Bible Devotionals For You

Idol Ground

2011-09-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Some people have an imagination of God that is more a justification of what they desire and their manner of lifestyle rather than the reality of who He really is. When you question their actions of behaviour they can accuse you of legalism or of being unforgiving. When the weight of judgement is such that they must accept their error they seem to bounce to some other imagination of God without due processing of their sin.

In the Old Testament, a special place was designated for idols. These locations were called ‘high places’ and they were so unholy that God called them abominations in the land. Aaron reached back into Egypt when he made the golden calf, both in his imagination of God, and in declaring the god who delivered them. He was not advocating another god, but this was his imagination of the true God – a cow? The God who called us to holy ground is not the figment of anyone’s imagination. He is the Lord God – I Am that I Am.

Many are being blocked from accepting the call to holy ground because of their fascination with imaginations. Paul told the Corinthians that these imagination’s or idols are strongholds, for they are high things that exalt themselves above the knowledge of God. ‘High places’ sounds very similar to ‘Heavenly places’, doesn’t it? What is an idol? It’s far more than a statue in Bali or even a favourite sport or person we have a strong feeling toward. It is a high mindedness that nurtures false imaginations of God and of one’s self – of what belongs to the holy ground of each person.

In the Old Testament, the idols became acceptable in the land because of the sins of the fathers. In the days of king Josiah, the idols were pulled down and such was the reality of his work that when he died a notable season of mourning occurred. The prophet Zechariah likened it to how we must mourn for our piercing of Christ (Zech 2:11). The images, or imagination’s, that we have of God and of ourselves, are two of the most harmful obstacles to the truth that holy ground establishes for each believer. The church at Corinth had at least four high places - one for Paul, one for Cephas, one for Apollos and one for Christ. Paul stomped on them all, when he called the Corinthians carnal, puffed up, and dividing Christ.

Have you any idols in your life? What do you define an idol to be? Have you ever asked a person close to you, if they see any idols or imaginations in your life (2 Cor 10:3-5)?

Traditional Ground

2011-09-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever encountered someone who was legalistically right, but relationally he or she was a cripple? Their family loyalty was unquestionable, but it seemed cold and formal and even hindering progress in Christ. Loyalty to family traditions established in godliness are of extreme value to achieving holy ground, but loyalty to family traditions which are not godly will withstand the word of uniqueness God has for every son that comes to Him.

Jesus called the rulers of His day, ‘Moses’ disciples’. He also called them ‘blind leaders of the blind’ for they through their traditions had made the ‘holy’ word of God of no effect (Mk 7:1-13). The Pharisees searched the Scriptures diligently and set out principles of godly conduct for themselves and for others, believing this was eternal life. But for all their searching, they did not come to Jesus (John 5:38-40).

A disciple of John the Baptist, Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures too, teaching with great boldness and fervency the things of the Lord as he had been taught. When taken aside and given further explanation of the word of God ‘more accurately’, he received and instead of his tradition blinding him, his tradition was a stepping stone to know Christ more fully (Acts 18:24-28). Any ‘tradition of the fathers’, no matter how pious it may sound, if it is not a ‘stepping stone’ it is not holy ground. The word of family culture and the culture of the church must be washed in the pure, running water of the living word and not the murky, stagnant pools of tradition.

If we do not, then family loyalties degenerate to family dynasties that then dominate the faith of many and often continue through four generations. Jesus said that any, who choose to be His disciples, must hate their family dynasty, take up the cross as their culture and follow Him. We can rejoice in the virtues of faithfulness and commitment that family links foster, but if family loyalty does not give us to further truth and revelation of Christ then it is vain tradition (1 Pet 1:18). Familiar ways are grounds for demonic powers to thrive. Jesus walked all over this ground - boots and all when He pronounced His woes upon the Pharisees and when He told His followers to forsake their family dynasties or they were not worthy of Him. He will not allow the footprints of familiar ways to make any impression upon the holy ground.

Have you some solid traditions? While they are securing for you, are they also taking you somewhere or holding you back? What does loyalty mean to you? How can loyalty be tarnished?

Broken Ground

2011-09-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Some people are touchy about certain incidents in their life and they have deceived themselves into believing that the subsequent hurt they endured made the experience a holy place and such is their delusion they never move forward to find release from their devastation nor do they achieve fulfillment in their calling. No one can get closer to them than their hurts and broken expectations allow.

Moses, at one time, was like the person who thinks broken ground is holy ground. When he first gave his all, to bring deliverance to his brethren, they rejected him and he fled. Forty years later when God appeared in the burning bush, his reluctance to be separated to his calling was in the main due to this painful incident. The children of Israel were also touchy about the injustices under which they lived and it almost cost them their deliverance.

They worshipped when Moses told them of how the Lord had come to bring them out and bring them to the land of promise. However, after Pharaoh increased their bondage, they ceased to give worthship and accused Moses of insensitivity toward them. Their hearing and faith was impaired because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

Their pain (or feelings of injustice) was more sacred than the holy ground to which they had been called. Many believers, if not all, have developed a sacred place in their life as the result of deep hurt or justified rebellion. On these areas of ‘broken ground’, we demand that shoes be taken off, as if they were holy ground, and we demand to be dealt with delicately or nicely. The classical term to describe relationship of this kind is ‘walking on egg shells’.

On broken ground, we even measure people by their response to our hurts and like or dislike them accordingly. This is the measure that is made to fatherhood too and in the end we become our own father. Broken ground creates positions and agendas for life that are detrimental to true freedom and the reality of life and no one can touch us. Indeed, the present generation has been betrayed, but what can be offended in us must be cut off for these conflicts war against our knowing the place prepared of the Father.

They keep us from being sanctified to our inheritance, of making our calling an election sure. These incidents are blown out of all proportion, when they become sacred places in our life. We must cease to regard them as holy experiences if we are to believe and be holy as He is holy.

Repentance is required and it begins when we face the truth that they are hurtful occasions, we have not recovered from because we chose not to. Jesus addressed this ground, boots and all, when he said cut off and pluck out what can be offended in you otherwise you will end up, ‘weeping and gnashing your teeth’.

What incident can you recall that offended you the most? Was your offence godly or one of bitterness? Do people walk on eggshells when around you? In finding your answer to the previous question, did you ask some one else for their observation?

Convenient Ground

2011-09-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met someone who will not go forward in God because they claim, ‘God met me here and I will always treasure this place (experience)?’ For them to leave it, would be to deny God. They will even claim that their conscience will not let them proceed.

As noted on the previous devotional, the children of Israel lived in a very special location in Egypt. Goshen was a terrific place and sanctified by God in the midst of Egypt for the preservation of His people. One could go so far as to say that, to have not been in Goshen would have meant one would not attain the holy ground of promise.

Nevertheless, it was not the inheritance of holy ground that God had promised. It was ground of convenience until the time was ready and a place of blessedness on the way of God’s leading them to holy ground. The children of Israel knew that God’s provision in Egypt was not the full inheritance, however, consider how many died because they never let go of their experiences in Goshen.

The cost to Joseph who secured that ground for them was immense. He faced the most acute and extreme betrayal, rejection, alienation, jealousy, and false accusations, but before he died he left directions concerning his bones that, became a witness against any who would make excuses to remain on convenient ground (Gen 50:22-26). In this Joseph made sure he did not suffer in vain. He did not let his experiences weigh down or restrict the future generation. It is the witness we leave for the next generation that will determine if we suffered in vain. If we served our generation by the will of God, then the generation that follows will have no excuse in the day of their accountability.

God has led His people in the church age in a similar way restoring truths through revivals and outpourings of the Holy Spirit – His visitation on each occasion has proven to be a preservation (Job 10:12). Tragically though almost every generation has accepted the preservation as the whole package. This is one reason why we have so many denominations or denominational attitudes. Holy ground is far more than this. Temporary places of blessing are needful, but the call is always one of going on, of attaining to the fullness, of seeking an administration suitable to the fullness of times.

It is not suitable for any to remain in a place of their parent’s preservation and certainly not for the sake of religious correctness. The children of Israel faced many temptations to return to Goshen. This brought their emotions and thoughts into conflict with God’s promise.

What place (experience, tradition, religious way) have you often wished to return to when the going gets tough? How important do you think it is to resolve this? What were some of the injustices faced by Joseph? How did he view these painful seasons

Mistaken Holy Ground

2011-09-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Num 16:12-14 ‘Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, "We will not come up. “Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? “Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”’

As we have yet to stand on the holy ground in the fullness that it expresses, we have need to raise the spectre of falling short through a mistaken notion about the nature of holy ground. What is ‘mistaken’ holy ground? Is it possible for a believer to miss out due to a belief they have already achieved holy ground? Well, history shows us (and possibly today’s newspaper) that some have literally died fighting for what they considered to be the holy ground (land) and most did not die in faith.

When Joseph approached the king of Egypt and requested a place for his family, he appointed for them the best place in Egypt – ‘Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen’ (Gen 47:6). The decision was an exercise in being ‘politically correct’ rather than being godly. Pharaoh knew ‘where his bread was being buttered’ and he owed Joseph far more than Goshen. He also knew that the Israelites culture was an abomination to the culture of the Egyptians.

Goshen was perfect and could be justified before the Egyptians - it both paid back Joseph and it formed a separation of the two cultures. Such was the suitability and serenity of the land that in time it became a snare to the vision of holy ground. Some of the children of Israel mistook it for holy ground, as we will see. However, there are other mistaken sacred places. These rob present day believers a separation ‘from’ the partial knowing of the shadow to being separated ‘to’ their true inheritance and full identity ‘in Christ’. These ‘holy cows’ are often unrecognised until, they are exposed by the futility of their fruit and by the manifestations of the wrath of God, which is stored up for any, who trust in these deceptions. There are at least four ‘unholy’ grounds, related to the struggles of the children of Israel and Moses, which were deemed special to them but were insignificant to God. For the purposes of this discussion, we have called them ‘convenient ground’, ‘broken ground’, ‘traditional ground’ and ‘idol ground’ (better known as ‘high places’). Stay tuned.

