a wonderful psalm of praise extolling the Lord. From this psalm come the wonderful words that the Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love The Lord is good to all, he has compassion on all he has made.

There can be times when we feel like God is far off and usually these will be times when we have made mistakes, sinned or just done something we are not proud of. We may even have forgotten or chickened out of doing something we should have done.

It is at moments like this we need to remember the Lord is near. We may feel we have moved away from God but God never moves away from us. We may be turning our head away in shame or frustration at our shortcomings but God is right there lifting our head to look into his eyes and he wants us to see the encouragement and compassion he has for us, in the midst of our mistakes. So often we see success and failure in terms of what we do or don’t do and God wants to remind us today that who we are is what matters. We are God’s chosen children, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12). We are not failures, we are not disappointments, and God is not shaking his head at us in sorrow at our shortcomings. God’s eyes are burning with love and compassion for us.

Take heart child of God. Call out to God in truth, repent if necessary, forgive anyone if needed including yourself and stand tall as a precious, precious child of God. The Lord is near; feel his hand of encouragement on you today, right now, in Jesus’ Name.

Zacchaeus

Luke 19: 1 – 10

We are all familiar with the story of Zacchaeus which we probably learned in Sunday School. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and as such would have been hated by the people firstly because he worked for the Romans, the occupiers of their land and then he took more money from the people than was necessary by cheating and extortion. Tax collectors and sinners were always mentioned in the same breath. When Zacchaeus heard Jesus was in town, he wanted to see this man that everyone was talking about but being short, he couldn’t see over the heads of the crowd so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree for a good view.

Now if Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector he was not a young man and it must have been a bit undignified to have climbed up and joined the local youths up a tree! I suspect though something in his spirit was drawing him to a divine appointment for when Jesus passed, he stopped, looked up and called Zacchaeus by name. Jesus invited himself to his house. I think this may have been the nicest thing anyone had done for Zacchaeus in a long time. Tax collectors were very unpopular and cheating ones even more so. Now here the celebrity preacher, teacher and healer wanted to come to his house and Zacchaeus did not pass up on the opportunity.  He received and welcomed him joyfully the Amplified Bible says. Kindness opens the hardest of hearts –condemnation keeps them firmly closed.

Of course the crowd were not as happy and could not understand why Jesus would want to go to his house. There were plenty of worthy local dignitaries who would have been delighted to host Jesus and show off to their friends their exalted visitor. Jesus though had salvation on his mind not hospitality. Salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house and to his household and he made generous restitution for all his past sins and extortion. What a wonderful outcome from one act of kindness to a ‘sinner’.

The crowd’s reaction though is one that dwells in all our hearts. Who is worthy to be honoured? It is the elder brother syndrome from the parable of the prodigal son. Every one of us has a tendency towards deciding whether a person is worthy or not of honour.  However, when we can learn to genuinely rejoice over the honouring and prominence given to others, especially those considered unworthy because of faults or sin, something of self righteousness will have been broken in our lives.

A pastor I know tells the story of a prostitute who got saved in his church and everyone was delighted until she started dating one of the elder’s sons. All the joy then turned to condemnation. Let us examine our hearts and root out those self righteous tendencies to judge others and decide whether we think they are worthy of honour or not and let us rejoice with the Father over every sinner saved and every unworthy person exalted by him – including ourselves!

God calls us by name

Yesterday we saw that when the angel of the Lord met with Hagar in the desert, he addressed her by name (Genesis 16:8 and 21:17). All through the Bible when God meets with people who are not expecting to see him or hear from him, he addresses them by name. There are no coincidences with God.

When God met Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:4) he called him by name twice. God was not just looking for any old person to go to Pharaoh ‘to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt’  (Exodus 3:10). He wanted Moses and despite his misgivings and protests God was determined. He knew that given time Moses would be the very man to fulfil his plans and purposes and of course God was right!

Abraham was consistently spoken to by God by name (especially Genesis 22:2). Samuel was also called by God by name even as a young boy (I Samuel 3:4, 6, 8 and 10). God met with Samuel and his course for life was set. Jeremiah was also called as a child (Jeremiah 1: 5). Do you notice that each time their answer was, ‘Here I am’?

