Rebecca and I are leaving tomorrow to attend the International Ministerial Congress near London in the UK. The Dowerin Field Day in Western Australia will also be on again during this time, so I travelled to Dowerin this morning to setup a gospel stall there. The stall will feature free Bibles, gospel literature as well as the book Hope of the Resurrection.
Many thanks to those volunteers who have offered to man the stall during this annual event. An attendance of between 10,000 to 15,000 is expected over two days.
We visited Eadine Springs and Spencers Brook running through Clackline, not far from where we live in rural Western Australia. It was the ideal venue for a Sabbath picnic followed by a leisurely walk through the bush.
Leah held up her mobile phone and motioned that she was about to film, saying, “Go on!”
You can’t beat those spontaneous moments – they surely can’t be repeated!
Thanks to Ron and Allie, Paula, Gary, Joshua and all the team at Christian Educational Ministries for the invitation to share the journey through the gospel of John. We’re using our film studio here in Spencers Brook, Western Australia, to record the audio for this new series. So grab a muffin, a hot cuppa, and we’ll get right into the book of John.
Next month Rebecca and I will be away for a couple of weeks, travelling to London to attend the International Ministerial Congress. From there we’ll travel to Paris and then onto Rome where at both locations will shoot two on-location gospel films.
We’ll endeavour to keep you up to date via this blog – as often as we have WIFI access.
A good film always takes work and collaboration, and the result is always worth it. We’re looking forward to building further on this theme, asking those profound questions that so often we dismiss as “too hard”.
Initially I didn’t know what to make of the observation that, “Jesus didn’t tithe his blood!”
“What do you mean?” I asked my friend, who then looked at me rather surprised, as if to say, “Don’t you get it?”
Well, now in hindsight, I suppose I do. Jesus gave his everything, his last drop of blood, to pay for my sins. He spared nothing to accomplish what only he could do. And so when I’m reminded of that at the Christian Passover evening every year, I’m sobered, humbled, and very, very thankful.
And that leads me to the next point that sometimes I find troubling. You see, Jesus troubled himself for my sake, and so I can’t help but ask, “What does he then want of me?”
I didn’t ask to be born. I didn’t ask to live. I didn’t seek God; he sought me. His calling was just thrust on me. And don’t get me wrong, I’m really, really glad. But with privilege comes responsibility. And that’s just it. What does God want of me?
Here, Jesus’ words come into focus:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
If accepting Jesus as Lord, Creator and Saviour isn’t enough, then what specifically is the “will of My Father”? What does God really want?
That is the question. In the light of liberal theology that says, in effect, that the Ten Commandments were done away with, that the Law of God is irrelevant today, and that we’re acceptable to God “just as I am”, that’s hard to answer.
But what if God still has “requirements” of us? What if God still wants our obedience? What if God still wants to “test” our faith, as he did with Abraham? What if, as in Jesus’ words, we’re to, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)?
See, Abraham gave a tenth of all his goods, and in this passage Jesus is quite explicit in saying that tithing is still as relevant today as it was back then. And yet, elsewhere, Jesus also implies that God still wants more from us.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you,” said Jesus (Matthew 6:33) That is the equation given to us. Put God first in everything, don’t hold anything back from him, and then delight in seeing him provide for you – food, clothing, shelter and anything else you might need. But in real life, for most people, that is a hard call to make!
An old widow seemed to have understood this when she gave of her entire savings – her very last two coins – into the temple treasury. She put everything of hers in faith in God’s care. That, of course, begs the question: didn’t she forget that she needed to buy dinner that night? Wasn’t she simply financially irresponsible? Didn’t she realise how corrupt the Jewish temple authorities were? No, apparently Jesus thought very highly of her faith, and commended her as a shining example. (Luke 21:1-4)
A careful reading of the scriptures tells us that everything is God’s. He made it. He sustains it. And he apparently makes demands of it. What we do with it, then, is up to us. That’s where faith comes in.
“Are you generous with Me?” asks God. “Do you really put Me first? Do you really love Me with all your heart, mind, soul and strength?”
God is kind. So many of the writers in the Bible note God’s kindness in their relationship with Him. In fact, you’ll read of “loving kindness” or “merciful kindness” throughout the scriptures: this Hebrew word khesed ” חסד” really has no English has no equivalent! (See Wikipedia).
Kindness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Followers of Jesus live a life of kindness.
Kindness among strangers and those in our communities is no better illustrated than in this short and remarkable film. Enjoy!
One of the remarkable things about the Bible, especially prophecy, is its SURPRISING nature. Things come to eventuate exactly as scripture foretells, and we find ourselves (or those at the time it occurs) as absolutely surprised and not really expecting it!
For example, even though there was a great deal of Messianic expectation when Jesus was born, and the ancients understood the prophecies given, in Isaiah for example, where “a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and his name shall be called Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14) – that is “God with us”, when Jesus did come to this earth and was born as a baby boy in Bethlehem, it really came as a surprise.
When you read the gospel accounts, you soon pick up on that sense of surprise from Mary’s visitation by the angel Gabriel, from Joseph’s experience, from the shepherd’s in the field to the arrival of the wise men.
When Jesus came it was a surprise.
It also happened in the discourse when Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that he would be handed over to the Gentiles, he would suffer, be killed and that he would be raised three days and three nights later. I don’t think that the disciples, as the scriptures attest to, really understood or fully comprehended what Jesus was foretelling.
