Jesus is Lord over the storm

Jesus was in the stern (of the boat), sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher don’t you care if we drown?’ Mark 4: 38

On one of our many night flights to and from South Africa we were suffering from some air turbulence. This is quite common on the long flights over Africa.  However on this occasion the turbulence was expected to be severe. The pilot announced to everyone that in 20 minutes time the turbulence would be very bad. Later he said that in 10 minutes the crew must have everything stowed away and they must be ready to take their seats; an unusual occurrence. All during this time I just kept praying, ‘Jesus, you are Lord over the storm. Jesus, you are Lord over the storm.’

All I can say is that 10 minutes later nothing happened. In fact 30 minutes later we were still flying quietly through the night. Jesus is indeed Lord of the storm. The disciples found that to be true as their boat hit a ‘furious squall’ so much so that waves nearly swamped the boat. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat and the disciples, in panic, woke Jesus accusing him that he didn’t care. Jesus calmed their storm just as he calmed mine. The disciples saw Jesus rebuke the wind and the waves and it became calm. All I know is that my storm also became calm.

There can be a real tendency when things are going badly and the storms of life hit us to believe that Jesus doesn’t care. That is a lie. He does care very much indeed about all that you are going through but he wants us to turn to him to calm the storm and not try and do it by ourselves. I could no more calm the air turbulence on that flight than the disciples could calm the furious squall but Jesus can. Today if you are facing a storm that feels like life is getting out of control, declare that Jesus is Lord over the storm and trust him to calm your storm. Jesus does care and he wants you to know that he is indeed Lord over your storm.

An excellent spirit

The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favour in his eyes and became his attendant.  Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Genesis 39: 2 – 4

Joseph like Daniel was a man with an ‘excellent spirit’. He too was taken off into captivity as a young man to a country heavily demonised and into idolatry big time. He had every opportunity to turn his back on God and be angry, resentful, bitter and unforgiving and yet three times in this chapter it says the Lord was with Joseph. In fact it was so obvious to his master that the Lord was with him and prospering him that Potiphar entrusted his entire household to Joseph. Later Joseph was promoted to be second in the land to Pharaoh.

This sounds very similar to Daniel who also rose to great service in Babylon. Both of these young men could have just done the minimum required, kept a low profile and taken the attitude that since their masters were ungodly, idol worshipping pagans they would have as little to do with them as possible. Instead they sought to bless their masters by their excellent service and Godly witness.

Nobody in either Egypt or Babylon was under any illusions who Daniel or Joseph served. There was no keeping their faith private for fear of ridicule or persecution. Both Daniel’s and Joseph’s faith was right out there blessing those over them. It also stood the test of false accusation, imprisonment and threat of death. 

We can make such a difference in our situations with Godly, kind, loving, reliable and honest service to those over and around us. We can bless the most ungodly people with our excellent service and be such a wonderful light in dark situations. Resentfulness and bitterness breed a grudging attitude but God’s love can shine out in the darkest places. The Lord is with us and we do not need to fear. He will prosper us as we seek to serve him and bless those around us and he will never leave us or forsake us in the midst of difficulties and persecutions.

A holy nation

Now Daniel so distinguished himself amongst the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom Daniel 6:3

Daniel lived a holy life – a life separated from everything of the ungodly world that surrounded him and separated unto Almighty God. Daniel was taken into captivity with his three friends Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego from Judah to Babylon in 609 BC and Daniel died there in 534 BC. He served under many kings but from an early age he sought to be a man of God no matter what. It almost cost him his life but he would not be deterred.

Though Daniel lived a long and prayer filled life we only read about the high points. In the first six chapters of the book we hear about Daniel’s amazing gift of revelatory discernment to interpret signs and dreams. We hear of Daniel and his three friends’ uncompromising stand against the devil’s schemes which led the three friends into the fiery furnace and Daniel into the lion’s den.  God delivered these Godly young men from all of it.

In between these times though there are many years when we know nothing of what Daniel was doing other than he was a man of prayer and ‘exceptional qualities’. He was in administrative charge of large parts of the Babylonian and later the Persian Empire but he never held back from his prayer life despite his extremely responsible and demanding career.

 Daniel prayed Jeremiah’s prophecy of the Jewish nation being in exile for 70 years to fulfilment. Prophecy is amazing but just prophecy until it is prayed into being. Daniel fasted and prayed for the nation to be released according to the word given to Jeremiah. Gabriel was sent to instruct him (Daniel 9) and Daniel and his companions continued to pray and seek God until a mighty angel again came to strengthen him (Daniel 10: 18 – 19). These angels gave Daniel amazing revelations of what was to come which have subsequently been incredibly fulfilled.

Daniel’s life was a life of service and prayer. Through his prayers the Jewish nation returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple and it was a pagan king, Cyrus, who sent the Jews back and even paid for the work. He even returned the holy objects taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel’s uncompromising life is such a source of huge encouragement for all of us. He determined to live for God from an early age no matter the cost. His amazing prayer life led him to be able to interpret dreams and signs at the highest level in the land. His exceptional qualities were used to serve in a pagan empire again at the highest level. He had the most amazing visions and dreams and all coming from a determination to live a holy life; a life separated to God and to his service.

Today our nations need as many Daniels as are willing to pay the price to be the shining lights that our countries are desperate for. Imagine Godly and God fearing men and women serving the nation at the highest levels and imagine a passionate church bringing the Kingdom of God to every area of our lands. It doesn’t take many to pray this into being but it does take determination. We are a holy people (I Peter 2: 9) – let’s live holy lives.

