If you need to get into Queensland, here is a handy flow chart.
Queensland Border Pass Guide
Month: September 2020
The Fruit Of The Spirit- Joy
“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)
Joy is the second quality described as a part of the fruit of the Spirit.
Joy is very different to happiness. Happiness, as its name suggests, depends on what happens. It can be more variable than the weather. It can be generated by very poor reasons. A bank robber, for example, might be happy that he got away with it. We can be happy when a good thing distracts temporarily from a generally miserable life.
Whereas happiness comes from the outside, joy bubbles up from the inside. Our joy comes from our knowledge that we are loved and valued by God, we are adopted into His family, and set apart for a distinctive purpose.
I can be caught up in the worst of circumstances, such as grieving the sudden loss of a person I love, and yet the joy of the Lord is an unseen strength that prevents the loss from overwhelming me.
We are commanded on many occasions in Scripture to rejoice always. If joy were an emotion this would not make sense. We don’t seriously tell people to be happy when they are sad. But christians must rejoice, for we have much to celebrate.
The key to joy is to keep our focus on God and not on this worldly life. One great way to nurture joy in our lives is to develop a habit of giving thanks in all circumstances. Then it is not our circumstances that determine our joy, but the other way round.
To rejoice, start with a list of things to thank God for. Your salvation and your relationship with God, your personal and family relationships, the place that you live, the benefits that you enjoy each day, the air that you breathe, the beauty of creation.
When we go through the process of thanking God for the many benefits He has given us, joy is always close by. The fact is that joy is always in your life, just as surely as the Holy Spirit is. It is just that sometimes we focus on the wrong things.
This is not about positive thinking, but rather acknowledging that God is always with us and continues to pour blessing upon blessing on us. Positive thinking tries to persuade us that suffering is not real. Joy acknowledges our struggles, and then adds, “But God…” It is God who gives our life purpose and direction. Nothing can steal that from us.
Joy is the key signature of the christian life. Joy should be a key stone in every part of our lives.
There is so much to rejoice in and to be tankful for.
Reflection on Romans 13:1-7
Scripture
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
Observation
We must submit to governing authorities. God has placed them over us in order to bring peace and order to society.
If we do the wrong thing we will be punished, but if we do what is right, we will be honoured.
Likewise, we are to pay taxes and fees in order that government workers may be paid.
Application
Paul tells us to submit to governing authorities as a part of our christian discipleship. Christians are not meant to be anarchists. Lawlessness is from the devil, not from God.
There are times when we must disobey governing authorities, for example, when they require us to do something that is contrary to God’s will.
When Peter and John were ordered by the Sanhedrin to cease preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, they refused. They said, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
In some jurisdictions where churches have been discriminated against in the name of public health, some pastors have refused to shut down their services. In the U.S. State of Nevada, where churches are forbidden but casinos are allowed to operate, some churches are circumventing the regulations by meeting in casinos.
There is a hierarchy of authority in God’s kingdom. God is over all, then governments in their area of authority, then church leaders in their area of authority, then husbands, wives and parents.
Of course, christians may disagree on where the lines should be drawn. Our default position is to obey, but where governments require us to disobey God, we must refuse the government’s requirements.
Prayer
Lord, today I pray for all who are in Government positions- Prime Minister, Premiers, parliamentarians and bureaucrats. May they know your blessing as they rule over us, and may they know your limits on their activities. Amen.
Ephesians 3:8
Here is my commentary on Ephesians 3:8. 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 3:8
“To me, although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ .”
Paul was never proud or arrogant about his position in the church. It was all given by the grace of God. He had reason to be proud. He was a very educated man in the Jewish religion and qualified in every way- the Pharisee of Pharisees, as he says elsewhere.
No, Paul is always aware of his own sinful nature. He is the least of all the saints, he says. One could interpret this as false humility. but it seems sincere in Paul. He does not use his office as an apostle to demand support from the churches or from individual christians. There is no sense of entitlement or demand for honour. Earlier on in Ephesians 2: 19- 22, he uses the analogy of people being like bricks in a temple or house that Christ is building. Paul, in that analogy, is no more important than any other part of the building.
Paul was often aware of his own failings in persecuting the church. He described himself as a late comer apostle, one whose birth was delayed. Early in his ministry, people doubted his apostleship and even his conversion. In that sense he was the least of the saints.
Paul was given a grace to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In the previous verse, he makes clear that everything he has and does is due to grace, God’s gifting, given through the mighty working of God’s power.
