Rejoice!
Author: newlifenarrabri
Reflection on Colossians 3:1:11
Scripture
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Observation
We have been raised to new life with Christ, and so we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God. Our thoughts should be about heavenly things not earthly things.
We have died to the earthly life, and our real life, is hidden with Chris We will share in his glory when Christ is revealed to the world.
So we need to get rid of the sinful things of the world, like lust, greed, and evil desires. Anger, rage slander, and dirty language must also go.
We must put on the new nature letting God renew us.
Application
When I gave my life to the Lord, I took on a new life and a new nature.
Now, I am seated in heavenly realms, although my body remains anchored in this world.
Instead of letting my body and my old nature dominate my spirit, I must allow my spirit in partnership with the Holy Spirit, to,direct my body.
This means taking a stand against my sinful desires, and allowing God to purify me. When my body is allowed to call the shots sexual desires become disordered. When my body calls the shots, I become greedy rather than trusting the Lord to supply my every need. When others offend me, I can become angry instead of forgiving.
The way of Christ is all consuming. He demands everything. But as I yield it all to him, he makes me different.
Prayer
O Lord help me to surrender my sinful desires to you and trust you to refine my soul. Amen.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd…
Quote for the Day
What’s in your heart will flow to those you care for. You cannot stop this organic flow of life and truth. John Finkelde
Encourage one another…
Reflection on Colossians to 16 to 23
Scripture
You have died with Christ and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep following the rules of the world such as Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch?
Observation
We should not let people condemn us for not obeying rules about holy days and Sabbaths. These rules are shadows of the reality that is in Christ.
We should not let people guilt us into fasting and other self-denial, or the worship of angels. These people are not connected to Christ and are speaking from sinful pride.
We have died with Christ. He has set us free from the spiritual powers of this world. We do not need to obey these rules because they are merely human teaching. They may seem to have value, but they provide no help in conquering our evil desires
Application
We have died with Christ and he has set us free from the demonic powers of this age that seek to trap us in sin. If they can’t get us with sin, they will lay guilt on us with religious laws and demands.
Christ has set us free from all forms of legalism. There are people who want to take on again the burden of the Law that Christ died to free us from.
We are not saved by the law. We are not saved by following any rules. Long fasts, and vows of celibacy or poverty will not set us free.
The root problem of every person is there evil desires of their heart. We can train the outward person to be good on the outside, but only Christ can set us free from the evil desires of the heart.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I surrender my heart to you. Change me from the inside so that I will be truly holy and righteous. Amen.
Exposing the ‘shameful silence’ of pro-Palestinian activists
From God Reports
By Charles Gardner —
The shocking hypocrisy of left-wing posturing over the supposed evils of Israel in their dealings with Palestinians has been brilliantly exposed in a major Daily Mail(1) article.
In a feature titled ‘Shameful Silence of the Left’, David Patrikarakos highlighted the terrible atrocities carried out by Islamic groups in Sudan and Nigeria involving the brutal massacre of numbers far in excess of those reputed to have died in the recent Gaza conflict.
And yet the progressive left is strangely silent over the plight of the victims who are – in the main – Christian.
Tragedies calling for outrage among the left, he writes, “must provide a villain who flatters Western fantasies of resistance – ideally a white, Western or Jewish oppressor – and a victim that appeals to our sense of colonial guilt.”
He continues: “Trendy urban baristas don’t get to feel like freedom fighters by bellowing about African killers or Arab militias. There is no moral glamour in calling out crimes that cannot be laid at the feet of the West.”
Their outrage is not universal, he adds. “It is selective – and therefore hollow.”
He points to the case of a Sudanese rebel fighter who confronted an unarmed restaurant owner. When asked what tribe he belonged to, the man replied that he was from the non-Arab Berti tribe.
At this, ignoring his desperate pleas for mercy, he was shot dead. The same man also ordered the shooting in cold blood of 460 hospital workers, including patients, their companions and anyone else present.
Meanwhile Nigeria is being torn apart by overlapping conflicts that together have produced a body count that amounts to a multiple of Gaza’s death toll over the past decade.
In 2023, he writes, over 5,000 Nigerian Christians were murdered for their faith. And yet, in the West, it still barely registers. It is in fact a blind-spot of the Western conscience.
“Until Sudan and Nigeria fill our streets with the same fury the activists reserve for Gaza, their outrage will remain a performance – and the bodies of black Africans will continue to be buried in silence.”
But thankfully the unfolding genocide in Nigeria has been thrown into the spotlight by none other than U.S. President Donald Trump, threatening possible action against Islamic militant groups.
“At least it shows he cares, which is more than can be said for most of those whose lives seem devoted to relentless displays of public sanctimony.”
We do not need a Great Awokening, as a new book by Martin Charlesworth has been aptly titled. We need another Great Awakening to the reality of God in our midst, of his judgment and mercy, and of his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Names of God
While meditating on the names of God lately, I have been thinking about the lovely word “Abba.”
This term, which comes from a Syrian word, is often left untranslated in our Bibles. We are often told that it means something like “Daddy,” a more intimate word than other words which might be translated as “Father.” This leads some people to pray to God addressing Him as “Dad”, “Daddy” or “Papa.”
The word Abba occurs three times in the New Testament, and not at all in the Old Testament.
Mark 14:36 “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Romans 8:15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
It is interesting to see that every time the word “Abba” is used, it is paired with “Father” (in Greek pater.) In other words the informality of “Abba” is paired with the more formal, respectful Pater.
In Roman culture, fathers were absolute dictators in their household and children were considered their possession to do with as they wished. There was no legal restriction against beating, abusing, or even killing children.
For this reason, children were required to always be respectful to their fathers. They would never be encouraged to regard a father as being a friend or mentor. He was the king and he was to be feared.
In Israel, the Jewish people would have considered God to be a Father to the nation. They would never have addressed Him in prayer in such a personal way. He was the Lord, whose name was too holy to be spoken out loud.
Jesus shocked the religious leaders in many ways, but not the least in the way He addressed God as “Abba, Father.” This was an outrageously intimate way to come to God. As Jesus is God the Son, it is most appropriate, but it was offensive to the religious people used to keeping God at a distance.
Paul tells us that the Spirit of God has been given to us. We have been adopted into the family of God, and therefore we can address God as “Abba Father: in the same way that Jesus did.
Note it is always “Abba Father” and never “Abba.”
Our culture, under the influence of the feminist movement, is largely dismissive of the unique place of fathers in a family. We are now in the opposite place from Roman culture to a point where men in general and fathers in particular are often portrayed as useless and out of touch. If anything we need more respect in our language toward the Lord than simply “Dad.” While God is abounding in love and tolerance towards His children, He is not blessed by a flippant approach to the throne of grace.
Often people will use “different” names for God to show they have a more intimate, superior relationship with God than the rest of us. They imagine that by addressing God in this way they will impress others. Jesus had something to say about people who pray to impress (Matthew 6:5-7).
Whether we are alone with God or praying in a group, God looks at our hearts. He sees the attitude with which we pray and our motives.
I think it is marvellous to meditate on the names of God revealed in Scripture, and to even try them out in loving reverence in our personal prayer times. Even so, I still think it best to stick to the names He has given us: Lord, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, even Abba Father.
New Life Narrabri 