Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matt 5:6

One the problems we face is that we have been willing to settle for so little in God’s service. We have lost our passion. There is no longer a powerful desire for excellence when we do the work of God.

We are willing to settle for less in our spiritual lives than what God desires for us. Perhaps it is because we live without persecution in a country where we enjoy religious freedom. This freedom often causes people to take for granted things which should be held as a precious privilege and blessing. This can cause people to take their Christian commitment lightly, one in which we serve only at our convenience.

Things do not satisfy, only God satisfies. Jesus said: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Perhaps the reason we are not satisfied, is because we have lost our passion, our hunger, our thirst, for God.

When Jesus used the words hunger and thirst, he was comparing our deepest need for being justified by God with real hunger and thirst. The kind of hunger Jesus spoke about could not be satisfied by a light snack. The kind of thirst he spoke about could not be quenched by a brief sip from a water bottle. He was speaking of people who are in desperate spiritual need, such as those who are suffering from famine.

Jesus said that until we come to the point where we acknowledge such a need for God, we will not be satisfied. Is reconciling with God your deepest desire? Are you starving and thirsting for a renewed relationship with God? Nothing but God will satisfy that hunger.

Coming to the end of our own aptitude and ability brings us to a place of spiritual desperation. After we have exhausted all other possibilities, we turn to God as the only comfort in life and death.

There are those who do not hunger for God, because they hardened their hearts against him, allowing sin to control them. A hardened heart will keep you from receiving God and therefore also from reconciliation with him.

One may lose your passion for God. It is possible to work hard for Christ, fight against evil, and even suffer for Christ, without loving God passionately. And without seeking satisfaction in looking for God’s righteousness in one’s life and his salvation for the world.

Pray for passion for God. Pray that he will fuel the zeal that comes from godly love that will cause us to be hungry and thirsty for his righteousness.
Pray that God will create in us such a heartfelt desire for him, that we will not be satisfied with anything less, than with God himself.

Sin cannot control you

Rom 8: 3c- 4: And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Sin cannot control us. Although we struggle with sin, we have the victory, because we are in Christ, and also because God is at work in us. It is not only because Jesus carried the punishment for our sins on the cross that we are able to live in freedom. God is now at work in us. Sin cannot control us because God is at work in us in order to change us.

What God wants to give us now is clearly stated in Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” Part of God's work in us is to change us to Christ's likeness. God desires for us to be more and more like Christ, and that we would live our lives more and more like Jesus lived his. That is what it means to live not according to our sinful nature, but according to the Spirit.

Living according to Spirit means that we live our lives in complete dependence upon the leadership of God. We see this clearly in the life of Jesus.

In John's gospel, we hear Jesus continually teaching that he lived by dependence on the Father's guidance and his power. John 5:19, “Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, `Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, unless it is something he sees the Father doing: for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.'” Jesus lived by his dependence on God's leadership in his life. And so must we.

We cannot by the law work our way to acceptance by God. We will always fail if we try. The law is performance based. It encourages us to work harder, depending on ourselves. But living in Christ is exactly the opposite of trying to please God through the law. Living in Christ means that everything I do comes from God, and not from me.

Jesus frees us from the obligation to try to be perfect by depending on our own strength. Jesus sets me free to live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

To live according to the Sprit means that we consult with God about our choices, values and concerns. Living according to the Holy Spirit means that we give up trying to do it on our own because we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Spirit liberates from self reliance. The Spirit makes God our highest priority as we receive the gift of loving God so much that we concentrate on pleasing him. Not by keeping the details of a law, but by belonging to him and living in a renewed relationship with him.

By Christ's death on the Cross, he has freed us to only belong to our faithful Saviour.

Called to be Saints!

Do you know God's wonderful purpose for your life?
If we can understand what God's purpose for us is, then that purpose can be accomplished in our lives. We will walk from a different perspective, seeing our lives in the light of God's purposes, and consequently we will be able to live a life that matters.

The primary purpose for the Gospel is found in the first phrase in Rom 1: 5. When Paul says that he received his mission as an apostle “through Christ and for his Name's sake”, he is revealing the central place that God holds in God’s purpose for us. It all begins and ends with God. It is all by his grace and for his glory. We are to live to exalt our Saviour.

But three secondary purposes of the Gospel are also mentioned in Rom 1: 5 - 7.
A secondary purpose is to effect our salvation. Paul tells us that he received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. (Rom 1:5)
The obedience that comes from faith concerns the foundation of our walk with God. The call of God is a call to obey. Paul makes it clear that for faith to be considered real and viable, it must be revealed in obedience - it must be made visible.

A second secondary purpose of the Gospel is to enhance our significance in the work of Christ. You see, like the Roman Christians, we are loved by God. This is what gives us our true significance. (Rom 1:7)
God loves you. He has accepted you. There is nothing you can do for God to love you more. God doesn't change you so that he can love you; He loves you in order to change you. It is his love that changes you. Surrender to that love. In Christ you are significant, because God loves you.

The final secondary purpose of the Gospel mentioned here is to establish our sainthood. Paul declares that all in Rome, indeed all Christians, are called to be saints. (Rom 1: 7)

“Saint” is a good biblical term applied to all believers. It comes from a Greek word which literally means "holy." To be a saint, in the New Testament sense of the word, is to be a "holy one." To be "holy" in the biblical sense of the term, is simply to be saved in Christ and to belong to God.

This is who we really are. It has been said that some people can't get saved because they will not accept their “sinnership”, and that some Christians can't walk in victory because they will not accept their sainthood. And it is true. Unless we know our true position in Christ, we will never begin to live from that perspective. We are saints because of our position in and through Christ. We are not saints because we achieved perfection, but because we are made holy, meaning we are set apart for God, by his grace and mercy. This is what you must begin to see by faith: You are a saint.
Do you see the purpose of the Gospel? Do you see how that purpose impacts your life?

Therefore, exalt your Saviour, effect your Salvation, enhance your Significance and establish your Sainthood!

Blessed are the poor in spirit!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
To be poor in spirit means that we see our total spiritual poverty before God and our utter dependence upon Him.
Humility!
Poverty of spirit must be our attitude toward ourselves. We must see that we can do nothing to commend ourselves to God. It must become clear to us that apart from Christ we are spiritually destitute. We may be well educated, but we are spiritually ignorant. We may be financially secure, and still be spiritually bankrupt. We may be the president of a corporation, but without Christ we are spiritually unemployed!

To be poor in spirit is to recognize that without Christ we can not do anything. It is to recognize that without Christ we are nothing. It is to come before God with empty hands, humble in heart, seeking only to receive from Him. This kind of person is described in Isaiah 66:2: "To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite (broken) of spirit, and who trembles at my word."

Our Inheritance: Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The attitude of poverty of spirit brings us to the place where we can receive the kingdom from the king.
Without being poor in spirit a person cannot even come to Christ. This is the first step. Indeed, it is a prerequisite. This is probably why Jesus begins his sermon on the mount with this statement.

But look at the amazing blessing we receive. The kingdom of heaven. What an inheritance!
To those who are poor in spirit God will give the kingdom of heaven. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom." - Luke 12:32

Sin Cannot Condemn You

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man. (Romans 8:3)

Sin cannot condemn us. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, because Christ condemned the sin, not the sinner. By Christ's work on the cross, he judged sin. He paid the penalty for sin. He released us from the condemnation of sin, by his death. Jesus did what we could not do. It says here, “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did.”

The Law was designed to draw us into a place of righteous living before God. The Law was not weak, our human nature was weak. The Law was powerless only insofar as we could not keep the Law. The Law as a standard of good, upright living, was a failure because we failed to keep the Law.

Jesus came as a man to be victorious over sin. He was sinless. Yet the sinless life of Christ was not enough to set us free. He had to go to the cross so that we could enter into his life. Without the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, sin would not be condemned, we would be condemned. But Jesus was judged instead of us. Because he was judged for our sins, we now are free.

