Month: September 2020

Ephesians 3:13

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 3:13. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 3:13

“I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.”

Paul’s imprisonment is part of God’s plan to make known the mystery, the wisdom of God, the plan of salvation. God is in control of all things, and so even Paul’s imprisonment is in God’s plan.

For this reason, Paul says the Ephesians should not be discouraged.

We can imagine that some christians might be asking why God would allow Paul to suffer like this. Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles, so why would God have him locked away?

We know now, with the benefit of hindsight, that Paul wrote several of his letters during his imprisonment. We could argue the New Testament would be somewhat smaller without Paul’s suffering.

We also know from Acts 28:30-31 that for two years of house arrest Paul welcomed many visitors and boldly proclaimed the gospel to them.

Despite his suffering, Paul was not sidelined. He was not prevented from continuing the ministry that God had prepared for him.

So Paul tells us not to be discouraged when things don’t go the way we expected.

God will prevail, and nothing can stop the gospel. What is important is that we seek to be faithful in whatever task the Lord sets before us.

We need to be mature also in our understanding of suffering. Many people do become disheartened because of their own suffering or that of others. They fail to understand that God always turns every situation to our own spiritual growth .

Our culture tells us that we deserve to be happy, that we should expect a fulfilled life, and that nothing bad should ever happen to us. While this is an appealing myth, it is complete rubbish. People get sick and die. There are acts of violence and abuse everyday. Disasters befall whole communities and nations .

Suffering is not an interruption to the good life. It is part of the process of growing to spiritual maturity .

Children don’t like it when their parents say “No” to their requests. They cannot understand why the parent puts them through painful medical or dental procedures. It hurts when they are smacked for running onto a road .

The suffering and pain that we go through in life serve to shape and strengthen our spirits. We are forced to hold on to the fact that God loves us and that this painful experience is, in some way that we cannot comprehend, for our own ultimate good.

We must not lose heart then, when we, or the people we love, go through painful times.

Paul describes his sufferings as being “for you” and “for your glory.”

Paul is aware that God uses suffering for God’s purposes, and that all things work together for the good of those who are called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28). This suffering that he is going through will make him stronger in his own faith and trust in the Lord.

Paul’s sufferings, therefore, are for the Gentiles because he will be a better apostle for the Gentiles through his suffering. This then is for them and for their glory.

As a pastor, I know that the relatively light sufferings that I have experienced have taken me deeper into the Lord. They have also given me greater empathy for those who go through severe or extended periods of suffering. In that sense, my own suffering is for them as well as for me.

Key points in this verse

  • We must not be discouraged by suffering- our own or others whom we love.
  • Suffering should draw us closer to the Lord and deepen our faith in him
  • God will prevail, even if we cannot see it
  • Suffering is not an interruption to the good life, but a part of God’s plan to bring us to maturity
  • Our suffering can help other people and bring glory to God

The Fruit Of The Spirit- Self-Control

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The Fruit Of The Spirit- Self-Control

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

The last quality in this list of characteristics of the presence of the Holy Spirit is self-control.

Self-control is the ability to restrain our actions under stress or provocation.

It can cover a whole range of areas from sexual sin to rage to addictions.

The man or woman of God is not to be easily derailed from responding to other people, to temptation and to life circumstances. That is not to say that we have to control our emotions and never show feelings. Emotions are good things, but our reactions to them are often not good.

Self-control is the ability to say “No” when our body or heart says “Yes’. It is the ability to take a pause to think things through, to pray, to ask “What would Jesus do in this situation?”

It was self-control that enabled Joseph to resist Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39).

It was self-control that enabled Jesus to say “No” to satan in the wilderness.

It was self-control that enabled Stephen to pray forgiveness for his persecutors (Acts 7).

It is self-control that enables an alcoholic to say “No” to a beer with a mate, but yes to cola.

It is self-control that enables someone to say “No” to chocolate.

It is self-control that enables us to resist the urge to retaliate when someone insults or assaults us.

Self-control can be nurtured by spiritual discipline such as fasting, but like the other fruit of the Holy Spirit, it grows over time as we seek to live in fellowship with God, and let Him direct our paths. Unlike the other fruit, it is experienced in a moment of testing rather than over an extended time.

Amazing! Australian Bush Optimised For Fire

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This morning I woke to the astounding news that biologists have discovered that the populations of frogs in areas “devastated” by last summer’s bushfires have rebounded, including some “threatened” species.

This follows earlier reports that koalas, snakes and other animals are doing OK despite “literally billions” of deaths last year. Also platypuses in the Peel River aren’t doing too badly now that the drought is over.

Amazingly, glow worms in the Blue Mountains that were thought to have been wiped out are doing well, having sheltered in a disused railway tunnel – ironic that, given that in modern times the greenies would not allow that tunnel to be built because it would be a threat to the environment, and probably the exact same glow worm population.

