Archives for August 2020

Some people seem to get through life without many troubles, while some seem to go from one demanding situation to another. I recall a lovely lady in her 80’s whose life had been blessed. When she heard others talk of their troubles she couldn’t believe them.

On one of her first hospital stays, late in life, she reported to me how she felt like a Queen, with meals provided, a tea lady bringing refreshments and a button she could press to get attention.

I think of her as the exception to the rule. Most of the rest of us know what it is to feel swamped at times by trials and tribulations.

Christ has promised us peace, and the kind of peace you can have when it doesn’t make sense to feel so at ease.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7

Trials and difficult times require us to find inner strength to press through. If we are lazy and self-indulged, or spoiled by having others solve our problems for us, we can lack internal stamina to press through.

I have been impressed at times with people who have had difficult lives who have developed strong internal fortitude to keep going, cross the next hurdle and meet each challenge successfully.

I am not an expert on how to get to that point but I think there are some obvious pointers that might help.

Attitude is a serious issue. If we tend toward self-pity or some sense of personal right to be unbothered by issues, we will not dig deep into ourselves and develop personal strength. That’s why it is valuable for parents, grandparents, mentors, coaches and others who assist children to not pander to their wish for an easy life. We are meant to find stamina within us, resolve and the ability to stand our ground. So it’s harmful to pander to children’s wish for things to be made easy. Sadly many parents and grandparents pander to the child’s weakness, possibly disabling that child for life.

A reality in life is that trials will come. Jesus explained that in His parable about the sower. Of the four places the seed landed only one was without trials. Seed on the hardened pathway had no hope of taking root so was eaten by birds. Seed on stoney ground could not get a deep root system and was scorched by the sun. Other seed fell among thorns that choked the plant. (see Matthew 13:3-8)

Similarly, Jesus’ parable about building on a rock or sand reveals that our lives will be battered by wind and rain no matter what our foundation is. (see Matthew 7:24-27)

We need to accept that life will challenge us, and so develop attitude and habits that enable us to face each one without fear and without self-defeating ideas, such as self-pity.

We use the term ‘grit’ to describe that inner strength that holds a ‘can do’ attitude and tackles problems as things to be conquered and opportunities to grow and move forward.

As Christians we will also face trials that are specifically designed to test our heart and reveal our faith.
“Greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1Peter 1:6,7

The most wonderful state is that of one who can navigate life’s obstacles with that peace that passes understanding. So how do we find peace while facing trials?

One thing is to remember that the Lord is with us in each trial. The Good Shepherd which King David revealed in Psalm 23 was in the valley of the shadow of death with the sheep. He had not abandoned them to face dangers on their own.

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

We can then cast our fears and anxieties onto the Lord who knows exactly what is going on inside us.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, bring your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7

“Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7

Our greatest source of peace, from my experience, is to come to the place of being sure God has everything under control. God has made us wonderful promises, but in our trials we can feel as if things are out of control and we could suffer great loss or pain. Reminding ourselves that God is God and He knew about the trial long before it came to us, and He has a way through it, enables us to settle our trust in Him.

When we trust God to protect us and guide us, even if it’s only one small step at a time, we can rest in our confidence in Him. Resting is a place of peace.

When you find yourself wound up and anxious, remember that you are to cast those cares and fears onto the Lord. Encourage your heart to trust God. Rest in His care and love for you. And ask God for stamina to face the challenges and find Peace in Tribulation.

Let me share a made up story with you, to get you thinking about how you relate to God.

Imagine you are catching up with a friend and asking how things have been for them lately. They tell you they have had many challenges and didn’t think they would cope, such as struggling with depression and grief. They then tell you that they were introduced to Charlie and he took care of it all and now they feel fine.

You wonder, “Who’s Charlie?”

Then you bump into someone else who you know has been through a tough time. They tell you they were struggling with guilt and shame over what happened in their business and family and the mess they made. They share about the great depth of pain they carried and how they wondered about taking their life. However, they were introduced to Charlie and Charlie took care of the whole thing and now they feel wonderful and are getting on with life.

