The Goodness of God

The Goodness of God

by | Apr 26, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

Hearing God’s Voice

“I love your voice
You have led me through the fire
And in darkest night you are close like no other
I’ve known you as a Father
I’ve known you as a Friend
And i have lived in the goodness of God, yeah”

Goodness of God, Bethel

“27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27, NIV

How do we learn to hear the voice of the Lord? 

The Good Shepherd cares for His flock – loves His sheep. The sheep trust Him and know His voice just as He knows them.

The Good Father cares for His children – loves them. His children trust Him and know His voice just as He knows them.

Our relationship with Jesus will determine the degree to which we hear and recognize the Voice of the Lord.

Samuel was sleeping in the temple when he hears the Lord call his name. Because there was no relationship yet he could not recognize the voice for what it was and goes to Eli instead.

God is always speaking. He never stops. 

We just need to get tuned in – like those old ‘rabbit-ear’ antennas we had growing up. They would ‘hear’ the signal and convert it into a vision on our TV screens. Sometimes it would take a little bit of effort – tuning your set, adjusting the position of the antenna, maybe even moving around the living room until you could see and hear clearly.

We need to get tuned in to God. We need to learn to hear, recognize, trust and love His voice.

Relationship helps us distinguish between the voice of our Father and the multitude of other voices around us.

Through daily prayer and meditation we get to know the Voice of God.

We learn to recognize His voice by spending time with Him.

I am reminded of Elijah. At one point he finds himself in a cave, hiding from the forces of King Ahab and Jezebel, despairing even unto death.

In 1 Kings 19 we read about how God spoke to Elijah – the Presence of the Lord came by in the form of a mighty rushing wind, an earthquake and even a fire – but the heart of God for Elijah was communicated in a soft and gentle whisper.

And in this whisper we find direction – in this intimate communication from God.

It is time that we draw near to God – near enough to hear the gentle whisper of God. Near enough to hear His heartbeat for us.

Too often we are waiting for the mighty rushing wind and the earthquake – an encounter full of goosebumps and sensation – but God is speaking to you in a much deeper way.

It is in the stillness of the secret place that we will hear Him much clearer.

Elijah tells God: “I have been very zealous for You.” (1 Kings 19:10,14)

“I have been burning with love for You…” 

And there is no indication in his words that he had ever stopped loving God. 

Take 15 minutes and retreat from your surroundings – your situation, your circumstances. Pour out your love for the Lord.

Another thing that Elijah does is bring his fear, insecurity and brokenness to God.

Take 15 minutes out of your day. Pour out your need for His love and mercy. Pour out your love like precious perfume. And then…

Wait… 

And hear what God wants to tell you today. Respond to this whisper with obedience. Act on what God is impressing upon your heart. Let His answer flood your heart and see how He fills your life with His presence.

Prayer: Lord, anoint the ears of my heart that I might hear Your sweet and gentle voice. Open the ears of my heart so that I might hear the whispers of Your love, mercy and grace. Fill me with Your presence. Saturate me with Your peace. I love You Lord. Help me seek You and see You more clearly. Draw me closer. Pull me deeper. And when You speak, Lord, in whichever way You deem fit – give me the wisdom to act and obey so that I might see Your Kingdom come in my life and the lives of those around me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

 

 

Firm Foundation

Firm Foundation

by | Apr 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

Blind faith is not mature faith.

“Christ is my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
When everything around me is shaken
I’ve never been more glad”

Firm Foundation, Maverick City Worship

“And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”

Luke 6:48b, NKJV

During His Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells the story of two builders. We see, in the story, that the foolish man built his house on the sand, and it was soon washed away by the rains and the floods. The wise man built it upon the rock, and it stood firm!

Jesus says the following: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

It is easy for us to take this story and make it about the situations we face in life, our trials and tribulations: “when financial storms come, when the floods of family drama and illness come, as long as your house is built on the rock you will be fine…”

And while this is true – Jesus offers us peace, shelter and refuge in times of trouble – that is not what Jesus is saying here.

It is important to note that this story is not a standalone vignette but part of a larger message. In the preceding verses Jesus is imparting a vision of Kingdom life to His followers and disciples. He is imparting the basics of a Christian worldview to His believers.

Immediately preceding the story of the builders Jesus talks about true and false disciples.