This is wonderful, great news! Not only did Jesus bear every sin we have ever committed, but Jesus bore every sin we shall ever commit. When Jesus died on the cross, the sins of humanity were judged there. All sins, past, present, and future, have been judged. The penalty has been paid. And we enter into freedom as we begin to understand it and walk in it by the Spirit.

God tells us that we need to get right with him, but he does not condemn us. When you sin and go to God, there is no condemnation, no rejection. When we humbly come to Christ, confessing our sin and willing to change our ways, he forgives and cleanses us from all sin. God does not get angry with us when we fall anymore. We are still learning. None of us has arrived. God loves us. There is no rejection, because God's love is not based on our performance.

The biggest mistake I can make is to say to God, `Lord, if I change, will you love me?' The Lord's reply is always, `You have it all wrong. You don't have to change so that I will love you; I love you so that you will change.' God loves me so much that he changes me into the child that he wants me to be.
Remember, sin cannot condemn you anymore. Jesus has set you free from condemnation!

God's hope brings gladness

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2b)
One benefit of knowing Christ is that it gives us hope. Without hope, living turns into despair. The way we receive hope is by getting to know Jesus Christ personally, having a living relationship with him. This is how we also come to know who he really is. And we come to know God’s nature and character. We discover that God is faithful. We discover that God loves us. By looking at the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we understand more of the depth of God's love for us. We also come to understand that God has a plan for the future for us.

This knowledge gives us hope. It brings a certainty that my future is secure in Christ. Whatever happens, nothing can change my God given destiny.

Hope then brings back gladness into my life. This is why Paul could say in Rom 5:2 that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Joy and rejoicing in God are simply part of our faith. Psalm 16 says, "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

God's salvation brings peace. God's grace brings acceptance. God's hope brings gladness.

Be quick to hear when Jesus speaks to you!

And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth He began to teach them. (Matthew 5:1-2)

It could have been a day much like today when the greatest teacher who ever lived, preached the best sermon ever preached. The teacher is the Lord Jesus, and the sermon is called the "Sermon on the Mount".

On that day he saw a huge crowd who needed to hear a fresh, new word from God. They, like many people today, were thirsty for a Word to quench their spiritual thirst, meeting their deepest needs. Tired of meaningless words of people, and the irrelevant, traditionalist long-winded rambling of the teachers of the law of their day, they craved a life changing message they could apply to their lives. Listening to Jesus preaching, it would be exactly what they get.

The words of Jesus is wiser and has more power than anything else we ever heard. Still we see that many who hear remains unmoved by his gracious and loving words. Unless the ground of my spirit is prepared by faith, the seed of the Gospel of Jesus will never break through that ground, will never take root and will never bear fruit.

What can we do to make sure that we hear his voice and receive the comfort and the new life of the most powerful Word ever spoken to the human race?
James (1:19-25) is helpful in this regard when he says:
Let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
and: In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21b)

You do not belong to sin!

Rom 8: 1 – 2: There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Although there are some who do not give much attention to sin, those who love and follow Jesus are always aware that it remains a struggle to be obedient to Christ. For some this struggle is so disappointing that they become frustrated and it takes the joy from their walk with the Lord.

For everyone who is aware of this challenge, the comforting message is: You do not belong to sin. The Bible teaches that, because we are sinners, we deserve judgment. But the Bible also teaches that, those who come to Christ, are forgiven. We are now free. We may be sinners, but we do not belong to sin! For us, there is no condemnation.

Living this freedom always remains a challenge. The resistance against sin itself often makes us to feel bound and enslaved. The fight against the old nature often causes us to feel condemned.

The word for condemnation in Rom 8: 1 does not only refer to judgment. It can also refer to a piece of land on which there is a “land-claim” by some other than the current owner. Our struggle against sin may cause us to feel that although we confess to only belong to Jesus, sin still has a claim on our lives. Sin is struggling to reclaim ownership of our lives.

It is exactly against that feeling that Romans 8 speaks and teaches. Paul says that we do not belong to sin, because Christ has set us free. The law that gives power to sin no longer has any jurisdiction over us. We belong to Jesus and not to a law. We belong to Jesus and not to evil or the evil works of darkness. If I belong to Jesus, I am free from the claims of darkness in my life.

I have been united with Christ. Because I belong to him, God sees me as someone who belongs to Christ and not as a slave of either sin or the law. God says, if you belong to my Son, my Son has set you free – he carried your punishment and he claims ownership of your life. God says, if you belong to my Son, I claim you for myself! This is why we are God’s sons and daughters, with all the privileges associated with being God’s children. We know Jesus as Saviour and God as Father. We know that we do not belong to sin. We take John 1:12 seriously: “But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name.”

Christ has set me free. This is the truth of God’s Word. What we really still need is a new self-image based on the truth of God's Word, and not one based on what we feel. It does not matter what I feel, and how helpless I sometimes feel because of my old nature that will taunt me till the day I die.
My self image is based on what God said about me, and not by what I feel about me.

And God says I do not belong to sin. I do not belong to evil. I do not belong to the law. I belong to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ. I am free, because Christ has set me free and he only may claim ownership of me!

May we remain joyful and glad in the certain knowledge that we belong to Christ.

Believers expect to be raised from the dead!

Christ the First Fruits.
Christ's resurrection was not a return to this life and this flesh and this body that we own at the moment. Christ's resurrection was a raising to eternal life. Christ's resurrection exempts him from ever facing death again. Remember what Christ Jesus said in the Revelation:
(Rev 1:18) I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!

1Cor 15:20: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Christ "has indeed been raised." God raised Jesus from the dead, by his power, according to his plan and will.

And Christ is the first fruits. Remember the meaning of “first fruits” in Israel? They were a promise to Israel of more to come: More barley, more milk, more grapes, more lambs, more children, more grand children, more blessings, more joy!
Christ as the first fruits is God's promise to us of more to come. More resurrections. More life. More joy. More satisfaction. More assurance of faith. More fullness in God’s eternal Kingdom.

There is a connection between Christ's resurrection and the believer's resurrection. The future destiny of Christians is bound up with what has happened to Christ. Because Christ has been raised, the believer expects to be raised.

Because of Christ's resurrection, we know that some day the great divine alarm clock will sound – the trumpets will blow – and we will be shaken awake to live forever.
Yes, death is still a reality. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, even over death, through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:57).
And the victorious life begins now!

Where is Jesus now?

Where is Jesus now? With the church of all ages, with those who profess their faith Sunday after Sunday, we say "He has risen indeed!" He is not in the grave.

Where is Jesus? The disciples and the women initially thought that Jesus would remain in the grave. He suffered, he was rejected and he died, he was buried. End of story. Isn't this the belief of liberals and unbelievers today? Don't they believe Jesus never rose from the grave?

And this is not the only wrong belief about where Jesus is. One cannot help but notice that in certain traditions Jesus is still depicted as being on the cross. For them he is still being sacrificed every single day. He is still shedding his blood every single day. He is still suffering and dying every single day.

But look, the cross is empty! And, his tomb is empty!

Where is Jesus? On the cross? In the grave? NO! He is off the cross. He is out of the grave. He has risen indeed! He is alive!
He is at the right of the Father in heaven!
And he is with us, always, till the end of time.
To him has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

This is our profession to the world.
And this is our confession as the people of God.

Easter - What if its true?

What if Jesus rose from the tomb?

On a Sunday near Easter, a Sunday School teacher gave an empty plastic egg to each of the kids. She then sent them outside to find any sign of life and put it inside the egg. When they returned, one had a butterfly, another an ant and others had flowers and leaves. But one egg had nothing in it. It belonged to a boy who more often than once could not manage his assignments. Some of the kids laughed at him. But when the teacher asked him why he had not put any signs of life in his egg, he simply said, "Because the tomb was empty." This boy understood the Gospel: Easter is more than a celebration of natural life.

Easter celebrates an empty tomb. Easter celebrates that nobody, that no force or any power, could keep Jesus in the tomb.

The Bible in simple, almost childlike clarity, teaches us that Jesus died and rose. Every early Christian preacher made this the main theme of his message. And for all the centuries that followed, it remained the very core of the Good News preached about Jesus. On this truth all Christian faith and service are founded.

