The Higher Road

Forget Reality TV... Live A Reality Life

Large Hadron Collider - the world’s largest particle accelerator

All photographs provided courtesy of CERN

One of the great questions that plagues mankind’s search for meaning and origin, is the question “Where does life come from?” Did you know that the answer can be found in the Bible. John 1:4… “In him was life…” In him… Jesus, the Word… the creator of the universe, who was with God and who is God… in him was life.

In other words… in the beginning, before there was anything else but God… there was life. Think about the implications of that for a moment. The first is that life is actually a personal attribute of God. There is not God on one hade and life on the other… as if God brought the two together when he created. God is life. He is the author of life and the sustainer of life. Secondly, and contrary to what scientist are trying to prove with their new $16billion particle accelerator, physical matter did not give rise to life. Life gave rise to matter.

And so we have this great divide between the atheistic worldview and the Christian worldview. For the atheist, everything begins with inanimate matter and energy. According to them… and it’s just speculation…matter and energy were just there. And then suddenly, with no creator, no intelligence, no design, no purpose, and no plan… mindless, lifeless, random matter and energy combined to make life.

For the Christian, it’s the other way around. First there was life, then there was physical matter and energy. In the beginning was the Word, and in him was life.

the shadow of the Almighty

Psalm 91:1-2 tells us…

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of YAHWEH, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Have you ever fully contemplated what it means to say, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” To take your place under the shadow of the ALMIGHTY, means you are protected by His omnipotence. There, in that secure place, there is infinite and unending security in the Almightiness of God. No matter what the circumstance… no matter what lays ahead… whatever it is that you are facing in life… even when things seem to be going from bad to worse… you can rest assured that God Almighty is powerful and faithful to His promises toward you.

One author put it this way…

If we believed this, if we really let this truth of God's omnipotence get hold of us, what a difference it would make in our personal lives and in our ministry as a church! How humble and powerful we would become for the saving purposes of God! Paul speaks of "the immeasurable greatness of God's power in us who believe."

I am going to spend some more time thinking about what it means to know God as El Shaddai - God Almighty.

New Year Resolutions

Every year I review my journey as a follower of Jesus and spend some time looking toward the year to come. To do this effectively I resolve to allow the Word of God to shape my thoughts and actions. The Bible is good at asking the tough questions. Here are my new year resolutions...

1. Commit to making my relationship with God the priority of my life.

Mark 12:30

2. Pray more often.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18…

3. Be more diligent in studying God’s Word and live a life characterised by obedience.

Joshua 1:8

4. Learn to think and act from an eternal perspective.

1 Peter 1:13

5. Develop whatever gifts and talents God has given me for His glory.

Ephesians 2:10

6. Joyfully bring my tithes and offerings to the Lord without grudging or stinginess.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

7. Love my brothers and sisters in Christ with genuine love and encouragment.

1 John 2:9-10

8. Make meeting with others on the Lord’s day for prayer and worship a priority.

Hebrews 10:24-25

9. Ask God to develop in me a heart for the lost.

1 Timothy 1:15-16…

I trust that as you begin this new year, you will take the time to stop and consider what it is that God might want to do in you and through you, as you follow Him.

Emmanuel... God With Us

I came across a story about two little old ladies. Imagine if you will, two little old ladies, both at the right young age of 80. Both were widows who had remained on the farm long after their husbands had died. The farm was run down now. The chicken pen was falling to pieces. The sheds were falling down. The machinery was rusting away, falling apart, and the old rusted water tanks were dry. These two old ladies were as tough as nails. They had weathered every storm that life on the land could throw at them.

One day, a nephew came to visit them from the city. Whilst he was there, he took a picture of his weather worn aunts, with the sheds and the chicken pen and the rusted old machinery in the background. The two of them stood there, strait and tall as they could for the picture. The nephew sent them a copy of that picture and the old girls loved it so much that they decided to use it that year as a Christmas card. At the top of their picture they put the words, Merry Christmas, in bold letters… And at the bottom of the picture were the words… God is with us in our mess.

That story helps me to understand the true meaning of God with us. You see… God is with us… even in our mess.

And lets face it… life is sometimes messy.

