Holy Spirit: Life

Disciples

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Since Pentecost Sunday I've heard people, and particularly Christian leaders, saying things like: "without the Holy Spirit people cannot pray right, cannot minister right, cannot live right". Their clear desire is to see more discipleship in Jesus' ecclesia, His gathered ones (Matthew 28:19).

"live" and "life" are very big words, they include so much. Once we are saved our lives are being "brought to fullness" in Jesus (John 10:10; Colossians 2:10). "Fullness" is one of my favourite Bible words, I see it as including "complete, active, transparent, clean, precious", and that would be a lovely place to be. Certainly all the "fruit of the Spirit" words would be included in such fullness of life.

When we are "baptised with the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5), our relationship with our God moves from our outside, from being something external that we can put on and take off, to being internal, that is, a part of us all the time. No wonder the Bible describes us as a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This is a radical change and will bring us much more into the nature of the "image and likeness" of Elohim God that we were created to be (Genesis 1:26), and more into "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13) that Jesus has planned for us all (Philippians 1:6).

"And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high". "For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:5 Jesus speaking).

Jesus promises us "power"; we see that that power comes when Jesus baptises us with His Holy Spirit. Our capacity to follow Jesus (Mark 1:17) and play our part in His work (Matthew 5:16) is multiplied and we are grateful: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20).

I often think about Adam and Eve in their early years, that lovely time before they believed Satan, sinned and fell so terribly (Genesis 3:7-19). Humankind were the last element of the Creation. Everything else was created so that we would have a really great place to live the "fullness" that God planned for us.

Like Adam and Eve, Trish and I are a "garden" family, Trish is a creative and very enthusiastic gardener and our place is always beautiful. The birds and bees love it too. Many of our children and daughters-in-law have caught this passion and their gardens too are full of life and colour.

Adam and Eve will have had a "full life". God put them together, I cannot imagine a better matchmaker; theirs will surely have been a "marriage made in Heaven"! Good marriages are one of those "greater-than-the-sum-of-their-parts" things we sometimes encounter. More than Adam and Eve enjoying just one another, God was their intimate friend and they spent time with Him every day. Family was a reality too, God made it clear that the couple would have babies and become a big family, even that they would "fill the Earth" (Genesis 1:28). They had work, to care for the Creation and to name every kind and species of life; we know that work is good for us, we wither without something meaningful to do.

In every culture we enjoy our food, regardless of where in the world we live; people love to get together around a table and share meals; Adam and Eve will have been the first to be blessed by the bounty of nature in this way, they had (almost) the whole garden to select from. Their climate must have been special too, (they were before the Flood of Noah's time; the weather we know is post Flood); Adam and Eve needed no clothing, neither did they feel any lack. A great marriage and a great life!

Time and again the Bible gives accounts of full lives of God's people when they follow His way. As we grow in Christ likeness (Ephesians 4:11-13) we also will be blessed (Luke 12:37).

Fruit

When Trish and I were new Christians we knew "Life In The Spirit" classes where the baptism in Holy Spirit was explained in Biblical terms, and also its impact on the believer, and the church, (and the world). The classes were frequently offered and brought understanding and much joy to many.
We also learned that our God is looking for obedience in us, and that obedience yields the fruit of faithfulness. The Christians we know are distinctive for the Holy Spirit fruit we see in them (Galatians 5:22-23), fruit which comes from living with, and for, the God of all Creation.

The world has no good explanation for any of the "fruit of Holy Spirit", but these fruit are seen everywhere in Scripture because they add such quality to our lives. I think of these nine words as "God's words". Atheists and others use them extensively, as though they are their own, but no, these words, and everything they represent, come from God.

Here are some Scriptures about our "full life" when Holy Spirit comes to us; nine big "fruit" words:

Love - "I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26 Jesus' words to our Father).

Joy - "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

Peace - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Patience - "And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him" (2 Peter 3:15).

Kindness - "In the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7). 

Goodness - "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another" (Romans 15:14). 

Faithfulness - "It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it" (3 John 1:3).

Gentleness - "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:5).

Self-Control/self-restraint/temperance - "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin" (Romans 7:14).

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Thank you Jesus for your great love for us, each one.

As Jesus' people we can know that we are close to God, trusting Him, even so close that we can call Him "Abba Father" (Romans 8:15).

Because Jesus is in us (Colossians 1:27) we are equipped to be in great relationships within our community, and have the gifts and the fruit to rejoice in worthwhile work for our lovely Lord forever (Ephesians 2:10).

