Category Archives: His Story

A Cosmological World View based on Holy Scripture
A module in Life College

General Principles, Wisdom

Disputable Matters

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Olive and I are following Nicky Gumbel’s excellent Bible in One Year reading plan. This morning’s NT reading was Romans 14. When it comes to disputable (but important) matters there is no better guidance than that given in this chapter about how Christians should deal with them.

Paul takes two important topics (vegetarianism and holy days) as examples of the type of disputable matter that we need to treat as he advises. His advice carries all the wisdom and inspiration of Scripture behind it so we would be wise to follow it.

I have reprinted Romans 14 below using two other examples of disputable matters which I am sure you will recognise. Hopefully, this will help you when it comes to dealing with these two topics which seem to take up a lot of social media space these days:

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to take any vaccine, but another, whose faith is weak, only takes the ones they got as an infant. 3 The one who takes all vaccines must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not take every vaccine must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5 One person considers one political party more sacred than another; another considers every political party alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one party as special does so to the Lord. Whoever takes a vaccine does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:

‘“As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“Every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.”’

12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling-block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that none of the vaccines are unclean in themselves. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because you take the vaccine you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your taking a vaccine destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of taking or not taking vaccines, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of a vaccine. All vaccines are clean, but it is wrong for a person to take any vaccine that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to take a vaccine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they take the vaccine, because their taking of it is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Challenging words! How many of us need to follow the advice given in v.22?

church, General Principles, History of Faith

At the Mention of Your Name

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“The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” 1 Cor. 1: 25.

One of the things that encourages me that the Lord is coming back soon is how well the world has been prepared for His coming. The knowledge of God’s ways and character – His Name – is widespread and acknowledged by even many who do not follow the forms of religion that are so often followed in the West. In this the saying is true, the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Peacemakers understand the power of forgiveness and apply it to all sorts of conflicts and situations. Blessed are the merciful is one of the beautiful attitudes Jesus describes as being the heart of followers of His Name in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). Many recognise the superiority of mercy over judgement.

Love is understood by many to be the ultimate virtue. God is love, many believe this. Many also understand and celebrate in culture and films that this love is most shown by someone laying down their lives for another. It is just a small step for evangelists to point out the most Supreme Sacrifice of them all and so help others to fall in love with the One they love.

This is so obvious that many Christians (especially religious ones) cannot see it and go about creating religious kingdoms of their own so they can more easily contain – and control – God’s kingdom. The generosity of God and His working through the poor in spirit, the meek and simple lovers all over the world at this time is missed by them while they dispute about how many angels can dance on the top of a pin or which politician most reflects their particular viewpoint.

If we all understood a bit more history we might find it easier to see God’s Kingdom on the earth as it is being manifested in our days. Before Jesus came this Way was not understood. Tom Holland (an historian) puts this point very well in this article from his website*. He says that here in the West we are like goldfish swimming around in a goldfish bowl and completely missing the fact that we live and breathe in a culture completely suffused with Jesus’ way of thinking about things. A Way alien to those other cultures. Where power and wisdom ruled in Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome and those kingdoms inspired by them, Jesus substituted the foolishness of a message about a crucified and resurrected God who is meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:27-30) and whose dwelling place is with those of a similar heart (Isaiah 57:15).

Thanks to multi-media there is nowhere in the world now that is not affected by this wonderful way of thinking, this Name of Jesus, though some places reflect it less well than others. My wife and I have lived in what is probably one of the more alien cultures – that of the Middle East – for some time. When you hear someone tell you with a straight face that it is “right” for the older brother to kill someone in their family who converts to Christianity or witness the atrocities of the Taliban you can get a glimpse of what it might mean to grow up in a culture suffused with another name that that of Jesus.

For millennia peoples took their lead about how to behave and what was right and wrong from the four great cultures that dominated their thinking: the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. The thinking (the names) of these great civilisations have continued their influence down through the generations. However, a greater Name – a different understanding and practice – not made by humans in their wisdom but carved out by God, has struck these edifices with the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God. Since then this Name and Kingdom has been growing into a mighty mountain that is filling the earth with His ways and all other thinking about how to do things is scattering in the wind of His Spirit.

The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar saw this in a dream and the prophet Daniel explained it to him (Daniel 2). Later on Daniel had further visions of the four beasts and what would follow (Daniel 7). We are living in the days of the Great Kingdom of God that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people or civilization for none will come after it. His Kingdom will endure forever.

