How new is the New Covenant

 

2 Cor 3:6

He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah spoke of the new covenant that would come, 600 years before it came to be (Jer 31:31-34). He revealed that it would shift the keeping of the covenant away from following external rules and regulations to inward transformation of hearts; it would pave the way for ordinary people to get to know God without having to rely on someone else approaching God on their behalf; it promised the forgiveness of sin by the mercy and goodness of God and would remove the hold sin has over people; and it would remove the burden of having to earn salvation through obedience to laws and show that we are saved through God’s grace alone.

Jesus then came and established this New Covenant through His death and resurrection ( Luke 22:20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.) We as Gentiles are now included in this New Covenant along with our Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters who also believe in Jesus, because after Jesus’ resurrection we all became one new man in Christ, guided by the Spirit, given a fresh identity: 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Have you ever thought about the fact that our new covenant is more than 2000 years old by now? How can it still be considered new? The answer lies in the original Hebrew words “brit haddashah”. Brit means covenant, but haddashah means so much more than new. It means fresh. It describes the nature of the covenant, not the time in which it came to be, so that it stays just as new throughout your life as a believer as the day you first entered it.

Pearls to ponder:

If something is left to stagnate, it stops flowing, stops being life-giving, much like a blocked riverway where water dams up and becomes a breeding ground for all sorts of unwanted pests. Keep the awareness of the New Covenant alive in your everyday life – ponder the love, the grace, the truth and the salvation that is always new for you every day! Here are a few suggestions to get started: When you wake up, do not grab your phone and start scrolling. Instead, thank Him for the breath in your lungs; for your position as a child of God; for everything! Read something from Scripture, even if only one verse. Pray from your heart, give Him a minute of silent adoration. Listen to worship music as you get ready for the day. And as you keep the river of the Spirit flowing every day you will become more aware of His presence in your life, and your covenant with Him stays fresh for you!

New Covenant

Can women speak in church

 

1 Cor 14:34-35

Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

These two verses must be some of the most controversial verses in the New Testament, used to (erroneously) teach that women are not allowed to speak in church, and then expanded into a ban on women to be elders, pastors, leaders of home groups, etc. All based on the meaning of the words in today’s language and context – which can be very misleading to say the least!

The English language is still evolving, even today, so that words lose their earliest definition and take on more modern meanings. Examples would be nice, which originally meant “ignorant or foolish”; awful used to mean “full of awe and wonder”; silly once meant “happy, blessed or worthy”.

If we look at a few of the Greek words used in our passage above in their original meaning and usage throughout the New Testament, a very clear picture emerges of what Paul was really saying here.

The Greek word for “be silent” is sigaō which everywhere else in the New Testament means restraint in certain situations, not a blanket ban on speech. The verb for “speak” is λαλέω, which Paul used in this chapter to order specific worship activities, not to stop all vocal participation. If we know what kind of silence Paul wants, and what kind of speech he is regulating, then we can ask: what were the women doing that was so wrong?

And this is where two other Greek words come into play. In verse 35 Paul uses ἐπερωτάω which means a direct, pointed question aimed at a specific person, either to trap them, or genuinely to learn something. This is what Paul asks the women to do at home instead of in the assembly. Why would he do that?

 That word is joined with μανθάνω (to learn), which is the root word for disciple. It means to enter the long training period of discipleship, taking in knowledge by questioning it, debating it, owning it and living it – not sitting in a pew just passively listening to it. Paul used this exact same word earlier in verse 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and when he says ALL may learn, he includes men and women.

He is not criticizing the women’s desire or right to learn, but in how they were doing it. They were interrupting the teaching with mostly elementary questions, because most women in that era had far less education than the men – not through any fault of their own - the culture simply refused to teach them. In ancient Mediterranean times, learning was interactive. Students interrupted the teaching sessions constantly, BUT there were rules governing who got to interrupt and how. Beginners were expected to stay in the background and learn quietly, while advanced students were allowed to ask questions during the lessons. In that setting, asking elementary questions in the teachings were considered shameful.

Can you now picture the scene in those early churches? Women who were recently set free in Christ and were hungry to understand but did not have the schooling of the men, interrupted the teachings and asked questions at a basic level. This not only shattered the order of worship, but in their culture, looked scandalous. This is why Paul uses that word, the scandal of it tainted the church to the outside world.

