A More Sure Word of Prophecy

Awhile back I had a conversation with people about ways the living God speaks with us.  One fellow mentioned his wife was apt to hear God's voice in an audible manner.  Although this has not been my experience, there is much biblical precedence for hearing the voice of God audibly speaking to people.  At the same time, there is no need for believers to feel "left out" if they cannot say they have heard God speaking audibly with them, and we have this on strong scriptural authority.

When the apostle Peter went with Jesus and other select disciples and witnessed the transfiguration of Christ in shining glory, they all heard God speak audibly.  Peter, overwhelmed by seeing Jesus in glory as He conversed with Moses and Elijah, started to suggest they build three tabernacles when God the Father interrupted Peter and said, "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased."  After Peter related this incident in his second epistle to believers, he went on to say this in the King James Version of 2 Peter 1:19-21:  "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: ²⁰ knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. ²¹ For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."  This rendering emphases the supreme reliability of God's word in the Bible, for Peter's experience confirmed what the prophets had spoken previously.

The Bible we hold in our hands is a more sure and reliable revelation of God and His word than a voice that booms from the heavens.  The Bible is the divinely inspired, verified, genuine word of God no one can add or take away from.  Anyone can claim they have heard God's voice and the accuracy of their claim depends on a person who can be mistaken, how long ago the event transpired, how tired they were, words subject to interpretation that could possibly be misunderstood.  Based on the biblical revelation of the God who does not change, we know when God speaks He will support and not contradict anything He has previously said.  Peter affirmed the scripture and prophecies therein are not of private interpretation or the will of man (which dreams, visions and voices can be) but were provided through men of God guided to speak by the Holy Spirit.  Our hearing can be muffled and our eyes bleary, but God has spoken clearly and accurately to all people in His word we ought to treasure and heed.

The voice of God speaking during the transfiguration hearkened back to what the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet in Isaiah 42:1:  "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles."  Jesus is the Word that become flesh, and the psalmist wrote what Jesus fulfilled in a literal sense when shone with glory brighter than the sun in Psalm 119:105:  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Through Jesus God caused the great light to shine in darkness, and by faith in Jesus the scriptures are opened to us in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit Who authored them.  All God speaks in an audible voice will confirm and align with what He has already spoken.  Praise the LORD He does not only speak to a select few, but has spoken to all and continues to speak by His grace for our good.

The Fruit of Sorrow and Faith

The book of 1 Samuel begins with a heartbreaking passage of the conflict between rival wives of Elkanah  named Peninnah and Hannah.  Peninnah had sons and daughters, but the LORD had closed Hannah's womb, and as a consequence she was childless.  Peninnah was an hateful adversary to Hannah, who provoked and needled her over her barrenness, and it broke Hannah's heart.  Elkanah loved Hannah very much and supplied her a double portion to show how much he cared for her.  Yet Hannah was so grieved over the provocation she could not bring herself to eat anything.  1 Samuel 1:8 reads, "Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"  Rather than lamenting what she did not have, Elkanah begged his wife to find comfort in his love and provision.

There is no question Elkanah was good to Hannah, and he used a phrase similar to that employed in the previous book of Ruth.  When Ruth gave birth to a son by Boaz, she provided Naomi an heir who would receive the family inheritance.   Ruth 4:14-15 says, "Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! ¹⁵ And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."  Ruth was a caring, supportive and obedient daughter-in-law who loved Naomi and the LORD God of Israel.  Before they were wed, Boaz affirmed Ruth was known to all those in Bethlehem to be a virtuous woman.  In saying Ruth was a  better daughter-in-law than seven sons, the point was Ruth ought to be treasured by Naomi more than a means to a grandson (or 7 of them!), and Elkanah was a greater blessing to Hannah than any sons he could supply.

The sad story takes a lovely turn when Hannah, in deep grief and sorrow, poured out her heart to the LORD in prayer at the tabernacle.  She begged God to give her conception and promised if God gave her a son she would dedicate him wholly to the LORD's service in the tabernacle.  God did not ignore the cry or tears of Hannah who sought Him:  God Who provided a loving husband in Elkanah also provided a son according to her request without reproach.  God did not chastise Hannah for the desires of her heart, for ingratitude or lack of contentment, as she boldly poured out her soul before the LORD Who was her refuge and giver of all good things.  I am blessed by Hannah's example, that she did not stuff her sorrow away or suffer in silence and neglect coming before the LORD.  Her season of provocation, pain and barrenness resulted in the birth of a son who would grow up to be the prophet and judge Samuel whose name means, "God has heard."  The birth of the child and his life of blessing to the nation was a testimony of the living God who hears and answers prayer--borne out of sorrow by faith in God.

Hannah prayed fervently for a son, and she made good on her promise to the LORD to dedicate him wholly to the LORD.  God did for Hannah more than she asked for as 1 Samuel 2:21 states, "And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD."  See the fruit God causes to grow through sorrow of soul for those who seek and trust in Him!  Hannah shed many tears over the provocations of Peninnah, yet it was after she sought the LORD help and hope was provided by Him.  God did not begrudge Hannah for the desires of her heart and her request to bear a son, and He does not reproach any of His children who approach Him needy, helpless and fruitless to seek His favour.  God is better to us than a spouse or all the sons or daughters in the world, and let us rejoice and worship our LORD with gladness today--as if we have already received infinitely more than we asked for!

Obeying the Gospel

Whether we watch the news on TV or scroll through articles online, this is a common way we receive information about what is happening in the world around us.  Very seldom (if ever) are news articles a call to personal action.  Newsreaders and reporters simply convey a handful of stories of national and international significance and local topics that include politics, traffic, sports and weather.  It makes sense we would seek out a reliable, trustworthy source of news so we can be accurately informed.  The Gospel, the Good News, is much more than a story to believe, for it is a revelation of God and from God Christians are called to obey.

On the topic of these glad tidings Paul wrote in Romans 10:16-17, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" ¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  The primary imperative of the Gospel is we must receive and believe it, and genuine faith is always evidenced by intentional actions.  Having heard the preaching of God's word, we first obey the Gospel by believing it is true:  God is righteous, I am a sinner, Jesus came to earth to provide atonement for sin and eternal life, and by believing Jesus is the Christ I will be born again, forgiven and adopted into the family of God.  The Gospel we believe is not only the starting point of our faith, but is to guide our thoughts, actions and words going forward.  Having freely been forgiven I am to forgive others; having received the love of God, I also ought to love God and others.