Praise Jesus. Amen.

Favourite Bible Verses

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority" (Colossians 2:9-10).

"Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). 

"We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,  but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,  beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;  by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;  by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;  through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;   as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:3-10).

"But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives" (Galatians 5:22-25 Message).

"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25 Amplified).

Bless Jesus.

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Amen.

Do Not Settle

How Are We To Be Church?

During a recent prayer-Zoom our lovely Lord Jesus gave our group further answers to the questions: "What are you saying Lord God?" and "What are you doing Lord?"

Our group were praying about a local house church where discipleship of the "younger" Christians is a priority, and everyone is committed to Jesus and also ready to contribute in ministry and to grow in Christ ..

We had also been discussing and praying about how we are to be church once the Covid-19 pandemic is passed.

Then a voice said: "Do not settle". Immediately we knew that this was Jesus' thought for us all.

The coronavirus lockdown is easing in Western Australia and we are thinking of our lives now returning to "normal". We are also aware that in so many countries things are still very difficult, not just with the illness, but also with the massive unemployment, and economic, social, health and ethical changes the pandemic has brought to our societies.

We cannot begin to know the extent of the changes which are still before us.  People are talking about a "new normal" saying that "things will not be the same", but no one can tell us what the "not" will be like ..

I, and my prayer partners, believe that "church" will change too. So many people are saying how blessed they have been over the past months to share very simply with other Christians, one-at-a-time or with small groups, walking safely-distanced-apart in parks, or talking over the phone, or on the Internet. They have learned to be "church" in a new and deeper way. Their times together have been precious and filled with worship; Jesus was in the midst during the sharing and prayer and as they helped one another.

Here is my note-from-memory from that prayer-Zoom meeting; Jesus said to me:

"I want you to be totally available to me and to be ready to be radically obedient. I want you to love the brothers and sisters I have put you with, to be discipled by them, and you in turn to disciple them. I want you to go about doing the works I set before you. I want you to look beyond one church or group, rather to be a part of a number of groups each with its own focus; that way you will get to know many people and be close enough that you can love them.

Beyond this, I want you to look outwards, to always remember that my focus is the whole world; I desire that the whole world will hear my gospel (Isaiah 52:7) and know that I came to set everyone free from their sin, their rebellion and disobedience,  and that they may look forward to eternal life with me. And that everyone can grow into fullness in me (Ephesians 4:12), that my church will grow in unity (John 17:21), and that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), but come into the fullness of life in me (Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Timothy 3:12) and be free (Galatians 5:1)".

Paul reminds us that the Church is Jesus' body, "the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (Ephesians 1:23) and its members are "Christ's body" (1 Corinthians 12:12). We are those members.

Our primary responsibility as Jesus' people is to put God first always, and to put our neighbour next (Matthew 22:37-40).  By the time I put Jesus, then my Christian brothers and sisters and my family ahead of me, and do what I do to look out for others including strangers (Matthew 22:39), and do any work I'm committed to do, I find myself well down in my priority list for my love and care .. it is very sobering for me to think about this ..

Jesus wants us to gather around Him as our Shepherd; to find places where He is Head, where He is Centre and the object of our worship, where there is the intimacy of a big Brother and His siblings, all looking to our Father for active guidance by our loving and caring Holy Spirit.

One of my prayer friends often refers to "the aroma of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:15), how lovely it would be to be surrounded by Jesus' aroma!

We know that we are to love one another and even to disciple and help one another as we make room for them to love, disciple and help us (John 13:34-35, Acts 5:42, Romans 12:7, Romans 15:4, 1 Timothy 4:13). Growing in love is a slow processes, so Jesus must mean that we are to call one group or fellowship or congregation "home", but we are also to involve ourselves well beyond that one group.

In Bible times Christians met in one another’s homes and at the Synagogues where the Jews would have been conducting their liturgies, (there were no buildings set up specially for Christian meetings). There is a sense of Jesus' people being "one family"; they were very generous and shared much. They knew one another as brothers and sisters, and together they cared for and nurtured all the children, the old folk and the disadvantaged, and their neighbours too.

When Peter, Paul or Timothy, or any mature teacher (1 Corinthians 2:6-7) came to a city, Jesus' newly formed church would gather in all its variety to hear from them, this would add another and precious dimension to their Christian walk and give opportunity for Jesus' Way to be taught (and doctrinal error to be rectified). The apostles' letters would have been handed around and read aloud much as we use the Internet today, so that good, clear teaching could reach all the "ecclesia", all the "gathered ones".

