God’s word for today

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The Son Of God… Or Just A Good Teacher?

14th December

“So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to kill Him. For He not only broke the sabbath, He called God His Father, thereby making Himself equal with God.”

John 5:16-18

Was Jesus just a good teacher? Was He just someone who went around healing people? Or was He who He said He was? World renowned author and writer of the Narnia series, C.S Lewis, gave his views on this subject in his book Mere Christianity. He said the following,

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”1

Jesus never intended to just be a good teacher. Of course He was a good teacher and His words continue to bring life to us. But He was so much more than that. He Himself claimed to be God’s Son (as we read in today’s passage), making Himself equal with God. It was these claims that cost Jesus His earthly life. We as readers of these facts must decide if, as C.S Lewis said, Jesus was a raving lunatic, a complete an utter liar, or if He was and is indeed Lord and God!! There is no middle ground to think Jesus was just a nice Man. The choice is yours to make, a choice we must make.

And Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”But the Pharisees were angered because, “He called God His Father, thereby making Himself equal with God.”

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‘Don’t Do That . . . It’s The Sabbath!!’

13th December

“Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!””

John 5:8-9

Sometimes in our lives, we can miss out on what God is doing because we look for the things that fit into the box of our understanding about who God is, and don’t open our eyes to see the things that God is doing outside of the box. Today’s example of Jesus’ healing of the man sick for thirty eight years, is a prime example of this. Jesus, showing compassion on the sick man, healed him and told him to pick up his mat and walk. Jesus saw the desperation in the sick man’s words and saw he couldn’t help himself, so in an act of mercy, healed the sick man instantly.

Yet sadly, the joy of this miracle was quickly quashed by the religious Pharisees, who were more concerned that Jesus had performed a miracle on the Sabbath and that the man was ‘working’ on the Sabbath because he was carrying his sleeping mat. They completely ignored the wonderful miracle that had happened, of a man sick for thirty eight years being healed, and focused on the ‘breaking of the law’. We can only wonder what their reaction would have been if the sick man had been a relative of theirs…

It is our challenge to see what God is doing outside of the box we have created and rejoice that His ways are not our ways and that He truly is in control. We must learn not to be so caught up in the ‘rules’ that we quench what God is doing. As with the sick man, God was doing something so much greater than just healing him, He was bringing him salvation, “Now you are well; So stop sinning…”1

1John 5:14b

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If I Had Enough Faith

12th December

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

Hebrews 11:1

When Jesus returned back to Cana, in Galilee, the place where He had turned water into wine, He was approached by a leading government official whose son was terribly ill. The official begged Jesus to heal his son. Jesus replied with these words, “Will you never believe in Me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”1 Yet the government official persisted and again begged Jesus to go to Capernaum where his son was, to heal him. Jesus then said, “Go back home. Your son will live!”2 The man believed Jesus’ words and sure enough, the son was healed at exactly the time Jesus spoke those words. This wonderful miracle led the man and his whole household to believe in Jesus.

Do we too need evidence of Jesus’ miraculous signs and wonders before we believe or trust in Him? Of course the miraculous proves beyond any doubt that something greater than ourselves exists. But what if we were to believe just because…; just because we know God is real, or just because we have read about Him, or just because we experienced His love and works in our lives.

The government official of course needed faith to trust Jesus that his son would be healed, by just accepting Jesus’ words. He couldn’t see the miracle, yet he had the confidence in Jesus’ words that what He said, would actually happen. He had assurance about what he could not see because of what Jesus said. We too are challenged to exercise our faith for the humanly impossible, not because of something we can see, but because of faith: because of our confidence in who God is and what He has said through His word. Let us believe and have full assurance about the things we can’t see and confidence, that what we pray for will actually happen.

1John 4:48

2John 4:50

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If I Had 10,000 Tongues

9, 10th December

Weekend Edition

“O Lord my God, You have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.”

Psalm 40:5

When you are in a dark place the only way to get out is through praise. Look at how many Psalms were birthed whilst David was going through tough times. Take Daniel when he was thrown into the lions den. It was praising God that freed him. The same with Peter, John, Silas and Paul; all thrown into jail, but praise set free from their persecution. Moses regularly cried out to God in praise to help him lead the people of Israel. And in times of great responsibility and decision making, praising God was the first thing on his lips. Jesus Himself taught us how to turn our cries of help into shouts of praise. Of course it is not easy to look at the positives when you are in a negative situation. But that is the point! If we fix on the negative things, we will never be able to look up to the positive, which always was and is our Lord and Saviour.