You ask them, “Who’s Charlie?”

They are surprised. “Don’t you know Charlie?” they ask. “Oh, you’ve got to meet Charlie. He’s wonderful.”

A little later you meet another friend and ask them, “Do you know anything about Charlie?”

They react with a scowl. “Charlie is a fraud!” they assure you. “It’s ridiculous how people think so highly of him.”

You say, “I’ve met people who have been really helped by him.”

“They just think they’ve been helped”, they rebut. “All Charlie did was give them a reason to find their answer inside themself.”

Another friend meets you and asks if you’d like to go to a meeting where Charlie is expected to show up. You are not sure what to think of Charlie, so you decide not to go. You don’t want to look silly in the eyes of those who don’t like him.

After more investigation you hear two opposing views of Charlie. To some he is a miracle worker and a vital part of their life, while to others he is ignored and despised as worthless.

You also find that those who are Charlie’s friends have a change of values and tend to withdraw from all the normal things people do. They are more careful about how they live.

That makes people think these people look down on others, but that’s not what you find from your Charlie-fan friends.

What you do notice is that those who have Charlie as their friend have Charlie’s help when they need it. Others have to struggle through issues on their own. Those who know Charlie definitely get through issues much better than those who don’t.

But there is deep feeling on both sides. Some people love Charlie and sing his praises all the time, while others can’t stand to hear him spoken about. Charlie seems to have the effect of making people take sides.

Some of your friends have a very casual connection with Charlie, appreciating him as a kind of insurance policy if things go wrong. At the same time they get on with life like everyone else and play down their connection with Charlie, so others accept them.

Those who get too excited about Charlie seem to lose interest in all the important things in life, like money and possessions and succeeding in this world. They want to help Charlie help others. It’s a shame to see them lose focus on life, and take the ‘Charlie’ thing too seriously.

Your problem is that you can see great value in knowing Charlie. You’ve never met him, but you can see what he has done for others. But you don’t want to be mocked by those who are anti-Charlie. So you have to decide where you stand on the question of Charlie.

If he is everything people say about him, then you really need to meet him. But if he really is that wonderful it could undermine all the things you currently live for.

You hear that Charlie doesn’t have a house or a job. He isn’t respected as a business leader, financier or academic. He wasn’t a great sports star or a pop icon on the screen. He isn’t a great singer or poet, or anything you can make money out of. He doesn’t promise to make you rich or famous or successful in your endeavours.

Instead he calls you to live for those intangible things, like peace and joy and loving others.

Charlie seems to make all the other things we live for look cheap and nasty, temporary and selfish. No wonder people get offended by hearing about Charlie.

You find yourself caught between your love for the world and your intrigue with Charlie. If you meet Charlie and decide to be his friend it will probably mean dropping your love for all the things you’ve slaved for over the years. You’ll have to admit that you were chasing the wrong things. You’ll lose some of your friends. It’s a tough price to pay.

Maybe if you were facing some kind of disaster, you’d have an excuse to meet Charlie. But things aren’t going bad at the moment. The goal posts keep moving away from you, but you keep getting the feeling that with a little more effort and a little more persistence you can actually get to the place of happiness you know is out there.

But that is an admission in itself. You are still chasing something. You are not sure what it is, but you keep feeling that if you can just reach the next milestone you’ll be close to something that really fulfils you. Sadly all the past milestones just pointed you to the next thing to chase.

Maybe Charlie can change that?

Friends, that’s how people try to process the idea of Jesus in their life.

Where do you stand as a friend of Jesus?

Let me assure you that knowing Jesus is a totally life-changing experience, and the change is for your good. And yes, the things of this world are empty and will never satisfy.

And if you’re one of those who wants Jesus and the things of this world, then you are living a compromised life and missing so much of what God has for you.

So think about it, and decide that you really need to meet Jesus and be His friend.