The harvest is plentiful

Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9: 37 – 38

We all know that we are not saved by works but by grace, through faith, and even this is a gift from God (Ephesians 2: 8). There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation for which we are all very pleased I hope. It is not down to us, but it is all about God’s wonderful gift to each one of us.

However there is a wonderful harvest waiting to be reaped out there and that does require ‘work’. Jesus said to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers and workers work.  It is true that the work may be prayer or giving to missions but it is also work that each one of us needs to get involved in.

I am currently in South Africa and every week we have a team of people visiting the homes of visitors and attendees to our church. Every week people are getting saved but every week we have to go out and work for the harvest. It will not happen whilst we think happy thoughts or even stay home and pray. People have to be told the good news. Paul says that people have to be told in order for them to call upon the Lord Jesus and be saved (Romans 10: 14 – 15).

I have to confess that I never thought I was an evangelist. I never thought I could do that work. I could pray for others and I could witness about Jesus but I was not much good at sharing the Gospel. I have now been bitten by the bug! 

To bring in the harvest requires some work. In Luke 5: 4 – 11 we read how Jesus had been teaching the crowd and afterwards he told Simon to go out fishing, to put down his nets into deep water. They had been out fishing all night and were tired. To go out to the deep water would require rowing or putting up the sail but because Jesus said it, they did it.

They caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. Even when they called their partners to help, there were so many fish that the boats began to sink. This was hard and dangerous work. They could have lost their boats but instead they were commissioned to be fishers of men. To bring in that harvest required some effort but it was worth it on every level. They may have had to repair their nets, sort out their boats but the harvest was plentiful.

Today the harvest of souls is as plentiful as in Jesus’ time and we not only need to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers as Jesus did but to be willing to be a worker. If the thought of sharing the Gospel frightens you, ask God to give you courage to talk about Jesus whenever there is an opportunity.  Take some time to learn a clear Gospel presentation and be ready. It does take work but the rewards of plundering hell when souls are saved is worth every bit of effort that it takes.

Peace I leave you

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14: 27

Jesus spoke these encouraging words to the disciples on the night of the Passover meal just before he was betrayed, tried, flogged and crucified. He knew what lay ahead so it was important for the disciples to know before these awful events that Jesus had left them his peace. Jesus’ peace is not the world’s peace which is a hopeful expression of freedom from war or disturbance. Jesus’ peace can calm all fears and give us that inner certainty that God is for us and will never leave or forsake us.

Peace goes when difficult circumstances come against us. Times of uncertainty bring to the surface our deepest levels of fear, doubt and insecurity. Anxiety and fear of what may happen grip us. The awful sense of things being out of control causes panic to rise and our trust in God to loosen. We feel we must do something but don’t know what to do and apart from shouting at God, the options are not always very promising.

R T Kendall teaches to pray till the peace comes and he uses Paul's advice to the Philippians found in Philippians 4: 6. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present you requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. He teaches that present means to reveal as in a mystery. We need to look at our deepest levels of fear, doubt and insecurity and present or reveal them to God. God knows what they are but till we are honest with ourselves about what we REALLY fear and speak them out to God they will hinder the peace coming. It may be fear of someone dying, of not having enough money to pay the bills, of a teenager getting in trouble with the police or getting involved with the wrong crowd.  Present your fears with your prayers and petitions to God.

As we do this, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will flood our very being. It will come and guard your heart and mind – so often the whirlpool of insecurity.  The circumstances may not change but you will. You will know that God is holding all things in his hands. Having exposed your deepest fears to God, sometimes the most important words are, ‘I trust you God.’ Time and again I have found that the peace of God has entered me even if nothing else appears to have changed. God is faithful; he has never let me down.

God has left us his peace and he desires we walk in it whether things are going well or not very well. So often in the bad times we discover that all God has said about himself is true as we present to him our fears and as we let his peace come. 

Peace be with you

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you.’  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. John 20: 19 – 21

‘Peace be with you’ was the traditional Jewish greeting that Jesus gave to his startled disciples as he appeared in their midst unannounced and unexpected on the evening of the first day of the week after his crucifixion. They were behind locked doors fearful of the Jews wondering if they would be led off to be questioned or worst still crucified.

We know from Luke’s account of this day that the whole of Jerusalem was buzzing with the news of Jesus death and the disciples were bewildered by the women’s reports of his possible resurrection (Luke 24: 18). The women claimed to have seen Jesus but none of the Eleven had seen him.

Now Jesus appeared in their midst and they must have been very startled, so his greeting though traditional would also be necessary. Jesus then showed them his hands and side to prove to them that he was no ghost (Luke 24: 37) and that it really was him. Their fear turned to being overjoyed and Jesus again said, ‘Peace be with you.’ You can imagine the disciples might have been ready to rush out into the street to yell to anyone that Jesus really was risen from the dead and if you don’t believe us well come and see for yourselves. Just as they had needed his peace to calm their fears, they now needed Jesus’ peace to calm their overexcitement.

Jesus peace is ‘not as the world gives’ (John 14: 27) but is described as total well being and inner rest of spirit. The world’s peace will be a hopeful expression of  freedom from war or disturbance. Jesus’ peace is a reality and can calm all fears and give us that inner certainty that God is for us and will never leave or forsake us.

To live the life Jesus has called us to, we need his peace as an ongoing reality in the midst of all we do. Let Jesus breathe his peace on us right now and calm our fears and give us the strength and encouragement we need for the road ahead.

Holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.  Isaiah 6: 3

Isaiah 6:1 tells us that Isaiah was commissioned into ministry in the year King Uzziah died. He was a Godly king who reigned for 48 years an enormously long time in those days. However in later life he presumptuously offered incense in the holy place, which only the priests could do and was smitten with leprosy for the rest of his life. It was a significant year that God commissioned Isaiah to begin his prophetic ministry and he gave Isaiah an awesome vision which would, no doubt, remain with him all through his long years of prophesying to the apostate Judah during the turbulent years of the Assyrian oppression.

This vision may have been given to Isaiah not only to commission his prophetic ministry but also to be a constant reminder of who God is and of his holy splendour. Isaiah would always have before him the vision that God is indeed holy, unlike anything or anyone else. God in his holiness is separate from everything evil and unto everything good. Even the seraphim could not describe his holiness any other way than to call God, ‘holy, holy, holy’ - infinitely holy.

In these marvellous days of soaking in the Father’s love, let us remember that God is ultimately holy. There is truly no one like him and he is transcendent not just unique. We are all unique but God is so much more magnificent, awesome, incredible, wonderful than anything we may imagine. According to my dictionary transcendent means God exists apart from and is not subject to the limitations of the material universe. If we remind ourselves of his amazing creation, all those stars and galaxies – there truly is no one like our God. So we must hold in balance the wonderful love of God that longs to draw us ever closer into the circle of intimacy of the Trinity whilst at the same time not forgetting that he is truly awe inspiring and nothing like anything we can see or imagine.

He is holy, holy, holy.

Amazing love

Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross   Philippians 2: 5 – 8

These words perhaps sum up, more than any others, God’s amazing love for mankind made in his own image. This is what God did to win back man from the self inflicted life of sin. This is a love we will never truly understand but which we can spend eternity plumbing its depths.

When Adam and Eve were disobedient in the Garden of Eden and did the one thing God had told them not to do, the consequences were so awful that if they had known what would happen, I am sure they would have kept well away from the tree. It doesn’t seem possible that just eating an apple can cause all the devastation and distress in the world that we see today. But it wasn’t the eating the apple, it was doing the one thing they had been told not to do. It was not trusting God that his way was best. As a consequence of this one act, sin was unleashed to touch every part of creation with its cankerous, deathly fingers. The results were devastating.

Why didn’t God just wipe it all out and start again? The answer is out of love and a sure knowledge that another Adam would do exactly the same again. What was needed was a man who would live the life of obedience that Adam did not live. And that man was God’s Son – Jesus; leaving all the glory and majesty of heaven and becoming man – 100% man and 100% God.

Paul tells us that though he was God, he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. As Andy Stanley says that means he never played the God card. He may have been God but he lived his life on earth as a man. Everything he did on the earth; all the miracles, healings, teaching and even his death – on a cross – was done as a man. The sacrifice had to be 100% perfect, obedient man.

That level of amazing obedience blows my mind away. That depth of love that endured the cross because of the joy it would bring (Hebrews 12: 2) was all for us. So we could live forever with him, free from sin and in wonderful intimate relationship with our Creator. Today let us spur ourselves on to greater obedience knowing the joy it will bring to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Thank you Father for sending Jesus. Thank you Jesus for your obedience even to death on a cross. Thank you that everything you did was as a man and is such a great encouragement to us that all things really are possible through Jesus Christ who gives us strength and is such a source of inspiration to us. Amen 

Light the fire again

Yet I hold this against you; you have forsaken your first love. Revelation 2: 4

The Apostle John was writing to the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2: 1 - 1. He commended them for all their hard work and perseverance. They had not tolerated wicked men and had tested those who came to them claiming to be apostles and yet were not. They had persevered through great hardships and not grown weary. They had much to commend them but they had lost their first love, their passion.

When we are first in love, all we can think about is the wonderful object of our affection. It consumes us and we prioritise our first love over everything else. We are so excited about this person and all we want to do is talk about them to anyone who will listen. We hug to ourselves every little word and action that has happened between us. We can’t wait to meet them again.

When we first became Christians we were like that. We were walking on air thinking about Jesus and what had happened. We may have felt a great sense of gratitude to him; we may have felt so light as our burden of sin had rolled away. We wanted to talk about Jesus to anyone who would listen and we couldn’t wait to slip away and spend time with him or go to church to draw near to him.

The church at Ephesus had done really well. They were not full of dead works like the church at Sardis. They had worked hard, resisted wicked men, persevered, not grown weary BUT they had lost that wonderful love for God. They were doing all the right things but for the wrong reasons. They were not doing them out of love for the one who had saved them. 
For many who have been Christians for years, we too can fall into this routine; just as those who have been married many years can fall into a comfortable routine forgetting the passion that united them originally. We do all the right things, everything that needs to be done but the spark, the fire has died right down.

Today let us ask God to renew our passion for him and re light the fire we felt at first especially if we have become distracted by works over our relationship with Jesus. Our love now may be laced with a bit more wisdom and discernment than it was at the beginning but it should be just as passionate.

Lord Jesus I am so sorry that my love has cooled down. Please will you blow on the embers of my love today and cause the passionate fire I used to feel for you to burn again. Help me to do what I do out of love for you and not out of routine, duty or misplaced commitment. Light the fire again I pray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Complete what needs to be done!

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Revelation 3: 2 

The Apostle John was writing to the church of Sardis, one of seven churches he wrote to in modern day Turkey. He starts by telling them they appear alive but are in actual fact dead and they have not completed that which God has asked them to do. He tells them to remember what they have received and heard and they need to obey it and repent or else God may come as a thief in the night and visit them unexpectedly.

