"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (James 1:23-25).
When I was a new Christian, I quickly learned that Christians grow. Now that I am older I know this still to be true. I grow, and I see those around me growing too. We grow as people, towards that perfect design for humanity which is Jesus (see Ephesians 4:13), "for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:19).
This is us being "sanctified": "And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth" (John 17:19 Jesus speaking).
A part of this life-long sanctification process is our growing and being equipped and prepared for the work Jesus has planned for us, each one, for all our tomorrows (Ephesians 2:10).
This is often a struggle.
Most of us are familiar with sometimes feeling inadequate. I certainly am. But I am happy to testify that this is one of the truly great things about Jesus; when we are at our weakest point, He comes and helps in the most profound ways. I have found this to be one of the delights of belonging to Him and is another foundation in my faith; I can trust that Jesus will show up and help because He has in the past.
"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).
I am also glad to know about all these people God helped: "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets - who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight" (Hebrews 11:32-34).
Prayer helps. Holy Spirit helps us to pray. There is so much going on in the world that I often feel helpless with of all the calamity, injustice and cruelty, yet when I look to Jesus I can pray. We know that Holy Spirit fills us, (Acts 13:52), and is our "comforter" and "counselor" (John 14:26 Amplified). Over the years we learn that He always reveals Jesus.
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-12).
Also as a new Christian I was often frustrated that my growth was so slow. Others "got" things which I seemed totally unable to grasp. People around me were aware that they were in the flow of grace from God. John tells us that "From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:16). This seemed not to be true for me, my perception was that Father God had a closed hand towards me. (I have since repented of this untrue belief, this stronghold, and now see the truth, that I was always in God's blessing, including before I came to know Him).
In my struggle I would go up on a lonely hill, away from everybody, then look up to the heavens and yell as loud as I could: "What do you want me to do?" I did this many times, it was hard and it seemed an age before I saw change. But by then I was like Peter (John 6:68); I knew that the world was no longer where I wanted to be, I wanted to live with Jesus (John 15), but did not know how.
Then I saw: my head knowledge of Jesus and His Kingdom was not enough, I needed to be in relationship with Him, face to face and heart to heart, to live in Jesus (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Bible says we are to "abide in the vine" (John 15:4 Jesus' words). "Abide" means live or dwell. I know that I live here, in my house. I visit many other places, sometimes for a few minutes, a few hours or a few days, but I abide here. (This week I "abide" in an old rented caravan at my favourite campsite, down South by the sea! So lovely).
So it is with Jesus, I learned to abide in Jesus, He became my best friend, (Jesus is my best friend; Trish, who is still my wife, was moved into second place, she is my most beloved of people, and very close in my devotion to Jesus).
Do The Word
If we are to "do" the Word of God, what are we to do? What am I to do - now - today?
Here are five thoughts from the Bible which, I think, make a good beginning:
• "Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• "Husbands, love your wives" (Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19)
• "Worship the Lord in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24)
• "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions" (Ephesians 6:18)
• "Love one another" (John 13:34 and many more!).
"Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
This verse goes on to say "for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" and is part of Paul's instruction and benediction to the Thessalonian church. Fortunately being thankful is something I learned as a teenager, long before Jesus brought me to Himself.
I believe that I was born into the most blessed generation in all of history. Sure, the Twentieth Century saw lots of trouble, but trouble has always abounded in the world. I was born during WWII so my early memories are of the post-war hope and growth. All the grownups had struggled and suffered through the war years but now there was real progress, socially, relationally, and materially, in most places in the world.
I was one of the first "teenagers", that group within society who were finding their way to adulthood in an exciting world full of opportunities. We had our own money to spend and more independence, (in every way), than any generation had ever known. We felt safe in the great servant leadership of Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, and honest and true U.S. presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Australia and New Zealand had honest and true servant leaders too.
There was great hope and increasing equality and equity in the world. Fairness and freedom were seen to be increasing.