God even called his servant Cyrus by name before Cyrus was even born (Isaiah 44: 28 and 45: 1). This is all very well for Old Testament prophets but what about ‘little me’ today in 2012?  Let us take heart from Mary Magdalene in one of my favourite accounts in the Bible (John 20: 1 – 18).

On the first day of the week Mary had gone early to Jesus’ tomb to continue to put the spices and perfumes they had prepared on Jesus’ body.  She had no anticipation of resurrection and was astonished to find the stone rolled away. Even after Peter and John had looked at the empty tomb and gone back home, she stood weeping outside.  It was bad enough that Jesus had been crucified but now she believed someone had stolen his body. Despite two angels asking why she was crying, she still didn’t expect an answer from them for she turned away and saw what she thought was the gardener. 'The gardener' asked her why she was crying and she asked him where the body was. It is at this point that Jesus just said, ‘Mary’! Instantly she knew it was the Lord. She cried out to him and obviously clung on to him no doubt amazed, bewildered, astonished and full of great joy. Her day that had started with such sorrow was transformed by one word, her name, spoken by Jesus. All the hopes and dreams that had disappeared when he died on the cross had just come back to life. Everything that was hopeless was now hopeful. Everything that was dead had come alive because Jesus was alive and  had spoken to her by name.

You are not just a believer; you are a chosen, beloved child of God who knows you by name. You are individually known, loved and overwhelmingly cared for by a God who you may not see but who sees you. God wants to reassure you today that he is calling you by name and he wants to breathe life into some old hopes and dreams that seemed to lie in ashes at your feet. He wants to bring resurrection life to them. Hear him call your name and trust him afresh to work all things out for good.

God sees

‘You are the God who sees me ….. I  have now seen the One who sees me’ Genesis 16: 13

There can be a tendency on our part to believe that God neither sees nor cares about us nor our situation in an individual way; we are just another believer in the midst of millions of others. When our prayers don’t seem to be being heard or not as we would like or within our time frame, our cry can echo that of both Martha (Luke 10:40) or the disciples in the midst of the storm (Mark 4:38 ) ‘Lord, don’t you care?’

The story of Hagar though is a source of comfort that God knows, sees and cares about us. He sees and acts and it has nothing to do with good behaviour on our part or a faithful prayer life. God sees and intervenes on an individual basis out of his great compassion for us. 

Hagar was Sarai’s Egyptian maidservant. God had promised Abram that he would become a great nation but at the age of 86 and Sarai 76, no child was in sight. Sarai came up with the plan that they should build their family through a child from her maidservant and gave her to Abram to sleep with. She duly became pregnant and then having had the child Sarai could not have, Hagar despised her mistress. As a result Sarai started to mistreat her. Hagar ran away and on the desert road the angel of the Lord met her and asked her what she was doing. She told him her story and he told her to return to her mistress but not to worry she would have a son and so many descendants that ‘they will be too numerous to count’. Knowing that it was God who had spoken to her, she declared that ‘you are the God who sees me.’

14 years later when the child of promise, Isaac, had been born, on the day he was weaned, Abraham held a feast but Ishmael mocked the occasion. Sarah demanded Abraham get rid of both Ishmael and Hagar. Reading between the lines, there had probably been quite a bit of tension between Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham was not keen to send them away but God assured him that it was alright to do so and he would make both boys into great nations.

Hagar was again in the desert and this time dying for lack of water. No doubt feeling very resentful at her mistreatment, she and Ishmael lay down waiting to die. Again the angel of the Lord appeared to her and reassured her that God knew her situation and had not forgotten his promise to make her son a nation. He showed Hagar a well and the situation was saved. The final encouragement from this story is that ‘God was with the boy as he grew up’ (Genesis 21:20).

God promised Abraham and Sarah a son who would become a great nation and even when they conceived their own version, he extended the promise to cover Ishmael and Isaac. God is faithful even in the midst of our devising our own plans and will continue to work out his promises despite us.