The Gospel not only transforms our spiritual standing before God for eternity, but it also ought to impact our day-to-day lives.  If we believe a story we heard on the news is of interest to us and others, we likely will share it with them.  A story with a headline that has no interest to me will have no impact on my life because I will not bother even to read the article.  I cannot share what I do not know or convey knowledge I do not possess.  There are articles which do interest me but do not interest others in my family, so there is no reason to share them.  The Gospel is of interest for me and everyone else because a relationship with the living God is freely on offer, an open door of salvation, eternal life and fellowship with God swung open wide for all who receive Jesus to walk through.

If I believe asbestos causes lung disease, I will wear the protective equipment and take necessary precautions to prevent fibers becoming airborne.  In like fashion, if I believe I am a sinner headed to hell and there is a way of eternal life available to me by trusting Jesus, faith guides me to humble myself in repentance and reliance upon the risen Saviour today and every day.  In addition to believing the Gospel saves, we also obey the Gospel by humbling ourselves before other people, serving selflessly as Jesus did when He washed the disciples feet.  In coming to earth and putting on human flesh Jesus humbled Himself as an example we are to follow in our households, while driving, whether at work or at play.  Obeying the Gospel is more than listening to it or believing it:  it is walking by faith in God and obedience to God and His word every day in our pilgrimage to glory.  Our countenance can shine because we know we are loved, and we do not despair in trials because we are blessed and greatly helped.

Submission to Every Ordinance

One of the consequences of being an Australian citizen is voting is compulsory.  Those who choose not to vote in local or federal elections or a referendum are required to pay a fine which is currently capped at $55.  For followers of Jesus Christ, it should not be the threat of a fine that leads us to do our civic duty to vote, but submission to the government established by God as unto Him.

1 Peter 2:13-16 exhorts believers in the context of doing good works in the public sphere, "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--¹⁶ as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."  While there are exceptions to this command of Peter, let us not miss the overarching requirements of the child of God to submit to every ordinance of man for the LORD's sake.  Those who appeal to a "higher authority" to justify disregarding the law everyone ought to follow is blatant rebellion before God.  We have the highest authority, God Himself, commanding us to submit by faith in Him to every ordinance, to kings as supreme and governors who ultimately have been established by God.  It is hypocrisy to use God or our faith in Jesus as an excuse not to comply with court orders, paying due wages and tax, and obtaining licenses--like everyone else is required to do.

Our freedom in Christ is not to be exercised by willful defiance against government but obedience to the government as unto the LORD--regardless if we agree with the ordinances, for our convenience, or to show our displeasure.  Even if churches and believers are unfairly targeted by authorities, by faith in Jesus who rules and reigns over all we are to honour and obey Him by submitting to earthly ordinances.  Should it ever come to a point where a government tries to force believers to deny or disobey our LORD Who has taught us to "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's," we need not be defiant with anger and resentment.  Like the Hebrew trio who cheerfully conversed with King Nebuchadnezzar who threatened their lives with death, we can show due respect by politely declining and continuing in faithful allegiance to God.  God honoured these men by their deliverance and salvation, and their good works made a strong impression on Nebuchadnezzar.  In the New Testament, after believers were commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus, they continued to obey God with joy and gladness--not with anger, frustration and resentment.

Let us take a stand in obedience to God, and know it is God's will we would be as determined to obey our government and local councils as if we were obeying the commands of Jesus Christ Himself.  Rather than defiance and passionate public railing against the Sanhedrin, believers in the early church poured out their hearts behind closed doors in private to the LORD in prayer Who heard and answered them.  The lure of martyrdom for a social, political or a religious cause can be strong, yet to live daily in submission to Christ by obedience to earthly authorities that may despise Him is a true test of our faith in God Who refines us by His grace for His glory.

The Pacifier Lesson

When one of my sons was young, he developed quite a dependance upon a pacifier (dummy) that continued after he was weaned.  At one time there was a pacifier in each corner of the cot, at the changing table, in the pram, and pretty much every room in the house, and he used them constantly.  My wife came up with a solution that worked brilliantly:  she cut the tips off of every one she found with scissors.  If my son scrounged up one she didn't know about, she altered it as well.  I remember him putting an altered pacifier in his mouth, and he immediately pulled it out and threw it to the floor in disgust.  The unfamiliar feeling was clearly unpleasant, the smooth surface replaced with rough edges and the nipple easily collapsed without an air pocket.  In literally a day the reliance upon the "binky" had been broken--first with my wife's wisdom and then with my son's agreement.  Because it was my son's choice, all was accomplished without a power struggle.

Reminiscing about this situation led me to consider how God at times does a similar thing with His beloved children like my wife did with our son.  When we are born again by faith in Jesus, we often retain habits, tendencies and even addictions that can be harmful and destructive.  We likely will continue to pick some additional ones up during our pilgrimage through this life.  These may be sins in themselves but could also be ways of thinking about others, how we cope with stress, tendencies to vanity, flirt, rude humour, embrace excess, shows we watch or games we play.  God does what my wife could not do with my son:  she physically changed the pacifier to lead him to reject it, yet God is able to change us spiritually from within.  The LORD transforms our outlook upon the thing we love and enjoy so we realise how sinful and destructive it is, and with the freedom provided us in Christ are enabled to deny ourselves and do what pleases God instead.  Jesus breaks our chains, and by the power of the Holy Spirit we can choose to walk in victory over what previously held us captive.

The process of us learning how to keep our vessels in purity, setting our minds on things above and turning our eyes to Jesus to consider Him is a lifelong journey.  Ridding a child of a pacifier is a way easier task than learning not to look with lust, avoiding covetousness and learning contentment in every situation of life.  The power of God to redeem and sanctify us makes it possible for the person most set in their ways to be changed to live God's way, for we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us.  In some regards the example of my son rejecting all his pacifiers in a day and never using them again puts me to shame, for I have at times been like the fool who returns to his folly as a dog returns to its vomit or a pig to wallowing in the mud--and didn't even realise it.  The LORD is faithful to seek out His sheep that wander or fall, and all heaven rejoices when one of us sinners repents.  If there is a power struggle, it is evidence we have yet to surrender our will to the LORD.

