No regrets

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee …went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Luke 23: 55 – 56

The Bible narratives give us absolutely no indication about what went on between Jesus’ body being placed in the tomb on Friday and the ladies visiting the tomb early on Sunday morning other than everyone resting on the Sabbath as required by the law.

However whilst everyone may have been resting, I am sure everyone’s minds were whirling going over and over and over what had happened. I cannot believe the disciples and the women were not overwhelmed with sorrow (Mark 16:10), disappointment, dashed hopes and dreams and also regrets. I am sure Peter was going over and over his denial of Jesus. I expect other disciples were wondering why they had argued over who was the greatest and why they had not gone and confronted the Sanhedrin or spoken up for Jesus before Pilate. Regret would have weighed heavily upon them.

I think that the reason we know nothing about that Sabbath is that there is nothing to be gained from knowing. What mattered were not the disciples’ regrets about Jesus’ crucifixion and their part in it but rather what followed.  What mattered most is that Jesus was raised from the dead. What is of far greater importance is that he appeared to the disciples on many occasions before ascending into heaven with the promise that one day he would return. The day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out on the disciples who had betrayed, let down and run away from Jesus is what matters and how they were then empowered to preach to the crowd so 3000 people got saved.  Those self same disciples then became mighty men of God doing even greater miracles than Jesus did (Acts 5: 15 – 16) and most of them suffered and died for the Gospel.

The lesson for us is that it is not our past and our regrets that we should focus on but our future with God. When we waste time regretting our pasts and what could have been, we miss out on our present and even more importantly our future. I have some friends in South Africa who were brought up in the most awful, abusive and difficult circumstances who could have spent their lives regretting their past, wasted lives.  Instead they have let God transform them and they are now making such a difference for God. I am convinced now that there is no life that God cannot transform and make useful, if we are willing.

 

One of my friends was a prostitute, drug dealer, always fighting and in trouble, a lady bouncer who spent time in jail. Today she is used to share the love of God with the most broken people. God has changed her completely. The woman, who used love in all the wrong ways with all the wrong people, now shows God’s love in the most amazing fashion. She could have wasted her life regretting her past, instead she has let God change her and use her.  God did the same for the disciples and he will do the same for each one of us.

Thank you for the cross

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53: 5

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. II Corinthians 5: 21

On Good Friday, as we consider again Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, I am overwhelmed by a sense of wonder of what Jesus did for us.  I have been reading J John’s Holy Week devotional and yesterday he wrote, ‘Jesus went to a place of separation so that we might never need to be separated from God. He cried out these words of abandonment (My God, My God why have you forsaken me) precisely to ensure that his followers should never have to say them.’ Today he wrote, ‘Christ became cursed that we might be blessed, became empty so that we might become filled and became nothing that we might become something. That’s what the cross is all about’.

 Everything Jesus went through was for us. We know this but it has hit me afresh this Easter. The perfect Son of God suffered unimaginable torture, humiliation, abandonment, betrayal and crucifixion for people like you and me. That just blows my mind away.  I know what I am like. I am not sure I would have done that for me so how can perfection do that for people so imperfect, so broken, so impure?  The answer of course is love; a love so pure, so perfect, so holy that he will do anything to make sure that the object of his affection can be saved from their self imposed sin and wickedness.

We should not shy away from the horrors of the cross but look them full in the face, as far as we are able, even though it breaks our heart, and be thankful for what Jesus did.  He has prepared a wonderful place in heaven for each one of us to enjoy with him forever.  However he also has a wonderful life for each one of us to live here and it is wonderful because no matter what we go through, we will never be abandoned, forsaken or alone. The God of love is always with us.  Jesus took it all on the cross. The divine exchange is complete and all that we should have suffered for our sin has been paid for and all the perfection of Jesus and the fullness of his life is ours for eternity. 

 What can we say but thank you from the bottom of our hearts?

 

Rooted in Jesus

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briars. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6: 43 – 45

I have unfortunately discovered this week how true these verses are; that when unresolved frustration and anger are stored up in the heart, the mouth will act as a safety valve and when the pressure is too much, all the frustration and anger pour out in a bitter flood. Thank goodness for the gracious forgiveness of both Jesus and those offended by my words.

There is no doubt our words reflect what is happening in our hearts. When our hearts are full of love, grace, patience and so on, our words will reflect this.  If we have unresolved anger, frustration, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear, feelings of unworthiness, insecurity, inadequacy and rejection both from current situations and those from our past, our words will reflect these. The words may come out quite calmly and in ordinary conversation not as an angry outburst but there will be nevertheless glimpses of the heart’s condition.