What does it mean to be politically correct? What would you consider some of the differences of culture, between the culture of Egypt and that of the children of Israel? What significance do you consider, in the fact, that the Egyptians abhorred shepherding (Gen 46:34)?

The problem with Pharaoh

2011-09-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Exodus 1:8-11 ‘Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, Behold, the Israelites are too many and too mighty for us [and they outnumber us both in people and in strength]. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply more and, should war befall us, they join our enemies, fight against us, and escape out of the land. So they set over [the Israelites] taskmasters to afflict and oppress them with [increased] burdens.’

The task for Moses of leading the children of Israel to holy ground was huge. Israel knew that God had promised them their own land, but they had lived many years in Egypt. Firstly as spoiled guests of the Pharaoh who knew Joseph and then as despised slaves of the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. The action of both Pharaohs created conflict for the children of Israel. The children of Israel experienced the best and worst of Egypt and they became dependent upon it in both settings.

Dependent upon its bountiful provisions in the good times and through the vagrancies of co-dependency in the bad times. Egypt is a picture of the kingdom of this world and its love hate relationship with the people of God. The world will respond kindly to that which benefits it, but it will persistently attack whatever threatens it. The world will make promises of every kind, but with rights to break the promises to remain above all. It will share its authority as it did with Joseph, but it will always hold the deciding veto. The principle by which the world exercises its power is by misappropriation of God’s wisdom and power - it uses and then abuses. How remarkable that God would allow such a system to preserve His people and then to be the power of testing them.

Even to this day some Christians claim the prosperity of the world as a personal right because God in the nick of time provided for them through its resources. However, when God lets that same resource test His people, they can quickly become bitter and even vindictive. On the other hand, some Christians do not recover from a ‘victim’ mentality and when matters of injustice test them they spend their days in futile crusades against evil and die disappointed. They feel the Lord failed to avenge them. We are not of this world. We are in the world and when it blesses or when it curses we must constantly look to the Lord for He is the one who truly blesses. It is His curse that is to be feared most.

Which has proven to be the more difficult for you – the good times or the bad times? What is co-dependency and why do we apply the term to the years of slavery that the children of Israel endured? What is an example of the way of the world in misappropriating God’s wisdom and power?

Stepping Through Temptations to Reject Holy Ground

2011-09-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

We will return to the subject of Holy Ground. This is a vast subject in the scriptures and it has huge ramifications for the life of every believer. The catalyst for examining Holy Ground was the visitation of ‘Yahweh’ to Moses on Mount Horeb and to Joshua near Jericho. On each occasion, God told the man concerned to take off his shoes for the place upon which he stood was ‘holy ground’. What did the Lord mean when He said ‘holy ground’ and why should Moses and Joshua take their shoes off to stand there?

The answer to these questions only scratches the surface as to the meaning of Holy Ground. Digging a little deeper requires the asking of other questions. Questions, such as, what significant events transpired upon the Holy Ground? Why did it take so long for the children of Israel to appreciate and achieve it? The real depth of meaning is only discovered though as we make application to the present day. The things that happened to Moses and Joshua and the children of Israel on holy ground, and in the holy land, find their substance in the life of believers today and in the corporate fellowship of the body of Christ. The framework for our devotionals on Holy Ground is the ‘church in the wilderness’ (Acts 17:38). For this month, the theme is around the early temptations of the children of Israel to reject Holy Ground. Another title could be ‘The Tests of the Pharaoh’s’.

The major portion of our readings and discussion points will center on the tests of a Pharaoh who is introduced as ‘one who knew not Joseph’. The plagues in Egypt give testimony to how relentless this Pharaoh was in his endeavors to keep the children of Israel from the Holy Ground. Not so evident, but in the end more difficult to overcome, was the temptation to return to Egypt. Again this test of the people’s faith was the legacy of a Pharaoh. The Pharaoh who knew Joseph gave to him and the children of Israel the best portion of the land of Egypt, a location known as Goshen. His benevolence toward the children of Israel became a test for them and for forty years they struggled to let go of Goshen.

On at least one occasion, they even declared Goshen to be the holy land. This contains within it an important warning to the believer – beware of mistaken holy ground. So then come and reflect on issues very pertinent to the present. What happened to the children of Israel is recorded, as an example for you and I upon whom the end of the age has come. We face the same tests orchestrated by the ‘god of this world’ in the present age.

A Nation abiding in the cross

2011-09-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Num 24:1-2; ‘And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.’ Matt 16:24; ‘Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

When the prophet Balaam stood on Mount Peor and looked down on the camp of Israel, it is highly likely that he saw them camped in the shape of a cross. We have come to this conclusion from what is recorded in Numbers 1 and 2. In these chapters, the direction is given as to where each tribe was to camp around the tabernacle.

We discover that an equivalent number set up camp to the North (157,600) and to the South (151,450) with a smaller number to the West (108,100) and the largest in the East (186,400). The numbers suggest the formation of a cross. This inspires several thoughts, none so poignant perhaps, as the observation that, when Israel heard the trumpet to journey and saw the cloud move in a certain direction, they took up the cross to follow the Lord.

In the verse from our reading, Balaam looked at Israel abiding in the cross and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Note, these further vital thoughts taken from the formation of the tribes around the Tabernacle and particularly the relationship of each to the body of Christ. 1. Each abiding in his or her place: The Cross was not complete unless every tribe of the nation of God was accounted for, and abiding in their proper place, be it Judah, the largest, or Manasseh, the least.

The wisdom and capacity of God will only be complete as every member is at rest and offering themselves in their proper place in the Body of Christ – ‘For by one spirit are we all baptised into one body ... But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. But God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body...’ Unbelief being removed:

Almost every time Israel took up the cross to follow the Ark, a few more of the generation of unbelief died. Similarly, in the church age every fresh move of God that has taken place in the restoration of the church has become a stumbling block to some - particularly to those involved in the prior move of God. This offence is the result of unbelief and traditional blindness, of pride and unwillingness to obey the Holy Spirit’s leading in taking up the cross as it were ‘daily’ and following Christ.

The way of maturity: In studying Numbers 33, it appears that Israel took up their cross thirty times before arriving at ‘Jordan near Jericho.’ In Scripture, thirty is often associated with maturity. Today, the cross is clearly portrayed in the fellowship of the Body of Christ and to embrace this as our eternal abode is our hope of full stature and mature sonship (Eph 4:13-14).

Balaam did not continue in blessing the children of Israel. What bewitched him? Have you ever wondered why there are so many churches? Have you ever considered that, for some it could be because they did not embrace a further move of God?

Our calling and the cross clearly portrayed

2011-09-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Lev 7:32-36; ‘He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office; Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.’

How is it that we can serve God acceptably? It is through an energy or capacity only provided in the cross. In our Old Testament revelation of the cross for todays devotional, we want to discuss how the food that sustained the priests was mainly provided from the peace offering.

In our reading, the ‘wave breast’ and ‘heave shoulder’ from the sacrifice of the peace offering was to be given to Aaron and his sons for their sustenance. The evidence of the cross is clearly seen in how the two parts of the animal were presented to the Lord. The motion of a wave offering was sideways - from left to right and right to left. The motion of a heave offering was up and down.

When you put the two actions together a cross is visible. Here are three thoughts that link the peace offering with the believers calling to serve. 1. Peace through the cross: Clearly, the offering which provided for Aaron and his sons was the peace offering. In applying this firstly, lets say that if leaders do not live in peace together, then there will be no peace among the sheep.

However, we are addressing the calling of every believer for there is a priesthood of all believers. To each then, we must say that we should not strive in our callings. To minister agitated or restless in spirit will pull down rather than build up the body of Christ. 2. Sustenance to serve: The main food for Aaron and his sons came from the heave shoulder and the wave breast. In this, we learn that it was what they received through a cross that energised the order of Aaron in its daily service.

Every believer has been called into priestly service, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchisedec. This is the heavenly order and the flow of its life is endless, for it is the flow of the cross life-style of Yahweh the Father, Yahweh the Son and Yahweh the Holy Spirit. 3. Breast and shoulder: These were the parts of the sacrifice brought together in the cross and presented to Aaron and his sons.

The symbolic statement of these parts of the offering has relevance in how the calling of each believer is to be approached. Each must take authority (shoulder) among God's people but each must have a heart (breast) for God's people. The true heart and the true authority is evident, the more one partakes of the cross way of life.

Do you know your calling? If so how did you find it out? If not do you want to find it out?

Heads of families and the cross clearly portrayed

2011-09-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ex 12:21-22;‘Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.’

Previously, we discussed Joseph and the cross clearly portrayed to him, but not appreciated. We compared it to the personal application of the cross to each believer. Our second manifestation of the cross is clearly portrayed to the family head of each dwelling of the children of Israel.

Each family head must see it to preserve the blessing of God in his home. Initially, they did, but in the wilderness they became bewitched by unbelief and fleshly affections using their wives and children as an excuse to possess the land.

In Exodus 12, the cross is ‘clearly portrayed’ to the heads of the families of the children of Israel. The cross was evident in the action of the father or husband of each home when, he applied the blood of the Passover Lamb upon the door of his house.

The cross is formed in that the blood is placed at the top of the doorpost, and then on the side posts. God is totally committed to family and here the believer is called to learn the humility and triumphs of the cross. Paul notes a clear expression of this when, he wrote ‘Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it’ (Eph 5:25).

Through the cross, God has made the way for parents and children to live in right order wherein each gives the other due worth. In comparing the following four thoughts from Exodus 12, we find some invaluable advise for the believer and his family. 1.

Already the king of Egypt had tried to persuade the children of Israel to leave their families comfortable in Egypt and only the men go off and feast with the Lord. This is truly a continuing temptation in the present hour. Children are required and desired of the Lord to feast with Him and wives to participate with their husbands in all that God is doing in the body of Christ. 2.

In all the previous plagues the children of Israel were preserved because of who they were. In this, the last judgement, each family would be totally preserved through the obedience of the family head and the obedience of each family member to stay in the home - in the cross. To the believer in an age of constant threat of physical and moral harm to the family, what strength in weakness can be experienced, what grace to preserve each family can be realised through abiding in the lifestyle of the cross.

