Jesus – Page 3

Columba – Arrival at Iona

May 12, 2008 by Chris Field Leave a Comment

This is the day that … Columba landed on the tiny isle of Iona off the northwest coast of Scotland in the year AD 563.

Columba had been a monk in Ireland … and had surreptitiously copied a Book of Psalms belonging to the Abbot. When this was discovered, St Finnian demanded the copy be given to him, and Columba refused. The High King of Ireland at Tara even decided that the copy belonged to the Abbot, but Columba was not going to give up without a fight. Literally! A fierce battle took place – both sides had gathered armies – and “the king’s forces were severely defeated” (The Man with the Coracle, by M. Backer-Benfield, page 6).

F.F. Bruce, in The Spreading Flame, also refers to this incredible war that took place over the Book of Psalms – “Some accounts represent Columba as vowing he would not return to Ireland until he had won as many pagans for Christ as had fallen in the battle – 3000 all told!” (page 387).

So to Iona he journeyed, and there founded a monastery. “From this primitive abbey went missionaries who carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to Scotland, then to England, to France, Germany and all of Western Europe.” Iona became “a lighthouse to the Dark Ages” (Decision Magazine, March, 1975).

And it was Columba who first reported seeing the Loch Ness monster! In 565 (The People’s Almanac, Volume 2, page 1278).

And Columba’s copy of the Book of Psalms is still to be seen at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin (National Geographic Magazine, May, 1977, page 626).

‘Dreaming’ About Australia

May 9, 2008 by Chris Field Leave a Comment

I have pointed out recently that our world now suffers from the New Dreaming, where people believe things without any basis in fact, and they try to build their life on those beliefs. At the same time there are those who exploit the ignorance of today’s dreamers with mythologies that cause phantasms to dance through dreaming heads. The stupor that is created is a threat to the very way we live.

New Dreaming is seen in Australia in the Republican debate. Strident efforts have been made now for several decades to delude the uninformed Australian citizenry into thinking our Constitution is flawed and needs to be overturned in favour of something new.

A number of deceptive notions are embedded in this debate and much of the Australian populace is too ill-informed to detect the way they are being played for fools. So let’s take a moment to consider the advice of our current Head of State, Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery.

“What I do emphasise very strongly is that before people can make an informed decision on better ways of governing ourselves – including perhaps whether we go to a republic or not – you’ve got to have a good understanding of how your present system works, its strengths and weaknesses.”

“Without question our system has worked very well for over 100 years. That’s not to say that we can’t do better, but we won’t do better unless people understand where they have come from if they are looking at where they want to go.”

“If they’re going to take a plunge out there simply because they think it’s a good thing to do, without understanding the subtleties, nuances and the ramifications, then we have the potential to make a big mistake.” (Quoted from News.com.au, written by Doug Conway – http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23586774-1702,00.html)

Here, here. The good Major General knows only too well that Australian’s are ignorant of their own constitution and the realities of their present governmental structure. The public is ripe for exploitation and happy to be duped in this debate.

Aussies are frequently reminded that they are tied to the monarchy of England. Just about all Aussies are sure that is the case, and so some like the idea of moving away from that connection. The link to England is presented as a vestigial construct overdue for surgical removal.

However, as I mentioned in a previous post, dated April 23, about Australia’s first female Governor General, the whole notion of our link to England is a furphy. It is a lie. It has no basis in fact. As far back as one year after Australia was constituted as a nation it was realised that the Australian Governor General is commissioned by the Australian Constitution to act independently of the English Monarchy. The Australian Governor General is the true, Aussie Head of State.

Australians do not need a Republic. They do not need to sever their constitutional links to the English Monarchy. Those links simply do not exist. And don’t take my word for it. Read what Sir David Smith, a retired public servant who spent many years working with Australian Governors General, has uncovered on the subject. The link to his article is: http://www.monarchist.org.au/smith3.htm

The New Dreaming includes all manner of ideas propagated as truth to people who have lost all foundation for what reality is. Arrogant people are asserting themselves upon a lost society, vying for devotees to their favoured mythology, and initiates to affirm their self-proclaimed guru status.

Truth is greater than the lie, to the degree that God is above all else and Jesus Christ is triumphant over the devil. The lie is not to be feared, but it is to be exposed and it is to be dispelled. This is best done, by exalting the person who is ‘Truth’. It is supported by building the kingdom belonging to the one bearing that title. Please join me in building the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ in You the Hope of Manhood (and Womanhood)

May 7, 2008 by Chris Field Leave a Comment

One of the challenges men face in entering into their true calling as ‘men’ is to have some level of modelling or mentoring to influence them. I have even coined the term ‘MEN-toring’ in some of my Manhood events. There is real need for leadership in the area of manhood.

However, I find a Bible truth to be very encouraging on this issue. It is the truth that Christ lives within us. The Apostle Paul spoke much about the “in Christ” relationship and he also uses the term ‘Christ in you’. He speaks of ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’, Colossians 1:27. (see also Romans 8:10). Jesus Christ talked about coming into the believer and making his home there (John 14:23).