So how do we improve the heart’s condition?  There is no doubt Jesus does not want us carrying around all these negative emotions as they are damaging to both our lives and the lives of those around us. Jesus wants to heal us from past hurts, abusive situations, fear, pride, feelings of rejection, unworthiness and inadequacy. He also wants to show us how not to get into situations of unresolved anger and frustration so that our mouths do not become an unpleasant safety valve like a pressure cooker exploding!

The way is shown by the preceding verses about good trees and good fruit.  Trees bear fruit based on their character and what they are rooted in.  When we become Christians we change from bearing the bad fruit of the flesh to bearing the good fruit of the Spirit. The process for doing this and it is a process is by rooting ourselves into Jesus. Colossians 2: 7 says: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.

We become rooted in Jesus as we live in the Word and with worship and thanksgiving we let him transform our lives. There is no situation that Jesus cannot redeem. There are Godly men and women today who grew up in the most abusive and horrendous circumstances but as they rooted themselves in the Word, God changed their lives, their attitudes and their thinking and their mouths too came into line reflecting the inner transformation. 

Whether our lives need a major overhaul or a minor adjustment, let us not give up but continue to cooperate in God’s transforming, redeeming work by rooting ourselves in the Word.  Good fruit will grow in our hearts and our mouths will overflow with the good fruit of the Spirit.

No sense of entitlement

If you love those who love you what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. Luke 6: 32

But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.  Luke 6: 35 – 36

One thing that is very prevalent in UK at the moment, especially amongst the younger generation, is a strong sense of entitlement. They feel they are owed work, money, entertainment, youth clubs and so on. It is their right to have these things. They see that others have them so they also want them. What they do not see is that people have often worked hard for these things and they are the fruits of their labours.

My sister was a local magistrate and one Christmas a woman came before the bench charged with shop lifting. She was unemployed and felt her children deserved a good Christmas and so she had stolen £500 worth of Christmas goods in order to give them the Christmas she felt they should have. She did not think there was anything wrong in what she had done.

Recompense and compensation are all around us and we are constantly told it is our right to have them. If you have an accident, someone must be blamed and you must get compensation. Everything is someone’s fault and they must not only recognise their fault, they must pay for it.

As Christians we must guard against any sense of entitlement especially to redress and compensation. We are not entitled to anything yet through Jesus and his incredible sacrifice on the cross, we have absolutely everything. It is by grace, the unmerited favour of God, that we receive it all. However in order to live in the fullness of all that Jesus has for us we must follow his example. Jesus was entitled to the highest honour, respect and glory. Yet he was mocked, scorned, ridiculed, beaten and crucified. What he did though was forgive his oppressors.

We may not be treated in this way but we too will have times when people mistreat, misunderstand and misuse us and the way Jesus dealt with his enemies and those who mistreated him is the same for us. He says forgive your enemies and do good to them. We may feel that if someone has wronged us we must have an apology and they must put things right but that is not Jesus’ way. We cannot demand compensation and restitution. Like Jesus, we must forgive those who hurt or misuse us and we must bless them as well. Too often though we think we have forgiven people, yet we go on speaking ill of them. In so doing we hurt ourselves most of all. However as we bless them, we release them from our unforgiveness, bitterness and judgement and any sense that they owe us anything and in so doing, we release ourselves also.

A sense of entitlement never brings anything good to us. A loving joyful acceptance of God’s amazing faithfulness and abundant provision to us brought to us by grace brings blessing upon blessing to our lives.

Fishers of men

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master we’ve worked hard all night. But because you say so, we will let down the nets.’ Luke 5: 4 – 5

Jesus had been teaching the crowd from Simon’s boat moored away from the edge of the water. This was a great idea as it meant that the crowd could both see and hear him as a voice carries well over water. After he had finished teaching, Jesus turned to Simon and started to meet Simon’s need. It was almost a situation of thanks for lending me your boat, now let me do you a favour. Jesus knew they had been fishing all night with no success and now he was going to meet Simon’s necessity for a successful catch of fish.

Simon had a choice – believe Jesus and act on it. In other words use his faith or let his mind tell him that Jesus knew nothing about fishing so ignore him. Simon knew though that whilst Jesus may not be a fisherman, he was a miracle worker.  Amongst many others, he had healed his mother-in-law so Jesus was trustworthy. It is interesting to note that Jesus said to put out into deep water - this was going to require faith – this was not a shoal of fish swimming conveniently along the surface but one swimming out of sight. 