Paul writes of how grace flows through order in 1Cor 11:3 - ‘But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.’ 3. The failure of any Israelite family to apply the cross to its household meant the death of the firstborn.

The believers, who will love their family more than Christ and His will, are going to lose the very thing they want most by doing so. Why? Because the choicest family relationships are those where Christ is pre-eminent (Matt 10:37-39; Mark 10:28-31). 4. The Israelite was asked yearly to do this service of the Passover (v. 25). Thus, the blood of the cross was applied annually to each household as a remembrance of how God delivered each home.

This was to be the means of teaching the children the greatness of God. God knows the reactions of close living that the relationships in family creates - the irritating habits, kinks of nature, etc. Thus, in the process of the journey, unless there is a continual application of the cross, we allow what is very small to become very big.

The blood of His cross delivered every family to go forth; the blood of His cross can overcome in every temptation of the journey, and the blood of His cross can give us access to the Land.

Whose life was saved through the blood being applied to the door of each house? What significance did that individual have bestowed upon him? How do we give worth to each other in family?

The cross clearly portrayed to Joseph

2011-09-13T05:29:00.000-07:00

Gen 48:17-19;‘When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”’

In the illustrations of the cross that follow, we will see the need to embrace the cross as it is clearly manifested in four areas - in our personal life with the Father/fatherhood, in our family life together, in fulfilling our unique calling and in realising the vision of the one body of Christ. In each illustration we will discover that, although the cross was clearly portrayed it was not recognised easily. The reason for this was the same as it was among the believers at Galatia – the individual in question had been bewitched. Our example today is from the occasion when Joseph requested his father to bless his two sons. Joseph desired that the blessing of Abraham should continue in his family and it was because of this that he brought his two sons for his father to lay hands upon and impart that blessing. His father was blind so Joseph set the firstborn near his right hand and the other son at his left hand. Jacob, however, crossed his arms so that the right hand blessing went to the youngest son. Joseph was shocked and angry. He attempted to stop his father but to no avail. Can you see the cross that was clearly portrayed to Joseph? The following reflections compare the actions and responses of Joseph to the cross with that which occurs in many present day believers. Joseph was a proven believer. He had come through extreme testing always maintaining his integrity, but still the cross ‘displeased him’ or as one translation puts it ‘was evil in his eyes’. Joseph then tried to break the cross - the Scripture puts it this way ‘he held up his father's hand to remove it’ (v. 17). How often do believer's try to remove the cross from their life by running from, or changing situations God has allowed for their good, or by claiming them to be precipitated by someone other than God. Joseph didn't listen to what his father first said or he would have accepted the cross. Jacob told Joseph exactly what he intended to do - ‘And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh ... are mine, as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine’ (v. 5). It is through having ears to hear what the Spirit says that we are enabled to understand the full word of the cross to our lives. Joseph’s hearing was temporarily bewitched by reason. A conflict of wisdom's is evident in what happened - the wisdom of man versus the wisdom of God. Joseph, in the reason of religious tradition knew, the first born received the right hand blessing and arranged his sons accordingly (v. 18). He also knew his father was sick and his eyes were dim for age. But the wisdom of the cross says ‘the last shall be first and the first shall be last’, and the capacity of the cross says, ‘when I am weak, then am I strong’. Thus Jacob, in the wisdom and capacity of God, guided his hands knowingly, and was unhesitant in correcting Joseph. How badly and how often we need the Father’s application of the cross to keep us from the futility of religious and secular wisdom.

We see that the blessing of the right hand is imputed through the cross so, what is the blessing of the right hand? Have you ever tried to break the cross in your life? Do you see in the discipline of fatherhood the application of the cross? How old do you think we should be before the disciplines of the Father should cease in our life?

Can you find the cross?

2011-09-11T04:17:00.000-07:00

Gal 3:1-4; ‘You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing?’

It would seem we have covered a good deal of content about the cross but in fact we have barely scratched the surface. Consider again our opening comments, of how the cross is the beginning point of theology. Theology means the understanding of God. We have so much more to know about Him and of Him don’t we? I wonder if we appreciate that only through the cross, will we find the full knowledge of God.We found in the letters of Paul, that he measured everything by the cross - true or false relationships, the status of law, the ordering of principalities and powers, the wisdom and capacity of God, godliness, etc. Last week we looked into the Old Testament to see what it had to say about the cross. I remember hearing a well known evangelist preach a sermon, where he proclaimed Christ from every book of the Old Testament. The sermon wasn’t as long as it sounds but it was riveting stuff. We listened as the preacher made relevant and alive the symbolic language of the Old Testament. We discovered that Christ or some aspect of His person was clearly evident in the Old Testament. In subsequent years, I have also thrilled to discover the many realties of the cross in the same Old Testament writings. The vast work of the cross, and the participation in the life of God that every believer is promised through the cross is confirmed and enhanced over and over in all 66 books of the Bible.

Previously we started looking at some illustrations of the cross in the Old Testament. This week I want to continue to demonstrate the message of the cross from the Old Testament. There are four accounts where a cross was visibly portrayed but went unseen or was not accepted. These examples compare with the believers in Galatia, to whom Paul wrote the words of today’s reading. Paul seems to go over the top when he called them ‘fools’ and said they were ‘bewitched’. But he didn’t go over the top at all. Paul was underlining how subtle and how wretched it is if, we serve God without the wisdom and capacity of the cross. The Galatian believers had looked to human wisdom and strength to finish the work that God had begun. Only a fool builds upon such sand. Only a bewitched person could live in such a deceptive trance. These believers had lost sight of the cross, even though, they were given a bird’s eye view of it in their earliest experiences of knowing Christ. Through their deliverance from the sufferings they deserved as evil doers, and through the endurance they found in suffering with Christ, the message of the cross was clearly portrayed among them. It was bad that they were bewitched, but the question they had to be faced up with was ‘Who has bewitched you?’ Hold that thought...

What other fools are identified in the New Testament? Does the word bewitched link at all with witchcraft? What was the leaven that Paul said was in the church of Galatia?

Deliverance from and diligence to come

2011-04-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Reading : Ex 3:18;‘“The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord , the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.”’ Ex 19:4;‘Ye -- ye have seen that which I have done to the Egyptians, and I bear you on eagles’ wings, and bring you in unto Myself.’ (Young’s Lit. Trans) Num 16:12-14; ‘Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us? Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”’ Today, we want to discuss further the actions of Christ on the cross and how they are pictured in the five offerings that the children of Israel were given on Mount Horeb. These offerings were the catalyst for bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt. Why did the Lord want to bring His people out of Egypt? Why didn’t He just slay the opposition and leave them there in the region of Goshen, where they had prospered in the time of Joseph. There is more than one answer to that question. Firstly, God wanted His people free from the oppression of the Pharaoh, but more than this God wanted to bring His people to Himself. This objective was even more important than bringing them into the land of Canaan. Certainly, Canaan was a location where God intended His people to live and demonstrate the culture of His life among all the nations. For that to happen though, they needed to meet God and relate to Him face to face. They needed to know Him and the power of His resurrection. Eventually, they entered the land and proceeded to conquer it, but it was only through a veil that they ever approached God. The five offerings then, reflect both the deliverance of God’s power, and the capacity for His people to meet Yahweh, and live with Him on His ground. In this context, let’s consider again the thought we discussed yesterday about the two ways of offering. Two of the sacrifices were ‘compulsory’ and three were ‘voluntary’. The sin offering and the trespass offering deal with the bondages and power that enslaves us. The burnt offering, meal offering and peace offering open to us a means whereby we can fully come to God. ‘Voluntary’ offerings do not mean that they are less essential then the two compulsory offerings. They are essential to maintain the victory and deliverance only achieved through coming to Christ as the sin offering and the trespass offering. How often we hear testimony of great deliverances from sin and wicked lifestyles and we marvel at the grace of God. But then, like the children of Israel in the wilderness, how often do we hear the murmuring of individuals blaming God for hardship and even claiming it wasn’t this difficult before God delivered them? What is their problem? Usually it is a failure to voluntarily offer oneself to God in the further provisions of the cross. Talking Point : How many times did the children of Israel tempt God with their murmurings before He gave them to wander in the wilderness? Have you ever murmured as the children of Israel did? If so has it been more times than they did? Why do we murmur in this manner?

Further pictures from the Old Testament

2011-04-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Reading Lev 7:37-38 ‘This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.’

Yesterday we discussed two pictures of the cross found in the Old Testament. Another marvellous picture of the cross in the Old Testament is found in the description of the five offerings recorded in Leviticus chapters one through seven. One may ask, ‘Why are there five sacrifices?’ Well, it certainly does not mean that Jesus must be crucified five times.

However, hidden in the language of these sacrificial ceremonies are five aspects of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Jesus accomplished so much on the cross. More than we have embraced to this point and more than we have even imagined. The five offerings have much to portray about the volume of Christ’s provision.

The fact is, Christ left nothing undone for our complete restoration to, fulfilment of, and inclusion in, the will of the Father. This of itself is reason to lift up our voices in adoration and worship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When we look closer at the five offerings we discover that three of them were considered ‘voluntary offerings’. The other two were considered compulsory - do them or else. The compulsory offerings were called the sin offering and the trespass offering. They portrayed Christ on the cross dealing with the cause or root of our sin (sin offering) and the deeds or fruit of our sin (trespass offering).

The compulsory and voluntary distinctions in the five offerings help us to understand two statements about the cross that seem to be a contradiction. Firstly, Jesus said that no man takes his life from Him but He laid it down of himself (John 10:17-18). On the other hand, it is written that His life was taken from Him (Acts 8:33).

When Jesus became the true sin and trespass offering His life was taken from Him – he was smitten of God and afflicted as our sin was judged in Him. He also wrestled the power of sin to a standstill. According to the Psalms, this grotesque and traumatic action occurred in the hours of darkness that suddenly fell upon the land when Christ was on the cross.

But then after dealing with him who had the power of sin and bearing the judgment and punishment for our sin, Jesus then proceeded to offer Himself to the Father. This offering of Himself was voluntary as it were. It was the fulfilment of Christ’s own words that no man took His life from Him. In bearing our judgement on the cross, he freed us from the power of sin.