Paul’s calling was to go to the Gentiles. Although he was qualified to preach in the synagogues, his rejection by the Jews drove him to the Gentiles. He had a far greater impact amongst the Gentiles than the Jews, although in natural terms it should have been the opposite way around .
Through God’s grace, the least of all the saints had a great impact on the Gentiles of the ancient world, and continues to do so today.
Paul’s message was about the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The riches of Christ extend beyond forgiveness of sins. Because he has bought us redemption, Christ brings us from death to life, Hell to Heaven, a guarantee of eternal joy.
Because of Christ, we are heirs of the Father. We have been adopted into His family. The people who were once far off are now right in the centre of God’s good will. As heirs, we are destined to inherit a share of all that God has, both seen and unseen. Nothing is withheld from us.
We have victory over the evil one, the Devil, who seeks to devour our souls. We have been set free from sin by Christ. This is not just freedom from the penalty of sin, but also a liberation from the grip of sin to enslave us and hold us captive. We are now free to act in accordance with God’s will for us .
These are just some of the riches of Christ, and they are all given to us by his grace.
The riches are unsearchable. They are so deep and full of meaning that we might spend a lifetime, even eternity, coming to an understanding of them.
It is as if we are given a treasure chest of coins and rare gems. As we pick up one item and examine it for both beauty and value, we are amazed by it. Then we pick up other items, stones that we have never seen before. As we dig deeper, we discover that the treasure chest has no boundary – it just goes deeper and deeper for ever.
We can just see a glimmer, a dull reflection of all the treasure that God through Christ has graciously poured upon us .
Key points in this verse
- Paul saw himself as the least of all the saints.
- Paul was given grace to take to the Gentiles the message about the unsearchable riches of Christ
- The riches of Christ extend beyond just forgiveness of sins.
- We could spend eternity discovering the riches of Christ
Tyranny in Australia
I warned at the beginning of the pandemic that we need to watch out for governments striking our rights in the name of “keeping us safe.”
So in Victoria they have curfew and house arrest, a compliant Parliament thinks that the Premier should do it for another 6 months, and police arrested a pregnant woman for posting details of an anti-lockdown protest on Facebook.
Apparently marches in support of Marxist groups such as Black Lives Matter are fine, but question the government’s handling of the pandemic and they will send in the storm troopers to arrest and intimidate you.
Meanwhile in northern NSW a woman carrying twins lost one of them because “Queensland hospitals are for Queenslanders; they have NSW hospitals for NSW people.” True, but if you live in Lismore, Brisbane is much closer than Sydney.
If you live in Mungundi which literally straddles the border,too bad if you want to buy groceries. After their only supermarket burnt down, resident could travel to Moree, their nearest town, but it’s out of the bubble and so anyone doing that would have to self-isolate for 14 days if they want to enter Queensland, which is where their town’s medical services are. That’s in a region that has not had a single case of coronavirus.
Building supplies companies and tradies in SE Qld are losing work because much of their business relies on projects in northern NSW outside the bubble.
The Queensland tourism industry is facing devastation because people from interstate are unable to travel there.
But at least they got the AFL Grand Final… because football is more important than lives. It’s called bread and circuses, a political tactic that goes back at least to the Roman Empire. Entertain the plebs so they won’t complain as you slaughter them.
What a happy coincidence for Anastasia. Her state election is a week after the Queendalnd AFL Grand Final for Queenslanders.
This is Australia in 2020, and maybe some of these things are necessary to contain a virus that is less deadly than the flu to all except the over 70’s and people with other severe and chronic illnesses. In the USA, this week the CDC downgraded the number of official deaths due to Covid from over 100,000 to about 5,000- because all of the others had other issues that contributed to their death.
I am not a conspiracy theorist- most people and organisations are too inept to run a proper conspiracy. Australia needs to wake up to the power grabs and the petty restrictions on our way of life.
UPDATE:
Shortly after posting this, I received an email from Service NSW offering a special service to businesses. They can give you a QR code for people to scan when entering a business. This sends their contact information straight to the NSW Government so that if they need to use the information, they can get it straight away. I would suggest that people refuse to use this “service.”
The Fruit Of The Spirit- Love
The Fruit Of The Spirit- Love
“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)
When we make the decision to follow Jesus, God the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and starts equipping us to fulfil that decision.
One of the ways that the Holy Spirit does that is to make our character to be more like that of Jesus. Paul describes these qualities as the “fruit of the Holy Spirit.” It is important to realise that although there are nine qualities (to match the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12), there is one fruit. These characteristics are connected together- you don’t get more love without self-control and patience for example. As we examine the fruit of the spirit we must always remember that there is overlap and connection, one fruit in nine parts.
