The True Source of Life

Imagine wanting to buy a car.  Let’s say you have a Specific Lexus in mind.  Knowing about the car is essential.  Details like fuel consumption, engine performance and other creature comforts are needed in order for you to not only be comfortable with what you are buying but also to understand the vehicle and how to handle it.  There are many ways and methods to get the information you want.  You can have pamphlets, magazines, review videos, websites etc.  The trick however is this, no matter how much info you have on this car… no matter how much you know… you still can’t drive it unless you have it.

Christianity works on the same principle.  Knowing about God is essential.  A lack of knowledge on who God is and His character, ruins tears the church apart, yet to know God is not the same as having Him.  This might sound strange when I say “have” God since He is omnipresent, bigger than our minds can possibly comprehend.  But, what I mean with this statement is having an active part in the Spirit of God.  Allowing the Spirit of God to fill you.

We grew up with the Bible as the word of God and the word of Life.  But we need to understand that this word is not the Life but rather points to or testifies of the true Life.  In pursuing knowledge about God we need to keep in mind that a personal, intimate relationship is of absolute importance.  Without the Bible there is a lack of knowledge about God, but without His Spirit there is a lack of God entirely.  The Pharisees was seeking salvation and life in the scriptures yet did so without the Spirit and missed the true salvation and Life standing right in front of them.  Jesus spoke to them in John 5:39 saying:

“Here you are scouring through the scriptures, hoping that you will find eternal life among a pile of scrolls.  What you don’t seem to understand is that the scriptures points to Me.” 

In God is eternal Life, we don’t have to only read about life… we can now enjoy it!  

In His Footsteps

Reading through John 5 this morning, I came across something really interesting in verse 19.  This is a concept we are all familiar with but do we really grasp it.  Christ Tomlin has a song that says "Where You go I'll go, where You stay, I'll stay.  When You move, I'll move.  I will follow You."  Amazing words right!

John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

Now keep in mind, Jesus said this right after He healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda.  He healed the man, then ordered him to take up his bed and walk.  On a Sabbath day... this was an absolute taboo.  Now the Pharisees stood up out of anger most probably.  Not only did Jesus heal on the Sabbath, as was a very deliberate habit, but He now also ordered this man to carry his bed on a Sabbath.  When the Pharisees confronted Jesus, His answer is in verse 19.

Paul writes in Romans 6 and say that our old man now died with Christ.  That we have our new being in and through Christ.  So when we now have the Spirit of Life in us, and we have our being in and through Christ, we can no longer claim to live our own lives.  To surrender your hopes, plans, ambitions... to give your all to God is no light matter.  It is serious business.

What I want to get to is this.  Jesus did nothing out of His own but simply imitated The Father.  To walk in the footsteps of Jesus, means we; as God's children, now also imitate Him.  We do nothing out of our own but only act because we are led by the Spirit.  In this regard we can no longer allow success to increase our happiness or that defeat decreases it, since we don't act on our own but only do what we see He does.

And since we gave our all to God, our success, our life story; now rests solely in His hands.  Our happiness should then be found in Christ and not in our success or achievements.  The good news is that when we truly imitate God, and when we find our happiness in Christ and Christ alone, then nothing can steal our joy.  No comes the interesting part.  Give all this to God, your life, hopes, plans, dreams, ambitions.  Live through Him, imitating Him and Him alone and God has a promise...

Proverbs 16:1-3  1"People go about making their plans, but the Eternal has the final word. 2Even when you think you have good intentions, He knows your real motives.  3Whatever you do, do it as service to Him, and he will guarantee your success."

We now no longer live... but Christ lives in us.  We have our existence through Him.  He is not simply an extension to our current lives but rather, an entire new life.

The Line between slave and son.

The line between slave and son:

In Christianity there is a fine line for everything.  And very few times situations are just black and white, there are always grey areas in the sense that God has an individual journey with each person (on this I will elaborate in a later post).

The question now however is are yo a son or a slave.  Now we know that a son is the coheir, as well as the image of the Father.  We know that the son has all the privileges and can enjoy the Fathers love and blessings.  We know that the son don't have to earn anything but that all is given to him in love and grace.

The slave on the other hand, needs to earn his keep.  His work is the only reason he is in the house.  He doe not have the image of the Father and neither can he be reckoned as a coheir to any promise.

So if I am to ask what we as Christian are, most of us would shout 'son'.  But what if, being a Christian requires both?  Yes we are the sons and daughters of God and yes we don't earn anything and yes grace is what we live on and we are coheirs.  Yet there remains an element of service.  The ten commandments handed to Moses stipulated that every person should honor their father.  Now later on w know that Jesus came to sum the law up by being an example of love.  So honoring your parents is an act of love.  It goes on to say that in everything Jesus did, He served.