The Son of God could not be hold by a sealed closed grave. Nothing could secure the tomb in such a way that it could keep the Messiah, the Christ of God, locked inside. No guards, no stone, and no fancy, clever theology, and no lie or deception can keep Jesus locked inside the tomb.

In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her. On the tomb stone were inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time, an acorn seed, covered over by the slabs, began to grow. It pushed its way through the soil and outside from beneath the slabs. As the trunk grew larger over the years, the slabs were shifted and they forced the steel clasps from their sockets. A tiny seed had become a tree, and the tree pushed aside the heavy slabs.

The life force contained in a little seed is but a small reflection of God’s power revealed, seen at Easter. No more could the slabs keep the acorn within the grave than could the guards, authorities and lies keep Christ within the tomb.

When Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good Friday afternoon, hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus' most loyal friends. It looked as if his enemies had won a victory. The disciples thought the Master was defeated. But the testimony of many that had fellowship with him before his ascension, even 500 people at the same time, says, Christ defeated the enemy!

The chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to get a security order.
(Mt 27:63-64) "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.

To their credit we can say that they accurately quoted what Jesus said. Jesus did predict his own resurrection. He said to his followers:
(Mt 20:18-19) "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" (Mt 16:21-23; 17:22-23)

The chief priests and Pharisees were secretly afraid.
Not of a grave robbery, but of the great “what if?” What if Jesus did arise?
What if the lifeless body started to breathe again? What if the wrapped-up, bandaged body stood up and came to them?

What if Jesus was telling the truth?

Easter Sunday - He has risen indeed!

On Friday you would not have known that he was the Son of God. You would have seen and witnessed a gruesome and unreasonable death on Golgotha.

But Easter Sunday was completely different. On Easter Sunday we see the heavenly transformation of the Messiah. The body that was so grossly humiliated, was now raised and exalted and received eternal qualities!

It was not only Jesus who was changed or transformed by his resurrection. His followers were too. Their sorrow was turned into Easter joy! Despair was turned into hope! Unbelief was changed into faith.

Jesus is alive, because his work in us has not been completed:
Jesus has not finished his work when it comes to Mary. He meets her in the garden. He talks to her.
Do you see the change in Mary? She was crying. She was sad. She was upset. But now she was filled with great and exciting and joyful news!
Jesus still has to restore the joy of his people.

Jesus has not finished his work yet. He appears before the disciples and they are "overjoyed" (Jn 20:20).
He sends them on a mission to tell others about the Good News that he is alive. (Jn 20:21). Jesus fills them with the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:22) and gives them the authority to declare the forgiveness of sins (Jn 20:23).

Jesus has still not finished. He knows there are doubters and sceptics. He appears before one by the name of Thomas. Thomas sees Jesus and he believes (Jn 20:28). "My Lord and my God!" he says to Jesus (Jn 20:28). Thomas acknowledges that Jesus is the One he worships. Doubting Thomas receives assurance of faith.

Jesus has not finished his work. He speaks to Peter about his denial. He forgives him. He commissions him to pastor his flock. He takes away his fear and gives him the back bone he needs to do Gods work.

Jesus has not finished his work. He is thinking of you and me and those who profess their faith in church. Unlike John and Peter and Mary and Thomas and the other disciples, we do not see Jesus' hands and his side. But by his Word and Spirit Jesus works faith in us. Jesus talks about us when he says, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn 20:29).

Jesus has not finished his work. Faith is not the end. Profession of Faith is not the end either.
Jesus wants to work in you and me.
He wants to remake us in his image. He wants to get rid of sin in our lives. He wants to get rid of cowardice, and laziness and slackness in his work and in his kingdom.

Jesus has not finished his work. Jesus wants us to be filled to overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22).

Jesus has not finished his work. Jesus wants us to present all that we have and all that we are to him as a living sacrifice of thanks and praise. He wants us to withhold nothing.
He wants our heart's desire to be his praise and honour and glory.
Jesus has not finished his work. Jesus wants the entire world to know about him.
Jesus wants every square inch of this universe to know he claims it.
He wants to gather his sheep from the four corners of the earth – from every tribe and language and people and nation. He wants to do this through you and me and everyone else who believes.

Jesus wants to prune out the dead parts on the tree of his church, because someday he wants his church to be complete and perfect.

Jesus has not finished his work in and through us. There is still more for him to do. Someday Jesus shall return to resurrect my body and to judge the living and the dead. Someday Jesus shall make a new heaven and a new earth.
Jesus blesses me with his resurrection power! And has not finished doing just that!

Holy Week - Still Saturday

On the Sabbath day God rested.


Yes, when this heart and flesh shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
a life of joy and peace.

Holy Week - Good Friday

(Luke 23:44-46) The Seventh Word from the cross was: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.".

When Jesus was a child, every Hebrew child was taught to pray, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Mary certainly taught Jesus this prayer when he was still a toddler. Now the Son of God, climaxing his ministry on the cross, prays these words again. Jesus greets this phase of his life in the words of a prayer he learned from his mother: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

When Jesus passed on, he did not speak some great, philosophical wisdom. When he left this world to enter Paradise, Jesus spoke a childhood prayer. The shadows have lengthened and the end has come, Jesus died. The Son is going home. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

Jesus was in the hands of sinful men. But now he would go to his Father. The Father who had forsaken him, forsook him no longer. The Father who punished him for our sins, finished punishing him. He does not die the death of a criminal. He went to hell for our sake, but his redemption work was finished. His Father condemned him no longer. In the end, the Father was there, and into his hands Jesus could commit his spirit. Learn of Jesus how to die; how to go to Paradise. By committing your spirit to the Father.

The most precious possession you have, is your eternal spirit. And, that spirit is secure only when it is in the hands of God.

On this Good Friday, I have to ask: Have you followed the example of Jesus? Have you committed your spirit into the Fathers hand.
On this Good Friday, for Christ sake, commit yourself into the Father’s hands - for this life, and for ever.

Holy Week - Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday.
I pray that it will be a day of unique and special blessings to be remembered for a long time.
It was on this Thursday night that Jesus instituted the holy Supper, washed the feet of his disciples, experienced the torment of Gethsemane and was arrested and tried by the Jewish religious leaders. It was during this night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter.

Tonight we observe the ceremonial memorial of the suffering of Christ by the gradual extinguishing of candles, Scripture readings, contemplating the meaning of the Passion of Christ and in remembrance of him, sharing in holy Communion.

Today we experience the emotions associated with the passion of our Lord. It is not to be a happy day, because the occasion remembered is a solemn one in which we are in mourning because our sins caused the Son of Man anguish and agony.

For many believers who first attend the Tenebrae service observed today, it may be upsetting. The solemnity and sadness, the pain of the Saviour, do not make for an enjoyable evening in church. But one that deepens our understanding of his love, as we become aware of what he and the disciples felt that night. Go to church, in order to leave with more gratefulness and more love in your heart.

Go to church tonight. Not to have a "good time", but to be have your mind changed about Christ Jesus. Go with the expectation to adore the Lord more and serve him with deeper devotion, after the Tenebrae experience.

Our Maundy Thursday worship will only be completed on Easter Sunday, when our blessing and joy come from the glorious, victorious resurrection of Christ.

Holy week - Wednesday

The seventh word from the cross was “Father…” - Luke 23:46
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." We cannot hear these words without calling to mind what Jesus had just suffered. Do you remember how for three awful hours the perfect fellowship between the Father and the Son, between the first and second persons of the Trinity, was broken? Do you remember how the light of God's presence was removed from Jesus and there was darkness over the whole land? And for this reason Jesus said, "I am thirsty" (Jn 19:28) meaning, in the words of the psalmist,
(Ps 42:1-2) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Up to this hour on the cross, there had been perfect and unbroken fellowship between the Father and the Son. During the Last Supper, for instance, when Jesus prayed his High Priestly prayer, he could say to the Father, "All I have is yours, and all you have is mine ... you are in me and I am in you" (Jn 17:10,21). In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus could pray to his Father: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Lk 22:42).

