Eleven. THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS Luke 9.52-62

Luke tells us here that Jesus was heading up to Jerusalem, He wanted to get there to be in time for the Passover,

v 52 When the disciples returned from the villages they were very excited with all the healings and miracles God had performed through them, saying “Even the demons were cast out. When we prayed and laid our hands on them.” but when they heard that permission was not given for them to pass through, that city, because they were headed for Jerusalem those same disciples wanted to be like Elijah and call down fire on those places. But Jesus rebuked them. Why? There may be a lesson here for us. When people don’t want to know us, leave them alone, let God deal with them. The gifts we are given are to build up, not to tear down. The assignment the disciples and we are given is to “Teach all nations” if they refuse to welcome us we are to wipe the dust of that place off our feet, it’s not our job to punish them in any way. If God doesn’t bully or force people to follow Him, who are we to try and do so.

Jesus and the apostles couldn’t go through that village because it was a Samaritans village, (the Jews and Samaritans were long-time enemies) so not wanting to be diverted from His mission of getting to the Passover, Jesus went the longer way round. This took them outside another village called Sycha, where He sat by Jacob’s Well and where He encountered the Samaritan women with five husbands (but that’s another story for another time.

v 57 As they were walking along the road to Jerusalem, a man said to Jesus “I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus replied “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but The Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” So what on earth was Jesus talking about here? I believe Jesus was saying “Do you really understand what you are asking? I don’t know where I’m even going to sleep tonight, or where my next meal is coming from, I don’t have a permanent home. Do you really want to follow me?”

To follow Jesus means you carry nothing but the Word of God with you, no bag, no money or food. That may mean you’ll get a meal and a bed for the night or maybe not.” I know this may sound extreme these days, but that is what one has to be prepared for. To follow Jesus, will take a strong, deep faith and complete trust in God. He Himself will provide this for the sincere heart, along with the assurance of His permanent presence, even when you are hungry and tired, and when there is no immediate prospect of relief. He will stand by you whatever happens. Remember Jesus told His disciples “Take nothing with you” (Sometimes you will have nothing but Jesus, but, He will be all you need.) “stay where you are invited.” It wont all be good times full of Miracles and Healing. It will be a hard life, but worth every mile on the way.

Following Jesus means life may not be pleasant, eating what poor people eat, (rice and lentils) sleeping where poor people sleep, (on the ground) may be travelling to places you don’t want to go and ending up on a cross. Who knows where God will lead us.? This is the truth of what Jesus was saying. If we want the glory of the Resurrection, we must be prepared to leave this world behind and follow Him alone, to wherever He may takes us. But, He has promised He will always be with us, He will never leave us or forsake us.

v 59 Jesus said to another man “Follow Me” But the man replied “I will follow you, but first let me go and bury my Father” We need to know a little about Jewish law here, One of the 613 Jewish laws required is that when someone died, they were to be buried before sunset on the same day, I have been told this is still the case today, with Jews who follow the law. Now, I don’t think this man’s father was dead or even dyeing, or he would not have been there, but at home with his family. I believe he was saying “When my father dies I will leave home and come and follow you”. But Jesus said to him “Let the dead (spiritually dead) bury the dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God” What is Jesus saying to this man? I understand He was saying The dead have had their opportunity, you can do nothing for them now. You have to leave them to God’s mercy. You go and present opportunities to those who still have time. And that is all we are asked to do, “present opportunities” we don’t have to do God’s job for Him, The Holy Spirit is quite capable of doing that. I have found a good way to “present opportunities” is to ask one or two short pertinent questions such as--; Do you believe in God? Why not?-- What do you think happens to you when you die?--: Why do you think you should go to Heaven?--; Do you know anyone who would die in your place for you?--

Even if questions like these don’t get a response, they can get people thinking. Let God do the rest.

I believe God loves the people He created so much as to not let them miss out on the slightest opportunity to turn to Him. God is desperate for His children to come to Him, that’s why He went to such lengths to save us. So “present opportunities,” What have we got to lose? a potential friend, a place in the team, or perhaps a job.

We need to ask ourselves is Jesus worth it?!!! And don’t forget God is never out done in generosity, He never fails to return a hundred fold. So whatever it costs us, Money, time, or position He will return a hundred times over.

v 61 “Still another man said I will follow You, but first let me go and say goodbye to my family” and Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.” Again, these sound like harsh words, But God requires first place in our lives. Nothing or nobody can come before Him. So we must get ourselves FIT for service in the Kingdom of God. Words are cheap, we all think we put God First, until He puts us to the test. “As you all know God took my son home a few months ago, It was only then I truly realised exactly what it meant to be “Fit For Service in God’s Kingdom.” As I handed Simon over to God I did the same for myself. I realised no earthly person, place or thing could own me now. I understood and felt like Job, God gives and takes life and we don’t own ourselves or each other. He is supreme. I understood God wanted to be the decision maker (The Potter) in my life. He wanted me to be (His Clay), so I could be His Vessel, His alone. Now I feel I am fit for service in God’s Kingdom, free to do His bidding, it has taken a long time, many tears and complete trust in His Word, but, I now have a deeper understanding of what God requires of me. To be fit for service in His Kingdom. Perhaps this man’s family may have tried to talk him out of following Christ, we don’t know. But, I have to think here of Lot’s wife who looked back after she was told not to and she turned into a pillar of salt, also there’s another scripture that says “When ploughing a field don’t look back or your ploughing will not be straight. After we’ve made our commitment to Jesus if we keep looking back at what we have left behind Satan will come tempting us to go back to the world. He can be very persuasive especially in our down times, and there will be many down times, so don’t give the tempter a chance.