The first quality is the one which over-arches all the others, that is love.
There are four words in Greek that describe love. The word used here is agape (pronounced ag-a-pay) which refers to the love which God has for us. This is unconditional love which loves people regardless of their response. This is selfless love which expects nothing in return. This is unfailing love which never gives up.
Agape love is the love that God demonstrated to us at the cross. God so loved (agape) the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). God’s love is poured out upon us, even when we reject it, but it is made complete when we receive it and start to return love to Him.
Paul describes agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres Love never fails
In human terms, this kind of love is impossible for us to express to other people because we are sinful. The love that comes closest to this is the love of a parent for a child- this is sacrificial, self-giving, at times to the point of death.
The Holy Spirit makes it possible for all christians to become channels of God’s agape love to other people, christians and non-christians alike. As we enable the Holy Spirit to transform us, the hurts, self-centredness and other obstacles to love are melted away. Instead of focusing on our own needs and wants, we learn to focus on the needs and wants of other people.
Historically, it has been the heroic love of christians which has impressed pagan cultures. The care of christians for abandoned babies, for widows and for orphans was a big factor in the turning of the Roman Empire to Christ. In times of plague before modern medical technologies were available, christians often stayed to care for the sick after others had fled the city, putting their own lives at risk.
Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to force it or fake it or follow a template. The Holy Spirit makes it second nature to love others with the love of the Lord.
Reflection on Romans 12:9-21
Scripture
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring one another.
Observation
We are to love each other sincerely, not in pretence. We should seek to be affectionate in loving each other and in honouring one another,
We are to rejoice, be patient and generous. We should bless those who persecute us, rejoice with those who are happy and mourn with those who are sad.
We must not seek to take revenge, but to leave that to God’s righteous anger. We must not retaliate against evil, but instead conquer evil by doing good.
Application
Our culture is not good at expressing godly love- this is not surprising since many people do not know God. The attitude, by and large, is we support people when we agree with them or they are useful to us. When that situation changes, we move on and ignore them.
The Bible calls instead for a genuine love amongst christians. Paul tells us in the previous verse that we must really love one another and not just pretend to. Here he tells us to love each other with genuine affection.
So no pretend love, chummy expressions and fake laughter while waiting to put a knife in.
How do we get there?
Firstly we have to understand that we are not perfect or worthy of God’s favour. I am just as bad as anyone else apart from the grace of God. Being honest about my own sins and failures makes me more accepting of others.
Secondly, we need to pray for other people. This means not just confessing their sins for them or asking God to change them. It means honestly and sincerely asking God to bless them.
Thirdly, it means showing honour to each other. Find the good things that you can praise them for, both to themselves and to other people. Don’t be afraid to talk other people up, rather than pulling them down.
As we genuinely seek to build others up, we will find that God’s love abounds among us,
Prayer
Please help me, Lord, to love others, both the christians and the not- yet christians. Help me to put them above myself and to honour them from my heart. Amen.
Reflection on Romans 12:1-8
Scripture
Don’t copy the behaviours and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Observation
We are to give our bodies back to God, a holy and living sacrifice. This is the way to worship Him. Our thinking must change from the ways of the world so that God can change us,
Paul exhorts us to be honest in our evaluation of ourselves, and to not think we are better than we really are.
God gives us all different gifts, and we do different things well compared to others. For some the gift is prophecy, for others serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading or kindness. Which ever of these gifts we have, we should use them to the best of our ability and for the glory of God.
Application
We should not copy the behaviour and the customs of the world.
This is a process of learning God’s ways and putting behind us the world’s ways. Every culture has its good points and bad points; that is points of agreement with God’s ways and points of rebellion against God’s ways.
Western culture is obsessed with sex, possessions and personal glory or pride. Increasingly, with identity politics gaining traction, we are encouraged to judge people by the colour of their skin or by their sexual identity.
We are to put all of this aside, taking on the values of God’s kingdom. We are to live lives that exemplify both God’s love and His holiness. Effectively, we have to lie down on the altar and let God kill our old nature.
As we co-operate with the Holy Spirit, we discover that we become more and more like Jesus in attitudes, thoughts and actions.
Prayer
Please help me, Lord, in this process of changing my behaviour and actions to line up with your ways. It is not easy, but I thank you for the grace I need to change my thinking. Amen.
New Life Narrabri 