No peace

“They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14
No person in their right mind would think of putting a band-aid on a broken bone and expecting it to heal. Yet people try to deal with their feelings of guilt and loneliness by pampering themselves, reading self-help books, spending the night out with friends etc. These are all efforts to treat the symptoms, whereas what they reall need to do is deal with the root issue, the real problem – which is sin.
Sin affects us all. It separates us from God. Man was created with a desire to fellowship with God, but sin breaks this connection. Making people feel good about themselves (by saying ‘peace, peace’) is not the answer. There can be no peace between a person and God, if sin is reigning supreme in their heart. Sin is a serious issue and is needs to be dealt with at the root. This is why secular psychology can never give all the answers. The problem is deeper than the psyche, the soul. The problem is in the spirit. Only the Spirit of God, and the Word of God, can reach the spirit of man (Heb. 4:12). And He can, if you will allow Him to.

Your rights

“But Paul said to the officers: ‘They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.’” Acts 16:37
Several times in the book of Acts we see Paul exercising his secular rights as a Roman citizen. Under Roman law, citizens were entitled to a fair trial. It was illegal for a Roman citizen to be flogged or beaten without a trial (see Acts 22:25-28). If the person felt the trial was unfair, they could appeal to have their case heard by Caesar (a right which Paul exercised in Acts 25:11).
Yet in 1 Cor. 9:11-15 Paul talks about the rights that an apostle should receive (namely, receiving sustenance as payment for his ministry), but then declares that he did not use this right, lest it cause a stumbling-block to the Corinthians. At the time there were many itinerant preachers, bringing a message to the people and ripping them off, and Paul did not want to be associated with those kinds of people.
The difference is this: in the first case, Paul was dealing with secular people and using his secular rights. There was nothing to be gained from not using them. But in the second case, Paul was dealing with spiritual people and talking about spiritual rights. His not exercising these would make a significant impact upon the Corinthians, and that alone was worth it.
Similarly for us: in the secular world, it’s ok to insist on your rights. But in the church, it is better to forego them if it would cause division or cause someone to stumble.

Set apart

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Here we read God’s calling of Jeremiah when he was still a young man, to be His prophet. Several times in the Bible we read of God calling young people to service – David, Joseph, Timothy, etc. God is not fussy about who He uses. Age makes no difference – it is the heart of the person; it is not age that imparts wisdom, but the Spirit of God (Job 32:7-8).
We too have been chosen before we were born – in fact, before the world was even created! (Eph. 1:4). God had a plan for us well in advance, and when the time is right and when we are in line with Him, He will bring it to pass. Like Jeremiah, we have been chosen to be set apart. This is the meaning of the word ‘holy’ – to be set apart, separated for a special purpose. We are no longer a cog in the machinery of a nation’s economy. We are a building block in the house of God. We are a part of the body of Christ. God knew where you would fit, before He formed you in your mother’s womb. Even if we don’t know the future – and we don’t – God knows. He knows, because He is the one who has created it for us.

Paving the way

“Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps.” Psalm 85:13
If you want to know how to live so that God will move in your life, the key is right here. Righteousness precedes God moving; therefore, if we live in His righteousness, He will move in our life.
Righteousness doesn’t mean ‘holier-than-thou’. Rather, it means to live right by God’s standards. This means obeying Him and what He has written in His Word. If we are hanging onto some sin, then we are not living in His righteousness, and consequently He will not move in our life.
This is true for a person, but also for a church. Many churches today are crying out to God to do a mighty work in their midst, to empower them to witness to their communities. And yet nothing seems to happen. One reason could be because they are not walking in righteousness – perhaps there is some sin, or their motives are wrong in asking God to do this. God doesn’t look at the end result – He looks at our hearts. If our motivation is pride and wanting to be seen, then He won’t bless us. But if our motivation is to serve Him out of obedience and love, then He will.

Praying for Peter

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Acts 12:5
In Acts 12 we read of how Herod started to step up his persecution of the apostles, executing James (Acts 12:2), and putting Peter in prison to be tried at a later date (Acts 2:4). The church in Jerusalem was praying for him.
Now, we don’t know exactly what they were praying, but God answered their prayers by sending an angel to let Peter out of the prison. Even while it was happening, Peter thought it was a dream (Acts 12:9). Note that Peter was not praying - he was asleep! (Acts 12:6). After his release, he went to the house where the church was gathered, and the servant girl who answered the door was so excited she forgot to let him inside (Acts 12:14). But here’s the thing: the believers who were praying, didn’t believe her (Acts 12:15).
Perhaps they had been praying that Herod would be merciful to Peter and not execute him as he had James. But God had other ideas. And despite their lack of faith that He could actually send an angel and bring Peter out by miraculous means, that is exactly what God did. This is encouraging to us. We might only have a little faith. We might be completely unable to imagine how God will work in a situation, but if we pray, He is able to work in the way that He wants to.