Praise the LORD He transforms us to agree with Him, to repent and return to Him as at the first!  It is good to realise our distaste and rejection of what we previously enjoyed and looked forward to is a gift from God, and it is by His power alone we can continue to walk in newness of life.  Our old life, habits and ways losing appeal is evidence we have been and are being changed to be more like Jesus.  There are very few adults who still use a pacifier in public, yet other immature habits and tendencies are retained by all of us we are wise to be rid of so we can walk righteously.  Our new life is not defined by what we no longer do, but by who Jesus Christ is and all He has created us to be.  How good it is to willingly yield to the wisdom of God to do His will, for the future of those people is peace.

Speaking Evil and Judging

I have noticed in observing kids especially, when an objective standard is established by a recognised authority they are keen to see others comply.  It seems a great injustice that they would be obedient to the rule and others would ignore it.  Little pleasure is taken in the fact they are doing what they are told when others break the rule without consequences.  It is nigh impossible for some outwardly compliant children to remain silent about rulebreakers without complaining about them or dobbing them in.  It may be I know something about this from personal experience.  One child disobeys to express his own will, and telling on him is a way for the more compliant and legalistic to try to control him.  No motive is pure in this instance.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we grew out of our tendency to disobey, lie, gossip and meddle as we grew older?  Our old ways do not supernaturally vaporise after we come to Jesus Christ in faith.  For this reason James exhorted Jewish believers in James 4:11-12:  "Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?"  Obeying the Law of Moses was a massive part of Jewish culture in ancient times until now, and it was not uncommon for differences of opinion and interpretation to lead to conflict: business deals went sour, family dramas persisted, and people had different religious practices and convictions.  James told believers not to speak evil of one another in judgment.  They were not to vent their feelings or opinions of others by slanderous gossip, to pit people against one another, or to humiliate by divulging private matters.

Speaking evil of others is contrary to what James previously stated, that we ought to humble ourselves before God and man.  James explained that the arrogant judgment of others was actually to speak against the Law--and this is contrary to a heart that is humble and subject to the Law.  The role of judges is to rightly interpret and apply the Law to the lives of people, and those who judge and speak evil of one another disobey the Law.  The only One who is above the Law is the Lawgiver and Author of it, Jesus Christ.  The Law is good when used lawfully, and Jesus is the righteous Judge of all.  Only a fool would speak ill of His Law and by extension the Author Himself, the One able to save and destroy.  Us judging someone or the Law judging someone are two different things.

If you have ever played baseball, you know the umpire has the authority to officiate the game.  He does not make the rules but enforces them, and the umpire's word is final.  The umpire alone calls balls and strikes, and any player with a brain in his head knows it is in his best interest not to argue with the umpire--even when he is convinced the umpire made a bad call.  It is not in the player's favour to openly assert or even imply the umpire is blind, does not know the strike zone or is stupid.  If the player is not immediately ejected for his comments, he can be sure any future marginal calls will not go his way.  So the smart, self-controlled player shuts up, lets the umpire make the call, and does his best to get a hit within the rules of the game.  If we know not to speak poorly of an umpire, how much more careful should we be not to speak evil of one another and by extension the Law?  We aren't a judge or the Lawgiver, and thus we are called to be obedient to Christ as His faithful subjects.

James asked, "Who are you to judge another?"  We are not called to voice negative opinions of others as if we are a judge in a court of law "just stating the facts" of a case.  As those subject to Christ, we should focus our efforts on what He requires of us rather than stating how others have failed to measure up.  Even if we are in a position of authority in the church or a judge, it is not fitting we would speak against the Law or by extension the Lawgiver.  There are ways to deal with sin and offence in the Bible we ought to follow, and speaking evil of others through gossip or slander are not ways God has prescribed.  If we speak evil of the brethren we are like the self-righteous hypocrite who tattles on others, a sinner before the God Who will bring every word and motive of the heart into judgment.  Those who speak evil of others do so at their own peril, for there is one Judge--and we are not Him.

Preserved by God

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Having forgiven our sins and purified us by the Gospel of grace, He is able to preserve us blameless until Christ returns.  A "life preserver" is intended to save a potential victim of drowning, and Jesus is faithful to save all who trust in Him.  As it is written in Jude 1:24-25, "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, ²⁵ to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."  During study preparation I was intrigued by the concept of how God preserves His people and realised His manner of preservation is very different than ours.

When we preserve things, we do so with the intention to keep them exactly as they are.  The first thing that comes to mind are fruit preserves or conserve, fruit canned with a high-sugar content to prevent spoilage.  I thought of pickled organs or body parts suspended in formaldehyde, or even entire bodies stored in glass tubes in clear fluid like in science fiction movies.  There are chemical preservatives added to food to keep it fresh as long as possible.  Artwork is preserved by sealing out moisture, dust and insects, and by maintaining an appropriate temperature out of direct sunlight.  All is done to keep things how they currently are to prevent further decay, damage or degradation.

This is not God’s way of preservation.  He does not put us in glass tubes to protect us from potential dangers of the world, nor is He like an additive infused into us to slow the decomposition process.  After we are born again, He does not preserve us how we are:  He uses our experiences in our fallen world, other people and trials to refine us, gives us His word to change us and supplies the Holy Spirit to transform us.  Our whole selves are blameless by His atoning sacrifice and no one can snatch us from His hand, yet God puts us through the fire of affliction and preserves us while He refines and purifies us.  Spiritually we are made righteous and preserved blameless, but He also moulds us to be more like Jesus every day.

By faith in Jesus we are enabled to endure and press on--even if we feel like the stress and toil of life is tearing us apart.  We can have all confidence in God's preservation and salvation during this life and also when our souls are required of us in physical death.  Having been made alive to God through spiritual regeneration, He desires us to keep growing, learning and choose to joyfully embrace our sanctification.  He does not treat us like the servant who buried the talent in the ground merely to preserve it:  God desires we would be invested in life for His glory and to be fruitful.  Praise God for preserving us blameless and also helping us mature and be changed for the best at the same time.

God Must Be Glorified

It is great pleasure for those who give gifts to have them joyfully received.  Some people can be difficult to buy for because they seem to have everything or have refined tastes.  King Solomon was a man of enormous wealth, and I imagine very challenging to impress.  To have your gift gladly received and used by him would have been a great compliment, and in a small way could be viewed by the giver as accepting his own person.  If a commoner has difficulty to give a suitable gift to someone who isn't even royalty, to find an acceptable offering before the LORD God is impossible!