Jesus' first word upon the cross was to the Father: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Lk 23:34). And now his last word is also to the Father: "Father," he said, "into your hands I commit my spirit." But between this first and last word, he hung on the cross for six hours: three hours spent suffering at the hands of men and another three hours spent suffering at the hand of God. When Jesus said these last words, what he came to do, was done. The cup of God's wrath was drained (Lk 22:42).

This last word from the cross shows Jesus to again have fellowship with the Father. The Saviour is once more in communion with the Father. He can once more speak to the Father, because the Father is no longer removed from Him.

He whom Jesus calls Father is also our Father because of Christ and his work upon the cross. The Father is also my Father. What comfort is contained in this title! What assurance it conveys! God is my Father. He is my Father and he loves me, he cares for me and supplies all my needs. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us," says John, "that we should be called children of God!" (1 Jn 3:1).

In Jesus Christ we too have the confidence to call God our Father. Death is not the end for us. After death my spirit continues to live. My prayer is that your spirit and my spirit will live with God, for the other possibility is too horrible to even contemplate.

My prayer is that this Holy Week will help you to commit your life, yourself, yes your spirit, to God in Jesus Christ who suffered for us. That through the gracious work of the Holy Spirit you will understand the love that caused Jesus to go through this darkness, to lead us into the light of fellowship with our heavenly Father.

Because of the suffering of Jesus, and his resurrection, your spirit is also forever in God’s safe keeping!

Prayer - Dear Lord, do not allow anything to stand in my way of sharing this Holy Week with you. Bring us all to glorious victory through your Son on Easter Sunday, because in faith we know that you walked through the shadows of death, in order to lead us to the light. Amen

Holy Week - Tuesday

Mark 11:15-19
Jesus and those who followed came to Jerusalem. And Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written,

`My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?
But you have made it a den of robbers."

And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

Holy Week - Monday

O sacred head with grief weighed down,
with thorny bush your only crown!
How pale you are, abused and scorned,
your countenance, now blood adorned!

What shall I say, dear heavenly Friend?
Your shame and suff’ring, I cannot mend!
But let me never faithless be,
your dying love – it was for me!

O sacred Christ, so cruelly crowned –
no greater love or grace to be found.
O Jesus let me worship thee,
so scorned, so mocked on Calvary!

What is “Holy Week” about?

The majority of Christians across the globe refer to the week that begins with Palm Sunday, celebrated yesterday, and ends with Easter Sunday (4 April), as “Holy Week”. During Holy Week we also observe the Tenebrae Service on Maundy Thursday as well as Good Friday worship. The high light always is the joyous celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.

We know that the word “holy” means that something belongs to God. It tells us that this week is set apart for God, to remember, contemplate and celebrate the central truth of the gospel, that only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, saved us from our sins by his atoning death and victorious resurrection.

May all our readers be blessed, encouraged and equipped to live the Christian life to the full, when we participate in the worship of God and celebrate Jesus Christ, during Holy Week 2010!

Palm Sunday

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, the crowds were singing from Psalm 118. This is a psalm for the Passover. It was a psalm for pilgrims coming to Jerusalem, to worship at the temple. It was a song that would have been on everyone’s mind on that Palm Sunday. What is amazing is that they applied the words of the psalm to Jesus!
Jesus is entering Jerusalem on the Sunday before the Passover. And the people cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!" – from Psalm 118: 25 – 26.

The word “Hosanna” that they sang is the Hebrew word for “save” or “save now”. That is exactly what we find in verse 25 of Psalm 118 – It says, “Save now, I pray, O LORD,” literally, “Hosanna, O LORD”. The psalmist in verse 25 is calling the LORD God to save him!

The Jerusalem crowd applied these words to Jesus. Verse 25 instead says, “Save now, I pray, O LORD.” In the rest of the Psalm the poet proclaims God’s love as seen in his mighty deeds of salvation, experienced by his people over many ages. But verse 25 looks forward to some future deliverance.

The Jews were under Roman occupation, even though they were living in the Promised Land. The nation of Israel as a political entity, did not exist. And so the people were eagerly awaiting the Messiah, whom they hoped would restore the kingdom of David and they expected it to be a political earthly kingdom.

This is why the crowds also echoed verse 26 of the psalm as they said “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!” Their songs and exited procession show that they were hoping that Jesus was the Messiah.
And indeed Jesus was, and is, but not in the way that they thought. He was indeed the blessed One who came in the name of the Lord. He would bring salvation and deliverance to God’s people. He would overcome their enemies.
He would bring a restored kingdom, but a kingdom that was better than the old kingdom in the earthly Promised Land. He would bring an eternal, heavenly kingdom!
Jesus was their saviour and messiah, but not the kind they were thinking of. And so, ironically, the crowds spoke the truth. They rightly chose this psalm and applied it to Jesus. Yet, in just a few days, the same crowds would no longer be praising Jesus as they did during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but instead they would be crying out to crucify him!

This irony comes to a climax at the cross of Jesus. Psalm 118 ends with a call for a festival sacrifice. Jesus is this sacrifice. He is this paschal lamb. Although on Palm Sunday they cried to Jesus, “Save!”, “Save!”, soon they would cry out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And when they cried out to crucify him, they are basically calling out the words of verse 27, “Bind the sacrifice!” Bring on the festival sacrifice! Prepare the paschal lamb! Crucify him!

When we sing our Hosanna’s on Palm Sunday, we hail the One, our eternal King and Lord, who came to save, by giving his life – by being the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world!

Hosanna! Save us, oh crucified, risen Lord!
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Hosanna!

Holy Week

What is “Holy Week”? (This year celebrated from 28 March – 4 April)

The majority of Christians across the globe refer to the week that begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter Sunday, as “Holy Week”. During Holy Week we also observe the Tenebrae Service on Maundy Thursday as well as Good Friday worship. The high light always is the joyous celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
We know that the word “holy” means that something belongs to God. It tells us that this week is set apart for God, to remember, contemplate and celebrate the central truth of the gospel, that only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, saved us from our sins by his atoning death and victorious resurrection.

What is “Palm Sunday”? (28 March)
Palm Sunday always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Gospels (Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19). It remembers the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the last Sunday before his Passion.
The Gospels go on to describe how Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and how the people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of trees. The people sang part of Psalm 118 - ...Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David. ... (Psalms 118:25-26).

The earliest evidence of Palm Sunday celebrations can be traced back to Jerusalem in the 4th century, according to the travel diary of a woman who had traveled to Jerusalem and observed the festivities - including the procession of believers with palm fronds.

On Palm Sunday music plays an important role in praising Jesus our King, who came to Jerusalem to save his people. He is a King who saved by giving his life – body, soul and spirit – to carry our punishment and deliver us from the law and judgment of God.

What is Tenebrae? (Thursday 1 April)
The Tenebrae service is observed on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday. It was on the Thursday night that Jesus instituted the holy Supper, washed the feet of his disciples, experienced the anguish and fear of Gethsemane and was arrested and tried by the Jewish religious leaders. It was the night that he was betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter.

Tenebrae (Latin for 'shadows' or 'darkness') is a unique ceremonial memorial of the suffering of Christ by the gradual extinguishing of candles, a series of Scripture readings, teaching on the meaning of the Passion of Christ and in remembrance of him, sharing in holy Communion.
The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion events. It is not to be a happy service, because the occasion remembered is a solemn one in which we are in mourning because our sins caused the Son of Man so much hellish torment and distress.
It is an incomplete service without benediction at the end, only to be completed on Easter Sunday, when our blessing and joy arises from the glorious, victorious resurrection of Christ.

Good Friday (Friday 2 April)
Good Friday is not a day of celebration but of mourning, both for the sins of the world and our personal sin that the death of Christ represents. Yet, although Friday is a solemn time, it is not without its own joy. For while it is important to place the Resurrection against the darkness of Good Friday, likewise the somberness of Good Friday should always be seen with the hope of Resurrection Sunday. We always observe Good Friday well knowing that Sunday is coming! Sunday, every Sunday, remains a feast of worship and praise, because Jesus triumphed over death and all our enemies.

