Author: newlifenarrabri

Reflection on Exodus 34:1-35

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Scripture

When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.

Observation

At the Lord’s command, Moses chisels two tablets of stone like the ones that had been destroyed. He takes them up Mount Sinai where the Lord meets with him.

The Lord promises to drive out other nations before them, but they must promise never to make a treaty with the people living in the land. They will lead the Israelites into all kinds of idolatry.

Moses stays on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and nights. The Lord inscribes the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets.

When Moses comes down from the mountain, he is not aware that his face is glowing from his encounter with the Lord. Aaron and the people become afraid of the radiance of Moses’ face. He then adopts the practice of wearing a veil, except when he goes to meet with the Lord.

Application

When we meet with the Lord or live in the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit, our countenance will change. We may not have a physical glow as Moses seems to have had, but we will be changed.

Pressure and stress will give way to peace. Animosity towards others will be replaced with love. The joy of the Lord will shine from us.

We are not usually aware of this because to us it is normal. However, when you see news items that show christians reacting to tragedy and non-christians in similar circumstances, the contrast becomes evident.

We do not have to pile on the cosmetics to look younger. No, the presence of the Holy Spirit will do that for us. Really, we should expect that if we dwell in the presence of the One who is Life then life will be shining through us all the time.

Prayer

Lord, I love your presence. Please help me to seek you out at every opportunity, to draw closer to you so that your life will flow through me. Amen.

Ephesians 4:4

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:4 . 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 4:4

“There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called.”

This verse begins what might be called Paul’s unity appeal. There is one God and one church. No matter how we express this, it comes back to one God and one Body united to him by faith.

All of the divisions and controversies; all of the doctrines; all of the different approaches to church life; these are nothing compared to our unity in Christ.

There is only one body of Christ. The church is organically linked under the Holy Spirit so that when one part hurts because of persecution or because of sin then all parts hurt.

If you ask how many churches are in a particular town or locality, the correct answer is “one”. If you ask how many churches there are in the world, the answer is still “one.”

The church is the Body of Christ and as such there can only be one body, one church. If it were any other way, we would say that Christ’s body is pulled apart, cut into many pieces or that Christ has many bodies .

Each expression of the one church, then, is in some ways deficient unless it actively seeks unity with other expressions of the church .

This unity is not denominational or institutional. This is an organic unity that grows in recognition that Christ is as validly present in another congregation as He is in my congregation..

In human terms, it seems that any true unity beyond denominational boundaries is impossible. On the other hand, God is the God of the impossible, and He delights to do what people say cannot do be done.

It is possible that the rediscovery of the apostles will provide a focus for unity in the future. Apostolic networks are based around relational connections and therefore transcend denominational constraints. It may be that the apostles bear witness to the organic unity of the church over and above institutional structures.

There is one Spirit over the church. The Holy Spirit who leads and directs me is the same Spirit who leads and directs you. The one Holy Spirit is the one who transforms people through His fruit (Galatians 5:22) and the one who equips the church with His gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

As stated in the previous verse, when Christians fight and refuse to enter into the unity of the Holy Spirit, it is they who are divided, not the Spirit .

While it is possible that evil spirits can afflict congregations and denominations, this does not affect the fact that there is one Holy Spirit that leads the church. If individuals, congregations, or denominations are deceived and pursue another spirit, the one Spirit of God is not removed or overcome by this.

We cannot say that my group has more or less of the Spirit than another group because the one Spirit is present in both. One group might be more receptive to the Spirit than another group, but this does not mean they have more of the Spirit .

In Acts 19, Paul meets with the church in Ephesus and discovers there they are lacking. He asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, and they say “We have not even heard there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul baptises them and they receive the Holy Spirit with tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:1-7).

The ignorance of the Ephesian believers about the Holy Spirit did not mean they were not saved. They were open to the Holy Spirit and when they were properly instructed, they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This is not a different Spirit, but the same Spirit.

There is one hope to which we have been called.

There are not different heavens for different believers. There is not a Catholic heaven, an Anglican heaven, and a Baptist heaven. No, we all share the one hope in Christ.

We have been forgiven through Christ and are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Our hope of salvation is that we will be raised to eternal life with God.

This hope unites all Christians because it is the shared hope. It is the same promise given to all believers that we are counted as righteous in Christ. We died with Christ and we will rise with Him.

The Spirit of God is like a deposit guaranteeing that all the promises of God will be given to us in full.

