Ungodly church goers

 

Jude 1:4

For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Do you find this as shocking as I do? That it is possible for ungodly persons to infiltrate a church group unnoticed – they behave like sincere believers and yet are far from being what they profess to be.

Jude had the intention to write this letter to believers about the fact that all of us have to follow the same way to reach our salvation. However, this issue of hidden imposters among the flock became a matter that he had to address urgently.

He gives a few clues by which we can identify them. They pervert the grace of God into lawlessness, and then into immorality. This can happen so easily, for instance when we hear someone say, “It is OK to do this, because God’s grace means He will forgive you.” Or they hold the belief that if it feels good, it is permissible. There is also an element of “everybody does it, so it seems to be acceptable”. I have heard about a pastor who tells his congregation that they can receive the mark of the beast during the Tribulation, because God’s grace will cover them (when the Bible explicitly says that those people will be thrown into hell Rev 14:9-10). We regularly see Christian young men and women living together because they see it as acceptable behaviour in their churches, while the Bible teaches purity before marriage throughout all its pages.

They deny the deity of Jesus, teaching that He was but a man here on earth, that He married and had children, and died an ordinary death. And slowly these doctrines, coming from seemingly learned and knowledgeable Christians, get a foothold among the congregation and erode their core belief.

Jude goes on to explain that they not only corrupt the body through perverse sexual practices, but they also scorn and reject all authority – not only the authority of God and His word, but also of church leaders, and governmental rulers. These evil men and seducers are angry at everything that happens and never pleased with their own state and condition. Their will and their fancy are their only rule and law. They complain and grumble about everything, their talk is boastful and arrogant, they pay flattering compliments to gain advantage. They live devoid of the Holy Spirit.

Pearls to ponder:

Now that you know what to look for, do you recognize people in your congregation that exhibit these behaviours? What about you, personally? Jude has answers as to what to do about this situation – read verses 20-25. It begins with turning inward and building up your own faith. And then rely on God’s discernment as to whether you have to confront and rebuke; or whether you must comfort those who waver and doubt. Loving the person but hating the sin should always be our motivation.

Love you with the Truth

Fulfilled prophecy

 Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

It might upset some readers to realize that this well-known prophecy originally referred to a child born to King Ahaz of Judah, and not primarily to the birth of Jesus some 700 years later. The child was to be a sign to Ahaz pointing to the fact that, before the child reached adulthood, the Assyrians would invade the north of Israel. The mother of this child could have been one of Ahaz’s wives, taken into his harem while still a virgin, and then becoming pregnant in the normal manner, naming her son Immanuel. This sign of Isaiah came true, as history proves.

Some believers find it difficult to accept that Biblical prophecies that have already been fulfilled somewhere in the past, could have any bearing on events that might still happen in the future.

But the apostles themselves believed that the words of the prophets did not only apply to historical events, but specifically also to their own time as well, as we read in Acts 3:24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days.” This is because the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write words that also would have bearing on events in the messianic future, even if they themselves did not understand the full application of their own words.

We see this clearly in Isaiah 7:14, because although Ahaz’s child fulfilled this prophecy in his time in history, it is also true that:

·         this prophecy refers to Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew in Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

·         This prophecy refers to Jesus because it is addressed not only to Ahaz, but to the entire house of David.

·         This prophecy refers to Jesus because the words “the virgin will conceive” was literally fulfilled when He was born.

·         This prophecy refers to Jesus because the designation “Immanuel” was fundamentally true of Jesus in His lifetime and not only used as a title. God with us shows His deity (GOD with us) and His nearness to us (God WITH US).

In the same way, we can know that many other biblical prophecies give us a template of things still to come, even though they might have been fulfilled in history already.

Points to ponder: Am I open to see Bible prophecy as markers for the future, waiting for another fulfilment? Do I then see end-time prophecies becoming real-time events all around me as time goes on? Ask Holy Spirit to convince you of the godly interpretation of the times we are living in and ask Him to show you how to truly discern and understand those prophecies in the light of His Word. Do not merely rely on the teachings of man.