In His grace, God provided His Law for the Hebrews that outlined acceptable offerings and sacrifices for His glory that also benefitted the people by atoning for sin and feeding them.  Imagine how joyful the people were after the tabernacle had been constructed, Aaron the high priest and his sons were sanctified, and the LORD consumed the sacrifice on the altar with fire from heaven in their sight.  Leviticus 9:23-24 tells us what happened:  "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, ²⁴ and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."  When a baseball player hits a home run fans instinctively stand to their feet, and when a rugby player scores a try a shout of joy rings out from faithful supporters.  The glory of the LORD appeared to the people and the burnt offering was consumed on the altar, God's people shouted with joy and fell on their faces before His presence.

To have your offering received by God with fire from heaven!  What amazement, what gladness swept through the people!  The incredible act proved God's existence, was affirmation they had done according to His Law, their sin was forgiven and they had been accepted by Him--unlike Cain who was rejected.  But the euphoria did not last long.  Leviticus 10:1-3 says, "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. ² So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. ³ And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace."  God who consumed the sacrifice offered Him, in accordance to Law, also consumed the priests who disobeyed God by doing what He had not commanded.  In the process of offering the first sacrifices in the history of the nation of Israel two men perished before God due to their sin.  This had a sobering effect upon all who witnessed the event:  no priest in the line of Aaron was God, and they were to give Him reverence rather than show off or seek glory for themselves.

This passage makes clear our best efforts or doing as we see fit makes us acceptable before God.  The only way we can stand before Him, serve Him and present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable before God, is when we follow God's ordained way.  Jesus has revealed Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Under the New Covenant of grace, our God remains a consuming fire.  We see this in the early church when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit about the price of the land and were struck dead.  Great fear came upon the church and all who heard these things.  The righteous response of His faithful servants is to humble ourselves before God and to glorify Him through our obedience--not to bury the talents He gives us lest He find reason to reject us--for this betrays our carelessness and selfish desire for our own glory.

Hebrews 12:28-29 says of Christians, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire."  As Adam Clarke wrote, "He will either hallow or destroy us: he will purify our souls by the influence of his Spirit, or consume them with the breath of his mouth!"  Those who humble themselves before God in faith and obedience are made holy by His indwelling presence, and He daily teaches us to put our sin to the sword in repentance.  It is only by the grace of God through the Gospel we are enabled to stand before Him and offer ourselves as living sacrifices.  Having accepted us by grace through faith, we are to serve Him with reverence and godly fear.  Judgment begins at the house of God, and by our sanctified lives may the almighty God be glorified today!

Jesus With Us

The Bible is the powerful word of God that has profound meaning packed into each individual word, phrase and sentence.  In cross-referencing different books of the Bible fresh insights are illuminated, providing additional points of personal application.  Because some verses or statements that convey comforting truths are repeated often to the point of becoming cliche, it is possible the context of the scripture can be ignored or forgotten.  The immediate context of a verse is extremely significant, for without it we can miss the purpose of why it was written and how God intended it to impact our outlook.  A verse I read this morning illustrated this well.

If you have been a Christian for a little while, it is likely you have heard Jesus has promised believers "never to leave or forsake you."  This is true in every sense.  But this is the second half of a verse without providing the reason why this was brought up at all--and it might surprise you.  For the sake of context I will include the previous and following verses in Hebrews 13:4-6:  "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." ⁶ So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"  Now there are many situations where we are comforted and encouraged to know Jesus is with us and will not forsake us, yet the immediate context of this promise is an exhortation against covetousness and to be content.  I suspect the cliche version is rarely used towards that end.

Reading these verses together gives us insight how fornication and adultery demonstrate covetousness, to pursue a romantic or sexual relationship outside of singleness or marriage.  There are people who are not married and covet a spouse, and others who are married and desire to pursue others in lust.  Because Jesus is with the single and the married person alike, regardless of our marital status we can experience contentment through faith in Him.  We might not struggle with covetousness concerning relationships but with other things others have and we do not.  Our conduct as children of God ought not to be marred by covetousness--greed and sinful ingratitude for what God has provided us or our current marital state--but we can find contentment and rest in Jesus alone.  You may not have experienced this yet, but based on the promise of Jesus contentment is offered along with His presence.  As real as the offer of salvation is through the Gospel for sinners, so contentment is provided by Jesus by faith for the naturally covetous.

The following verse is also connected to the contentment we have in Jesus alone:  "So we may boldly say:  "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?"  Because Christ is with us, we can have confidence in the LORD's help today without fear of man.  We can also rest comfortable in a future that seems uncertain, for no man is greater than our Saviour Who is with us and will never forsake us.  People can mock and scorn us; man can even kill us.  But no one can separate us from Jesus Christ, His love, and deprive us of sweet fellowship with our Saviour.  We are greatly helped and realise we are never alone because Jesus will never leave or forsake us.  Many people have been left by their spouse and been heartbroken, but Jesus will never break our hearts like this.  We ought to have broken hearts for all the times we have coveted, looked with lust, and lived without contentment when Jesus was faithful to be with us and never left us alone.  The contrite and repentant heart Jesus will heal and purify, and this is reason to rejoice forever by faith in our Saviour Who is with us.

Blessed are Those Who Lack

In His wisdom, God created man in His own image with needs God alone can meet.  He made our bodies to send signals to the brain with feelings of hunger, thirst, and if we are too hot or too cold.  By responding to our senses, we can take practical action for the health and well-being of our bodies.  The simple action of drinking water or moving from the sun into shade can prevent heat exhaustion, dehydration and sunburn.

Our needs go beyond tending to our physical flesh, for we have emotional and spiritual needs as well--having been given the capacity to have understanding of personal relationships and our environment, love, desires, ambitions and a conscience to guide our moral decisions.  Based on a complex combination of what we know, how we feel and our personal preferences we seek outcomes to benefit us to our satisfaction.  The trouble is feelings of happiness, contentment and satisfaction are temporary and fleeting.  We expend effort to pursue good feelings that can be hard or impossible to obtain, and whenever we experience them we cannot enjoy them as we would like.