Today if you are feeling that God has forgotten you or the promises that he has made to you, let us take fresh heart from the story of Hagar. Despite her weaknesses God did not turn his back on Hagar or Ishmael. He saw them and today he sees you. On both occasions that the angel met with Hagar in the desert he called her by name. The angel was not just passing by; he was sent by God to Hagar personally to meet with her in her hour of need. He will do the same for you.

He calls the stars by name

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power, his understanding has no limit.  Psalm 147: 4 – 5

The minute we start to consider the universe or gaze in wonder at the night sky, our small brains can get quickly overwhelmed.  Our galaxy, the Milky Way is stunning and it is made up of between 100 and 200 billion stars. At any one time we can see up to 2000 stars with the naked eye though there are about 6000 stars you could see. That leaves an awful lot of stars that cannot be seen unless you have a telescope. Astronomers say that our little star the sun is out on one arm of our spiral galaxy and it would take over 20,000 light years to reach the centre of the galaxy. It takes over 200 million light years for our sun to travel around the galaxy. Then wait for it – there are an estimated 300 – 500 billion galaxies.

Milky Way

When the Psalmist wrote that God called the stars by name he was looking at about 2000 stars in a night sky unaffected by light pollution. It would have been beautiful and even the Psalmist may have realised that he was not looking at all there was to see yet he confidently asserted that God called the stars by name. Whether you take that statement literally or metaphorically – God created all of it and let’s face it if he can make all those stars he can certainly name them! Not only that but the writer to Hebrews asserts that ‘the Son … sustains all things by his powerful word’ (Hebrews 1: 3). He sustains all the galaxies by his word!

However before we collapse under an overwhelming sense of insignificance we must see that these verses in Psalm 147 are the meat in a sandwich of hope. The bread of the sandwich is, ‘The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds (verse 2 and 3) and ‘the Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground’ (verse 5). This Psalm was written after the exile and these verses were to give hope to a scattered, heartbroken people who had lost everything. They would have felt insignificant in the hands of their oppressors and would have wondered if God had forgotten or finished with his people forever. God wanted to assure them he had nor forgotten them and as creator of the universe, he had the power to restore them.

Crab Nebula

Today, God does not intend us to be overwhelmed by his incredible, mind blowing creation which we are far more aware of thanks to the amazing advances in astronomy. God wants us to take heart that though he created the universe, he also knows, loves, cares and sees each one of us. Too often we look through the wrong end of the telescope at the universe and see everything tiny, remote and far off which reinforces our sense of insignificance. We need to turn the telescope around and see things from God’s perspective. He sees, knows and calls the billions of stars by name but he can also hone right in on Planet Earth and then onto every one of us. We are not small and insignificant to him. He knows, he sees, he cares about all the minutest details of our lives.  What an awesome God!

Denying yourself

If any man would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

This teaching of Jesus flies full in the face of the prevalent attitude today of entitlement. This says that I am entitled to an education, job, house, family, nice things – in fact anything and my input into it is minimal. Everything needs to come to me just because I am entitled to it. The root of this is in humanism which says that man is of prime importance and God is irrelevant.

This of course is completely the opposite of Jesus’ teaching whereby man finds his satisfaction and fulfilment in his relationship with God, his Creator. In order for this to be fully realised man needs to deny himself and follow Jesus. This sounds like one of the hardest teachings of Jesus and for most of us we read this and think, ‘too hard’ and sort of ignore it. The thought of taking up our cross is so far off our radar that we cannot contemplate it.  The demands of our flesh, even when we are trying our hardest, cry out to fed, nurtured, entertained, indulged and pampered.

Jesus though knew this statement would sound impossible to us but that doesn’t mean it is impossible for God. Whenever we are faced with challenges, especially overwhelming challenges, it is time to fall into the arms of grace, acknowledge our weakness and ask our loving Father for his help to attain the unattainable.  

As with all the ‘hard’ teachings of Jesus such as forgiving your enemies, fasting, being prefect as your heavenly Father is perfect or denying yourself it is a process. God wants us to trust him with and in the process not just give up. Too often Christians give up when things get hard because that is what our flesh wants. Jesus wants us not to give up but to give in, to his will and his Holy Spirit’s grace and help.