There can be nothing greater than following Jesus, it is a beautiful thing, and can be done in many ways, at any age in our lives, in whatever area God is calling us to, there are hundreds of areas, that’s why prayer is so very important, to get from God Himself exactly where He can use us to do what he has equipped us for. There is no substitute for prayer, time spent with God is always productive, this I believe brings Him the greatest glory, and us His greatest blessings, because we are acknowledging our submission to His authority in our lives and our absolute reliance and dependence on Him and the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Without regular sincere prayer, we cannot reach God.

Thank you for reading this. God bless us all and give us the courage, strength and ability to present opportunities to a people who need a Saviour.

Phaline.

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Ten. WHY THE BIBLE. ?

The Bible or The Scriptures, is first of all, the revelled Word of God. It is a collection of 66 books written by 40 different authors dictated by God Himself showing us the road to Eternal Life. It is the History of God’s plan for His people which takes us from Creation right through to God’s final Revelation or destiny for those of us who choose to follow Him.

As we daily read scripture and become more familiar with it, we begin to understand the eagerness and anticipation with which the Jews awaited the coming of their Messiah, and we, get to see how the New Testament is concealed in the Old, and How the Old Testament is reviled in the New. In spite of all this, God has not and will not enforce His will on us, instead, He has laid out very clearly what exactly will happen to us if we choose to follow His way, or if we choose not to. He has given us a free will, the choice is ours to take up His Word or to ignore it. To live our lives His way or ours.

If we choose to take up God’s will, there are some rules, which He covers with His Love, Mercy and Grace to help us keep them which are imposable to keep otherwise, for that reason He needs to come first in our lives. To do this we need to become familiar with His Word “The Bible”, It is the only book that can give us the answer to every question or situation in which we find ourselves.

The Bible is made-up of two books known as the Old and New Testament. 39 in the Old and 27 in the New, The first five books in the Old Testament are known as the Pentitude, they are Genesis , Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books are attributed to Moses to whom God spoke directly on several occasions through his life.

When we get to truly appreciate the fact that God Himself is speaking to us through every chapter and verse in the Bible, we will begin to understand what a treasure we are holding in our hands and what a privilege we have been given, Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe is speaking to each of us personalty. He wants us not only to understand His Word, but to take it on board, cherish it, and use it for what it was intended to be, our lifeline to His Kingdom and subsequently to spend our eternal life with Him.

Today Bibles are freely available, but originally the first writings were done on Papyrus, which is a tall plant that grows in the Middle East. The flower and leaves are cut off and the stem is split down one side, when the stem is sliced the plant exudes a sticky sap which was used as a glue to stick other stems to it both length and width wise. When the required size was achieved the whole piece was left out in the sun to dry. When completely dry they were rolled up and ready for use, and able to be written on both sides. This was quite an arduous and time-consuming task and consequently made Papyrus scrolls quite expensive, so only very important documents were recorded. Such as Royalty, military or Temple records.

I don’t know anything about the Royalty or Military records, but I understand the Sanhedrin who were responsible for the temple records, (being the brains and major authority of the Jewish religion, along with the Pharisees and Sadducee.) Used Papyrus when writing out their documents. All rules, regulations and decisions came through these men. Most Scrolls were 10, 15, or 20 feet long, but I’ve been told that there were two documents 30 feet long, these are the book of Isaiah and the book of Acts.

It amasses me when I think how God, not only gave His Word to the Prophets and the writers of the day in the Old Testament, but how He watched over it and made sure it was passed down through the centuries of wars, plagues, famine and fires, and also when persecution came monks took up the tremendous task of transcribing The Word from papyrus on to early paper, and all this happened without contamination of The Word. That should tell us something about the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Some of those Bibles can still be viewed in the old castles and palaces in England and Europe. In fact The Bible in print as we know it today has only been around for about four hundred years, that’s the time since the reformation and the appearance of the printing press. Not very long really! yet we take it so casually, without (in some cases) giving it the respect it deserves as the written Word of God and the one and only road to Everlasting Life.

The Bible has never been more available, in more languages or in more countries than it is today, yet there seems to be less people following its teachings than ever before in history, I wonder why? Is Satan more active today?, Are we so comfortable and secure in our little ivory towers away from reality that we don”t recognise or understand our dependence on God or His will for us? Heaven forbid such arrogance.

Before leaving this world Christ gave this word to His Disciples, “Therefore go and make Disciples of all nations, Baptising them in the name of The Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching therm to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:19-20. This is more relevant today than ever before in the history of the world, and it’s up to us to show Christ in whatever way we can to all the lost souls of our country and or the wider world

Thank you all for reading my thoughts on “The Bible” and spreading the Good News of God’s Word through our town. God bless our work for Him.

Phaline.

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9. OUR INSUFFICIENCY

 

This is something we all have to work on and understand, It’s our inadequacy we have to accept. We all want to do our own thing our own way, independent of God, even though we know and read in Scripture “Without Me, you can do nothing.” In the light of that, we must believe the reverse, we need Him and His approval to do what we want or need. We have to realise our reliance on God and put our complete trust in Him and His Holy Spirit who Wills and Performs the Signs and Wonders of God. We are only vessels and I believe the more we relinquish the independence of these vessels to Him the more likely we are to see Him work in our lives. This is demonstrated in several scriptures. Jesus said “I do nothing on my own, only what the Father tells me to do,” so obviously we have always to be attuned to the voice of God, If He is occupying our thoughts constantly, that means, running every new thought, idea and decision past Him and taking the time to hear from Him on the matter. I believe we will see Him work in our lives to a much greater degree than we do now, this will happen. Our independence says “Why should I ?” Answer-- Because He is God and He knows what is good for us and what isn’t.

