Am I truly born again

 

1 John 3:9-10

Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

There is a dangerous trend these days for Christians to mingle the ways of the world with what was known in Jesus’ times as The Way. Straying from our biblical roots, in other words. When Jesus started His ministry on earth, He did not fit into the mould of any existing religious party of the day – not of the Pharisees, who attached endless human-made laws onto the Word of God that were passed on to subsequent generations; nor of the Sadducees who headed the other way by denying whole segments of Scripture, e.g. the existence of spirits, angels, the soul, the afterlife, and the resurrection.

On the one hand, contemporary Christianity has become guilty of the error of the Pharisees in the sense that it has added countless humanly devised traditions to our way of worship, smothering the active working of the Holy Spirit in our worship services. On the other hand, it has fallen prey to the tradition of the Sadducees, where copious amounts of New Testament practices have simply been removed. The first century church was a living breathing organism, where every member functioned with the divine life that dwelt in them through Holy Spirit, representing Jesus Christ Himself. Their practices were solidly grounded in the teachings found in the New Testament, where we find that the church held Spirit-led meetings where member participation was encouraged; and was led by non-hierarchical leadership – Jesus was the fully functioning head of His church.

Where did we as modern church go wrong? In my opinion, one of the root causes of our derailment from The Way is the lack of transformation among God’s people. Transformation implies much more than mere change; it is a complete or major change according to the dictionary. It cannot be window dressing only, it involves a radical change of heart, mind, and life choices. The moment the newborn Christian becomes aware of sin in his/her lifestyle, he/she will start procedures to break with that sin. Period. No procrastination, no compromise. Our verse quoted above states that they cannot wilfully keep on sinning, because they are now children of God – truly born again. If they keep choosing to repeat a sin once becoming aware of it, not sincerely repenting for their relapse every time they give in to it but actually telling God that He does not have dominion over that area of their lives - we can ask the question - are they born again? (Our definition of sin is found in the Word of God, not based on man-made traditions or people’s opinions.) Holy Spirit is faithful to point sin out to us by convicting us of it, reminding us that sin harms us, not condemning us and handing out punishment.

Points to ponder:  Examine your lifestyle choices – are you wilfully choosing to sin? Do you have the attitude of “Oh well, I was born this way….”  or “My grandfather did this, so did my father, we cannot help it, it is in our family”, or any self-justification whatever? Be transformed (Rom 12:2) in your mind. Let the gentle Holy Spirit show you what needs to change in you, and then act upon it!

The change in me

Slaves

 

Romans 6:6

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”

Have you thought about slaves recently? If so, you probably had an image from some or other movie come into your mind, because slaves are not normally part of our modern lives anymore!

 A slave is someone who has a master, to whom he must be obedient at all times.  He has no choice in the matter – when his master says: Jump! He jumps…. He does not have the privilege of denying the command.

Which brings us to our verse quoted above. Before we knew Jesus, we were slaves to sin. We sinned because sin was our master, it commanded us to follow the sinful urges jumping up from inside our sinful natures.

But no more! That very same old sinful nature was crucified with Christ and our water baptism is the sign that the power that that old nature wielded over us, is now deader than a doornail! (Col 2:12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life) Sin immediately lost its hold over our lives.

Does that mean that we no longer sin after becoming a Christian? Of course not! It means that we now get to choose whether we will sin or not. Yes, you heard right. When you sin now, it is because you choose to do it. Not because a sin slave master cracked his whip over you, and you had to obey.

Remember this image, my friend, when you next feel so powerless because there is some or other sin in your life which you feel is overwhelming you. See your old sinful self on the cross with Jesus, breathing out his last. Then see the new you rising up, facing that sin slave master squarely in the eyes, and saying a resounding, NO!

And simply walk away from the temptation. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we have such good news about temptations. God promises in that verse firstly that “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. (so, you are not being singled out for extra punishment), secondly, And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. (He made sure you would be able to counter this temptation, He promises to give you the strength to do so, then with His help it is not beyond your abilities or strength). And also, When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (As you walk away, start looking for that way out. The telephone may start ringing, for instance, giving you an excuse to disengage with the temptation. God is such a practical, hands-on God!) And the more you stand up against that old sin slave master, the better you are going to get at it. Hallelujah! Praise God! Jesus set us free indeed!