Denying yourself is not a natural trait for man but an essential discipline for those who are looking for the fullness of God working in their lives. As self is denied, the spirit flourishes. Paul and Peter talk about not indulging, gratifying or sowing to the sinful nature which leads to destruction but to sow to the spirit which reaps life. Jesus wants us to live and to live to the fullness of his purpose for our life. We are not being asked to deny our self by a hard taskmaster bent on spoiling our fun but from a loving God who wants the best for his beloved children. Freedom from the demands of our selfish selves leads to great liberty to live in the grace and fullness of all that God has for us.

Acknowledging God before men

I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. Luke 12:8 – 9

You can imagine the scene in heaven as God introduces one of his own before the angels or in Matthew’s gospel Jesus says, ‘before my Father in heaven’. Either way it will be a marvellous occasion of honour and well worth any humiliation suffered at the hands of men. For some of course it may have involved being martyred but for most of us the worst we will have suffered is mockery and maybe social exclusion. On several occasions Jesus warned the disciples not be ashamed of him before men (Mark 8:38) and the context is always one of denying oneself and following God.

Yet the fear of men can be deep rooted. No one wants to be mocked or humiliated but standing for God is what we are called to do. Too often we fear upsetting or forcing our opinions on others and we must of course be sensitive and let the Spirit guide us. However we can say a huge amount about ourselves by our attitudes and actions. People will notice if we consistently show the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22) – and not just when we are on a good mood. In a world dominated by a sense of entitlement, these virtues shine out.

Our actions and attitudes are very important but so too are our words.  The way we talk to and about others is noticeable. People will trust us and confide in us if we talk about others kindly. This is especially powerful when others are dealing with us in an unpleasant way. Not responding in kind is a great witness. A clean mouth can make us stand out in this generation ‘like stars in the universe’ (Philippians 2:15). We must also be ‘ready to give an account of the hope that is within us’ because people will ask if we show Christ like attitudes consistently. We need to be ready to talk naturally and lovingly about the one who loves us all more than we can ever know or imagine.

Nothing appals me more than Christians who harshly tell other people they are perverts or sinners and need to repent. People are never won be being told what is wrong with them by others. Let the Holy Spirit do the convicting. We need to show the love of God. There are so many needy, hurting, helpless, hopeless people who just need someone to tell and show them God loves them.

Let us acknowledge God before all men whether they mock us or receive us for the reward is great. Jesus will acknowledge us before the Father and the angels as his dearly beloved son or daughter. How marvellous that will be.

Fear God not man

‘But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who after the killing of the body has power to throw you into hell.’ Luke 12: 5

The context of these rather frightening words is part of a run in that Jesus had with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law found in Luke 11: 37 – 53. It all started because Jesus had not washed his hands before the meal which was a ceremonial tradition started by the Pharisees and not something required by the law.  Jesus took the Pharisees to task for their traditions and hypocrisy. One of the experts of the law complained that Jesus was insulting them and then Jesus took these people to task as well for their hypocrisy especially over their forefathers killing God’s prophets and the current generation building elaborate tombs for these martyred prophets; endorsing what their forefathers had done.

All of this did not go down well with the Pharisees and teachers of the law who ‘began to oppose him fiercely’ (Luke 11: 53) and were waiting to trip him up with his own words. Meanwhile, despite a huge crowd who were beginning to trample one another, Jesus started to warn his disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and to fear God not man. Jesus was fearless in the face of men’s antagonism and anger towards him. He never stopped doing what the Father told him to do nor stopped saying what his Father was saying. He said, ‘For I seek not to please myself but him who sent me’ John 5:30 and ‘For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me’ John 6:38 and ‘For I did not speak of my own accord but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it’ John 12: 49.

