CHRIST ALONE - THE CORNERSTONE

I never really knew how much this meant to my faith and relationship with Jesus until I was worshipping to Hillsong's anthem, Cornerstone. As I surrendered to the Spirit through my worship, I found myself thinking about my trials and hurdles that lie ahead of me. And these thoughts were both specific and supernaturally peaceful.

Push play and keep reading.

SPEAK UP, REGARDLESS OF THE RESPONSE

He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here.

Ez 2:3-5

Have you ever had to deal with someone who is stubborn and hard-headed?  Have you wandered if GOD knows what it's like?  Well, if you have - GOD knows exactly how you feel!

When I read this scripture my first thought was; why would GOD tell Ezekiel to speak to the rebels and then tell him that they probably wouldn't listen? He knew that they would probably reject The Word, yet He was willing to send it anyway.

After dwelling on this for a little while, perhaps these are two reasons:

Firstly, it's a lesson in obedience and faith.

NOT JUST A NUMBER

"And he [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Mark 12:43-44

I read a quote today that has been gnawing at me ever since.  It was by the well known French existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre.  The quote is along the lines of the following:

"The poor don't know that their function in life is to exercise our generosity."

Straight off the bat, I want to strongly state that I totally disagree with this statement.  I guess it's bothered me because it boxes 'poor' people into a stereotype; saying that they exist subservient to the proverbial 'us'.  Who is this 'us'?  Who is Sartre talking about here?

Is it you and me?  Because if it isn't, we must be here to exercise everyone else's generosity!

Which, actually, I believe we are.

WHY DO I HAVE TO STRUGGLE, EVEN WHEN I'M DOING GOOD?

"If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master."

1 Peter 3:13-14 (MSG)

Life never operates according to the calendar.  We try to plan and hope that things will happen according to the time-frames that we envisage - but that seldom ever happens. Ever.  The reason for this is because we cannot completely control what happens, that's GOD's job.

Regardless of this fact, we still try.

What we read above tells us that even if we do good stuff, life may not proceed according to our plans.  There is an incorrect world philosophy that says "if you do good things, good things will happen to you".  The problem with this egocentric take is that it puts the perception of absolute control into our hands... and we know that we can never have absolute control, again, that's GOD's responsibility.

Here's an awesome quote to chew on...

"The purpose of {Christianity} is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes.  It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life."

James Christensen

So, what does doing good do?

WORSHIP CHANGES US

#worshipchangesus

Worship contains the power to change us.
It strengthens our weaknesses.
It humbles our strengths.
It removes our worries.
It acknowledges our blessings.

(selah)

It unites enemies.
It erases the lines of discrimination.
It removes our facades.

(selah)

It cries.
It laughs.
It dances.
It loves.

(selah)

HAVE YOU MADE YOUR PLANS?

"Commit your plans to the Lord and you will succeed!"

Prov 16:3

I have encountered many people who live life day-to-day and call it faith. They use scripture to say do not worry about tomorrow, and then prefer not to think about it. They rationalise it by thinking that GOD knows what will happen and He will look out for us, which is true, but it's only half the story.

I ask myself; is this the way that GOD would have us wisely manage His resources? Is time not the rarest resource we have? When we lose loved ones, a common feeling is that we wish we could have had more time with them. Time to learn, time to tell how much we loved them, time just to be together. So how can we make the best use of this time?

The scripture from Proverbs starts off by telling us to commit our plans. That means... we probably need to be making plans! Logically, if you don't have plans, you can't commit them to the Lord.  So, is this in contradiction to the scripture in Mat 6:34? I don't think so, the Bible clearly tells us not to worry and not to be anxious but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't have plans.  The rest of the scripture in v34 goes on to say that today has enough concerns for itself.  In other words, the scripture is saying that our focus should be on today.  But... then why make plans for tomorrow?

All GOD needs is your obedience

"In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father" 

Mat 5:16

GOD wants to perform miracles through us!  I sometimes struggle with this concept, because I think that the sin in my life precludes me from being used by GOD.  I think that I need to be more 'righteous' or I think that I don't deserve to see miracles like that!

I was thinking these exact thoughts recently when GOD spoke to me and said "Tim, you don't perform the miracle, I do."  This shook me for two reasons:  firstly, in not expecting miracles due to my own faults I was assuming that I would be doing the healing.  Secondly, GOD truly wants to use us in our brokeness.

Why?  Why would GOD use me when I am broken?

FOCUS ON TODAY

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Matthew 6:34

 

After having seen Louie Giglio's Idescribable several times, I am now reading the book by the same title that he co-authored with Matt Redman.  I was awed by the DVD, and I'm even more awed by the book!  It amazed me that GOD has created so much, yet still wants a personal relationship with me.  

With the recent space jump, by Felix Baumgartner, I was struck by the amount of time, energy, resources and money that must have been invested into getting one man to the ends of our atmosphere.  Hundreds of people, millions of dollars, expensive machinery and technology, so that one man could be elevated to 39km above the earth's surface - only to jump back down again.