I am convinced as I get older that there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything I would like to do. I don’t seem to have enough time to read the books I would like to read, listen to the radio or to music or watch the television or films that seem really good. Then there are all the spiritual things that never seem to get done; the people that need our prayers, the visits we ought to make, the bit more of the Bible we ought to read, let alone the meetings we ought to go to. Some people seem to achieve so much more with their lives than we manage. I marvel at the people who run businesses, write books, appear on TV and have a family life.

Our lives therefore end up being a set of choices of how we spend our time. So I am not surprised that God says to the church at Sardis that their deeds were not complete in his sight. The church at Sardis though seemed to be living in denial appearing to be alive when in actual fact dead. God was taking them to task for not completing the things he had asked them to do and yet pretending all was well.

We do not know what God has called others to do but we do know there is a grace on our lives to do what God has called us to complete. Today, if there are outstanding things that you know God has asked you to do, even if it is to make a phone call, or send an e mail let’s get them done. They may not be world shattering important events but they may make a great difference to someone else's life. If your priorities seem to be pushing out some things you know really need doing, ask God to help you re-prioritise your life so you can get them done. Don’t have a life that looks good on the outside but is actually full of dead works. Instead have a life full of the vibrant Spirit of God touching all you do from the washing up to the board meeting. Whether our works are big or small, if they are God’s works they are important and what is really important is that they are completed.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness Psalm 96:7

‘Holiness in the church reveals the beauty of God’ Bill Johnson

Holiness is a beautiful thing and as we worship God in holiness his beauty is revealed. How the world needs to see a beautiful, holy God and a beautiful, holy people of God!

Too often holiness is confused with righteousness and good behaviour. Holiness though means being set apart. God is set apart from all that is evil and unto all that is good. We too as holy people are consecrated and set apart to him. In Leviticus 11:44  God exhorted his people to be holy – set apart – as he is holy.

This does not mean living in ‘holy huddles’ – irrelevant to the world and unable to relate to people. It means a people who have dedicated their lives to God, who seek to honour him in all they do whether that is at home, work or school. As we seek to not be of the world though we are in the world, our witness to others will be startling different but attractive.

Holiness is beautiful. God is holy – he is nothing like anything or anyone else. When Daniel and John had visions of the 'Son of Man' they were overwhelmed by what they saw and struggled to find words to describe him. He was truly awesome but also amazingly beautiful.  That is the beauty of holiness.

Jesus came to destroy the devil's work

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s works I John 3:8

One of the devil’s many ways of attacking the saints is through weariness. The Amplified Bible speaks of this in Daniel 7: 25. The devil loves to wear us out in any way he can and loves to try and get us to over commit ourselves and do too much. He will even use good works and try and make us feel guilty that we should do more.

People can become weary just from everyday life whether that is a poor person in Africa, struggling to get water, grow crops and have enough to feed the family, let alone get the money to send children to school to the busy executive in our western culture. Too many of us have so many commitments that require our attention from family, home, career, let alone church or a daily time with God. The devil will just burden us down with anything that slows us and will always try and persuade us that we have not done enough – of anything.

The good news is that Jesus has destroyed the works of the enemy. That is why he came into the world and by destroying his works he liberated every one of us. The devil does not want us walking in this freedom – he wants us weighed down, weary and guilty but through Jesus we have complete victory over every one of his lies, deceptions and dirty tricks.

One of the many keys to this victory is found in Isaiah 40: 31. Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not grow faint.’ Imagine soaring on wings like eagles over the pile of things that need to be done or running through the day without getting tired or faint.

I am not a ‘morning’ person and for some time I resisted getting up early to spend time with God. I was already exhausted and needed all the sleep I could get! Eventually I gave in to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, set the alarm for earlier and with a cup of tea spent such precious times with God that refreshed and renewed me and gave me all the strength and strategy I needed for my busy day. I was no longer overwhelmed with all that had to be done. I let the Holy Spirit guide me and make my priorities. My body was sometimes still tired but my spirit was refreshed and renewed daily and carried me through each day.

Today set aside time to just be with God. Give yourself time, time to unwind, time to quiet your racing mind, time to shut out all the urgent things that are clamouring for your attention and sit down with the Lord and give him your full and undivided attention. His presence will refresh you and wash away the weariness and he will guide you and help you set Godly priorities. God’s presence and ways do not weary. If the work of the Lord is wearying you, ask him to show you if anything needs handing over to others or if you have picked up burdens that are not yours to carry. Ask for his strategies and priorities and don’t worry! God knows; trust him. He does not want his precious children weary and exhausted. He wants us full of his joy for ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ Nehemiah 8:10

You are worthy

‘Through Jesus I am 100% loved and worthy to receive all of God’s blessings’ Steve Backlund

To him who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by his own blood. Revelation 1:5 Amplified Bible

Unworthiness is a trait many of us suffer from to some degree of other because of our upbringing, our past or even our present where we may feel inadequate, that we are not much good, that we are unable to do what God wants us to do. We may feel we have nothing to contribute, nothing worthwhile to say and no one wants us or our gifts. The truth is you have been made worthy by Jesus Christ. As Joyce Meyer says, ‘you are worth something because Jesus loves you and shed his blood for you.’ We have been freed from our sins and all unworthiness by the blood of Jesus.

The value of anything is the price that someone is prepared to pay for it. The value or worth that God placed on your life was that Jesus was prepared to die for you to have eternal life and fellowship with him. He so wanted you that he was prepared to pay the price for you by dying an awful death, taking the sin of the world on his sinless body.  That is how much you are worth.

