Monthly Archives: March 2010

‘For ever one’

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In John’s Gospel, Chapter 20, we read about Thomas, and many of us would be like Thomas – we need to see for ourselves. Keep in mind that the other disciples were still afraid, and hiding behind closed doors, even thought Mary had told them that she had seen our Lord. Consequently, to what extent did they believe, and understand the significance of, what Mary had told them?

John’s description of Jesus appearances to his disciples (after His resurrection) is a  beautiful piece of Scripture, that touches upon our deepest feelings (John 20:14-28, NLT); especially, at this time, as we approach Easter: “She (Mary Magdalene) turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message. That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),  was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” … “

We, who follow Jesus, still believe in the power of Jesus’ resurrection – and that He has freed us from the tyranny of sin and death; without seeing Him, we can cry out –  ’My Lord and my God’. (Yet, there are some who have had a personal encounter with the majesty of the risen Christ.)

The other important point, that we can take from the above verses, is this: ‘As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’  And the ‘you’ refers to yourself, we are all sent to proclaim Jesus to this world – none of us are excluded; everyone has an opportunity to reflect the light of Jesus from the top of the hill upon which we find ourselves.

The hill we stand on, from which Christ’s light shines  - might be within our home, to be seen by our family and friends. It could be within our community, our village or town or city; or, at the place where we work, or conduct a business. It might be at a school or university; or at any other place where we interact with people. You are never too busy or too remote from others – to be sent by Jesus, to someone!  To tell them the good news of Jesus’ love for them.

You, may have noticed that I’ve not said much about Selwyn’s study. :)  

Well, for a number of reasons; first off, I don’t think God needed ‘a reminder of the fact that He had hung upon a cross’. In addition, when we read Paul’s letters, being in prison may have been a mystery to him, I don’t really know – yet, some of his writings seem to suggest that he accepted suffering as being part of his ministry. Consequently, I have some degree of difficulty with the detail of Selwyn’s conclusion but agree with his overall theme.

Any comments?

‘I have suffered’

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The verses, set for reading and meditation, again highlight the fact that Jesus loves us so much that He was prepared to suffer for us – to give us, life. He was prepared to die for those who did not know Him.

In Peter’s first letter, [1 Peter 3: 8-9, 13-18 (NLT)] we read:   ” … all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. 

Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

[Jesus suffered for doing what is right.] Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners, to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. …”.

I thought that as we are approaching Easter, it’s good to remind ourselves of the sacrifice Jesus made to set us free from the bondage of sin and death.

Again, like the last few studies, I’ve enjoyed reading Selwyn’s conclusion: “Whenever we are in need of succour [help; relief; aid; assistance] in our lives and Jesus comes alongside, the first  thing that impresses itself into our consciousness is the fact that He has pierced hands. There is a kinship among those who suffer which others cannot share. They understand each other! In moments of trial, Jesus has no need to say anything. It is enough that He shows us His hands.”

In a way, this sentence from today’s prayer completely captures Selwyn’s theme: “You fully comfort me because You fully understand me.”

 

The powerful hands of Jesus

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Selwyn’s conclusion – was, I thought, quite special: “I feel moved by the Spirit to say to those of you who are sad at heart and sorely needing the tender touch of Jesus – kneel before Him in the quietness and ask for His help in your hour of need. Be unhurried. Wait before Him filled with just that longing – to find Him near. I promise you – He will honour your faith. He will touch you with His tender hands.”

In the ‘further study’ section, there is a reference to Matthew 8:1-4 (NLT) [below].  In these verses we are presented with a scene - showing the compassion and tenderness of Jesus; lepers were considered to be ‘spiritually’ unclean, in a Jewish sense. If, a person, touched a leper they too would become ‘unclean’, and they then needed to go though purification rituals – to regain their ‘clean’ status.

A leper lived a life – isolated, and without the gentle caress or touch of another person. Just imagine the great joy of this leper – to not only be touched by another – but to be cured of the disease which caused him to be separated from family and friends. Jesus gives him thefull restoration of his previous relationship with his family and community – He saves him from a life of loneliness and despair.

In the same way, Jesus can touch your saddened heart and heal you. He will honour your trust in Him, because He totally loves you, with all His heart.

“Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” “

Any comments?

He showed them His hands

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As I reading various sections of Scripture, looking for those cases where the suffering of Jesus is mentioned as evidence to support the truth that we have a relationship with our God who understands our weaknesses. I came upon these verses which demonstrate the power and victory of Christ’s suffering – a terrible suffering, which highlights the depths of God’s love. 

Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:31b-39 (NLT): ” … If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ”For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,  (nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As we think of the wounds in Jesus’ hands – we see the evidence of His suffering. These wounds shows us, in a very vivid way, His love for us; and, from the above verses, we can be extremely confident that we will never be separated from His love, by any other power!

Okay, now looking at Selwyn’s study – I thought the story taken from the book Ten Fingers for God by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, was very good. 