Days of Elijah  

The power of God

 

1 Cor 16:14

And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

The Shroud of Turin is an ancient piece of grave cloth with markings on it that resemble the body of a man that has been crucified and then wrapped up in it before burial. Research on this cloth has been ongoing for many years, as the images found on it matches the events described in the Bible as to what happened to the body of Jesus Christ perfectly – it shows the blood stains of a crown of thorns on the head, of holes in the wrists and ankles, of a wound in the side, a beard that has pieces ripped out, and also of a body scourged and whipped extensively.

Irrespective of what your opinion about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin is, it cannot be denied that the latest findings produced by AI research and published by scientists recently, has certainly taken the whole debate into another realm, quite literally!

They considered the fact that the image was burned into the cloth, but without scorching the fabric deeper than a tiny layer of the uppermost fibres. Their explanation for this is that the fabric was hit by a burst of light, and this suggests something incredibly powerful, something untraceable. They surmise that it was a burst of radiation from the body that lasted only a tiny fraction of a second, which allowed the atoms of the body to disappear from our perception of reality into an altered dimensionality. They made a point of explaining that the body did not go from one stage of existence to another through the mass of his body turning into energy, because that would have created a nuclear explosion a thousand times larger than the largest nuclear weapon ever set off – it would have destroyed the cloth, Jerusalem, and most of Israel!

To my mind, we as believers have a perfect explanation for what happened – Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God! Jesus is the Light of the world, (John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”) Paul mentions that as imitators of Him, our bodies will be transformed into glorified bodies in the time it takes to blink (1 Cor 15:52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.)

Pearls to ponder:

Consider the power of that burst of light. Know that it is larger than the power that any other earthly method by which the body could disappear, would generate, which already is a thousand times larger than the largest nuclear bombs? And then consider the fact that Jesus says this power lives within us! (Eph 1:19-20 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms). Why do we ever believe that we are hopeless against the enemy and his defeated army of darkness?

That's the Power

Living in noise

 

Luke 9:18

One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone…..

Jesus walked in complete union with God, in complete obedience to what Abba had sent Him to do. In fact, He Himself said that He did not do anything that His Father had not shown Him to do. In our human way of thinking, we would assume that Jesus therefore did not need extra time with Abba, after all, He was constantly in touch with Him, was He not?

And yet He often secluded Himself to pray to His Father - alone, away from the clamouring crowds that were constantly demanding His attention, away from His disciples and family. In doing so, He set us an example that is a key element in hearing God’s voice, something Elijah physically experienced when he was hiding in the cleft in the mountain Horeb. He did not hear God’s voice in a mighty wind, earthquake, or fire, no, 1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. That great prophet instantly recognised the soft gentle voice of his God in the quietness surrounding him.

When we shut off the noise flooding our lives and quiet our souls before God, He can deal with the emotional anxieties, stresses and fears that then start arising within us during those moments. He has a way of showing us who we really are, the real inner being that we so often try to hide from the world, because we cannot hide anything from God in those intimate times with Him. The distractions in our lives successfully keep us so busy and engaged that we rarely find ourselves in the position described above. This means we are missing out, big time! Because as we increase these quiet times with God, it has an interesting effect:  our hearts become softer towards God and our desire for more of Him increases. We build up a strong inner core of trust and faith, and all of this comes not by doing something, but by being with Someone!

What is keeping us from spending quiet alone time with God? It could be that we are afraid of what will be exposed about us during those times, inner hurts that we cannot face maybe, or attitudes that we are very reluctant to change because that would mean changing our identity and way of living up to now. Another hindrance in our modern times would definitely be our addiction to constant media stimulation. And yes, it is an addiction, creating in our brains the same effects that taking cocaine has. We mistakenly equate solitude with loneliness, but meeting with God means that we have a Companion alongside us, we must believe this even though we do not see Him. We could also be reluctant to spend time with Him because we are afraid that God will not say anything – but that should not hinder us, because the point is to spend time with Him, not expecting anything, but just sitting in His presence.

Pearls to ponder:

How do I get started? Choose a time for your meeting, set your alarm if need be. Start small, one to two minutes maybe where you really focus on God Himself, not on a list of favours to ask Him. You can increase this time as you go on. Be consistent, try not to miss a single day of doing this. It helps if you choose a special place to meet Him, any place where you can be uninterrupted for a while. Invite Him there, remember Eli told Samuel to say: Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening? Just say something simple like: Here I am, Lord! And then quiet your soul, aim for silence, do not play worship music or speak. Just let your own thoughts pass by without giving them attention (e.g. your list of things to do that day!). And focus on Abba, Jesus, Holy Spirit, just stand in awe of Him, in reverence and thankfulness. This is different from the worldly way of meditating, you are not emptying your mind, you are intentionally focussing on Him. Keep doing this and see how God works in your life!

