The Word!

The Word!

John 1:14 AMPC

[14] And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.

The depth of revelation and insight that has been laid out in the chapter from where the verse above is taken is awesome. The book of John starts with the immortal words: 'IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself'. We are not privileged to know what was before this declared beginning, but whatever or whenever it was, the Word was already there, in charge of the state of creation, whatever form it was. We do not know how time began apart from what has been recorded as the start of creation, but we are left in no doubt as to the identity, power and wisdom of that Word, and what He is capable of doing and accomplishing. 

As that same chapter makes clear, this Word is responsible for all of creation. There is nothing in all of creation that exists outside of the power and authority of the Word. All things we see, and the multitude of all that we are unable to see with our naked eyes, are all in existence simply at the command of God, as well as His express will. Check out all of creation: the sun you cannot stare at with your naked eyes; the glory of the planets we can see and the amazing ones we can only read about; the beauty of the starry hosts in heaven, as well as the changing times and seasons that bring in the heat and the cold in endless cycles, as long as the earth remains in place. 

All of the above and more point to the power, glory and undeniable prestige of the Word of God. How could such a glorious God, with all that power, come down to the level of mortal, fallen man? How could this awesome Creator  be able to identify with creation capable of rebellion and disobedience? This is why God can never be man; this is why the power and prestige of God, and His dealings with man, can never be understood by man's intellect or reasoning. This awesome God left all that glory and power in heaven, and took on human form, because He wanted to offer help to mortal man. He knew that the fallen human nature could never attain the righteousness required to please God, so He had to  identify with man in His state, so man could now aspire to His own state. 

That is why the Word became flesh. He became like us, so we could also become like Him. The latter part of the verse above could only come by a personal encounter with this God. He has done all He can to ensure that man becomes like Him, but He will not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. Many others saw the same person, but rejected Him to their eternal damnation. Many others saw the same person, followed and served Him, and their lives are messages we read about and apply to our own lives today.  As it was then, so is it now. He seeks to show Himself strong in the lives of all who accept Him. How do you respond? God's time of favour is here.

The Right Path 2!

The Right Path 2!

Matthew 7:14 AMPC

[14] But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. 

The message in the verse above is taken from the first sermon of Jesus on the mountain as He sat with His disciples. As it has always been pointed out, the crowd was there at the foot of mountain, but the messages in that sermon were not directed at the crowd, but at the disciples. The standards and principles laid out in the sermon are not for the many uncommitted majority, but for the few that have made up their minds to submit to and follow Christ. Of course, the crowd was there listening to the sermon, and as we read at the end of the sermon, the crowd was amazed hearing these words, but we know it did not make that much of a difference. 

For those who have made up their minds to submit to and follow Christ, the path to life will take us through some interesting and intense experiences. I note that nowhere did Christ promise His followers a trouble-free journey through life, but what He promises is His ever-abiding presence and power. He lays down the standard, and also makes available the power to adhere to the standards. He is not like the world that will set unrealistic expectations, and still not be able to explain, defend or support its own expectations. The world cannot define success, because it does not have the self-control to know and respect its limits. You cannot give what you do not have. 

For those who are under the control and influence of Christ, we are on a journey to eternal dwellings. That journey will take us through some interesting paths, which are described as a narrow gate, contracted by pressure. The way that leads to life has been presented as straitened and compressed. It is not to take away our joy in any way, but to set realistic expectations for what is coming. It is a narrow gate, because it does not permit just anything to be done carelessly or out of line with God's express directives. It is not a path that encourages living as I please, but as God pleases. It is a path that will demand focus from all who seek to walk in it. 

It is a journey where the focus must be clear and precise. Priorities must be clearly sorted and the pursuit must be single. There is no room for multiple threads. I can have many assignments I am working on for the kingdom of God, but I must never lose sight of the end-game, which is eternal life with God. If one loses eternal life with God, there is no earthly reward that can make up for that loss. For all generations, whether it was Joshua before he died, or Jeremiah as he was sent to the exiles in Babylon, the message is the same: the choice of eternity is mine to make. God has done all He can but He will not force Himself on anyone. Am I on the right path? Are you? God's time of favour is here.

The Right Path!

The Right Path!

Hebrews 12:14 TPT

[14] In every relationship be swift to choose peace over competition, and run swiftly toward holiness, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 

The writer of the book of Hebrews is not known, but the audience would appear to be Christians who were facing persecution, and were maybe losing their faith. The messsge in the letter covers various topics such as the sonship and suffering of Jesus, and what both means to us who now follow Him. The letter also draws a connection between the rules of the old testament, and the amazing relationship that Jesus has come to lay down under the new testament. We also read about the priestly role of Jesus, and how those who know, serve and follow Him also walk in His footsteps. This journey will not be possible without the help of the One who set it up. 