We need to be careful how we promote this Kingdom. It’s primary way of growing is through the relentless growth of the underdog like grass in a great savanna or the welling up of waters from hidden springs. The poor in spirit and the meek inherit this kingdom and promote it. The peacemakers rule here, the merciful and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. In this Kingdom you gain your life by losing it, not by trying to hold onto power, but by yielding to your persecutors and rejoicing while being persecuted. This way, that is so like the way Jesus took as He went to the Cross, is alien to us and needs supernatural power to walk in. Our reason revolts at the idea of winning a victory by laying down your life.

Jesus

Let us see His Name in others. Don’t judge and you will not be judged.

God is doing more and is greater than the narrow bounds of your religion would have you believe.

Maranatha!

*Call out to Kris Vallotton for pointing me in the direction of Tom Holland’s views on this issue through a post on his FB feed (9th July ’21).

church, Creation, General Principles

What is a human being?

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Nicky Gumbel uses an analogy to describe the limitations of science in one of the excellent Alpha videos. If someone finds a cake then if they are a scientist they could potentially tell you what it was made of, when it was made and how it was made but without knowing the cake maker they could not tell you who made it or why it was made (and they might struggle to know where it was made).

Similarly, we need God to tell us why we were made.

So here are some things God says in His book on that subject:

“For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19,20a

One of the remarkable things that God has done in making human beings is the collective purpose He has for us. Together we worship together to become one and somehow, astonishingly, corporately become a member of the Godhead.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Ephesians 5:25-32

Daughters of kings are among your honoured women;
    at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
    Forget your people and your father’s house.
11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
    honour him, for he is your lord.
12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift,[d]
    people of wealth will seek your favour.
13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
    her gown is interwoven with gold.
14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
    her virgin companions follow her –
    those brought to be with her.
15 Led in with joy and gladness,
    they enter the palace of the king.

Psalm 45:10-15

General Principles, His Story

God is Love

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1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes what love is. God is love (1 John 4: 8, 16) so therefore this passage also describes God. These attributes describe the way God the Holy Spirit is when He is working in us. It explains how He acts towards us and towards others.

This mindmap lists the same 16 attributes of love as the first picture but in their original Greek. The original Greek does not always lend itself to a one word for word English translation. Sometimes there are nuances which need several English words to capture. These are listed at the end of the branches. For instance, the Greek word often translated as kind in our English translations carries nuances of mercy and love.

For the first 9 attributes I also give cross references to where the Greek words are used elsewhere in the New Testament. One of my favourite cross references is to Matthew 11:30. Jesus says that His yoke is kind. The impression one gets is that it doesn’t chafe.
The third attribute can be hard to translate. In the Greek it is ζηλοι from which we get the word “zeal”. Elsewhere in the New Testament this same Greek word is used in a positive sense but is often translated by a negative in this passage. The Holy Spirit is above all gentle when dealing with us. He doesn’t strive because He doesn’t have to. However, in the Scripture, we humans are told to strive. The same word is used by Paul just a chapter later when he exhorts people to strive/ desire earnestly to prophecy.

If you love to gaze upon the Lord as I do then these words carry deep emotional, spiritual and mental impacts with them (see Hebrews 4:12). Meditate on them and let the Holy Spirit breathe within you.

church, heaven

Dwelling in a Dark Place

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Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;”

1 Kings 8:12

When God decided to show the Israelites (and us) what Heaven was like (Hebrews 8:5), He instructed Moses to build a Tabernacle or a Tent. This had three parts which represent the three heavens. The Most Holy Place (Exodus 26) represents the third heaven and it was not brightly lit – at least in it’s old testament shadow. This was mainly because there was a veil between it and the Holy Place where the light was. Thankfully that veil is now taken out of the way because of what Jesus did on the Cross (Matthew 27:51). Likewise, when we are born again we can see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3) and the veil over our minds is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:16).

The light in the Holy Place was bright and lit up all the things in the Holy Place once it was alight (it was never supposed to go out). The things the lampstand lit up included the Word of God (the table of showbread) and prayer (the altar of incense) as well as the throne of God Himself (the Ark of the Covenant) which contains our pure spiritual food (gold jar of manna), God’s promises to us (the stone tablets of the covenant) and all authority (Aaron’s rod that budded). But as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews writes: “We cannot discuss these things in detail now.” (Hebrews 9:5)

The lampstand consisted of 7 oil lamps which were the brightest lamps available at the time. Without the lampstand, filled with burning oil the Holy Place would have been dark indeed. The Holy Place was covered over by four layers of coverings.

