‘The Hebrew language does not recognize any distinction between knowledge that is an accumulation of information and knowledge that is personal acquaintance. For the Hebrews, all true knowledge is based on experience. Therefore, when the prophet speaks here about the “knowledge of the LORD”, he is not speaking primarily of knowledge about the Lord but of the insight into reality born of a close and intimate relationship with him. The Messiah will make it possible for all people to know God intimately.’
John N. Oswalt, NIV application commentary on Isaiah, p189 (On Isaiah 11.1-9)
Monday 13 September 2010
Friday 30 July 2010
The importance of faith
I recently returned from India. It was a challenging time. A time of seeing what really matters in life and ministry. I was, amongst other things, compelled by simplicity. Why do we make this so complicated when Jesus spent all his time making it so simple? God forgive us!
I also learned from India was that I need more faith. I think that the curse of the western world that I live in is a lack of faith. As my old pastor used to say, ‘faith is the magic with God’. I’m starting to see how right he was. We can’t be any use to God without faith. In fact, without faith it is impossible to please God. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the door into all of the blessings that God has laid up for us in Christ.
The truth is that we can’t even see God without faith. Without faith all we will see is some watered down philosophical construct, which might make us feel God about our lives for a season, but which won’t provide transformation in us. Without faith we won’t see God, just a dim reflection in a mirror of our own pitiful souls.
Without faith we will always attempt to change our lives through our own efforts. We will seek to help ourselves to healing. We will become skilled in the language and liturgy of psycho-babble, heck, we might even construct a watertight theology around it, but we won’t see change. Our worship will become narcissism, self-obsessed squandering, empty tunes with empty hearts. Without faith God will not listen to our singing and preaching. It will be empty noise to Him and He will take no pleasure in it.
Only faith pleases God. Not effort. Not perfection or excellence. Not aesthetic. Not performance. Not knowledge. Not anything. Only faith worked out in love.
So how can we grow in faith? The first and most important step is to take our eyes from ourselves and put them onto God. Only when we choose to centre our lives on the character, nature, size and stature of God will we grow in faith.
The bible calls this Fear of the Lord.
We need to learn it. We need to be schooled in the power and size of God, the same God who could crush the universe just by ceasing to will it into existence. This is the God we serve. He owes us nothing. We owe Him everything. We revolve around Him, not He around us.
Faith grows in this environment. We must repent of our self-obsession and offer our bodies to God for His use. We must tear down the biggest idol and obstacle we have in seeing God as who he is. Us. We have to learn to fear God again and to live with big visions and big expectations.
I also learned from India was that I need more faith. I think that the curse of the western world that I live in is a lack of faith. As my old pastor used to say, ‘faith is the magic with God’. I’m starting to see how right he was. We can’t be any use to God without faith. In fact, without faith it is impossible to please God. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the door into all of the blessings that God has laid up for us in Christ.
The truth is that we can’t even see God without faith. Without faith all we will see is some watered down philosophical construct, which might make us feel God about our lives for a season, but which won’t provide transformation in us. Without faith we won’t see God, just a dim reflection in a mirror of our own pitiful souls.
Without faith we will always attempt to change our lives through our own efforts. We will seek to help ourselves to healing. We will become skilled in the language and liturgy of psycho-babble, heck, we might even construct a watertight theology around it, but we won’t see change. Our worship will become narcissism, self-obsessed squandering, empty tunes with empty hearts. Without faith God will not listen to our singing and preaching. It will be empty noise to Him and He will take no pleasure in it.
Only faith pleases God. Not effort. Not perfection or excellence. Not aesthetic. Not performance. Not knowledge. Not anything. Only faith worked out in love.
So how can we grow in faith? The first and most important step is to take our eyes from ourselves and put them onto God. Only when we choose to centre our lives on the character, nature, size and stature of God will we grow in faith.
The bible calls this Fear of the Lord.
We need to learn it. We need to be schooled in the power and size of God, the same God who could crush the universe just by ceasing to will it into existence. This is the God we serve. He owes us nothing. We owe Him everything. We revolve around Him, not He around us.
Faith grows in this environment. We must repent of our self-obsession and offer our bodies to God for His use. We must tear down the biggest idol and obstacle we have in seeing God as who he is. Us. We have to learn to fear God again and to live with big visions and big expectations.
Monday 26 July 2010
The many or the few
I see a disturbing pattern in the world today, which I believe is as prevalent in the Christian community as the ‘real world’. It’s an obsession. It’s the desire to impact the many, to make a big impact in the world. To start movements that will affect hundreds, thousands, even millions. For God, of course. For His glory. So that He might become famous.