Still, be still my soul

What is in a name?

 

Luke 1:5

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.

Have you ever thought about the spiritual meaning of your name? Many people do not realise that their name has a deep intrinsic value, because they think that it was randomly chosen for them by their parents. Traditionally, giving a family name to a newborn baby is what most parents would opt for. If not, parents of a soon-to-be-birthed little baby would typically work through a book of names, sifting and sorting until a shortlist is compiled that satisfies both, and gradually names would be eliminated until only one or two remain. Sometimes parents would just think of the name of somebody they liked and admired and choose to name their baby after that person.

There are parents who prayerfully ask the Lord what He would like them to name their child, and this is of course the best course of action. But the most wonderful thing about your name is that no matter how ‘randomly’ it was chosen by your parents, it is still in God’s will that you received that name!

How God uses names for His purposes is illustrated so well by the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth quoted above. He was a priest performing priestly services in the temple in Jerusalem, married to Elizabeth, but the couple remained childless until an angel appeared to him and told him that Elizabeth would give birth to a child in her old age. Zechariah’s Hebrew name was Zicharyah, meaning God has remembered, and Elizabeth was called Elisheva, meaning the oath of God. Their union in marriage spelled out a prophetic message to all who had eyes to see: God has remembered the oath of God.

This was a clear sign to Israel that God had not forgotten His oath to Abraham, because the baby Elizabeth gave birth to was named Yochanan, who was later to become known as John the Baptist – and his name means the grace of God - the grace of salvation through Jesus Christ, about Whom John had to testify all throughout his life.

Three names, no matter how they were decided upon, spelling out God’s intention to keep His eternal promises, at the exact time that those promises were being fulfilled – all orchestrated by God. Never doubt that your name is meant to be uniquely yours!

Pearls to ponder:

When people had to change their identity and direction in life, God often changed their names to reflect this. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel. Our names often reflect the spiritual journey we are on. Find out what the Christian meaning of your name is and pray the godly promises contained therein over your life! Let God’s promises override the names we tend to give ourselves – names like lonely, forgotten, wounded. Replace them with: I am God’s child, He holds me in the palm of His hand, He is my Healer!

Hello My name is

The circle dance

 

Ex 23:14

“Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honour.

When God gave Moses this instruction for the Israelites, He then also clarified what He meant by describing the names and details of the feasts He wanted them to keep. The name He used for ‘Feast’ was the Hebrew word Khag, which Strong’s defines as:

 châgag, khaw-gag'; a primitive root (compare H2283, H2328); properly, to move in a circle, i.e. (specifically) to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival; by implication, to be giddy:—celebrate, dance, (keep, hold) a (solemn) feast (holiday), reel to and fro.

It therefore implies the gathering together for a festival, usually in the form of a circle for dancing and feasting.

God loves to see His people filled with joy and happiness and expressing this in jubilant dancing before Him, which is why He named His Feasts with a word that means just that. In fact, Abba has anointed His Son Jesus with abundant joy, giving Him a measure above all others as we read in Heb 1:9 You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.” We know that Jesus attended wedding feasts, and I can easily picture Him joining a dancing circle on these occasions and celebrating with exuberant joy and laughter!

If we think about it, we can even come to realize that the khag is not limited to humans only, the earth also takes part in it as it performs its circle dance around the sun, joyfully proclaiming God’s greatness and power.

Certainly, dancing is not restricted to the Old Testament – there are quite a few words in the New Testament which equates joy with dancing or movement. In Matthew 5:12 the word ealats means ‘to jump for joy’ and pazaz means ‘to leap or bound’; in Acts 6:5 Prochorus was a Christian deacon, and his name means “one who leads in the circle dance”.

Pearls to ponder:

Are we prepared to bring a new dimension to the praise and worship of our God by dancing before Him? Knowing that it pleases Him, knowing that He instructed His children to do this? Or are we going to let tradition and legalism stand in our way?