Pearls to ponder:

Woman’s voices inside church do not offend God. Paul wrote what he wrote because this particular behaviour, in this particular culture, went against all accepted norms of learning and honour for that time, and the Gospel was suffering because of it.

This is not muzzling women – Paul was assuming (quite correctly) that the husbands knew enough to answer their elementary questions in the privacy of their homes, and they could then naturally progress to the level of advanced students.

We are one

Only God can predict the future

 

1 Kings 13:2

Then at the LORD’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.”

And 300 years later, the events named in this prophecy played out, exact in all its detail.

The background to this dramatic outcry above (from an unknown prophet), is the story of King Jeroboam of Israel’s northern kingdom. This evil king had led the rebellion that split the kingdom of David. He then set up two places of worship for his people, because he was afraid that they would desert him and worship in Jerusalem. One of these places was at Beth El, and just as he was about to offer incense at the altar there, the prophet appeared and delivered the message from God that not only described what would happen but even named the one who would fulfil it!

We then find the righteous king Josiah 300 years later, on a mission to cleanse his land of idols and turning his nation back to God. He started breaking down the altars to the gods everywhere, and when he reached Beth El, he tore down the altar there and began beating its stones to dust, while also burning down the wooden images of the gods. He then ordered his men to collect the bones of the dead in the tombs he saw across on the mount and burn them on the altar, (just as he had done earlier to the altar that Solomon had built for various gods east of Jerusalem), in order to defile it.

He suddenly saw a monument, and on asking what it was, heard from the men of the city 2 Kings 23:17…“It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted the very things that you have just done to the altar at Bethel!”  Even though nobody that was present there had witnessed the prophecy being given, its remembrance had been kept alive by the people of Beth El!

Nobody had told Josiah of this prophecy, and he did not follow instructions to act in this particular way. He only did what he felt would destroy the idolatry from his nation and turn his people back to God. It is a clear demonstration of God predicting the future through one of His prophets, because He of course knows everything that will still happen in the future. His aim in revealing things to come before they come to pass, is to prove that He is God, and that He is reliable, and that nothing is impossible for Him. (John 13:19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.)

Pearls to ponder:

The number of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible amounts to hundreds, some even count to more than a thousand. This is proof of the reliability of the Bible, as no other book on earth can claim this; and it is proof also of the greatness of the God that we serve! Let us start looking at Bible prophecies that have not yet come to pass with great expectation - because surely, they will be fulfilled!

King Josiah

Worship in heaven

 

Hebrews 12:22-24

No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

We have to carefully consider the verb tense in the language that the writer of Hebrews is using here. It is written in present perfect tense, which means that he is connecting a past action to the present moment, describing actions that have started in the past, but are still ongoing. Think about that for a moment. The writer is telling us what is actually happening when we gather together as the body of Jesus Christ.

He is describing the room we are standing in - we are entering the heavenly assembly, joining the congregation already there. This is the court that God Himself has convened, and we are participating in a gathering that stretches across time and space, not just happening in a particular church meeting in a particular street in a particular town.

Mount Zion is the seat of God’s throne. The heavenly Jerusalem is the unseen counterpart to the city Jerusalem that we know here on earth. The angels joyfully gathering are His divine created beings in worship. The church of the firstborn is the assembly whose names are recorded in heaven’s books, the living and the departed together. God is the Judge of all. The spirits of the righteous made perfect are the saints who have died, who are therefore already present in the assembly. Jesus is our Mediator, Who stands enthroned in the midst of it all.

Evidence according to Jewish custom is only valid and accepted as truth if there are two or three witnesses to the event. God has provided us with these witnesses: Isaiah saw the same scene in chapter 6; Daniel saw it in chapter 7; John also in Revelation 4 and 5.

But somewhere along the way we have lost the wonder and awe of this reality. Angels became figures of speech; the spirits of the righteous and the heavenly Jerusalem became the content of funeral sermons. The unseen assembly became purely symbolic, mentioned in doctrinal debates but not preached in church gatherings.

Come on church, let us start impressing upon members that we are gathering under the torn veil, where access to heavenly places was bought by the precious blood of Jesus - whenever we gather, the unseen assembly is present. The departed saints are present (in heaven, not physically on earth with us). The angels are present. Christ is present as the enthroned Mediator. God is present as the Judge of all.

Think of the difference it would make to our worship if we understood this. That when we sing here on earth, we do not just sing the songs that were impressed on our anointed worship leaders’ hearts by the heavenly beings that are tasked for this – we get to join all who are in heaven in worship before God’s throne!

