The Alabaster Jar

She knew she was a sinner 
As she came to Him that day 
Broken and rejected, 
Guilty and ashamed 
As she humbly fell before Him 
Her sorrow and her fears 
Fell down upon the Master's feet 
As she bathed them with her tears 

She saw their disapproval 
And she felt their angry stares 
As she touched the feet of Jesus 
And dried them with her hair 
Their contempt was spoken loudly 
Her desire, a silent plea 
As she wept in her repentance 
The Saviour saw her need 

She broke the alabaster 
The fragance filled that place 
To her, an act of worship 
To them, a shameful waste 
But as she kissed the feet of Mercy 
Her heart was filled with faith 
As she anointed Him with fragrant oil 
His heart was filled with Grace 

Her many sins forgiven 
She loved Him much indeed 
She heard His words of blessing saying 

"Go and live in peace" 
Forever she'd remember 
The Man who took her shame 
And carried it to Calvary 
So she would live again! 

YOU ARE NOT YOUR MENTAL ILLNESS

 I'm definitely going to get into trouble for this one...but I can't not say it.

𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏𝘼𝙇 𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙉𝙀𝙎𝙎

We tell people with mental disorders all the time ‘𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠’. We tell them this to enable them to accept treatment and to help them to see that they are, in fact, suffering from an illness.

We spend a fortune on mental health services and counselling to help people to separate their perception of reality from actual reality. We have psychiatric services, hospitals, clinics, and doctors all dedicated to helping people to bring their thoughts in line with reality.

There are many examples of how we do this. I’ll list a few in 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 basic terms:

• We tell people with anorexia they are not fat.

• We tell people with schizophrenia that there is nobody whispering into their brain.

• We tell those with OCD that nothing bad will happen if you don’t flick the light switch 4 times.

• We tell those with depression that life will get better for them.

• We tell those who are suicidal that we wouldn’t be better off without them.

• We tell those with PTSD that the situation is in the past and is not happening right now.

• We tell those with illusions that what they see/perceive is not real…

There are, of course, many more examples of how mental illness is treated by trying to align the patient’s thoughts with their surrounding reality.

However, there is one notable exception that is becoming more and more difficult to ignore…

𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗬𝗦𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔

I am not trying to pretend that I am an expert, I cannot imagine the mental anguish of people who suffer from gender dysphoria and I genuinely sympathise with their plight.

However, from my point of view, this is the one area where the entire medical establishment seems to have broken from the mantra ‘𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.’

With the issue of a person feeling like they are in the ‘wrong body’, there is becoming less of an effort to align that person’s feelings with reality.

The reality is that they are either male or female. That is a biological reality (with the exception of the miniscule number of physically intersex people). When a person ‘feels’ they are in the body of the wrong sex, there is an obvious break from reality. This used to be fully accepted by doctors and lay people alike.

What changed? What happened that those same doctors will now join in the delusion that a person can be born in the body of the wrong gender?

Far from saying ‘𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠’; many are now saying ‘𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.’

Bᴜᴛ ᴏɴʟʏ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴀʀᴇᴀ.

And not only that. Now the doctors, politicians, activists etc are trying to make it mandatory that we all enter into the delusion too. Now I must suspend my actual, tangible, observable reality (on pain of imprisonment in some countries) so that the gender dysmorphic person is made comfortable in their delusion.

Surely there is something wrong with that?

Or are we now supposed to tell people with schizophrenia that the tv is actually sending them messages, or tell the person with an eating disorder that they are fat and ugly etc??

If not, why not?

Where does it end?

It's Time to Behold!

 

 

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

I have been meditating over this verse for a while. It blesses my heart no end! My girls used to listen to Psalty in the car and this was one of my favourite songs.

Let’s take it apart to see the fullness of this encouragement. I love this.

Behold!

Look at this, marvel at it, wonder at it, contemplate it…it is a thing worthy of stopping and considering. What are we told to behold?

What manner of Love!

What kind of love does God have for us? All encompassing, never-ending, sacrificial, secure, one-sided, unconditional... Human love is conditional, but God’s love is not. It does not depend on my goodness, thankfully.

God’s love is not based on our personalities, our actions, our promises etc… That is not to say that God doesn’t love us, but He loves because He chooses to, not because we are lovely. We, of ourselves, did nothing to attract the love of God.

That thought might sound harsh, but it really isn’t! I think there is wonderful liberty in that thought because it means that we can also do nothing to lose God’s love. It’s not earned, so that we could lose it if we don’t keep up the thing that attracted His love. No, it is freely given because God is love!

‘And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Romans 8:38-39

We have security that God’s love is unchanging and independent of us. We cannot lose God’s love. How wonderful!!

The Father has bestowed on us:

God is the Father and as a father he has given his love.

What is a father’s love? Many don’t know the love of an earthly father, but God is the Father against whose love we can measure all earthly love. 

He has given it to us through the death of Jesus on the cross who died for us while we were still sinners, far from Him.

He has given it to us in the resurrection, by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for us, he guarantees the acceptability and sufficiency of that sacrifice.

He has given His love in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to empower us, enable us, strengthen us, and seal us for eternity.

He has given it to us in the church, the Body of Christ. We are set within a family, both local and global, for love, support, fellowship and shaping.

That we should be called the children of God.

AND WE ARE!

We are His children. We belong to Him and have been adopted into His family. We were all without a true father until we came to the Father.

