The heart of God

I was reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren when an incredible thought occurred to me. On page 28 of the book, Warren says

"We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it....... God specializes in giving people a fresh start."

Now the thought that I had has nothing to do with new beginnings of fresh starts. At least not directly. Rather, it struck me again how incredibly positive God is. He does not dwell on problems or drawbacks of the past. He always urges us on towards the goal that he himself has set for us.

This reminded me of a passage of scripture in the New Testament epistle of 2Corinthians chapter 1, verses 17-20. Paul was defending himself against the accusation by some of inconsistency. He had promised to visit this local assembly at a particular time, but could not honor the commitment, hence the charge of not keeping his word. Listen to him:

2 Cor. 1:17-20 (Amplified version)

17Now because I changed my original plan, was I being unstable and capricious? Or what I plan, do I plan according to the flesh [like a worldly man], ready to say Yes, yes, [when it may mean] No, no?

18As surely as God is trustworthy and faithful and means what He says, our speech and message to you have not been Yes [that might mean] No.

19For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us, by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not Yes and No; but in Him it is [always the divine] Yes.

20For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.

Paul in effect says that when he promised to visit the church, he meant every word of his promise. Then he tells his audience the reason why he must remain committed to whatever he says. It is because God is committed to what he promised, and Paul takes his cue from God. More importantly, Paul offers us a glimpse into an aspect of the nature of the Lord when he makes the statement, "...the Son of God, Christ Jesus...... was not Yes and No; but in Him, it is always.... Yes." With him, it is always Yes! Yes to your hopes and dreams; Yes to your joy and peace; Yes, even to those things for which you dare not hope because they appear too big!

So next time your heart longs for a piece of heaven and it appears just out of reach, tell Jesus about it, and he will answer. Guess what, his answer will be...... YES.

Be blessed today.

A complex world made simple

The Bible book of Matthew chapter 5 is a moral compass. It is the account of a long sermon by Jesus that has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. In this chapter, Jesus deals with sundry moral issues like divorce, adultery, murder and taking revenge. My thoughts today however turn to verse 37:

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Before this statement, Jesus had been talking about the practice of swearing by heaven or some other celestial body in order to convince one's listeners that one is telling the truth. In response to the skepticism of people about what we are saying, we swear. Jesus says that this should not be so. A simple and honest 'Yes' or 'No' is enough.

Can you imagine a court of law scenario, where the lead prosecutor has a witness for the defense in the dock. The last thing this witness wants to say and mean is a simple 'Yes' or 'No'. Even when the witness says 'Yes', everybody is thinking, 'Does he really mean 'Yes'? Is it a 'Yes, but....' or a 'Yes, and .....'

Our world has become a place where we do not take people at their words. There are hidden agendas and conspiracy theories everywhere. Human relationships have become very complex indeed. It is into this complex world that Jesus seeks to bring order and simplicity when he says a simple 'Yes' or 'No' truly spoken and meant should settle all matters.

This kind of world is possible. It can begin with you.

Be blessed today.

When God has something to say

Today, I am ruminating on the gospel according to John, chapter 1 verse 17 . This verse says:

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Four main facts jump at me through this verse:
1. God has a specific assignment for each of his servants, whom he deploys. Moses' assignment was to give the law. The assignment of Jesus was to bring grace and truth. Do you know what your assignment is? What specific message has God given you for your generation?

2. God has a unique message for every generation. In Moses' generation, it was The Law. In Jesus' generation it was grace and truth. What is God's message for our time?

3. Revelation is progressive. This means that God builds on his messages. Every new message from God encapsulates a previous one and expands it. Grace and truth are not contradictory to the Law. They improve it. The Law lays out what people can and cannot do if they want to be acceptable to God. Grace and truth reveal that all God's requirement are fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. If we embrace Jesus Christ as Lord, we automatically fulfill the requirements of the Law.

4. The only message that blesses a generation is a message that has passed through a human vessel. A message from God, if it must gain currency and be acceptable, must be a message assimilated, lived and proved by the messenger. Or else he or she is a false prophet. Moses not only gave the Law, he lived the Law. He was the law-doer before he became the law-giver. The Lord Jesus was the epitome of grace and truth.

We live in the end of times when God is rapidly bringing his creation to account, to a sum, to an end. God's message for our generation is that a harvest of souls is at hand, and that each one of us must decide into which category he or she will be cropped. The company of wheat or the bunch of weeds. The choice is yours.
Be blessed today.