It seems huge to us - because it is huge to us.  But to GOD, it's nothing major at all.

MANNA FOR TODAY

 

"You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus."

 Phil 4:19

It seems that one of my biggest faith challenges is putting my Faith in GOD for my everyday needs.  I'm good at trusting Him for the future, but when it arrives... today... I struggle.  I keep thinking that I need to make ends meet, I need to invest my strength and I need to take care of today.  I think that GOD will take care of tomorrow, and I will take care of today.   The result is that I feel anxious, unsettled and cannot rest in GOD's presence.

THE POWER OF YAHWEH

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

John 14:14 

 

In the early Hebrew texts we read of two distinct names for GOD: Elohim and Yahweh.  If you look in your Bible at Genesis 1, you will see that there are no references to LORD (Yahweh), only GOD (Elohim).  Then, if you turn to Genesis 2, there is the introduction of LORD (Yahweh), and it's a different creation story to Genesis 1.  This is because GOD had revealed himself to two different groups of people who eventually united under the Hebrew nation.  It's not because they worshipped different GODs, but because they realised that they worshipped the same GOD.

WORSHIP WHEN PLANS CHANGE

"He must become greater; I must become less."

John the Baptist (John 3:30)

So here I sit, with 15 minutes left to board a flight for Durban.  Everything is on track; for once - no delays, all is going according to schedule.  Except, I left my wallet (and ID) at home.  My first response?  Panic!  The next flight is in five hours time.  I frantically phoned my lift to check the car, just to confirm that it wasn't there.  I then phoned my wife, who confirmed that my wallet was indeed at home; 20 minutes one-way...

As the realisation sinks in that I've woken up at 04:30 all for nothing, I am reminded of GOD's overriding control of everything.  My mind fights it and tries to remind me that the situation that I'm in is my fault, not GOD's.  I should worry - that's natural!  I should blame myself - that's what any sane person should do!

But then the Spirit reminds me that GOD is greater than my absent mindedness, His presence shines through the holes of my inadequacies.  I don't need to ask GOD to make a plan, because He has already made a plan.  My plan was to board the 06:15 flight, because I had meetings at 08:00.  My plan was spend the morning in Durban.  My plan should've been to remember my wallet.

GOD's plan?  For me to worship Him.  That's all I have to do.  Worry about a missed flight?  Certainly not.  Worry about missed meetings?  Certainly not!  GOD wants me to relax and rest in His presence.  He has His plans, and those are more important than mine.  It's that simple.

WORSHIP OUTSHINES WORRY

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

 Phil 4:6-7 (MSG)

What was the climax of your day/week/month?  I know that if I'm honest with myself (which is not always easy!!) my mind tries to highlight the trials, challenges and worries.  I think things like "Well, I lost a client, but I'm working really hard to get another one", or "I still haven't forgiven myself for..., but I know that I must."

We're programmed to overcome, we're wired in such a way that we naturally need to fix and triumph in difficulties and hardships.  Our natural inclination is not to just sit back and relax - even if we are from Cape Town... it's just not natural.

WORSHIP BIGGER!

As we move forward in our life, one of two things happen; either our passion for Jesus grows or we find that it fizzles out!  Unfortunately, the latter is true for many of us.  I believe that the key to keeping our relationship with our GOD full of passion and challenge lies in worship: daily, true, heartfelt encounters with our Creator. (John 4:24)

Jesus had this to say about devotion...

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other."

So - part of our devotion (or worship) is shown through our service.

In the Greek translation of the New Testament, the word latreuo is sometimes used for worship.  It means "to serve" and is similar to the root word for liturgy (order of worship).  This word is found in Rom 12:1b "...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."  True worship happens when we serve!

In the Old Testament, we find the word abad is used for worship.  In Deut 6:13 - "Serve  and worship (abad) him [your GOD] exclusively."  Jesus quoted this when the devil was tempting Him to forsake His worship of GOD and bow down to him.

Victim to Victory

Today's post is one of significant personal battle.  It's easy to encourage others to forgive and not hold onto hurts.  But when it happened to me, of such deep and overwhelming hurt, I had to go on a journey with GOD where I couldn't do anything for myself.  I relied on Him completely and worshipped Him in the heart of my pain; in the middle of being a victim GOD was my rock and my salvation.  He was my song.  Or so I thought.

The truth was that He was 'most of' my song.  Deep inside my heart was a hardened spot where I'd been hurt.  I thought it was small enough to be left alone, but it was not.

GOD spoke to me very profoundly and challenged me with this scripture from Jesus in Matthew 5:

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (v44)

LESSONS FROM NOAH'S ARK

I was recently sent this email - there's nothing to add to it.  It's a fantastic list of Sunday School lessons for adults.

Noah's Ark : Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .

1. Don't miss the boat.
2. Remember that we are all in the same boat!
3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
4. Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you're stressed, float awhile.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Have a blessed weekend and rest in the Grace of Jesus!