It supported Selwyn’s introduction: “ … Christian literature fairly bulges with the truth that those who have suffered, and suffered deeply, derived enormous strength from the fact that the God they served has also endured pain.”

Lastly, I thought that the prayer for today, is worth repeating – and also worth, some ‘long’ meditation, on how we may respond to its challenge.

“Lord Jesus, what a mystery – the God of the stars becomes the God of the scars. All of this You have done for me, yet what have I done for You? I give myself and all I am to You this day. Receive me - (in Your love) and Your name. Amen.”

 

Our Lord’s temptations

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I really like what Selwyn has written today, especially this bit: “I must remind you of what I said earlier about Christ meeting us, not at the surface of life where there are many differences, but in the depths where we are all the same. Underneath all temptations, the basic issue is this – an enticement to act independently of God.“

In today’s study, Selwyn puts these questions to us: “Was our Lord put through the same pressures that we go through when we are tempted to go another way than God’s? … Did Jesus, (as a man,) experience the temptation to take an easier road – to act independently of God?”

In Matthew 4:1-11 (NLT), the verses (set for reading and meditation), clearly demonstrate three different ways used by Satan to tempt Jesus, starting with the temptation to use His power to satisfy His own human needs, and ending with the temptation to avoid the pain and torment of the cross. That is, to act independently to God’s will!

[Matthew 4:1-11]  “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.  During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

I think, it’s also interesting that Satan knows Scripture; and, tried to use it to tempt Jesus: ”For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. …”  Even today, we have people who misuse Scripture to support their unique, personal interpretations of God’s will - a good test, is to ask the question – ‘Does the interpretation align well with what the entire Bible says?’

Another part of Selwyn’s study, which I thought was very well expressed, is this: ” … the first Adam failed in a garden feasting, but the second Adam triumphed in a wilderness fasting … “. What did you find to be useful for you in today’s study?

In Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT), we read these great words: “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours (Jesus) understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings (temptations) we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

This is the confidence we have – Jesus understands our weaknesses; when we approach His throne, we will find that He will help us, when we need it most. You can count on His help – because He loves you.

‘Let go and let God’

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To a certain extent, today’s study covers a lot of the same ground, that was discussed yesterday.

However, given the importance of this topic, I’ll post Selwyn’s conclusion (slightly modified): “I pointed out that our responsibility is to decide assertively not to sin, then to trust God to work in us – both to will and to act according to His good pleasure. The strength to resist is there in our lives in great abundance, but victory depends on us assuming responsibility for what we can control – making a clear, clean-cut decision to obey God by not sinning. … It is our responsibility to carry out the action of self-control before victory can be seen in our lives.”

In John 15:9-14 (NLT) – we hear Jesus telling His disciples: “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. … “

Clearly, Jesus is commanding us, to obey His commandments. One, other point that I’ve highlighted – ‘we are to love each other in the same way that He loves us’ – Jesus has set the standard for love. His love is not to be confused with the way, many people misuse the word ‘love’, to justify their self-centred, sinful ways. To put it bluntly – Jesus is not the God of lust – even if the lust is thinly camouflaged, by an attempt to call it love. What do you think?

In James 4:4b-10 (NLT), we have the same theme – also expressed in fairly blunt words: “ … Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

In summary, there are some who dismiss the obvious meaning of the verses above – they say, something like: ‘Well, it was a different culture back then – we now know, so much more about human nature and the influence of genetics and environment’.  The spiritual truths found in Scripture, are from God’s mouth – He knows everything about all cultures, over all of time. These spiritual truths will never change. Those who are His children, hear His voice, and know His words are true. You either believe this truth or you don’t – there’s no fence to sit on – regarding this issue. Do you agree?

“A thunderous ‘No’ to sin”

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I think today – many have taken the view that sin is part of our ‘normal’ nature and there’s not much that we can do about it.

The truth is that we can do a lot about rejecting temptation and following Jesus, on that narrow path to our cross.

Selwyn, writes in today’s study: “We pick up from where we left off yesterday when we looked at the answer of temptation – self-control.” (He concludes – with these words – that underlines our individual responsibility regarding sin.)  ” … the bottom line is this – God holds us responsible for shouting a thunderous ‘No’ to sin. I am to decide, whenever I am faced with the possibility of yielding to sin, that I will not do so because I reject sin even as God does.

Overcoming depends upon believing and accepting the fact that God’s power is sufficient to resist the seemingly overwhelming rush of internal feelings and urges, and deciding not to yield. If you try to deal passively with temptation and turn the responsibility over to God, then you will fail. Self-control comes from God, but we have to carry it out. He supplies the power – we supply the willingness.”

In the verses, set for reading and meditation, we read ( 2 Peter 1:4-7, NLT): “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”

The responsibility for you is this: Make every effort to avoid sin.

Do you agree?