Darkness and Light – Is His Light Shining Through You?

14. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Christian Living

In the United Kingdom this year began with a spate of murders, reports of murders, attempted murders and convictions for murder.

  • A woman shot with a taser gun, buried alive in a cardboard box underground, and left to die because her boyfriend was bored with her (she escaped by cutting through with her diamond ring).
  • A policeman visiting his parents’ home and finding they’d been killed
  • A new mother dragged from her home by her ex-boyfriend, the father of her child, while screaming for help, and later found stabbed to death in a car.
  • Several men going crazy and killing their whole families including wife and children by stabbing, bludgeoning, shooting or fire.
  • A woman found dead in the garden of the Queen’s huge home grounds
  • And then there were some of the murderers of Stephen Lawrence finally brought to justice for a random racist murder committed 18 years ago on an 18 year old medical student waiting for a bus.

Indeed darkness abounds in the world and its only January 14th. What happened to the season of goodwill?

John 1:4:5 says:

In him was light and the light was the life of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot comprehend it.

I guess that likewise, light cannot comprehend darkness or rather the terrible evil and atrocities that men commit towards one another. Imagine what God must feel about it. Actually we don’t have to imagine it. We’re already told that God was so appalled and grieved that he had to wipe out almost the whole of mankind because of terrible evildoing.

What about now? Is mankind any better? How can God stand it?

All (as in all without exception) men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

In short, you may not think you are evil, but you are.

You may do a lot of great things and be sacrificial to others and full of love, but you are evil.

You may have become a monk or missionary and travelled to far places to show the love and kindness of God and minister to people, but you are still evil.

Basically, there is nothing you can do to not be evil.

You (and me) just are. Even if you are not outwardly evil towards anyone and do your best, the sin principle is there and will catch you out sometime and somewhere down the line.

 

I remember many years ago when I had to single-handedly take care of my sisters baby for just one day. Now as you all know, when you have a small crawling baby, you have to make sure you arrange your house so that nothing is in arms reach. I didn’t know that at the time. So I spent many hours chasing this baby around the house and removing objects from her grasp and the path of destruction till I gave up, stopped tidying up and let her do (almost) anything she wanted.

 

What I found surprising though was that even though my niece was far too young to be able to speak, she would glance at me to see if I was watching her and if she thought I was sufficiently distracted would head straight for my CD pile. I found amazing the realisation that she knew how to be mischievous, how to plot and trick and walk in deception before she had even learnt how to talk. It was innate. Similarly, see how much fun babies have throwing their bottles to the ground just because they know they’ve trained you to instantly go and pick it them up.

So am I saying we should just be evil and continue in it?

No, of course not.

We must be the best we can be, excellent in all our ways. Examples to all mankind.

We must strive for righteousness “without which no man can see God”, but we must never forget that we are saved by His grace and not by our works.

 

All our righteousness is like filthy rags before a God in whom there is no darkness at all.

How do we stay on the right path – we feed on his word, remain in his presence, yield to his instruction, avoid the things that corrupt – the things of darkness that draw us away, that seem pleasurable for a while, but have no purpose other than to destroy our relationship with God and lead us to destruction.

In Him was light and his light was the light of all men.

We must learn to let that light be the life that shines through us.

Have We Become Sub-Standard Christians?

12. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Christian Living

When you go shopping and buy most goods in a reputable shop, the bill of goods or whichever act applies in your country stipulates that if the goods are defective, not up to scratch, don’t meet the specifications or don’t work as advertised, you can return them and get a refund.

But what about we Christians are we up to scratch? Do we operate as advertised? Do people see us and say “that is the embodiment of Christianity”. Do we need to return to our manufacturer for defect correction?

Imagine in the days after Pentecost and all the miracles in Jerusalem. The acts of Jesus as well as Peter and his fellow apostles and other Christians would have travelled far and wide. If it was announced in Galilee that Christians would be visiting and banners went up all over, heralding their coming, there would have probably been a buzz of anticipation and excitement.

What about us? When we arrive is there great expectation of our love, our acts and miraculous works – or are we sub-standard Christians?

I thought about this when I got talking with a non-Christian at work about laying on of hands and healing and he was so sceptical of “faith healing evangelical ministers” laying hands on people and them ‘falling over and claiming to be healed’.

I told him that praying for healing and seeing results should be no cause for exclamation – it’s meant to be as common as eating. It should define us Christians, be common place, common knowledge that Christians pray for people and they are healed.

That conversation got me thinking about most Christians (myself included).

It should be a cause for alarm for us that so little of walking in the miraculous is being carried out by Christians, by which I don’t just mean being able to give a testimony in church or fellowship of how God delivered us from another disaster, provided a job, or healed us from his sickness, but rather his miraculous power working in and through us to impact those around us in such a way that they are forced to acknowledge the power and goodness and greatness of God.

The light of grace should be shining out of us, an aroma that touches and impacts everyone around us so that even our enemies are unable to deny that God is with us. We should be full of boldness to proclaim the gospel, backed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember – Acts 4:13

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

American King James Version

After they found out that Peter and John had no education or special training, they were surprised to see how boldly they spoke. They realized that these men had been with Jesus.

GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995)

As recorded in John 14:12

Jesus said “”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”

New American Standard Bible (©1995)

Jesus basically said that he expected anyone who believes in him to not only do what he did, but even exceed it. Some might think he was speaking of the Christian body collectively doing more than he did. But his statement refers to “he who believes”, the individual person with belief, not “they that believe”. So he meant you and I, as individuals.

A clearer version in more contemporary English says in John 14:12

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

New International Version (©1984)

So why are we not only not doing as much, but rather far, far less than Jesus?

What works are we doing apart from comforting and encouraging – which are very commendable and demonstrative of love – but not of the immense, unlimited power of God to act and intervene in desperate situations?

I would guess it’s for many reasons:

  • We’ve let ourselves get cut off from the vine that supplies his grace.
  • We are choked by the cares of this world and become far too busy chasing after money, caring for family or loving and chasing non-spiritual things –even sinful things.
  • We have stopped living in his grace and walking in constant relationship with him
  • We aren’t walking in complete surrender and obedience to him.
  • We’ve stopped listening to and following his guidance.

So, if we’ve strayed far, let’s get back in touch. If we’ve de-prioritised our relationship with God and become “too busy” lets rededicate ourselves to him. Let’s stop giving him scraps of our time and give him our all, dwelling in his presence and walking in obedience.

New Resolutions

03. January 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Christian Living · Tags: , ,

It’s a long time since I drew up resolutions for a new year. Mainly because I didn’t tend to follow through on them. This year I’ve made my resolutions a bit differently and its been so empowering I’ve been encouraging friends to do likewise.

The important thing (and the thing making a difference) is that

a) I’ve  neatly typed, printed (in large print) and taped them to my wall, just above my computer where I can see them clearly all the time.

b) I’ve been far more specific in writing the resolutions; so they are not just a list of things I promise to keep to or do, but also list very specifically how I plan to accomplish them.

Why this change in 2011. Well I noticed there were several bad habits I was struggling to break and also several things I was struggling to acheive (probably because of my bad habits). Bibically speaking I remembered that God keeps records and has his book of remembrance in whch deeds are recorded.

God gave the ten commandments in written form – written by his own hand on stone nontheless.

God has caused the Bible to be compiled over long period of time yet it has stood the test of time in its power and anointing.

If God keeps records and has important things written down for us it provides us a good example to follow.

A thought in the mind is nebulous, it can change, be distorted, lost or forgotten – (as have many intended posts I believe were God given but have been lost due to my failure to record them).  Once written however, the word becomes solid, (almost) unchangeable – writing empowers the word and gives it substance – hence the power of God’s written word – logos – which changes our hearts and minds, gives faith, strengthens belief.

Imagine if we didnt have a written bible but it was passed down orally since the time of Moses. Most likely we would have multiple versions whose contents would differ wildly. So it would be impossible to build a standard. Nowadays we have many versions but they all agree in content. So writing helps us codify and bring permanence, clarity and purposefullness to ideas.

God gave the prophet Habakuk a message (Habakuk 2:2) :

And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make [it] plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

King James Version

I find this version clearer

And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”

English Standard Version

So if you haven’t already done so why not create a list of resolutions for various areas of your life today – your christian life, relationships with family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, habits, money and coporate life, health, information input and personal development.

It could kickstart a remarkably productive new phase in your life.

Write down your vision (and goals) for the year, make your instructions plain and clear – so you can run your race steadfastly and securely to victory this year.

God bless.