What the New Testament Church Prayed For

As promised, here are the notes from Sunday nights study. As I said, these passages represent only some of what we are instucted to prayer for and this list is only taken from the Epistles. I trust that it would be helpful to you as you expand your prayer life. As one person said to me recently, "Sometimes I sit on the end of my bed wondering what to pray for... but not any more."

Prayer for the Lost…

…for God to save unbelievers, especially Israel. Romans 10:1

…for everyone, everywhere. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Prayer for the Sick…

… for the healing of unbelievers. Acts 28:7-9

… for the raising of the dead. Acts 9:36-37, 40

Prayer when Sharing the Gospel…

… using the Word of God. Ephesians 6:17-18

… for boldness in proclamation. Ephesians 6:19-20, Acts 9:29

… for signs and wonders. Acts 4:30

Prayer for Fellow Believers…

… for healing. James 5:13-16

… for miraculous deliverances. Acts 12:5, Acts 16:25-26

… to know God better. Ephesians 1:17

… for power to comprehend the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:14-19

Prayer for the Church and Church Leadership…

… for strategic wisdom. James 1:5

... to establish leadership in the outposts. Acts 14:23

... for the encouragement of togetherness. 1 Thessalonians 3:10

… for a mind of discernment. Philippians 1:9-11

… for a knowledge of his will. Colossians 1:9

… for a deeper sense of assured hope. Ephesians 1:16-19

… for strength and endurance. Ephesians 3:16-17

…that they would do good works. Colossians 1:10

Prayer for Mission…

… to send out reinforcements. Acts 13:2-3

… for the success of other missionaries. Romans 15:30-31

… that God would complete their resolves. 2 Thessalonians 1:11

Christianity is Just a Crutch

Have you ever had someone say that to you, “Christianity is just a crutch.”? I have. My answer is a very simple one… YES. Does that offend you? Let me show you why it shouldn’t.

If you broke your leg and required a plaster cast for several weeks, would you consider it a bad thing to have a set of crutches to help you walk? It might be an inconvenience.. but it would not be a bad thing. In fact, the opposite is true. A crutch is a good thing because it would help you to get around.

So let me ask you this question… Why does a crutch become a bad thing when it's Christianity? I think the answer that most critics would give is this: If Christianity is a crutch, then it's only good for cripples. Now that’s an offensive statement because most of the time, we don’t like to consider ourselves as cripples. We don’t like the idea that we are, in and of ourselves, helpless. But recall what Jesus said,

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." - Mark 2:17

The truth about human nature is that we long to be self-reliant. The suggestion that we need help to make it in this world goes against our inner nature… a nature that the Bible describes as sinful and corrupt. And so, to our dismay, along comes Jesus. The cross of Christ is an offence to all, because it takes the disease that we hate most, our helplessness, and instead of curing it, makes it the doorway to heaven. That’s why Jesus says…

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3

But what does this mean? What does it mean to be poor in spirit? The word blessed literally means fully satisfied. In the New testament, this phrase is used to describe the joy that comes from salvation. The implication is that true satisfaction only comes as a result of salvation through Jesus Christ. In other words, one is only fully satisfied, in the deepest corners of the heart, when Jesus Christ is reigning as Lord in ones life.

But what does Jesus mean by poor? There are two Greek words for poor. One is penēs… which means poor but able to help oneself. The other is ptōchoi… which means helpless. Can you guess which one Jesus uses here? It is the second one… ptōchoi. Quite literally, what Jesus is saying is this… You will only ever be fully satisfied when you understand that you are, in and of yourself, spiritually helpless.

Now I don’t know about you… but that sounds to me like a person who needs a crutch.

Sad Aboout Sin

When Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit who mourn… what he is literally saying is this…

Blessed are the people who feel keenly their inadequacies and their guilt and their failures and their helplessness and their unworthiness and their emptiness. Blessed are they who don't try to hide these things under a cloak of self-sufficiency, but who are honest about them and grieved and driven to the grace of God.

The big question is… do we mourn over our sin?

The Apostle Paul gives us some insight into this issue of sorrow over sin. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, we find an excellent description of the difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Do you see what Paul is saying? Godly sorrow leads to repentance. The realisation that our sin is offensive to God, unacceptable in his sight, causes the sinner to be remorseful and humble before God. Worldly sorrow on the other hand, brings death. What Paul means by that is this… Instead of a God-centred sorrow over the wickedness of sin, worldly sorrow is a self-centred sorrow over the painful consequences of sin.