My favourite example is the giant pink slug which lives in the Mount Kaputar National Park, near Narrabri. It was only discovered 20 years ago, but the usual climate worriers panicked that the slug had been destroyed by fires. Surprisingly, the slug which has weathered droughts, bushfires, torrential rain, earthquakes, plagues of locusts and other natural disasters despite our total ignorance of its existence, managed to survive this event.

So this morning, after my usual outburst of “What is wrong with these people?”, I worked it out.

The pseudo-scientific discipline called ecology is founded on two fundamental doctrines:

  1. The natural ecosystem is very complex, with many interacting species, and so it is potentially fragile as the disappearance of one species may cause the system to collapse.
  2. People are always bad for the environment.

In actual fact, natural ecosystems are very resilient because they are complex. They can self-correct as different parts of the system adapt to change.

That is why bush environments regenerate after fires and droughts. They have been doing it for thousands of years without the assistance of humans.

The other factor that is generally ignored is that everything was created by an infinitely wise creator. He designed Australia with a warm, dry climate and the slugs, frogs, koalas to suit that climate.

Strangely, God is better at being God than people are.

Reflection on 1 John 3:11-24

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Scripture

Dear children, let us not merely say we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Observation

The message we heard from the beginning is we should love one another. Love for our christian brothers and sisters shows we have God’s life. Anyone who hates another person is a murderer at heart and does not have God’s life in him.

Jesus showed us real love by giving up His life for us. So we should give up our lives for others. If we have enough money to live well, we should share with a brother or sister in need.

We must believe in the name of Jesus, and love one another as He has commanded us.

Application

One of the unexpected features of the internet age has been the rise of tribalism on social media. It seems that the more we are connected, the more we feel the need to identify with a particular group.

Some groups are happy to welcome and endorse people as long as they toe the party line. When someone expresses an opinion contrary to the correct position, the mob descends with virtual pitch forks and harries them until they recant.

Christians are not to be like this. We are to love one another with genuine love. We must not love one another in words alone, or merely in theory. Love must be practical.

So we must continue to love people when it is not convenient or when they say things or do things a little outside our comfort zone.

John gives the example of someone who has enough money to be comfortable. They must have genuine compassion on those who are struggling financially.

Our love for one another must be like God’s love to us. It must be unconditional, unfailing, giving, costly.

We are the people who embrace the unlovely and the different ones. We are the people who hang in there with people through their struggles and challenges. We are the people who love because God first loved us,

Prayer

Father, your love for us is ever lasting. Help me to love the people around me and to be as consistent in that as you are. Amen.

Charles Moore, ‘Mrs Thatcher’s Vicar on Earth’ takes over the BBC.

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From The Salisbury Review, some good news for the UK.

Charles Moore, ‘Mrs Thatcher’s Vicar on Earth’ takes over the BBC.

27th September 2020 Myles Harris Blog 8

The proposed appointment of Charles Moore, ‘Mrs Thatcher’s Vicar on Earth’ to head the BBC along with Paul Dacre, the left’s idea of what Lucifer might be like, as head of Ofcom, shows Boris has not lost his touch. These appointments, along with Brexit, will have consequences that will be with us long after Covid 19 is a footnote in history.

With the coincidental arrival of Laurence Fox’s anti cancel movement the two appointments should spell the demise of wokery, its works and its pomps. The success of a revolution depends on the electorate feeling they now have ‘permission’ to think thoughts which yesterday were considered utterly wicked.

Fox is that rather rare species, a film star who is not a political empty head, and the ‘halo effect,’ (people find it hard to resist believing that good looking people are not good) will ensure his success. He has already raised £5 million in donations. Let’s hope he makes wise use of it.

These events also spell the end of the ‘Boris has lost it’ myth. Emanating from Whitehall, this rumour is designed to have Boris ejected from office by the end of November latest, in order that a Remainer Tory can take his place and agree to the Brexit talks being extended by 12 months.

By the end of that period nothing will remain of the original agreement, and we will be a full colony of the EU.

Ephesians 3:12

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 3:12. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 3:12

“In [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

In Christ we can approach God with freedom.

It is our relationship with Christ that opens up access to the Father. Our sin created a chasm that separates us from God. The cross, the sacrifice of Christ, crosses that divide .

We who were once”far off” from from God are now in His presence – not because of our own goodness or our own deeds, but because we are in Christ.

To be in Christ means that I have become one with Him. I have asked Him into my heart and in so doing I have come into His heart, so to speak.

To be in Christ is to be united with Him, knowing that our sins are forgiven and we are now children of the Living God.

It is through faith in Christ that we gain access to the Father .