Thus when you read the gospel accounts when early on that Sunday morning, long after Jesus had been resurrected, the people immediately involved were nothing less than surprised! The angel at the tomb spoke to the women were surprised. The disciples were surprised. They only understood what actually happened some time after those events occurred.
I think Jesus understands that “sense of surprise” we experience. When Jesus was telling his disciples about the upcoming resurrections, as cited in John 5:28-29, he said, “Don’t be amazed; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice – and come out, those who have lived righteously to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to a resurrection of judgment.”
And here Jesus prefaced his words by saying, “Don’t marvel” or “Don’t be amazed!” So, one day in the future, when we find ourselves participating in either of those resurrections, we’ll probably find it “surprising” – more surprising and amazing than we can ever imagine today.
The last book of the Bible is part letter, part prophecy and part apocalypse. The Book of Revelation is prefaced by telling us of “things that must soon take place”, and so over the years theologians and scholars alike have disagreed and debated whether these mysterious things and events in Revelation happened completely in the past or whether they exist yet in the future. But, the bottom line is, that even though we know that Jesus Christ is coming as “King of kings, and Lord of lords”, in might and in power and in glory, his coming is probably going to happen in a way that we really don’t fully comprehend or imagine today. We’ll probably be more surprised than anything else.
So when the day comes and the words of God become fulfilled, may we all be more than pleasantly surprised!
Of the many themes and topics the apostle Paul addresses throughout his 13 epistles, the five perhaps most prominent that come to mind are:
The Lordship of Christ
Resurrection
Justification
Grace
Faith
1. The Lordship of Christ is the underlying premise for the entirety of Paul’s ministry, and is evident throughout his letters, perhaps no better summarised than when Paul said, “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.” (I Corinthians 16:22) In fact, the term “Lord” is cited almost some 300 times throughout Paul’s writings.
Paul anchored every part of his teaching on the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasised, for example in his averting of personal focus when he said, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)
A study of the frequency and placing of the term “Lord” throughout Paul’s epistles leaves no question what occupied Paul’s thinking. If we go back to the Gospel accounts, we hear the resurrected Jesus confirming his Lordship when he said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
2. Paul’s training as a Pharisee gave him the added advantage of believing in the Resurrection, identically as Jesus taught and demonstrated. Paul’s insight into the resurrection is remarkable, and possibly attributed to no other source than the revelations apparently given to him. (2 Corinthians 12:7) Jesus said that, “all who are in their graves would hear his voice and come out, those who lived righteously to a resurrection of life and those who have done evil to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29)
Paul further develops Jesus’ resurrection teaching, hinging his entire preaching ministry on the Resurrection of Jesus, saying in effect that if Jesus’ wasn’t resurrected, we’re all believing a myth. (1 Corinthians 12:15-23) In verse 20 Paul asserts what the gospel accounts tell, that: “But now Christ is risen from the dead…” Paul does not, however, retell what Mark, Matthew, John and Luke record on this, nor does he quote Jesus’ verbatim. This conspicuous absence nonetheless doesn’t detract from Paul’s intensity – Paul is hesitant, even evasive, in detailing the “revelations” he apparently experienced that apparently gave him insight into the resurrection.
3. Justification recurs throughout Paul’s writings, with “justified” and “justification” occurring some 24 times in his epistles. No better is this illustrated than when Paul said, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1) Paul showed that of and by ourselves we are as good as dead; only through Jesus’ sacrifice are we “justified” in the eyes of God. The penalty of sin has been paid our stead. John 3:16 states that no one who believes “shall perish“, because of what God did to demonstrate His love. Paul asserts that no one is justified by their works or law keeping. (Romans 3:20) John further supports justification by belief when, in writing of Jesus, said, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:20) This is echoed in Paul’s statement, when he wrote, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
4. Although Jesus never used the word “grace”, John did when he wrote of Jesus, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Paul is renown for his “grace and peace” greetings from the Lord Jesus Christ that appear in practically all his salutations and some of his benedictions. In fact, the word “grace” appears some 90 times throughout Paul’s epistles.
Perhaps best known is Paul’s assertion that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith...” (Ephesians 2:8) Here, grace, salvation/justification and faith are interwoven. Another related passage in this sense is Paul’s assurance of, “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) The reader will note that many of Paul’s themes are interwoven and inter-related, and one cannot be isolated from the other.
5. Faith here comes to mind. Faith is believing God, and showing the evidence of that belief through action. If Paul is the author of Hebrews (as many scholars believe), then no where is this better demonstrated than in the words: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6) Hebrews 11 is known as the faith chapter, and like classic Paul (as in Romans), leans heavily on the Old Testament scriptures to make his point. Jesus often illustrated the need for faith (Luke 18:8), and spoke movingly favourably to those who demonstrated it. To the woman who was healed, Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:23)
The word “faith” occurs some 169 times in Paul’s writings, thrice in one verse: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” (Romans 1:17)
There is no discordance between Jesus and Paul. Some scholars have suggested that the Pauline influence and contribution to the New Testament canon undermines not only the other apostles, but also Jesus. Yet, in the above few examples, we see that Paul submitted entirely to the Lordship of Christ; his Christ theology must not be confused with the complexity and method of Paul’s writing and person.