Now, just consider that for a moment. Jesus Christ will come inside a person and live there. Jesus Christ will be “in you”. How does that affect a man’s ability to be a true man? If the greatest man that ever lived were living inside you, you would have a good chance of being a better man! If the one by whom all men are measured were to come and live within you, then you would have to be a better man for such an experience!

While Paul says that Christ in you is the “hope of glory”, for men it must also be wonderfully true that Christ in you is the “hope of manhood”. Christian men have incredible advantage in discovering the true meaning of manhood – by being occupied by the perfect man, the man, Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ is a Real Man – so He can empower me to be a Real Man! Praise God for that. As we submit to His Lordship and rule over our lives, each man is able to access levels of authority, boldness, victory, destiny and purpose that they would not find any other way.

Now, that does not leave the women out. God created womanhood to be directed by godly manhood. A daughter is to be directed by her godly dad and a wife by her godly husband. Jesus Christ is the perfect husband. Every Christian woman, having Christ living within her, has access to the most wonderful ‘husband’ in all the universe. The impact of having internal access to such a holy, loving and powerful input for her womanhood must be truly amazing in her ability to be the kind of woman she would never otherwise be.

When a woman has the Real Man, Christ Jesus, living within her, she is able to access levels of her womanhood that others will never know. When a man has the Real Man, Christ Jesus, living within him he will is able to discover levels of his manhood that were previously unreachable.

Christ in you – the hope of your Manhood and Womanhood.

Sovereignty – The Divine Right of Everyone

May 3, 2008 by Chris Field Leave a Comment

I have spoken to the subject of Sovereignty before and will certainly do so again, so you might as well read this post and tune in to why I think the subject is important.

Personal Sovereignty is the inalienable right we each have to be responsible for ourselves and to maintain personal rule over our inner self. While the topic may sound esoteric and of little practical value, it is very important for each of us personally. It speaks to the reason why God can and will judge us for our actions. It also speaks to the way we relate to others and to the power others can exercise over us. It speaks to the responsibilities we carry, the accountabilty we must give, the power we can exercise and the divine potential of our life.

I refer to Sovereignty as “The Divine Right of Everyone” to highlight the fact that personal sovereignty is universal for us humans. God has personal sovereignty too. Our sovereignty is subject to His, since He is our creator, and so He has a much higher place in the grand scheme of things than we do. There is no real need to argue that God has a divine role superior to humanity. That is a given by virtue of the common definition of who God is. My focus is on the amazing equality that humans have. ‘The Divine Right of Kings’ speaks of a specially privileged place which rulers claim as their own. ‘The Divine Right of Everyone’ is my way of pointing to something that is equally owned by all humans, no matter what their station in life.

I want to draw evidence for that equality from an event that occured in the life of Abraham, almost 4,000 years ago. Historical records tell us that Abraham had a small army of trained servants. He put that army to work to rescue his nephew, Lot, who was taken captive by an invading army. On his journey home, after winning a total victory, Abraham met a divine prince, Melchizedek. This strange princely priest was divine – as he did not have father or mother. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who gave a tenth of all that he had to the priest. In the historical narrative the event comes and goes and nothing more is said about it, except for a short prophetic statement by King David (approximately 1,000 BC) in one of his psalms (Psalm 110:4).

In the New Testament, however, almost 2,000 years after Abraham, new light was shed on this transient encounter. In Hebrews 7:7, after recounting the meeting of Abraham and Melchisedek and the fact that the priest blessed Abraham, it is pointed out that “the less is blessed by the better”. That is to say that the divine is able to bless the human, because God is greater than man.

If personal sovereignty was not equally shared among humans then there would be a pecking order of human superiority. The greater would be able to confer blessings on the lesser. Kings and people of personal might would be seen to be the originators of blessing for lesser people and underlings. Yet, on the human plane, those who might be deemed to be ‘lesser’ in terms of their station may equally confer blessing on those who are their superiors. Let me show you an example from the historical records collated in the Bible.

In the book of Ruth, speaking of events that occurred approximately 1,300BC, we see the wealthy landowner, Boaz visiting his employees. If the right to bless others is only conferred on those of superior station in life, then Boaz would do the blessing and the underlings would wait to receive his graces. This is not what we find. Ruth 2:4 records: “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless you.” The servants conferred blessing on their boss! Is this not an outrageous act? Should not Boaz be incensed by their impertinence? How dare they speak to their employer, the mighty Boaz, as if they had anything to give him? Boaz was perfectly happy to receive their blessing.

The reason they could do so is because of personal sovereignty. Each man and woman on the planet has the same right to stand before God and the same right to be in relationship with God, that every other person is given. So the servants of Boaz could just as readily go into God’s presence to invoke a blessing on Boaz as he could go to God to confer a blessing on them. The divine right of kings does not work here. Kings have a peculiar set of responsibiltiies and privileges, but they have no more personal sovereignty than the lowliest servant or street urchin in their kingdom.