They want to destroy Israel

“‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.’” Psalm 83:4
Ever since the state of Israel was re-established in her rightful place in 1948, people have wanted to destroy her. It is no secret that this is the goal of the Muslim leadership in the Middle East. Somehow they have seemed to convince the western nations that it is a matter of land – by which it is thought the issue is confined to the West Bank and Gaza Strip – but even if these regions are ceded it will not bring peace. Nothing will satisfy Israel’s enemies unless she is completely wiped off the map.
It’s interesting to note the list of nations plotting together against Israel, given in Psalm 83. The Ishamalites are mentioned (Ps. 83:6) – the son of Abraham by Hagar, who became the ancestor of the Arabs. Philistia (Ps. 83:7), the region of the Gaza Strip today and from which the ‘Palestinians’ take their name (although not their lineage). Assyria (Ps. 83:8), to the north east – modern-day Iran.
It also disturbs me when well-known Christian speakers also decry Israel’s right to exist. This I do not understand. Although Israel has largely forsaken God, and in their history has been rejected by God, they are still His chosen people. He still has a plan for them. Israel will not be destroyed. We read in Ezek. 38-39 of a battle that is yet future, where God destroys the invading armies that would seek to attack Israel. You don’t want to be supporting the wrong side on that day!

A risen Saviour

“In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!’” Luke 24:5-6
We can only imagine the waves of emotion that were sweeping over the disciples and the women who were following, on this morning. Three days after Jesus was crucified, and definitely dead, they had had time to dwell on what it meant for their future. The women decided to go to the tomb with spices so that they might properly embalm His body, since they had not had the time to before with it being Passover. They had resigned themselves to the fact that He was dead. But then, they were greeted by angels at the tomb, who appeared in human form, and told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. It must have sounded too good to be true – yet true it was, and the rest is history.
The words of the angels reach to us today: ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead?’ People are searching for meaning in life, and for someone to give them that spiritual guidance they are hungering for. The tombs of Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius, Joseph Smith and others have one thing in common: they are still occupied. There is only one person who has conquered death and can save us: Jesus Christ. Today, Easter Sunday, we remember His resurrection. The resurrection proves that He is who He said He is – the Son of God, the Saviour of all who would come to Him in faith.

Baptisms

“The circumcised believers who has come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
“Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’” Acts 10:47
There is a lot of confusion in Christian circles about water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the necessity (or otherwise) of both of these for salvation. Here we have one example of how a group of people were baptised in the Holy Spirit – evidenced by the gifts of the Spirit in the form of speaking in tongues, being manifested – before they were baptised in water. This completely goes against the argument made by some that you must be baptised in water before you are saved. (The same is true in my own life – I was baptised in the Holy Spirit age 9, but not water baptised until age 19.) Peter declares that the Gentiles had “received the Holy Spirit just as we have”. That is, these people have had the same spiritual experience. Peter had no doubts that they were saved – because someone cannot be baptised with the Holy Spirit unless they are first born again.
So where does water baptism fit in? It is not essential for salvation. However, it is recommended. Its purpose is a witness to others that you belong to Christ, that the old man has died and that you are now a new creation. Nor is baptism in the Spirit essential to salvation. Baptism in the Spirit is the empowering for the work of the ministry. We can survive without both, but both are beneficial to us.

Good Friday

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” Psalm 22:1
Good Friday is a time when we can reflect on the magnitude of what Jesus did for us at the cross. He endured rejection from man, which He could take; He also endured rejection from the Father, which caused Him to cry out these timeless words. It’s impossible for us to imagine what He went through. We can study all the medical, physical aspects of death by crucifixion – the joints being dislocated, the nails through the wrists, the difficulty and pain in breathing, the agony of death by asphyxiation. But the spiritual pain and torment that Jesus endured was far greater. For a few hours, He experienced what it was like to be rejected and separated from the Father – a fate that, had He not gone to the cross, would have been ours for all eternity.
At the cross, Jesus became what we are, so that we might become like Him. At the cross, we change places. He dies for our sin that He did not commit; we receive His righteousness that we don’t deserve. The cross shows us just how seriously God takes sin – that the only way to rectify things was through the death of His only Son. Let us not underestimate it, nor take it for granted.

His thoughts and His ways

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
Man was created in the image of God: as a trinity – spirit, soul, and body. In the beginning, Adam’s spirit was uppermost in his life, allowing him to commune with God. But at the Fall, this reversed, and the trinity became body, then soul, then spirit. Unregenerate man is little different from the animals (Eccl. 3:18). They are driven by their bodily instincts: the need for food, drink, shelter, warmth, and procreation. There are also the soulish desires: the desire to be accepted, noticed, and loved.
God’s ways are higher than all of these. His ways are according to the Spirit: desiring fellowship, communion, and love, but not as the soulish desires which are driven by ‘what’s in it for me’. Living according to the Spirit – which we can now do, if we are born again – is to live on a higher plane. We give and love without expecting anything in return – just as God blesses us and loves us. Unsaved people can’t understand this. But this is the way it is with God (1 Cor. 2:14). His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours.