Warming everywhere is twice as bad as the rest of the world. Yes, it’s worse than we thought.
Author: newlifenarrabri
Today’s Sermon
Reflection on John 4:1-18
Scripture
“Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving eternal life.
Observation
Returning from Judea to Galilee, Jesus passes through the Samaritan village of Sychar. He stops to rest at Jacob’s well. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water.
Jesus tells the woman about the living water He has which can become a spring that bubbles up within and gives eternal life.
Application
Jesus is the water of life, the source of eternal life.
The water He offers is not just a refreshing drink on a hot day- a drink that is soon forgotten.
Jesus’ water is eternal life. When we drink deeply from Him, He refreshes our soul. He gives us resilience , the strength to live with joy through the trials of life.
The water that Jesus gives enables us to live forever. This water cleanses us from sin and restores our relationship with God.
This eternal life, sustained by dwelling in Him, becomes a source of life for others. A spring bubbles up within us.
That living water must flow out to others. The life that Christ gives to me is meant to be shared. A spring that is blocked up is no longer a spring.
We share the living water by bringing Christ to others through our testimony. We are called to witness to others about the powerful change Christ has brought to us.
We also share Christ by sharing the incredible love He has for all people. Acts of love, deeds of kindness, reconciliation of relationships, bring life to other people and point them to Christ.
Prayer
Thank you Jesus for being living water to me. Show me who to share your life with today and every day. Amen.
Ephesians 1:11
Here is my commentary on Ephesians 1:11. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site.
Ephesians 1:11
In him we are chosen, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.
It is hard to know who the “him” and the “his” refer to in this verse. Right through the chapter the subject is God the Father.
In God we were chosen (“Predestined” in the NIV) according to God’s purpose.
We were chosen. At first glance this would suggest the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. According to this doctrine, only some are chosen out of the whole of humanity, and it was only for those chosen ones that Christ died. Those chosen ones were “predestined” – that is qualified for heaven- before time began.
But God is bigger and more gracious than that. Jesus died for the whole of the human race. “God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son.” (John 3:16) In that sense every person is “chosen”, but only those who receive Christ are in the Kingdom and share in eternal life.
We are chosen according to God’s purposes. He has a course for every person’s life, a path that He wants us to follow. That includes the saved and the unsaved alike.
We have all been created for the purpose of praising God and glorifying Him. The highest expression of that purpose is when we willingly and thankfully follow Christ, walking in the path of redemption and the process of becoming holy as God is holy.
Even those who are opposed to God’s purposes fulfil His purposes. Those who reject the way of Christ are still made in the image of God. Though reluctantly, they show the glory of God in the same way that the rocks and the stars sing praise to the Almighty.
At a deeper level, those of us who are saved and rejoice in Christ are a part of God’s purposes in redeeming creation. As we bear witness or testify to the power and glory of the gospel, more and more people are saved. The time will come when all people will be transformed by the Good News, and the mission work of the church will be completed.
It is hard to imagine what it would be like for the whole world to be under the Kingly reign of Christ, but that is God’s purpose for us.
God accomplishes all things in conformity to His will. God has purpose and will achieve it. He accomplishes all things. Nothing slips past Him as if it takes Him by surprise. “I never saw that coming” is not in His vocabulary.
He accomplishes all things. He always gets everything done that He intended. In that sense the broken world in which we live, with all its violence and sinfulness, is designed to achieve His purposes. Not that God is responsible for sin, but that He uses it.
We have to conclude that His purposes include raising a Kingdom of people who, though born in sin, raised in an environment of sin and constantly surrounded by sin, nevertheless still choose to follow Him and prefer righteousness.
Only humans, a breed of creatures who are both physical and spiritual, could achieve this. Only men and women can apprehend the glory of a God able to redeem them from sin. We are the chosen ones.
God accomplishes all things in conformity to His will. He has plan and purpose, and His deeds are directed by His purpose. This is Good News. It means that nothing is random or meaningless. God’s purpose is always present.
Evolutionists and cosmologists talk of random events- galaxies, mutations, big bangs and so on. Ascribing phenomena to randomness only indicates that we cannot see the whole picture. Our minds are too small to contain God’s purpose. This is especially true in science which consciously excludes God and is forced to insert randomness instead.
This is true of our lives. We see the idea of a random event and a random person as a way to explain this event and that person. Even the deepest tragedy is not random. It is not sent by God but it may be used by God in His purpose.
Key points in this verse:
- We are chosen by God
- We have a purpose- God’s purpose
- Nothing is random
Reflection on John 3:22-36
Scripture
“No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.”
