Month: March 2020

Reflection on Acts 4:13-22

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Observation

When the members of the Council see the courage of Peter and John, they are amazed. The formerly lame man is now with them as evidence of the miracle that had been done in Jesus’ name.

The Council orders Peter and John to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. Peter replies, “Judge for yourselves whether we should obey you or obey God.”

The Council is thrown into confusion, and they let them go.

Application

The strength of Peter and John’s testimony lay in the fact that they had been with Jesus.

The men and women who change the world are not always the most educated or the so-called elite.

In this case, it was two men who were unschooled. They did not use big words, and probably pronounced words wrong. They were from Galilee, out in the sticks.

They were ordinary men; self-employed fishermen. They were hardly influential, and yet here they were healing people and preaching a message about God’s kingdom.

The Council members noted that Peter and John had been with Jesus. This is the key to their power and their effectiveness.

They had been with Jesus and had learned the ways of God’s Kingdom. They knew that the name of Jesus could bring great miracles in the world and had expressed faith enough to see a lame man healed.

An ordinary person, with no training or high connections, can become a world changer through being with Jesus.

We spend time learning from Him, praying, seeking His presence. Then, in the power of our being in Him and He in us, things happen. People are healed, relationships are restored, power is shifted.

Time in the presence of Jesus can give us insight into His plans for us, our mission and purpose. That might be a big thing that shakes world history, or a more limited thing that changes one person’s story. Regardless, we find our purpose and meaning in Jesus.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to know you more. May I become a person whose reputation is “this person has been with Jesus.” Amen.

Corona Will Steal Your Freedom

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

In Italy, a priest who was celebrating Mass in an empty church, streamed to people keeping a safe distance outside, was raided by local police and told he had to stop- despite following the regulations. He finished the Mass.

I’m not going to promote any conspiracy theories, but we do need to be wary of Governments seizing this opportunity to further restrict our rights, and to keep those restrictions long after the threat is over. These are gifts not just freedom of religious observance, but freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom to move.

Because that is what Governments do. They “protect” us by restricting us, using fear to get us to acquiesce to things we normally would never accept.

Don’t believe me? How many people thought church services would be shut down in Australia two weeks ago?

How long will these restrictions be here for? Well we’ve gone from “a few weeks” to “up to six months.”

We must keep pushing back against these restrictions, demanding that normal freedoms be returned to us as soon as the crisis is over.

Reflection on Acts 4:1-12

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Observation

While John and Peter are talking to the people in the Temple precinct, they are confronted by some of the Jewish leaders who are disturbed by their talk of resurrection. They arrest them, but many in the crowd believe the message.

The Jewish Council questions the two disciples. Peter states boldly that the crippled man was healed by the name of Jesus who had died and rose again. There is salvation in no one else.

Application

There is just one Name by which we must be saved. That is the Name of Jesus, the most powerful name in all of creation.

The lame man was healed by the Name of Jesus. Peter and John acted and spoke in the Name of Jesus.

It is the Name of Jesus which brings salvation, and only the name of Jesus.

People like to be even handed in their unbelief. Surely it is not just the followers of Jesus who get saved. What about the Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus?

Possibly some of these will be saved, but that is not the point. Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the gate to eternal life, and if we want to be saved we must go through Him.

If you want to go into an office building, you must go through the door. Sometimes there are doors that are locked with just one door available for the use of the public.

Heaven has just one door, one gate, one entrance. Its name is Jesus.

Why the Name of Jesus? The Name represents the person. To say we are saved by the Name of Jesus is to say that all the power, all the grace, and all the glory of Jesus are summed up in the Name.

The Name of Jesus opens the way into God’s Kingdom where sinners are forgiven, captives are set free, the blind see, and the lame walk.

What a glorious Name!

Prayer

There is no other name given by which we must be saved. Lord, we don’t need any other name because the name of Jesus is the highest name. Thank you Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reflection on Acts 3:12-26

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“Repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your promised Messiah.”

Observation

Peter seizes the opportunity to preach to the crowd. He tells them the lame man was not healed by the power of John and himself. No, this is the living God, glorifying the name of Jesus whom they, the Jews had crucified.

All these things happened to fulfil all the prophets had foretold. Therefore they, the people, needed to repent and turn from their sins to receive forgiveness and refreshment from the Lord.

Application

The same Jesus whose name can heal a lame man brings forgiveness to all who will receive it.

“Repent of your sins,” the Bible says over and over. We love to hear about miracles and signs of God’s love. But first we need to leave our self-centred life behind.

We must turn to God and put Him at the centre of all things. Repentance is not just leaving sins behind but turning to pursue God.

When we do this, God promises that, because of the death of Jesus on the cross, our sins are wiped away. No more sacrifices; no religious activity; no thought of paying our own way. Forgiveness is freely given to all who repent and trust in Jesus.

Then times of refreshing come. There is something invigorating about walking with God. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So if we walk with Jesus we experience His Life in all its fullness. Why? Because we are living according to God’s design for us,

You can drive a car in first gear all day, but it will only reaches its full potential when driven in accordance with the designer’s intention.

Many people are living life in the fast lane with their car stuck in first gear!

Walking with God does not mean everything is always roses and sunshine. I have been though some very dark places at times, but always God has been there. Always there has been refreshment in the desert.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are Life. Thank you that when we walk with you, times of refreshing always come. Amen.

Reflection on Acts 3:1-11

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking , leaping and praising God, he went to the Temple with them.