However, in offering Himself voluntarily to God, He opened a way for us to offer ourselves wholly to God. Now in our living and our dying, through the obedience of Christ, we too can participate in an offering of sweet satisfaction acceptable to God. Talking Point What are the three voluntary offerings called? What is the difference between the sin offering and the trespass offering? Does voluntary offering mean that the offering is not essential?

Pictures from the Old Testament

2011-03-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Reading : Heb 9:22; ‘Indeed we may almost say that in obedience to the Law everything is sprinkled with blood, and that apart from the outpouring of blood there is no remission of sins.’ 2 Cor 5:21; ‘Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The account of Christ dying on the cross is recorded in the four gospels. However, through out the Old Testament there are many incidents where the cross and its message are portrayed. Two of these are the subject of today’s devotion.

The first declares how the work of the cross was pictured in the way God dealt with the shame of sin, when it began in the Garden of Eden. The second picture is from an incident, which occurred in the church in the wilderness, when Moses lifted up a serpent of brass.

After disobeying God, Adam and Eve had covered the shame of their sin. They did so with fig leaves sown together with their own hands. Nevertheless, when the Lord came to speak to them, they hid among the trees of the garden. God then called out to find them and once Adam acknowledged what they had done, God proceeded to cover them with the skins of animals.

There is a clear contrast made between the attempts of man to deal with his shame (nakedness) and how God dealt with it. God’s dealing with the shame of sin required the death of another. The slaying of an innocent animal, portrayed the offering of Christ on the cross and the essential shedding of His blood, to cleanse man from sin and so enable him to deal with his shame.

The second picture from the Old Testament was discussed by Jesus with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He told this renown Pharisee that ‘…as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life’ (John 3:14-15). The incident Jesus was referring to is recorded in the fourth book of the Old Testament, the book of Numbers. The children of Israel had murmured against God for the umpteenth time.

Such was the strength of their rebellion that, God allowed poisonous serpents to bite them, and many of the people were afflicted in this manner. The Lord’s remedy was to instruct Moses to make one large serpent out of brass and lift it up on a pole for all to see. He was then to instruct the people that, if they looked at the serpent on the pole they would live (Num 21:8). What message of the cross does this incident portray?

I think the verse from 2 Cor 5:21 (see the reading) answers this question sufficiently. It is evident to this present day that, in many ways, the old serpent who is the devil, has spread his poison throughout every land and every family. This serpent’s poison is the result of man’s rebellion.

However, when Christ was lifted up on the cross, God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. In the hours that He hung on the cross, He became sin and proceeded to bear in Himself the terrible judgment and punishment of our sin. As we look upon Him who our sin pierced, we see the great love of God’s givenness and we mourn. We mourn in the realisation that it was our sin – ‘my sin’ that pierced Christ.

As we mourn though, we embrace the provision of God for our salvation. From this experience, we can truly live free of the poisoned consequences of our sin. We can ‘become the righteousness of God in Him’. Talking Point : How is there a connection between shame and nakedness? Can you recall any of the several passages that refer to ‘looking on Him whom we have pierced?’ What is your testimony of realisation that your sin pierced Christ?

The cross : Substitution, reconciliation and eternal lifestyle

2011-03-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

Reading : Rom 5:8-11 ‘But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. We need to pursue the message of the cross and in doing so, allow its entire message to be evident in our daily life. Paul exhorted all Christians to begin at the cross and daily maintain the same passion as he did for the cross of Christ. In the reading today, Paul encapsulated three facets of the cross. They are substitution, reconciliation and eternal life (style). Substitution is the first word of the cross- the first word of love. A beginning point, for it is the word that Christ died for us. ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Rom 5:8). We deserved to die for our sin but Christ died for us. This is the teaching of substitution. However, after we receive the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross, we need to be reconciled to God. Hence, the second word of the cross is reconciliation, for ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’ (2 Cor 5:19). A change is required in our relationship with the Father and change is at the heart of the whole meaning of reconciliation. We have loved the world and the love of the Father has been kept from us. The cross reconciles us to the Father’s predestination and we are truly born of the Father. ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God’ (John 1:12-13). We are now a new creature, but that creature still has to have some things cut away to release him to what he should fully be. The process of change and full salvation has begun. This is reconciliation and it is clearly spelled out in Colossians 1:19-23. Having been forgiven and now being reconciled, we can give ourselves to living the life and culture of the kingdom of God here and now. Paul calls this ‘saved by His life’ – by His eternal lifestyle. In this life and the life to come, we are to live in the eternal lifestyle. The full word of the cross and the glorious passion of first love is that, the righteous life of God can be lived while we are yet on the way to completeness in Christ. When Paul writes that we shall be ‘saved by His life’, he claims this fact to be ‘much more’. Much more than what? Well, the context indicates that there is something ‘beyond’ substitution and something ‘behind’ reconciliation. We do not have to be slaves to sin any longer. We have received the gift of righteousness , so we can reign in life, overcoming through His life. Talking Point : What are the three expressions of the cross that Paul highlighted? Are there other words or examples that could express these realities of the cross? What do you understand the meaning of ‘saved by His life’ to be?

Paul’s two dimensions for the work of the cross

2011-03-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

Reading : Ps 103:7; He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.’ In the writings of Paul, we find a theme which emphasizes two dimensions of knowing God in the cross. For the sake of brevity, lets call the first dimension the benefits of the cross and the second the way of the cross. The premise behind the two dimensions are portrayed in our reading from Psalm 103:7. The Psalmist claimed that the children of Israel knew the mighty ‘acts of God’, but Moses knew ‘His ways’. Paul perceived that the work of dealing with sin, which the cross accomplished, was a benefit provided by God Himself. Anyone who accepts the work of the cross and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is a receiver of the benevolent acts of God provided in the cross. However, Paul also proclaimed that the way of the cross was something to be embraced daily. So, for Paul the cross was more than a means of benefiting from the power of God, it was a way of life – the catalyst for a new lifestyle, the life style of godliness. It is important that every believer meets and knows God in both dimensions. The benefits of the cross and its power to deal with our sin lifts us up to live in Christ, but our whole direction and future requires a growing up in the way of the cross as a life style. The benefits of the cross emphasize the place of substitution or sacrificial death; while the life style of the cross shows the place of being and presenting oneself a living offering, holy and acceptable to God (Ro 12:1). Man begins at the cross of sacrifice for sin. God lives in the cross of offering for one another. Man is given hope of life through the cross of history, but the eternal life man craves is the cross way of life, wherein God lives forever. Man looks up to the cross and God looks down from the cross, or out of the cross for the Godhead lives in its reality. Indeed, the message of the cross is about a sacrificial action for sin and it demonstrates the mighty acts of God against the power of sin, sickness, Satan and hell. However, it’s message and purpose is far more than these benefits. The message of the cross is the revelation of the offering of the Godhead to include mankind in Their fellowship. The life style of its message is a daily requirement and when we lose its impact we are no longer ‘of God’s’ wisdom and power. Talking Point : Why is it, like the children of Israel, many prefer the benefits of the cross to the way of the cross? What do we mean when we say the lifestyle of the cross? How is it that God lives in the reality of the cross?

Paul’s list of the accomplishments of the cross

2011-03-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Reading : Col 2:13-15; ‘And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it’. Eph 2:16; ‘And that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.’ Php 3:15-16; ‘All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

In his letters to the churches, Paul records events he perceived occurred on the cross. The list is extremely long so, we will confine our comments to some of the accomplishments of the cross that he wrote about to the churches of Ephesus, Philippi and Colosse.

To the Colossians, Paul used the word ‘having’ to describe the accomplishments of the cross. He has made believers alive together with Him, ‘having’ forgiven them all trespasses; ‘having’ wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against them, which was contrary to them and He had taken it out of the way; ‘having’ nailed it to the cross; ‘having’ disarmed principalities and powers (both the good and the bad). He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

To the Ephesians, he writes beyond what the cross had done, to what the cross could now bring to pass - of what could now happen. ‘Through the cross’, Jew and Gentile could now be united in one Body. ‘Through the cross’ the maturity of Christ could be realized in the church. Hence we read that Jesus ‘gave Himself for the church that He might sanctify it and cleanse it with the washing of the water of the word’ (Eph 5:27).

To the Philippians, Paul brings home a practical instruction for implementing what the cross had done and what it was still to do. Each believer must have the same mind of Christ to live with Christ in His cross. What is the mind of Christ? A way of thinking isn’t it? One quite different from our own. Jesus did not ‘think’ it robbery to be equal with God, but He did not grasp at equality.

Quite the opposite, Jesus came in lowliness of mind, ‘being in the likeness of men’, and as a man He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, ‘even the death of the cross.’ It was in this weakness that Paul yearned to know fellowship with Christ. To lay hold of that, through the cross, was to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus had laid hold of him (Php 3:12). Paul concluded by saying that if anyone should ‘think’ different to this God will reveal the same to him or her. There are not two ways of thinking, if we have the mind of Christ.

Talking Point : What is the emphasis of the cross that we discussed from the letter of Paul to the Colossians? How is it different from his words to the Ephesians? What is the point that stands out to you about, why it is crucial to have the mind of Christ? Do you have the mind of Christ?

Paul measured everything by the cross

2011-03-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Reading : 2 Cor 4:3-6 ‘And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Everyone lives life with some kind of measuring rod. From this means of assessment, they determine what is good and what is bad. Paul teaches us that the cross is the true measuring rod of God.

We discover in his writings how he measured relationships, the law, the status of principalities, capacity, understanding, godliness and so much more through the measure of the cross. For example, if someone was not following the gospel of Christ, Paul called him or her an enemy of the cross (Php 3:18).

If someone was exalting the wisdom of words, he claimed that they were making the cross of no effect (1Co 1:17).

If someone was glorying in circumcising the flesh, they were not glorying in the cross (Gal 6:12-15).

If someone was claiming the message of the cross was foolishness, then they were perishing (1Co 1:18).

If someone was offended, they were offended by the message of the cross and they were a sign-seeking religious person, not ‘in Christ’. Having noted this persuasion in Paul, we need to state that this was not how Paul started out measuring things.