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven…”

“Building on the rock” then is not just about confessing your faith in Jesus – but about making a concerted effort to live your faith in a tangible and practical way – it is essentially about making a concerted effort to live out the vision and worldview of Christ and His Kingdom.

And once again we come back to the question of what we believe.

Too often we are functioning by faith alone – and there is nothing wrong with that – but the mature Christian should learn to employ reason as well. Reason shaped by faith and the faithful study of the Word.

God does not desire a relationship built on only ‘what feels right’. He desires a relationship in which we give Him our all – all of our power, all of our faculties engaged and employed in the love, the adoration and the worship of Him. This includes our minds – not just our hearts.

The building is our concerted effort – and the ‘rock’ in the context of this passage is our worldview – a worldview formed by the teachings and the life of Christ.

This cannot exist without a measure of reason. Reason is our wrestling with the Word, our working out our faith with fear and trembling – our faith shapes the faculties of reason and this then further shapes our faith towards maturity.

Blind faith is not mature faith. Mature faith is faith that has seen. Faith that has wrestled. Faith that has weathered the storm. Mature faith is not blind – rather it is a situation where the believers eyes are wide open and set upon Jesus.

We should strive for understanding. We should strive to go deeper. We should strive to be theologically equipped – and not just as pastors and teachers – but as everyday believers with a mission and the ministry of reconciliation.

Theology – or rather – God-Logic (Theos, God) (Logos, logic) – is for everyone.

We all deserve and should strive to know God better, to understand Him better, to go deeper in our relationship with Him.

A good way to start is to have a look at the courses at https://ailbeseminary.org/ or our online training page at https://ailbe.org.

Start getting equipped – it is not enough to just believe anymore, it is time we learn to understand.

Prayer: Lord, it is so easy for us to come to faith and stagnate. It is easy for us to come to faith and never outgrow our need to be bottle-fed the milk of Your Word. Open the eyes of my heart Lord to discern the call to action in Your Word. Help me become a person who takes action. Not complacent or complicit in the deterioration of our world, but actively working to grow in understanding and my knowledge of You and Your Kingdom. Help me embrace my calling as a minister of reconciliation. Give me a fire that will not be quenched – a hunger for more of You. A hunger and a need to do more for You. To know You better and help others do the same. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Come Emmanuel

Come Emmanuel

by | Apr 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.”

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, John Mason Neale

“Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55:6-7:, NKJV

In this present dispensation of grace it is often easy for us to lose sight of the heart and will of God.

The message often proclaimed from the pulpits of seeker-friendly churches is this: “Jesus loves you just as you are. Don’t be religious church. Grace is what saves us!”

This is only a half truth.

Jesus loves you – but He loves you so much that He offers you the chance to change. A chance for a better life.

The grace of God – the love of God, undeserved – goes hand in hand with the mercy of God: God refraining from pouring out the wrath that we DO deserve.

Shall we then cheapen this great gift of grace by staying as we are?

It seems to me that the modern believer wants the benefits of the Kingdom – deliverance, freedom, healing, peace, prosperity – but what we really need is the Rule and Reign of God.

The love of God is free and without restriction – but relationships have boundaries. Covenants, like contracts, have conditions and clauses.

We are saved by grace, but this love of God poured out is only the beginning.

Jesus came preaching repentance.

This call for repentance is a call to action. Yes, we are saved through faith by grace – but grace without works is dead.

Much of the Psalms and the Prophets is a heartfelt cry for repentance and salvation – and not just individual repentance and restoration – but that of the nation. For us as Christians, having strongholds of the faith around the world, the call is not for the individual nor the nation – but for the nations! The whole world.

Crying out on behalf of the world, come, o come, Emmanuel!

It is time for Christian brothers and sisters to heed this call to action and take up the work of prayer and evangelism.

The church, as a Body and as a movement – as an institution – has failed. We have strayed from the Truth. We have become seeker friendly rather than seeking the lost.

Brothers! Sisters! Let us take up the work of prayer – taking no rest and giving God no rest. Let us pray until we see the light of His salvation breaking through!

Let us endure for our loved ones. Let us endure upon our knees.

And as we pray, let us do so with the knowledge that He inclines His ear to us. He hears us.

Let us pray and seek the Lord while He might be found and urge others to do the same.