James tells us in His Epistle chap 4. We don’t get what we want, because we don’t ask, and when we do, ask, we often have an ulterior motive. We need to have a pure heart before God. He knows our thoughts, our motives and our reasons for asking, even so, He has the final say. If it’s not going to be good for us or for the advancement of His Kingdom, He will withhold His hand, it’s then we have to trust Him. He will only do what is good for us, it is impossible for Him to do otherwise.

Jesus also said “Seek ye FIRST The Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you.” I believe once again God wants to take first place in everything we do, even our needs and wants. So often we go to doctors, lawyers, and business owners for help, when God is saying, if only they had come to me I would have put them on the right track straight away. Now I know all such people have their place but, seeking God first puts Him in charge of the whole situation and also gives Him the opportunity to show you His will, this could save you a good bit of money and time as well. Think how you would feel if your child went to a car salesman, or a lawyer or applied for a position without first consulting you, or worse, consulting someone else on the matter, apart from feeling insulted, I’m sure you would be a bit hurt. God is our Father, who only has our welfare at heart,

He has no ulterior motive and is longing and waiting to be consulted, and part of our plans.

There were many blind, deaf, sick and lame people around at the time of Jesus, He didn’t heal all of them, but the Father must have told Him which ones to heal. Scripture says (many came to Him and were healed) obviously some didn’t come to Him. And so weren’t healed. I am thinking also of Naman the Roman commander who was healed of leprosy, there were many lepers in the area, but Naman a Gentile was the only one God chose to heal. He has the final word always. We have to understand, trust and respect that.

Another point I’d like to make here is, God is more interested in the state of our hearts and our genuineness towards Him, than physical healing, it’s our spirits that need healing. The paralysed man who was let down through the roof of the house when Jesus was inside teaching, is a good case in point, his sins were forgiven before he was healed. Although this particular miracle, I believe, was more aimed at the local clergy, Jesus used the opportunity once again to identify Himself as the Messiah.

If our spirits are right with God then we are more able to understand and accept His divine will. And that’s what counts in the long run.

God acts when we humbly accept our own inadequacy and acknowledge His adequacy. “Nothing is impossible for God” He doesn’t have accidents or make mistakes, He loves us so much that whatever He does is for our good, even if we don’t think so, or agree with Him at the time. All He asks is our trust. “WHY” is not a question He will answer immediately, but He may and often does show us the reason in due course.

There were a number of needy sick people around Jerusalem when Peter and John were going passed the colonnade to the Temple, but they were directed only to one man, Why? One needs to read the following chapters to see how God’s plan was worked out, and how it effected Peter and John’s future lives.

Every time we act independently of God it gives Satan another feather in his cap, because it gives him an opportunity to manipulate our thoughts and selfish desires, (What’s in it for me?) God is the only one who has your interests at heart, although you may not see it at the time, when you look back you will see how He has protected, guided and shown you a different path to take. That doesn’t come automatically! How do I know? Because Scripture also says “Every good and wholesome thought comes from God.”

Paul had this worked out, because we see only when there was none of Paul left that God demonstrated His greatness through him. When he, Paul, was tied up with chains in a prison cell between two guards unable to do anything about his circumstances, it was then that God sent the earthquake. When he was in a shipwreck and all the elements were against them and the captain of the ship had used up all his resources, God saved all on board, then again when he needed to get out of the city, because the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Paul, God provided a basket to let Paul down, over the city wall, there are several other occasions in Paul’s life. And it’s the same for us, when we have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no one to save us, the Saviour turns up. God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves, but He will always do for us what we can’t, if we trust and wait for Him.

However, going from personal experience, I have found this is not easy, adopting our reliance on God takes constant self appraisal, One of the hardest things for me is to maintain a pure heart before God, keeping my thoughts under control and to praise God in all circumstances, acknowledging Him no matter what happens, He’s in control and only has my best interest at heart. Yes, as I said, it’s not easy, but it’s worth every moment I’ve spent on my knees.

Praise be to the God of our insufficiency.

God bless us all

Phaline.

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8. LIVING WATER John 4:1-42 The Woman At The Well

Jesus was on His way back to Galilee, which necessitated going through Samaria and a town called Sychar near where Jacobs well is located and where the local woman of the town came to draw water.

Here is where we see how Jesus took advantage of every opportunity to spread the Good News, even when His humanity made the physical demands we all experience. The Word says He was “Tired and thirsty” and no doubt hungry seeing the disciples had gone to get food. One would have to wonder why He sent them off on that errand, seeing as he was quite capable of feeding thousands, in fact He had done that very thing just a few days earlier, However that’s just what He did.

I have heard it said by some teachers that perhaps this particular woman came when she knew no other women would be around to point the finger. But what we do believe is, she was alone, it was the sixth hour (12 noon) lunch time, so perhaps the other women were home feeding their families.

Just a word about Jacobs well, it is over 100 feet deep, it isn’t a spring like most other wells, the water seeps in from the underground sides of the well which means its capacity is dependent on the ebb and flow of the river and rainfall which determines the water table for that area. Sometimes, these days, it is said Jacobs Well is dry. Isn’t that interesting, I wonder if it’s anything to do with “Global warming?”!!!

I gather Jesus knew of the eminent arrival of the Samaritan woman, or, perhaps He just wanted to be alone with the Father for a while.