This weekend lets join the Psalmist in declaring God’s wonderful endless deeds. Lets fix our eyes on Jesus instead of our problems and watch God liberate us from our negative situations, and lead us on the path of victory. He has performed great wonders and will continue to do! Trust in HIM!

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The Whole Village Believed

9th December

“Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see Him, they begged Him to stay in their village. So He did for two more days. . . . . They they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard Him ourselves.””

John 4:39-42

Yesterday we learnt of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and how Jesus loves reaches us too, even in the deepest darkest places in our lives. We learnt how Jesus the Samaritan woman where she was at in her life and ministered His love and grace to her. We learned how He spoke a prophetic word to the woman revealing her sinful lifestyle, yet He did so in a loving and kind way, not in a condemning and judgemental way. So great was this word from Jesus, that the woman ran back to the village with great joy, telling her fellow villagers about Jesus.

We then pick up the story again in verse 39. Amazingly, because of the prophetic words of Jesus to the woman, many believed. Even more amazing, was that Samaritan people where begging Jesus to stay in Samaria to continue to teach and share His message with them. So great were Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, that not only did it radically change her life but the lives of so many others.

One of the key passages in this whole story is found in verse 42, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard Him ourselves. Now we know He is indeed the Saviour of the world.” How incredible; that Jesus’ few words to the Samaritan woman had such a big impact. Furthermore, Jesus’ own words to them, revealed His true identity as the Saviour of the world.

The power of a testimony and the power of a prophetic word can only lead people to Jesus. It is when they meet Him and hear Him for themselves, that their lives are completely changed. The Samaritan’s woman’s words only led the people to Jesus. It was Jesus’ own words, that radically changed their lives, ‘because we have heard Him ourselves‘. When we too encounter Jesus’ love for ourselves, we become a beacon of His grace and His love. It is then our privilege is to lead other people to Christ and let the Holy Spirit fully reveal the character and person of Jesus to them personally.

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God Knows It All

8th December

“The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could He be the Messiah? So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.”

John 4:28-30

A few days ago we looked at the most famous passage in the Bible, John 3:16-17. As we mentioned John 3:17, the important continuation of verse 16, really sums up Jesus’ character and God’s intention for mankind. The story of the Samaritan woman and Jesus completely highlights the point that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it.

Jesus, after meeting the woman at the well, confronted the woman about her five previous husbands and her current living situation; living in sin with a man that was not her husband. Yet instead of judging her and condemning her for her sin, Jesus sees the need in heart for love and meets her where she is at. He reaches out an arm of love and breaks cultural barriers to do it. He knew that the woman for thirsty for God. He knew that she was expectant of the Messiah to come, even though she was a Samaritan. But He also knew that she was a broken and needy soul, who needed loving. Jesus did that and because of her testimony, not only was she saved but a whole village.

Friends, Jesus’ reach is not limited. His love will go into the deepest darkest slums to reach out for the lost. He will invade the enemy’s camp to pull us out. There is no place we can go that will escape His loving hands. If you think that you are not worthy or God’s grace then think again. Just read this story and you will know that you are loved no matter who you are, what you have done and where you are! Jesus saves us, heals us, restores us and re-fills us! That is the work of salvation.

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A Meeting Where You Are At

7th December

“Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.”

John 4:7-8

The situation so far, in today’s verse, was not ideal. Firstly, Jesus was in Samaria, a no-go place for Jews because of the hostility between the two nations. Secondly, Jesus was alone and talking to a Samaritan woman. Another no no according to Jewish laws and customs; a fact John particularly makes sure he includes in his account of this story. Both actions where extremely un-common for a righteous Jewish person, particularly a Jewish man.

But Jesus broke down all traditional and religious barriers to accept this Samaritan woman and accept her as she was. This highlights an important part of Jesus’ character. It shows us that Jesus was willing to bring shame upon Himself, to be ridiculed and even secluded from society (because He was with ‘un-clean’ people), for the sake of reaching one soul.

This is what we mean when we say for ‘God so loved the world’. God through Jesus, reached into the depths of societies outcasts, the culturally ‘unwanted’, and showered His love upon those who were only treated with hate and malice. Jesus shows us that no-one and no-where is too far out of reach for His love. Today, as you go about your day, challenge yourself to see people as God sees them and ask God to show His love to them where they are at and how they need to receive it: you never know, He might even use you!