Let us pray for and with our loved ones at every opportunity that presents itself.

Let us pray also for ourselves – the Body – that we may be faithful witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. That He might give us the strength to resist scandal and controversy, to avoid falling into the temptation of false doctrine, and that we might incline our ears to His Holy Spirit working in our lives, through our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Let us, as the Body and as the Bride cry out to our Beloved: Come, o come, Emmanuel!

Let us pray for His Rule and Reign to be established in our churches, in our schools and in our governments yet again – that He might impart to us His righteousness, as He did at Mount Sinai. Let our prayer be for His Dominion, His Authority and His Kingdom to come in our lives. For His face to shine upon us – so that He might have preeminence – the highest praise and the highest place in our lives.

Prayer: Lord, as I take up the work of prayer, give me the words to pray for my loved ones, for my community and for my country. Wherever I might be, Lord, let me be a stronghold of the Faith. Guide me in my quiet time, equip in my solitude so that I might be a faithful witness of Your Kingdom come. Come, o come, Emmanuel – come and establish Your throne in our midst – and let us see revival, reformation and restoration in our lives and the lives of those around us. In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

I Believe: What Do You Believe?

I Believe: What Do You Believe?

by | Apr 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“I believe there is one salvation
One doorway that leads to life
One redemption, one confession
I believe in the name of Jesus Christ,”

I Believe, Phil Wickham

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Acts 2:42, NIV

I grew up in well established churches with properly and clearly expressed statements of faith.

These churches focused on equipping their congregants theologically.

Being in worship ministry, over the years, I have found myself all over the place. From reformed churches to charismatic churches and all the grey areas in between.

In studying the New Testament it becomes clear to me that there was an established and approved understanding of the Gospel – even if it was perhaps haphazardly and informally compiled – which we can refer to as the Apostles’ teaching. In the centuries that followed the church, through various councils and committees, would attempt to organise this into more formal categories and confessions.

One of the biggest pushbacks I have experienced, especially in the charismatic movement, is the idea that an emphasis on good theology is pharisaical and puts unnecessary restrictions upon the working of the Holy Spirit and the life of the believer.

It seems to me that many believers would rather ‘live by the spirit’ – but by which spirit?

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus did not come to do away with the law and the prophets, but to fulfil it. Living by the Spirit of God leads to a deeper understanding, greater appreciation and better application of the Law and the Prophets in our own faith journey.

One of the things most disconcerting about those involved in certain ‘moves of God’ is the idea that there is no set confession or statement of belief. One of the most troubling revelations is the fact that even leaders in the Body – preachers and teachers – have little or even no understanding of even basic concepts like the Godhead, the divinity of Jesus and the personage of the Holy Spirit and are tossed to and fro by every new wind of ‘revelation’.

And it is because of a lack of proper theological exposition and meditation in the church.

The legendary physicist Richard Feynman is quoted as saying that if you can’t explain an idea to an 8 year old, chances are you don’t understand it yourself.

C.S. Lewis said: “If you cannot translate your own thoughts into uneducated language, then your thoughts are confused. The power to translate is the test of having understood one’s own meaning.”

And that is exactly what the creeds and confessions of old attempted to do: to take vast amounts of theological exposition and condense it into easy to read, easy to understand – almost viral – statements of what we as Christians believe.

The fact is this – the Bible is actually really easy to understand. So is theology.

And yes, good theology can be a great source of unity in the church but it is also divisive. It is divisive because it makes clear the separation between the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the chaff, of our own minds.

It is easy for the Gospel and our understanding of spiritual things to become complicated and tangled up like a pair of earphones in a junk-drawer – but with just a little effort on our side we can keep it simple, clear and concise.

I want to challenge you today to clarify your own understanding of your faith.

What is your confession?

What do you believe?

And would you be able to translate even the more complex aspects of your faith into language that an 8 year old could understand?

A good place to start is by looking at the creeds and confessions of those who have come before. As a starting point I would recommend that you take a look at the Nicene Creed. Read it. Memorise it if possible. Commit it to mind and take it to heart.

If you are up to a challenge I would urge you to start a journal and put your thoughts down on paper – this way you will have a record of your own growth in understanding, and hopefully a map you can use to explain and describe the landscape of your faith to those in your personal mission field.