However the Samaritan woman duly arrived and the longest recorded dialogue in Jesus’ ministry took place. Barriers were broken, race, colour, gender and religious affiliation went by the board, Jesus is telling us here that there is only one Race, “The Human Race” That is who He came to live and die for, Yes there are many nationalities, but only one Race. Jesus also broke right through yet another Jewish law which was “unless a woman had a blood relationship with a man, there could be no interaction between them.”

Gentiles were referred to as “dogs” (a derogatory term at that time. It was meant to be the lowest of the low). Woman were worth nothing at all “see the story of the Syrophoenicien woman (Mark 7:24) who sought the healing of her Demon possessed daughter. “Even the dogs can have the crumbs that fall from the children’s table” but Jesus recognising her faith, broke through, and healed the girl.

When one looks at the situation in hand, the Samaritan woman was not only surprised, but I think would have been a bit afraid, in the light of her past being revealed. Her character and truthfulness would have been under suspicion. Some people in the town would have thought, “Just another man she’s trying to hook” So to try and convince the towns folk to come out and see for themselves would not have been easy, just as it isn’t for us to get people to see or listen to the truth, however she must have persevered and convinced them, and what a reward came her way, the Word says “many people believed and Jesus stayed with them for two days.”

While Jesus was speaking with her, He also broke down another barrier. The barrier of worship, the Jews believed, true worship could only be made in certain places, like the temple, synagogue or on particular mountains and on particular festival days, but Jesus said No!

True worship comes from the heart and there is no specific time, place, mountain, church, river or anywhere else in which worship must take place. True worship comes from within the heart, that’s where The Spirit of God and the truth of God combine to worship Almighty God. In Spirit and in Truth.

I am not decrying church services, prayer meetings or any other places where people meet for prayer and worship, very often these are where we get our best teachings and where we meet and gather with other Christians, I really go along with Paul who says “not to neglect the gatherings with our brothers and sisters” (Heb 10:25), because that’s not only where a good deal of our teaching comes from, but also, our physical support and how we learn to support and identify with other Christians in their hurts, losses and desires.

But, Jesus said “The true Worshippers whom the Father is seeking are those who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” vs 21-24 (I believe He was speaking here of those who in the quiet privacy of their room behind closed doors worship and praise God with all their heart and soul and get to that intimacy with God that is so private, personal and precious where tongues and tears flow freely, where one feels the very presence of the Holy Spirit speaking through them to the Father). I believe, that is praying in Spirit and in Truth.

Then, when she spoke of the Messiah, Jesus declared Himself to her “I AM HE who is speaking with you.” What a privilege to have Jesus, The Messiah! Reveal Himself to her. Perhaps when we get alone with Jesus He will declare Himself to us as well. As we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Thanks for reading my thoughts on “Living Water” God bless us all

Phaline

7. JESUS HEALS THE MAN BORN BLIND John 9

 

Scripture tells us quite a bit about the setting in which Christ and His Disciples found themselves on this occasion...

At that time, In that part of the world, and even today it's not uncommon to see blind people wondering the streets begging for food or money.

According to Mosaic law those who were crippled, blind or disfigured in any way were regarded as a result of theirs or their parents sin. The reasoning seemed to have been, God would never create anything incorrectly, wrongly, or badly, nor would He have an accident, or make a mistake. Therefore, if there is a fault, man must have caused it.

Everyone knew this man, he had been sitting there for over thirty years, so there was no form of sympathy or “how can we help these people” just a simple question, from the disciples “Whose sin was it that this man was born this way” but it gave Jesus an opening, to once again show who He was. Often in normal conversation we too get openings or opportunities to say who Jesus is and we let them pass, we shouldn’t let that happen (seize the moment and watch the Holy Spirit lead you).

Jesus could and did tell them the plain truth, “It wasn't his parents nor his own sin that this man was born like this” but for a very special reason. “So that the works of God could be seen in him” Like Esther or Joshua or Mary (Christ's Mother) “So as the light of God can be seen in Him. While I am in the World, I am the Light of the World.” (v5) This is the first time Jesus refers to Himself as I AM (God) and the light of the world refers to His all knowing character.

Nobody is born just to have a good time here and then die and go straight to glory, No, we are all here for a reason and are expected to pray and find out what that reason is (read the parable about the talents) we've all been given talents and gifts and although our salvation does not depends on our giftings, Paul does say we should “Work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” That means, one day we are going to have to give an account to God for the talents and giftings He has given us. Being baptised in the Spirit doesn't mean we have a free ride to Heaven, on the contrary, because we have been baptised in the Holy Spirit there is a bigger responsibility on us to practise them so the Glory of God can be seen. I believe this is the bases of this chapter through which we should run our lives (So that the Glory of God can be seen).

Jesus then made reference to Himself as the “Light of the World, as long as it's day I must do the works of Him who sent me.” As long as we have Jesus the Light of the World in us, we must do the works of Him who sent Jesus. Because while Jesus was in the world, He was the Light of the World, but soon he was to die and WE have been given that responsibility to carry the Light of the World which is Jesus in us, and do the works that the Father gave Jesus to do. One of the best ways we can do that is to use the talents and gifts He has given us so that we can show His Light in the World...

It's interesting to note that this man never asked to be healed. He didn't see Jesus making the paste to put on his eyes, but may have heard at least some of the conversation. Jesus put the paste on his eyes and told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam which means “sent.” Jesus was sent as the Light of the World to open the eyes of the blind. There's no record of words of healing mentioned by Jesus. This man went to the pool blind, I understand, a distance of about 3 kilometres, that would not have been easy or quickly achieved, but he washed and came back seeing.