John 1: ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…’  We are no longer slaves, or even servants; we are His children. We are co-heirs with Christ Jesus and we belong at the Master’s table. We have been plucked from obscurity and sure destruction and given a place in the King’s inner court. Why? Because He loves us, chose us, and saved us unto Himself. Amazing!

Back to ‘behold…’

Think about this truth. You know yourself; you know what you’ve done, thought, said, and how far you’ve fallen from God’s standard of perfection. We know, if we’re honest, that we deserve death and judgement, but God did not give that to us. Instead, He had mercy on us and has given us beauty for our ashes. He poured out His grace and mercy upon us when we least deserved it.

This is what we need to behold. We should never become complacent and forget to behold. God has saved us from hell, saved us for eternity, strengthened us by His Holy Spirit and made us holy as He is holy! WOW!

Think about that. Does that not make your heart sing? Does that not fill you with gratitude and love? Does that not spur you on to want to live a life worthy of the amazing love that God has poured out upon us?

Be blessed as you behold!

Are You Tired of the Race?

 

In Jeremiah chapter 12, Jeremiah is complaining to the Lord about the hardship of the times he is living in. Things are not easy for him; he is facing challenges that he doesn’t know how to deal with, and it is irritating him. He asks the Lord how long these challenges will continue.

Now, in the times we live in, this ‘Covid Era’, we too can complain about all that is happening around us. I know I have done this too… “Lord, they are taking away our freedoms, taking away our ability to gather for worship, declaring church non-essential…and I’m tired of it. How long will this continue?”

How does God answer Jeremiah…and me?

In fact, He doesn’t answer the complaint, He refocuses both Jeremiah’s and my perspective in this verse:

“If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses?

If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?”

 

Is the state of the world causing you to stumble in your faith? Are the regulations and lockdowns causing you to question the presence or power of God? Are you drifting aimlessly from week to week, not engaging with church meetings, prayer times, bible reading?

I believe the Lord is asking us: If this battle makes you tired, when you are in relative safety and freedom with no real physical threat or fear of persecution, how will you cope with what is coming down the line?

I’m not saying that it isn’t a difficult time and I recognise that we are facing challenges, but what if this is ‘racing against mere men’ and we can expect there to be a ‘race against horses’ in the future.

Jeremiah was finding it hard where he was but there were much more difficult times ahead in his future. He was struggling in Anathoth but he had no idea that he would be put into stocks, into a cistern, and imprisoned later on in Jerusalem, Babylon and Egypt.

James tells us to thank God for the hard times in our lives because we know that they have a deeper purpose. ‘Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.’ James 1:2-4

What if God is preparing us for the times to come when we will have to face horses? What if we need to run against mere men to push us to trust in the Lord in a deeper way?

God will never ask us to contend with horsemen until he has trained us in contending with footmen. (Morgan) What if the patience and endurance James wrote about is being developed in us now, so we can face the horses and thickets of Jordan down the line?

The reality is that there is worse coming; the Bible doesn’t hide that from us. In the end times there will be a persecution like we’ve never seen. The world will become an even more wicked place. There will be a great falling away from the church and the faith. Who knows if, like Jeremiah, we will be imprisoned or worse for our faith in Jesus? But if the challenges we are facing now cause us to walk away from our faith, how will we hope to survive in the days to come when things will be a lot worse than they are now?

I keep thinking about this and I hear a quiet voice saying:

• ·        Read your bible because there may come a time when owning and reading one will be illegal;
• ·        Learn bible verses by heart because there may be a day when you need to speak them back to yourself and you have no bible to hand;
• ·        Pray with the Body of Christ because there may come a time when you will be forbidden from praying out loud;
• ·        Worship with your family in Christ because there may come a day when you will be forbidden from singing the name of Jesus;
• ·        Reach out and tell what God has done for you because there is coming a day when you will be forbidden to evangelise or speak the name of Jesus.

Christian – I urge you to allow the times we live in to drive you into a deeper, more intimate dependence on God. Everything is being stripped away; all the distractions, the time-fillers, the excuses are being shut down so that God can prepare His people for the coming days. Let the challenges cause us to call out to the Lord for Him to develop in us the faith, the patience, and the endurance we will need to face what’s ahead. He knows what we need for now and for the future, and He is faithful to produce it in us if we yield to His shaping.

For now, we have technology; we have freedom to reach out and share our stories, our lives, the gospel, our faith in Jesus; we have a reach that we have never had before. Let’s not fall in the open ground, in the safe place we still have as Christians. Let’s use what time we have to be a blessing to our family, friends, and communities, and let God lead the way through the challenges.

There are many, many people who have no understanding of the times we live in, but as Christians, you and I know that God is moving, maybe one last time, before the end. Let’s not opt out because of the challenges we face. Let’s remember their purpose and stay as close to God as we can.

Jesus said in John16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I believe God shows us these things to warn us and prepare us, and to let us know that in Him is the only true refuge; only in Him can we possibly hope to have peace. That kind of peace in the midst of trouble only comes to those who know the end of the story - Jesus has already won. He is victorious and we will be too, if we don’t fall away.

I join with Paul and Timothy when they wrote that they were ‘…confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ Php 1:6

God is faithful and whether it is against mere men or horses, on open ground or in thickets, He will give us everything we need.