At the moment we are limited by our flesh and blood bodies. Our souls have been corrupted by sin, and so we can only see eternity through partial vision .

But we have this hope, that by the grace of God we will spend eternity in a new heaven and earth, in never ending joy .

Key points in this verse

  • There is one body of Christ
  • The church is divided institutionally, but God sees just one church
  • There is one Holy Spirit who cannot be divided even when Christians are divided
  • We have the one hope in Christ that all who believe in Him will be raised with Him to eternal life

Reflection on Exodus 33:1-23

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Scripture

“If it is true that you look favourably upon me, let me know your ways so that I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favour.”

Observation

The Lord tells Moses to get going. He will send an angel before them to fight the battles for the Promised Land. The Lord will not travel in the midst of the people because they are stubborn and rebellious.

Moses would set up the Tent of Meeting some distance from the camp. When he went in there, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at the entrance of the tent. The people would stand by their tents and bow down when this happened. The Lord would speak to Moses as a man speaks with his friend.

Application

Moses’ greatest desire was to know the Lord more personally. He would go to the Tent of Meeting frequently to have fellowship with the the Lord. The pillar of cloud, representing the presence of God, would come down to him.

Moses asked the Lord to teach him His ways so he could continue to enjoy God’s favour.

As christians we should all emulate Moses’ passion to know the Lord more. We can follow his example to learn the ways of the Lord

  • Moses set apart a place and a time for regular fellowship with God.
  • He sought a deeper knowledge of the Lord. We can do this by studying the Scripture.
  • He conversed with the Lord. We can do this through listening prayer.

While Moses was dependent on the external presence of the Lord coming down to him, we have the Holy Spirit in us. He is with us all the time.

Prayer

Forgive me Lord for taking your presence for granted. Please help me to be passionate and diligent in my walk with you. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 32:1-35

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Scripture

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come on, make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what has happened to this fellow Moses who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”

Observation

When Moses fails to return from the mountain top, people start agitating for Aaron to produce idols for them to follow. So Aaron takes some of the gold the Israelites had brought from Egypt, melts it down, and produces a golden calf. He then builds an altar, and the people celebrate with feasting and drinking.

The Lord tells Moses to go down and see what is happening. Moses goes down, sees the celebration and is consumed by rage. He burns the calf, crushes it to powder, mixes it with water and then forces the people to drink it.

Application

Idolatry is always close to the human heart. We can make idols out of anything, and worship them to the destruction of our relationship with the Lord.

An idol is anything that we place in higher value than our relationship with the Lord. It can be a physical idol, or it can be a less tangible thing such as family or work.

The problem for the Israelites was the length of time that Moses was up the mountain. The visible embodiment of the presence of the Lord seemed to have abandoned them. So they looked for an alternative.

How often do we get discouraged because the Lord does not deliver for us in the time scale or in the way we expect? It is in those time gaps that our trust is tested and temptation confronts us.

Prayer

Lord, it is hard to trust when you seem to be slow in answering my prayers. Please help me to trust you and wait. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 30:1-31:18

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Scripture

“Look, I have specifically chosen Bezael, son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all manner of crafts.”

Application

The Lord filled Bezael with His Spirit to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle, its furnishings, and the clothing for the priests.

We don’t often think of people being filled with the Holy Spirit to make beautiful artefacts for the worship of God. In particular, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was given for specific purposes to the prophets, kings and priests.

In our context, we might think of someone filled or anointed with the Holy Spirit to be a preacher or evangelist, pastor or prophet.

But why not the worship leader or musicians? The people who make beautiful objects for the church to inspire people to worship the Lord?

Whenever any person seeks to lift up people’s attention to encourage them to worship the Lord, there the Spirit of God is.

Not all of these people may feel filled with the Holy Spirit every time they for their thing- the same applies to pastors and preachers. There will be times, thought, that they know that God has inspired that flower arrangement, that banner, or that musical performance.

We rejoice that God can dwell in and empower the most humble of tasks dedicated to His glory.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, come and fill me and enable me to glorify you in my acts of service. Amen.

Revolution of the Daleks

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I watched the new Doctor Who festive special last night.

It wasn’t awful, although it was too long. Could have been better if it was 60 minutes not 75.

A couple of plot holes, but not too bad. The standard Dalek Invasion plot of people trying to use the Daleks for their own purposes- that never ends well.

The plot twist of using Daleks to destroy one another was interesting.

I might even check out a couple of earlier episodes from the series- maybe.