I still remember some of my New Years Eves. I would recall all the great things of the past year and could not imagine that next year could be better. I had little money but good work was plentiful and our wages were enough. University was free (provided that you kept passing your exams). I was grateful even before I met Jesus, (who has been the greatest gift to me), and before Trish who blessed me as a true wife and with six wonderful children!
Always I have known troubles, troubles are the "circumstances" Paul wrote about and which Jesus and Father God know about. But I am constantly aware of God's flow of grace towards me and mine. And I am aware of His beautiful presence with me and in the world.
So I am grateful. It is good to know that I am in line with this aspect of "God's will for my life". (I put this point first because I tend to grumble and complain when the going gets tough, so I have to get past that first).
"Husbands, love your wives" (Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19)
My wife Trish and my marriage are great blessings to me, I say this often; they bring great joy. But not joy only, there is often disagreement, discouragement, even conflict. External things have an impact on our peace.
Many years ago an old man spoke to me as he saw me admiring a young woman: "I see that she has caught your eye John. You're thinking that you would be happy to be with her forever. Do you know that a man marries at least four different women but usually meets only the sweet happy one before the marriage. Women are often affected by those things which make them women, by their emotional and nurturing natures, their womanly cycles, their pregnancies and motherhood. Like everyone, they also respond to difficult times, to deprivation, to sickness, and when betrayed or hurt by people. And over time; we all change as we age".
I still remember this conversation and have found the old man's words to be true. Also, I, the husband, have often been distracted from Trish and our marriage, especially by the work I loved. Sometimes I worked very long hours, other times I had no work at all so worried about that, and spent my time desperately seeking.
The results were that there were uncomfortable strains on our marriage.
Paul's words touched my heart. I prayed and pondered "John, love your wife", I thought: "Paul is talking about 24x7, how do I do that?"
The pondering continues and I continue to make changes in heart and in my ways. When I say "I love Trish", that is a true saying, I can say it because of the work Trish and I put into maintaining our bond.
Each of us, Trish and I, know great benefits from being so bound together, so do our children, grandchildren and our Christian brothers and sisters, and our neighbours too.
"He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22). True. Finding is one thing, we must work hard to keep what we have "found".
Thank you Jesus for the mighty work you constantly do on our behalf!
(Note that there is no admonition, "wives love your husbands" in the Bible! This is a man's duty to our God, to our children as well as to our wife. Another wise old man told me: "the greatest gift a man can give his children is to love their mother").
If all of our life is to be worship, then it is not just something we do for half an hour at the beginning of our church "service". No, it is our response to knowing that our Father God loves us, has set us free from sin and brought us into His family, with our lovely Jesus as our Saviour, mentor and friend. My attempts at living in worship bring me peace and much hope, "and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5).
God's first commandment is to "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart .." (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). So our first duty is to love God, to recognise Him as our highest authority, be ready to be obedient to Him, and to work to please Him: all this is worship.
We are to "worship in spirit .."; so not so much physical or practical, but fully from the heart. Remember, loving God is the “first" and "greatest" commandment and our relationship is primarily spiritual.
And to "worship .. in truth"; I pray about "truth" often. The Bible makes clear that Jesus is truth and that He brings truth as part of the New Covenant (John 1:17, 14:6, 18:37; 1 John 5:6; 2 John 1:3; Ephesians 4:21).
I think of myself as a seeker after truth and believe that it is our duty to discover truths and appropriate them into our self. This is how we overcome strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). So: not what is popular or cultural or dictated by important leaders, but what God says is true. For this we look only to the Bible
Now is a time where "truth is lacking in the public square" (Isaiah 59:14). At the same time, I believe, all Western peoples are being required to be more and more compliant to government ideologies, mandates and demands which are rooted in ideas which are neither true, nor good for the people.