Do not let the devil keep you bound by thoughts of unworthiness with no sense of self esteem other than comes from good works, from how you look or feel or from the approval of others. You are a child of God, bought with the precious blood of Jesus and worthy to receive all of God’s blessings. As Jesus hung on the cross his blood dripping out to pay for all of our sins, he was thinking of you and me; people saved from every tribe and nation down the centuries.

We have such value in God’s eyes. Do not let the devil rob you. Meditate on God’s amazing love for us that Jesus was prepared to do what no one else could do and buy us with his precious blood. You are worthy; worthy to be called a child of God, worthy to receive God’s blessings and worthy to be used by him to be a source of great blessing to others. Unworthiness will rob you of your destiny. Determine today that you will lay hold of all that God has laid hold of you for by being what he says about you – a loved and worthy child of God.

Extravagant worship

‘Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume, she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.’ John 12: 3

A special dinner was being given in Jesus honour at the house of Simon the Leper (a Pharisee) in Bethany.  Lazarus was one of the guests and was reclining at the table with Jesus and Mary, his sister, anointed Jesus feet with a pint of pure nard and wiped them with her hair.

What I love this story is the extravagance of the anointing. First of all it was a financially extravagant gesture. By today’s standards the perfume Mary used (pure nard) would have cost at least £25,000 (a year’s wages).  That was a very expensive perfume. A pint of today’s good quality perfume would be about £400. To use it on one act of devotion is truly extravagant. No wonder Judas with an eye on the finances so he could steal from them, objected to the use of so costly a gift. But it wasn’t his gift that was being given. We should never criticise another’s gift.

I love too the extravagance in worship and thankfulness that Mary showed. Even in today’s free and easy culture most of us would be very embarrassed if someone knelt down and poured a huge amount of expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and then wiped it with their hair. We would all be muttering amongst ourselves about the lack of propriety shown. We would be thinking that it isn’t right to let your emotions go like that. You need to get a grip and be respectable. 

In Jesus’ day and that culture, although anointing was known, the manner of this was just as unseemly and especially by a lady with a good reputation in the community as Mary seemed to have. I expect everyone wondered what had got into her. Mary’s love and devotion to Jesus knew no bounds.

The final thing though is that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. This was an expensive, beautifully scented perfume and everyone was blessed by the wonderful smell.

Too often I think our worship, devotion and love for Jesus is fairly muted and maybe we need to become more extravagant in expressing what we feel on the inside. Too often we let embarrassment, what other people think or just good old respectability get in the way. Let us be those who from a heart of deep thankfulness and love give ourselves extravagantly to Jesus. Everyone will be blessed and the house will be filled with the fragrance of our worship and devotion.

The miraculous catch of fish

After his resurrection, Jesus met some of the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with a freshly cooked breakfast (John 21). The disciples had been fishing all night but with no success. When Jesus told them where to fish, they caught so many fish they could not get them into the boat and had to tow the net to shore.

I love these stories of Jesus and the miracles he did because they are so full of important details that we can learn from. Peter and the disciples had tried to fish all night with no success and this speaks of trying to do things in our own strength and not succeeding. When Jesus comes though and gives the word, the unsuccessful works suddenly become a miraculous work of God. We notice too that Jesus already had fish on the fire for the breakfast – where had they come from? However Jesus also adds some of their catch, which he had given them, to his own! This speaks of using our God given talents to be part of the work God is doing. We can also see that it took all of the disciples to haul the net in. This speaks of joining together to manage the harvest but notice the nets were not torn – nothing was lost despite its great size. If we put this in terms of souls saved, it is very encouraging what can be achieved if we pull together. 

Peter was called to become a fisher of men following the first miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5: 4 - 11). For the next three years he trained with Jesus with some success but he had not fully come into his calling. Following the second miraculous catch of fish, I wonder if Peter remembered the first miracle three years previously, for it was after the second miracle that he really started to fulfil his calling as a fisher of men. The breakthrough came on the day of Pentecost when, following Peter’s preaching, 3000 were saved. The book of Acts is full of times when Peter saw many people saved.

When we start out on the road to our God given calling, we may see a small amount of success at first but we need to keep training, keep letting God use us, keep persevering through the good and bad days. Like Peter, we need to keep going through our disappointments and our own weaknesses and failings. If we don’t give up, if we keep trusting God, then like Peter we will come into the fullness of all that God has planned and purposed for our lives. Today let us determine to keep going till we come to maturity.

Urging Jesus strongly

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.  Luke 24: 28 – 29

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had just spent the day walking with Jesus from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They had started the journey upset and bewildered about the events of Jesus’ crucifixion and unable to make sense of the rumours that Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus taught them from the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer these things before entering into his glory.

Imagine what they would have missed if they had not urged him strongly to stay with them. Imagine they had just said, ‘O well goodbye then. Thanks for the interesting journey!’ They would have missed the revelation that this was Jesus walking with them. They would have missed the final and best part of the day. I think it was more than just hospitality that made them urge Jesus to stay. I think they did not want their time with the stranger to end. They wanted to hear more.

I believe there are times that Jesus wants us to urge him strongly for things.  It isn’t enough to hear and know about good things – we need to apply them and that may require us to urge Jesus for more. The one thing urging Jesus strongly is not and that is praying lots of words and Scriptures in the vain hope that something we say may unlock the door of heaven to get us what we are praying for! This praying in unbelief may be loud and urgent but has no faith attached to it.

The other thing I have heard people say is that God knows where to find them if he wants them or God can do what he wants in our church but otherwise it is business as usual. Nothing usually happens with that approach. Suppose someone said to you that if you want to visit, you know where the house is. Come and find us if you want. Personally I am not sure I would bother. If someone urges us to visit we feel welcome and wanted and can’t wait to go.