Have you noticed that certain things grow in our lives? Many times we will become significantly influenced by something small that comes across our path.

As a simple example, have you noticed you can yawn after seeing someone else yawn? At times you will hear a bit of music and then have the song or tune in your head for the rest of the day.

These little things can invade our life, quite unexpectedly and often in the smallest amount, yet they seem to swell in size and take more of our attention.

There are evil and insidious things with that effect, like a sudden feeling of greed or lust. We can end up distracted by the fleeting glimpse of something that aroused our selfish interests. A momentary encounter with an angry or aggressive person can cause us to feel unsettled for the rest of the day, and we may become short tempered and intolerant as a result.

Good things can also have similar effect. An act of kindness or thoughtfulness can be like a seed of happiness within us that produces pleasant feelings.

Jesus referred to leaven, or yeast, as a metaphor for this kind of influence in our lives. Yeast is mixed with flour and has the effect of making the dough swell. It is not just the yeast that swells, but it makes the flour react as well. A small amount of yeast can work on a large batch of dough.

Wise parents know to protect their children from influences that will stir evil within the child. Selfish, sensual, angry, rebellious, aggressive and prideful things can be like yeast in the heart and mind of those exposed to them. Christians know to avoid stirring evil thoughts and awakening evil desires within them.

The world suggests we should try everything and see what we like. But if that exposes us to bad ‘leaven’ that will infest our lives then it is an offence to God and a terrible danger to us. So Christians keep away from evil.

“Abstain from every form of evil.” 1Thessalonians 5:22

“Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” Proverbs 4:27

“Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness” 2Timothy 2:22

Over the years I have had to help people who let evil things into their life. We are overcome by the things we give in to, so many people need to be set free from things they have allowed to enslave them.

“Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to anyone as their slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:16

“Jesus replied, Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” John 8:34

Many of those I have had to help were still putting evil yeast into their lives. For example, a woman who was tormented by nightmares was also addicted to watching horror movies. She was still putting terrifying things into her life, while wanting to be free from the torment.

We are told to get rid of the yeast we previously put into our lives, and stop putting any more bad yeast into us.

“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump” 1Corinthians 5:7

The Bible reveals several dangerous forms of leaven that can invade our lives. The Apostle Paul identified wrong teaching as a kind of leaven. When people twisted the Bible’s teachings to serve human interests those teachings had the effect of distorting the whole congregation.

We find that in churches today. There are churches that are very intellectual and the members carry a pride in the academic nature of the preaching and what they think makes them superior to other churches. So there is a leaven of intellectualism and pride in the church spoiling the faith of the people.

Remember the Bible warning that thinking we have special knowledge makes us proud.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 1Corinthians 8:1

There are churches where wealth is regarded as of high value and those without material goods are looked down on. There are churches where seeking self-fulfilment has replaced any idea of serving Christ and building God’s Kingdom. 

Paul was concerned for churches which had become sidetracked from loving God and serving Christ, to chasing some sideline value instead.

“You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Galatians 5:5

“A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.” Galatians 5:9

There are churches deeply embroiled in political wrangling and power struggles, as if being the top dog is the thing to achieve. Some churches revere academic standing, while others uphold certain cultural values, and others hold to certain forms of government, while yet others pride themselves in some other distinctive.

In these cases and in so many other examples, something small crept in at some time and infected the whole congregation over time. The congregation usually feels proud of the very thing that is spoiling them.

“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” 1Corinthians 5:6

Jesus warned His disciples about another kind of leaven, that of the Pharisees, which Jesus identified as ‘hypocrisy’.

“Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” Matthew 16:6

“Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.” Luke 12:1,2

Hypocrisy is living a double life, where what we pretend to be does not match the hidden reality of our lives. Secret sins, false image and keeping up appearances is a sad part of Christian life. Many families sit neatly in church, hiding the mess of their private lives and the pain that may be rife in the family.

This is a terrible form of yeast that spoils lives and destroys families.