Because we are made in God's image and have a personal relationship with God, He has designed us in such a manner that lasting, genuine satisfaction can only be found in Him alone.  Our hunger, thirst and desires we can only temporally relieve point us to seek Him in faith in every area of life.  Jesus taught His disciples in Luke 6:20-21:  "Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."  By faith in Jesus those who felt the pinch of poverty, hunger and lack, and the pain of grief could look beyond the present season to a new opportunity for lasting satisfaction, abundance and joy.  There have been times we have been pleased to receive our wages or a gift that allowed us to afford expenses and to obtain our desires.  We have felt the physical pleasure of eating delicious food and the satisfaction of being content.  We have wept over things that made us wonder if we could ever be happy again, and happiness has come unexpectedly.

This fleeting sense of satisfaction we have experienced here and now on earth point to the future God has planned for all who trust and love Him, for hunger, thirst, grief, sorrow and sickness will pass away.  We can know in part what it means to be well, satisfied and content through Christ, and we will know this completely when we reside in new, glorified bodies in a new heavens and earth where righteousness dwells in the presence of God forever.  Life is good, but the best we can experience today by our efforts pales in comparison to the lasting satisfaction and joy found in Jesus where contentment and peace are abundant and constant.  God is worthy to be praised when we become aware of our lack and personal need, for it opens our eyes to the poverty of anything this world can offer and the sufficiency of Christ.

The Ministry of Righteousness

"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, ⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory."

2 Corinthians 3:7-9

What an appreciation we should have for Jesus Christ and the new covenant made with His shed blood.  The Law of Moses is good when used lawfully, but the Gospel of grace is established on infinitely better promises.  Ministry under the Law was a ministry of death, for it required the sacrifice of animals to provide atonement for the sin of people and the nation.  The sacrifice and offering of clean beasts under the Law was a perpetual requirement with no end in sight because no one could possibly keep the Law--for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.  Paul's point in the 2 Corinthians 3 passage affirms the ministry of death and condemnation was glorious, for the face of Moses shone after communion with God, yet the ministry of righteousness through the Holy Spirit who regenerates and sanctifies Christians is far more glorious.

The book of Hebrews develops this concept further, proving the supremacy of Jesus over all angels and even the prophet Moses who was revered by the Jews.  The priesthood of Jesus Christ was not according to the Law, as He was of the tribe of Judah, but of the order of Melchizedek who was greater than Abraham!  Jesus did not enter the sanctuary with the blood of bulls and goats according to the Law but with His own blood that once for all cleansed sinners, providing eternal redemption by grace through faith.  Hebrews 9:13-14 reads, "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"  Through animals sacrificed according to the Law and the sprinkling of the water of purification that contained the ashes of the red heifer, the bodies of sinners could be cleansed.  The work that Jesus accomplished by His death and resurrection cleanses us inside and out permanently--and this includes our conscience.

People kept the Law out of fear of divine reprisal, punishment, being potentially cut off from society, family and their inheritance.  Those who feared God were subject to ordinances they kept to the best of their ability, slaves to keep a Law that could not save them but could only condemn.  Jesus ushered in a marvellous change as it is written in Romans 8:1:  "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."  The Law that condemned us was nailed to the cross with Jesus.  Instead of continuing in dead works of sacrificing animals--which cannot permanently cleanse and could never save--we are born-again, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go beyond the Law in loving God and others, faithfully serving Him, made fruitful by the Spirit Who indwells us.  This is not "the Law plus," but the Law is out of the way:  Jesus is the Way!  Having received the Gospel, we are free of the guilt and condemnation of the Law of Moses.

Of Jews in the early church who were born again, many kept the Law of Moses as unto the LORD and to remain in good standing in the community to influence and win fellow Jews to Christ.  The Gentiles were not called to become Jews when they received Christ, but out of love were commanded to avoid doing what could stumble Jews or Gentiles.  Love goes beyond the letter of the Law to glorify Jesus and serve one another, governing our lives and hearts from within in righteousness.  Christians have a glorious ministry of righteousness by faith in Jesus; we have conscience cleansed from dead works so we can serve God free of condemnation.  The new covenant Jesus has made to redeem sinners and reconcile us to Himself makes us new creations with clean consciences--able ministers of the new covenant by His grace.

Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 is a fitting conclusion:  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Coming To Ourselves

There are a passages in scripture where people "came to themselves," and they were suddenly, even miraculously, convinced of a reality they knew was true.  This realisation is a gift of God.  One such occasion happened after Peter found himself in the street after being led out of prison, and at first he thought it was a dream or vision.  He was joyful over what had done and Acts 12:11 says, "And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people."  Encouraged and excited by God's deliverance, he went to a house where he discovered Christians were literally praying for his release.

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus described what happed to a man who wasted his inheritance in a foreign land and during a famine found himself in want.  The poor man was so desperate to survive he took on a job feeding pigs and was so famished the pods he fed the swine started looking tasty.  Luke 15:17 reads, "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!"  The realisation his father's servants ate to the full, coupled with the grim reality he was starving, compelled him to humbly return to his father to beg for a hired position.  He did not only realise he was hungry and his father was generous:  he realised his grave sin and was desperate to be forgiven and accepted again.

Divine revelation and personal realisation are required to begin the process of repentance and restoration before God.  The LORD has revealed plainly many sins in the Bible of which we have been guilty, and whether by ignorance or neglect we may not realise it.  Since God has also given us the Bible and a conscience, plus parents, teachers, government authority and laws, the majority of the time it is not a lack of revelation of what is right or wrong but our unwillingness to receive personal revelation that leads to wilful blindness.  Our sin can be clear as day, yet we are insensible to it:  we deny or deflect blame, justify ourselves, point out how others are worse than us, imagine the good we have done cancels our guilt, or we just don't care.  We can pretend sin isn't there when it has us by the throat and is choking the life out of us.  It might not be until we have suffered poverty, loss and loneliness like the prodigal before we accept God's wisdom of what is sin, realise we are wrong, and desperately need to change.

When we drift from God from carelessness or stubbornness in sin, we might wonder how it all came to this.  We are overwhelmed at the prospect of retracing our steps to try to find our way back to God over the years of disobedience, rebellion and folly.  We have no clue where or when things went so wrong.  But what did the prodigal do after realising his sin?  He realised he had sinned and humbled himself and simply went by foot to his father.  He left the pigs and his boss who never gave him anything and went with a heart willing to do anything his father asked because he had nothing.  1 John 1:9 shows the way of repentance and restoration to God for believers, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  When we come to ourselves and realise we have sinned, let us confess our sin to God and repent, knowing God promises to cleanse us from sin through the Gospel.  We are also to confess our faults to those we have wronged and pray for one another.