When we urge God for something there is an invitation attached that says please use me, please visit, please come. We want more of you Lord Jesus. Wonderful though things may be, I want more; more of you, more salvations, more healings, more miracles, more of God’s power in my life and the church. I want more of the Kingdom to come Lord.

Let us join together and urge Jesus strongly for more of his presence and power in our lives. Amen!

Do you truly love me

Sometime after the resurrection of Jesus and before his ascension into heaven, Jesus met the disciples one morning after they had come back from an unsuccessful night’s fishing. Jesus was standing on the shore but they did not recognise him at first. He told them to let down their nets again and when they did so, they got so many fish that it filled two boats.  John immediately recognised that it was Jesus on the shore. Impetuous Peter then grabbed his outer garment and jumped into the water to be the first to get to Jesus.

Now I know that if I had denied Jesus at the very moment when he needed me most, I would not have been in a hurry to meet him again. I would have been so embarrassed and ashamed but that shows I do not know Jesus like Peter did. It is almost certain that this was not the first time that Peter had been with Jesus since he had betrayed him but the enthusiasm with which he leapt into the water would suggest that he knew he was forgiven. Luke and John’s gospel tell us that Peter was one of the first disciples to go to the tomb to see if what the women had said about Jesus being alive was true. He certainly wasn’t hiding away in disgrace.

Peter was forever running ahead in what he said – speaking before he thought but he was also the first and only one out of the boat when Jesus was walking on the water. Peter seemed either to get it very right or sometimes very wrong but he knew Jesus loved him despite his shortcomings and failures. He had no difficulty running to the tomb or jumping in the water. He knew Jesus would not be cross or angry with him nor would he reject him. He would embrace him and then put right the wrong that had happened which is what Jesus did after breakfast that morning.

Three times he asked Peter, ‘Simon son of John do you truly love me more than these?’ Peter answered that he did. The third time Peter was upset about being asked the same thing again but it was important that for every denial there was a confirmation of his love for his Lord. Jesus then tells Peter something of what will happen in the future.

When we make a mess of things, God does not want to leave us there, feeling bad about what has happened. He certainly does not want to reject or leave us. He wants to reaffirm us by putting things right and to reinstate us to his calling. Let God’s forgiveness and love wash over you afresh today and let God confirm again your calling as his child and the plans He has for your life. 

The road to Emmaus

It was on that first Easter day, the first day of the week after the crucifixion of Jesus that two downcast and disappointed disciples were walking away from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. The only thing they could talk about was the events of the weekend; the crucifixion of Jesus, the awful sense of loss and disappointment and the dashing of all their hopes. Into this conversation comes Jesus unbeknown to them.

I love this story because as I said in this blog on 21^st February (hope does not disappoint us), the two disciples had everything they needed to give them hope. The evidence was there but it just needed Jesus to come and make sense of it for them.

I have had times when circumstances seem to have gone all wrong. I know the theory that God never leaves or forsakes us, that God is utterly reliable and can be trusted so why was everything so awful?  On one of those occasions, when those dear to me had been disappointed and let down, I felt so devastated. It seemed God had just walked away and left us high and dry at a most important time and I could not make sense of it. Then suddenly God appeared and I was led to Psalm 13 which starts, ‘How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? This psalm ends, but I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.’ This became a raw confession of faith that God is good and will not let us down. Despite the circumstances to the contrary God had not left us and his unfailing love was just that, unfailing. Jesus had appeared in our midst and hope and faith arose. Without any evidence to support it, faith had arrived and said all would be well – and it was. It was the final battle before the breakthrough but the breakthrough was promised and a few days later it arrived.

Those disciples were hanging on by their finger nails trying to make sense of the circumstances of Jesus’ death. Jesus came and walked with them and as he explained all the pieces came together. Finally revelation came to them that it was the risen Lord himself who was with them. Immediately, though it was now dark, they hurried back up the road of disappointment to the place of defeat but they went in great victory and they shared their news with the fearful disciples. Jesus then came and presenced himself in their midst. All was well.  

Today if you are facing circumstances that just do not make sense, let me assure you God has not abandoned you and he can be trusted. He will bring good out of our darkest hours. He will bring revelation and enlightenment to those things that are baffling him. Take heart – God is with us.

The Passover Sabbath

We do not know much about the Passover Sabbath (the Saturday) of that Easter week but we can glean something of what was happening from the Gospels. As evening drew near on Friday, Joseph of Arimethea went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body and Pilate granted it to him. Joseph took the body wrapped it in linen and placed it in a new tomb near to the site of the crucifixion. He then rolled a big stone in front of the tomb and went home. Some of the ladies watched all of this before also going home (Matthew 27: 57 – 61).

The Sabbath started at dusk on Friday and ran till dusk on Saturday. For 24 hours they all rested as commanded by the law. (Luke 23: 56). No one had any anticipation of Jesus’ rising from the dead. For all the disciples and the ladies this must have been a terrible day. If you have lost anyone dear to you for the first few days you can feel devastated. But for the disciples this was Jesus, the Messiah, that had been crucified like a common criminal and yet he had done nothing wrong.

Added to their intense grief must have been extreme bewilderment and anger especially aimed at the chief priests and leaders of the Jewish people. We know they were behind locked doors, fearful of the Jews (John 20: 19). I expect they had great difficulty eating anything on that Sabbath and the one word running round and round in their minds must have been ‘Why?’ Why did he die, why did he allow them to kill him, why had it happened? Why? Why? Why?  I wondered if anyone mentioned that Jesus had said he would be raised from the dead. There was certainly no expectation from anyone when the ladies went to anoint the bodies with spices on the first day of the week. All the disciples struggled to believe he had been raised even when they were told it by eye witnesses.