Observation
Jesus spends some time baptising people. Some of John’s disciples come to John and say that Jesus is getting more baptisms than John is. John replies that Jesus is the Messiah. He, Jesus, must become greater while John becomes less.
Jesus is from heaven and testifies about heavenly thing. John, on the other hand, is from the earth and testifies about earthly things.
Application
When people pursue spiritual gifts or ministries, there can be a tendency to forget that they are gifts or callings given by the Holy Spirit, They can run off at a tangent, chasing an experience of God rather than chasing God Himself.
John’s disciples missed the point about John’s ministry, a mistake made by Jesus’ disciples later. It was not about the number of people being baptised by their group. The point of John’s ministry was to pave the way for Jesus.
Whatever we seek, it only comes as a gift from God, whether we recognise that or not.
This apples in families and businesses also. The top entrepreneurs in the world get to be rich and famous because they worked hard and because God gave them a particular gifting.
Every good gift comes from our heavenly Father. We can do nothing unless God allows it.
So when we pursue something from God, we need to make sure the gift or ministry is not an idol, that is something that becomes more important to us than God Himself.
If we remember that everything is a gift from God, our hearts will be filled with gratitude and thankfulness- a much healthier state than the anger and sense of entitlement that mark much of our society.
Prayer
Than you Lord for every good gift from your hand. Amen.
Reflection on John 3:16-21
Scripture
There is no judgement against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him had already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
Observation
God loved the world so much that He sent His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus came into the world to save us not to judge us.
Anyone who trusts in Jesus is saved, and there is no judgement against them. The judgement is this- God’s light came into the world and people preferred the darkness.
Application
No judgement against believers!
I talked to a distressed pastor the other day who said something like, “I’m afraid that God will say to me ‘You should have pushed harder, got more people saved.’” Even among pastors (especially among pastors!) there is a fear of God’s judgement because we are not good enough or not doing enough.
There is no judgement for those who trust in Jesus. God will not confront us for our sins. That is all dealt with in the blood of Jesus.
The judgement christians face is the sheep and goats judgement, the division between believers and unbelievers.
We already have our “boarding pass”! We have already been judged as sinless because it’s all covered by the cross.
What about the verses that say things like “You will be judged for every idle word”? The judgement is on unbelievers not the believers. Every sin will be accounted for, but every sin that christians commit is covered by the blood of Christ.
Does this mean that we should be complacent or lazy or just live according to what we want to do? Of course not! Having received such love from our Holy Father God, how can we trample it on the ground or take it for granted? To believe Jesus is to follow Him in a life of holiness.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the blood of Jesus that covers every sin. Amen.
Climate Extremists “Forced” To Use Diesel Generator
Organisers told the Manchester Evening News they felt like hypocrites but had been forced to use the generator because it would have been too expensive to get a solar panel made
That’s exactly what you are- no feeling like it at all!
The protestors actually admitted what they normally refuse to say:
Solar power is more expensive
Solar power (especially in northern England!) is unreliable and requires backup by traditional reliable means.
From The Manchester Evening News:
Climate change protesters admit using a diesel generator to power their stage
Organisers told the Manchester Evening News they felt like hypocrites but had been forced to use the generator because it would have been too expensive to get a solar panel made
A diesel-powered generator is being used to run the music stage at the Extinction Rebellion protests on Deansgate.
Organisers told the Manchester Evening News they felt “like hypocrites” but had been “forced” to use the generator because it would have been too expensive to get a solar panel made.
The protest – which has brought one of Manchester’s busiest shopping streets to a standstill to highlight the threat of climate change – is on its third day.
Graham Buss, 63, said: “We were desperate to get a solar panel specially made for the demonstrations but it would have cost us £8,000.
“That’s money we simply don’t have.
“Even if we’d been able to get a solar panel made, we would have still had to have had a diesel-powered generator as a back up.
“It’s something we really do regret having to use and we feel like hypocrites, but this is the point.
“We’re part of a system that has made it incredibly difficult to use solar panels for these sorts of events and we feel like we’ve been forced to have to use the diesel generator.
Reflection on John 3:1-15
Reflection on John 3:1-15
Scripture
“Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”
Observation
A Pharisee called Nicodemus comes to see Jesus at night time. Nicodemus says that he can see that Jesus’ miracles are a sign that God is with Him. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs to be born again in order to see God’s kingdom.
Nicodemus can’t understand this phrase, so Jesus explains that we must be born of the Holy Spirit to have spiritual life. Just as we can’t see what drives the wind, we cannot see how the Spirit works. As Moses lifted up the bronze snake in the wilderness, so too will Jesus be lifted up to bring eternal life to people.