Points to ponder: I also have a role to play in countering temptation to sin. Am I actively avoiding situations that will trigger me to go back to old sinful patterns again?

No Longer Slaves

God's name is a strong tower

 

Ps 53:5

“There they are, in terror and dread, where there was [and had been] no terror and dread!...”

The sheer volume of fake news and misinformation that is sent out on a daily – and I can actually say, hourly - basis, is staggering.  Some are so blatant that even the untrained eye and ear can pick it up, like a fairly recent post pertaining to be a new offensive in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, but actually showing a video of the port explosion in Beirut years ago.

But some of them are so subtle that all watching it are deceived into thinking that the truth is being portrayed. Or it may be messages that have been doing the rounds for years and years already, originally true, but currently completely inaccurate. Unfortunately, many of these have some kind of Christian appeal to them. Well-meaning godly people then forward them immediately, without first ascertaining the truth of their content, and thereby unintentionally sow fear and uncertainty into the hearts of all who receive them. The following acronym describes this situation very well: False Evidence Appearing Real!

Spreading baseless, unfounded fear is a weapon used by the enemy, and our verse from Psalms above shows that he has been using it very effectively since ancient times.

But we have a recourse, found in Ps 54:1 “Save me, O God, by Your name…..”  Read this verse together with Proverbs 18:12 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it, and are safe.” Have you ever thought about how that works? If you meditate on God’s names, you build towers in the spirit realm into which you can run and be safe! Take Yahweh Tsur as an example, it means the Lord is my Rock. God is that steadfast rock, a spacious, immovable and dry place to jump on when the tsunamis of life arrive on your doorstep. 

Points to ponder:

Meditate on the many names of God, all portraying His character, and build hiding places for yourself in the spirit where you can be safe from the onslaught of the enemy. Run into those towers when you need them!

Here are a few names of God that you might consider:

 El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty); Jehovah Nissi (The Lord my Banner); Jehovah Raah (The Lord my Shepherd); Jehovah Rapha (The Lord that Heals); Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord our Righteousness); Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will Provide); Jehovah Shalom (The Lord is Peace); Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts).

Names of God

Diamond painting

 

Is 46:10

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

I sometimes enjoy relaxing with an art activity which is called diamond painting. Basically, it is a coloured picture covered with glue, and you are given different coloured plastic ‘diamonds’ (which are resin balls that are flat on the one side and raised on the other) to stick on to the glue so that the whole picture comes alive, and you have created a vivid, shimmering work of art.

The important thing to know here is that the whole picture is given to you before you even start, because without it you do not know where to place the plastic discs, and every little disc has a demarcated space where it will fit.

This is exactly how end-time Biblical prophecies work:  God is in control of history and has already revealed for us glimpses of the whole picture of what is going to happen in the future through His prophets in the Bible, and history is now just placing the events that lead up to the end in their pre-ordained places.

People can talk and talk about the Great Reset, but actually it is just the Great Pre-set!   God has declared the end since the beginning, as our quoted verse from Isaiah states - He does not change His mind, and whatever He says will happen, will certainly come to pass in the finest detail. In the words of Jan Markell, “The world is not falling apart, it is falling in place!”

When fear and uncertainty about what is happening in the world today take hold in your mind, remember that God is in control of the complete picture – nothing that is happening now is a surprise to Him. And the beautiful thing about it is that in the end, the picture will be a vivid, shimmering work of art – we will live forever in a shimmering golden city with our Abba Father and our Bridegroom Jesus and our Friend Holy Spirit - Hallelujah!

Take heart, therefore my friend, our heavenly Father has promised in Heb 13:5 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Never means not even once, throughout all eternity. This includes help in all the times of trouble we may be facing now or might be facing in the future.