Traditionally we remember the words of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday...
Father, forgive them . . . (Luke 23:34)
This day you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)
Woman, behold your son . . .(John 19:26-27)
My God, my God . . . (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)
I thirst. (John 19:28)
It is finished! (John 19:30)
Father into your hands . . . (Luke 23:46)

Easter Sunday (Sunday 4 April)
On the 3rd day he rose again!
Easter Sunday is the crown of Christian worship that inspires every Sunday service of the year, where we are equipped to live for the glory of God every day of our lives, until the end!
You could call it “the most important Sunday of the year”. I prefer to call it the most inspiring Sunday worship one can ever celebrate!

Lent - giving my best for the Master!

It was a few days before Jesus' death. He was in Bethany, just east of Jerusalem. There was a dinner in the home of Simon. Guests included Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary, and, of course, Jesus. While they were eating, Mary entered the room, broke open a bottle of expensive perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus.

Judas criticized Mary for wasting the perfume. "Why was not this ointment sold," he asked, "and the money given to the poor?" But Jesus defended her. "She has anointed me for my burial. The poor you always have with you." Matthew also records these words: "Truly, I say to you, whenever this gospel is preached to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

Jesus responded to Mary's deed with the words, "She has done a good thing." It is indeed a good thing, the best thing, to give of your best to the Master. What is your best? What valuable talent, or gift, or possession sits even today on the shelf of your life? Will you pour it out for the Master? Did you mark the best you have on the congregation’s gift bank form?

Does not her example move you to devote yourself to the Lord? Is there something precious, something personal, something important, something that will make a difference, your best, that you can lay at the feet of Jesus during this Season of Lent?

What does the hymn say?

"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all."

Lent: Christ’s work is finished

"It is finished." This was the cry of our Lord just moments before his death.
"It is finished." Is this a cry of defeat? No, it is a cry of triumph. What does this cry of Jesus mean? It means that Jesus' life was finished- that Jesus' work of redemption was done. Scripture's promises about the Messiah are finished or fulfilled.

"It is finished," said Jesus. Jesus' life was ended. He was a living human being. He ate and drank, slept and walked, preached and prayed. But now all this was finished. His life was at its end. In a moment he would die. "It is finished," was his cry.

How different Christ is from us: "he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." Christ submitted to death. He embraced death. He died willingly, of his own accord. But, then, didn't Jesus say this is the way he would die? Remember his words in John 10:
(Jn 10:17-18) The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

"It is finished." Sin's account is paid in full, settled. Our debt of guilt is wiped out, because Jesus suffered and died for our sins upon the cross.

"It is finished." Jesus has completed the work God has sent him to do on this earth. What was started when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem, was ended on Golgotha. Christ's salvation work was now done. He did what needed to be done to save us from our sins. There is nothing we need do, there is nothing we can do, to complete this work of redemption.

Thirsty during Lent

"I am thirsty." These words were spoken by our suffering Lord just before "he bowed his head and gave up his spirit" (Jn 19:30b). How terribly sad: the Maker of heaven and earth with parched lips; the Lord of Glory in need of a drink.

A word of Jesus' humanity
While living on earth, the Lord Jesus gave full proof of his sinless humanity. He entered this world as a baby and was wrapped in strips of cloth (Lk 3:7). Like any normal human child, "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature" (Lk 2:52). As a man he became tired (Jn 4:6). He was hungry (Mt 4:2). He fell asleep (Mk 4:38). He prayed (Mk 1:35). He rejoiced (Lk 10:21). He was troubled (Jn 11:33). He wept (Jn 11:35). And he cried out: "I am thirsty." Christ was thirsty because he was and is fully man. The book of Hebrews says this about Christ:
(Heb 2:17) ... he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

A word of Jesus' sufferings
"I am thirsty." This word of the Saviour also expresses his sufferings.
The Bible tells us that at the institution of the Supper, was the last time Jesus ate and drank before he was crucified the next day. The Bible tells us Jesus was so anxious and upset about his imminent crucifixion that his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Jesus also was whipped. Back then people were whipped until their backs became a big bleeding and open mass of flesh. And think about his crucifixion. Nails, pain, blood, fever! And now remember that he went a night and a day without anything to eat and drink. Is it strange that Jesus said "I am thirsty?" This word on the cross expresses the Saviours extreme bodily, human suffering.

A word expressing thirst for God.
"I am thirsty." In these words we also hear our Lord's thirst for God, after being forsaken for 3 long hours of darkness, when God had turned his face away from Jesus. After three hours of forsakenness, Jesus was crying for God. Jesus remembered the words of the the psalmist:
(Ps 42:1-2) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (2) My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Jesus had been without God for three awful hours. No wonder he cried out for God. No wonder he said, "I am thirsty."

We also often cry: "I am thirsty," and "my soul is empty (pants for God)". Yet, as Jesus often explained, we look into the wrong things and go to the wrong places to fill our soul when the challenges of life itself shows us our thirst for God. But Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again" (Jn 4:13).

Christ alone can quench our thirst. He alone can meet the deepest needs of our heart, our soul, our life. Come to Jesus. If you die in your sins, your eternal cry will be the moaning of the damned: "I am thirsty." In the lake of fire the lost suffer with nobody to quench their thirst.
Come to Jesus and drink of him. For only Jesus can satisfy your thirst today.

The Lenten Season defines Messiah

In Luke 9: 22 Jesus defined himself. He did so using four verbs. “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” This is a hard lesson, yet it is the heart of the gospel.
It is not pretty, it is not easy, it is not soft, it is not sentimental and it is not gentle. But it is the truth.
Jesus told us that he had to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and be raised again, all on our account. This is for us.

And then in verse 23 Jesus also used four verbs in defining Messiah’s followers: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

If our Messiah is defined by suffering, rejection, death and resurrection, we, his followers, are defined by loosing our lives through the complete commitment with which we follow Jesus.
Our very lives are not ours to keep, but to give. To keep one’s life to yourself is to forfeit life. But to pour out one’s life for God and for others in following Jesus, is to truly find life and life everlasting!

Lent – contemplating historical truth

In the Apostles' Creed the church recites that Christ Jesus was crucified "under Pontius Pilate." We use the name of the Roman governor in the Creed not to blame him for the deed, but to date the event.

Christianity is an historical religion. It stands or falls with the truth of historical events: namely, that there was a man named Jesus; that he lived in Palestine; and that he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor of Judea.

Today we would date the event by the year, month and day. But in Biblical times a date was indicated by the rule of a governor. So, for instance, says Luke 1:5: "In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah ..."; or Luke 2:2: "This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria."

By mentioning Pontius Pilate, the Apostles Creed confirms that all the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion and death, are historical truth. It really happened. My salvation by his suffering and death, really happened.

The cross, Golgotha Hill, the 7 words on the cross, the 3 awful hours of darkness and the temple curtain torn from top to bottom, everything really happened, when Pontius Pilate was the governor in Jerusalem, more than 2000 years ago.

Our faith is based on historical fact. Therefore on a day, month and year in history, I was saved from my sins and adopted a child of God. Because I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

Believe it!

Lent: Jesus was forsaken by God!

God forsaken
Matthew 27:46: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"
Here we have the original words of Jesus in his own language, Aramiac. This is the language in which he ministered, prayed and died. And it means: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Sabachthani, forsaken, means "to abandon, to let go, to leave."
It is awful to be forsaken. It is not natural for anyone to be totally alone. We have a God-created need for others and for God himself. To be forsaken means that no one is able or willing to help you. You are totally alone.

At the end of his life Jesus was totally on his own. The crowds and his disciples had turned against him. His family did not believe in him. In his dying hour he cries out that even God has forsaken him! Of everything he suffered, this was his greatest pain and sorrow.