Some churches have a formal dance group who will on occasion dance in front of the church to songs they have practised movements to, and this is to be commended - it gives talented dancers a platform to express their worship in a beautiful and godly way, so different from the way people dance in the world.

To those who would not dare to do so publicly, I encourage you to start moving before the Lord as you praise Him in the privacy of your own home. You do not need dance lessons, the Lord just wants your heart to be close to His, and your dance with Him will take you on a personal journey way above what you could ever have imagined!

Shavuot 2025

Weaving a tapestry

 

Esther 5:14

His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.

Esther 7:10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

As we read through the book of Esther, we see that there are many incidences in her life that surely did not add up for her. She had no mother of father - losing one parent would have been difficult enough for a young girl growing up, but losing both must have been devastating! She grew up in a foreign land, in Persia, where her people were exiles and where her culture and religion were subordinated to the whims of the ruling pagan despot, Ahasuerus (or Xerxes in Greek), someone who was easily persuaded by his advisors to act immorally – we see him divorcing his wife Vashti after she refused to entertain his intoxicated guests by showing off her beauty. We read that he fell for the suggestion to sleep with any amount of innocent young girls to select a fitting successor for the previous queen. He listened to and believed Haman’s lies about the Jewish people not keeping the king’s laws, then accepted his bribe of 10 000 talents of silver to decree that all Jews be destroyed.

Esther was captured to join the harem of this very same king, knowing full well what was required of her, and that, should she not be selected to become the next queen, she would disappear into the second harem forever. None of these happenings in her life so far could have made any sense to her – her upbringing by her devout cousin Mordecai must have instilled in her the knowledge of a loving God Who cared for her, Who would protect her from harm. She could so easily have rebelled and gone her own way. But she chose to let the inner light and beauty that her belief in her God had ignited in her, to shine through to such an extent that the wayward king could not resist her, in fact no one could as we read in Esther 2: 15 And Esther won favour in the sight of all who saw her. 

We know the rest of the story, how Esther intervened in Haman’s evil plot and saved her whole race from annihilation, how his evil plans to kill Mordecai backfired and he was in fact impaled on the very pole he had set up for Mordecai. All because Esther chose to stay true to her God, even though she surely could not have understood the events that unfolded before her. But there is even more: Esther must have had a hand in influencing king Artaxerxes I (successor to Xerxes) who appointed Ezra to lead a group of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem to teach the laws of God, and 13 years later sent Nehemia to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls.  I am sure that she would have been delighted to see the long-term effects of her dedication to her God!

Pearls to ponder:

When God weaves the tapestry of our lives, we simply cannot see what the whole picture is going to look like. We only see the colour that He is weaving into it at this moment in time, it does not necessarily make sense to us as we have such limited understanding of how all our life experiences are going to fit together in the end. Trust that He has a perfect picture in mind for the tapestry of your life, and stay true to Him no matter what! Your decisions to follow God today will impact not only your life, but the lives of your future generations to come!

Tapestry

The night of Adam

 

1 Cor 15:44

Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven

1 Cor 15:21-22

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Jonathan Cahn, that wonderful connector of dots, painted a beautiful picture showing the connection between the second man (Jesus) to the first Adam on the night before His crucifixion.

Man was created on the sixth day of creation. We can then rightfully name the sixth day the “day of Adam”.  Jesus died on the sixth day after He entered Jerusalem, on the day of Adam.

According to Jewish ways of calculating days, the sixth day always starts the evening before, and here we find more facts linking Jesus to the first Adam. When Adam fell, God said in Gen 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In this curse, bread is linked to death. On the evening of the Last Supper, Jesus ate bread, as it was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. When He lifted up the bread to His disciples, He joined the bread to His death, as was the case in the fall of Adam. (Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”)

After the meal, Messiah Jesus toiled in prayer and sweated what appeared to be drops of blood falling to the ground. When we consider the fall of Adam, we also see toil, sweat, and ground, and all happened in a garden, the Garden of Eden. Adam was then removed from the garden to the place of the curse, which was outside, where he would eventually die. So too on that night Jesus was removed from a garden, called Gethsemane, and taken to a place outside where He would be judged, cursed, and led to His death. And it all took place on the night of Adam.