 

 

Blessing ≠ Approval

 

Blessing ≠ Approval

Recently I have been reading about Jacob, the father of nations, who battled with God and saw great promises of God come to pass. He was a deceiver, a trickster, a man who didn’t always trust in God’s word, yet he was blessed. Why?

The blessing we see in the lives of men and women in the Bible is not about their worthiness. I often read it as though God approved of their behaviour and looks beyond their sin, as though they somehow deserve the blessing. But God blesses them despite their sin, their weakness, their fear and doubt…that is who God is.

The blessing of God does not imply any kind of perfection on the part of the one being blessed. Don’t read all the stories in the Bible as though God approves. God did not approve when Jacob deceived his brother, He did not approve when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, or when Judah slept with Tamar without knowing who she was…yet God still blessed these people because of His own mercy and goodness. God has a plan and HE alone decides whom He will bless and favour in that plan. He knows who to preserve and protect in order that His plan proceeds according to His will.

Even for us. We need to be careful of how we think about this. When we are blessed by the Lord it is not because we deserve it or have blessing because God approves of everything we do. He does not approve of our sinful behaviour, ever…yet He chooses that we will be blessed despite our weakness and failure because of His plans for His kingdom in our lives. The greatest blessing of all, our salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection, came while we were still sinners. We didn’t deserve any of it.  Romans 5:8 ‘But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.’

How wonderful is our God!

And I am thankful for that. Thankful that God does not treat us according to what we deserve, because if He did, who could stand? I am grateful for the mercy and grace of our Lord and the many, many blessings he has showered upon me regardless of my weakness, failure, and sin.

Our God is a good God. Full of mercy, grace and love.

Equality

Equality

God is the greatest and best egalitarian ever!

He did not put a price on salvation so that the rich could buy it but the poor would lose out,

He did not put an age on salvation so that the young could have it but the old would be excluded (or other way around)

He did not put a tribe on it so that all outside that tribe would miss out

He did not out a gender on it so that men would be saved and women left out

He did not put a class/caste on salvation so that the nobles would be saved, but the working class or lowest economic class would be lost

He did not put a level of education on it so that the educated could be saved and the uneducated would miss out.

He didn't put any limits on salvation so that those who did not meet the limit would be lost

And even the one limit that does exist - that sinfulness needs to be paid for by a perfect human...which no human on earth could EVER achieve, He provided for us himself in the person, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God has done everything necessary for us to be saved. There's no catch, no cost, no skin colour, no tribe, no tongue, no gender, no age, no academics that will disqualify us from salvation. God has done everything, himself.
Our work is to believe in Jesus sacrifice, to put our trust in him, to reach out for the forgiveness available because of his death on the cross that paid for our sin!

And even for those who struggle to live the life of one who has been forgiven by God, He has provided the Holy Spirit to give us the strength, endurance wisdom, grace, love, hope and all we need to live the life of one who has been saved by God!!! The same Holy Spirit who gave Jesus the power to live on the earth is alive in each believer. We, in the Body of Christ, have the same Spirit, not that the Pastor has the Holy Spirit and the congregation doesn't...

There is no favouritism, no inequality, no discrimination, no separation of those who can and those who can't/ or those that have and those that have not...
God loves equality. God acts in equality. 

God is the ultimate egalitarian!!! 

Removing the Yeast

I have been reading and thinking about faith and works and the New Covenant recently after attending a seminar by Neil Rhodes. It brought me back to some things I wrote nearly a year ago when I was reading through Galatians.

Paul was telling the Galatians not to stray from a faith-based gospel to a works-based gospel because there is no life there. In Galatians 5:9 Paul uses 'leaven' or 'yeast' as a metaphor for a works mentality 'A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough' and it got me thinking again about the effect that yeast has on our faith.

I went back to the Old Testament where the laws were written regarding yeast during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Exodus 12:15 'For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel'

At the very beginning of the Feast, all the yeast had to be removed from the house. The yeast of a works-based salvation has to be removed from a believers life as we come to Christ. We have to acknowledge the utter failure of our self-effort to save us or make us righteous.

In the Old Testament the yeast was cleared before the Passover was celebrated. The Passover is, without doubt, a picture of the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. So before we can truly celebrate Jesus' sacrifice on the cross we must put an end to the idea that works and self-effort play any part in our salvation.

If works could have saved us then Christ's death on the cross was unnecessary. We will only celebrate Christ's sacrifice when we realise that no matter how good we are, it is not good enough to save us. When I think about this, I am so, so thankful for the price Jesus paid for me because I would never have been able to pay it myself.

Once we see this and rely on Christ's sacrifice, we can never go back to righteousness by works. In other words we should not reintroduce yeast once it has been removed. Do not be fooled into reintroducing the idea that you can earn your salvation by doing works or keeping the Law. It is not true. We are justified by faith alone. Gal 5:5 'For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.' We wait by faith.

Paul writes in Gal 5:9 that even "a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." even a little works/self-effort is dangerous as it will eventually work its way into other areas of faith.

I was reading a little about how yeast works and I read that it feeds on sugar causing it to be consumed and break down. The yeast 

of a works gospel has the same action. It will cause the break down and consumption of faith with devastating results for our grace-gospel.

Grace and works cannot co-exist. Like yeast, works will consume our trust in grace.

Paul exhorts the Galatians in this very idea in chapter 5, verse 1.