Jesus proved trustworthy and they did not just catch a few fish, they caught so many that both Simon’s boat and his partner’s began to sink. I love the extravagance of Jesus who never does things by half measures. Simon was humbled.. He knew this was a MIRACLE – he was a fisherman and he knew this was a miraculous catch of fish.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man.’ Luke 5: 8

Through the miracle Jesus provided Simon’s greater need – salvation.  Simon came face to face with his own sinful state as he realised that Jesus really was the Lord. No one else but God could have done what he had just witnessed. Like Abraham, Job and Isaiah before him he knew he was face to face with God and he was afraid. Jesus reassured him and told him not to be afraid but from now on he would be a fisher of men.

Jesus loves to break into our ordinary lives with miracles and bring us face to face not just with his miraculous provision but also with our greater need for a Saviour. He is calling us into his plans and purposes and like the fishermen, we too may need to drop everything and follow him. Jesus is calling us to trust him for everything; provision, salvation and calling. I doubt if Peter, Andrew, James and John every truly regretted their decision to drop everything and follow Jesus. How about you?

 

God loves homosexuals

Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Mark 13: 11

I don’t know about you but when I read verses like this, there is something in me that says, ‘thank goodness this doesn’t apply to me’.  I may pray a quick prayer for those in prison or suffering before their governments for the Christian faith but there is never any expectation of a personal application. Until now.

In Britain this year the government, with great haste and no electoral mandate from the people, has introduced a bill in Parliament to legalise same sex marriages. Up until now homosexual couples had all their legal rights met through civil partnerships and these rights gave them equality in the law with heterosexual married couples. However for the homosexual community, a tiny minority in Britain, this was not enough. They wanted marriage as well.

I do not want to go into all aspects of this matter but the most worrying side effect of this proposed legislation is that any voices raised in opposition, even in private and in a calm and well thought out way are causing people to be censored at work or even lose their job. Politicians opposed to the legislation are being sent hate mail. There is no longer freedom of speech on this matter. If you don’t agree, you must be silent. This is a very worrying trend.

Parents are not permitted to withdraw their children (aged as young as 5) from classes that teach on homosexual practices and teachers have to equally promote homosexuality as well as heterosexuality or face censure. There is no freedom of expression in this matter or conscience permitted. By even writing this blog, I could face censure from employers – but I am not employed!

However Jesus has always promised that if they hated him for speaking truth, they will hate us, his disciples as well. This does not give us permission to stir up hatred to homosexuals or call them perverts. God loves all homosexuals – it is homosexuality that he does not like and that, I believe, is because it steals from people the joy that should come from marriage between one man and one woman and then reproducing children. I know for many people marriage and relationships are full of pain and hurt but that does not make marriage wrong or to be devalued. That is the effect of sin in our world.

We must be praying for the strengthening of marriages between one man and one woman in our societies. This is God’s best for individuals and society. We must not be frightened to speak out lovingly against homosexual marriage for it will have a hugely detrimental effect on society. The Holy Spirit will give us the words to say as we trust him. And we must pray for homosexuals to come to know how much God loves them; that he does not hate or reject them. As churches, we too must show God’s love and grace to homosexuals. Jesus always reached out to the marginalised in society and so must we.

 

Walk humbly with our God

He has showed you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

In the preceding verses Micah asks the people how best he should come before God. He suggests he should perhaps bring burnt offerings or thousands of rams or rivers of oil or even sacrifice his firstborn to show his sincerity. However God does not want extravagant outward shows of devotion, he wants lives committed to him by obedience. He wants his people to do the things he asks of them and to show the same kind of qualities as he does.

What God requires is justice because he is the God of justice. He wants us to give what is right and proper to people, to be truthful and honest and not to lie, cheat, steal or take bribes. He then requires us to love mercy because he is a merciful God. He wants us to show kindness and generosity to those in need or weaker than ourselves; not to trample on the poor but look after them. In several places in the Bible God berates his people for being full of meaningless religious activity instead of showing justice, kindness and mercy and looking after others (for example Isaiah 58: 6 – 10).

Finally Micah says that God requires that we walk humbly with him. This is the most important thing that God asks of us. It rates alongside ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength’ as fundamental to the Christian life. Everything else pales into comparison with walking with God. 

Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:21). We know little about Enoch except his genealogy and that he walked with God for 365 years and then God took him away. He did not live like all his ancestors did – he walked with God – and he did not die like his ancestors – God took him away.  However this was enough for him to be included in the hall of fame of Hebrews 11 where it says that ‘by faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death; he could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God’ (Hebrews 11: 5).  Enoch pleased God only because he walked with him.

Walking with God is incredibly important and is the most wonderful invitation that anyone can be given. Of course it is important that we show our faith through practical works but these must never be a substitute for our relationship with God.  Works must flow out of this relationship for when they do they will not be meaningless sacrifices or empty gestures. Instead they will be infused with the mercy and justice of God and come covered in his fingerprints.