Points to ponder:

Meditate about Who God is, the God Who made this promise of everlasting help in times of trouble to you. When you become aware of His greatness, His majesty, His All-powerfulness, His love for you – then settle the following issues in your own heart once for all: does He mean what He said? Is He faithful to keep to His word? Do you think that He is able to help you, or do you think that your problem is too big for Him to solve? Can you trust Him with your future, no matter what it might look like to you at present?

God is in this story

The veil is removed

 

Rev 19:7

Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honour to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself.

One of the highlights of a wedding ceremony is the custom where the veiled bride walks up the isle towards her bridegroom, and when she reaches him, the veil is removed, and he can at last see her face to face.

This is what the word apocalypse means – the removing of a veil, derived from apo, which means to remove, and kalupsis, which means veil. And of course, this means the removing of the covering that hid the revelation of future end-time events from mankind up until that precise point in time that God gave John the vision that revealed it to us.

But there is a wedding ceremony waiting for us in the future when all events of the apocalypse are drawing to an end, where the highlight for the bride and the Groom will be that face-to-face moment the bride has been preparing herself for throughout her lifetime – when Jesus will present her to her Abba Father, spotless and without wrinkles!

We read in 2 Cor 3:14 that the Israelites also have a veil over their minds and hearts: But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. This veil is only removed when a person repents and accepts Jesus as Lord, as written in verse 16: but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Could this have been the reason for John the Baptist’s baptism of repentance? Acts 19:4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”  Could this baptism have been the removal of their veils in order that they could see that Jesus is the Messiah?

Just as Leah hid behind her wedding veil, concealing her identity from Jacob to trick him into marrying her instead of Rachel, so we are all hiding behind our veils, Jews and Gentiles alike. There are things in our lives that we wish to conceal from our Bridegroom! It is time to start preparing for our coming unveiling at the wedding feast of the Lamb – let us get rid of those things hindering our walk of intimacy with our Bridegroom here on earth and start growing in glory and holiness day by day!

Points to ponder:

Wounds, sinful behaviour and unforgiveness (leading to bitterness) are blockages preventing us from experiencing intimacy in our walk with Jesus our Heavenly Bridegroom. All can be dealt with and removed or healed in sessions with our compassionate Healing Rooms councillors. Do not wait another day – make an appointment now!

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

The sound of silence

                                                          Luke 19:39-40

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

These words were spoken as Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10^th of Nisan, the same date that the Jews all brought their Passover lambs home for a four-day inspection to make sure that they were perfect in every way before they were brought to the temple as an offering. Jesus rode on a donkey colt, an event prophesied by Zecheriah about 500 years before Jesus was even born, saying “Behold, your King comes to you; He is just and having salvation, patient, meek, lowly and riding on a donkey, upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  By this act, Jesus was signalling to all who knew the writings of the Old Testament prophets (and this included all the Pharisees in the crowd), that He was indeed their long-awaited Messiah!

But because they misinterpreted Isiah 53, they could not understand that their Messiah would come twice – once as a suffering servant, and later as reigning King. The Jesus they observed and heard about up to then, was just, proclaimed salvation, patient, meek, and lowly – but this did not fit into their perception (handed down by generations of learned men before them) of what their King should be like and should act like.

This made it impossible for them to admit that Jesus was indeed their Messiah. Trying to silence the disciples from openly proclaiming Him as such, they instructed Jesus to rebuke them, which He answered by saying that the very stones along the road would cry out and proclaim the truth, if His followers were to be silenced.

I find it very interesting that there are so many archaeological findings in Jerusalem and surrounds lately - are they also the stones crying out? Testifying to the authenticity of history as reported in the Bible!

Jesus was then crucified in Jerusalem four days later on the 14^th of Nisan, exactly the same date that all the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the temple as Passover offerings. He was not ashamed to die for you and me, openly acknowledging His love for us, and this even before we chose Him as Lord and Saviour, while we were still living in our sin. He publicly declared His love for us – liars, cheaters, murderers, adulterers, idolaters, fornicators, self-centred to the core, breakers of every law imaginable.