Rose Publishing. Rose Guide to the Tabernacle (pp. 59-61). Rose Publishing. Kindle Edition.

We know from the Book of Revelation (chapter 1 verse 20) that the lampstand(s) are the Church, the Body of Christ. Each local church is a lampstand. The olive oil that was used as fuel (Exodus 27:20, Lev. 24:2) was also used for the priest’s anointing oil (Exodus 35:28) and the flame is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3). If a church, the body of believers, are not anointed and burning there is no light and everything about God is dark, hidden. It is up to the priests to make sure the lamp is kept full of oil and lit at all times.

5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:5

The church is the light of the world:

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 

Matthew 5:14-15

But if the light that is in you is darkness how great is that darkness (Matthew 5:22-23)! This explains why churches without the anointing can be some of the most oppressive places on earth.

We must approach God with boldness to find grace to help in this time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It is critical that those who call themselves Christians have a pure, spiritual understanding of what it is to know God who is Spirit (John 4:24). We cannot afford to be so earthly minded we are no good for heaven or earth. Unless our good deeds flow from and through God we may end up with nothing to show for it all on the Judgement Day (Matthew 7:22, 1 Cor.13:1-4).

Are you sure what you are doing is being done in the sight of God (John 3:19-21) and isn’t just built on the wisdom of man (1 Cor. 1:18-31)?

Autobiographical, Discipleship Series, General Principles, Law & Grace

Romans 7 and 8: The Reality of the Christian Walk

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Some years ago I put myself under a form of holiness teaching that said, among other things, that a Spirit-filled, born again Christian had moved beyond Romans 7 to Romans 8, i.e. the experience of Paul in Romans 7 no longer applied. This is patent nonsense to anyone who is in any way alive but somehow I believed it. It also completely contradicts the bible (see 1 John 1:8 for example).

Just to make it clear, this is my experience and the experience of every Spirit-filled, born again believer, don’t be deluded:

“I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I want to do, but instead do what I hate.”

Romans 7:15.

Paul then goes on to explain why this is the case. There is a law, he says, that exists in the members of our body that makes us a slave to sin.

Sometimes chapter divisions are a right nuisance. They were not in the original Scriptures and they can interrupt and disrupt trains of thought in Scripture. Paul never intended there to be the gap there is between Romans 7 and 8. One should flow straight into the other.

The answer to the problem of sin in our members that Paul explains in Romans 7 & 8 is (thanks be to God) Jesus. Jesus will teach us to walk in the Spirit. And that means, among other things, taking up our cross daily and putting to death continuously the desires of the flesh. It is like that game where the gophers pop their heads above ground and the idea is that you hit them on the head with a hammer as soon as they appear. Similarly, when the flesh manifests itself in some temptation or lewd thought you need to take it immediately to Christ. He will have some very practical answers that usually involve discipline. For me this involves things like getting up at a specific time and going to bed at a specific time, praying and realising that some of my desires – which are not illegitimate or sinful necessarily – simply will not be fulfilled in this life.

Hope in the next life can extend to very intimate and practical things. Our deepest desires are often the ones we are most afraid to express but at their heart can be something very precious to God once He has refined them and taken away the dross.

church, Discipleship Series, General Principles, His Story

Not by might or power

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For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

1 Corinthians 8:5,6

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
    or the strong boast of their strength
    or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
    that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
    justice and righteousness on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord. 

Jeremiah 9:23,24

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6

One of the reasons God emphasizes knowledge of Him over power so much throughout Scripture is because we can so easily be deceived and because there are an array of powers out there that are ready to take advantage of that. It was deception that led to the first sin after all.

There is an unfathomable, incomprehensible gap between any creature and its creator. However, God is not insecure in any way and so He has made creatures (angels, “sons of God”) with astonishing power and the power of choice also. These creatures have fallen and interfered with mankind in the past both before the flood (see Gen. 6) and after it (e.g. the giants of David’s day) and can do so again. Satan can appear as an angel of light and his followers as false prophets (2 Cor. 11:14) even today.

So, how do we avoid being deceived? Well firstly, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. The only way of knowing whether the light that is in you is not darkness (Matthew 6:23) is by knowing what God is really like. No amount of power can assure you of this as Jesus pointed out when He spoke about the many who would come to Him boasting of miracles and yet who practiced evil (Matthew 7:22). Christ in you is your hope and when He is formed in you (Gal. 4:19) and you are relating to Him easily and continually there is nothing that cannot happen.