Application
We can only enter into eternal life by being born again. People can reproduce biological life, which is quite a miracle in itself. But spiritual life, eternal life, can only come through the Holy Spirit.
This means that we cannot force anybody into the Kingdom. It is between them and the Holy Spirit. Clever selling techniques, evangelism programs, incentives to attend church services, and the like will bear no fruit unless a person is born of the Holy Spirit.
It also means that we cannot force our own way into the kingdom. Whether by determination, good works, or by playing the role of the good christian, we cannot prove ourselves worthy of eternal life. Our spirits must be born of the Holy Spirit.
At the heart of salvation we must have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. This is what it means to be born again.
Prayer
Thank you Father for the gift of eternal life. Thank you for causing me to be born of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today’s Sermon
Ephesians 1:10
Here is my commentary on Ephesians 1:10. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site.
Ephesians 1:10
… as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
The fulfilment of God’s plan is a unity of heaven and earth. In the previous verse we read of God’s will and God’s purpose. Now we read of God’s plan.
This world is not blindly evolving by chance and random mutation. The events of history are not meaningless. Our lives are not driven by fortune and misfortune.
God is behind all of these things. It does not matter whether you believe the world was made 6 thousand years ago or 6 billion years ago. It is God who made it and continues to shape it all for His purposes.
Political leaders may manipulate nations for their own aggrandisement, but they are on a leash that is held by the hand of the Lord.
If we feel that our personal life is out of control, we should remember that God is in control of all things.
He is working on a plan that began before time and involves a Kingdom of people who will worship God and serve Him to His glory.
It is not that we are like pawns pushed around on a chessboard. No, we have agency and will. We are accountable for what we do, but God weaves the will of countless millions of people into His plan.
This plan is a plan for the fullness of time. The word for time is kairos which means the appointed time. There is a time for planting and a time for reaping. These are appointed times.
Jesus was born at a kairos time and died at a kairos time
There is a time appointed by God for things to happen. The kairos times are the critical times, the moments of destiny.
And God has a time for the most appointed of all times, the fullness of kairos, the time of the end of this present age.
At that time the fulfilment, the climax, the end point of all of God’s plans will occur. This is the end point or destiny of everything, the whole purpose of the created order.
On that day (or time), all things will be united in Christ. The whole of creation will find its purpose in Christ.
This is a reversal of the Fall. When Adam and Eve sinned, one result was that creation became opposed, or at least resistant to people’s attempts to harmonise it. Until then Adam and Eve had a garden to tend, but after their sin everything was held back by thorns and thistles.
So on that day, all thing will again be united in Christ. The world will no longer threaten human beings.
As I write this the world is enthralled by a drama of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave. The oncoming monsoon rains threaten to make their rescue more difficult. In Japan at the same time there are floods which have killed many people and destroyed whole towns. In Australia we are enduring a long drought.
In each of these situations, the natural order Is opposed to human well being. Even as we pray for relief, nature resists.
But in the fullness of time, this will no longer happen. People and the whole of the created order will be under the reign of Christ,
This raises the issue of judgement. It is Christ who will rule the re-created order. We will be united “in Christ.” Jesus assured us that even the rocks and stones will praise Him.
What of those who refuse to be “in Christ”? What of those who, because of their broken desires, have no wish to be united with “all things” in Christ?
They will not and cannot be a part of the unity of all things in Christ. There will be a Judgement where the sheep are separated from the goats and the weeds from the wheat. Those who exclude themselves from Christ in this age will be excluded from Him in the age to come.
Paul mentions two realms in particular that will once again be united- the heavens and the earth. The implications of this are hard to imagine
The heavenly realm is the place where God and His angels dwell. People are created to dwell in both the physical or earthly realm and the heavenly realm. We are body and spirit.
Sin blinds us to the reality of heaven. We know that God is there, even that He is in us after our conversion. We can conceive of the reality of heaven, but we can only see it through a very dark and distorted lens.
On the other hand, we see, feel, smell, hear and taste very clearly the physical environment- so much so that it often feels that it is the only part that matters.
At the moment, we perceive the spiritual reality by faith which is the confident trust in God. At the fulfilment of God’s plan, in the fullness of kairos time, all things in heaven and earth will be reunited. At last we will see God face to face and we will see all the spiritual realities as clearly as we now see the physical reality.
What a day that will be!
Key points in this verse:
- God has a plan and a purpose
- All things will be united n Christ
- This will happen in the fullness of God’s appointed time