To have faith means that we believe that His death is sufficient and effective. His death is sufficient because there is nothing else that we can add to it. We are saved through faith not by works. Therefore, we must trust that Christ’s death on the cross is an adequate sacrifice. We cannot keep going back to the temple to add to this sacrifice. We must not believe that any good work that we may do can in any way add to or replace this one sacrifice.

We must also believe that Christ’s death is effective for us. I need to understand that there is no limit to the number of people or the number of sins that can be covered by the blood of Christ. I must know that my sins are forgiven, the specific things that I confess each day.

When we believe in our hearts that Christ’s death means life for us, then we can put our trust in God. This combination of belief and trust is what the Bible calls faith. In the final analysis, our trust is in God’s faithfulness that he will do what he has said. Faith is always in a person not in a doctrine.

Now we can approach God in freedom and confidence.

We can approach God in Freedom because the sins that separated us from Him are gone. The burden of sin the kept us paralysed in fear of God has all been washed away.

The Book of Genesis tells of a “flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24) Sin effectively barred the way to God’s life, but now that we are forgiven we have freedom to come into the presence of God – the flashing sword has been taken away.

A person might come into a king’s presence in freedom but be consumed by fear or anxiety. We can approach God with both freedom and confidence.

From being aliens in a strange country, we have been adopted into God’s family, through faith in Christ. So we can approach God with confidence because he is our Father and we are sons and daughters.

Because of the sacrifice of Christ, I not only know that my sins are forgiven, I know that God loves me and will never reject me or condemn me.

When Ruth approached her husband’s throne, she did so knowing that he could have her killed on the spot for her temerity. But we approach the throne of God with confidence because his love is eternal and unconditional.

Because I have been adopted by God I can call him “Abba Father”. That means I can speak to him in intimate and familiar terms. He is not impressed by formal language or flowery prayers. He sees my heart and He loves me.

Key points in this verse:

  • Our relationship with Christ opens up access to the Father
  • To be in Christ means to be one with Him
  • To have faith in Christ means to believe his death is sufficient and effective
  • We can approach God with freedom and confidence
  • We are sons and daughters of God

Reflection on 1 John 3:1-10

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Scripture

Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them.

Observation

God’s love for us is amazing. He calls us His children. We don’t yet know what we will be when Christ returns, but we will be like Him.

Sin is breaking God’s law. Jesus came to take away our sin, so if we continue to sin, it shows we are not following the ways of Jesus.

When people keep sinning they show that they belong to the devil. People who have been born into God’s family do not continue to sin. They cannot keep sinning because God’s life is in them.

Application

If you are genuinely born again, you will turn away from sin. That is what it means to be born again.

This does not mean we become instantly perfect. There is a process, a life- time of becoming more like Jesus.

As christians we are not allowed to keep our pet sins- whether it is anger or drugs, coveting or pornography.

A christian who keeps his or her sins is like a husband who keeps a lover or two on the side. This is a contradiction.

Of course, we all struggle with sin. We all have our weaknesses, those temptations that seem to particularly entice us. We need to be like the alcoholic who knows he is only ever one drink away from falling.

While christians should not engage in repeated sin, we all fall. For that there is the remedy of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

If you think this is a loophole that lets us get away with stuff, then you are not thinking straight. It is not about what we can and can’t get away with. We are not motivated by a counting of right and wrong. God has lavished His love upon us and it should be our overwhelming desire to walk in friendship with Him.

Prayer

Father, I admit my sinful ways to you. Please change my heart so deeply that I am no longer attracted to the things that break my relationship with you. Amen.

The Fruit Of The Spirit- Gentleness

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“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

Gentleness is often confused with weakness. In fact, it is the opposite. Gentleness may be thought of as strength controlled for the sake of another person.

An illustration of gentleness is a father wrestling with a little child. There is no doubt that the father could injure the child if wrestling with serious strength. But he chooses to marshal that strength, to control it for the sake of the child’s safety and to encourage the child to grow in his/ her own physical strength.

The Greek word, as does its English counterpart, carries its meaning into other areas also. Other words might be used include meekness, forgiveness and patience.

In relationships, when somebody disappoints us or hurts us we can choose to react harshly and condemn the person, perhaps even break off the relationship. Alternatively we may choose to forgive, to make allowances for them and to maintain the relationship.

We live in a time when people are very critical of one another and harsh towards public figures they disagree with. A social media post from 20 years ago might be resurrected for condemnation if it fails to live up to contemporary moral standards. Yet, the same people who condemn others are defensive when criticised themselves. In this culture, we need gentleness more than ever.

God has the right to treat us harshly for our sins. Yet, He gives us time to repent, forgives us endlessly and exhorts us to return to Him. There will be a time of judgement, and everybody who has not received God’s forgiveness in Christ will be judged and punished.

In the meantime, God treats us with gentleness.