What Does It Mean? "Do Not Settle"?

Whatever else, Jesus is telling us to not become too settled where we are planted. Scripture makes it clear that we are to form bonds with other Christians. This means to help, form relationship and share with each other, and to "love one another" .. this takes time. But we have been given enough time to do even more .. 

Jesus and Paul often spoke or wrote about these things: Scripture shows everybody ministering, love in action, unity, making room for one another, compassion, mutual growth, humility and service. And most of all, there was a focus on Jesus, and our Father and His Kingdom. Jesus asked Abba Father to send us Holy Spirit so we would be equipped and strengthened to do all this (John 14:26)!

I hear Jesus saying: "find groups of believers where you see lots of wheat and few tares, where the people are more committed to Me and My Kingdom than to the world and its culture".

The name "Christian" was not given to Jesus' people for almost a generation after that amazing Pentecost when Holy Spirit came with tongues of fire and Jesus' church was born (Acts 2). The early believers were mostly Jews and still attended Synagogue. But they also began to follow Jesus' teachings, alongside of their Jewish religious life. They were initially called "the followers of the Way" (Acts 24:14).

This reminds me of Trish's and my early Christian life. We came to Jesus during the Charismatic Renewal in the early 1980s. Although we still went to church in the regular way, we Charismatics also met where and whenever we could. We never thought of our meetings as "services" because we all contributed, even newcomers! We had prayer, worship and teaching meetings, mostly these were small but we communicated with other groups and sometimes gathered in big numbers. We did get to know and love one another, we knew that Jesus was growing all of us, and we all learned to use the spiritual gifts Holy Spirit had blessed us with, and to minister and grow in these, within the body of Christ and in the world. We understood what "freely give" means (Matthew 10:8).  There was much joy and there were many miracles. We knew that we were being fed.

How Well Am I Doing Now?

If Father God is asking us to come into line with His will in a way that is going to help the world, then am I doing so? What am I now doing better or more truly? With whom? When? These are tough questions!

Am I living as though I am "God's temple" (2 Corinthians 6:16) and Jesus and Holy Spirit live and minister from inside me (Colossians 1:27)? Are there "rivers of living water" flowing from my spiritual belly (John 7:38)?

I think a lot about being a "living stone" (1 Peter 2:5) .. how well am I doing this? Am I allowing Jesus to chip away at me and shape me to conform to His will? Am I where He wants me in His "house of God", or do I just go where I like and am comfortable?

Do I bring "salt and light" (Matthew 5:13-16) to people and situations? Am I one who builds "hope and faith" (1 Thessalonians 1:3)? Do I encourage others with true testimonies (John 19:35, 2 Timothy 1:8) of God's "grace" (Romans 5:2), "love" (1 Corinthians 13), "salvation" (Romans 13:11), “compassion” (Philippians 2:1-2), "power" (2 Timothy 1:7) and "kindness" (Acts 4:9)?

I do not have answers to these questions but am grateful to our lovely Jesus for asking them; just thinking about these things helps me to focus more on His will and less on mine, and to encourage me away from my comfortable or lazy habits. Trish and I both think that these times are critical for the world, and require us to re-commit to Jesus and to be sure of our duty to God and to our fellow humanity.

The Father's Heart

Trish and I have six children. We are so grateful that we all live within a few suburbs of one another in the same city. How lovely it is when we all get together with wives and girlfriends and grandchildren too, we often have more than a dozen of us sharing a meal! How saddened Trish and I are when a rift develops between some of the kids, or anything disrupts our harmony. We worry and pray until relational healing comes.

How much worse it must be for our Abba Father God. He loves us so infinitely more than we do our kids, and He has seen such lack of unity in His body for so long, (for all of my life and more). He constantly sees critical judgments, mistrust, isolation, and broken fellowships besides the materialism, pride and seeking-a-name-for-our-self, greed and the abuse that we Christians are so publicly accused of .. How His heart must ache ..

Time and again in Scripture Jesus calls us to unity, it is one of the great themes of the New Testament. In the church today there is often much talk of unity but sadly, not much of it to be seen ..

"Do not settle" has much to say to this state of affairs, as we meet, worship, pray, fellowship and work with others, unity will grow as love grows, then the world will see Jesus.

(John 4:23 NIV) "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks".