'It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.' The works mentality is a yoke. It makes us slaves to obeying the Law but we cannot, so we become slaves to trying to keep all of the Law. It is a slavery that cannot be satisfied.

I was teaching a bible study to the younger youth and we looked at this verse in Ephesians 2:8-9 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works so that no one can boast'

That sums it up for me. Once we accept that we have not contributed to our salvation by our good works, then we are free to trust fully 

in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. It is equally liberating and humbling and it makes me want to praise Him all the more.

Tonight my prayer is this: 'Lord remove any traces of self-effort from my life that I do not take glory from your perfect salvation.'

Be blessed xx

The Light of the World

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

I have been thinking about this verse since before we went as a team to Latvia in August. When we got to Latvia, it was also the theme for the camp we attended as part of our mission trip.

Firstly let me explain that I have heard this verse a thousand times as a Christian. It has always been tied to evangelism and outreach and cited as the main reason and motivation for both.

The problem for me is that I am not a natural people person. I am shy and introverted and the traditional idea of evangelism fills me with dread. I have visions of walking up to complete strangers in the street and beginning a 'conversation' about Jesus and salvation. This is possibly my worst nightmare and I have only been involved with this kind of evangelism a few times in my Christian life.

I have wrestled with this over the years flip-flopping between feeling guilty for not participating and feeling rebellious at the idea that I should have to participate.

Anyway recently the Lord has been speaking to me about this whole area of evangelism and this verse has been the centre of it for me. 

Jesus was speaking to his disciples and he tells them that they 'are the light of the world.' I have so often heard these verses used in reference to speaking light as we witness to the world but Jesus doesn't say that. He says you 'are' the light of the world. I know it's a small difference but to me this is huge. Jesus doesn't say we have to become the light or speak about the light, he says we (already) are the light of the world.

The crux of the matter is this; when we belong to Jesus we have his presence within us, making us the light of the world. No matter the situation we are in, he is with us. When I walk into a room full of non-believers, something is different because I have carried the presence of the living God into the room in me. Because He is in me, there is light in that place. Before I even say a word, the presence of God is there. I don't have to announce the light, it is there in me. 

I was thinking of this in terms of a lightbulb. A lightbulb doesn't have to announce itself, it just is a light. It is the power that flows through it that makes it shine. I am like that lightbulb. When the power and presence of the Lord is flowing through me, then I will shine and give light 'to all who are in the house.'

Now I'm not saying that we don't need to speak about our faith in Jesus but that speaking does not equal giving light. Jesus is the light in us and where we are, He is, therefore where we are there is light. 

The Lord has been speaking to me about spending time in His presence in order to kindle that light and in that way the light will shine brightly for all to see. I am not merely to speak about his light but I am the lamp that contains it. If I am to carry the light and the presence of God into every situation then I must allow his light to shine bright and unhindered in my life.

When the Lord is present in a life, that life will be changed and will produce works that are visible to all who look on. This is the light that we are to give forth before men - the light of our Christian deeds, born out of a regenerated heart and a renewed mind. This is not about simply speaking the gospel but a more challenging call to live the gospel so that God may be glorified. 

I once heard a preacher say that we do not know the effect we have on the world around us simply because we carry the presence of God with us. We don't know how that light has affected the darkness around us without us ever uttering a word. 

I am excited to continue pondering this thought. I am the light of the world. When I go to work, when I meet people in the shops, when I walk into a room full of strangers, I am bringing the presence of God in there and I have no idea what darkness will flee because of His light. It is liberating for me to understand this simple thought. I can stop feeling guilty because I'm not a good speaker of the gospel, instead knowing that his presence in me and my living according to that truth is a far better witness than I could ever speak in words.

Bass-line Trials

I was reading my daily devotional book by CH Spurgeon the other day and one of the sentences really stood out for me. The Lord has been playing it over and over in my heart so I thought I would share it with you all. I posted the photo of the quote to Facebook, here it is again.

Isn't that just amazing imagery?? I love how Spurgeon sees the world. His poetic descriptions make me smile. This one in particular. 

I love the thought that our trials are the bass line in our life's song. Imagine a song with no bass line. It is empty, shallow and without real colour. The music is unbalanced. Actually, for me, it becomes even a little boring and irritating. 

But when the bass kicks in there is an immediate change in the depth of the piece of music. I love how the bass adds colour, fullness and rounds out the music. It becomes almost multi-dimensional. 

My daughter Aimée is learning to play cello and it is a beautiful instrument. The richness of the bass notes it plays is truly heart-warming. Even when it is played less than perfectly, there is a beauty in the deep, resonance that flows from it. 

I think that is what Spurgeon had in mind when he said that griefs are the bass part of our life's song. Our trials do not take away from the melody of our life. Trials and griefs add dimensions that are not possible to know without them. Imagine a life that is only ever good. While most of us think we want that, we would end up being very one-dimensional people. I believe God allows trials to round out our character, to bring about depth and fullness in us just as the bass does in music. 

Our trials do not lessen our praise before God. If anything, surely it must gladden God's heart to hear His children praise Him in the midst of adversity? I imagine it does. There is a depth and balance to the worship that flows from a heart that has known griefs yet still turns to God in praise. 

I thank God for the bass line that He has allowed in my life. Without it my song of praise to Him would be much emptier and much less balanced. Life is like a symphony that ebbs and flows from highs to lows. Every instrument is necessary to create the full, multi-dimensional song of praise that God alone deserves. 