There are many dimensions to our faith that we may not be able to fully grasp on this side of eternity, but we have the help of the Holy Spirit to navigate all that is ahead. Just as we have a relationship with God, so must we also value, preserve and sustain a relationship with those who we have been placed among to impact. Salvation means I am bound for heaven to reign with Christ, but I am not taken out of the world immediately I am saved, because there are lives to impact. There is no one who can successfully claim to be a child of God that will not have to apply many of the principles of God's word to human interaction and engagement. 

As human beings are complex, so must I strive to rely on God's help to deal with fellow human beings. The wise counsel in the verse above is that I must choose peace over competition. There will always be the temptation to get in the last word, or to prove that you are not stupid, but when dealing as a child of God, the world's principles do not apply. I must also not forget that peace is a fruit of the Spirit, while contentions are signs of the works of the flesh. Whichever one I feed is the one that will grow; repercussions will be made manifest in due course. As I take stock of where I am now, which one am I feeding? Which one is my daily focus? 

The second part of this path is the pursuit of holiness. The verse above says I must run swiftly toward holiness. Reflect on this: I run towards what is critical and important to my eternity. Holiness is the nature of God, and all who will be with Him for all of eternity must seek after Him with all their hearts. It cannot be half-hearted devotion; I am either all in or all out. There is no fence of indecision to sit on, because if I am not all in, the verse above says I will not see God. It really leaves no room for alternatives; I cannot pick one and leave the other. I now know what God desires; the power to choose is mine. What would it be? God's time of favour is here. 

This Love!

This Love!

1 John 4:16 AMPC

[16] And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.

For everything that God does or puts in place, the devil tries to offer or put in place a close resemblance or alternative. Movies and music have presented love as this dreamy thing that is difficult to explain, leaves butterflies oin your stomach, and leaves your throat dry. We have been fed these unrealistic expectations around what love is, and it is now difficult to find the genuine article anymore. Movies refer to "making love' as if it were a laboratory and scientific experiment, and people have jumped from place to person in search of the real version of love. Unfortunately, you cannot find genuine things from a source that does not deal in the original. 

How can you seek genuine love from someone God described as a liar, and the father of all liars? How can anyone who deals in stealing, killing and destroying be able to offer you anything that can promote God's kind of life? This is the start point of our reflection today: whatever you need, make sure you go to the right source. You have to know where to go and who to follow, so you are not sold the fake. This is the confidence with which John speaks here: "And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us". What boldness!

These words come from a place of clear conviction about who you are, whose you are, what you have been given, and where you are headed. God's love leaves you in no doubt as to its truth and sincerity. His words and actions have proven over the centuries that He loves me. Even before I was born, or knew that I needed help, the offer of eternal life was already made to me. Even when I was not sure I would surrender my life to Him, He still gave me His all anyway. He did not wait for me to deserve His sacrifice; He was going to lay down His life, regardless of my eventual response. That is love: the type that reaches out even when I pulled back or resisted. 

Of course, the one who will show this kind of love to other people must have had a personal encounter with that love. I cannot give what I do not have. This is not one of the things you can fake. God is the personification and expression of love, and He invites us all to come to Him for that empowerment to love the way He does. It is IN Him that I am able to love and live like Him. The verse enjoins me to dwell IN Him. It is not coming to Him only for what I can get, but seeking to know Him well enough that His imprint on me shines through and cannot be ignored. If I want to reflect Him, I have to be in Him. Does God know me as His own? God's time of favour is here.

Praise!

Praise!

Psalm 113:3 AMPC

[3] From the rising of the sun to the going down of it and from east to west, the name of the Lord is to be praised!

There is no acknowledgement of any name at the start of the chapter from where the verse above is taken, so we can take the view that it is not the usual suspects of David or the sons of Korah. However, the message in the entire chapter is clear and unambiguous, and I will do well to consider what the message is, how it applies to me, and how best I can take the lessons going forward and make them personal to me. In the face of trials, tough times, and tribulations, what is my default setting? What do I do when it seems that the whole world is against me? How do I move when it seems that everyone is moving against me? 

It is not when the tough times come that you get to decide how to respond. Capacity is usually built long before the tough times come. You submit yourself to the school of God's discipline, and He prepares you for the platform on which He will be glorified. Trust God on this: do not expect the devil to just sit back and watch from a distance. He will try all he can to distract, discourage, dishearten, and distress you. He wants you to take your eyes off the size and power of God and place them on the size of the problems that you are now facing. The great thing about God is that He leaves you in no doubt as to who is in charge. He always proves Himself as fully in control. 

What humbles you is that He will not force Himself on anyone, or go against the exercise of your freewill. The decision on the right response to all that God does must be taken with full knowledge of who He is, what He is and what He has given. When you consider the journey that has brought you here, as well as the amazing and awesome things that God has promised to all who surrender to Him, you know the future is nothing like the present or the past. Eyes have indeed not seen or ears heard what God has in store for those who fear and honour Him. I do not even have the faintest idea of the full scope of God's plan for me. 