An incident in Ephesus made a positive impact when imposter exorcists were beaten up by a demon who knew Jesus and Paul.  Acts 19:17-20 says, "This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸ And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. ¹⁹ Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed."  The passage tells us there were believers in Jesus who continued to practice witchcraft, and God used this situation to reveal their need to confess and repent of sin.  Part of the process of repentance was to destroy their books, and this is a good example we should follow for anything that leads us to sin.  There are a great many things we may have continued reading, viewing or following after coming to Christ that are sinful.  These sins include (but not limited to!) habits, desires, language, attitudes and thinking patterns that have no business being in our lives because we are in Christ.  The result of burning the books of magic enabled the Good Book to expand and it prevailed--to a far greater degree than the evil spirit prevailed over the sons of Sceva.

Having come to ourselves over the realisation of our sin, let us return humbly to our Saviour Jesus in repentance.  Feeling guilty or sorry for our sin is not repentance.  If our sorrow for sin is not mixed with faith in Jesus that is marked by obedience to Him, such sorrow leads to despair.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 to believers he rebuked for sin, "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."  God and all heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents, and every Christian is a sinner.  God does not only rejoice the first time we repented but every successive time our coming to ourselves results in us returning to God in humble faith and repentance.

The Willing Giver

Christians who have received the Gospel can view life under the Law of Moses as a extensive list of oppressive, unwelcome demands.  While the Law did contain statutes and judgments that people who feared God submitted to best they could, people were willing to go beyond the letter of the Law to bless God by giving to Him Who had blessed them.  The almighty God heard their cries, freed them from bondage in Egypt, destroyed their enemies, and prepared a good land to enter into.  He also desired to dwell in their midst, and they were given the opportunity to give and labour to that end.

After Moses received God's plans for the tabernacle, he spoke to everyone in the Israelite community to bring an offering to the LORD of whatever they had--and the caveat is they were to be willing, for God loves a cheerful giver.  Exodus 35:20-21 says, "And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. ²¹ Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments."  In the Old Testament we have this wonderful example of God moving in the midst of His people, stirring their hearts to willingly give.  They were not to give because the Law required them to give a particular percentage or amount, nor was a guilt trip laid on them for all God had given them and their obligation to return the favour.  The passage is marked by an incredible willingness in God's people to present offerings to God of what they had of their own free will for His service.

The people were willing to generously give offerings to God and also were willing to come and do the work, to follow the lead of Bezalel and Oholiab to construct the sanctuary.  I am reminded of what happened many years later when the ruined walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt under the leadership of Nehemiah (a cupbearer!), and a diverse group of people who were not masons or even skilled at manual labour who successfully built the wall in a matter of weeks.  The people were so willing to give it came to a point more materials than were necessary for building the tabernacle had been accumulated, and thus the people were restrained from giving.  They had to be commanded by Moses to stop bringing valuable and precious goods to the workers because there was already enough to do the work.  This passage illustrates the willingness to give that marks the people whose God is the LORD.

May the LORD stir our hearts and make us willing to offer ourselves as living sacrifices unto the LORD, and this includes our possessions, skills and abilities.  The raw materials brought to Moses were crafted into a dwelling place of the LORD, and by the work Jesus did on the cross each believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.  In light of all God has given us, we should be moved to generously give as unto Him when opportunities to meet needs arise.  2 Corinthians 9:7-8 says in the context for providing for ministry to believers, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."  How blessed we are by the riches of God's grace that is always sufficient in all things to give and contribute to His glorious testimony.

Learning Obedience

A child shares a unique relationship with their parents, having been conceived by them and born subject to them.  Infants and young children are completely reliant upon their parents for survival, and as they develop they learn to understand communication by tone, facial expressions and words.  Parents train their children to do basic tasks themselves, and often children learn to obey by trial and error, failing again and again until they finally succeed.  It takes a lot of effort and coordination for a child to learn to walk, to tie their shoes or dress themselves.

When it comes to obedience, to young children their parent is the authority.  While there are likely exceptions to this, should there be a conflict between what a pre-school teacher or friend says and what mum or dad says, the child will tend to side with their parents.  In that tender age they have no reason to think their parents, who have provided for them and helped them through every season of life, would deliberately mislead them.  It is when they grow older and more independent they question, doubt and even oppose what their parents said, buoyed by the pride and passion of youth.  A combination of faithful training, loving discipline, life experiences that include negative consequences, and exposure to biblical truth help guide people of all ages to mature.

The writer of Hebrews used the relationship Jesus (as the Son of God) had with His heavenly Father to instruct and encourage those who have been born-again to learn obedience.  Hebrews 5:7-10 says of Jesus, "...who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰ called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek..."  Small children in trouble instinctively run to their parents for protection, and Jesus cried out to God His Father Who heard Him.  Jesus did not learn obedience by making mistakes that required correction but by the things He suffered.  Jesus learned obedience to His Father in a relationship with God, and as born-again children of God by faith in Jesus we learn to obey Him.

Salvation is not earned by obedience, but genuine faith that saves is marked by obedience.  As Jesus learned obedience, so we also are called to learn to obey God our Father.  The payment Jesus has made for our sin inspires us to walk righteously, and the negative consequences experienced for our sin provides valuable lessons that work to sanctify.  Since the righteousness of God has been imputed to us by faith in Jesus, the loving relationship we share fosters our desire is to please Him by obedience.  Our obedience to Jesus Christ is an indication we have a genuine relationship with God even as a child has with their loving parents.  We too can learn obedience by the things which we suffer, and God provides consolation for our suffering.  Obedience is not always binary but by degrees, for even our best efforts to obey often fall short of God's perfection.

If Jesus Who was without sin needed to learn obedience, it follows we need to learn to obey God as well, to learn to keep our vessels in honour.  Obedience to God may lead to temporary suffering, yet consider the eternal benefits of Christ's obedience to go to the cross to atone for lost sinners!  Death was swallowed up in victory; pain and shame was dissolved with eternal joy and perfect peace.  The benefits of obedience are glorious rewards the wise desire, and to identify with Christ through joyful obedience to God is evidence of our eternal salvation.  Because Jesus is our Saviour, we delight to learn to obey Him.  One day we will be perfected even as Jesus is, and we thus presently offer up prayers and supplications to Him who is able to save us from death and provide eternal salvation.