My griefs will not mar my song, instead I will use them to make even sweeter music unto my God. 

God bless xx

Feeding the 5000 - A Picture of the Local Church

Mat. 14:14-21, Mark 6:32-44, John 6:5-13, Luke 9:10-17

In this well-known event in the Bible we see Jesus perform an amazing miracle but there is more here.
I love to read the gospels paying particular attention to what Jesus was teaching to the disciples. I believe that everything He did before them was to teach them something that they would need after He had returned to Heaven.

This passage is no different.
We begin with watching a crowd of people coming to hear Jesus speak and to watch Him heal the sick. The people were enthralled with Jesus and stayed later than was practical (at least for the disciples anyway).
Jesus used this as a teaching opportunity for the disciples. Remember these same disciples would be used in building and establishing the foundations of the Church that was to come.

Look at  Jn. 6:5-6
'When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.' Jn 6:5-6

Jesus already had a plan for these people. The Church has always been the plan on His heart.
I hear you ask 'how has this anything to do with the Church?' 

 The people have come to hear Jesus. They have come to find healing and rest. They have stayed beyond the normal time and now the disciples have to act. However, the disciples have no idea what to do with all these tired, hungry people. They wanted to send them away to find food and rest for themselves. But it was not Jesus' plan for the people to fend for themselves.

In Mark 6:37 Jesus says “You give them something to eat.” This is a strange thing for Jesus to say when He knew that the disciples had nothing to give. But therein lies the lesson - in and of themselves, the disciples had nothing to give to weary, hungry people. They were empty of physical or spiritual food and rest for the people.

Jesus then took the loaves and fishes that the young boy brought and proceeded to teach.
Mk 6:39-41
And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all.

What I see here is Jesus showing a pattern of local churches. The people are broken up and seated in manageable groups. I imagine these groups were made up of friends who came to see Jesus together, and people from the same families/towns/communities. When these groups went home after this amazing event, it is likely that a lot of people from the same family/village had been grouped together that day. I wonder did they continue to meet as a group of believers from then on? 

Jesus then does a miracle of providing ample food for everyone and He gives it to the disciples to distribute.
What are local churches if not smaller groups of believers within an area gathering together hear from and to receive blessing from the Lord?
He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; Surely this is a picture of the local church leaders, to whom the Lord continually gives fresh bread to distribute to the church.

Mk.6:42 says 'They all ate and were satisfied'. Everyone was filled. In this setting the people were manageable for the disciples.What began as overwhelming for the disciples ended up being a successful provision for the crowds.
The lesson the disciples learned was that when they had huge crowds of people who were spiritually hungry they needed to group them together and turn to the Lord for provision. This is exactly what they did all over the known world after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the scattering of the believers. Local churches were set up wherever the disciples went. Titus 1:5 'For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you'

The lesson is still the same today. There needs to be local churches dependent upon Jesus for provision. Jesus is the provider for the church. He is the only One who distributes the provision in a way that leaves everyone satisfied. He is the Shepherd of the people (Mk.6:34) and He knows what each one needs. Even the distributors (local church leaders/pastors) are provided for when Jesus is the source. v.42 and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish.

The local church is God's heart. I am sure of it. We all belong to the worldwide Church but it is important to belong to a single, local gathering of believers where the provision of the Lord can be distributed to satisfy all who hunger.
Heb. 10:24-25 'let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.'
 Being part of the local church is such a blessing and I am glad that it is God's heart for me :)

Proverbs 31 – The Virtuous Wife. A Picture of the Church Pt3

The NKJV title of this part of Proverbs 31 is ‘The Virtuous Wife’, and while many a new wife has been terrified by the long list of virtues expected of her according to this portion of Scripture, I would like to look at her as another picture of the church. The ‘wife’ corresponds to the ‘Bride’ which is the church. I would love to go through every verse but instead I will pick out some of the main ones and deal briefly with each metaphor. Hopefully not too long a post this time ;)

v.10 ‘Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.’

Who can find a church that is virtuous in character? There are many churches nowadays that are far from virtuous but the true bride of Christ that depends solely upon the Lord for everything is worth far more than precious jewels.

v.11 ‘The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.

Jesus is the husband of the Bride. When it is truly His church He trusts her. He knows who she is and on whom she depends and He knows that the church that depends on Him will lack no good thing and will increase in number and depth.

v.15 ‘She also rises while it is yet night,’

The word for ‘rises’ can also mean ‘to stand’.  Though it may be a time of darkness in the world, the church is still working and increasing. The church is not lazy, slumbering through the darkness, but knows the urgency of the time and works diligently for the Lord. The church will stand in the time of darkness because the Lord is her strength!

v.16 ‘She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.’

The church invests in sowing and harvesting and out of this harvest comes a vineyard.  As the church reaches out to those who are lost, there is fruit for their labour. The fruit are the men and women who turn to the Lord and become part of the church.

Jn.15 Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches. The church is a picture of a vineyard having its origins in the true vine.

v.17 ‘She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.’

The strength of the church is the Lord. The church girds herself with the strength of the Lord. Out of His strength we work (1Peter 4:11). Working from any other source of strength is fruitless. Jesus Himself said ‘apart from me you can do nothing’ Jn. 15:5

v.20 ‘She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.’