It is by walking with Him on a daily basis that I can even begin to scratch the surface of all that He has in store for me. As the first verse of the chapter from where the verse above is taken lays out, the servants of the Lord, who know and serve Him, are commanded to praise Him. I note that identify with God helps put thls command in the right perspective. To praise God is to know who He is, what He has  done, but maybe more importantly, even for what He will not do. This is what makes God unique, and my best response is to react to Him the right way. I note that one day, either by freewill or compulsion, every knee will bow before Him. Do it now, from the heart. He deserves it. God’s time of favour is here  

Love, God's Version!

Love, God's Version!

John 13:34 AMPC

[34] I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.

It may be easy to tell people what to do, but it can be quite difficult to back up your words with behaviour that is consistent with what you say. This is where Jesus found Himself with His disciples at some point on His way to the cross. The very first verse in the chapter from where the verse above is taken says that Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. There was no doubt that Jesus loved the men who had left all and followed Him these three and a half years, but He took an opportunity to show them again what love meant. Like Jesus in those days, we also live in a world where talk is cheap. 

People have defined love by what they perceive to have received. Nobody talks about the fundamental foundation that must be laid in a man's heart that makes God's kind of love possible. We now have sexually immoral acts defined as 'making love'. We also place demands on broken people by blackmail, saying that if they truly loved you, they would act in a certain way. We forget that broken people must first receive and respond to God's kind of love before they can even know how to respond with the same kind of love they now have. God's love is not first about what we can get, but about who and what we have already received. 

There is really nothing we could have first given that could compensate God for what He had given us. In the story before us today, we find Jesus the Lord and Master, stoop down to wash His disciples' feet. It was a menial and thankless job, but Jesus used that alone time with His disciples to teach a lesson and to also lay down a new commandment. The first lesson is that leadership does not confer superiority. Leadership must provide many opportunities to serve other people. Serving others is also an expression of love, because it means that I am able to look outside my own immediate needs, and be a blessing to someone else. 

The verse above is not a mere suggestion, but a commandment. He does not just tell me what to do; He has shown me clearly what the new standard is. By His own life of sacrifice, He has made it clear what will be acceptable going forward. I have no excuse to give, because all over the Bible, there are several accounts of the actions and decisions of Jesus that reveal His heart of love. It is also instructive to note that the uncommitted majority was not there when this command was given. It is clear that you cannot command allegiance from someone whose heart you do not control. Does God own and hold your heart? Love, his way, can only come from a heart He contols. Is yours? Is mine? God's time of favour is here. 

This New Life!

This New Life!

Romans 6:5 AMPC

[5] For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God].

As you read the chapter before the one from where the verse above is taken, you get the clear impression that sin, though powerful, was not a match for the grace of God that brought salvation to man. Yes, man sinned and had fallen short of the glory of God, but the same God, in an act of mercy, provided a way of escape from sin, and a pathway to forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life with God . It did not matter how deep the sin was, how red the stain was, or how heavy the burden was; the blood of Jesus was sufficient to take away all the guilt and provide peace, joy and comfort that all is well. Tell me who or what else can guarantee such an outcome.

It is in the light of this understanding that the verse above can be understood. As the first verse of the chapter from where the verse above is taken from makes clear, the grace of God cannot be an excuse ro remain in sin. As we have come into this new phase of mercy where our sins are forgiven, our past cleansed and totally fogotten, and the future fully insured for all eternity, there is a risk that one becomes complacent and entitled, and stop depending on the same grace that brought you into this new life. As that first verse says, we cannot remain in sin in order that God's grace may cobtinue to multiply and overflow.  God forbid that I make a mess of something that I could not ewen earn in the first place. 

An understanding and appreciation of what God has given me should make me careful and intentional about my decisions, actions and reactions. What Jesus gave was His life; He gave up His glory and took on shame; not just any kind, but the type that led to mockery and disgrace. He was not the one who sinned yet God, in His righteousness, could not look at His own Son as He hung on the tree for my sin. This hatred of sin must make me both careful and deliberate about avoiding sin. The One who died on the cross took all the power and attraction of sin to the cross, nailed them all to the cross, wiped the slate clean with His blood, and invites us all to walk in the new life He offers. 

Of course, the audience defines the impact of the message. The right audience is the one to determine the right response. This is not a verse for general application, or for the uncommitted majority. If indeed I know who I am now as a result of what I have been given, it will definitely shape my response. The death of Jesus on the cross is an invitation for me to join Him in that sacrifice. If I identity with Him in that death, I have also died to the power of sin and have become a partaker of the divine power to live above the dictates and limits of sin. If I have died to sin, I can look forward to also sharing His resurrection. It will not happen any other way. Do you have that new life? Do I? God's time of favour is here.