Pearls to ponder:

What would the effect of knowing that the church on earth and the church in heaven sing the same song, because they are in the same assembly, have on the way you participate in worship? Would your attitude to church gatherings shift if you used your imagination to step into the heavenly courts as you stepped into church?

God's throne room

Different functions

 

Rom 12:4

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function…”

(An extract from an inspiring letter written by Steve Porter - posted with permission)

Beloved, the Body of Christ is beautiful when it is healthy. A healthy body is a wonder to behold. The heart beats faithfully in its hidden chamber. The lungs breathe without applause. The kidneys filter quietly. The eyes see. No organ competes with another. No member resents another. No part tries to become something it was never designed to be. Each part stays in its place… and because it does, life flows.

This is the mystery of the Church. When every believer begins to function in their God-given place, divine order emerges. But when members move out of alignment… weakness enters. When the kidney tries to become an eye, confusion follows. When the hand refuses to serve because it wants to be seen, the whole body is hindered.

Dear one, the same is true spiritually. God never intended one person to carry every assignment. He appoints callings. He gives burdens. He releases anointings. Some are called to heal. Some are called to teach. Some are called to pray. Some are called to evangelize. Some are called to shepherd. Some are called to strengthen hidden places no one sees.

Within the fivefold ministry we see this clearly. Eph 4:11“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.”

Why? Because no single vessel carries the full expression. The apostolic may pioneer and establish. The prophetic may discern and awaken. The evangelist may gather the lost. The pastor may nurture and protect. The teacher may ground and mature. When all function together under Christ the Head, the Church grows in beauty and strength.

But when one tries to be everything… exhaustion comes. Now let me speak tenderly, beloved. Many precious saints carry sincere burdens. But something dangerous can happen. They may place their burden onto you. One says, “You need to start this.” Another says, “Why aren’t you doing this ministry?” Another says, “God showed me you should lead this.”

And if you are tenderhearted… if you love people… if you want to help… you may begin gathering burdens like stones in a sack. Soon you are juggling ten spinning plates. One plate is missions. One plate is outreach. One plate is events. One plate is counselling. One plate is everyone else’s emergency.

Then the crashing begins. Not because you are bad. But because you were carrying burdens you were never meant to carry. There are worthy burdens meant for another shoulder. But if you pick up every good thing, you may lay down the God thing. Be careful, dear one. Your devotional life can suffer. Your marriage can suffer. Your children can suffer. Your peace can suffer. Your focus can suffer. And eventually your soul can suffer.

When you move in your true assignment, grace flows. There is a holy ease—not laziness—but divine oil. What would crush another person becomes life-giving to you because it is your lane.

This is how many burn out. Not always from sin. Often from misalignment. Bloom where He planted you. Every ministry matters. Every calling matters. But no one person was meant to carry them all. We need each other.

Pearls to ponder:

Beloved, pause today and ask: What am I carrying that God never assigned me? What burden was transferred to me by sincere people? What good thing has stolen strength from the God thing? Let the Spirit speak. Return to simplicity. Return to your lane.

With Love,

Steve Porter

I lay it all down

God's accounting

 Daniel 5:5,25

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 25. “This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin

The background to the above verses is the great feast which Belshazzar, King of Babylon, gave to 1000 of his high-ranking officials. During the proceedings he commanded that the holy gold and silver vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had stolen out of the Temple in Jerusalem, be brought out so that they could drink wine from them. As they did so, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, but not the immortal, living God of Israel! Immediately the hand appeared….

The inscription on the wall is a brilliant play of words! The three root words (mene, tekel peres) are, if read on the surface, a list of weights or money – a mina; a shekel (tekel is the Aramaic form); and a peres, which is a half-mina.

So most probably, to all the wise Babylonian men who were first called to interpret the words, it might have looked like a meaningless list of currency, which is why they could not make head or tail of it. So how did Daniel understand what the words conveyed?

We find the most important reason in the words of the mother of the king written in verse 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. We know that Holy Spirit dwelt in Daniel. He prompted Daniel to take into account the fact that each of those weight-words were also the root of a verb word of judgement.