Jesus wanted to encourage the disciples that they need not fear men. Acknowledging God before men was paramount because everything they said, even in secret, would be proclaimed from the rooftops. They were not to be afraid even if people had the power to kill them for what they had said. If they were brought before the authorities they would be given the words to say and Jesus assured his disciples that they were worth a lot in God’s eyes and God would look after them.
In our comfortable western world, it is very easy to let these words wash over us as we feel it is unlikely we will have to stand for our faith in this way. In many parts of the world though, these words are very meaningful. Many of other religions who become Christians are ostracised by the family and community and some are even put to death for their faith. Let us make sure that though we may not be persecuted for our faith, neither do we deny God in our home, family, community or work setting. Let us acknowledge Jesus without being over bearing or unpleasant.

Jesus does not want any of us to fear men but to joyfully acknowledge him before men, confident that God will look after us whatever the outcome.

The better way

Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken from her. Luke 10: 42

There is something about the story of Mary and Martha that draws me back every time. I think many of us secretly feel sorry for poor old Martha, slaving away in the kitchen, while Mary sat listening at Jesus’ feet. As I said in a previous blog (Jesus loved Martha) too many of us identify with Martha because we prefer to be doing something / anything rather than sitting at Jesus’ feet.

So often nowadays when I meet someone I have not seen for a while and ask them how things are going they will invariably reply, ‘busy’ or ‘hectic’. Secretly I think we want people to believe we are busy because they don’t want us to think we are lazy or don’t have anything much to do. It is the old protestant work ethic; pride in achievements. We want people to look at our accomplishments and be impressed.

Yet whilst God wants us to be fruitful which is not the same as busy and is certainly not a list of achievements, what God wants most of all is relationship. This is what Mary chose and that is why Jesus commended her for choosing what is better. I believe if Martha was saying one thing to us today it would be, ‘follow Mary’s example!’ Martha may have been a marvellous servant – in the right sense of the word – but she also had great faith (John 11:25) and she didn’t get that preparing the sandwiches in the kitchen. She must have spent time with Jesus. 

Too often we substitute relationship with Jesus with works for Jesus. Whilst it is important that our faith is shown through works (James 2:14 – 26) our relationship with Jesus is much more important. Relationships can be hard especially when you cannot see the one you are trying to have relationship with. Jesus though will do all he can to draw us to him and through his Holy Spirit make his presence real in our lives.

Jesus’ priority was his relationship with the Father. He always spent time with him going to lonely places to pray or staying up all night if necessary (Luke 6:12).  It was from this place of relationship with the Father that all the works of Jesus, the teaching, healings, miracles, signs and wonders flowed.  Jesus also spent three years building relationships with the disciples that bore fruit for years and generations to come.

If we could ask those who have gone before us what their greatest regrets have been, I am sure that too much time spent in works and not enough time spent in relationships would be high on everyone’s list.  Let us resolve to prioritise again our relationships especially with the Lord and those closest to us. We may not get as much done as we may have liked but it will never be time wasted.

What I have I give you

Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you Acts 3:6

There are some encouraging stories in the Bible about people who did not have much, but gave what little they had  and God used it for his glory.

The little boy with the five small loaves and two small fish which fed 5000 men, besides women and children (John 6: 8), is the obvious example. There is a parallel story in II Kings 4. Here Elisha was given twenty loaves of bread and used it to feed 100 people.  It may not have been as spectacular a provision as the feeding of the 5000 but it was still a miracle.  It was not enough bread to feed the people but Elisha spoke the word of the Lord that they would eat and have some left over and that is what happened. Whether it was 20 loaves and 100 people or 5 loaves and two fish to feed 5000 men, it still required faith.

Elisha also ministered to the widow who was in debt and whose sons were about to be taken away to be sold to pay the debt. Elisha asked her what she had and again all she had was a little oil. God used her little oil and it became enough to pay her debts and live off (II Kings 4: 1 – 7). 

Peter and John were just on their way to the temple to pray and met the beggar at the Gate Beautiful. They didn’t have any money but they gave what they did have; their faith in the healing power of God. 

All of these stories are about miracles that happen because people are prepared to believe God and act in faith.  All of them knew they did not have enough for the situation but they gave what little they had and let God do the miracle.

I am challenged because I believe God wants to do far greater miracles amongst us than we are currently seeing. The problem is not an unwillingness on God’s part but an unwillingness on ours. Doubt, unbelief, fear of failure or of looking foolish stops us.  God is waiting for us to say’ ‘God use me. I don’t have much but what I do have I give you.’ 