Before his conversion, he was the ultimate ‘man of law’. He assessed everything from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which he, as every man, either possessed illegally or had bound to him because of his lack of trust.

Since the law is held in the hand of each man, each man interprets for himself what is right and what is wrong. Some days how he measures is different from others, and sometimes it is different from one person to another.

Most days it is different for him than it is for others. The measure that never changes is the cross. It is the just measure and true weight.

Paul says that the man who continues to measure by the law reads the scriptures with a veil over his face. He has not turned to the Lord. Once we turn to the Lord, the veil is lifted and with unveiled face we see clearly.

If the gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing (2Co 4:3). Remember that the ‘perishing’ are those who think the message of the cross is foolishness, or weakness. The veil is now placed by Satan, who knows how to work the knowledge of good and evil for the destruction of mankind, and he has placed it upon the mind (the place of reason).

The highest place of human excellence and creative uniqueness is where Satan is allowed to blind. When the gospel comes to a mind reason will refute it, for the cross will always be unacceptable to worldly and religious thinking.

God does not shine upon the mind. He shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Co 4:6). To judge righteously is to judge by the cross. Therefore we must, in the mind of Christ, embrace the cross as the wisdom and capacity of God.

Talking Point : Has the cross replaced law as the measuring rod of good and evil? If so, how is the measuring of the cross different from the measuring by law? Why is human reasoning unable to accept the message of the cross?

Paul and The Cross

2011-03-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

ReadingGal 3:10-14; ‘All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."

The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.’ Ps 27:13; ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Paul, like all the writers of the New Testament, wrote extensively about the cross. His reflections and admonitions are comforting and enlightening, even though, at times they are startling.

We want to discuss four pillars of truth that Paul brought to the church about the cross. Firstly, the cross as the ‘measuring rod’ of God. In Paul’s thinking, everybody and everything lined up to godliness or didn’t line up to godliness, according to how they or it measured up to the word of the cross.

Secondly, Paul wrote about the many ‘accomplishments’ of the cross. Indeed, Paul made a list of results that the cross brought about, and for which it is the source and substance of the new context for righteousness.

Thirdly, Paul underlines ‘two dimensions’ for understanding the work of the cross – in history and eternally in the lifestyle of the Godhead.

Fourthly, Paul spoke of the word of the cross as the message of the cross and in this manner he developed three key messages of the cross.

As we discuss these thoughts in greater depth, we need to do so understanding where Paul received such passion and clarity about the cross. It was clearly by revelation. However, Paul would never have sought such a revelation without a revolutionary change to his thinking.

Paul was a Pharisee, which among other things, meant that he knew the scriptures backwards. Clearly, he knew the scripture that said if one was crucified on a cross that one was accursed of God. Paul, like his religious compatriots, could not accept that blessing could result from one who hung on a cross.

Jesus of Nazareth was crucified on a cross. So it must follow, how could He be the blessed of God? It was not until Paul acknowledged Jesus of Nazareth as His Lord, that he perceived the cross as the wisdom and capacity of God. From his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was able to find his answer for the apparent contradiction of the message of the cross, from what he had been raised to believe.

He did so, however, from the totally changed perspective of finding out why it had to be right, rather than to find out, how it could be right. All of us need zeal to seek out the knowledge of God but we also need to do so from the perspective of believing. As the Psalmist wrote, ‘believing is seeing’.

Talking Point : What are the four pillars of truth Paul wrote about the cross? Why does a Pharisee reject the cross? What is the difference in seeking to find out ‘why the cross has to be right’ from ‘how can the cross be right’?

Video Devotionals - Following Christ

2011-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

God have heard our cry

2011-03-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

Reading: Hos 6:1-2 ‘"Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.”’

God hears the cry of His people. That’s special isn’t it? However we need to examine how God hears. There are times that He seems to be deaf to us, and even selective in what He listens to when we cry out to Him. Why is this?

There are several reasons but the first is, God only hears the cry that He has created. Our cry is self centred and self-serving. If God answered it as we wished we would be in greater trouble. We cry out for pity when God wants to give us dignity.

We make demands for God to conform to our imaginations, when God is seeking to conform us to the image of His Son. As we accept our situations and cry out God hears. But still we need to appreciate that when God does hear, He answers according to matters that occurred years before and which relate to His eternal covenant and infinite wisdom. He never losses sight of the big picture no matter how intimate He makes Himself known to us - ‘So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them’ (Ex 2:24-25).

You see God works from a plan, not an impulse. He never changes His mind or purpose. He has not forgotten His covenant or promise. God acknowledged the children of Israel because of the faithfulness of the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They lived in the covenant God made with them. The covenant He made with these fathers is the everlasting covenant.

However, on our part we do forget and have need to remember and return. This occurs as we cry out to the Lord ‘Have Your own way’. He seeks to set us free from all hindrances but free to fulfil God’s eternal counsels not to establish a different agenda.

Talking Point : Have you ever prayed and felt like the heavens were as brass? If that has now changed what brought about the change? Do you feel you understand the thought that God only answers the cry He has created?

God Mission Statement - Holy Ground, Holy Land

2011-03-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

Reading : Ex 2:23-25. ‘During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.’

When God visited Moses in the burning bush He clearly had a mission in mind. It went like this - God had seen the oppression of His people and heard their cry. He had now come down to bring His people out of Egypt and up into a good and large land, flowing with milk and honey.

In a nut shell, God’s mission (and that of Moses should he accept) was to bring God’s people to Himself (holy ground) and then to lead them to the promised land (holy land).

God’s mission statement to Moses is prophetic of Christ’s work in coming in flesh. On the cross the man Christ Jesus bore in His body the judgement of sin that is upon all. He did so that those who are receptive to His love might know the Father and find in His will their own identity and purpose of life.

It is a marvellous statement to read and reread, particularly in times of stress and hardship, for the Lord God knows about our sorrows and He hears every cry. Furthermore, He is not changing His mind because of our weakness or the strength of opposition to His purpose to bring each of His people to Himself and then to their own possession.

In this understanding, one can stand tall in every trial of his or her faith, for God will visit His people. The season of testing will be but a ‘light affliction’ that hindsight will prove to be a bountiful source of finding the all-sufficient grace of God and His enduring mercy.

Talking Point : What is the difference between ‘holy ground’ and ‘holy land’? What will limit God’s mission coming to pass in ones life? In what severe trial have you, in hindsight, discovered the goodness of God?

Following Christ

2011-03-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Reading : Phil 3:7-9 ‘But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.’

Look again at how close the rich young ruler came to receiving the life he desired. He heard about Christ and searched until he found him. He came to Him without hesitation, ‘running’. He even kneeled before Jesus and meaningfully called him ‘Master’. In fact, he called Jesus ‘good’ Master.

How is it that one can get so close to Jesus, and live so long in a manner of good living, and yet not find the reality that he was seeking? The reason is that, he would not ‘follow’ Jesus. The law he kept had indeed been his schoolmaster to bring him to Christ but once he found or came to Christ he could not hear that the key was ‘following’.

Following Jesus is where we learn the true good, for He was the Son in whom the Father was well pleased. His way of living is the way to everlasting life, the new and living way. He alone teaches us to live as God lives. The answer was not doing more or even in selling all and giving to the poor. The answer was in not being distracted in wholly following the Lord.

We need to observe as Paul did in 1Cor 13:1-3 that some have even ‘sold all’ but still do not follow. When we follow Christ, we discover the Father, but we also discover a fellowship of followers.

The rich young ruler went away sorrowful. He sensed the life he never had was in Christ, but his collection of good possessions held him back. No one is called to be collected or a collector, rather all are called to be gathered and to become gatherers.

The persons of religious form and religious experience often can site a list of excellencies required of God, or a collection of experiences with God, but to embrace the life of God, one must sell all and follow Christ.

Talking Point : Are you following to do good or doing to be received as a follower? Disciples were called followers, so what does disciple mean? Are you a disciple of Christ?

What good thing must I do?

2011-03-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

Reading : Matt 19:16-22 ‘Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "`Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.' " "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.’

Jesus, in the days of his sojourn on earth, never met Paul, at least, that we know of. He did however, meet a rich young ruler whose achievements sounded very much like Paul’s. The reactions of Christ to this man are notable.

Jesus looked upon him with compassion, but in the end His compassion was rejected. The rich young ruler claimed that he had kept the law from his youth. As Jesus listed off the commandments the young man nodded his compliance to them.

They had become his collection of ‘do gooder’ awards. His blamelessness was exceedingly impressive. He was a triple gold medallist in all categories of good. He kept and had kept every law Jesus asked him about and he did so consistently – ‘All these things I have kept from my youth’.

The good he did though never answered the deeper need of his heart that only the compassion of Christ could meet, so, he cried out a second question - What do I still lack? It was time to receive, not to do, but not this man.

For him, receiving was too hard. Jesus then told him to do one thing that touched on his imperfection - sell all and give to the poor. As ever, the words of Jesus cut to the heart and the young man was sorrowful. Sorrowful but not mourning for he had great possessions.

Possession we are told is nine tenths of the law. This man could feel his lack but his legal manner would not let him see beyond his possessions. Jesus told him to give them all away to the poor and follow Him.

He must lose what he possessed under law, but think of what he would gain. Instead of counting as waste the fruit of his sad life, he walked away with a tear in his eye and a ‘poor me’ look on his face.

He saw no value in following Christ. This young man was doing what every law man does in the end - he was seeking to control God by his good – to conform God to his image of good – but there is none good but God.

Talking Point : Are you able to receive from others or do you consider this a weakness? Have you possessions or even a possession that binds you to law? Have you ever demanded of God on the basis of your good? If so, how have you repented of this evil?

The law is God’s definition of my sin

2011-03-05T02:25:00.000-08:00

Reading : Col 2:13-14 ‘When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.’

Paul’s main struggle with the law was not in doing it but in how to do away with it. But this approach, to the problem of law, is like saying God will change His mind.

God will never forget what He defines as sin. Man defines sin and not only does he conveniently forget what he determined, but he modifies his definition of sin in useless attempts to quell the uneasiness of his sin stained conscience.