Observation

Peter and John are going to the Temple prayer meeting where they encounter a man lame from birth, begging. He asks Peter and John for money, but Peter reaches out to him and says, “I have no money, but in the name of Jesus Christ get up and walk.”

Instantly the man is healed and gets up walking, leaping and praising God. The people are amazed because they know him as the same beggar who for so long has been at that place.

Application

Multiple healings and adjustments take place in this one moment of time.

This man had never walked before in his life.

  • His legs, knees, ankles and hips could not carry his weight
  • His brain was not wired for the complex task of shifting weight from one leg to the other without falling.
  • His sense of balance would not be adjusted to the ever shifting centre of gravity and the need for perfect balance
  • His back would be out of shape
  • All his lower joints would be relatively rigid from lack of use

The list of changes his body needed to make is huge. Yet all this happens in an instant.

Not only is he walking immediately, but within minutes he is leaping and praising God. No baby steps for this guy!

For Jesus, and for His followers, this multi-level healing should be no big deal. This is the daily lifestyle to which we are called.

“Naturally supernatural” is the attitude we should take, letting Jesus come in to work His miracles.

It can be hard because we don’t always have the faith or confidence that Peter had. And sometimes, when we do have faith and we step out, the miracle is not there, at least in the way we expect.

We need to keep going- walking, leaping, and praising God.

Prayer

Teach me Lord to walk in the power of the name of Jesus. May the lame walk, the blind see, the captives be released in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jane Kelly: Old, white people, an endangered species

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

From “The Salisbury Review”, a little perspective. Jane Kelly writes:

Deaths from infectious diseases in England and Wales dropped from 25.9% of all deaths in 1911 to 0.7% of all deaths in 2013. The predominant cause of death by 1950 was non-communicable disease. Any challenge to that, even the idea of death in old age is now  considered outrageous.

Educated middle-class women in particular, succumbing to what was once called hypochondria now conveniently renamed, ‘Health Anxiety,’ have backed away from the medical science, preferring dotty remedies.

Nearly nine million in the UK, are part of a global Gluten Free products market, valued at $ 4.35 billion in 2018, expected to reach nearly eight billion dollars by 2026. Yet only one percent of people are genuinely coeliac in the US and UK. This terror of harmless nutrients has even created a market for gluten free cat food, worth $2.9 billion in 2018, a 9.6% growth over the previous year. We’re now sold fear as a commodity, in packets. 

Read the full article here

A Cautionary Tale?

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

From Greg Chapman at Quadrant Online

The Emperor was rightly proud of his achievements. His legions had conquered his neighbours and tributes were being collected to pay for his armies, his court, his administrators. There was even enough left over for the entertainment of the masses. Bread and circuses. In spite of all his victories, there was still disquiet in the land from ungrateful plebeians.

With three seasons of drought, the harvests had been poor and it had been difficult to collect taxes to pay for the upkeep of his empire, no matter how hard he squeezed the peasants. Even the patricians in their gilded villas had become agitated about the sustainability of their protected positions, and they recommended he consult the oracles to see what the future held. Thus the Emperor summoned the High Priest to his palace.

Dressed in magnificent robes with borders embroidered in gold thread and wearing a mitre that made him tower over everyone else in the court, the High Priest entered with due ceremony.  He acknowledged no one but the Emperor, to whom he made a slight bow when he reached the podium upon which sat his throne. The Emperor gestured to the High Priest to approach him. “Ave, High Priest. I have a question for you: why are the gods punishing us with these droughts? Everyone in my Imperium suffers. Why at the feast last week, even I as Emperor was unable to acquire sufficient pheasant to satisfy my guests and the wine this season has been inferior to any other in living memory. This cannot continue.”

The High Priest considered his Emperor’s challenge. “I’m most sorry that you have suffered so, but it’s difficult for us mortals to comprehend the ways of the gods Your Highness. However, I and my fellow priests have a way to predict them with some certainty. Would Your Highness be interested in knowing how?”

“Of course” said the Emperor. “To see the future is to control it. How would I do that?”

“Well,” the high priest continued, “Your Highness would be aware that the priesthood has for many decades been sacrificing chickens and examining their entrails. What Your Highness may be unaware of is that after each sacrifice, we record an analysis of the entrails.”

“I did not know that,” the Emperor nodded. “You may continue.”

“As Your Highness would also know, we have a record of all harvests over the same period from your tax collectors, so it should be straight forward to compare the two so we can use these sacrifices to forecast future harvests.”

The Emperor appeared rather dubious about this proposition and motioned to his head counsellor. “What do you think of this?” he demanded.

The counsellor, well known for his forthrightness, which the Emperor valued when he agreed with his own opinion, not so much when he didn’t, stroked his prominent chin and after some consideration addressed both the Emperor and the High Priest firmly. “I can’t believe that there is any connection between the size of the harvest and the condition of the entrails from slaughtered chickens. This is just superstitious nonsense and a waste of the Emperor’s wealth.”

The High Priest glared at the counsellor. “How dare you question the authority of the High Priest and the consensus of the IPCC.”

“What’s the IPCC?” interjected the Emperor.

“Why Your Highness, the Infallible Priesthood Chicken-entrail Convocation. The highest authority on these matters in the Empire.” Turning to the counsellor the High Priest demanded, “By what authority do you challenge this sacred knowledge. Have you ever been a part of the priesthood?”

Suitably admonished, the counsellor withdrew. “Very well,” said the Emperor, regaining control of the audience. “What do you need?”

Read the rest of the article at Quadrant