Is this not the calling of the Body of Christ?  The poor and the needy are the business of the church. Jesus came to save those who recognise their spiritual poverty and their need of a Saviour. The church carries on that message in His name and whosoever will, can still find rest and forgiveness in Him. One of the primary functions of the church is to show the compassion of God for the poor and needy.

v.21 ‘She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet.’

The church is not afraid of the standard of perfection (white as snow) because God’s standard of perfection is satisfied by the scarlet blood of Christ. The church is not afraid of falling short of perfection, she is trusting in the blood of Jesus.  Is.1:18

v.22 ‘She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.’

Fine linen was for the priesthood and purple was the colour of royalty. The church is now the royal priesthood which ministers before the Lord. 1Peter 2:9

The church is clothed with the robes of righteousness and garments of praise that the Lord has bestowed upon her.

v.23 ‘Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.’

The Lord is the husband of the church. The gates signify the meeting place of the town. The elders are a picture of those with authority or the leaders. Therefore we can see from this verse that the Lord is seen in the meeting places (local churches) when the leaders and those in authority allow Him to be seated/to dwell in the place of authority. Jesus alone is to be preached from the pulpits of the local churches and then His name will be glorified in the land.

v.24 ‘Strength and honour are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.’

The church is clothed with power and strength. The Hebrew for ‘honour’ also means splendour and majesty. The church displays the power, strength, and splendour  of the Lord.

Because the church belongs to the Lord she has no fear of the future. Even though the Bible tells us that there is a time of tribulation coming on the world, the church need not fear. She rejoices that her Lord has already overcome the world. Jn.16:33

The church will eventually overcome the world and be eternally united with Christ in heaven. Therefore there is no fear of any time to come.

v.27 ‘She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.’

The church is to be watchful and prayerful, waiting for the Lord’s return to the earth. 1Peter 4:7

The church cannot afford to be apathetic in these last days. We must not be idle, nor found sleeping before the coming of the Lord. Mat.25:1-10

Also the church must be busy about the work of the Lord. There is no room for idleness since the ‘harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few’ Mat. 9:37.

v.28 ‘Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:’

The children of the church are those who have been raised within the church, those who have been saved and nurtured to maturity in the local church. Those who have been saved and understand the plan of the Lord for the church will call the church blessed. The church is the plan of God and is good. Many have experiences within church life that make them wary of ‘church’ but the plan of God revealed in the Body of Christ is good and we are blessed to belong to it!

Jesus is pleased with the church because it is His. He is able to boast in her because His Holy Spirit abides with her, His strength keeps her and ultimately He will welcome her as His Bride and be joined to her forever! The church is indeed blessed!

v.29 “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.”

This is what the husband says when he praises her. The Lord is pleased with the individual ‘daughters’ (or local churches) but the Body of Christ which encompasses all the believers far surpasses any individual church/group. The total Body greatly excels in its goal of demonstrating the glory of God on the earth than any individual group of believers.

v.30 ‘Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.’

This is a warning to the church to remember not to chase the things of the world. Charm and beauty are valued in the world but the church is not to focus on temporary things or worldly values but to focus on the Lord. Reverence (fear) of the Lord is not highly valued in our society but it is to be the permanent attitude of the church. The Lord will praise and bless the church that continues in a humble reverence before Him.

I have loved looking through this proverb and seeing a deeper level of revelation than just the surface application for Christian wives. Many a wife has hidden from this passage of scripture but I believe that there has never been a wife that could satisfy these characteristics. I believe the passage is deeper than that. It is not about individuals satisfying these virtues, however in the Lord, the Church can and does satisfy every one!
Glory to God!!

Blessings xx

A Picture of the Church Pt2 -The Book of Ruth

In this second helping of the series 'The Church In the Heart of God', I want to look at the book of Ruth from the Old Testament. In this book it is evident in its theme and types, that God pictured the Church long before its existence in the world. The Bride of Christ has been in the heart of the Father for a long time and if we have spiritual eyes we will see it throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.

This is a long post but it has to be in order to do justice to the wealth of revelation in this book.

 

Ruth symbolises the Gentile Church.

• Elimelech symbolises unrepentant Israel that never returns to the Promised Land and loses his inheritance in the wilderness.

• Naomi is a picture of penitent Israel that returns to God in time.

• Elimelech means ‘My God is King’

• Naomi means ‘my delight’

• Mahlon means ‘sick’

• Chilion means ‘pining’

 Elimelech is a picture of apostate Israel, a people who once knew that their God was King, but have forsaken Him. He takes his family away from the Promised Land and dependence on God and the results are sickness and pining (in his two sons), and eventually death. The fruit of apostasy is always death.

However we see that not all of his people are wiped out. There is a remnant in his wife and daughters-in-law.
Naomi is a picture of the remnant of Israel that is still the ‘delight’ of the Lord. Israel is still the apple of His eye, however not just physical Israel but spiritual Israel, those who belong to Christ.

Ruth 1:6 Naomi hears that there is bread again in Bethlehem. The word of the Lord graciously comes to her where she is and it is good news. The Gospel (good news) will be told to the remnant Israel and they will respond by returning to the Lord.

Ruth is a picture of the Gentile Church that enters the Promised Land by faith. She is not born into spiritual Israel but is grafted in by faith and union with Boaz, who is a type of Christ.

She is characterised by loyalty and devotion because of Christ’s loving-kindness, as is the church.