(John 4:23 Message)  "But the time is coming - it has in fact already come - when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship".

Praise Jesus. Amen.

Favourite Bible Verses

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13).

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,   I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me" (John 17:20-23). 

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). 

Amen.

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Praise Jesus. 

Passion Gifting and Power

One Day I Will Ask You

A few months ago I had a clear word from Jesus as my first conscious thought of the day, (this kind of thing happens to Christians, it's good to be ready for it and take note or it can just dissolve away like smoke, as a dream does).

Jesus said, very softly: "one day I will ask you, what did you do with all the passion, gifting and power that I gave you?"

Since then this future requirement from Jesus has been weighing on me and I've been looking for "passion", "gifts" and "power", in my Bible and in my life. These qualities are everywhere in the New Testament, under the New Covenant. I realise that most of my time is spent on the things of the world rather than the things of Heaven, so my balance is not yet fully right. 

There is a lovely song: ".. and the things of the world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace" (Philippians 3:8; Hebrews 12:2) (Helen Lemmel 1863-1961) . 

The parable of the sower includes the warning "but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the Word, and it proves unfruitful" (Mark 4:19).

So in the time I have left on this Earth I am trying to lift my game. This kind of desire is a place where Jesus and Holy Spirit together are always ready to help. I've heard so many testimonies where the person earnestly sought after Jesus, and He invariably made Himself available by His Spirit (Jeremiah 29:13, Proverbs 8:17, Matthew 5:6).

Where am I now? I am praying more and have been this whole year. Even as the world seems to be going downhill, Jesus' call to prayer is increasing, not just in me, but in many others I see in meetings and in day-to-day life. This is a common theme amongst God's people; whoever I read, and from whatever century or season in history, there are those who feel to pray more. Even in His own day, Jesus said ".. This is an evil generation .." (Luke 11:29, Ephesians 6:12), these days seem to be no different. Today there are many who are calling evil good and calling good evil (Isaiah 5:21). This is so contrary to God who made everything "very good" (Genesis 1:31), and who loves truth (John 14:6) and light (John 1:4).

Some years ago I bought E. M. Bounds' "Complete Works on Prayer", for my wife, Trish, and now feel called to read it again, (see Note 1). It's a big book, (eight books in one volume), and I'm cherry-picking subjects and chapters. It is a delight. Bounds places great importance on Jesus' words to me: "passion", "gifts", and "power", and many more strong words besides: faith, trust, desire, fervency, character, obedience, humility, devotion, trouble, mission, promises, miracles, providence, sacredness, purpose, unction (anointing), deliberation (pondering) .. and includes a great many stories of prayer heroes from both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible. Very encouraging. 

Time and again Bounds reminds us that prayer is God's idea. It is an essential inclusion in His design for humankind and for each of our unique relationships with our Abba Father; our Saviour and Lord, Jesus; and our Counsellor and Comforter, Holy Spirit. Essential!

As I spend time in my Bibles, (Trish and I are blessed to have many different Bible translations, see Note 2), I am every day reminded that part of Jesus plan in rescuing us from the world is that He will ultimately sanctify us: "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). 

This means that He will lead and guide and help us to leave our sin behind .. He will clean us up and develop our ministry in the world "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature person-hood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Ephesians 4:13-14). 

This is very good news; it means that, more and more, we are able to live lighter, yet with great purpose (2 Timothy 1:9), and live free (Galatians 5:1). Over the past months I have grown in my determination to participate more in Jesus' work, to be more aware, to try harder!

Prayer works. Trish and I both got to know Jesus and who He is through prayer meetings and getting to know born-again Christians on a personal level. God makes prayer possible by equipping us, then He asks us to pray. Trish and I set aside time to pray together and I love to take part in prayer groups. Another application of passion, gifts and power.

Surveys of hospital patients show that those who pray, or are prayed for, show fewer deaths and markedly better and faster recoveries from operations, procedures and treatments than do those who receive no prayer; this was in the same hospitals with the same doctors and nurses and the same operations, procedures and treatments performed for the same symptoms. The only things different were the prayers. Prayer works.

It is no wonder then that 82% of all the people in the world believe that the spiritual world is real and influential, even powerful. That is more than four out of every five people. This number comes from a Pew study, Pew are a very well established and trusted survey company.

Trish and I recently heard a report of a testimony about prayer, (so it was not first hand, nonetheless we found it to be entirely believable). A man was saying that he used to be a Satanist and had lots of fun praying to Satan that people's troubles would increase; he found that these prayers were effective and the people he prayed for got into all sorts of difficulties. 