According to his divine plan God physically forsook Jesus. It was because God abandoned Jesus, that Jesus could be betrayed by Judas, was mocked, spit upon and was falsely accused. It was because he was abandoned by God that Jesus, though found to be innocent, was still treated as though being guilty. It was because Jesus was abandoned by God, that he was whipped, had a crown of thorns forced on his head, and nails were driven through his wrists and feet. It was because Jesus was abandoned by God, that he died the cruel death of the cross.

To be forsaken by God in this fashion is to suffer the torments of hell. Hell is the complete absence of God and all that is good. Hell is complete separation from God.

"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" This cry scares and surprises us. It must also be answered. Why did God forsake Jesus in both body and soul? What was the barrier that existed between the first and second persons of the Holy Trinity?

The barrier was sin. It was our sin which broke the bond of communion between the Father and the Son. Jesus took on our sin. He was cursed and abandoned and forsaken, to save us from our sin. The question was: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The answer to this question of Jesus is: Our sin! Your sin and my sin is the reason why God has forsaken him.

Precisely because he went to hell in this way, we know victory, forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Christ took our place. He was separated from God, so that we don't have to be.

This is why we also share in Christ's victory on Easter Sunday. We are also raised with him.
O God, what a Saviour you sent to us!

Lent – a season of simple rejuvenation...

Lent is to be a season of fasting, spiritual discipline and growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity. The word “Lent” comes from the Germanic word for springtime and can be seen as spiritual spring cleaning.

It is a time to take a spiritual inventory, cleaning out those things which hinder our personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him in his Body. This is why Lent begins with repentance – on Ash Wednesday. But the whole season of Lent and its disciplines can transform us, body, soul, and spirit. Disciplined diet cleanses the body, providing for a simple spiritual journey, that brings us into a closer walk with God. Thus our emotions can get rid of obsessions, fear, sadness and emotional pain.

This happens when we focus on becoming more and more like Christ. Eastern Christians call this process theosis, which Athanasius, an early church father, appropriately described as "becoming by grace, what God is by nature."

There are very basic Christian tasks associated with the season of Lent. These are fasting, almsgiving, prayer and contemplating the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we consider his bodily and emotional suffering and his torment when he carried all our sins and was punished for all our iniquities, even forsaken by God his Father, we find his light in the Father’s love, who gave his only Son for us – and we find the love of Jesus to be strangely familiar, as of a friend who gives his life for us. There is no greater love, than to give your life for your friends.

The purpose of Lent is to once again find assurance of faith, by the grace of God. The wealth of spiritual renewal that comes through grateful sacrifices, renews my understanding of the love of God and of being his child. Within the simplicity of Lent a renewed relationship with Jesus comes to pass. I am redirected onto the way of God’s purpose for me to only live for his glory. And by grace, through faith, the Word of God rejuvenates my servant’s heart through grateful love for what Jesus my Lord and Saviour did for me!

The Lenten season comes to an end with great joy and happiness - with the feast that rejoices in the victory of Christ over my enemies – the Easter Sunday!
And this joy continues every Sunday for the rest of my life, when I worship and praise, and learn to walk with the risen, conquering Lord every day, until the end.

Lent: Penitential Prayer

O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,
and spare Your servant from strange sins.

Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430)

During Lent the light of Christ shines in the darkness of the world...

Jesus is our light in spite of the darkness of the world.

According to John 8:12, Jesus said: "I Am the light of the world".
This is one of seven "I AM" statements of Jesus. By calling himself “I AM.” in the way God did when he revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush, Jesus claims to be God, yes to be God's equal. He claims to be a person of the holy Trinity. Remember the words of Ps. 27: 1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation". Jesus is claiming the same thing about himself that the psalmist says about the God of Israel.

"I am the light of the world." John's Gospel talks a lot about light. Of the seventy-two times that the Greek word for "light" appears in the New Testament, thirty-three of them are in John's Gospel. Think a moment what these words meant if you lived during the times of Jesus. Then light was something you had during daylight hours. There were no power stations, no electricity, no batteries and no gas. It means that all knew and recognised the importance of Jesus' claim to be the light of the world. Light shining in darkness was a precious, sought after commodity. Light prevents falling, getting hurt, getting lost, getting robbed!

Jesus was sent as a light into the world to save the world from darkness:
(Jn 8:12) "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
(Jn 12:46) “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

During the Lenten season we rejoice that Jesus is the light. We rejoice that Jesus frees us from the hold of darkness and brings us into the light. We celebrate that if we follow Jesus we will be delivered from the perils of darkness. We are safe in the light of Christ. If you want to live, to really live, you must be in the light, who is Christ. If you want to live, to live forever, you must come to Christ.

Yet, says John, (Jn 3:19-21) “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil. (20) Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (21) But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light ...”

Jesus is the light of the world. But by nature, people love darkness more than light, because their deeds are evil. Without Christ, darkness is in your heart and in my heart and, without Christ, darkness is where we love to stay. Deep inside we are ashamed of who we really are. We hope that darkness will cover the shame of our own dark thoughts, words, attitudes and deeds. We fear judgment as a result of the darkness of our hearts and hope that the darkness of the world will cover our transgressions. We fool ourselves into thinking that if we remain in darkness, God will not know who we really are.

To be in "darkness" means not to know God and Christ. To "walk in darkness" means to regulate one's life according to the darkness, and to conduct one's life by the darkness. The unsaved world fears the light, because light chases the darkness away. Light exposes our deep inner shame, because of our longing to remain immoral, selfish and greedy. Darkness wants us to believe that we do not have to change, to repent or be honest with ourselves and with God about how lost we became living without Christ.

The unbelieving society rejects Christ and remains in the darkness. And, in that darkness it will be forever lost,
until it comes to the light, who is Christ.

Example of a Lenten Prayer

An Example of a Lenten Prayer:

O Lord, who has mercy upon us,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore you,
a heart to delight in you,
to follow and enjoy you,
for Christ's sake, Amen.
Lenten Prayer of Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)

Lent, spiritual discipline and a closer walk with the Lord!

Spiritual discipline makes a difference during Lent:

• Learn the value of daily repentance and turning to Christ in prayer for forgiveness and sanctification.
• Deepening ones prayer life by adding more time to our quiet times for the sake of listening to God.
• Deepening our walk with the Lord through additional reading of the Word, for example adding a Psalm to our readings every day, and choosing a Gospel to read the history of the passion of Christ, passage by passage.
• Being diligent in worshipping with God’s people on Sundays and celebrating his Supper with his people.
• Giving sacrificially after prayerful contemplation of what God expects us to give and to which cause.
• Forgiving those who sinned against us, as God has forgiven us. Seeking peace with all the significant people in my life, including my fellow church members!

Why do Christians give up something for Lent?

Why do Christians give up things for Lent? Should I do it?

In the earliest church, Lent began as a period of preparation for baptism. People who converted to the Christian faith and received Jesus as Lord and Saviour, were welcomed into something like “an apprenticeship” during which they were mentored in Christian belief, worship, prayer, and practices. The final weeks led directly to baptism, which was celebrated on Easter Sunday.

Part of the preparation for baptism included the discipline of fasting — for example, doing without meat or abstaining from food for one or more meals every day. This is the origin of the custom of giving up something for Lent.
The point was to enter voluntarily into a spiritual exercise intended to
(a) deepen one’s prayer life and walk with the Lord
(b) and heighten anticipation of the great festival of the resurrection.

If “giving up something” raises spiritual consciousness and serves as an aid to a more intimate prayer life, an aid to reflect on the meaning of the dying and rising with Christ, and to claim one’s baptism as God’s solemn promise to be our God, do it!

Spiritual discipline should simply mean a focused time toward the end of deepening one’s relationship with Jesus.

But if it is nothing more than a topic for discussion, a way to any form of perception of spiritual superiority, or just a pain that makes one feel like a martyr, then, do not do it!!!

Lent, temptation and the power of the Word

Before Jesus started his ministry he was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to spend 40 days of preparation. Spiritual discipline played a key role while Jesus fasted, prayed and learned about his messianic calling.
The Season of Lent can for us be such a time of learning to walk with God.