Ruth must have learned about God through Naomi as the church learned of God through Israel. Rom.11:11-12,15

By Elimelech’s rejection of the provision of the Lord, he made it possible for Ruth-a gentile-to become part of Israel.
We, as the church, should have a deep loyalty and respect for Israel as Ruth did, since we have been grafted into spiritual Israel. Rom.11:17-21
Ruth never considered herself better than or superior to Naomi, even after her union with Boaz. She just humbly devoted herself to the Lord.
The Church is not better than Israel. Rom. 11:17-24
We belong to Christ by His grace and are grafted in by His grace. We have nothing to boast in but His grace.

Ruth 1:21 Naomi says ‘I went out full…’

She went away full, but full of what?
Was her confidence in herself or her national status as the people of God? Was she full of assurance that because she was born of Israel she would not suffer?
(The Pharisees thought the same thing in Jesus’ day. Jn 8:33)
Naomi went through a transformation while in Moab. The Lord emptied her there.

God will empty Israel of its national pride – He already is by welcoming Gentiles into His family. Rom 11:11-13

 Naomi rightly attributes her misfortune to the hand of God since He has disciplined her. However we know that He disciplines those He loves, to bring them back to Himself. Heb 12:7,10

Naomi made the best move in returning to the Lord in her emptiness.

Ruth’s name suggests ‘friendship’. As the Body of Christ we are welcomed as friends of Christ. Jn 15:15

Boaz’ name means ‘In Him is strength’ as a type of Christ with whom we are joined in friendship and receive strength.
The offspring of Boaz and Ruth is Obed whose name means ‘servant’. The produce of uniting in friendship with Christ is service to Him and His purposes.

2:8- Boaz instructs Ruth to remain working in his field. He provides safety, protection, provision and sustenance for her though she is a foreigner. What a picture of Christ and the Church.

The warning is there for the church – ‘Do not go anywhere else’. Outside of Christ there is danger and the Body is vulnerable. He alone is our provision and sustenance. Abide in Him.

2:9- there is water provided for the thirsty Church. Jesus has provided the Holy Spirit for us that we may drink to overflowing.

2:11- the church has found favour as the people have laid down their lives to align themselves with Christ and they will be rewarded by God for their faith.

2:13- Ruth understands that she has found favour by grace alone. She is not of the servant nation of God and yet has found shelter and provision as one of His people. The church exists by grace alone.

2:14- Jesus promises not just to provide for the church but also to come and eat with her. Rev. 3:20

2:18- Ruth has her fill and was able to carry back provision to Naomi. The Lord is going to strengthen the Body and use it to provide and nourish penitent Israel. Rom.11:30-31

We actually see this happening in 2:19. Naomi becomes curious of the provision given to Ruth. She begins to question about the goodness of the provider.

 2:20- Naomi acknowledges her relationship to Boaz and remembers his kindness to her people. Her grief is turned to joy and hope at the point. How much more for the remnant of Israel who will remember their God and His unfailing mercy toward them?

3:3- Ruth prepares herself as a bride to meet her husband. The church is preparing as the Bride to meet her Groom.

3:4- The church needs to go to the feet of the Master and he will tell us what to do.
3:9- Ruth appeals for Boaz’s protection, marriage etc… ‘corner’ of garment' = 'wings’ (2:12) The Church takes refuge under the wings of the Lord. He is her covering.

3:10- Ruth has chosen correctly and the Master is pleased with her. Jesus is delighted when we forsake all others and turn to Him alone for love and provision.
3:11- the promise to be faithful to her as Christ is faithful to the church. Jn.16:23,24
3:11- the people recognise Ruth’s character as one who trusts in the Lord and acts accordingly. This should be the reputation of the Church among the people of the land.

 Next I want to linger on the subject of the Kinsman-Redeemer.

3:12 Who is the kinsman nearer than Boaz? If Boaz is a picture of Christ, then who is nearer to redeem? This question troubled me for a long time. I brought it before the Lord a number of times for clarification and this is the answer I received.

Kinsman-redeemer is a picture of mankind under the Law.

As a close relative, mankind is given the opportunity by the Law to redeem. However he becomes subject to the same law if he chooses to redeem.

Jesus gave mankind the opportunity, by the Old Testament Law, to redeem its inheritance - however just as the man here says ‘I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.’ Man cannot redeem the inheritance for himself because he then endangers himself under that same law.

 We have no inheritance by law because we are law-breakers and subject to punishment. If we try to redeem our inheritance according to the law, we automatically put ourselves under punishment for breaking the same law.

So if man is a nearer kinsman than Jesus, it means we had a kinsman who could not redeem and a Redeemer who was not a kinsman.

We needed someone who was able to fulfil the law as both the Kinsman and the Redeemer.

Jesus became the ‘Man’ we needed to redeem us. He made Himself one of us so that He could redeem us. He became our kinsman so that he could be our Kinsman-Redeemer. He fully satisfied both requirements.

 4:7-8 – In order for Christ to become the Redeemer, mankind has to lay down any claim to the inheritance by the Law. The man hands over the right of redemption to Boaz as the only one willing and able to redeem.

Jesus is willing and able to redeem us but we have to lay down any claim by the Law. By the Law we deserve only death so any claim under that Law leads to our death.

Only when we reach out to Christ by faith and as we understand our redemption is only by His Grace can we have any inheritance. Our inheritance is in Him.