Later he found that when he made these prayers towards people who were being prayed for by Christians, nothing happened; his prayers fell to the ground. The man said that this took all the fun out of his "game" so he stopped trusting in Satan and became a Christian, and is now very happy with that decision! Prayer works!

Prayer is global in scope and it is also intimate. Our prayers effectively help God to do His will in the world! Testimonies abound, from the smallest things to lives being saved or radically changed. As a computer programmer and data-base expert I was trained to see patterns; with prayer I find it hard to see any. For every rule or guide-line I could offer, I could also list exceptions. The important thing is to follow Jesus, let Holy Spirit be our guide, our prayer leader, and to listen to His heart and our conscience.

Although I am a house husband for Trish and a helper for all our family, I now see my main work as writing PsalmsOfJohn.com. I love this work because I work so closely with Jesus. He is my Ideas Man, all the concepts and ideas come from Him, He is also my Mentor and helps in a hundred ways as I work, and He is my Editor-in-Chief, nothing is considered to be complete until Jesus has given His approval. This is extraordinarily satisfying and I am ever so thankful. I plan to continue working hard at this as it needs all the passion, gifting and power Jesus gives me.

John the Baptist announced Jesus with the words: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11).

Baptise means "immerse in", Scripture also tells us that we are filled with Holy Spirit. It's not surprising that Jesus expects us to have, and to show, fire. After all, as born-again Christian, we are filled with Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 4:13, 9:17, 13:52). Holy Spirit is the power who raised Jesus from the dead. "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). 

Paul is famous for comparing himself to an athlete; he was ready to press on to win the race and receive the prize (1 Corinthians 9:25, Philippians 3:13-14). This is a great way to look at Christian life. There is a prize and it is very precious; the prize is eternal life with Jesus! It is so very good to press on .. "perseverance" is one of my favourite Bible words ..

"My beloved spoke and said to me, "Arise, my love, my fair one, come away. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me" (Song of Solomon 2:10-13).

And, as we live our Christian life each of us can rejoice that it will not run dry; there is no end to it: "Now there are also many other things which Jesus did. If they should be all recorded one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain (have room for) the books that would be written" (John 21:25).

Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus.

Note 1: Bounds, E. M. 2004. "The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer". Baker Books. Paperback Edition.

Note 2: Bibles - Reading, spending time immersed in, and pondering the content of the Bible is a vital part of Christian life. At Bible college we were taught to ask: "What does the text say?" We were told to consider how the reader at the time would have understood the passage in question. What was the writer of the passage trying to pass on to the people of his time?

I read English translations, they all have differences from one another. We can read a passage in more than one translation and work out what God is saying. Also, at Bible College I learned Greek (from Bible times), which is the original language of the New Testament, I still use my Nestlé Greek/English New Testament. There were no sentences or paragraphs in the original languages so the structures in our translations vary. Ultimately how we read the Bible reflects how we know Jesus, on our own personal relationship with Him and our Father, and what Jesus reveals to us. Jesus is the Word of God and the Bible is simply Jesus written down (John 1:1-4). God is the God who reveals Himself (Amos 4:13, Jeremiah 29:13, Proverbs 8:17, Matthew 5:6).

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14:1). 

Jesus wants us to hear from Him and be able to share what He says.

King James was King, his word was law. He instructed his translators to tone down the "everyone" (Colossians 3:11) language of the New Testament so that people would continue to respect and honour the authority structures in the land and in the church.

There is much talk of "men" in the King James Version even though, since Jesus' ministry on Earth, God includes everyone; men, women, slaves, free people, citizens, visitors, Jews and others. Many newer translation have continued this masculine focus. (It is also widespread in the church in recent times; E. M. Bounds' book, written in the early 20th Century), is full of "men" and hardly mentions women). 

The idea that "church" is an institution and a social and authority structure is strongly reinforced in the KJV, and in many later English language translations; but the word for "church" is the Greek word, "ecclesia", which means "the gathering of God's people"! Nothing about leadership, or hierarchy structures or buildings. King James supported this distorted view and, sadly, we often still tend to be presented with this error. "Church" is often a "service"; in the Bible the early Christians "met", they had meetings where everyone contributed.

In the King James Version Holy Spirit is referred to as the "Holy Ghost"; I believe this to be a terrible piece of translation because our beloved Holy Spirit is definitely not a ghost, He is not a spirit of a dead person, Jesus is assuredly alive! Yet today, pastors and others seem to love using this misleading word.