Imagine how he felt seeing his Mother for the first time, looking into her eyes and clutching those arms that held him so close and out of danger for all those years, matching his father's face to the voice he'd heard for so long, what must all their feelings have been. The goodness of God is something to think about.

Something else I get from this miracle is that this man whose name is not recorded, never saw Jesus but he felt Him when He put the paste on his eyes. The world tells us to believe only in things we can see, hear, touch or taste but our faith should tell us differently, we don’t know how much faith this man had, but it must have been enough for him to walk all that way blind to the pool of Siloam and find his way back. Was his faith as big as a Mustard Seed?

Later when the man was asked, by the Pharisees all he knew was the name of Jesus, what He did and what He said. I wonder if that could be enough for us, just to know the name of Jesus, what He says and what He will do?. Would we be obedient to His word?, I’m sure if we were, we too would see the Glory of God and experience the miraculous in our lives, just as this man did.

I have found like Jesus did, the hardest people to convince are the Religious, the law abider and our families, if you don’t meet their criteria, whatever you have to say doesn’t hold much water. These Religious leaders had a problem with Jesus healing a blind man on the Sabbath... The Law, The Law, The Law!!!

That’s what made them regard the healing as sinful and call Jesus a sinner. In spite of the evidence right in front of them, they refused to believe and the man was thrown out of the temple. A word of caution here, we all know people like that, they wont believe, just because they don’t want to for whatever reason. So don’t waste your time or energy on them, The Lord called it “casting pearls before swine.”

It’s interesting that Jesus did meet and reveal Himself to the man He had healed, and brought him to faith too, I wonder if that was to make sure no one else could claim the miracle, and maybe also to remove any disgrace that was inflicted on his parents by the Pharisees. Just a thought!!!

Spiritual blindness is something we all have to guard against, so it pays to probe, delve and check with Scripture, thus giving The Word of God first place in our queries.

Thank you for reading this, I hope we all get something from what God is speaking to us about through it.

God bless and guide you through His Word.

Phaline

6. WATER INTO WINE John 2. 1.11

 

This, the very first of Jesus' miracles is, in my opinion, one of the most touching of His miracles, it shows the depth of love that exists between mother and child. Isn't it interesting that the first recorded response to Jesus’ ministry was at the request of His mother. Also, at the end of His life His last response of His ministry was towards His mother, to ensure that she would be cared for after He left this world. “Mother behold thy son, Son behold thy mother.”

(John 19. 26-27)

Getting back to the Wedding Feast, to which Jesus, His Mother and disciples had been invited. It must have been at least half way through the festivities (seeing the guests were on the merry side) when Mary said to Jesus “They've run out of wine” she didn't ask for a miracle, she just stated a fact, she was concerned for the couple and their parents.

Perhaps she thought her son could get a couple of His disciples to hop down to the nearest bottle store and get some, Jesus' response was classic (paraphrased) It's not my problem, “My time has not yet come” but, Mary knew her boy. I wonder how many times previously had she told her Son of someone’s need and He went off and ran an errand or fixed a chair or table for one of their neighbours after all, he was a carpenter's son!

Mary knew she could do nothing about this situation, but she also knew somebody who could, she had been told 30 years earlier that her son was the Son of The Most High God, so the small matter of a lack of wine could be left to Him, she knew He would deal with it one way or another. Perhaps there's a lesson here for us, give the problem to Jesus, without telling him how, why and when to deal with it. She simply told the servants to do whatever He told them to do, and left it at that.

There are many times in scripture when God intervened simply because someone prayed. I recall the time when Joshua prayed, God had the sun stand still for 20 minutes, also when the Israelites grumbled against God because they had no water to drink, Moses prayed and God sent water from a rock there are in fact, several other instances in Scripture where we read of battles, famines and Prophets praying for people etc. when God turned the tide.

Here too when Mary spoke to her son (and that is what prayer is, just speaking to God) she had the faith and confidence to know He would act. So when we pray with faith and confidence we too can expect God to act for us. Perhaps not always in the way we anticipate, but we can be sure He will answer, sometimes through a change of conditions or circumstances and other times just changing our desires or attitudes, there's nothing wrong with His ability, hearing or memory. He knows what we want and need even before we ask Him.

So why do we have to ask Him? (Answer) firstly, we are admitting we are in a situation we cannot handle, but we know and trust the only one who can. (Secondly), so that we know and understand what we are asking for and are prepared to not only accept His answer regardless of what it might be, but will accept how and when He decides to answer it. In other words, we are handing the whole problem over to Him to deal with as He thinks fit (much like a surgeon in an Operating Theatre). - That means we take our hands off just as Mary did. We don’t tell Him how to do it, why He should do it, or when, or even if He should do it. He is God and although He likes us to ask, He is not our servant, nor will He be treated like some sort of a gene in a magic lamp. We must always keep God on His throne while we stay at His feet.

We haven't been told exactly when this miracle took place, but we know it did. The servants were told by Jesus, to fill the jars with water, then to take the first cup and give it to the master or MC of the feast, the servants knew it was wine when it was poured out of the Jar probably because of the colour and the aroma, but when the master tasted it He went to the bridegroom and said “Where did you get this wine? Why didn't you give it to the guests first? they are all half drunk now, and wont appreciate it.”

God can only give of His best, He is perfect in all His ways He takes an impossible situation and makes it a wonderful happening, and sometimes only a few people will see it, I am convinced if we really believe God for what we are asking and humbly make our requests known to Him, He will respond to our prayers, I also believe we are better to go in to the situation with a couple of people of good strong faith than a room full of ‘Doubting Thomas' (As in the case of Jarus’ daughter, Jesus only took two of His disciples and the girl’s parents into the room). In this case only the servants, the MC and the bridegroom. They were the only ones who were sober enough to see and recognise the hand of God working among them.