Why then do we find it difficult to acknowledge Him in public - the King of kings, the most powerful Being that exists, the Supreme Ruler over every created thing, glorious, majestic, beautiful, just, faithful, and true? Where are the voices crying out at every injustice we hear about in our neighbourhoods, in our towns and cities? Why are we silent when sinful living is taught at our schools and our children exposed to abhorrent sexual practices? Where are our protests when good is being called evil, and evil, good?

Points to ponder: Are you one of the silent majorities? Ask Holy Spirit to show you how to take a stand against the rising tide of evil all around!

Stand up, stand up for Jesus

Go to war!

 

Ps 149:6

May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,

It was Derek Prince, that great teacher of the Bible, who first drew my attention to the fact that the above verse was a mighty tool in the hand of a Christian warrior, not only to be used in difficult personal situations, but also in matters pertaining to nations!

The next three verses explain more:

Verse 7: to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, meaning to inflict punishment in return for a wrong done, to enforce or restore justice where the regular legal processes had failed.

Verse 8: to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains – when the leaders are securely bound and in captivity, no executive orders can be given to the rest of the troops and no new plots and plans can be hatched among them.

Verse 9: to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the LORD! We execute the judgements which are already written in God’s Word, by proclaiming them aloud as the Holy Spirit directs us.

As believers under the New Covenant, we know that we fight enemies that are not flesh and blood (Eph 6:12). We are to execute vengeance on every spiritual entity that sets itself up against the truth of Who God is and works against His Kingdom in our lives and the lives of the people of our nation. In this regard, John 16:11 shows that there is already a written judgement against Satan: Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. We do not war against people, but against the spirits influencing them.

This is indeed a glorious privilege granted to us, His faithful ones. God will use us to set right the wrongs of this present age, for in the coming Millennium, we will rule and reign with Christ. But we need both: giving praise and wielding the sword.

Here are examples of judgments already written down in Scripture:

Nahum 1:3  The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished..

Jeremiah 9:15  So now, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.

Lev 26:18  “And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins.

Luke 10:19  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Points to ponder: Are you feeling helpless in your present circumstances? Start worshiping the Lord with all your heart and ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you how to proclaim His judgements over the spiritual entities causing this havoc in your life!

I speak Jesus

A mighty man

 

Judges 6:14-16

Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

This scene certainly does not depict what we in this modern day and age would describe as a mighty man, a man of proven courage and boldness, ready to take on an enemy the number of which the Bible describes as “like locusts for multitude”!

Just the opposite. We see Gideon living in a cave, threshing his family’s crop of wheat in a winepress to hide themselves and their crops from the Midianites. His response to the words of the Lord mirrors his self-esteem at that time – ‘my clan is the weakest’ and ‘I am the least in my father’s house’.

What then was it that the Lord saw in Gideon, so that He consistently in that first meeting with him, referred to Gideon as a mighty man of fearless courage? What were the signs pointing to his becoming the great leader of Israel that he eventually did become, that we would have overlooked or ignored as not applicable?

Gideon admitted his weakness, allowing God’s strength to work unhindered through him.

He was humble, not hiding his lack of courage and lowly status.

If we continue reading the rest of the chapter, we see that he loved his nation, asking God why all this has befallen them.

He knew the Scriptures and recounted for the Lord the remarkable things God had done in bringing them up from Egypt.

He was also teachable, listening carefully to and obeying the Lord’s instructions.

We all know the rest of this story, how Gideon did indeed show himself as a fearless warrior of God!

Greatness in the Kingdom of God lies in meekness. We read in the Bible how Jesus often taught about this: how the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5);  how everyone who wants to be first must be last, indeed the servant of all (Mark 9:35); Peter who was to become a great leader of the church, was instructed to feed the sheep and nurture and tend the flock (John 21:17).

Points to ponder: When God looks at my life, can he find Gideon’s humbleness, weakness, caring attitude, knowledge of Scripture and eagerness to be taught, there? Am I willing to serve and love, instead of selfishly seeking prominence and promotion in His Kingdom?