From healing the sick, washing the disciples feet, teaching to the crowds, feeding them up to dying on a cross for our sake.  Jesus served all the way.  He served like a slave, expecting nothing but doing it because it is His sole purpose.

This is the balance we should have.  Being both son and servant of the Most High.  Realizing that as a Child, we have no other purpose in this world but to serve Him.

NO MORE GUILT

We enjoy reminding God of our sins.  For some reason we as humans feel that our consciences will turn silent once we apologize for our wrongs and constantly remind God of our mishaps.  The Bible talks about freedom in Christ.  Freedom from guilt and condemnation.  So how do we take up this promise?  What is needed?

The term... "this man has no conscience" is one that is used quite regularly.  It is used on criminals who show little remorse for their actions and is even aimed at a person that has hurt you and failed to apologize.  Clearly we see that little voice convicting us of our wrongs, quite necessary in order to be accepted into the society as we know it.  But is it really our consciences we should be so afraid of when it comes to our mishaps or is it perhaps that we ourselves cause guilt?

I think we will all agree on the fact that as humans we make mistakes, and quite a lot of them.  To be honest... we slip up everyday, all day!  We also make sure to slip up properly every now and then.  There is no human... dead or alive... that can claim they were without mistakes and on that we all agree.  So with that debate out of the way, let's look at the after affects of such actions.

Guilt is a reflex reaction.  We mess up, we feel guilty, and we apologize like no tomorrow.  If you don't apologize... then we tend to sit with this guilt lodged deep in the back our minds.  Now I am not saying don't apologize... but do you think feeling guilty for the rest of your life will really change things?  Will it truly bring joy and freedom?  Or is it just different looking chains for the mistake you made?

In Luke 6:6-11 we read about Jesus healing a man with a withered hand.  Now this man was in the crowd but the hand was behind his back, hidden.  He was ashamed of his deformity and for the culture of those days, he was also considered an out cast because of that deformity.  Jesus knows about this man's hand just like He knows the Pharisees' who are attending's hearts.  So He asks the man to stretch forward his hand and it is written that as the man stretched forward his hand, he WAS healed!

Luke 6:10 "And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored."

His hand didn't only heal when it was already stretched out, it got healed as the man stretched forward his hand.  Meaning that by the time the crowd and Jesus saw his hand, it was already healed!  The same goes for our mistakes.  Jesus is not interested in our sins, He is interested in our lives!  Yes it is needed to admit to God what we have done... He still required the man to stretch forward his flaws.  That is needed so we know what we did wrong and so we can avoid making the same mistake unconsciously.  The point is however, there is no reason for guilt.  We can enjoy the company of God freely, without any disturbances.

1 John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;"

Don't ever let guilt about the past hold you from an amazing relationship with God.  Your sins are already forgiven!  When we mess up, it doesn't make us any less children of the Most High.  Move past your flaws and mishaps and keep your focus on the forgiver of sin.  The God of second, third, forth and millionth chances and just give your all to Him.  He is interested in an intimate relationship with God.  Don't let anything stand in your way.

Who He says you are.

Looking in the mirror we can all point out our own flaws.  We all know our weaknesses as well as our strengths.  In the world we live we meet with a lot of pressure.  Pressure of who people want us to be.  We wrestle with our status in society because we are either seen as a successful role model or we are seen as outsider unable to accomplish much.  The so-called "in crowd" and the "outsiders".  We might think this is just on school level... but it is everywhere.  Businessmen fight to be the most respected in their field.  Titles are thrown around left and right to point out status and your skills, and abilities will label you as a genius ready to overcome anything or an idiot that needs help with any and all things.

We compare ourselves to the world around us.  Our weight, knowledge, possessions, victories, experiences.  This all counts as part of your " social status".

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Despite this well known verse we struggle when we look at those around us.  It is easy to either say: "If only I can achieve what he/she achieved" or you might say: "I am so glad I don't struggle or act like he/she does.  We use the world around us as a measure of what we should be and what we should achieve.

Think of it this way; when you look at sports, every athlete is categorized by a certain aspect... in most cases it is age.  Now when you run against 17 year old athletes, you are being compared to them and according to what you achieve in that area... you can win, break records or loose.  Keep in mind that when a 21 year old, runs against a 16 year old... it is absolutely unfair and a win is almost guaranteed to the older athlete.

In life we run not against this world or the people in it... because we are not categorized with them.  Rather we run against God...  Yes He will always be way ahead of you... but that is the point.  That way we compare ourselves against the category He made us in.  We can never boast on anything because we are always behind from where we should be and that keeps us humble... it also drives us to always grow in faith and never to slow down... but we never have to feel inferior because a race against God is also a race with God and He helps with training and motivation.  The difference is now we are in the league that God made us.

We are kings and queens.  Rulers of what God made and created.  We are the children of the Most High God!  It is time we see ourselves like God does instead of measuring ourselves against the world and feeling inferior to the very creation we were made to rule over.