Its like when your one of your children bursts into tears after being found out for doing something wrong… excepting that they are not crying because they realise the error of their ways… they are crying because they know they are about to be punished.

So again, I come back to the question… Do you mourn over your sin? Are you filled with sorrow because you realise that the way you are living your life does not bring glory to God? Hear the words of Jesus…

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

meekness is a beautiful thing

Do you recall the definition of the word blessed? The word blessed literally means fully satisfied. In the New testament, this phrase is used to describe the joy that comes from salvation. The implication is that true satisfaction only comes as a result of salvation through Jesus Christ. In other words, one is only fully satisfied, in the deepest corners of the heart, when Jesus Christ is reigning as Lord in ones life.

Who is blessed? The poor in spirit… those who recognize that in and of themselves, they are totally helpless spiritually and are totally dependant on God’s saving grace.

Who is blessed? Those who mourn… the ones who are grieved over their sin and who find comfort only in the saving grace of God.

Who is blessed? The meek… those who trust God and commit all their ways to Him, waiting patiently before God, not fretting at the wickedness they see around them.

Why are they blessed? Because they will inherit the earth… the new earth… the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Did you know that the Bible describes meekness as a beautiful thing.

1 Peter 3:3-5 gives us a wonderful insight into the beauty of meekness. Although this passage is specifically addressed to women… notice the wider implication. By the way, the Greek word translated as gentle in this passage is the same word translated as meek in Matthew 5...

3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. NIV

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Spiritual Craving

There is an interesting verse in Ecclesiastes 3:11 which talks about mankind’s longing for spiritual things…

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Have you ever stopped to consider the reality of that truth… that God has put eternity in our hearts and that we have an indescribable longing. It is a desire that we try to satisfy with all manner of things.

Some travel endlessly trying to find the perfect place… Some people study all their life in pursuit of more knowledge… Some people go from one relationship to another looking for satisfaction… Others try to fulfill this inner desire with things like drugs, material possessions, power, position.

But it doesn’t matter what we do… or what lengths we go to… the longing remains.

C.S. Lewis once said…

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

The great tragedy for many people, is that even though it is the Spirit of God calling them to himself, they continue to turn away again and again, choosing instead to satisfy their longing with anything and everything.

As children of God, we accept God’s claim upon our lives and in return, He gives us his Holy Spirit, who works in our lives to bring about a miraculous regeneration of our heart, soul and mind. Yet Jesus clearly states that righteousness is something that we ought to long for… blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…

Have you ever been so hungry that it almost drove you to distraction? The word for hunger in verse 6 literally means to be famished… and it has the idea of craving for food. Those of you with babies… or teenage boys for that matter… will know what this is like. A baby wakes up hungry and craves for food. If you don’t feed that baby soon… you’ll certainly hear about it!

Have you ever been thirsty… I mean really thirsty? So thirsty that your tongue begins to swell and your throat burns and your head pounds. The need for water… or the lack of it… can drive you to insanity. Thats why Jesus says...

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Mercy

Matthew 5:7… "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." NIV

The phrase shown mercy, sometimes translated as obtain mercy, comes from the Greek word eleeō. Its main use in the NT is to signify God’s mercy in salvation, in which He acts to reverse the adverse affects of sin, thus relieving sinners of their moral and spiritual wretchedness. The seeming implication of verse 7 is that only those who themselves show mercy, will receive it. In other words, in the age to come when we meet God face to face, the only people who will receive mercy from Him are those who have been merciful in this age to others.

But this posses an important question… Is this a salvation by works? Do we earn God’s mercy according to the level of our mercy? Obviously not, for salvation is a gift from God, received by faith through Jesus Christ alone.

What then does verse 7 mean? To understand this, we have to come back to the definition of the word blessed, which literally means fully satisfied.

In the New testament, this word is used to describe the joy that comes from salvation. It is a deep and true satisfaction that comes as a result of salvation through Jesus Christ. So what Jesus is saying in verse 7 is this… true joy and complete satisfaction is only possible to those who practice mercy out of an understanding of the mercy they have already received… and will continue to receive… from God.