The lesson for us here is - If we truly want to witness the miraculous, we must: remain humble, alert and keep up our faith while anticipating God’s best (which is not necessarily what we may think) because regardless of our own opinion, that’s what we will get. Then, praise and thank God for allowing us to be present.

This was the first of the Lord's public miracles while He was here on earth. I believe we need to dig a bit deeper and delve into what Jesus said and did while He was with us in human form. We also need to know about the circumstances, culture, and customs of the day. I think there is a great deal under the surface of all the miracles and parables performed by our Lord. But, we are so used to reading and hearing the great stories, we often neglect or miss many good lessons and truths which God is trying to get through to us.

This is my mission in writing this “When God Speaks” series, to bring it into the language, understanding and idioms of our day, so that When God Speaks, we can appreciate, learn and believe.

Thank you for reading “Water into Wine” this, the first recorded miracle in Jesus’ earthly Ministry I hope it has brought us all a little closer to Him.

God bless

Phaline.

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5. KING DAVID AND THE PROPHET. 2 Samuel 12. 1-18

 

The story of King David and Bathsheba has been written and spoken about on numerous occasions over the years, but I am interested in expanding a little on one of King David’s encounters with Nathan the Prophet, which I believe took place some time after David’s relationship with Bathsheba and his disposal of her husband Uriah, David could have thought he had got away with the perfect crime. But, God sees all things, nothing escapes his notice and one day we are all called to account, regardless of who we are, what position we hold, and our own personal opinion as we will see in this narrative.

In those days all Kings and people of note had their own special Prophets and King David was no exception, in fact the Prophet Nathan, as we read in earlier chapters of Scripture, had a long running relationship with David. However that didn’t give the Prophet many special privileges, but, the right to approach the King with messages from God was one of them. So, when Nathan did appear before him, the King, could have possibly been expecting some sort of good news from God, In the light of all the battles, cities and towns he had recently conquered.

The Prophet on the other hand probably wondered if his head would still be on his shoulders after this audience with the king. However,God had given him a message for the king and he had to deliver it. Thus deciding to tell the story of David’s relationship with Bathsheba in parable form was a really wise one.

Knowing He had to get to David’s shepherd heart, and his love of justice; Nathan approached the prophecy with this Parable;--

“In a certain town there was a rich man with a large number of sheep and cattle. Next door was a poor man, who only had one ewe lamb, he looked after this lamb like one of his own family, he fed it and cared for it and often had it on his knee where he allowed it to sleep while he stroked and cradled it, thinking, soon this little ewe would have her own little lamb, or maybe twins and his little flock would start to grow.

However this poor man’s dream came to nothing.

Because one day the rich man had a visitor, and not wanting to take one of his own sheep for the dinner table, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb instead. Of course, the poor man was greatly upset and on two counts, first he was out of pocket, and secondly he had lost his one and only treasured pet lamb.”

Scripture is very explicit here, it says “David burned with anger (v 5) when he heard the story and said “As surely as the Lord lives this man must die. He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David “You are that man.”

Nathan went on to enumerate in Gods name all that the Lord had done for the king “(1) I anointed you king over Israel, (2) I delivered you from the hand of Saul, (3) I gave your master’s house to you, (4) and his wives in to your arms. (5) I gave you all Israel and Judah and if all this would have been too little I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord, by doing what is evil in His sight?”

So often when we are tempted it’s because we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, King David should have been at war at that time of year see Chap 11. 1, and not in his palace in Jerusalem. If he hadn’t been wondering around on the palace roof he would not have seen Bathsheba, Satan takes every opportunity and occasionally he wins Big time.

The Prophet was now in full stride and delivered the rest of the prophecy “You struck down Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) with the sword, and took his wife to be your own. Now therefore the sword will never leave your house, because you despised me and took the life of Uriah and took his wife to be yours.’

Sometimes our sins have generational consequences, as David heard from the Prophet.”This is what the Lord says, Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do it in broad daylight before all Israel.

Then David said to Nathan “I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD”.

Nathan replied “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. (There are times we think we’d rather disappear from the face of the earth than face the consequences of our sin but God doesn’t usually work that way.

And that’s what it’s all about, When we sin the damage or consequences of what we do cannot be removed. Almighty God is eager and ready to forgive but what we may have done to our families and fellow human beings is often reprehensible, and could even cost them their eternity.

David had to pay dearly for his sin, The son Bathsheba bore him died and he had major conflicts in his family which are worth reading about to see how the prophecy of Nathan was carried out to the letter read 2 Samuel.

Yet God called David “A man after God’s own heart”, why? Because he repented immediately, David realised that although he had hurt Bathsheba and, her family, His own family and future generations , He had seriously damaged his relationship with his God whom he truly loved, evidenced by the many psalms he wrote.

Our relationship with God is the most precious gift God has given us and is to be protected under all circumstances. That is what our eternity depends on.

From the time of Adam and Eve until this present day Satin has used the very same temptation “The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life” to lure us into sin.

If David had been on the battlefield with his men where he should have been and not wondering around on the palace roof he wouldn’t have seen Bathsheba and entertained the lustful thoughts and ambitions which cost him so dearly. Even after he was told she was another man’s wife, He pursued his lust, by then it was too late, sin had taken hold. (so often we think we are in control and can handle our feelings, but that is seldom the case, we can and do justify our feelings and that’s the very reason feelings, though real, are NOT reliable. why? Because feelings can and do change very quickly.)