Every human on the planet, no matter their gender, age, social status, health, geographical location, cultural background or whatever, is invited, equally, to become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Every drop of innocent human blood is able to cry equally to God for vengeance. Every person alive is allowed to cry out to God and call upon Him for salvation and deliverance. Every widow and fatherless child is watched over by God, no matter what their religion, culture, social standing, and so on.

There is a profound equality which empowers us all to stand before God and to do His bidding for our lives. We have the right to get about God’s business. We have the privilege of drawing on God’s resources, no matter what tyrrany we are under, or what limitation has been pressed on us.

Praise God for personal sovereignty. It is an inalienable privilege which we should all explore. People may limit our physical liberty, steal our material goods, injur our physical bodies, block our employment opportunities, look down on us, falsely accuse us, and many other inhumane things. But they cannot stop us from stepping into God’s presence and doing business with the God of all eternity.

The New Dreaming

May 2, 2008 by Chris Field Leave a Comment

While Dreamtime and Dreaming are part of Australia’s ancient indigenous mythology the New Dreaming represents today’s departure into fanciful thought and abandonment of facts and reason.

Australian Aboriginals refer to “Dreamtime” as the earliest times, when spirit beings formed the world. They also refer to the “Dreaming” to identify their localized myths, legends, fairytales and folklore, accounting for formation of animals, geographical features and the like.

What makes these forms of ‘dreaming’ significant is how they give a notion of ‘reality’ to a people group. Dreamtime is a mythological and magical time in which amazing supernatural processes took place to form natural phenomena. Dreaming, then, continues the process of applying imagined forces to validate current tangible reality and to assert personal value in the broader context.

It could be said that ‘dreaming’ represents the chosen beliefs of a group of people from which they gain their identify and validate their place in the world. It does not matter if the ‘dream’ is ridiculous or practical, because its role is not scientific, but personal. It often defies logic, but it speaks to the heart of a people, conferring on them a sense of identity and shared values.

So now, enter the New Dreaming. Today otherwise perfectly rational and logical people abandon their common sense to embrace a whole new set of ideas and values, without regard for reality. We live in a generation where people embrace personal and group beliefs with the fervour of a tribal community. People now find identity in their chosen mythology, even to the point of alienation from those who do not share their folklore.

Populist causes abound and are asserted and defended with zeal. Ideas have become tenets of faith. Things that defy definition and proof are taken as gospel – from big bangs, to black holes and impossible evolutionary miracles. If a mind such as that of Hawkins conceives a thing, then many take the resultant idea to be as good as proven. Meanwhile world leaders and popular figures have become high priests of ideas that informed scientists decry as folly.

Of the many reasons for such a state, one is that people have chosen to ‘dream’ rather than to live reality. “To Sleep, Perchance to Dream”, has become the option of choice for the children of yesterday’s thinking populace. It is as if logic and empirical realities are deliberately abandoned in an intellectual protest movement. Intellectual suicide is the sport of the nations and a fad of compelling proportions. So allow me to make a few observations about this state of affairs.

Dreaming has never created reality. Sweet as the dream may be, we wake to the cold light of day. Those who seek the dream must lose their life to do so, for they cannot live in today’s reality and also live their dream. Reality does not bow to silly notions. Even if the entire world were to believe nonsense, that cannot make the idiot idea real. Gravity will still be gravity, human life will still be mortal and God is still God.

What makes Dreaming a matter of concern, is that the world has taken to it with enthusiasm. Those who see clearly find many around them walking in a dream. Vain people are building their lives on holographic images projected before them by people intent on beguiling the gullible. The populace has become fodder for the peddlers of peculiar ideas.

We came to this place by abandoning foundations. People have long followed the piper’s tune, lured from logic and even common sense. Now, lost in the woods of competing and un-provable notions, they have forgotten that there ever were foundations on which to stand. They apply the dream to their strained situation, as salve and solace to insecure souls.

Three millennia ago the Psalmist asked, “If the foundations be destroyed, what will the righteous do?” Today we might well ask, if the foundations are abandoned, just how far from reality can we go?

Two thousand years ago the Christian zealot, Paul the Apostle, spoke of a spiritual reality causing this very problem. He said that the God of this world, a fallen angel we call the devil, has blinded people’s minds. Paul was commissioned through a divine visitation from the resurrected Jesus Christ, to turn people from demonic blindness to the truth. The need to continue that endeavour is as real today as it has ever been.

Dreaming is a demonic seduction. It is not the next step in our evolutionary journey, but a step back to the dark ages, fostered by a spirit being that is keen to steal man’s freedom and kill our potential. Thank God Jesus has defeated the devil and Christians have authority to resist him.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of the Living God, I take authority over the lying and seducing spirits which pull today’s world into the stupor of dreaming sleep. I bind the power of the lie and it’s anaesthesia and I break its right to exalt itself in the nations. I declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and I exalt Him over the nations. I release the glorious light of the gospel over the nations of the earth and I banish all that beguiles and deceives. I break the power of the lie and I exalt the one who is the Truth, in and of His own being.

I invite you to join me in rescuing the nations of the earth from sleep walking toward the abyss. The truth sets people free, so let us proclaim it and turn people back from the brink.

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