4:9- when Jesus died on the cross, He purchased for us the inheritance that once belonged only to Israel. Apostate Israel (Elimelech) turned away and relinquished any right to an inheritance and it came to the church (Ruth) because of the grace and mercy of the Redeemer.

4:10- However God is not finished with Israel. By law, Boaz and Ruth’s firstborn would still inherit the property that used to belong to his father. He possessed the right of ownership of his family inheritance. Israel still has an inheritance from the Lord based upon his everlasting covenant with them- however this will also come as an act of grace- from a Redeemer who will return to them their rights as sons.

Therefore the union of Christ and the Gentile Church will offer new birth and renewed sonship to Israel.

4:16-Naomi receives the blessing of their union. She receives an inheritance from the Lord. She receives this inheritance because of the grace of God. She played no part in it, yet she receives the blessing.(Picture of the New Covenant/salvation by grace extending to Israel.)

When Naomi sees the blessing of God on Ruth and Boaz she moves from emptiness to fullness and eventually receives life from their union.

How much more then will Israel receive life, after she returns to God, after witnessing the blessing of God on the union of Christ and the Church.

This 'new life' is the hope of Israel. The name Obed means ‘servant’. When Israel trusts again in the Lord they will humble themselves under His grace and become His true servants again.

For the church, the union of Christ and the gentiles produces the same – a people of service, eager to acknowledge the goodness and grace of God that will serve Him always!

The Church/The Body in the Heart of the Father

Recently, well over the past year or two, The Lord has been taking me on quite the journey with the focus being squarely on the church.
What is the church? What does it look like? Who makes up the church? How does it/should it operate? etc...
These are questions that have been on my mind for ages and I believe The Lord has shown me some great insights into the church from His word - the Bible.
I think the next few blogs I write will be about this theme since it is on my mind a fair bit recently.
I believe the church has been on the heart of the Father since before the foundation of the earth and we can see that in so many places in Scripture.

To kick off this mini series of blogs I want to repost what The Lord showed me through the story of the Good Samaritan. Although I posted it a while ago, it was the first blog I wrote in this theme.

The Good Samaritan Luke 10

Luke 10:30-35

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

I have been pondering this story for a while now.

In my meditations I believe God has shown me a picture of the church of Jesus Christ through this parable.

It doesn’t take much imagination to suppose that the poor, beaten traveller is a picture of any one of us before we knew the Lord. The world beat us down, stripped us bare and left us for dead on the roadside. I know it was that way for me. Before I knew Jesus, I was a disaster- a mixed-up, broken-down, pitiful creature.

It is of great importance in this story that the man went down a road he knew to be dangerous and he went of his own accord. Nobody forced him to go but danger wasn’t long in catching up with him. How many times have we deliberately entered a pathway we know to be dangerous despite every attempt at warning us to the contrary? But there are those of us who seem always to want to learn the hard way.

As I said, danger found him on this road and left him bloodied and bruised. It was in this state that we meet the other characters in this parable; the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan.

Anyway, I know there is much more that can be said about the characters in this part of the story but I will not dwell on it since this is not really what God was speaking to me in this instance.

What I want to look at is the Samaritan. Here is a man, despised by the religious, shunned by the righteous and rejected by the ruling classes.

Is this not a picture of our Saviour?  He was despised, shunned and rejected and yet He humbled Himself to stop and pick me up from the side of the road, where I lay dying in my own sin, and went about the business of making me clean. He had compassion, even though I had chosen this path for myself! My Saviour poured in the oil and the wine as the old song says-‘the kind that restoreth my soul’. He picked me up, bandaged my wounds and carried me when I was too weak to walk by myself.

What a Saviour!!

But here is the most exciting part that God has been showing me. Where did the Samaritan take the man to? He took him to the Inn right? He took care of the man at the inn.

He charged the innkeeper at the inn to take care of the poor man while he was away and gave him the money that he would need to carry out this request. He even promised to repay him for any extra he might spend when he returned.

So, is not the inn a great picture of the church? An inn in the New Testament times was not just a lodging place but a place of refuge, a place where one could stay and be cared for and nourished. Isn’t that the church? Far more than a lodging place-isn’t it a place where Jesus places the broken-those who have been beaten by the world and the religious- to be cared for and nourished to full health?

Hasn’t Jesus provided all the resources we need to take care of the down-trodden who enter the inn in the same state we once came? Hasn’t he given us His Spirit to equip and strengthen us for the task?

What more do we need?

If that’s not enough, we have his promise to return. The Samaritan only left 2 denarii for the care of this man. That was equivalent to about 2 day’s wages in those days. That tells me that he wasn’t planning to stay away for too long. He was going to return soon.

Jesus is coming back soon to gather all those he has left at the inn. He will not delay much longer and no matter what we have spent to take care of his people, he will repay in full!!!

I want to encourage you, as God has been encouraging me, not be stingy with your resources. Jesus has given us everything we have in order that there is no lack at the Inn. Remember the state we were in when we first entered. Look around and see those who are broken, weary and in need of nourishment. Don’t worry about what it might cost, we cannot out-give Jesus. He will repay us for all we give to His people, in His name!

This whole story is positioned between two commands:

1. ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ … do this and you will live.

2. “Go and do likewise.”

Couldn’t be any clearer than that! Could it?