There was however one rather surprising group who remembered that Jesus had said he would be raised from the dead on the third day. In Matthew 27: 62 we read, the next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate, ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while he was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ The only people who remembered what Jesus had said he would rise on the third day were the very people who had arranged to have him crucified. Now they were determined to make sure he stayed dead and no one could steal his body from the tomb and say he had risen.

It is amazing that the religious leaders went to Pilate on the Sabbath – it was prohibited by the law to do any work on the Sabbath and this must surely be classified as work, but they were so worried about a possible resurrection – real or fake – that they persuaded Pilate to seal and put a guard on the tomb. Again they missed the point that if someone is really raised from the dead, a stone over the door of the tomb – sealed or not – will not be an obstacle to the miracle.

The disciples were people just like you and me and yet they did not remember or recognise what God was doing even when he had clearly told them before hand what would happen. In the same way we may have forgotten or not understood some things that God has said to us in the past. Today let us encourage ourselves by re-visiting personal or church prophecies or Scriptures that we may have forgotten or have not yet come to pass. Let us ask God to open our eyes to what he is doing and bring fresh revelation to us to day so we will be ready and prepared for anything that may come in the days ahead.

It is finished!

It is finished!

With that triumphant cry, Jesus gave up his spirit and died. The centurion supervising the crucifixion was so overwhelmed by the way Jesus died that he exclaimed,’ surely this man was the Son of God.’  This was no ordinary crucifixion.

We are all familiar with the fact that Jesus took our sins upon himself upon the cross but on this Good Friday let us just consider again exactly what that means. Every foul, disgusting, perverted sin that has ever or ever will be committed was placed upon Jesus. Most of us get very agitated if we get blamed for anything we have not done. Imagine having every awful, wicked sin dumped upon a sinless body. Jesus drank this vile concoction of depravity – for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us (II Corinthians 5:21). Jesus took not only the individual sins but became sin itself for us.

It was more than that though. Sin had to be paid for. The righteous wrath of God had to be appeased or propitiated and Jesus paid for all sin, not just for the sins of man but for the full effect of sin upon all creation. Jesus became our atoning sacrifice. He paid the price for our sin.

As sin and the wrath of God came upon Jesus he was separated from the Father and the awful cry came, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’  Something must have happened at that moment for Jesus did not die in defeat separated from the Father but in victory with the triumphant cry, ‘It is finished’ meaning sin had been fully taken and fully paid for. The Greek word used was teleos which is an accounting term used for a debt has been fully paid. 

Somehow between Jesus cry of separation from the Father and Jesus’ victory cry as his mortal body died, Jesus the man of faith came to faith and found his Father. Psalm 22 David’s revelationary psalm about the crucifixion says, ‘But you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you, they trusted and You delivered them. They cried to you and were delivered; they trusted in You and were not ashamed. Psalm 22:3 – 5). Was this what Jesus cried as his sin laden body died?

Jesus’ death was extraordinary in every way.  The song says:
When satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within,
Upwards I look and see him there who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted clean.
For God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.

Our sin is fully taken and paid for. How can we live in it any longer Paul asks? The answer is we can’t.  ‘It is finished’

Washing the feet

All through Jesus' three years of ministry the disciples would have private arguments amongst themselves about who was the greatest of them (Luke 9: 46 – 48 and 22: 24). Every time Jesus lovingly corrected them but on the night of the Passover meal, the day before his crucifixion, Jesus showed them that being great in the kingdom meant being the servant of all (Mark 9:35).  He did this by washing their feet.  We find this in John 13.

When one was invited to another’s home or went to visit, people would be clean but on the way their feet got dirty from the dusty roads. It was the job of the lowliest servant in the house to wash the visitors’ feet (Genesis 18:4 and 19:2).  When Jesus got up from the meal and started to wash the disciples’ feet it was shocking. You can imagine the protests from Peter and others and then the stunned silence as Jesus continued his task.  He was their teacher and Lord, not the one to wash their feet but Jesus was showing them the true meaning of servanthood.

Servanthood is not servitude but an honest desire to serve others and put their needs before your own. Paul teaches in Philippians 2: 4 each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Too often we are self absorbed but we need to see how we can serve one another and do good to them.

Alan Vincent teaches one way we can do this.  He says that Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is a wonderful picture of the real relationships we need to have in the church. Our dirty feet are representative of the impurities of everyday life that like dirt on feet need to be washed away. Just as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he wants to wash us clean from the impurities of our lives by the washing of the Word. We must resist the temptation to be like Peter and refuse him or then to go completely over the top and think we are so bad that Jesus must wash us all over. We must let Jesus do this and he may use others. If someone comes with loving correction to our lives, let us be humble enough to receive it. Let us learn to give and receive this correction in true humility.

The cleansing of the temple

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer but you are making it a den of robbers.’  Matthew 21: 12 – 13

After Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph the week before his crucifixion, he spent every day teaching in the temple courts. The first thing he did though was cleanse the temple of unrighteousness.  The religious leaders had permitted the court of the Gentiles to be used as a market place so that those coming to the temple to pray and offer sacrifices did not have to bring their own animals. They could come and buy the doves and presumably sheep and goats. They were also able to change their money to the local currency to buy these animals and to pay their temple tax. These transactions would  be done dishonestly at a favourable exchange rate to the sellers. 