God never changes (Hebrews 13:8), so we can expect to find the same awesome, loving, powerful, creative and good God everywhere we look. For years my life was tough and I came to think that God had a closed hand towards me, that I wasn't good enough. I let these thoughts affect me in very negative ways. At the time I knew that my thoughts were wrong but still allowed them to affect me. Thankfully I am now past this piece of foolishness. It took a long time for me to correct my own wrong translation, (my strongholds), and find Bible verses which would help me. A long time to learn, in my heart, "what the text says"! Now I know, Jesus loves me, unconditionally!!

Amen.

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Praise our lovely Lord Jesus.

The Wrong Sword

When Peter cut off the servant's ear Jesus rebuked Him, and then healed the servant by restoring the ear (Luke 22:49-52). For many years I've not been quite sure why Jesus rebuked His disciple if He had already allowed him to carry a sword in the first place. But now I see that Jesus was saying that Peter was using the wrong sword, that it was time to put aside his worldly weapon because Jesus was about to equip all His people with His spiritual sword, "the sword of the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17).

I believe that Jesus is showing me to put down my sword of political activity and take up His sword which He gave to me many years ago, and which He has so carefully trained me to use! This is His sword of prayer.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,  we refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Amplified).

"Strongholds" are simply lies presented as truth; just the same as "political correctness" which we see so wide-spread in our present age.

In Peter's case Jesus was saying that the times were about to change; that the time of the established order was finishing and a new paradigm for living and for the exercise of power was soon coming. The old order, (which we might think of as the Old Covenant), included the power of God, but this was mostly effected from the outside; the Spirit of God would come upon people and enable them.

Under the New Covenant God's Spirit fills the believer; this filling is continuous and on-going. It is not just a once-off, or occasional, event.

"I baptize you with water for repentance" [said John the Baptist].  "But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11).

Jesus was saying that Peter needed to put down his sword of steel so that he could go through the time of Jesus' Passion and all that transpired when Our Lord was wrongly condemned, was killed on the cross, was buried, rose again from the dead, and ascended into Heaven where He sits at the Father's right hand in glory. 

This was a very difficult journey for Peter who was starkly aware that he had betrayed Jesus three times. It was much later that he learned that Jesus still loved him and had forgiven him. I've been spending some time in the last four chapters of John's Gospel and the first two of the Book of Acts; Jesus is so gentle, and so beautiful too. This is a truly awesome historical account of world changing events (which only about one third of the people in the world ever hear).

After Jesus died and rose again, His believers all stuck together; they were demoralised and frightened. What had happened? They had become convinced that they would see victory with Jesus; a glorious restoration of the nation of Israel and her position in the world. Instead Jesus had been killed in the most brutal and humiliating way. He had risen from the dead (and "He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time" (1 Corinthians 15:6)). Then Jesus ascended into Heaven and left them leaderless! Rome was still all powerful and had its heel firmly on the necks of the Jewish people. 

                                                                            

Then came Pentecost. Those present in that upper room became the first Christians. They had an undeniable experience of God in Jesus, and they were all filled, in the most spectacular and undeniable way, with the promised Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of God Himself! Peter and all those present were given their new swords, they were filled with fire and power (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:38)!

All these generations later, (about 80 generations since Jesus walked the earth), we are still being equipped, in the same way, with mighty spiritual weapons. Hallelujah!

So that's it for me; much less political activity, and much more prayer, pressing into God for my family, for all my fellow Christians, for all governments everywhere, indeed for every one of the seven-and-a-half billion people on our lovely planet. It's an old sword but a good one; over the past few years it has not been used as much as perhaps it should have been. I'll be busy with the sharpening stone and metal polish, getting ready for a long battle ..

Amen.

Favourite Bible Verses

"Now concerning gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.  You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.  Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.  

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;  to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.  

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.  For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:1-12).

'“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord' (Isaiah 54:17).

'Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust".  Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,  nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you' (Psalm 91:1-7).

'He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus' (Revelation 22:20).

Praise Jesus.

• Permalink to web page

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"The Wrong Sword" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn

• Public link to podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3xxTULRiduCmnoJW37W266

Amen.

New Covenant: Follow Me

What Should I Do?