At the same time Jesus also taught that the Kingdom of God is itself a wonderful leaven that invades our lives and transforms our homes. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.” Matthew 13:33

Amazingly and wonderfully, as you are touched by God’s Kingdom it has the effect of touching other parts of you and drawing you to desire to go deeper into what God has for you.

Many a life and home has been gloriously transformed by someone bringing to them just a small dose of the Kingdom of God, which worked in them and stirred in them until they were drawn into wonderful relationship with God.

Friends, it’s time to get the old leaven out from your life, and stop putting wrong things into your life and home. And it’s time to open to more of God’s Kingdom, connecting with those who evidence the transforming work of Christ in their lives, so God’s Kingdom can take full influence over all that you are and ever will be.

Let God’s Kingdom be the Leaven in Your Life.

Jesus commands us to Keep His commands. That sounds a little strange, like a never-ending circle.

“What’s your command?” “Keep my commands.” “OK, I will. So what command do I keep?” “Keep my commands.” “Oh. I’m trying to do that. So what command do I keep?” “Keep my commands.”

What Jesus actually said is …

“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15

Since this is a command from Christ we need to look into it.

When I was young I understood Christ to be telling us to ‘obey’ His commands. That seemed to be the command to not break any of His commands.

However the word ‘keep’ has a wide range of applications in English. We can keep time. We can keep something in mind. We can keep house. We can keep talking. We can keep a secret. We can keep to the plan.

Keep embodies holding possession, maintaining focus, continuing an action and following instructions.

The original Koine language text of the New Testament uses a word that means ‘to guard’. So when Jesus said “Keep My Commands” He instructed us to guard, value and protect the commands He gave us.

Of course that can include obeying the commands, but it is not essentially about obedience.

When I was a lad my grandfather brought some opal gemstones back from one of his inland trips. He gave my older brother a nice piece of stone with a bit of ‘fire’ (the sparkle an opal can give). He gave me a dark grey piece of potch. That’s the opal stone with no sparkle of colour, and it’s of no value. He told us to keep those stones.

Many months later he visited again and he asked my older brother to bring him the opal. My brother couldn’t find the piece of stone. Meanwhile I went to my drawer and pulled out the piece of potch I was given. My grandfather was very upset with my brother and hardly spoke with him again. But a few years later my grandfather took me to the Lightning Ridge opal fields, since I had ‘kept’ the piece he gave me.

That experience reflects the value of keeping hold of something, or to keep holding something to be of value.

We are to keep, or treasure the commands of Christ, as something of value. Of course that means we obey those commands, but it means much more.

There are people who have studied Bible truths, such as the commands of Christ or specific doctrines, and can pass exams with their knowledge. But we are to treasure the things of God in our heart, not just cram them in our head.

The Bible records that Jesus’ human mother, Mary, treasured things she learned about Jesus ‘in her heart’, such as what the shepherds told of seeing angels, and what Jesus said about having to do His Father’s business.

“Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

“Jesus went to Nazareth with his parents and was subject to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” Luke 2:51

Head knowledge is not the same as valuing something at heart level. We are to keep Christ’s commands as things more valuable than head knowledge.

There are others who see Christ’s commands as actions to do, maybe to prove they are worthy of God’s attention. Some people dedicate themselves to diligent doing of everything God requires. For them, however, their connection with God becomes one of religion not relationship and they will likely become legalistic.

Legalism is when we focus on the letter of the law, even to the point of missing the spirit of the law and the fruit it is meant to produce in us.

Imagine the absurdity of a family carrying a bed out of a burning house, with the mother sound asleep in the bed, because the mum insisted she wasn’t to be woken for anything!

Such is what happens when people become more focused on the words than the intent, such as the Pharisees were.

We live in a culture that was once anchored on God’s Word and which had a consciousness of the commands of Christ. Today we have people clamouring to overturn that godly heritage and make it virtually a crime to uphold values we all treasured just a short time ago. This is an absurd situation, but it brings stark focus on Christ’s command, giving it new meaning.