But how do you know that it is Christ that is in you and guiding you?

How do you know that it is not some other god/ devil or even yourself and an overactive imagination?

The Holy Spirit in you is quite a subjective experience, the outward signs that someone is carrying around this treasure are often not that obvious in the earthen clay of our physical bodies (2 Cor. 4:7).

The second check is the Scriptures. No matter how amazing your experiences or power, if you are doing evil then you could be deceived. The Scriptures stand apart from your experience and can act as an objective mirror to your internal realities if you let them.

Thirdly, the church, let godly people see you for who you really are and give them the freedom to speak into your life and correct you if necessary.

See also “Three Pillars“.

church, General Principles

Seeing the Bigger Picture

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God moves at levels we have very little understanding of.  We used to have two lovely and intelligent dogs but they had no idea what I did when I went to work.  In fact they had no concept of what my work was nor even that there is such a thing as work.  All they were aware of was that I was around sometimes and sometimes I was not.

God likens us to sheep and Him as a Shepherd.  We really have no concept of His work.

It is good to keep this in mind when we pray about or consider the Church.  Sometimes the local church we are part of can loom too large in our minds as if it was all that God is doing in our area or land.  Thank God for faithful men and women who follow God and are led to work with Him to build His Church.  And thank God if you are benefitting from the service of such men and women.

But God is doing something bigger.  Don’t become tribal or sectarian or worried if people don’t stay.  Often they are God’s servants doing what God wants them to do.  And if not, God is still building His Church and nothing the devil or men do will stop that.

Just make sure you are where God wants you to be, doing what He wants you to do.

General Principles, His Story

Throwing Eve under the Bus

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One of my friends on Facebook asked a question on his feed one day: “Why did Adam do it?”  He didn’t answer the question but simply referred to Paul’s comments on the incident in 1 Timothy 2:13-14:

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 

The bible says that Adam is the father of us all.  We all share his genome.  It also says that it was his disobedience that brought death into the world (Romans 5).  It was because of this that Jesus had to come to bring life instead through His death on the cross.

Another friend of mine (who is not on Facebook) said that he spent 3 days doubting his faith after thinking about what I am about to say in this post so you have been warned!

So here is the scene:  God has made Adam out of dust, created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs and thereby enhanced paradise for Adam in the “flesh of my flesh” unity they enjoyed freely for who knows how long after that.  If you get my drift.

Then along comes the serpent, the devil, a fallen angel in Paradise.  He takes Eve in all her doubly refined purity and innocence, deceives her and she eats.  Adam stands quietly by and lets it all happen.  According to Paul he was anything but innocent in this encounter.  He knew exactly what he was letting Eve do and what he was going to do himself.

So why on earth would he want to spoil what he had by deliberately doing the only thing he was asked not to do?

Maybe I should ask the question another way.  Why do men deliberately disobey God?

This is the mystery of iniquity.

Discipleship Series, Family, General Principles, Wisdom

Manna!

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Of all the things that a Christian needs to do once they are born again, nothing is more important than that they eat and drink spiritually. Just like eating food is critical for our bodily life so eating the word of God is crucial for our spiritual life. If we don’t eat spiritually we will die spiritually.

Jesus said to pray to God “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matt. 6:11) He also said that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood we have no life in us (John 6:32-58) and that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).

In the OT there is a picture given to us physically of the nature of spiritual food. In Exodus 16 we are told that the people of Israel used to live on manna in the desert. The manna appeared all over the ground each morning and needed to be collected, put in a jar and eaten that day. If they didn’t collect it in the morning, by the time the sun got warm it had disappeared. If they tried to keep it overnight it went bad and was inedible the next day (except on the day before the Sabbath when it would keep for two days). When they went to collect it they found that no matter how much or how little they collected, each family had just what it needed.

From this picture we can see that we need to keep our relationship with God’s Word fresh. Jesus is called the Word of God. The bible contains the words of God.

Like everything else to do with walking in the Holy Spirit, let Him teach you what this means for you. For me it is clear though that I need to keep in daily communion with Jesus, meditating on His words and getting fresh words every day to eat and to share with others, particularly my family.

It is a rich picture worth thinking about and acting on.

Don’t starve to death spiritually!