When I was really in a mess I used to pray even though I knew that this would do no good, and then I would cry out, "what do You want me to do?" and not hear any answer. There were times I would go out into the fields or the bush so I could really yell so God could really hear. This is the story of how I became able to listen to Him and to obey.

Sometimes I would ask Christian leaders I respected or conference speakers the same thing: "what should I do?" and feel that their answers were not helpful. Perhaps they were answering a different question. Maybe they were used to talking to Christians who had already got it together and didn't need my kind of help.

Among the first things which happened when Trish and I started to spend time with "born again" and "believer baptism" and "charismatic" Christians was that they went to prayer meetings and clearly found them to be rich and vital. We started to go as well, and have done ever since. Quite quickly I identified with Isaiah 62:6 and saw myself and our new friends as some of God's "appointed watchmen". Prayer was not only a "normal" activity for Christians, it was desirable and it was effective as many testimonies quickly came to show. I learned some of the Scriptural promises to God's people and would pray, reminding Him, asking why others seemed to be blessed with answers to these promises while I was left hanging in the wind.

Preachers would sometimes tell us to speak positively over our circumstances because "words have power". Well I was already a failed salesman and had been on all the courses and read "How To Win Friends And Influence People" by Dale Carnegie and much else besides. To me, these were just more promises, from the world rather than from God, which somehow did not work for me.

It was a desperate time. I had so much to live for but no idea how to live. Jesus said that His people would live "life to the full" (John 10:10). Before I was married to Trish and became a dad I had tried to find adventure everywhere (and succeeded pretty well). Now that I had responsibilities I had to think in different terms, to establish myself in a Christian way so my family would be secure and could grow .. But I did not want to just keep quiet, conform to those around me, and be a mouse.

When we come to know Jesus and our Father God we learn that the spiritual world is real and of huge importance, greater even than the physical. Life is more than a roof over our head and three square meals a day. We were designed and given breath to be "speaking spirits" (Genesis 2:7) and "to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13), that is, to manifest the “image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:26).

Time and again Scripture talks about us as "spirit, soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). People tend to talk about "body and soul", ignoring our spirit, putting the physical first, then the soul which is our mind, will and emotions.

This, I think, is what I had to change in me, that I had to do something about. My spirit needed to wake up and be available to Jesus. It was not enough that I assented to the truth about Jesus and the Kingdom of God, my spirit had to assimilate into it; I needed to become a more spiritually aware person and allow Jesus to form relationship with this new me!

The change did happen .. I'm not sure how this was done, Jesus came to me in a way that I was able to bond with Him, it was something He did .. It changed everything .. (See "God’s Father Heart", my very first www.PsalmsOfJohn.com post).

Considering how much our Creator God puts into each one of us, our clear responsibility is to grow the spirit, soul and body elements of our person into the very best that their potential offers. The whole Bible teaches us this; so many stories tell of adventure where people go far beyond what they thought they could do (2 Samuel 23:20,22; Luke 1:26-80; Luke 10:1-24; Acts 8:30-39). Now I am constantly being surprised at the things Jesus does by using me, or Trish and me together.

This is where "follow me" comes in.

We're told that Jesus was a great teacher and the very best example of life and ministry. But I see that He was bringing something new to the world. Abraham, Moses, David and the other Old Testament heroes had a focus on God and godliness .. but they always seemed to struggle with what was beyond their grasp. Even when things were going well for Israel and her people they seemed much more earth-bound and concerned with the past than with living with God in His Kingdom. (This is pretty much how I felt .. life in my spirit, in my person and in my body, were not like our Maker's description ..)

So, in order to grow people in their hearts and spirits, Jesus recruited twelve young men into His team to disciple them. His methods were nothing like those used by professional recruiters and "head hunters" today. Jesus simply walked up to someone and said "follow me". Time and again we see this in Scripture (Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 10:38, 16:24, 19:21, John 1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36, 21:19, 21:22 and others).

Jesus' main team turned out to be a very ordinary bunch; many do not get a mention in the Gospels beyond being named as one of the "twelve". Peter seems to have been top pick and he messed up badly until after Jesus was crucified; then Jesus so loved on Peter that he was transformed and is still remembered as a great teacher and leader in the early Church (John 21:15-19).

Jesus called those to "follow me" whom He planned to disciple. Discipleship involved sticking close and paying attention. In those days they used to say that a disciple would "walk in his rabbi's dust" because he would have to be very close to hear what was said as they walked from place to place. 