The Guilt Conversation

A walk through the halls of the Bank of Evil... with Gru. (Despicable Me)

Most of the time, we miss out on the abundance of GOD because we spend our energy in the guilt conversation.  We become our own joy-stealer, engaging in an internal mental debate that only brings us more hurt, discouragement and diminished self-worth. It weighs down heavily on us and is a burden that we were never meant to carry.

Why? Because guilt is not of GOD. Guilt is not productive and it does not bring about peace.

"God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again."

John 3:17

It starts when we try to rationalise the choices that we make that we know are not of GOD (aka sin). When we know something is not right, we are being convicted. When we start to argue against it, we enter the guilt conversation and we begin to feel guilty.  We become susceptible to feelings of worry, our patience wears thin and this is where we lose our joy!

10 COMMANDMENTS OR 2?

 

Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."

Mat 22:37-40

Critics love to poke holes at the congruency of the Bible, saying that it contradicts itself.  Here is a prime example of the Bible saying one thing in the Old Testament and then something else in the New Testament!

To better understand this, it helps to go back to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy...  too much?  Indeed, there’s a lot in there.  But this was ‘The Law’.  It contains the 613 mitzvah (rules/commandments/law/words) that every Jewish child needs to learn when they become sons and daughters of the law (bar/bat mitzvah) and take on the responsibility of following GOD.  The 10 Mitzvah in Exodus 20 are known as The Ten Words.

As a Christian, I was only taught ten commandments at Sunday School, not six hundred!  And right there, under the guise of sweet innocence, our foundational teachings in the Christian faith skew our perceptions and understanding of our relationship with GOD.  Instead of us viewing these commandments (10 or 613, doesn’t actually matter) as a checklist to chastity, we should see them as a profile for what life should look like when we love our GOD with all our heart, mind and soul.  

However, instead, we draw pictures and learn the 10 off by-heart, believing that we are now better, somehow closer to GOD.  The flip side is that we feel terrible and worthless when we can't keep them.  The problem:  we will never be able to keep them all.  The solution: Jesus Christ - Grace.

A Leadership Challenge

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under GOD’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

1 Pet 5:6-7

In my time in GOD’s beautiful church, I have found that all too often people step out of the boat because they’re sick and tired of the other disciples… not because their eyes are fixed on Jesus… and they land up sinking in the waves.  This awesome scripture from Peter’s first epistle speaks to a few aspects of leadership and worship, leadership traits that are fundamental to solid, long-term growth and maturity, not only for ourselves, but also for the Church!

Peter reminds us of the importance of humility in response to GOD’s might.  When we worship, we sometimes fall into the trap of equating ourselves to GOD.  This happens when the balance is interrupted by the bias of our friend and brother in Christ.  We must never forget the reverence and awe that makes worship necessary.  We have access to worship because of our joint-heirship with Christ, but worship is required because of the Majesty, Mercy and Grace of GOD, through Jesus Christ.  This humility also reminds us that what we have and where we are is only because of GOD’s Grace, and not because of the Law or our own abilities and works.

We then read that GOD is the one who lifts us up.  GOD is the one that calls to us, from the waves, and invites us to step out.  If we decide that the boat is too crowded, too smelly or too opinionated, we’ll step out before the time is right for growth and maturity.  Sometimes this means waiting a few weeks; sometimes it means waiting a few years.  GOD first spoke to me through this scripture three years ago… and only recently have I felt His promotion (the Message says “He’ll promote you at the right time”).  It’s like GOD wants to make sure we’re in it for the long haul!

Excellence: an act of Jesus

Joseph Prince

"Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks."

Deut 28:4

Would you want to buy a chair that Jesus made? I would, even if it cost US$1,000 because it would be of superb quality. Whatever Jesus did, He did it with perfect excellence.

And because Christ is in you, the things which you produce will be of exceptional quality too. That includes your children, who will be champions. Deuteronomy 28:4 says, “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks”.

God was using terms that the Israelites understood since they were farmers and shepherds. Today, “your ground” is the place of your work. This means that “the produce” of your work shall be of excellent quality.

That is not all. God promises that quantity will always follow quality because Deuteronomy 28:11 says that the Lord will “grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body,” which means that you will have plenty of children, “in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground,” which means that your business will flourish and you will be a leading producer in the area of your specialty.

My friend, your excellence and plenty do not come by your efforts. They come by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for your prosperity — “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus was made destitute of all material things at the cross. He had nothing! As He hung on the cross, He watched the Roman soldiers gamble for His robe. His last possession on earth was gambled away. He became poor, so that you could be blessed with the excellent and the plenty!

<<Joseph Prince.org>>

GOD wants to know YOU

  

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:9

Vicar.  A word you know; a word that I know.  But, do we actually know what it means?  Many may answer that vicar means priest or minister - as in the leader of a church.  The sobering truth is that it actually means something quite different...

Priest is fairly close, but in the sense of "one who stands between".  Vicar is a shortened version of the word vicarious, which means "serving instead of someone or something else".  It can be argued that vicar is a good word since we often experience GOD through our church leaders, we experience worship and teaching through their gifting.