We as the children of Adam are now redeemed from the curse, and we are released from our toil to come back to the blessing in the presence of God. Hallelujah!

Pearls to ponder:

Jesus paved the way for us to return to that blessed position Adam had in the Garden of Eden – living in the presence of God, communing with Him without any barriers that sin erected in our lives. We do not have to work hard to obtain our salvation and the forgiveness of our sin. We must strive only to be in His rest!

Come to Me

Your Eliezer

 

Gen 24:2-4

And Abraham said to the eldest servant of his house [Eliezer of Damascus], who ruled over all that he had, …… But you shall go to my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son Isaac.

This longest chapter in Genesis is devoted to the searching for a bride. It is the beginning of God showing us that this is the most important theme threading all through the Bible and holding everything together: the love that God has for His bride! Let us first examine the Old Testament: we see Eliezer searching for a bride for Isaac; and Hosea having to marry a prostitute and take her back repeatedly to show God’s faithfulness toward His wife, Israel. We read about the Bride of Christ’s journey to accept her Bridegroom’s love for her in Song of Songs; and Esther winning the love of the pagan king Ahasuerus. Boaz married Ruth and became her kinsman redeemer. All of these are examples of how God wishes to establish the closest relationship with us possible, as embodied in the marriage covenant.

The New Testament abounds with references to us as the Bride of Christ. Jesus begins His earthly ministry at a wedding banquet, turning water into wine. He then often refers to weddings in His teachings, for example in the Parables of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14); the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24); the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25). Paul directly compares the relationship between husbands and wives to the relationship between Christ and His church in Eph 5:22-23 and continues the theme in 2 Corinthians 11:2. Of course, in Revelation 19:7 we read that at the end of the age, we will be the bride at the wedding feast of the Lamb!

Our quoted verse above comes from the remarkable chapter 24 in Genesis that shows us the role that Holy Spirit plays in bringing the Bride into this close relationship with the Bridegroom. The story begins with the outstanding servant of Abraham, called Eliezer, being tasked by his master to find a bride for Isaac. This mirrors the love our Heavenly Father has for us, that He is always sending Holy Spirit out to search for us. Eliezer then gently hovers around Rebekah, waiting for her to respond to his promptings, already giving gifts to assure her that he is genuine. This shows Holy Spirit’s selfless heart – his one aim is to win the future bride’s heart for his master’s son! As soon as she agrees to go with Him, He showers her with more gifts of the Spirit, then accompanies her on the long journey to meet her Bridegroom - Who had been waiting for her all this time, preparing a place for her to stay with Him.

Pearls to ponder:

Have you become aware of your Eliezer yet? This name means “my God is the helper” – and we know that Holy Spirit is also known as our Helper (John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.) Let us live today knowing that He is in and around us, that we are not alone on this journey through life. Be aware that He is constantly by your side, guiding you towards your Bridegroom, just follow His lead!

In His Presence

The Gift

 

John 1:32

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

In Old Testament times, Holy Spirit did not abide in people permanently, He would only come on an individual to strengthen and equip him or her to do a certain task for the Lord.

Here are a few examples of this: Judges 3:9-10 But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war…

Ex 31:2-4 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,

Deut 34:9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.

These persons then would stand out among others as especially gifted from the Lord to excel in the duties that they had been selected for. It would be apparent to all that they had something special, a desirable attribute that others were lacking.

The New Testament started with the death and resurrection of Jesus, not His birth (the meaning of the word testament is a legal will, a covenant between God and His people). Therefore, Jesus received Holy Spirit from His Father at His baptism (as was the case in the Old Testament up until then), to empower Him for His public ministry.

But then something wonderful happened:  Holy Spirit remained on Him! Not only was this the sign that God gave John the Baptist that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’), but it also was a foreshadow of the wonderful Gift all believers in Jesus would later receive – the Gift of the Holy Spirit!

 He would now not only come upon us occasionally but remain and dwell in all of us who believe, to equip and empower us for our tasks here on earth. (Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit).

Pearls to ponder:

Is it apparent to all around you that you have Someone special, some extraordinary Gift that sets you apart for your assignment? Are you allowing Holy Spirit to work in you, to transform you so that His power can flow through you to accomplish His work here on earth?

Holy Spirit Breath of God