When I think of these twelve I see them trying to be good students but they would be like our oldest son, Tom, who is a carpenter. Tom's very good at learning things but, like most of the twelve, he much prefers to be on the tools, doing things, at this he shines. Those young men will have worked hard at their studies, but they also will have had a lot of fun together, letting off steam; I see them by the river where they would go to bathe as they traveled about. They would have been splashing water and flicking towels just like young men today. They would have squabbled over the food and joshed each other about the pretty girls they met. But the serious thing was to "follow me".

There are some Christian leaders here who I love; pastors Phil and Jeanette, intercessor Wendy, and theologian, teacher and intercessor John. These four clearly follow Jesus who, many years ago, led them into a particular aspect of ministry. Their work and their lives are unique. They've been given a vision and have continued to look to Jesus in that (growing) vision for decades. They are effective, inspirational and tireless. They love. They are disciples at work and in life. I am deeply honoured to know and love them and desire to have the kind of commitment and application that they demonstrate. They follow, they are disciples.

Some years ago a couple in our local church put together a series of hands-on seminars called "Train To Reign". They were based on the notion that we each have a Kingdom destiny, that we were born for a purpose. 

It seems likely then that our Father and our Lord and Saviour will have shaped us by their Holy Spirit to be equipped for this purpose. The couple taught a vital aspect of discipleship; following. We were helped to identify our deep-down passion; for many of us, me included, this was a near impossible task. (What? Me? Look inside myself and describe what I see?) This couple were great, we all found that thing which God had sown in us. We were then shown how to brainstorm about our untapped treasure, and how to share with others. No committees were set up to manage all the new ministries that Jesus was showing us, no leaders were appointed to oversee us. We were encouraged to simply pray then talk to friends and family and get started.

Results for many individuals and couples over the next year or so were outstanding. Trish and I started new things based in our home which are still going and which bring life and joy to many, and immense satisfaction to us. We grow in Jesus because we are participating in what He is doing on the Earth, right now, right here. Sure our pastors know about what we do; they bless us and pray for us and these ministries, and sometimes they are included. But they do not manage what we do, it's not even completely part of our local church's activities. It's John and Trish's work with Jesus for the body of Christ and the world. Micro-ministries.

I now see a huge variety of micro-ministries everywhere I look in the Church. A family will travel in South-East Asia and encounter a school or orphanage and see that it needs help; so they help, this becomes part of their life. Others will see an opportunity to start a Bible study, or a fellowship time over coffee, or to be the only Christian guy coaching kids soccer at the local club, or to raise money for a tiny mission .. Fantastic! Isn’t this what the New Testament is asking us to do?

I truly believe that obedience outweighs anointing. When we obey our Lord, He makes the way and will provide all necessary anointing, and gifting too. He promises to meet “all our needs” (Luke 12:24), give Him the opportunity to do this. Obedience provides the fuel ..

So, pray and wait and listen for His soft voice .. Hear Jesus' call, the what, the where and the how of it. Hear His "follow me .." 

You will "see" an idea. Your heart will be stirred. You'll think "I can help there" or "I can do that". Do it. It's for you and it's unique. Not part of a program. Not overseen by a leader or a committee. Yours. You and Jesus, “Head of the Church” (Colossians 1:18), working together to accomplish His plans. Start small and you can use the resources you already have. There likely will be no worldly glory, mostly it will be hard work and unseen by the world. But Father God will see because it is His Kingdom work, and He will be delighted, filled with joy!

God does not make two snow flakes the same, nor two people. There is something only you can offer, no matter how broken or unready you think you are. Just follow Jesus ..

Bless you ..

Amen

Favorite Song

Probably a decade ago some of our kids came home excited about an American group of young Christians who like to sing to the Lord Jesus together .. they took me to see them .. these Christian musicians express my hearts desire .. I find their words achingly true:

      I don't want to ride on somebody else's passion

      I don't want to find that I'm just dry bones

      I want to burn with unquenchable fire

      Deep down inside

      See it coming alive.

      Help me find my own flame

      Help me find my own fire

      I want the real thing

      I want your burning desire.

(from Will Reagan And United Pursuit - Live At Bank's House - my kids took me to a show they did when they came here to our city - a lovely blessing)

Favorite Bible Verses

"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:34). 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

'And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"' (Matthew 4:19).

Amen.

• Permalink to web page

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"New Covenant: Follow Me" is now a podcast on Spotify under PsalmsOfJohn

• Public link to podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Mr69rF3BDSagnDZP5aRrV

Praise Jesus.