God's Word warns us time and again to follow His precepts, (teachings, principles, rules, guidelines, instructions, and laws), if we are to remain in His will and favour; otherwise He will, in His infinite justice, rebuke and correct us (2 Chronicles 7:13-14; Psalm 119). We see this time and again in His dealings in Bible times. Now, I believe, we are feeling the discomfort of our Father's disappointment in our love of money and comfort, our obsession with celebrity and our "going along" with the world's ever declining moral and cultural values.
We can only "Love with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind" if our spirit is alive in Christ (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 2:5) and we are living in truth (John 14:6). I pray for help from Jesus by His lovely Holy Spirit.
I am sure it is possible to do this but I find it hard. I get too distracted by household and family responsibilities and trying to look after my health. I often get tired and there seem to be too few hours in a day.
But I think being with God is probably like being with family or people we love; we talk and chatter and share and comment - we communicate, we fellowship - it is not structured or forced, but natural - normal life.
It is so easy for me to get distracted from prayer. I try to keep many people and groups in the back of my mind so that when I do pray they are right there, in my consciousness, ready to ascend in prayer to the incense bowls in God's throne room.
When I realise that I have been neglectful I try and remember to say "sorry" to Jesus, and then make a special effort. Right now a dear friend is overseas on mission teaching discipleship to young Christian ministers; I am especially trying to pray often for all those there. Jesus guides me in what I pray; although I avoid the media I will pick up on a Bible verse and see that it is for "now", or overhear a snippet of "the news" and know that I am to pray into that situation. Every day I pray for Jesus' church, for all the hundreds of millions of His people, my brothers and sisters. I persevere.
When I can think of words for my prayers I thank Jesus for directing me and gladly pray His thoughts, otherwise I am happy to be able to pray in the Spirit, in tongues, (1 Corinthians 12:12,28, knowing that matters which are beyond my abilities and strength (Romans 8:26) are being lifted up.
Our Father always looks at the heart, I am trusting Him that He is supervising this work in me to His own satisfaction. I know that He loves me, and I know that I want to help.
"Love One Another" (John 13:34 and many more verses).
The second "great commandment" is to "love your neighbour as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). Do I even see my neighbour? Am I so busy that I have no time for any new neighbour? Is this OK? Does he or she have a need I should help with or I can help with: perhaps a hug or a kind word, or a time of conversation, (loneliness is another epidemic in Western countries), do they need something to eat?
I find many times where I do not have the time to do more. I pray asking Jesus to help with my time management, but still run out of time and energy every day. It is also a bit like Martha and Mary (John 11). Jesus told Mary that she was doing the better thing. Meanwhile everybody had something to eat and clean towels because Martha was caring for them and the household.
I am often challenged by biblical laws and by Jesus' command to "go" . Also, I see that we all have different gifts and ask: "Is that for me? Must I get involved in that too?"
When we lived in America we had a preacher who often talked about "balance", he said that our God is thoughtful and kind, and designed our Universe and our lives to work well and fit together. He emphasised the word "balance" by using a French accent. I have never forgotten.
While we were there Mother Theresa came to New York. She is a wonderful example of Christian love and living, she surely did "love in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Mother Theresa said that she could only ever make a tiny impact because the needs around her were so great, so it was important that she, and her sisters, would be able to go to work again tomorrow. Therefore they should finish work today in time to do their own housekeeping, and spend time with Jesus, eat and fellowship together and get a good night's sleep. So, although they would walk home amid great need, they would be preparing for tomorrow.
I find this very reassuring. Prayer always helps in everything, but sometimes my prayers asking Jesus to help with my time management do not seem to make much difference. I am glad that I recognise that everyone has different gifts; no-one can do everything. This is a comfort, our God wants us to operate from His rest (Hebrews 4:1). I try to remember to seek and find Jesus' peace (Luke 24:36).
Praise Jesus.
Favourite Bible Verses
".. that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:12).
"and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6-7).
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).
Amen.