This is the first step in embracing proper, healthy theology in the church. This is the first step towards growing in your own understanding of the faith (the application of the Bible as the source of what we believe) and in helping others grow as well.

Good theology does not put restrictions on the life of the believer, but rather creates the space in which to grow.

These statements guard the purity of our faith. They guard our minds and hearts by establishing us in truth and keeping us away from controversy.

What do you believe?

And how will you share these simple, unadulterated truths with others?

Prayer: Lord, help me to have a clearer vision of what I believe. As I read Your Word, as I listen to the preaching of Your Word, and as I strive to share and live Your Word – help me to stay true to Your Word. Give me understanding. Help me express truth boldly and concisely. Help me bring across the Gospel of Your Kingdom clearly. Let me never wander or stray, but let me stay faithful to Your Word in everything I do and say. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Behold: The Light of the World

Behold: The Light of the World

by | Apr 25, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

Behold the King has come, divinity incarnate
Creator of the world, breathing our air
Behold what light has come, and the dark cannot contain it
The Savior of the world is finally here”

Behold, Travis Cottrell

“4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

John 1:4-5, NKJV

There is a famous C.S. Lewis quote where he compares the rising of the sun to Christianity.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

The Psalmist says: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to guide my path…” (Psalm 119:105:)

Jesus, as the Word made Flesh, is the Light of the World (John 1, Isaiah 42:6) – comes to illuminate – to demonstrate The Way to us as believers. To SHOW us The Way as a lamp unto our feet and a light to guide our path.

John says the following: “In Him was life and this life was the light of men. The darkness could not comprehend it.”

‘Comprehend’ here, in the New King James version, is translated in many other translations as ‘overcome’, ‘overwhelm’, ‘overpower’ and some other variations – which seems to be a more accurate translation of the Greek word ‘katalambanó’.

Yes, the darkness – the ignorance and arrogance of the world – could not understand the light that was in Christ, but it also could not overpower and overwhelm it.

This is important for us as believers in this current age to understand.

Where many are being brainwashed by the culture of our day – where even basic definitions such as ‘man’ or ‘woman’ – basic biological, scientific terms – are being blurred by wilful ignorance, we need to stand up for truth.

Where definitions of ‘justice’ are being twisted, where ‘good’ and ‘evil’ have become nothing more than arbitrary grey areas – we need to understand that truth is not subjective. Truth is found in Christ.

As Christians it is easy for us who know the Truth to get discouraged by the state of affairs around us.

I look at the younger generations and my heart breaks. There is so much confusion…

There are often talks about taking Christianity out of schools, keeping it away from and out of Government with a ten-foot pole and barring it from the workplace.

In these trying times we must stand strong and know that those who came before us in the faith faced

St. Patrick, in the spirit of the Gospel of John, draws the following comparison between Jesus and the sun:

“The sun which we see rising for us each day at his command, that sun will never reign nor will its splendour continue forever; and all those who adore that sun will come to a bad, miserable penalty. We, however, believe in and adore the true sun, that is, Christ, who will never perish.” (Conf., 60)

The World does not ‘recognize’, ‘comprehend’ or ‘understand’ the Light that is in Jesus, turning instead to the sun of their own intellect. This however will lead them, as Patrick said, to a bad and miserable penalty as they find even their truth being folded up and perishing in the greater scheme of eternity.

We however, believe in and adore the True Sun, the Risen Son, Jesus Christ – the one who will never perish – and most importantly will never be overwhelmed by the shadows cast by an inferior source.

So, keep true to the faith – even when darkness tries to overwhelm. Even when the arrogance and ignorance of this world tries to silence us. We will stay true to Jesus and The Way He came to demonstrate.

Let us endeavour to keep our lights shining – let the moon of our lives reflect the light from the Sun of His Righteousness – the confusion of this world will eventually pass away, but in Him we have our eternal reward.

Prayer: Lord, help me today to know where the line is drawn and to not cross it – let there be no compromise in my life when it comes to the truth. I am called to be in the world, but not like it. If I have, in my thinking or believing strayed from Your path, right my course dear Lord. And let me hold fast to the promises of Your Word, let me hold fast to the Truth, even when a multitude of voices around me sow confusion. Let me find refuge in You and what You have ordained. Jesus, be my center. Be the light that guides my path so that I might have life eternal with You. In Jesus Name. Amen.