Can you ‘keep’ Christ’s commands when you may be penalised for doing so? Can you uphold what is right when the world around you says it’s wrong? Can you treasure that which others despise and attack?

In this day we are all the more challenged by Christ’s specific command that we are to Keep His Commandments.

My wife and I realised some years ago that we need to take extra time to build relationship with our grandchildren. Some are far-flung and others are busy, so we don’t see them readily or even easily at times.

However, we realised that to have strong relationship with them we need to consciously make some effort. We realised we had to make more effort than we were making. So we discussed how we could do that, with trips to visit them, finding ways and reasons for them to visit, making contact via computer, and so on.

The hardest part for us was making our own changes. We, like most other people, have a bunch of things to do each day and things that are important to us. We had to shift things and reevaluate the priority given to certain things.

That was all needed to create more connection, but then there is the content of those connections. We had to think about what was a meaningful connection for our grandchildren at their various ages and with their own priorities and distractions. Listening to them and reading stories would be part of that, but what about taking them one by one for coffee, or giving a driving lesson?

One thought that came up for me in all of those deliberations is that of what value I have in the life of my grandchildren. If I am amusing and fun that’s one thing, but what about those times when I’m tired and boring? Am I still a value to them then?

It struck me that a grandparent is a grandparent and holds that special role whatever they are like. Some of our grandchildren think it’s wonderful to have a sleepover at Nanna and Granddad’s house, when there’s nothing very special about it at all. But to them, it’s a privilege they value and enjoy. That all comes from who we are, not what we do.

So, let’s reflect for a moment on your relationship with God. It’s easy to get busy and let any relationship slip, in marriage, parenting, family and social connections. So it’s just as easy to do that with God. We can sideline God if we are not careful.

To build relationship we need to spend time with the one we care about. We need to have connection with them, especially giving them time and engaging in communication with them.

Certainly there are intangible things, such as feelings of security, feelings of being loved and the like, that come from just knowing the other person is there for us. So we don’t have to be the best talker or the most active at connecting.

However, communication is a strong point of every relationship.

What would happen in your daily routine if you tried to connect with God better? How would you find time for Him? What would you do with that time?

Obviously being in God’s Presence would be part of that. But many Christians don’t really know what that is, in practical terms. So let me suggest that you still yourself and devote time to pray to God. You might like to have sweet Christian music playing, unobtrusively, to prompt your heart to be aware of God. You might like to sing praises to God, such as singing along with a recording. You might like to kneel, to signify your humility before God. You might decide to skip a meal before your prayer time, as an act of devotion.

A good starting point is the cue given by King David in his psalms, that we enter God’s presence with Thanksgiving and into His courts with Praise.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4

So you could start by thanking God for all sorts of things. Thank Him for the ordinary things, such as your life, food, sunshine, provisions, etc. And thank Him for the things you particularly appreciate, such as loved ones, or blessings you enjoy. You can then Praise Him for Who He is and for what He has done. By these things you are entering into God’s Presence, into the very Throne Room of God.

Having done that you might like to take time in silence, or with your worship music playing, to listen to God. God may or may not impress something to you, but the act of waiting on God is one we are told to do.

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

In a waiting time you can ask God for His input, wisdom or guidance. You might tell God about an issue that concerns you and ask Him to speak to you about it. That doesn’t mean God will, since He may want you to simply trust Him, but it is fine to ask God for things.

Being in God’s presence is a good time to repent and ask forgiveness for things you know offend God. God may even remind you of some of those things you need to turn away from.

It’s also good to pray for others, rather than just being self-focused, praying blessings on those in need. And also pray for God’s Kingdom to come, since Jesus taught us to pray that way.

“Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Wrap up your time with God with thanks and requests for God’s help with the things you need to do.

As you practice such connections with God you will likely find that you don’t need to be so elaborate in your connection time, but find yourself aware that you can talk with God any time you want to, where ever you are.

That’s the wonderful blessing of Building Relationship.