Only it’s not that simple is it? Yes, we want God to be glorified, but we position things so that our name might be lifted up by association. He can have the starring role, but we will take the Oscar for supporting actor.
And so we seek to achieve our godly aims by ungodly means. Self-promotion and exaggeration through social media, coupled with gossip about what others are not doing as well as we are. Pushing ourselves forwards to opportunities that our characters are not strong enough to bear and pushing others down when they threaten us. How do I know all of this? Well, it’s in my heart too. It’s the sinful striving of the unrestrained human heart.
At the heart of the matter is, I believe, a misunderstanding regarding what matters most to God. We seem to think that God is into the big spectacle, the event, the mega-strategy and the big impact. But He’s not. That’s not the way He plays the game. Think about it, He appeared to an insignificant man called Abram and promised to make Him great. He continued that promise through a people who had nothing to call their own other than their relationship with Him. They were always closest to Him when they reveled in their insignificant place in His mighty plan. He appeared in flesh in Jesus. A small town carpenter born in a stable, who spent most of his public life homeless and on the run.
God doesn’t need our PR. He chooses to use us in His plan out of His grace, but He doesn’t need us and He never will. He is far more interested in seeing us be good to the few than trying to impact the many. That is one of the fundamental truths we can garner from Jesus’ own ministry. Yes, Jesus spoke to very large groups, but we gather that this was peripheral to His ministry. It wasn’t the centerpiece. The cornerstone was his interaction with a small group of people. That’s the lasting impact that he had on the earth.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Cor 1.27)
Yet we still trust in the outwardly wise thing, rather than choosing the simple and humble task of loving one another in small things. Why are we so fascinated with the big splash which we hope will affect the many, when He died an ignominious death after a lifetime set on impacting the few?
Why are we so focused on being significant people? We have forgotten that in striving for significance we are ruling ourselves out of the greatest plan there is, of being a small cog in the big wheel of God’s plan. It does not matter whether or not people (Christian or otherwise) know who we are. What matters is Jesus knows who we and approves of our work for him.
“Seek first my Kingdom”, Jesus says, “and all these things will be added unto you as well”. As we meet with Jesus all of our priorities are completely re-ordered and we see what truly matters once more.
Only it’s not that simple is it? Yes, we want God to be glorified, but we position things so that our name might be lifted up by association. He can have the starring role, but we will take the Oscar for supporting actor.
And so we seek to achieve our godly aims by ungodly means. Self-promotion and exaggeration through social media, coupled with gossip about what others are not doing as well as we are. Pushing ourselves forwards to opportunities that our characters are not strong enough to bear and pushing others down when they threaten us. How do I know all of this? Well, it’s in my heart too. It’s the sinful striving of the unrestrained human heart.
At the heart of the matter is, I believe, a misunderstanding regarding what matters most to God. We seem to think that God is into the big spectacle, the event, the mega-strategy and the big impact. But He’s not. That’s not the way He plays the game. Think about it, He appeared to an insignificant man called Abram and promised to make Him great. He continued that promise through a people who had nothing to call their own other than their relationship with Him. They were always closest to Him when they reveled in their insignificant place in His mighty plan. He appeared in flesh in Jesus. A small town carpenter born in a stable, who spent most of his public life homeless and on the run.
God doesn’t need our PR. He chooses to use us in His plan out of His grace, but He doesn’t need us and He never will. He is far more interested in seeing us be good to the few than trying to impact the many. That is one of the fundamental truths we can garner from Jesus’ own ministry. Yes, Jesus spoke to very large groups, but we gather that this was peripheral to His ministry. It wasn’t the centerpiece. The cornerstone was his interaction with a small group of people. That’s the lasting impact that he had on the earth.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Cor 1.27)
Yet we still trust in the outwardly wise thing, rather than choosing the simple and humble task of loving one another in small things. Why are we so fascinated with the big splash which we hope will affect the many, when He died an ignominious death after a lifetime set on impacting the few?
Why are we so focused on being significant people? We have forgotten that in striving for significance we are ruling ourselves out of the greatest plan there is, of being a small cog in the big wheel of God’s plan. It does not matter whether or not people (Christian or otherwise) know who we are. What matters is Jesus knows who we and approves of our work for him.
“Seek first my Kingdom”, Jesus says, “and all these things will be added unto you as well”. As we meet with Jesus all of our priorities are completely re-ordered and we see what truly matters once more.
Friday 26 March 2010
Mystery and new creation - the Easter story
Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: "He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory."
- 1 Timothy 3:16
When you think about it the Christian faith is pretty weird. If you've grown up within it you may never have seriously considered how 'out there' it all is. We believe that God fully revealed Himself in flesh through Jesus. We believe that although he died that he was bodily raised. This was not merely a 'spiritual' reality but a fully physical one. Indeed it was more physical than anything we have ever seen. We then believe that he ascended to be with the Father, taking up the place that always belonged to him, as Lord of everything that he had made in the first place.