This court has been specially set aside so Gentiles too could come to the temple to worship and pray. Isaiah promised that the temple would be a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7). At the dedication of the temple Solomon referred to those from other nations coming to pray and asked God to hear and answer their prayers (I Kings 8: 41 – 43).   Now it had been turned into a market place and an unrighteous one at that. Imagine coming to worship and pray at church and it was full of animals with people noisily buying and selling and changing money. It would be impossible.

Jesus drove out all the sellers of animals and money changers and turned the temple temporarily into the place it was meant to be; a house of prayer and a place of praise and worship even by the children (Matthew 21: 15). He then spent the week teaching in the temple courts and healed the blind and lame (Matthew 21:14).

Jesus was fearless and resolute. He came into Jerusalem on a wave of public acclamation and immediately cleansed the temple bringing the wrath and death threats of the religious leaders on himself.  All week he taught the crowds and refuted the accusations and hypocrisy of the religious leaders. He knew the crowd would turn on him and his disciples would desert him but he never wavered or tried to court popularity. He knew what had to be done and out of love that we can never understand, did it.

Thank you again O God for your love, the love that took Jesus to the cross. Help us to imitate Jesus’ example and be fearless in our love and witness for you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Consider it pure joy

‘Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’ James 1: 3 – 4

There are several times in the Bible when the believer is encouraged to rejoice in the face of trials or testings and persecution. For some this may be the very real possibility of losing their job, being ostracised from the family, being beaten, imprisoned or killed for their faith. When Peter and John were imprisoned and threatened by the Sanhedrin they came away rejoicing that they had been considered worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5: 41).

Most of us will not face these kinds of threats or persecution but we can nevertheless learn how to deal with our own difficulties.  The one thing we tend not to consider when we face trials is pure joy. The first thing tends to be anger, disappointment and frustration or irritation. We rail against the instrument of the trial whether that be a person or situation and probably have a rant and rave and if the person is close, we may then do the stony silence routine. There is definitely no rejoicing!

I have learned over the years that after the initial anger or frustration that I feel, I then ask God what is going on and what can I learn from this?  This takes things away from me and how I feel. Sometimes the devil is behind it and what looks like a person being mean, unkind or inconsiderate is actually the devil using a situation which we may have played a part in to bring division, discord and disharmony – his stock in trade.

Other times it is the weakness of the flesh, mine or another’s but nevertheless there are lessons to learn and fruit to grow. Our friend forgiveness opens the door to turning a horrible experience into a situation that develops faith, perseverance and brings us to maturity. Having forgiven and been forgiven by God, we can then attack the enemy, tell him to get off the situation and ask for healing and restoration.

I have seen many domestic tiffs miraculously turned around by this. Having dealt with your own frustrations and anger and asked God’s forgiveness, we can then go and apologise (often regardless of the rights and wrongs).  The transformation can be rapid and we will have grown in maturity. Instead of a stony silence and ‘I am hurt and you’re not helping’ attitude, normal service is resumed and we will have learned valuable lessons in love and grace. We will have stepped up from ‘poor me’ or worse still self righteous indignation to becoming mature men and women of God.

Sometimes of course the situation is more serious but the same principle of not feeling sorry for ourselves but looking to God to bring healing, restoration and spiritual growth in our lives is the same. There have been a couple of times when our pastors (of many years ago) treated us quite badly and were quite inconsiderate and hurtful. I felt so let down and disappointed but managed to find forgiveness and let God heal my heart. At the time a friend told me that in years to come, I would be glad about what had happened which seemed unbelievable at the time. Now looking at the situation, I can rejoice over what was so painful and over which I shed many tears. I learned so much about trusting God not man to bring good out of situations. I have grown and so has my perseverance and faith.

Several times Jesus and the apostles talk of rejoicing in difficulties and trials because of the maturity they bring to our faith. When we face trials, let us use them as a step up to greater levels of grace and maturity and let us see them not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to grow into Christ like character.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem

And as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace- but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19: 41 – 42

…. because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you Luke 19: 44

Jesus was entering Jerusalem in triumphal procession on a donkey with the crowds waving palm branches and shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’. As he approached the city, he wept over it. He knew he was going to be tried, condemned, mocked, beaten and crucified in Jerusalem yet he wept over it. He was not weeping for himself or for the terrible things that would happen to him but because this city, chosen by God to be the place where his glory dwelt, had not recognised the one that God had sent to them.

Jerusalem, where the temple was with all the temple worship, teachers of the law, Pharisees and Sadducees should all have recognised the Messiah when he came, but instead had rejected him and would shortly put their Messiah to death. The religious leaders would have been familiar with the Scriptures about the Messiah but when Jesus came doing all the things that had been promised, they plotted and finally succeeded in killing him.

Jesus also wept over this city because he saw that in years to come Jerusalem would be overthrown and destroyed and the temple with it because of their unbelief. This happened when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70AD. What sorrow he must have felt.

Unfortunately that same spirit of unbelief that opposes the things of God is just as prevalent today. Often God is doing something and it is the religious people in churches who oppose it, not the sinners outside the church. They will be welcoming what God is doing just as the crowd in Jerusalem welcomed Jesus. God may well arrive in an unexpected manner or way that we do not like. We may think things are undignified or not strictly Biblical because not everything that happens can always be found in Scripture but are people being saved, healed, set free? The fruit of God’s love and presence should be evident; people falling in love with God in wonderful ways. Yet there will be the religious people who refuse to recognise what God is doing and miss the blessing.

Let us be open hearted to what God is doing without being gullible but let us trust the Holy Spirit to keep us from error and root out the religious spirit that opposes that which it cannot understand or control. I want God to rejoice over what is happening in our churches not weep over what we missed because we failed to recognise that God was visiting us.