Will only merciful people find mercy from God on judgment day? The answer is yes… because only those who receive God’s mercy will be in the Kingdom of God… and to receive God’s mercy means that one will show mercy to others. Mercy is not conditional… it is essential. It is not something the Christian should practice when it suits… it is something that should be practiced unconditionally.

Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This beatitude, found in Matthew 5:8, echoes what David said in Psalm 24:3-4…

3Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

According to this verse, a pure heart is a heart that has nothing to do with idolatry or falsehood. Or to put it another way… a pure heart is truthful and free from deceitfulness because it is focused on one thing, as stated in verse 6, to "seek the face of the Lord". In the NT, James gives us an insight into this idea of purity, in James 4:8…

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Notice that just like in Psalm 24, there is reference to both clean hands and a pure heart as preparation for drawing near to God. Also, both David and James have in mind the idea that purity of heart means to be single minded in focus on one thing and one thing alone… the Glory of God.

Jesus explains purity of heart in another way, in Matthew 22:37…

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Not with part of your heart. Not with a divided heart. That would be impurity. Purity of heart is to will one thing… the glory of God… and we do this by living our lives according to God's truth and God's values in everything we do. The aim of the pure heart then, is to align itself with the truth of God in order to magnify the worth of God. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with absolute single-mindedness. The reward... you will see God.

Peacemaker

Matthew 5:9 says...

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

God is a peace-loving God, and a peacemaking God. In fact, whole history of redemption, climaxing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, is God's plan to bring about a just and lasting peace between sinful man and Himself. The implication of this in regards to those who claim to follow Jesus is simple… as sons of God, we have the character of our heavenly Father. What he loves… we should love. What he pursues… we should pursue.

The simple truth of the matter… and the point that Jesus is making… is that you can know God’s children by whether they are willing to make sacrifices for peace, the way God did. If He is a peacemaker, then his children, who have his nature, will be peacemakers too.

That leaves me to ask this question... and I ask it of myself first... Am I willing to be a peacemaker in the way Jesus suggests I should? Consider what he says in Matthew 5:43-45...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Peacemakers go out of thier way to restore relationships... even when it is not thier fault that the relationship is broken. After all, isn't that what God has done for us?

Shining Like Stars

Blessed are the persecuted... Matthew 5:10-12

Have you ever been camping? You know what I am talking about when I describe the light that is given off by a camp fire or a lantern on a really dark night. You basically have only two options… even though the fire is easily seen from a distance, you are either in the light or you are in the dark. The same is true spiritually. Jesus describes these two positions in John 3:20-21...

“ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Put simply, the two responses people are going to make when they see the way we live are either going to be persecution or conversion. One way or the other, the people around you must respond to the reality of Christ in you. That’s why Jesus says what he says in verse 11… “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me…”

The big question for me is… Is my light shining? Am I living a life of righteousness and godliness in this world? It is no coincidence that immediately following this beatitude, Jesus expands on what He is saying. As you read, remember the context of what Jesus has just said. He is talking about righteous living…

”You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

I love the implication of this beatitude. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Imagine though… how many might share that blessedness in the kingdom of heaven because of your righteousness. May all our lives reflect Jesus as we live for Him.

Freely you have received, freely give

What does Jesus mean by that? Quite simply, that the gift of salvation cost you nothing, so don’t go about making a profit by selling the Gospel message.

The following verses make it quite clear that Jesus expects that the disciples will be supported by those who they are ministering to… or more precisely, that God will take care of His workers who were working in His harvest field. But the gospel is not for sale. What Jesus is getting at is this… If God heals someone, that is for their benefit not yours. If someone is brought back to life, that is for God’s glory not yours. If someone is set free from an evil spirit, that is God at work in their lives. So don’t profiteer from it.

We read these words and think to ourselves, ‘who would do such a thing anyway?’ But it happens. There are some in the Christian church who make money… perhaps even empires… out of God working in peoples lives.

I got to thinking, do I perform ministry in order to profit for myself? It’s a challenging question to ask oneself, because profit doesn’t always mean money. Ask yourself these questions: Am I involved in ministry to make myself feel good? Am I involved in ministry to meet my own needs? Do I place expectations on the people that I share the Gospel with… expectations that they would attend my church… expectations that they would conform to my way of thinking… expectations that they would be eternally thankful that I led them to Christ?

I pray not.