Mene sounds like menah, the verb “to number”.  Tekel sounds like teqal, the verb “to weigh”. Peres sounds like peras, the verb “to divide”.  This is what Daniel therefore laid out to the King:  God has numbered the days of your kingship and brought them to an end. You are weighed in the balances and are found wanting. Your kingdom and your kingship are divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

But how did he know about the Medes and the Persians? Well, Peres (the dividing) also sounds like Paras, the Aramaic name for Persia. The very word that announces the kingdom’s division also names the people who will receive it.

This inscription has a divine double meaning, which only God could have brought about. On the surface, weights and coins. Underneath, a sentence of doom. The God Who numbers, weighs, and divides has done His accounting on Belshazzar’s reign, and the books have been closed!

Pearls to ponder:

It matters to God that a nation should glorify and praise Him, not just individuals in that nation. Daniel’s faith and faithfulness could not save Belshazzar’s kingdom. Ponder on how you can contribute to our nation turning around to serve the God of Israel. Perhaps you could organize prayer groups that specifically pray for the leaders of our nation to come to Christ. Perhaps you could use legal avenues to resist any and every godless decision Parliament makes or debates about. Perhaps you could get involved in politics as a Christian. Do you feel unqualified to bring about change in our nation? Remember that He qualifies the willing! Ask Holy Spirit to make avenues of action open to you.

He chooses the willing

Can I trust AI

 

2 Tim 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

I believe that the modern application of Paul’s advice to Timothy - to correctly handle the word of truth – has to do with the careful evaluating of what AI generates. It can produce content that sounds like religious truth, that appears well organized, fluent and even theologically skilful. But to what extent should we actually trust what is produced?

The large language models (LLM) that generative AI systems use to gather information from, are not Bible databases. These language models generate text by predicting the next word based on statistical patterns learned during training. What this means, is that it is increasingly not retrieving a verse from a Bible source, but chooses what seems to be a best-fit answer, based on statistical estimation – which really boils down to guessing what would fit here.

The Bible itself does not depend on guesswork; every verse is there with serious intent, rooted in thousands of years of accurate copying from original texts. But AI is drawing its answers from vast numbers of languages, quotations, paraphrases, commentaries, sermons, articles, blogs, etc. Who is to say which of these are simply misquotations from who knows where?

This is why everything coming out of the generative AI system must be evaluated, using the Bible itself, before it is preached or taught. An AI-answer may be mostly right but still be wrong in concepts that matter.

1 Thess 5:21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. is the way the church must handle AI in these times. We have to test the content of what we receive very carefully, using actual Bibles as references, and not rely on what we have heard or read somewhere else.

Anyone who addresses a congregation, (pastors/teachers/travelling ministers) especially should beware when they reach a point where they start using AI exclusively to write their sermons for them - and not using it just as a tool, maybe to improve language or organisation. AI can help with so many administrative things and if used correctly can be a very effective tool. But it cannot be used as the only source when dealing with sermon or teaching content, the Holy Spirit is the only One Who should be giving guidance on this!

Pearls to ponder:

Modern technology like cell phones, laptops, AI systems, etc. are all tools that can be used either for good, or with disastrous effects. Wisdom concerning this comes only from walking with the Holy Spirit and staying grounded in the Bible – both of which depends on whether we choose to make it happen. Are you prepared to choose to spend time with Holy Spirit and learn to recognize His voice, and to read your Bible diligently?

TRUTH

God's name is holy

 

Deut 5:11

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

The original word translated here as LORD, is called the Tetragrammaton (Greek for "four letters"), the four-letter Hebrew name of God, יהוה (transliterated as YHWH or YHVH). This is where the names Yahweh and Jehovah originated from.

Jewish people consider this Name of God so holy that they never pronounce it, in fact, the original pronunciation was deliberately erased so that no one would be able to misuse the power it represented. Instead, it is usually read as Adonai, meaning my Master. When the ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament were copied, the priests working on them would wash their hands every time they had to write YHWH, they were also strictly required to wipe their pens clean and recite a specific blessing before doing so. If a mistake was made when writing it, the whole page had to be copied over again. These faulty copies were then not destroyed or thrown into the trash – it was buried in a dedicated place to decompose naturally.

Jesus glorified the name of His Father in every facet of His life. When His disciples asked Him how to pray, the very first example He taught them was to sanctify the Father’s name (Matt 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,). It is interesting to note that Jesus also never used the Name casually. He instead referred to God as Father; the One Who sent Him; the Power; the Most High; the Lord of the Harvest; and many others.