When God defines sin, we have no where to hide. When man refuses to humble himself to God’s measure of his sin, then he attempts to get rid of God’s law. Even as Christians we fall for this trap.

Moses tried to minimise the weight of the law by breaking the original tablets of stone that God had written it upon. That didn’t work because God did not forget what He wrote the first time. He told Moses to get some more writing tablets. The law is not movable, in the sense, that God will not change His mind about sin.

The old Paul tried to quell the weight of the law and its expectations by living blameless of its consequences. This never worked either, as his bouts of wretchedness give testimony to. This way will not work for us either.

Thank God that, in Jesus Christ, there is a better way of fulfilling the righteousness of God. Christ found a better way of dealing with the law than Moses or the old Paul – one that would work forever.

He did this by fulfilling the law in His flesh and then being nailed to the cross. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the law was being nailed to the cross too. In this manner, the law was being put back from were it was stolen by Adam and Eve and from where it was given in the days of Moses.

The expectation of God now is not, do this or do that to be saved, but believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

Talking Point : Why do we say Adam and Eve stole the law? Why do we say the law was ‘given’ in the days of Moses? How have you attempted to fulfil the law?

The 'law' is a one way street

2011-03-05T02:20:00.000-08:00

Reading : Gal 3:23-25 ‘But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.’

Today, we want to consider Paul’s claim that the law was like a school master. We ended yesterday stating, how the law was not given to make man righteous. It was given to prove how weak the flesh is.

Satan uses the law to deceive us and then condemn us. God gave the law, not to condemn us, but to be a school master to bring us to Christ. The law teaches us what God defines as sin, but more than this, it teaches us to trust fully in His provision in Christ.

Indeed, the law teaches us the righteousness of God, but in doing so its purpose is not to help us do the good. It is teaching us how exceedingly sinful we are so, that ‘without argument’, we can know and confess that, ‘all our righteousness’s’ are as filthy rags.

We can only live righteously, ‘in Christ’ in the Body of Christ. Hence Paul says - You have become dead to the law through the body of Christ. Paul discovered that the law was a one way street that led to a dead end – ‘…who will deliver me from the body of this death?’ We come to the end of this road, when we accept the law as God’s defining of our sin – my sin.

I am a sinner. I cannot change my ways or thoughts, anymore than a leopard can change its spots. When we each accept this, then we are ready to discover a new way. A new and living way. A way of life and to life. Law keeping is not the way to righteous living – Jesus is the way.

No wonder the early church was called ‘The Way’. As the body of Christ, they demonstrated a love that went beyond law and so became dead to the law through the body of Christ.

Talking Point : For what purpose did God give the law? In what manner does Satan use the law? What does it mean that we become dead to the law through the body of Christ (Rom 7:4)?

Paul, the wretched lawman

2011-03-05T02:16:00.000-08:00

Reading: Rom 7:13-15 ‘Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.’

We have discovered in previous devotionals that Paul was the ultimate man of law keeping – no one did it better. As is the case, with all who serve God through law, Paul knew the law of God was perfect but he had not accepted that man is carnal.

He also knew that the law had been ‘given’ to the children of Israel but he did not accept that it was given to expose man’s goodness as futile. For years he thought it was given so he could meet God’s expectations. How wrong this proved to be.

God is love, not law and therefore to know God and please Him we must rise above law. Love is a relational word not a legal word. Love can not be legislated no matter how right one expects love to be expressed. If we love we will obey, but we know love first and then we obey, rather than obeying to be loved. If we obey without love we do not serve God ‘in spirit and in truth’.

One living by law can claim to be compliant to whatever God wills, but in the end this kind of compliance will bring a load of expectations – great expectations indeed, but self centred, futile and unachievable. The lawman serves God ‘to get’ as the priority. To get wisdom, and wealth, to live long and content. To get power over wrong, so evil will not bring its sadness and trouble. It sounds good but more often than not the law keeper does so ‘to get’ God off his back as it were.

Have you ever heard or cried out something like this? – ‘I go to church, I give my goods to the poor, what more do You expect from me?’ Because the love of God is not received through law, the passion of law drives one to be better in a manner that it is not possible to achieve. Paul discovered that the law was not given to make him righteous.

It was given to prove how weak the flesh is, so that Paul would not trust in himself, but in the capacity and wisdom of God which he bountifully supplies in the cross.

Talking Point : What do you consider God’s expectations are for you? Are you meeting them? Do you understand the dilemma of defining God as love and not law?

Forgiven much to love much

2011-03-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

Reading : Luke 7:47 ‘Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.’

Paul saw in his conversion that he had been forgiven much. From that time on his life demonstrated that he loved much.

This love sustained him. It sustained him to fully complete the task he had been given and the works he accomplished for others never became too much, for he drew on his passion to be a slave of Jesus Christ.

When his opponents threw him into prison, he saw himself not as a prisoner of men but a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He claimed his chains were in Christ (Php 1:13). When they stoned him and left him for dead or ridiculed him, once again his capacity to love came to the fore.

He claimed such suffering would help make up what was yet lacking of the sufferings of Christ for the church. On the occasion of Paul’s testimony to his brethren (Acts 22) and the Gentiles (Acts 26), we find him loving in the face of great hatred and injustice.

His love enabled him to look at difficulties from a different set of values. He had opportunity to testify to his brethren the Jews because he did not fear the suffering at Jerusalem. Many had prophesied he would face prison and persecution if he went to Jerusalem.

He believed the prophecies but while others interpreted them as a warning not to go, Paul saw beyond their perception. He saw the suffering they declared as a fellowship in Christ’s suffering, so he put himself in Jerusalem. Later, as certain Jews stirred up the Gentile rulers against Paul, he appealed to Caesar.

In doing so, he had to be taken to Rome as a prisoner. King Agrippa is the one who pointed out that but for Paul’s appealing to Caesar he could have stayed home a free man. The point to be made, though, is that the appeal to Caesar was for his participation in the will of God. He wanted all that God had spoken to come to pass.

His testimony was given in places and situations that came about because Paul did not hold his life dear to himself. He had been forgiven much and he loved much.

Talking Point : What do you find the hardest thing to forgive? Have you found a means to resolve any unforgiveness in your life? How do you fare when faced with an injustice?

Old man, first man excelling

2011-03-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

Reading1 Cor 15:45-47 ‘Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’

Paul was the best ‘fallen’ man going round in his day. This hybrid lifestyle he had practiced from his youth. He was also very diligent to be true to his predestination – that is, to the identity God gives to all who are born into this life. Using the language of the reading, we could define this as the calling of the ‘first man’. However, the unique calling of the first man, when enmeshed in the will and capacity of the fallen man (old man), can only produce futility and death. Try as hard as he may, the lethal mix of a fallen man doing good to fulfil the first man identity from God left Paul crying out ‘O wretched man that I am who can deliver me from the body of this death?’ (Rom 7:24).

The depravity of the old man and the uniqueness of the first man were terminally enmeshed in Paul as they are in any person. Only a new birth can unravel them. The first man must link to the ‘second man’.

Here is the man born from above, who finds full expression of his identity, living with all who are born again. Corporately the ‘second man’ is the body of Christ. The miracle of Paul’s conversion meant, for him, that at last he could crucify or put to death the old fallen man and still preserve the God given identity of his ‘first man’ call.

For the cross not only separates but joins. The cross is the wisdom and capacity of God. In embracing the cross of Christ, Paul could be found in a new context – indeed, he was created of God but now he was also begotten of God.

Talking Point : What is the difference between the first man and the second man? What is the difference between being created of God and begotten of God? What dignity has God given to the first man? Is he a non-identity in the second man?

A contradiction to this day

2010-04-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

Reading : 2Tim 3:1-5 ‘But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.’

How is it possible that Paul could be a person of such good intent and passion for God and yet be the chiefest of sinners? This seems to be an unlikely contradiction doesn’t it? Such a contradiction was a problem in the early church and it is one of the problems besetting the church today. Some are confidently proceeding to serve God through religious form and others through religious experience and neither are the substance of godliness – the life from the Father. This confidence is in one’s fleshly deeds or good feelings and is not in the miracle of living as one only begotten of God. Such misplaced confidence leads to the worst rejections of truth and reality. The more excellent the human face through self-fathered works, the more horrendous the evil that lurks and will be perpetuated against God. Paul identified the corrupting side of his religious form of godliness when he wrote – ‘I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man (violently arrogant)’ (1Tim 1:13). His rightness became the empowering of his violence and he conquered people in the belief that he was meeting God’s standard. He would have died for his presumptuous faith then as he eventually died for the faith of Christ. What a different eternity though was at stake - is at stake? Still the contradiction is difficult to fathom at times. One could ask, ‘Aren’t I meant to do good and through doing good find a place of acceptance with God?’ Indeed, we are to do good but what is good. Obviously, we have many perceptions of right and wrong. In fact, we have as many as there are people. We all live by the law of our own reasoning of what is good and what is evil. We have turned everyman to his own way. Thank God He has intervened and laid this iniquity on His Son.

Reflection : What is the difference between religious form and religious experience? What do we mean when we say they are not the basis of confidence? What is your definition of good? Are you good?

Confident but wrong

2010-04-20T22:15:00.001-07:00

Reading : Php 3:3-8 ‘For we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yes indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…’

Paul was confident in his religious rightness. As you read his amazing credentials you wonder how it was possible that he could be so wrong? Well, we know he was and it took a miracle for him to change. It takes a miracle for every individual to trust in God more than they trust in themselves. I found the following story helpful in defining the turn around that marked the conversion of Paul and of any who come to Christ.

Consider: A lady was waiting for a train. She purchased a coffee and a very large ‘Chocolate Chip Cookie’, which was given to her in an appropriate paper bag. In the crowded railway station, she found a spot to sit where she shared a table with a male traveller. He was reading a paper. As she sat at the table the male passenger without looking up opened the paper bag and took out the Chocolate Chip Cookie and systematically broke a piece off of it and proceeded to eat it. Being indignant but well bred (politically correct) the lady cleared her throat and looked as offended as she could at the gentleman. Hearing her cough and sensing her stare he casually looked up and offered her a piece of the cookie. Angrily she pulled what remained of the cookie to her side of the table and ate it all. Not long after her train was called and so still simmering about the presumption of this stranger, she headed for the platform. As she went, she reached into her pocket to get her ticket and was surprised to feel a paper bag. As she opened the paper bag, she proceeded to pull out a large untouched Chocolate Chip Cookie. Yes, it was so, and how embarrassed she felt. For what she thought was reality and what reality proved to be were quite the opposite.