Bola

Obedience and Disobedience: Joshua

26. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Leaders

On the subject of instructions and obedience lets compare two men, one was appointed the other made himself available for selection through his obedience.

First lets talk about Joshua and his life after he took over leadership of Israel upon the death of Moses. We can read about this in our bibles from Joshua Chapter 1 verses 1 to 9.

First some background about Joshua. Joshua was one of twelve spies sent to spy out the land of Canaan by Moses. Of the twelve, only he and Caleb came back with a good, faith filled report. The other 10 doubted Gods ability to deliver the land into the hands of the Israelites despite having seen great miracles of deliverance and provision by God. So we know he was a man of courage and faith even before God appointed him to take over from Moses and lead the Israelites.

So what were Gods instructions to this man? First, God told him, where he was taking the people, next what he was going to do and finally in verses 6-9 what Joshua needed to do to get there. Lets have a look at verses 7-8 in particular:

King James Version:

7Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Amplified Version:

7Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

8This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good [b]success.

New International Version:

7 “Be strong and very brave. Make sure you obey the whole law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn away from it to the right or the left. Then you will have success everywhere you go. 8 Never stop reading this Scroll of the Law. Day and night you must think about what it says. Make sure you do everything that is written in it. Then things will go well with you. And you will have great success.

The two verses are actually quite similar. Lets paraphrase and amplify them.

My Version:

7 Be strong and full of courage because you will need this to be able to carry out and enforce all the laws I gave to Moses. If you ensure that you follow them precisely, not bending them or adjusting them (to make life easier, satisfy others or because you think you are smart or I maybe I won’t notice, or I’ll overlook it) then you will succeed everywhere you go and in all you do.

Now verse 8 might appear contrary. When it says these laws shall not depart from your mouth, does it mean you shouldn’t speak them or say the word of God? No, not at all. In fact it means the opposite i.e. these laws must never be missing from your mouth. Your mind should be so full of them that every word you say should be coloured by Gods laws, God’s words. But how do we get to that point?

The very next phrase gives the answer. You shall meditate day and night.

In this day and age – the word meditate tends to be associated with you sitting down cross-legged and repeating a chant over and over again. That is certainly not what this means. Rather the phrase means you should think about, chew on, look at from every possible angle, reflect upon and digest the word of God – When and for how long? All the time.

So if we paraphrase or expand verse 8 we could get:

Make sure you are always full of my Word, so it’s never missing from your mouth. Indeed think about it all the time – let it guide your every action – be the basis for every decision you take. Make it your goal to fulfil its purpose – because by doing so you will lead and guide and direct yourself into prosperity and success.

Gods’ word is the GPS of life. If you live in a technological country you must have  come across (or use) those GPS devices fitted to cars which (most of the time!) lead you step by step in the right direction until you reach your destination – as long as you follow the instructions. Even when you take a wrong path, they will correct it and bring you back on track – but you will lose time. The word of God is much like that but unlike your GPS, never makes mistakes.

You see, what you eat is what you are. This applies not just to the belly but to your mind also. If your mind constantly receives information from your TV, your conversations, what you read and listen to, it shapes what you think about and eventually how you act and behave.

So if you spend all your time watching soap operas you are likely to unconsciously absorb your ideas about what is acceptable from them. You will actually clog your spirit so your desire (and passion) to do godly things such as prayer, bible study or evangelism decreases over time and can disappear completely.

On the other hand the word of God is a living word which when you meditate on it, imparts wisdom and cleansing to your mind. It gives you clarity and insight and brings the ability to discern into your mind. Jesus explains this in another way in the book of John 6:63, “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and life”.

In other words, increasing and feeding and adding to the spiritual aspects of your life by studying (and practicing) Gods word will bring to life and activate success and achievement in your life, while feeding and making provision for your fleshly desires will not profit you or be of benefit to you in any way in short, you will not gain anything from feeding and yielding to your fleshly desires.

So what happened to Joshua? He succeeded in everything he did and his only failure occurred when he relied on his own wisdom and failed to consult God. He was so successful that a whole book of the bible is named after him. He was able to fulfil his mission take the Jews into the Promised Land and subdue it.

Did he prosper and have good success? Yes – So can you.

Daily Confession:

I will meditate and reflect on Gods word day and night so I can practise it always. Then I will prosper and have good success in all that I do.

Memory Verse:

Joshua 1:7-8