The boy with his five loaves and two small fish didn’t let feeling foolish stop him. Elisha didn’t look at the loaves and think that someone would have to go hungry nor did he look at the widow’s lack and arrange a collection on her behalf.  Peter and John didn’t ignore the beggar because they had no money. All of them stopped looking at what they didn’t have and looked instead to him who has everything we could ever ask for or imagine. Let’s follow their example and ask God to renew our faith and use us to do some of the miracles that I believe God is just waiting to do through some available trusting believer.

Clothed with compassion

Jesus had sent the twelve disciples out on their first mission trip without him.  They came back full of excitement of all that they had seen and accomplished in Jesus name. Even the demons had fled!  Jesus invited them to come away with him to a quiet place for a de-brief and for some rest. 

As an aside - isn’t it interesting what value God places on rest? We place such value on work and achievements and little value on rest. But at the beginning God rested on the seventh day after the work of creation and this must be our model too.  We need to learn to take a proper rest and have a different day once a week to frame and shape our week.

So having taken the disciples away to a quiet place on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, who do they find when they get there?  The very crowd they were trying to get away from!  It is at this point that most of us would turn the boat around and try and find somewhere else and quickly.  Jesus though saw the crowd and ‘had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd’ Mark 6:34

Jesus' compassion at moments like this is truly amazing.  He and the disciples needed some down time, some rest but Jesus saw the greater need and his compassion rose.  It says in Matthew that he taught them and healed their sicknesses.  He saw their need – to be taught – but he also saw what they wanted and needed – to be healed.

What is even more amazing is that having taught the crowd and then healed their sick, he fed them.  The disciples requested that Jesus send them away to get food but Jesus instead fed them with the five loaves and two fish.  He had time for another miracle. No matter what was going on Jesus had time for those in need.

There are times when we feel we will never have even a gram of the compassion of Jesus. We feel just too selfish but God wants to work in our hearts and with his amazing love, win and woo us to better things than we could ever think or imagine. Let us pray for greater compassion for those people or situations that we find difficult or those we feel we have no time for. Let God’s compassion clothe us.

‘Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, let us clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience’ Colossians 3: 12. Compassion is seen as a garment that we need to put on. It will cover our shortcomings and clothe us with the likeness of Jesus.  Let us encourage ourselves to ever greater depths and heights of compassion and let us have time for those in need.  

Who touched me?

 In both Luke 8 and Mark 5 we read the story of the woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years who came and touched Jesus’ clothes for healing.  Bleeding of this nature is deeply embarrassing even in this day and age but in Jesus’ time it was not just embarrassing but also meant that she was unclean. She would have been shunned by society as no one would have wanted to go to her house or have her come to their house as anything she sat on would be unclean and if you then touched it you also became unclean (Leviticus 15: 25 – 30).

She had suffered like this for 12 years and had spent all she had on trying to get well and Mark says she had suffered a great deal at the hand of doctors but had only got worse not got better. 

Jesus was on his way to raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead and both Mark and Luke record that the crowd pressed or crushed around him.  It must have been like getting out of a football match!  People pressing in everywhere and only one way to go – Jesus’ way! The woman seeing that Jesus was passing her way and having heard all about the healings that he had done, knew that this was her moment.  She was far too embarrassed to come to him directly for healing so she just thought that if she touched his cloak she would be healed and she was. 

No doubt she hoped that she could quietly slip out of the crowd, wait 7 days and then confirm her healing with the priests and offer her sacrifice (Leviticus 15:28 – 30) and she would be pronounced clean again.  However Jesus wanted testimony of what had happened and also I think re-instate her in society.  When Jesus asked who had touched him, the disciples looked at the crowd and then Jesus with disbelief.  Everyone was touching him but Jesus persisted; he knew healing power had gone out of him. Eventually the woman knew she could no longer hide but came and fell at his feet, trembling with fear. She was excepting to be rebuked for making him unclean and ‘stealing’ a healing.