That is the shift Paul had to make about Christ, the cross, the church and Gods voice and word to him.

Reflection : In what way have you experienced this kind of turn around? Has it ever occurred in an area of teaching such as repentance or water baptism or baptism on the Holy Spirit?

A third piercing of Paul

2010-04-20T22:12:00.001-07:00

Reading : 2 Cor 1:5-7 ‘You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort.’

We have noted how Paul pierced Christ by persecuting the believers. Secondly, how he self-pierced by going his own way to please God. These pricks of conviction, which had been goading him for years finally pierced to the thoughts and intents of his heart. When Ananias told Paul what the Lord wanted him to do, he discovered a third piercing. He was informed that he would preach to Jew and Gentile and stand to testify before kings. He would also be very fruitful in his labours for the Lord. However, he would suffer many things for the name of Jesus (Acts 9:16). Paul would know another piercing. Paul would later write that this third piercing was his fellowship in the sufferings of Christ. He also wrote that every believer would have his or her own unique participation in the sufferings of Christ. Why should Paul suffer and why should any believer have to suffer? Well, Paul’s explanation is quite remarkable. He declared that through such piercings, what is lacking in the body of Christ can be filled up (Col 1:24). In the three piercings, at the time of Paul’s conversion he found the comfort of mourning, the reality of his predestination and the security of total commitment. Paul perceived and mourned at piercing Christ; he perceived the futility of living life apart from God’s predestination through being pierced by Christ and he then perceived and chose the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ’s piercing as a way of life and to life.

Reflection : How do you recognise what suffering is self-induced and what suffering is a fellowship in the sufferings of Christ? At which point of piercing is the Lord presently dealing with you?

What do you want me to do?

2010-04-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Reading : Luke 7:7-9 ‘“…But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go,’ and he goes; and to another, “Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”’

As the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus shone on Paul, his first question was: ‘Who are you, Lord?’ His second question was: ‘What do you want me to do?’ This is notable, because the answer of Jesus to his first question, pointed out that he was guilty of persecuting the Lord of Glory and he had no comment. His silence was acceptable, for his mouth was closed. Thus he avoided justifying himself or making excuses for his actions. Do you hear repentance and submission in his second question: ‘What do you want me to do?’ The first question was also appropriate, for we all begin not knowing who the Lord is. Jesus warned certain ones about the priority of ‘being’ known before ‘doing’ – ‘On judgment day many will tell me, “Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.” But I will reply, “I never knew you.”’ Later, Paul would write extensively on ‘being’ found in Him, or in His name, before ‘doing’ anything in His name. On the road to Damascus the Lord did not speak to Paul about all that he must do. This instruction He directed that Paul would hear from a messenger that the Lord would send to him. Paul arose and went into the city and there Ananias came and declared to him ‘…all things, which are appointed for you to do’. Paul received from this man as if God Himself was speaking to him. He demonstrated the same ‘great’ faith of the centurion in our reading.

Reflection : Is your mouth closed when the Lord tells you your wrong has pierced him? If not, are any of your excuses based in a victim mentality? How does one get out of a victim mentality?

It’s hard for you to kick against the piercing

2010-04-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Reading : 2 Tim 1:8-9 ‘Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…’

We need to reflect further on how Jesus identified Himself to Paul. The full account was ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting’ and ‘It is hard for you to kick against the goads’. Paul discovered that he was not only piercing Christ but he was also self-piercing. When one resists their predestination, their calling becomes a piercing of their dreams and aspirations. Goads were like sticks that, if you kick at them, pierce you. By fleeing God’s will we pierce ourselves through. Later, Paul would write that by loving riches more than the Lord’s call, the blessing of God still leads to wealth, but that the wealth becomes a piercing of many sorrows (1 Tim 6). That is, it never satisfies and we become driven to seek wealth simply because we fear poverty. Furthermore, the wealth one accumulates one has to keep adding to. Paul knew such a piercing. Not from the riches of money but the riches of his religious excellence. The more religious he became, the more empty he felt; the greater he became, the more hypocritical he felt, the more righteousness he expressed, the more his shame tormented him. I would say many times Paul cried out from kicking against his predestination – ‘Oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me from the body of this death?’ We often hurt ourselves, as it were, when we kick against the pricks of conviction the call of God makes upon our life.

Talking Point : Do you believe that God has both saved and called you? Are you living in the calling of your salvation? Have you ever identified piercings of your heart that were the result of your own disobedience?

Who are you Lord?

2010-04-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Reading : Acts 2:36-37 ‘“So let all the people of Israel know this: God has made Jesus to be Lord and Christ. This is the same Jesus whom you nailed to the cross.” What Peter said cut the people's hearts when they heard it. They knew they had done wrong. They said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”’

Paul did not know Jesus as Lord until his conversion on the road to Damascus. Many reading this devotion would consider that to be obvious. However, consider the following. Paul knew the Old Testament back to front. He knew the latest insights being considered about Messiah and how Yahweh would have a Son and that Yahweh’s Son would be known as the son of David. He knew about God’s work in creation and in the church in the wilderness, the Promised Land and the captivity. He knew so much, but he did not know who was his Lord. Only as he heard the piercing answer to his question of ‘Who are you Lord?’ would this devout religious man know the Lord. The answer to his question was a shock – ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting’. Paul’s question reminds me of a question asked by those who believed when Peter preached the first sermon on the day of Pentecost. His subject matter was varied but an undeniable theme develops throughout his sermon about the name of the ‘Lord’. Peter was answering the same question as Paul asked, for God is known in His name. When Peter concluded, those who accepted his words perceived that they had crucified the ‘Lord’ of Glory. Their persuasion was not through being bowled over by the knowledge of Peter, for they were more knowledgeable then Peter. Nor was their persuasion because the power of the anointing bowled them over, for they considered the manifestations of the Spirit in Peter and the others to be drunkenness. They were bowled over by the realisation that the God of glory, they zealously served, had been among them and they had pierced Him. They saw Him whom they had pierced and they realised, what Paul realised, that they were the worst kind of sinner. They then cried out what every person cries out who comes to Christ – ‘What shall we do?’

Reflection : Did Paul ever persecute Jesus? If so, when? If not, how? What answer did Peter give to the multitude that asked ‘What shall we do?’

Hearing then seeing

2010-04-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

Reading : Rom 10:17 and Heb 1:1-2. ‘Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.’ ‘Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he made the universe and everything in it.’

Paul was blinded to see as God sees. How did true sight begin for him? Well, to see as God sees, he must have an ear dependant upon hearing the voice of the Lord. Sight without sound is a bit like knowledge without wisdom. Both realms are crucial but to see as God sees, without first hearing His voice, would have left Paul aware but not pierced; devastated but not changed; conquered but not won; convinced but not equipped. God shines upon us to blind our sight, so that His word might be truly heard, duly understood and fully obeyed. If one is struggling in any of these areas, then it follows that they are still dependant upon a sight gained illegally at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In his later writings, Paul would say that hearing the voice of God was the only source of faith (faith is the capacity to believe that God is) – faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord. Furthermore, with great authority, Paul taught what he learnt that day about the voice of the Lord. He had studied many years how God spoke through angels and prophets and symbols. He now declared that God spoke only through His Son. He made it absolutely clear that the Lord’s voice was no longer pre-eminent in the angelic or the Old Testament prophets or symbols and shadows of the truth. These spoke in part and speak to confirm the words of the Son. But the voice of substance is now in the Son, and is heard wherever His Sonship is being accepted, begotten and lived.

Reflection : How did you first see the things of God as being the true reality? Was it ever without the voice of the Lord? Where do you hear the voice of the Lord for your life today?

Once I was blind but now I see

2010-04-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Reading : 2Cor 3:14-16. ‘But the people's minds were hardened, and even to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, a veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away.’

It took a horror of great darkness for Paul to see. This seems a contradiction doesn’t it, for how can you see if you are blinded? There is a conflict of sight. It’s between God’s and ours. For us to see as God sees, the Lord Himself must blind the eyes of our wisdom. Why is this? Because man’s perception of good has been veiled by the god of this world. Satan enticed mankind to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when they were forbidden to do so. In eating, a sight was opened for mankind, but how limited it has proven to be (Gen 3:5). Even when we know this, we still attempt to approach God through ways we see as right. Perhaps we could claim, as Paul, that our ways are more right than any one else, but to be the best of what God rejects, is still to be alienated from God, locked up and in darkness. Peter had a similar experience to Paul of the horror of great darkness. It occurred not long after he declared to Jesus that he would never deny Him – even if others did he definitely would not; in fact he would go with Christ even to death. Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed he would deny Him three times and Peter did. According to Luke’s gospel, Peter did not remember any of this until after the third denial when Jesus turned and looked at him. Peter remembered and was pierced to his heart by Christ’s look and went out into the night – into darkness and wept bitterly. I suspect the weight of darkness Peter entered, would have been of the same significance as that experienced in the literal blindness of Paul. After Christ was raised from the dead he returned to the now devastated Peter, and, in the course of His visitation, Peter’s eyes were open to see as God sees. Conversion requires seeing the kingdom of God and that requires a new sight beyond the perception of man’s wisdom.

Reflection : What did Adam and Eve see when they were illuminated in their disobedience (Gen 3:5-7)? Discuss some of the expressions that define how God’s sight is different from ours?