King David then used his position as King to get what he wanted. “the pride of life” took over, which eventually led King David to get Bathsheba’s husband Uriah, murdered.

Thank God for His Grace, mercy and forgiveness which David sought and received from our God and we too have that same opportunity if we humbly seek it as he did. It’s never too late to come back to the God who loves us and is always ready to take us back

Thank you for reading this, God’s Blessings

Phaline.

4. ABRAHAM & SARAH. Gen 15.-17

Abram was no paragon of virtue, however as we see, he did have two great virtues; Faith to believe God, and obedience to follow His word. I believe if we cultivate these two virtues they will lead us on a journey that will bring us right into the centre of God’s Will. God doesn’t take the perfect of this world, to accomplish His Will, but, those who believe and follow His directions... So keep reading.

After this... after what?... After Abram had rescued His nephew Lot, all his relatives, food & loot from the battle of the five kings, and after meeting with the king of Salem (Melchizedek) who shared bread & wine with Abram saying “Blessed be God most High who has delivered you out of the hands of your enemies” and “Abram gave him a tenth of his booty” (Gen 14 & 15).

After all this, The Lord appeared to Abram in a vision saying “Don't be afraid I am your shield, I am your reward.”

Now, Abram who was a very wealthy man answered, “Sovereign Lord I have all I want, except for a son; -------- I'll have to leave my fortune to my servant Eleizer from Damascus, He is not even a Jew let alone my own flesh and blood.”

Then the Lord took him outside and said, “Count the stars if you can, You shall have a son of your own flesh and blood and your descendants will be as numerous as those stars” v. 2-5

ABRAM BELIEVED THE LORD, AND IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS v. 6

(When we believe what God says, it’s counted to us as RIGHTEOUSNESS)

This however, was not the end of the conversation, God continued, “I brought you out of Ur, of the land of the Chaldeans for you to take possession of it.”Abram then asked God “How will I know this will happen?”

There is nothing wrong with asking God to confirm His Word to us, in fact I believe it is necessary. We need to be sure we are hearing from God and not the world, the flesh or the Devil, so seeking confirmation through His Word, another Christian’s advice or discernment, or ones Pastor and sometimes God even uses other peoples speech or conversations. So we need to keep our wits about us at these times to truly know what God is talking to us about...

God used a Covenant to confirm His Word to Abram.

THE COVENANT:--- This was made when God told Abram to bring Him a Heifer, a Goat and a Ram (each 3 years old) also a Dove and young Pigeon. Abram cut the beasts in half lengthways, arranged them opposite each other (he did not cut the birds), He then spent the rest of the day keeping the wild birds away from the exposed flesh.

(When a covenant was made in those days the two people making it, walked through between the pieces of the carcase this validated the deal.)------- As night fell Abram fell in to a deep sleep and God gave him two prophecies. First, God told Abram of the four hundred years the Jews would be enslaved in Egypt and secondly, that he himself would have a long life then go peacefully to his ancestors. What a great thing to have God Himself confirm your eternity!!!

While Abram was still asleep and darkness had fallen, Almighty God, in the form of a smoking pot with a blazing fiery torch approached the pieces of animals (God often appeared to His people in fire).

Two examples are the Burning Bush, and the Pillar of Fire, I wonder if that is because fire is so hot we can't get too close to it. God, in Old Testament times kept Himself unapproachable, this way. He approached man on His terms, in His way. In this case God was making a point, this was His Covenant, HE was making it, He alone went through the pieces of flesh. He didn't need any help, input or assistance from Abram there were no conditions or requirements needed by God, it was His unconditional Covenant. A usual Covenant was different, it says, “You do this and I'll do that.” Not this one, God alone made this Covenant, on the bases of Abram's faith. Just four words, AND ABRAM BELIEVED GOD.

The importance of our outspoken faith in God is crucial for both our eternal happiness and our Christian identity here on earth. Remember, when Jesus said whoever confesses me before men, him will I confess before my father in Heaven.

Everyone believes in something or someone, even if they say they don’t. The problem is not that people don’t believe but, in identifying who or what they do believe, this necessitates coming to terms with, finding out and facing facts like our own mortality. Either we think we are a body that has a Spirit which also deteriorates when our bodies die like an animal bird or fish, or, that we are a Spiritual being that has a body and that there is a God who cares enough for us to have provided a place for us to spend eternity. I am convinced some people are too afraid to make that identification because if and when they do, they then have to make some further decisions. However as we grow older and closer to death, this identification process pushes for recognition and there comes a question “What is going to happen to me? (The real me) after death?” I know my body will be cremated or go back to the earth, but, what about my Soul, Spirit or the Real Me, What happens to that? These are questions we all face and need answers to.

Abram recognised and believed God, perhaps he went outside his tent one day and saw a daisy growing and said, where did this come from? or who made this?

Now to go back to the covenant. And what was this covenant? The land the Lord had given Him from the Wadi (Nile) in Egypt to the Euphrates river (that is the whole land of Cannan) would belong to Abram and his descendants forever. That's why even to this day, the Jews will not give up their land, because God gave it to them in an everlasting Covenant and He will make sure they keep it forever.

After ten years had passed since God had told Abram he would have a son of his own, no son had arrived. So Sarai his wife thought God had either forgotten or changed His mind, and she decided to do something about it herself----- God wont be pushed, bullied, or blackmailed, He will do as He decides in His own time and in His own way. However, she talked Abram in to taking her servant girl (Hagar) to conceive a child for her (quite legal in those days), but that's not what God said, just see what happens when we don't wait for God to fulfil His promises.