How then are we to think about the use of God’s holy name as brand images? I recently became aware of soda cans bearing the name Yahweh and God; and His name is printed on all kinds of products from T-shirts to doormats (I am referring to His name here, not Scripture references). Supporters of the idea say that this serves as a conversation starter, a way to spread the Gospel. The question I ask is, do these objects really glorify His name? A soda can is casually thrown into the trash after use. So also do most T-shirts end up on the garbage dump. People wipe their muddy feet clean on doormats, literally stomping on the holy Name of God if it is printed there.

I am not suggesting that we build a superstition around the use of God’s Name, creating a distance between Him and us, but that we carefully consider how and where to use it in the most respectful and reverent way possible. Keep Deut 10:12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in your heart always.

Pearls to ponder:

How would it influence my spiritual life and my decisions if I approached the Name of God with utter reverence and respect and awe wherever I encounter it?

Holy is Your Name

God's promises

 

2 Sam 7:16

Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’

I used to think that the meticulous lists of genealogies written up in the Bible were so boring. Not anymore!

The above quote is God’s covenant with David. God promises here that there will aways be a King from David’s lineage to rule over Israel.

But history seems to indicate that the kings ruling over Israel came to an end. After David’s death, Solomon did indeed start reigning, and after him several other kings of Judah from his line. However, Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem led to the dethronement of Zedekiah, and the exile in Babylon put an end to any king from the house of David ruling over Israel again.

The people in exile must have wondered, does this mean that God’s promises can be broken? God reassured them through Ezekiel, prophesying in exile, (Ez 34:23-24 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.) He foresaw a regathering of God’s people and a future Prince - a descendant of David - who would shepherd them.

This is why Matthew and Luke trace the lineage of Jesus so precisely, to show that both from Joseph and Mary’s side (even though Joseph was not his biological father), Jesus is a descendant from the house of David! It backs up what Luke 1:32-33 declares, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end.” David’s line had come to an end politically, but the genealogical line continued.

There is even more. In 2 Sam 8:18 we read …David’s sons were priests. They could not, as coming from the royal line, be priests as well, as God had separated these two offices. But they were considered to be priests in the order of Melchizedek, serving in an intercessory role and not taking over the functional role (bringing offerings etc) that only belonged to the Levitical priests.

Jesus therefore inherited His role as King and as priest from David through royal succession as well. And because the lists of genealogies were so faithfully kept and published, no one can dispute His inheritance!

Pearls to ponder:

If God promises something, He will execute it, even though circumstances around us seem to indicate otherwise! Keep believing those promises, do not be lured into disbelief.

You keep Your promises

The Day of the Gift

 

1 Cor 1:22

it is He who has also put His seal on us [that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His] and has given us the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a pledge [like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfilment of His promise of eternal life].

We recently celebrated Pentecost, the joyous celebration of the giving of Holy Spirit to the 120 believers waiting in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.

Many of us do not know that this was another way in which Jesus fulfilled a Jewish Feast, and that Jews throughout the centuries had faithfully been keeping this Feast without realizing what the spiritual meaning of their actions would eventually be.

Their Feast is called the Feast of Weeks or Feast of Pentecost, and begins when the Feast of Firstfruits (the actual day on which Jesus was resurrected, making Him the Firstfruit of us believers who will likewise be raised from the dead) is over, and Jews then start counting 50 days and celebrate the giving of the Law to Moses on that 50^th day (Pentecost means fifty).

And on this 50^th day centuries ago, God poured out His Spirit on His followers, writing the Law on their hearts!

There is another beautiful hidden meaning here. Jews also refer to this Feast as the Day of the Mattan, or the Day of the Gift. In their reference, the Law was a gift from God to them, but in ancient times the Mattan was the special gift from the bridegroom to the bride to encourage her in the days that they were still living apart while he was preparing a place for her. It was meant to be a sign of his love for her, the guarantee of his faithfulness to her, his pledge that the promises he made will be kept.

On this Day of the Gift, God gave the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit is the Mattan from the Bridegroom to His bride, His pledge that everything He has promised us will be fulfilled! We can be assured that even though He ascended to Heaven, He will never forget us, nor forsake us, nor leave us destitute – His Spirit dwells in us continually. His Mattan is the sign of His love for us, the down payment of things still to come.

Pearls to ponder:

Are you preparing for your Wedding Day with Jesus your Bridegroom? Practise living in the power of the Spirit, move in His flow and leading, so that you will be strong and beautiful and ready when that day arrives!

Wedding Day