Good Lessons from Bad Examples

The context of the book of Judges is a time marked by everyone doing what was right in their own eyes.  The focus is primarily on God's people who lived just like the heathen nations round about them.  Chapters 17-18 of Judges tell the story of Micah, a Levite from Bethlehem, and men from the tribe of Dan.  All the characters in the passage are unethical and immoral in their relationship to God and one another, everyone aiming to benefit themselves at the expense of God or their fellow man.

Micah's religion was what we call in Australia a "dog's breakfast" because from a biblical perspective it was an absolute mess.  Micah embraced what many people still do today, imagining God would bless and benefit him because of his twisted efforts to honour Him.  Because he did not know God, Micah did not walk in the way God laid forth in the Law of Moses.  He made idolatrous images in violation of the law along with an ephod and consecrated one of his sons as his priest--until the Levite came along.  Micah hired the drifter and grifter Levite, believing God would certainly do him good because he had a Levite as his priest (who was not a qualified priest at all!).

Micah was looking for God to do him good, and the Levite who wandered to find a place (and was treated like a son by Micah) was only too glad to take a better deal with the tribe of Dan after they stole Micah's gods.  The men of Dan were pleased to steal Micah's idols and illegitimate "priest" after he had extended hospitality to them, and then they attacked Sidonians to take their land for themselves.  Every person and group was out for their own interests without thought of others or God, and the heart of mankind has not changed at all.  One of the best sermons I ever heard was taken from these scriptures, titled 10 Shekels and a Shirt by Paris Reidhead.  He used this passage to point out the utilitarian appeal of a modern presentation of the Gospel that is like a Levite pretending to be priest--the offer of forgiveness without repentance, salvation without faith marked by obedience, and appeals to selfish motives rather than the glory of God simply because He is worthy.

How different things would have been if Micah had trusted and believed in the one true God Who is good!  Instead of looking for a place the Levite could have been blessed to serve at the tabernacle where the presence of the LORD dwelt among His people.  The tribe of Dan could have been content to receive their land by lot as an inheritance from God's hand, be satisfied in abundance, and give rather than steal.  How different for the better we would be if we learned from their bad example!  It is good for us to understand that in the worst examples in scripture we can catch glimpses of ourselves so we might repent of our sin and choose to do what pleases God.  And if you haven't heard that sermon yet, it is well worth your time.  Not only will it provide insight into Judges 17-18 but challenges all to examine our hearts so we might humble ourselves before God and by faith and obedience to be more like Jesus. 

The Profitable Worker

Christians are blessed to have the word of God preserved for us, the Bible translated into a language we speak and can hold in our hands.  A great wealth of information can be gleaned from those who have gone before us as we are guided by the Holy Spirit to discern and proclaim the truth.  Like the children of Israel during decades in the wilderness rose early to gather their daily portion of manna, we can open God's word and gather a spiritual feast for our souls.  We have learned man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

The purpose of eating food is more than enjoying flavours, textures or feeling satisfied by filling our bellies:  it is to provide necessary nutrition for the overall health and well-being of our bodies.  One reason why we are discerning to eat a balanced diet is so the whole body will benefit, not just our taste buds.  Drinking water may not be our favourite flavour, but it does promote the health of our body.  There are foods or drinks we choose to avoid because they are detrimental to our health.  When we open God's word to read and study it, it is vital we do so in a profitable manner so our personal lives and the Body of Christ will benefit.

Paul made it clear not all study had beneficial results as we see in 2 Timothy 2:14-16:  "Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ¹⁶ But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness."  When we are contentious and divisive over controversial doctrines or passages, it is of no profit to anyone.  Instead of edifying and building each other up by faith in Jesus Christ, such striving can lead to our ruin.  How many people have been lifted up with pride by their knowledge like the Pharisees who would not even acknowledge their sin or need for salvation by Jesus?  We are to be diligent to present ourselves approved of God as we rightly divide the word of truth--not seeking the approval of men.

Even as unbelief in God prompts us to ask the wrong questions, we Christians can exert more effort to prove others are in the wrong rather than submitting to God ourselves.  We can straddle our hobby-horses and spend our energy running around trying to get others to affirm our points or agree with our view, and what does it profit?  It pits people in the church against one another; it causes division and discord that God hates.  Sound, biblical doctrine well-applied will result in godly living as Paul later wrote in 2 Timothy 2:22-24:  "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife."  As we labour in the word of God, let us be diligent to present ourselves approved to God without generating contentions or strife with others.

People's dietary choices or even the version of scripture they prefer can be a touchy subject, but let us avoid foolish and ignorant disputes in our gatherings, families and friendships.  Let each be convinced in their own mind according to the liberty God has supplied us by His grace outlined in the scripture.  In our study and lifestyle may we pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace united with those who seek the LORD.  There will be temptations to enter into foolish and ignorant disputes, and it is a shame for all who entertain them.  Those who rightly divide the word of truth will recognise these doubtful disputes and avoid them by God's grace.

Confidence God Is Able

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded His disciples to show humility and grace rather than demanding retribution under the Law of Moses.  In the Law, God commanded legal retribution ought not to exceed the offence, like an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth.  Rather than retaliating for wrongs suffered, Jesus bid His followers to do good instead.  He said in Matthew 5:40-41, "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."  The Romans oppressed the Jews as second-class citizens, forcing them to carry burdens for up to a mile.  Jesus directed His disciples to go beyond what was required by faith and obedience to Him.

A disciple is not greater than his master, and because Jesus is our Master we ought to follow His example and walk in His steps.  One attribute of God is He lovingly does far more than we could ask or imagine as it is written in Ephesians 3:20-21:  "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."  God is not only able, but He delights to do glorious things on our behalf continually.  Nowhere did the Law of Moses make a provision or a promise God's people could be filled with the fullness of God and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, yet Jesus through the Gospel revealed this reality.  How awesome is God and His wondrous ways!