God come to earth, living, dying and rising for us. Weird. Crazy, unless true.
This Easter we are confronted once again with a decision to make. Firstly, will we believe in these events? Will we believe that they happened and that they show us something deeply true about the world that we are in? Namely, that it contains mystery, that which is infinitely explainable, but which always escapes mere doctrinal assent. That which always provokes wonder and faith. Can we allow these Easter events to leave us in awe this year? Will we embrace reality and faith that goes beyond the checklist?
And secondly will we also choose, once more, to let these events that can't ever be fully explained away but yet which are rooted in historical fact to shape the way that we actually live in the 'here and now'? Will we choose this year to become resurrection people, who hope not only in Jesus' resurrection but in our own which is to come and in the resurrection and renewal of everything God ever made?
Will we begin working for that future reality right now, because that is what is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus. The fact that the greatest event in eternity happens within human history means that we must begin building the new heavens and the new earth right now. Let's get to work!
- 1 Timothy 3:16
When you think about it the Christian faith is pretty weird. If you've grown up within it you may never have seriously considered how 'out there' it all is. We believe that God fully revealed Himself in flesh through Jesus. We believe that although he died that he was bodily raised. This was not merely a 'spiritual' reality but a fully physical one. Indeed it was more physical than anything we have ever seen. We then believe that he ascended to be with the Father, taking up the place that always belonged to him, as Lord of everything that he had made in the first place.
God come to earth, living, dying and rising for us. Weird. Crazy, unless true.
This Easter we are confronted once again with a decision to make. Firstly, will we believe in these events? Will we believe that they happened and that they show us something deeply true about the world that we are in? Namely, that it contains mystery, that which is infinitely explainable, but which always escapes mere doctrinal assent. That which always provokes wonder and faith. Can we allow these Easter events to leave us in awe this year? Will we embrace reality and faith that goes beyond the checklist?
And secondly will we also choose, once more, to let these events that can't ever be fully explained away but yet which are rooted in historical fact to shape the way that we actually live in the 'here and now'? Will we choose this year to become resurrection people, who hope not only in Jesus' resurrection but in our own which is to come and in the resurrection and renewal of everything God ever made?
Will we begin working for that future reality right now, because that is what is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus. The fact that the greatest event in eternity happens within human history means that we must begin building the new heavens and the new earth right now. Let's get to work!
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Monday 8 February 2010
The Sound of Silence
"Silence frees us from the need to control others ... A frantic stream of words flows from us in an attempt to straighten others out. We want so desperately for them to agree with us, to see things our way. We evaluate people, judge people, condemn people. We devour people with our words. Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on that."
- Richard Foster, from his book Freedom of Simplicity
- Richard Foster, from his book Freedom of Simplicity
Saturday 6 February 2010
Grow up before you grow old
"God wants us to grow up."
In reading these words in Andre Agassi's recent and excellent autobiography, I was taken aback. I've felt the challenge to 'grow up' from a number of different angles recently, not least conversations with others and engagement with the scriptures, but this was the final nail in the coffin, as it were.
The goal of Christian discipleship is, after all, full maturity in Jesus, which equates to absolute conformation to his character. To put it another way we are intended to become just like him. We will, one day, be fully conformed to his image, just as he is perfectly in the Father's image. As Peter puts it we will 'participate in the divine nature'(2 Pet 1.4).
So often I think we sell ourselves short of this massive goal. We get through conversion and then, feeling fully assured of our salvation, we fail to grow up. We carry on drinking spiritual milk when there is meat to be had, and plenty of it. We begin a relationship with the Father through the Son, but we miss out on the daily empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We fail to consummate the relationship we have begun with God. This is tantamount to failing to grow in relationship with our wife after exchanging the vows.
This hits on the main way in which we will grow in maturity in Christ, which is through 'sharing space' with Jesus. We grow in relationship with our spouse, friends or kids by sharing experiences and space with them. We aim to cross paths as often and as intimately as possible, through which we grow in intimacy and passion for them. We understand them, they understand us and they rub off on us.
It's the same with God only more so.
If we are going to grow into Christ's shape then there is only one way. Sharing space and experiences with him. I would want to call this prayer. I'm not simply thinking of the stuff we do when we're on our knees by our bed, but everything in life which is said and done in communion with Jesus. We become like him through the mundane things we do in communion with him. Things like eating, talking, laughing and even sleeping.