The question remains this... when you look at the stars and the galaxy.  When you realize the size of the cosmos, is your reaction: "I feel so small!" Or is it: "wow! Look at what God entrusts me with!".

On Offering

We have all been in churches where offering is preached.  This is no news to anyone these days.  Maybe you haven't been in a church where it is preached but you have heard of people being encouraged to sow.

I want to make this clear from the get go that I am not at all against it and that I myself sow and will also encourage you to do so, the fact of the matter is we need to check our attitude.

Countless times I sat in meetings where it has been preached that if I am in need of finances or I want to have my financial breakthrough, I need to sow into the Kingdom.  For what you sow you will reap.  Is this the right doctrine being preached?  The scripture in Galatians 6:7 states clearly:

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."

But it also goes on in verse 8:

"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." 

This is clearly in the context of your actions and where your time is spent.  It did not have anything to do with finances.  Now the important thing however is that giving toward the work of God is still very needed.

Firstly; Sowing is an act of worship!  Your current finances was given to you.  You might say that you worked for it... but then who was responsible for you having a job?  Is it not God?  As Christians we believe in offering up ourselves to God as a living and holy sacrifice as is required of us according to  Romans 12:1.  By trusting God with your finances you are also trusting God with your life... the very source we use to buy food and shelter with.  So offering and sowing financially to a church or ministry is an act of worship and a vital part of what we confess as Christians.  This cannot be ignored!

Secondly: Finances is a part of life.  Where does the finances come from to organize outreaches?  Where is the money sourced from to keep the churches running?  Paying the staff, electrical and water bills?  How is ministry kept up and running?  Through the giving of the church members.  Paul writes to the churches he visits in the Mediterranean area concerning financial support towards the ministers visiting them.  By upholding and supporting the church and thereby the work of God, we have a part of what God is doing.  We can thus be the hands of God on earth.

In conclusion I want to make this clear... sowing financially in order to gain financially is vanity.  We live by grace and not by works.  No one ever had to buy their parents food and sow into their life financially before they got fed themselves.  Same with God.  We are His children, He cares for us no matter what and, it is all by grace... we cannot do anything to gain anything.  However, sowing is needed because not only is it an important act of worship but it is also supporting the work of God and enabling the church to reach out and do it's job.

So let's give with a joyous heart, as an act of worship.  Let's support ministries around us.  And let's trust in God to supply all our needs and more since He is our Heavenly Father.  Matthew 6 sums up this point:

Matthew 6:31-33 "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

The selfishness of judging

We look at people all around us and everyone is doing their own thing.  In our daily lives we face frustration towards those around us.  Whether it's a person skipping the red light, whether work is not handed in on time or even work done incompletely or unneatly.  It might be the way people talk, look, think or do.  The fact of the matter is that we get frustrated and judge people daily based on these principles.

One of the best known movies of our time was Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of the Black Pearl 2003.  Johnny Depp played the role of a very humorist pirate captain.  Close to the end of the movie he and two of his crew members was fighting in a cave against their enemies... the rest of their crew that stayed behind on the ship saw that danger was approaching and decided to leave Jack and the other two crew members behind and sail away.  When they exited the cave victorious, the two crew members were very angry that the rest of the crew left them behind.  Jack however said something that had unmistakable value. "They did what was right by them, you can't expect more".

Now think of the philosophy behind all this.  Why do we judge?  By what measure or standard do we see people to act right or wrong?  The answer is simple but shocking; our own standards.  Yes, we judge people by what we believe to be right or wrong.  A bit selfish don't you think?

Jesus is very clear on this in John 7 where the Pharisees were rebuking Jesus for healing on a Sabbath.  Jesus had an interesting argument.  From verse 21 Jesus hammered them on the fact that they would circumcise people on the Sabbath... according to them it was acceptable because it was not considered work but rather joining someone to the faith and church.  In the same way Jesus saw the man's healing.  That the man's faith was strengthened and his relationship with God restored... so then it can't be wrong to heal on the Sabbath.  Immediately we see that Jesus direct the crowds attention away from the action being performed and rather fixing it on the motive behind the action.  In this instance it was both the restore and build up whats broken.

John 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Imagine a world where we realize that everyone, whether in our eyes it was the right or wrong thing to do, start realizing that people only do what they think is best and that we should rather look at their motives than the actions they perform.  Don't you think our world would have less misunderstandings and a lot more love and patience towards one another.  Honestly, we have no right or reason to judge, because just as you find fault with what others are doing, so others also will find fault in what you are doing since everyone sees and experiences the world differently.

Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;..." 

The command was never to see whether people are acting and living right, it was simply to love those around them.  Let's look at whats going on behind the scenes and the motives behind actions rather than throwing stones on what we think we are seeing.