Philemon is an example of someone who obeyed the command of Jesus to "go the extra mile."  After his slave Onesimus ran away, Paul shared Christ with him and he became a born again Christian.  Paul sent Philemon a letter asking him to receive Onesimus back as he would as if he was a welcome guest like Paul himself, now a fellow brother in Christ.  Under Roman Law Philemon had the legal right to brutally punish, torture, sexually exploit or even kill a runaway slave.  Paul politely wrote to Philemon, not because he was afraid Philemon would treat Onesimus poorly, but because he was confident Philemon would walk in obedience to Christ and do good.  Philemon 1:21 says, "Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say."  Confidence in the godly character of Philemon, Paul made his request to receive Onesimus known.

Do you appreciate God does exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think?  Only a fool would not!  Those who love, fear God, and place their confidence in Him ought to seek Him in prayer and make our requests known to Him.  Even when our prayers are short-sighted and limited in scope, God is faithful to go beyond what we ask because He is gracious, merciful and good.  As children of God and servants of our glorious Saviour, let us be those who happily go extra miles (without keeping tabs of other's wrongs or our "rights") as He leads and strengthens us to take the next step.  Our confidence that God does above all we ask or think moves us to pray more rather than less.

Peace Without Anxiety and Fear

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

John 14:27

On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus was the least troubled or anxious person in the room among His disciples.  Jesus was not troubled or afraid at all in the face of certain excruciating death because He was not alone, for His heavenly Father was with Him.  As Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, Jesus is our peace Who has reconciled sinners to God through His sacrifice on Calvary, yet even before He died and rose again He freely gave lasting, perfect peace to His faithful followers.

In light of the peace Jesus gave His disciples He said, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  There is no trouble or fearful situation a person can experience that can overwhelm the peace Jesus gives.  By faith in God according to the revelation of scripture, we are given ability from God to choose to trust Him rather than being slaves to anxiety and fear.  I am reminded of another time Jesus gave a similar command to Peter in Luke 5:4-5:  "When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." ⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."

Peter was a fisherman and knew very well how to lower the nets from the boat.  He was a pro at untangling, repairing, and using nets in his livelihood so the problem Peter faced was not physical:  it was a matter of the will.  Jesus direct Peter to lower the nets to catch fish after he had fished all night and did not catch a single one.  It is likely Peter knew the best times to fish, and the deeper water in the middle of the day was not the prime place or time to fish.  What moved Peter to lower the net--rather reluctantly it seems--was only because Jesus told him to.  The ironic thing is after Peter obeyed Jesus he was unable to draw the net into the boat because it was miraculously loaded with fish, and the net began to break.

Luke 5:7-8 reads, "So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  Isn't this amazing?  Peter by himself was not able to haul in the catch of their fish and even two boats were not able to stay afloat under the weight!  Peter was so astonished by what Jesus did he realised the folly of doubting Jesus or His word.  Instead of condemning or mocking him Jesus said, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."  The one who fears God Who loves us drives out all fear, for He is our Peace.

As Peter was told to let down the net, Jesus says to His disciples:  "Let not your heart be troubled; let your heart not be afraid."  The question is, will we submit our will to His voice and obey even when we are tempted to be troubled or afraid?  Will we justify being anxious and panicked when He has given us His peace and left it for us?  Jesus Himself said in Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  On our own such weighty peace is impossible for us to receive by the power of our flesh, yet Jesus has given us the Helper, the Holy Spirit who anoints and empowers us to do God's will.  Our feet slip and hands grow weary; we cannot comprehend what God could accomplish in our struggle, yet those who wait upon the LORD He will gird with strength and an abundance of peace that is frankly astonishing.  Let us trust and rejoice in our glorious God and Saviour who is our Peace without anxiety and fear.

Redemption and Good Works

It is strange to me how "good works" can almost have a bad rap in some Christian circles, as if the emphasis on doing them is somehow tied to a works-based faith.  While it is true some people wrongfully imagine they can earn favour or even salvation from God through doing good deeds, there is no question we are saved by grace to do good works.  To preach the necessity of doing good works in itself is not legalism but is evidence we have genuinely been born again.  Instead of seeing good works as a burden or drudgery, our regenerated souls delight to do what pleases God.

Jesus modelled and preached good works to those under Law when He rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  The Pharisees were preoccupied with maintaining a squeaky-clean image and embraced burdensome traditions to appear pious but neglected the unclean conditions of their hearts.  They were hypocrites to put greater emphasis on little things others could see rather than addressing their inner wickedness.  Jesus pronounced woe upon them for their hypocrisy, and God forbid we who have been cleansed within by the grace of God and rendered righteous should have lives marked with sloth, selfishness and avoidance of doing good.  On the night Jesus was betrayed He humbled Himself and embraced the role of a servant of all by washing the disciple's feet as an example we should follow, for a servant is not above his Master.

When the Jews asked Jesus how to do the works of God John 6:29 says, "Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Faith in God is a good work we ought to do, and this leads to embracing a primary purpose of our salvation by the Gospel:  to do good works!  It is written of born-again Christians in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Anyone who is excited about the place Jesus is preparing for us in heaven ought also to be delighted to do the good works God has already prepared beforehand for us to walk in.  During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16:  "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  The purpose of lighting a lamp is to give light to everyone in the house, and the purpose for the salvation of lost sinners is do all that Jesus commands us so God will be glorified through the good works of His people:  to love and forgive one another, repent of our sin, deny ourselves, take up our cross, and obediently follow Jesus.  The commands of Christ are not burdensome, for He has provided the indwelling Holy Spirit Who helps us to know and do God's will.

The doctrine of grace, rather than leading to smug indolence or justifying ourselves, teaches us to embrace our sanctification and good works because we have been justified by faith in Jesus.  Paul wrote in Titus 2:11-14:  "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."  We do not work with the hope of gaining favour from God because we already have received grace upon grace.  Having been redeemed from death and made alive to God, we are to do the good works of rejecting an ungodly lifestyle and instead living soberly, righteously and godly right now.  It is our reasonable service to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to our Saviour who laid down His life for us by looking to Him, walking in fellowship with Him, zealous for good works.

Good works are not a burden we are to place upon others like the hypocritical Pharisees did, but what Jesus leads us to joyfully labour for Him and serve one another as His redeemed.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:29-30, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  A yoke was placed upon a team of oxen to do work like pulling a cart, to plough or thresh grain.  Jesus bids us come alongside Him, for He will support, help and teach us how to do God's work.  In our flesh we are unable to do the first works of God, yet at Jesus' side we are greatly helped and encouraged to do His good works that bring honour and glory to our Saviour Who has redeemed us for His glorious purposes.