Of course, this is not a passive growing. It takes great energy for anything to grow. We are saved by grace through faith, yes, but God has prepared good works for us to do that will enable us to grow so that Christ will fill us up in greater measure. Being formed in the image of Jesus is the hardest thing we will ever do. It is the culmination of millions of little decisions we make over the course of our lifetimes.
Ultimately the final consummation comes when we are raised again through the power of the Spirit. We then see him as he is and so become fully like him.
In the meantime we need to re-focus our efforts and energy on becoming like him. We can't settle for anything less than this. This is, after all, the whole point of us being saved in the first place. God wants us to look like Jesus that the world might see the blessing that comes in relationship with Him, and that they might seek it for themselves. It was the Pharisaic propensity to hoard this blessing to themselves that Jesus criticized so heavily.
May 2010 be the year of growing up. For me, for you and for all God's people.
In reading these words in Andre Agassi's recent and excellent autobiography, I was taken aback. I've felt the challenge to 'grow up' from a number of different angles recently, not least conversations with others and engagement with the scriptures, but this was the final nail in the coffin, as it were.
The goal of Christian discipleship is, after all, full maturity in Jesus, which equates to absolute conformation to his character. To put it another way we are intended to become just like him. We will, one day, be fully conformed to his image, just as he is perfectly in the Father's image. As Peter puts it we will 'participate in the divine nature'(2 Pet 1.4).
So often I think we sell ourselves short of this massive goal. We get through conversion and then, feeling fully assured of our salvation, we fail to grow up. We carry on drinking spiritual milk when there is meat to be had, and plenty of it. We begin a relationship with the Father through the Son, but we miss out on the daily empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We fail to consummate the relationship we have begun with God. This is tantamount to failing to grow in relationship with our wife after exchanging the vows.
This hits on the main way in which we will grow in maturity in Christ, which is through 'sharing space' with Jesus. We grow in relationship with our spouse, friends or kids by sharing experiences and space with them. We aim to cross paths as often and as intimately as possible, through which we grow in intimacy and passion for them. We understand them, they understand us and they rub off on us.
It's the same with God only more so.
If we are going to grow into Christ's shape then there is only one way. Sharing space and experiences with him. I would want to call this prayer. I'm not simply thinking of the stuff we do when we're on our knees by our bed, but everything in life which is said and done in communion with Jesus. We become like him through the mundane things we do in communion with him. Things like eating, talking, laughing and even sleeping.
Of course, this is not a passive growing. It takes great energy for anything to grow. We are saved by grace through faith, yes, but God has prepared good works for us to do that will enable us to grow so that Christ will fill us up in greater measure. Being formed in the image of Jesus is the hardest thing we will ever do. It is the culmination of millions of little decisions we make over the course of our lifetimes.
Ultimately the final consummation comes when we are raised again through the power of the Spirit. We then see him as he is and so become fully like him.
In the meantime we need to re-focus our efforts and energy on becoming like him. We can't settle for anything less than this. This is, after all, the whole point of us being saved in the first place. God wants us to look like Jesus that the world might see the blessing that comes in relationship with Him, and that they might seek it for themselves. It was the Pharisaic propensity to hoard this blessing to themselves that Jesus criticized so heavily.
May 2010 be the year of growing up. For me, for you and for all God's people.
Thursday 4 February 2010
John 21 - Jesus and Peter
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." (John 21.15)
Simon Peter is on the rebound. He has ridden the rollercoaster of following Jesus all the way to the bottom, denying Jesus in his time of need. He has nothing left to give, nothing to boast about. There is no way back for him except by the grace of Jesus. Is there a way to be good again?
Jesus meets him in his time of need as they sit down for breakfast on the beach. Peter is desperate for reconciliation and Jesus doesn’t disappoint him. But it’s the way that Jesus does this that interests me.
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
It is Simon’s love of Jesus that has been tested and found wanting. The denial episode has shown him and Jesus what was really going on in his heart all along. His answer to the question is, of course, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus asks him the same question three times, once for each denial. Each affirmation of love heals the wound of previous betrayal. And the love that Simon affirms is linked to his calling. Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
And that’s the point. Simon’s only capability in his calling is his love for Jesus. His only preparation for being useful in the plans of Jesus is his relationship with the one he loves. The situation is no different today. We become useful to Jesus when we fall in love with him. It’s not about our gifting, our striving, our savvy, our training or anything else. It’s not a matter of whether we love going to church, reading our bible, teaching people about God, or anything else. It doesn’t matter whether we want to build his Kingdom by working in church, Starbucks, Costco or anyplace else.
It all means nothing unless we love.
We are only useful to Jesus if we truly love him. This is the one and only qualification Jesus asks for in Simon and it is what he asks for in each of us too.
Do you love him?
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