For forty days in the wilderness Jesus fasted. Because of this, Luke explains, "he was famished" (Luke 4:2). Being so hungry set Jesus up for the devil's temptations. He said: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread" (Luke 4:3). At first glance, there seems to be nothing especially wrong with this challenge. Later in his ministry Jesus would produce food miraculously, so why not now make bread from a stone while he was so hungry?

There are at least two things wrong. Firstly, turning stones into bread was the sort of thing that pagan magicians did to impress the crowds. The devil really was saying, "Jesus, you have divine power, so show me your tricks!" and the purpose of God’s miracles is never to entertain anyone. Secondly, the devil's challenge to turn stones into bread must have come during a time when the Spirit still wanted Jesus to fast. This was the sort of temptation that makes our sin to look like not such a serious issue. One that said – do it, it is only human. You are hungry – will God really be offended if you feed yourself?

This is one of our classic arguments for going with worldly practices and ways: – it is natural; it does not matter that much, God will understand.

How did Jesus respond to the devil's temptations? He quoted Scripture. Jesus said: "One does not live by bread alone." This comes from Deuteronomy 8:3, where Moses reminded the Israelites of their experience in the wilderness: "[The Lord] humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” By citing this passage of Scripture, Jesus defied the devil's challenge. His hunger for bread did not matter as much as faithfulness to God. Submitting to God’s will really mattered

To overcome temptation, Jesus quoted Scripture.
There is divine power in God's Word. There is power in God’s Word that exceeds my willpower. When I am tempted, I need to hold onto God's Word, embracing its truth and using it as the sword of the Spirit to fight off the enemy. The more we are immersed in Scripture, the more we will be strengthened by the Spirit to defeat temptation.

If you find yourself being tempted, hold onto the Word of God. Read it. Say it. Sing it. Allow its power to help you defeat temptation.

LENT let us contemplate the imputed righteousness of Christ!

2 Cor 5: 21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God made Jesus to be sin for us. God made us to become his righteousness.
In classical Christianity, this is called imputed righteousness.
But what does it mean?

To “impute” is a verb that attaches to a person responsibility (and therefore financial liability) for acts or injuries to another, because of a particular relationship, such as mother to child, guardian to ward, employer to employee, or amongst business associates.
For example: a 16-year-old boy drives his father's car without a license and runs someone down. The child's negligence may be imputed to the parent,
or, in the reverse, a mother drives her car and collides with a truck driven over the speed limit, and her baby in the front seat of the car is badly injured, in part due to not being put in a safety seat with a seat belt. The mother's negligence can be imputed to the child in any claim on behalf of the child against the truck driver.

Imputed liability is a legal term that assigns liability for an injury to a person who did not cause the injury, but who has a particular legal relationship to the person who did act negligently. It is also referred to as imputed negligence.

(Afrikaans: toegerekende aanspreeklikheid, soos in die sin: Die minister het toegerekende aanspreeklikheid vir die nalatigheid van beamptes in sy staatsdepartement.)

Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian teaching which proposes that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers, that means, treated as if it were theirs, through faith. It is on the basis of this "alien" (i.e. from the outside, imputed) righteousness that God adopts sinners as his children and find them “not guilty” of their sins.

Imputed righteousness teaches that God looks at us, as if we are as perfect and without sin as Jesus is, and it means that God looked at Jesus as if he was as sinful and disobedient as we are, and punished him through his suffering, cross and death for all we have sinned against a holy God.

Our faith relationship with Jesus Christ - he the King, we the followers, he the Head and we the body, he the Groom and we the bride, attaches our sin to him and makes him liable, through imputed liability, for all our sins. This same relationship makes us righteous in the eyes of a holy God, on the ground of our justification, meaning our being found “not guilty”, by his imputed righteousness.

This is what Paul teaches in 2 Cor 5: 21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Today is Ash Wednesday!

Today is Ash Wednesday.

Not all denominations observe Ash Wednesday. In the protestant world it is mainly Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists and Anglicans. But it is observed by Christians for probably more than 1600 years and it is observed across the globe. On this day we remember our mortality and we repent anew of all our sins. This contemplation drives us to Saviour Jesus and through considering his suffering over the next 40 days, we are assured of salvation and of eternal life!

Cleanse me from my sin.
After Advent and Christmas, until today, we considered the Gospel as it was revealed through the teaching, miracles and ministry of Jesus.
But today is Ash Wednesday. Today the Season changes to Lent. This Season, that lasts till Good Friday on 2 April, leads us into an even deeper understanding of the Good News of God. It should lead us from knowing about Jesus, to loving and following him wholeheartedly.

This is to a certain extent is a dark journey in which we confront the strongholds of evil in our lives, deeply ashamed of what we became without the discipline of being followers of Christ.
But it also is a journey in which the cross, the suffering and the grave of Christ grant us hope, forgiveness and a deep sense of joy about the love, grace and the mercy of God.
Ash Wednesday is the point which marks the change of seasons, leading us into the deepest possible personal knowledge of God’s love, revealed in giving his only Son, that we will not perish, but have eternal life. And on Ash Wednesday we confront the evil and sin in us, to prepare us for our journey with Christ on his way of suffering, while we all the time learn to love him more and become more devoted to him.

In Psalm 51 David begs God to cleanse him, after his adultery with Bathsheba is exposed by Nathan the prophet.
Psalm 51: 2 -4 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

On Ash Wednesday we, like David, realise that sins that are not repented of and turned away from, carry within them the evil energy of self-destruction and often harm others. When the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, and we turn back to God on the grounds of his love, grace and mercy, repentance becomes a journey of receiving back life, and the freedom to choose to serve and worship God with all our heart, soul and mind.

The way God offers is neither easy nor comfortable and is one that calls for spiritual discipline. Even though Ash Wednesday is a day of solemn repentance when we recognise that we are sinners in need of a Saviour, it is also a day in which we rejoice that we are rescued from the slavery of sin and restored as children of God.

When we begin the symbolic journey of following Jesus through forty days of fasting, spiritual discipline and résistance to temptation, called the Season of Lent, we already know about his victory and exultation through his resurrection and ascension. Repentance therefore becomes the means towards a closer walk with God, looking forward to his gracious purpose with our lives and to be with Christ forever. But before we begin to create the Christian life and world we long for, we have to admit our sin: our greed, our carelessness, our ignorance, our self-centredness, our idolatry and our destructive consumption, amongst other things.

David only repented after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. But should we not daily practice repentance, even before we are challenged by someone else, about what we have done?
Ash Wednesday offers us the opportunity to start to develop a spiritual discipline where repentance drives us to Christ, and as such influences all our relationships.
How rich in love, obedience, humility and faith we will become, if we take Ash Wednesday’s call to repent home, to stay with us always!

God loves the world!

John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

This is an amazing statement for John’s Gospel, which generally operates with a negative view of “the world”, because the world rejects Jesus. How could God love such a world?

The miracle is that God gives the Son "so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." God's motive was love and God's objective is salvation. Those who actually receive eternal life are those who believe in the Son.

It would have been far less costly for God to ignore the world's sins and to allow people to live in darkness, but that would not reflect love, but apathy.

Earthly parents provide an analogy. It is far more costly in time and energy for a parent to supervise a child rather than letting the child run wild. It is much less hard work to allow your child to be brought up and taught by its peers, than being educated and guided by parents.
Some parents see it differently, preferring not to constrain the child, but that which appears to be a gift of freedom instead jeopardizes the child's welfare.
It is not a "hands-off" policy that demonstrates love, but a willingness to make sacrifices to keep the child safe.

God makes the biggest possible sacrifice, his one and only Son, to save the world.
But God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
To save you and me, and our children!

Make the most of each opportunity in Christ's cause!

Remember the words of Jesus when he used financial investment as an example of our calling to make the most of what God invested in our lives, in the parable about the 10 servants of each received one mina, an amount of money, to invest for their master. Some earned 10 and 5 minas more. One man kept it laid away in a cloth. The master’s investment did not earn any interest in his case.
About this man, Jesus said: (Luke 19: 26) "'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away”.