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Trusting Although Not Understanding

6th December

“Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5

There are so many things that we do not understand and so many questions we may have that probably won’t get answered this side of eternity. Does this mean we are to doubt because we do not know or do we simply trust in the One who does?

Take for example the two things the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote about in verse 5: the path of the wind and a baby growing in its mother’s womb. Both of these examples, helped by modern technology, are better understood now than when this verse was written, yet even with the technology we do have, they are both still great mysteries. Yes we can roughly plot where a heavy wind storm might come, but can we really tell exactly where it will flow and navigate its path. Well clearly the answer is no, because we can’t see the wind. We can only see the effects of it. Much is the same with child birth. Of course we can see the growth with modern ultrasound technology, and we can even video its growth in the mother’s womb. We can even understand biologically what happens when it grows. Yet it remains a mystery, how this all happens and astounds doctors and biologists alike as to the exact detail and precision involved in a baby’s growth.

If we are to dismiss these things as foolishness because we can’t fully understand them, then we are never going to appreciate the wonder of them. The same is with God. We might not be able to physically see Him or understand how He works or what He is doing, but we can learn to trust Him because of the evidence of His works. It is because of God that the wind blows, that babies are birthed and that the world spins in orbit. It is faith in Him, that we can find peace in our storm. It because we know He is a great God, that we can fully trust Him, even when we don’t understand everything.

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No Judgement For Those Who Believe

5th December

“There is no judgement against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgement is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”

John 3:18-19

For those who believe, there is no judgement from God. If you like, we are let off the hook. We are free from the wrath of God because we believe and accept that Jesus was and is God’s one and only Son, the light of the world, that revealed our sinful condition, forgave us, restored us, renewed us and made us whole in Him by taking our place. It is like a court case, with God being the Great Judge, when the evidence is presented, our record of wrongdoing is empty because Jesus cancelled all our debt and wiped away the evidence. Because our records are empty, there is nothing to judge us on. We are free. We are made righteous (right before God). We are made innocent. Of course this does mean that we can live reckless sinful lives because we can always run back to Jesus’ grace as a get out clause. Rather it is because we are made right before God, because we have been greatly forgiven, that we want to live lives worthy of God’s holy standards. It is because we love God that we don’t want to sin and because we are loved by God, we can daily ask Him to cleanse us from all our mistakes.

The only judgement we will receive, is how well we have served God and what we have done for Him to extend His Kingdom (otherwise known as our ‘good works’). Our salvation, or our position in Him is not determined by what ‘good works’ we have done. God loves us regardless of our ‘good works’. But one day we will stand before God and give an account of how we have served God with the gifts He has given us. We will be judged according to our good deeds1.

Friends, may we rejoice in the free gift of salvation we have received and pray that others too may not reject the light and carry on walking in darkness, but rather walk in the truth and in light. May we serve God with the gifts He has given us and rejoice daily in His grace.

1cf. Romans 2:6/2 Corinthians 5:10/Matthew 16:27

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The Born Again Life

2nd December

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.””

John 3:3

A Pharisee called Nicodemus came to Jesus late one night. As he approached Jesus, Nicodemus declared that the religious leaders knew that He was sent from God because of the evidence seen in His miracles, (although all were not be bold enough to say it; probably the reason why Nicodemus came at night). Yet Jesus’ reply was not one of gratitude but one of warning. Jesus said that ‘unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God’! Jesus was basically saying, ‘that it is no good to just know about Me through my miracles and believe I am sent from God. If you really want to see God and enter God’s Kingdom, you need to be born again.’

Of course Nicodemus was stomped by this and couldn’t understand how a human could be born again of his mother’s womb. Yet Jesus was not talking about physical re-birth but spiritual. He was talking about the death of our old sinful self and a new birth through the Holy Spirit, cleansed, forgiven and made whole as a new person.

Today as we read this story, we too are reminded that a belief in Jesus’ miracles or even in the supernatural is not enough to save you from your sins. In order to be saved we need to be born again by allowing the Holy Spirit to renew us, cleanse us and purify us. We need to die to our self and be born again in the Spirit. It is only then, we can know we are saved and that we live as part of God’s Kingdom and as part of His family.