The day it all changed

2010-04-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Reading : 2 Cor 4:5-6 ‘For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’

The light that shone upon Paul resulted in the loss of his sight. This was a loss for which he would be eternally grateful. Why? Because Paul was about to see like he had never seen before. The Historical account (Acts 9) states the light came suddenly and it occurred while he was on the way to Damascus. Before his brethren, the Jews, (Acts 22) he again relates the suddenness of the light, adding that it was from heaven. The same is uttered to the Gentile king, Agrippa (Acts 26), with a further observation that the light was brighter than the sun. Paul would later describe the light that shone upon him that day as ‘the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’. He was very familiar with the Old Testament account of this light of the glory of God and its connection with Yahweh. Paul identified it as the same light that shone on Abraham when the ‘God of glory’ appeared to him in Mesopotamia and called him to leave his country, kindred and father’s house (Acts 7:2). Paul recognised this light as the glory of God that filled the tabernacle of meeting in the wilderness (Ex 40:34). He recognised this light as the same glory of God that came upon and dwelt in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:11). He would also have known that it was the same light of the glory of God that departed from the temple in the days of Ezekiel (Ezek 10:18). Paul saw, as never before, that the light of God’s glory had returned, but now the temple of God’s glory is with men and the light of the glory of God is in meeting Christ face to face in the Body of Christ.

Reflection : Can you make the connection of the light with the glory of God? Can you see how meeting face to face in the body of Christ is how we walk in the light? Has this light shone on you?

The ‘Strictest Pharisee’ of his day

2010-04-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Reading : Rom 10:1-3 ‘Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is that the Jewish people might be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won't go along with God's way.’

In all three accounts in the book of Acts, it is clearly established that Paul’s terrorizing of the church was, in his thinking, a divine prerogative. Furthermore, he had written permission from the high priest to kill Christians. He would later write that persecuting the church was his zeal for God as a practising Pharisee. The Pharisees considered their faction to be the true believers. They believed that their religious standards were the most pure and their interpretation of the law the most ‘right’. In his testimony to the Jews, Paul said, ‘I was zealous toward God as you all are today … as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the counsel of the elders’. Before the Gentile King Agrippa he explained further – ‘According to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee … having received authority and commission from the chief priests’. He also told the king how he believed that this was his divine commission. We should not miss the fact that Paul committed all these atrocities in the name of the Lord. Not because he was a Jew but because he was blindly religious. Hopefully we are convinced that religious fanaticism is not godliness. The veil has been taken from our eyes that we do not serve the Lord from blindness of any kind including blind loyalty. Blind loyalty leads to ‘the blind leading the blind’ and Jesus said both end up in the ditch (Matt 15:14). We know Him in whom we believe and live daily, looking unto Jesus as the author and the finisher of our faith.

Reflection : What did Jesus say was the leaven of the Pharisees? Has anyone ever said to you, your loyalty to Christ, or a church, or what you believe, is blind loyalty? Were they right? If not, why weren’t they right?

Paul - the Bin Laden of his day

2010-04-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Reading1 Tim 12-15 ‘And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man (violently arrogant); but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

The magnitude of the terrorism that Paul exercised against believers in Jesus Christ was massive. It was of the same religious fanaticism as has shaken the world in recent times. In fact it was through his persecution of the church that Paul identified himself as the chiefest of sinners, the least of the saints and unworthy to be an apostle. The horrific nature of his deeds is elaborated on in the three accounts in the book of Acts. The narrative account (Acts 9) claims that he was ‘breathing threats of murder and holding letters of detainment.’

In Paul’s recollections before his brethren, the Jews, (Acts 22) he claimed - ‘I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prison both men and women’. He also related to them his part in the martyrdom of Stephen, when he confessed in detail of how he stood by consenting to his death and guarding the clothes of those who killed him. Before the Gentiles (Acts 26) he added, ‘I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth … many of the saints I shut up in prison … and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities’. Paul’s beginning and acceptance as a believer was not based in his special capacity or privileged position and background, but in realisation that he was a wicked man – the worst of sinners.

This is a faithful saying for every man and woman that comes to Christ. All are culpable for their sin and all must be responsible for their sin. This is the only foundation for true obedience and growth in Christ. Obedience turns to compliance and worship to religious form, if one does not understand the evil pit from which they have come.

Reflection : What does it mean to be culpable? What is the difference between being culpable and accountable? Would you consider yourself as evil as Paul?

Paul-A 110% man of His day

2010-04-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Reading : Acts 9:1-4 ‘Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”’

The record of Paul’s conversion is recorded in Acts 9:1-19.Then in the form of a testimony the whole account is repeated two more times in the book of Acts. The first of these was when Paul gave his testimony to his brethren, the Jews, in Acts 22; and the second when he testified before the Gentiles in Acts 26. It would be good to acquaint yourself with these passages of Scripture.

As we proceed we will note, from time to time, the emphasis of each account and the obvious conclusions that Paul had made about certain facets of his experience. However, what we discover most about Paul is that he never dealt in halves or quarters or three quarters. Both before and after his conversion he was always one hundred and ten percent. The chiefest sinner, the most confident old man, the most recorded apostle in terms of letters in the scriptures, the most travelled worker, the greatest establisher of churches and the most imprisoned of the saints.

All of this though is given context in the conversion of Paul and this is one reason he kept referring to it in most of his letters to the churches or individuals. His meeting Jesus of Nazareth, transformed his life and gave a true context for his zeal. His passion was to be totally committed and to fully excel in whatever came into his hand.

Reflection : Did you know the conversion of Paul is recorded three times in the book of Acts? Why do you think Paul referred to it so much in his letters? Have you been converted to Christ? If so, how often do you speak about your conversion?

An incredible life - From Saul to Paul

2010-04-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Reading : 2 Pet 3:15-17. ‘And remember, the Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved. This is just as our beloved brother Paul wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him--speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters around to mean something quite different from what he meant, just as they do the other parts of Scripture--and the result is disaster for them. I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends, so that you can watch out and not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people. I don't want you to lose your own secure footing.’

Saul the destroyer became Paul the worker. Before looking at the conversion of Paul, we need to consider the heights this man attained as a servant of the Lord. His lifestyle and deeds after his conversion require a list to grasp the magnitude of his contribution. Perhaps at the top of the list we could consider Paul’s incredible capacity.

He established more churches, made more missionary journeys, recorded more of the scriptures than any of his brethren. He also spent copious amounts of time in prison. All of this in a period of 30 years or so. Then there was the unrelenting controversy over Paul. The controversy had a lot to do with his stand against the Law-inspired leaders or hanger-ons in the church at Jerusalem.

However, a lot of the argument stemmed around the question of ‘Was he an apostle?’ Furthermore, if he was an apostle, was he of the standing of the 12 apostles of the Lamb or was he simply an ‘ascension gift’ apostle? (See Eph 4:7-11). Notably at Corinth his controversy among this church was clearly over relational aberrations rather than doctrinal differences. Even to the present day his relational teachings bring cries of protest, particularly his word on headship.

Finally the illumination of the teachings of Paul became a source of inspiration for all who loved the truth. Paul was very much a man of sound doctrine as opposed to theological theories. He held to a firm eschatological framework as he did to personal revelations and historical faithfulness, but always in a manner that required relational relevance and diligence in line with the royal law of love (1 Cor 13:1-3). Even Peter loved the teachings of Paul, acknowledging in them the wisdom of God.

Peter admonished the saints to a diligence and carefulness to understand them, acknowledging that: – ‘Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters around to mean something quite different from what he meant.’

Reflection : What have you accomplished in the years of your life so far? Is it less meaningful if we do not do as much as a Paul? What teaching of Paul do you consider ‘hard to understand?’

Born Again - Obeying the Truth

2010-04-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

Reading : 1Pt 1:22-23 ‘Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.’

Previously we compared the miraculous nature of the birth of Christ with the birth of any who would be a part of His kingdom and life. Too often the facts about being ‘born from above’ are not fully said and so people are not being fully born of God.

Paul coined a word for those of this deformity – they are carnal (1 Cor 3:1-5). The messenger who informed Mary of the miraculous manner of Christ’s birth did not water down the word of the Lord when answering her question nor did Jesus when He answered the questions of Nicodemus the ruler of the Jews.

Our question about Christ’s salvation may be unique and shaped from a personal circumstance but the answer is common to all. Today the Gospel of Jesus Christ is often watered down and made insipid. Perhaps the reason is not always insidious or self-seeking as well meaning attempts are made to answer hard questions.

The point is though that it is not possible to modify God’s view of sin and its consequences. Neither can repentance be avoided for one to experience forgiveness of sin. Salvation is through faith, not by works and hell is an eternal reality. God doesn’t need His justice explained.

The understanding is in the believing. Each person who seeks for life in Christ must say as Mary said – ‘Let it be to me according to your word’. This is how one is born of the imperishable seed.

Reflection: What unique question do you have that needs answering as you contemplate the direction of Christ that you must be born again? Do you have parts in your life that still need to be born of God? If so can you speak of these things and share your concerns?

You must be born again

2010-04-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

ReadingJn 3:1-8 After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to speak with Jesus. ‘"Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."

Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"

Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."’

Jesus said to the religious wise Nicodemus you must be born again. It is interesting to compare his response with that of Mary when she was told that she would bear Christ.

Nicodemus was flabbergasted to say the least, and his immediate question was – ‘How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’

Don’t you think that sounds a bit like Mary’s question of ‘How can this be seeing I’m not married’ What is evident is that the answer to both questions is basically the same – a miraculous birth is required and with God this is not impossible.

What does this mean for you and I in this present hour?

It means that you and I can and must be born again that you and I can and must be born of water and of the Spirit.

Once one has heard the Gospel of Christ and the call to be born again, he or she like Nicodemus will usually have some unique questions to ask in seeking to understand the Gospel.

It is special that almighty God personalises the gospel to each enquirer as Jesus did in the case of Nicodemus. However the entry into godly realities and standards is the same for all and it is not through an historical heritage or even a religious upbringing.

For Nicodemus and for all, it begins by being born again. Being born again is as much a miracle as the incarnation was in the womb of the virgin.

The fact is that the one ‘born again’ is partaking of the same life of God that Jesus lived successfully in His flesh.

We are not born again to be replicas of Jesus but we are born again to know the same life from the Father and thereby to fulfil our own unique purpose that the Father desires for each of His children.

Reflections: What is the difference between being born of water and of the Spirit? When were you born again? Are you still experiencing what it means to be born again?