As soon as Hagar the servant girl was comfortably pregnant she began taunting her mistress “I did what you couldn't do” This is what happens when we take things into our own hands, a whole lot of side issues take over and give us unnecessary hassles.

Sarai soon realized there was a major problem looming, after the birth, Hagar would have to nurse the child, and the bonding would be established with her rather than with Sarai and it wouldn't be long before maybe Sarai might even loose her husband. Once we stop trusting in God, things go awry, Sarai went to Abram thinking attack is the better form of valour and she blamed him for allowing this problem to occur, even though it was her idea to push Abram into this decision. A thought here for the men, YOU are the head of the house, the buck stops with you. While your wife is there to help and give you the benefit of her advice and opinion, she may even be right most of the time, but, it's you who will often have the most balanced and unemotional opinion, thus the ultimate decision and final responsibility is yours. Now, no matter what you ladies may think, God made the rules, not me, and since He is the Creator, He's entitled. Look on the bright side, if you don't have the responsibility, you don't get the blame either.

So what happened, Abram said, “She's your maid, do whatever you like with her (peace at any price), so Sarai mistreated the girl Hagai so much so that she ran away (sometimes it costs you even if you think you are doing the right thing). She had done as her mistress had told her and here she was, depressed, tired, pregnant and no job, not knowing what to do.... Ever felt like Hagai? She sat on a desert road, by a spring no doubt pondering her options.

Scripture says, An angel came to her, How did she know he was an angel? He addressed her by name and occupation, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, Where have you come from? and where are you going?”

Hagar answered, “I'm running away from my mistress.” When we want to come right with God, He very often sends us back down the same road we ran away from, Think of the “Prodigal Son” nothing goes unnoticed, unseen or swept under the carpet with God, everything is above board and laid bare before Him, only then does He deal with it, He doesn't work in the dark or in shadows. And that's just what happened here, the Angel told Hagar to go back to her mistress and submit to her, in other words humble yourself.

(This is not easy, especially after you've been mistreated by someone, but as Christians that's exactly what we're asked to do “Love your enemies, do good to those who mistreat you” (not easy but the reward is worth it).

Then the angel added; “I will increase your descendants so that they will be too numerous to count. You are now pregnant, and will have a son, You shall call him Ishmael.” Now read Gen 16. v 12. Although it isn't in the Bible and may not even be true but is Historically and generally Theologically believed that is where the Arab nations came from and the Arabs & Jews have been adversaries ever since.

Hagar named that well “Beer Lahai Roi” which means “The Lord who sees me.” It is there to this day between Kadesh & Bered. We too need to remember that God has His eye on us, even when we are in the depths of depression like Hagar and think He has forgotten us or too busy with world affairs, we are never out of His sight, His hands or His mind.

So Hagar had a son to Abram who was then eighty six years old and he named him Ishmael. Isn't it interesting that the children who God named and I can think of at least four: Ishmael, Isaac, John the Baptist and Jesus, there were several others, were chosen to do specific tasks and I Praise and thank Him for that, particularly for the name of Jesus which was chosen for our Redemption.

When Abram was ninety nine years old and Ishmael was thirteen, God again appeared to Abram with a new covenant, “IF YOU WALK FAITHFULLY AND BLAMELESS WITH ME I WILL INCREASE YOUR NUMBERS.” Abram fell face down on the ground before God and God said, “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH YOU; YOU WILL BE THE FATHER OF MANY NATIONS, NO LONGER WILL YOU BE CALLED ABRAM; BUT ABRAHAM.” Read Gen 17. 3-16. and Sari which means Bitter, God changed to Sarah, which means Princess, I wonder if some of us ladies feel bitter about things that have happened in our lives, or about the way God has dealt with us in certain areas and somehow we've lost a bit of our faith and trust in Him. Are we a Sari? or a Princess? God loves us enough for us to trust Him with every facet of our lives, He really does know best, time and space are no problem to Him.

God also told Abraham that Sarah would have a Son in a years time and he was to be named Isaac, The Word says Abraham laughed, but I think his laugh was one of wonder and surprise rather than ridicule, as different from that of Sarah's laugh which was a laugh of faithlessness & impossibility.

God made many other promises to Abraham, including circumcision. These can be found in the remaining verses in chapter 17 & 18 of Genesis.

Not long after the circumcision of Abraham, his thirteen year old son Ishmael and all his household, he saw three men approaching his tent. (I'd like to talk a little here about the gift of Hospitality)

Remember that this was a desert and water was very precious, but Abraham ran to them and offered them rest and water to wash their burning hot feet, not only that, but He asked Sarah to get some of her best flour, which means they must also have some second grade flour, and make some bread for them, then he gets his best calf, kills it and makes a meal for them. giving them milk and cheese for afters. This tells me two things, firstly God gives us His very best and secondly He requires us to do the same. And what a reward Abraham received from the Lord. The son he had been promised over twenty five years earlier, was at last going to become a reality. In spite of the laughing, the unbelief and ingratitude of Sarah, it’s interesting here to read, that after their meal two of the men “angels” went on in the direction of Sodom, while the Lord stayed talking to Abraham. About Sodom, I wonder if those two angels were the two that turned up at Lots door in Sodom. As verse 16 of the same chapter indicates,--- “They walked towards Sodom” It's a thought.

In my opinion, Abraham’s Faith and Obedience to God’s Word is what carried him through to be the great man of God that he was. In spite of his many failures he maintained his integrity with God through these two characteristics.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on Abraham and Sarah, I pray God reveals something of Himself to you through it.

God bless you all

Phaline.

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