Jesus though, with great compassion, wanted to commend and confirm her faith and I believe also wanted to release her from shame and embarrassment. Before the whole crowd pressing in he said, ‘Daughter your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering’ Mark 5:34 Instead of just having a private healing she also had a public commendation. 

Jesus has such compassion for the sick, hurt and abused; for those on the margins of society and those who have suffered greatly at the hands of others. He wants us, his church, to minister to people with the same level of mercy, love and compassion.   Offer yourself to be used by God to bring his healing and release to others who may have suffered much. Let God stir your heart with the same compassion Jesus had as he uses you to minister his healing power into their lives with his love.

Jesus wept

Jesus had gone to a town called Nain and as he entered the city gates, there was a funeral procession coming out.  A young man, who was his mother’s only son, had died and she was a widow.  In that culture she was now in a desperate place. Provision for women came either through their father, husband or son.  She had none of these to provide for her so apart from the awful grief of losing her only son, she also had no one to provide for her in her old age.

And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’  Luke 8: 13 (Amp)

This widow was not looking for Jesus, she didn’t even ask him for anything but Jesus in his great compassion, raised her son from the dead. Imagine her joy; her only son returned to her!

The shortest verse in the Bible is ‘Jesus wept’ John 11:35.  This verse is found in the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead.  His sisters, Mary and Martha were overcome with grief and with the belief that if Jesus had only come sooner Lazarus would not have died because Jesus would have healed him.  When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping and all the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled’ Luke 11:33.   Again Jesus is moved with compassion by the tears of the ladies whose breadwinner had died.  Lazarus was his great friend and Jesus knew he was going to raise him from the dead.  Nevertheless he was deeply moved and troubled by their grief.  

Again and again in the Bible God draws special attention to looking after widows and orphans (for example Deuteronomy 10:18 and Psalm 68:5). The Bible says God defends the cause of the fatherless and widows because they are often the most vulnerable members of society.  God is a compassionate God.  He is just as concerned about widows and orphans today. God cares deeply about the vulnerable members of any society and will defend them.  God has not changed; he is still deeply compassionate for those grieving or in trouble. If you feel alone, vulnerable, weak, uncared for God knows and cares. Trust him to defend your cause and look after you.

Man does not live on bread alone

‘Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ Luke 4:4

Jesus quoted this Scripture from Deuteronomy when the devil tempted him to turn a stone into bread.  Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and nights and was hungry and the devil came and attacked him at his weak point.  When the devil said, ‘If you are the Son of God …’ he was not casting doubt on Jesus’ divinity but tempting Jesus to use his divinity to feed himself. He was in effect saying; ‘since you are the Son of God …’ feed yourself.  You’re hungry, you can do it and of course Jesus could. 

Jesus knew that using his divinity to feed himself would have aborted God’s plan of salvation for mankind before it had started.  So he came back at the devil by quoting from the Scriptures – a powerful weapon against the enemy.  It is truth and the devil hates truth as he is the father of lies. Jesus knew that everything we need comes from God and we look to him and him alone to be our provider.

Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses was telling the Israelites that God had humbled them in the desert by causing them to go hungry.  The Israelites were very prone to self sufficiency and making their own minds up about what they would and wouldn’t do. Hungry in the desert where there was no food, they had no choice but to cry out to God who supernaturally provided for them with manna. Manna of course means, ‘what is it?’ The Israelites had never seen anything like it before and would be in no doubt for the next 40 years as the manna arrived morning and evening, except on the Sabbath, no matter where they were in the desert, that it was God who provided.  They couldn’t look to their own resources; they had to look to God and truly learn that, ‘man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Like the Israelites, we too have an in-built desire for self sufficiency but God desires us to be dependent on him.  As we truly learn to look to God to be all we need and to provide all we need, it will bring us into greater liberty than we could ever know.  It won’t make us feeble, unable-to–think for ourselves people but powerful children of God. Once God is our provider all the barriers to possibility are down.  We have limited resources and limited abilities in ourselves but God can and will provide everything we need from our daily bread to the very air we breathe. Ask God to help you change your mind set from self sufficiency to God dependency and come into the freedom that God wants you to walk in.