A Humble Heart

Shalom

 

Luke 24:36

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

The Hebrew word Jesus used for peace here, is shalom, derived from the root word ‘shalam’, which means ‘make it whole again’ or ‘restitution’.

As you read through the Bible, you soon realise that this word shalom has many more nuances and applications than merely meaning peace.

For instance, in Gen 3:27-28 Joseph askes his brothers: Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves. In Hebrew, the words translated as well-being, well, and good health is all one word – shalom.

The biblical meaning of shalom is an inward state of completeness, wholeness, tranquillity. It is used as a greeting in Israel today, but when you greet someone with ‘Shalom!’ you are actually saying, “May health and prosperity rest with you!” Another common greeting used is “Ma shlom’kha” which means “How are you?” Do you see the word shalom in there? You are really asking, “How is your completeness or how is your peace?”

When God gave Moses the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:23) to speak over Israel, it ended with “And give you peace (shalom).” This was given when Israel was preparing to take over the Promised Land, leading to many battles of war. God was blessing them with an inner peace and completeness even in times of war, by sharing in His countenance and protection.

When we are asked to pray for the peace (shalom) of Jerusalem (Ps 122:6) it is not merely in order that Jerusalem can exist without conflict, it is so that Jerusalem can fulfil her destiny to be restored to completeness and become the city of our great King Jesus! We are thus praying for the return of Israel’s Messiah, our Prince of Peace, to establish His throne in Jerusalem.

In Luke 2:14 the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, and said Glory in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men! With these words they did not declare that suddenly all wars on earth would end, they proclaimed the fact that true peace could only now be obtained through the personal presence of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And He is the only way by which we can obtain this peace, as Jesus promises in John 14:27 - I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Points to ponder:  Am I going to take Jesus up on His word?

Shalom

Grounded in Truth

 

Acts 19:32

The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

What led up to this unfortunate incident in Ephesus? The bright light of God’s truth was shining into the satanic darkness brought about by idol worship – and the battle lines were drawn! Paul started his ministry there by baptizing only twelve disciples in the name of the Lord Jesus. When he laid his hands upon them afterwards, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. This was the core group that then went on to evangelize the rest of the city.

As Paul usually did, he started teaching in the synagogues, until some people there became increasingly stubborn and started discrediting the teachings of Jesus. Paul then moved to a lecture room in the city and for two years held revival meetings there, teaching from ten to three every day. God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, for instance any cloth that had touched his skin was put on the sick anywhere and their diseases left them, and they were even delivered from evil spirits! After the incident between the Sons of Sceva and a demon-possessed man, the whole city took note of Who Jesus was, and many previous magical arts believers openly confessed their evil ways and burned their magical books.

This is where we start seeing the parallels to the times we now live in. A silversmith who made silver shrines of the goddess Artemis, seeing the alarming rate at which he was losing his customers, called his craftsmen together and started inciting them to great fury by playing on their loss of wealth and the challenge to their false beliefs in this pagan goddess.

They stormed out in great rage, rousing the city as they went, and dragged Paul’s travel companions with them to the amphitheatre with the intent of doing them harm. Some shouted one thing, some another, but as is quoted above, most of them did not even know why they were protesting. None of them had gone to the trouble of ascertaining for themselves what the truth of these allegations were.

We see the same sweeping up of emotions over irrational and false claims among people today. Worldwide people are up in arms, brandishing banners and placards with slogans like “From the river to the sea”, and when asked by reporters on live TV broadcasts what those words mean - which river and which sea are they referring to - they cannot say. Answers like “I just picked up the banner from the organizers’ table”, show that no effort was made to investigate the truth behind the allegations they are protesting about.

Points to ponder:  Am I diligently guarding the building of my belief system by checking the truth of statements that cross my path daily? Am I perhaps listening to the wrong sources? Do I turn to the Word of the eternal living God for my answers, or do I start believing lies simply because they are being repeated long enough and loud enough?

Stand for Truth