In this parable a servant is punished, because he did nothing with the treasure he was given.
This servant represents the people who have received the gospel message and God’s blessings and it has not changed them even one little bit!
And they have not shared God’s investment in their lives with others and did not use their blessings to expand the Kingdom of God. Their shareholding in God’s work remains small and vulnerable and when the day of judgement comes, they will not hear the Master’s word of welcome and approval. For those who earned Christ no interest on his investment in their lives, the judgement day is a daunting prospect.

But to those who made the most of God’s investment in their lives, will also be given the share of the unfaithful servants – their share of eternal glory. Those who truly work with the Big Entrepreneur of the Kingdom of God, those who use their given salvation, spiritual gifts, church membership, Bible knowledge, access to God’s throne in prayer and ability to give, to advance the Kingdom of Christ, will certainly hear the Master say: Well done good and faithful servant. They have been changed into godly entrepreneurs by God’s work of grace.

Christ has invested his life, his death, his blood, his power and his Spirit in you!
What interest has he received through your life, your service and your witness?

Be blessed when you are changed by God’s goodness and grace into someone who is making the most of every opportunity given to you in Christ’s cause on earth. When the last day comes, you will remain standing, be given Christ’s glory and even be given the eternal blessings of those who did nothing with their invitation to serve the King of all!

The four GREAT things in a Christian’s life.

If you search for the four GREAT things of God, look no further than these 4 priorities in the Bible!

The GREAT commission:
Math. 28: 19 & 20: GO and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

The GREAT commandment:
Math 22: 37 & 38: LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And he second is like it: LOVE your neighbour as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.

The GREAT promise:
Acts. 1: 8: You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.

The GREAT invitation:
John 7: 37: If anyone is THIRSTY, let him come to me and drink – streams of living water will flow from within him.

Thirsty Christians without purpose for their lives and service to God do not accomplish much in God’s Kingdom. What is the point of calling yourself a Christian and you remain spiritually deprived?

God provided the food and drink – through Jesus Christ!
God provided the great adventure to bring his Kingdom and his salvation to the lost!
And while we journey powerfully in the Holy Spirit towards our purpose and fulfilment in Christ, we use the compass that will guide us step by step - the commandment of love!

There is no need to remain in slavery, sin, disobedience and spiritual weakness and not bearing fruit for the Lord. There is deliverance, redemption and fulfilment in following and serving Christ Jesus through the power of his Holy Spirit.

Lent, now soon to come, is a season of prayer and reflection on the GREAT sacrifice of our Lord. May it be a season filled with heavenly blessings and inspiration for every day of our lives.
The Kingdom of God is near! The time has come!
Enter with gladness and thanksgiving!

Repent!

Many Christians never talk about sin and repentance. Many never talk about the need to fall on your knees and confess your sin to God. Many never talk about how we human creatures offend the majesty and holiness of God.

But if we don't talk about repentance, we miss the point of the cross. If we don't talk about repentance, we forget the main reason why Jesus came. If we don't talk about repentance, we don't understand the wonder of God accepting us. If we don't talk about repentance, we end up believing that Jesus only came to make us feel good. If we don't talk about repentance, we think what is wrong with us requires only a hug and friendship, instead of a bloody Cross.

Repentance means that we see our sins as God sees it. To repent means we see our sins as sins – without excuse, without a victim mentality, without making light of them. To repent means we see the depths of our sin.

And, to repent means we recognize the wonders of God's grace, mercy and love. There is a correlation between seeing our sin and God's love. The more we see the depths of our sin, the more we see the heights of God's love.

Mark 1: 15: Jesus said: “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent! – and believe the good news."

"The time has come." We must make a radical decision: either to continue in our sin and live without God, or repent and experience the joy of salvation.

ONLY JESUS CAN!

I cannot save myself o God,
- no one can, my Lord!
There is no one, to take away
all my guilt, unrighteousness!
Just Jesus can,
can achieve God’s gospel plan.
Yes, Jesus can,
o holy God,
only Jesus can!

A Saviour pure, I need, o God,
- sinless man and God,
to carry all my punishment,
satisfy your will, your wrath!
Pure Jesus can,
sinless Christ, the Son of man.
Lord Jesus can,
the Son of God,
only Jesus can!
only Jesus can!

Sung to the music of I WORSHIP YOU, ALMIGHTY GOD.

Only by grace I’m saved!

Washed with the blood of Christ,
cleansed with his Spirit’s flame,
only by grace was called to live,
and only by grace, I came!

Only by grace I live,
only by grace restored.
Only by grace my faith is real:
I’m only by grace adored!

Only by grace I love,
only by grace believe,
and by the Spirit’s gracious work,
a trusting heart receive!

Jesus has made me whole,
into God’s heart engraved.
Father who chose me – praise the Lord -
yes, only by grace I’m saved!


Sung to the music of “Breathe on me, Breath of God.

Saved!

The word "saved" is a remarkable word within Christianity. It is a descriptive word that says that although we were lost, now we are found. People, whom the Lord saved, are people that he found and brought back to his family. The Lord, in his mercy, searches for us until he finds us. This is the process by which he helps us understand and accept that we are lost without Christ, and if we surrender to Jesus Christ, he found us, and we are saved.

There are not many roads that lead to salvation. There is only one way to heaven. Tragically, many do not travel on that way.

Paul writes the following about being saved: If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10: 8-9)

To be saved means that you believe and that you confess. You believe that God raised Jesus from the dead – that he is victorious over anything and everything that made us into “lost people” and then you (sincerely) confess that he is your Lord. This is what saved people do.

There is something within us, part of our weak sinful hearts, which prefers to work for, and earn to be saved. We hope that if we could just be good enough, we will somehow be worthy to inherit God’s promise of eternal life with him.

Can someone who needs to be saved from drowning tell the life guard that he or she would rather try to swim to safety? Can someone beneath the rubble after an earth quake afford to say to the person who came to save him or her, that they would rather dig themselves out of that life threatening danger? Will anyone who became lost from Christ’s family and God’s church and who is in the dark, find the way home by themselves, without the Light, Jesus our Lord?

I completely owe my salvation to God. He saved me. Jesus Christ had to die for me, and I have to surrender to him in order to have eternal life, I have to give him my life. If I believe in my heart that God raised him form the dead and confess out loud that he is my Lord – I know that he saved me.

To quit trying to save yourself and start trusting the living Jesus, and surrendering to his Lordship, is what the Bible calls faith - faith through which we are saved.

Surrender now to him. Confess it today. Live it everyday!
There is only one way to heaven and it is not the way of human effort. It is the way of responding to God’s divine initiative. It is the way of having a personal relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ. It is the way of surrender to the Saviour. Surrender to Lord Jesus, the Saviour, today, and you are saved.

Forgiven and Restored

When Jesus was asked to preach in his home town, Nazareth, he claimed these words form the Book of Isaiah to refer to him: (Luke 4: 19) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour". It refers to what in the Old Testament was known as the Jubilee year.

A Jubilee year is a year to celebrate Israel's entry into the promised land, flowing with milk and honey. It is a year to celebrate Israel's liberation from slavery in Egypt, and above all, to celebrate God's goodness towards his people, Israel.

In a Jubilee year the land lies uncultivated. Both the land and the people rest and are restored. And it is in this year that debts are cleared: a time when mortgaged land is returned to its owners and Hebrew slaves are freed; it is a time of restitution and fulfilled hope. A Jubilee year had a theme of forgiveness and restoration.

These celebrative events continue to declare the will of God for his people. God's will is to forgive and restore us, no matter what we have done or who we were before we became a child of God.

Jesus came to proclaim that the time of God's favour has come for you and me.
It means -
In Christ, God restores what is impossible for us to do.
In Christ, God has cancelled our debt to him.
In Christ, God has forgiven us our sins.
In Christ, God has set us free to live as his children.
In Christ, God has set us free to enter the eternal promised land of his glory.
In Christ, God gives us renewed life through his presence with us.