Author: newlifenarrabri

Reflection on Mark 3:1-12

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

Observation

Jesus goes into the synagogue and notices a man with a deformed hand. Jesus’s enemies watch closely to see what Jesus will do. If he heals the man, they will accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

Jesus has the man come to the front of the meeting. He turns to His critics and asks if the Sabbath is a time to do good or to do evil.

He then heals the man’s hand. The Pharisees go away immediately to meet with Herod’s supporters to plot how to kill Jesus.

Jesus then goes to the lake where he teaches the crowds and heals the sick. People with evil spirits would shriek, but Jesus sternly commands them to not to reveal His identity.

Application.

The Pharisees were waiting to be offended by Jesus. Their double standards or inconsistencies were breathtaking.

Previously, they had rebuked Jesus for allowing His disciples to pick heads of wheat to eat as they walked through the field. This was on the Sabbath, and according to the Pharisees’ standards, they were working.

Later, on another Sabbath, they criticise Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus asks if the Sabbath is about doing good or evil, or bringing life or death.

According to the Pharisees, healing and eating on the Sabbath are really bad, but having a meeting on the Sabbath to plot how to kill someone is perfectly fine.

When we are motivated by law rather than by grace, we give the rules a status that is above the needs of people. But we can also develop a way of justifying evil behaviour for “the greater good.”

We must learn to walk In the way of love and not be seduced by the apparent clarity of law.

Listen

Lord, what would you say to me about this issue of legalism?

Keith, one of the problems with legalism is that it makes it very easy to divide people into “Saints” and “Sinners.”

It invites people to judge by the outward appearance. It completely misses the point that is is your heart that I want.

Don’t judge, let me judge.

Don’t set rules. I am the rule giver.

The Power of Tongues

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Here is a conversation I had with the Lord this morning about praying in tongues.

Lord this morning in my prayers, I felt you were talking to me about praying in tongues. What would you say to me about this?

Keith, I love it when you pray in tongues. This is the highest, most exalted form of prayer. This is why it is usually the first gift of my spirit that people receive or express.

Tongues is good because it is direct, you to me, with no filter. When you pray in English, It is your desires being expressed, which can be pure, but can also be at times filtered through fleshly and even sinful desires.

Soulish prayers, or praying answers is an example of this. Using prayer to curse others rather than bless is also more common than you would expect amongst my people.

But when you speak in tongues, it is a new dimension. It is your spirit speaking in the power of my Spirit directly to me, the Father. There is no filter, no pollution from the mind, just pure intercession direct to me.

Some people claim that one of the benefits of praying in tongues is that satan can’t understand or interpret it. Some say he can’t even hear it. No, he hears it and fears it. He knows that praying in tongues is powerful intercession.

Satan cannot interpret tongues because it is pure. The language is the language of light. Human language always contains some of the sin of the speaker, indeed the sin of all humanity. But speaking in tongues has no sin content in it

In John’s gospel you can read that the light has come into the world and the darkness cannot overcome it or apprehend it Because tongues is pure, Satan cannot understand its content. He hears the words and understands the words, but he cannot understand the purity of love, the clarity of intent and the holiness of the request.

This is the true power of tongues. It can never be sidestepped or undermined in any way.

Lord, this is exciting! Paul says, “I will pray with the mind and also in the spirit. What is the balance?

Keith, the balance is not in time; it’s not 30 minutes of each every day. No, the balance is to switch between the two naturally. When you pray in tongues and you have a thought, switch to English to pray. When you pray in English and it feels like there is more to be expressed, then switch to tongues.

This is the best form of prayer.

Quote for the Day

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

For years, people in churches have remained ignorant and indoctrinated by a narrative lacking in historical context. The average Christian knew very little if anything about the ancient world in the first-century. Few pastors and ministry leaders took the time to study the historical fulfilment of Bible prophecy. However, this is changing. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding is coming to the Church! Cindye Coates

Reflection on Mark 2:23-28

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Observation

One Sabbath day Jesus and his disciples are walking through some fields The disciples break off heads of grain to eat.

Some Pharisees rebuke them for working on the Sabbath.

Jesus points out that there were times when King David broke the law by eating the sacred bread that only priests were allowed to eat.

The Sabbath was made for the sake of people, and not the other way around. The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath

Application.

The Sabbath is God’s gift to humanity and gives everyone the opportunity to rest at least one day of the week.

In capitalist countries where worshipping money is more prevalent than worshipping the Lord, there is an expectation that shops and services be open seven days a week and preferably 24 hours per day.

Many people have been forced to give up a regular Sabbath day, whether it is Saturday or Sunday in order to comply comply with this demand.

I can remember a time when just about everything except essential services shut down on Sundays, even more so for Christmas Day and Good Friday. Sadly, this is no longer the case.

Perhaps lack of a Sabbath rest is partly responsible for the epidemic of chronic illnesses and mental health issues today.

While the Sabbath is a gift from the Lord, we must beware of the tendency to legalism here. Some Christians in the past tended to be critical of those who worked on Sunday. Let us rejoice in God’s gift without being churlish to those unwilling or unable to embrace it.

Listen

Lord, what do you want to say to me about Sabbath and legalism?

Keith, the abandonment of Sabbath observation is a sad indictment of greed.

When people ignore me, they will worship something, and in modern societies, the pursuit of possessions is a form of worship.

When you take the day off to rest and focus on me, this is a radical confrontation with the powers of darkness.

Sabbath rest means that you trust me to provide all that you need. It is related to tithing in that sense, and to generosity in general. Your focus is on something greater than on creature comforts.

Quote for the Day

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

When Jesus said one would be taken, He was not talking about a rapture. He was speaking of slavery. The Romans were always taking men and women into slavery. They had no mercy and no regard for anyone who was not a Roman citizen. When the Emperor Vespasian ordered the siege by his son, General Titus, there were four legions of men. They captured slaves to grow their food, cook their meat, and use any skills they had to serve the Roman Empire with no pay. Cindye Coates