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Reflection on Hebrews 11:1-16

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Scripture

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Observation

Faith is being certain of what we hope for, sure of what we do not see. Faith tells us that God created the universe. Faith gave Abel a better sacrifice and lifted Enoch to heaven.

Noah built an ark by faith, and Abraham followed God to a foreign country by faith. By faith Abraham fathered a nation.

Application

Faith is central to our relationship with God.

We must first of all believe that He exists. This is not an intellectual exercise that says there must be a God. No, true faith is a deep trust- I believe that the God of the Bible is real and that He is the one true God.

Faith is an issue of trust or commitment. I commit my whole life into the simple fact that God is here and He controls my living and my dying.

Secondly, faith is built on the belief that He rewards those who seek Him.

We are saved by faith in Christ. That faith tells me that God is good and that He is passionately committed to me. I trust that when I stand before Him, the blood of Christ will protect me from His holy wrath. My sins have been washed away by the blood- they were scarlet but now I am like the snow.

Because I know that He loves me, I can approach boldly the throne of grace. I can come into His presence and ask for the things that I need and the concerns of my heart.

God is good, and I know that He will never disappoint me.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the gift of faith. It is by faith that I am saved and by faith I am delivered, healed, renewed and redeemed. Thank you Lord for your great grace. Amen.

Reflection on Isaiah 1:10-20

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Scripture

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.

“Though your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.

Though they are as red as crimson, I will make them like wool.”

Observation

Isaiah promises judgement on the people of Israel. He calls them “Sodom” and “Gomorrah.” They revel in their sin and then bring sacrifices, but the Lord will reject their offerings because they are just religious ceremonies.

The Lord hates their prayers and offerings because of their sins. He wants true repentance and will wash their sins clean.

Application

The Lord is always seeking reconciliation with us. He wants us to turn away from our sins and receive His blessing.

This is not about outward religious acts but about the heart. Being baptised, going to church, or saying the Sinner’s Prayer will not make a person right with God.

Turning away from our sin and towards Jesus will activate God’s cleansing flow of forgiveness into our spirit.

It has to be sincere, from the heart. Going through a ritual of any sort will not impress God. He looks at the heart not the outward appearance.

So what must I do to be saved?

1. Recognise sin. Confess not just wrong doing, but also the orientation towards sin and self-centredness.

2. Repent. Repentance means more than saying “sorry” to God. It means to recognise that something I thought was acceptable is actually repellent.

3. Ask God for forgiveness.

4. Receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live God’s way not my own way.

Having made the decision to follow Jesus I must obey Him and let Him rule every part of my life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I receive you as my Lord. I am sorry for all that I do that displeases you. Please help me to live for you every day of my life. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 12:13-21

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Scripture

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Observation

A man in the crowd asks Jesus to tell his brother to share his inheritance with him. Jesus uses this opportunity to talk about greed.

He tells the story of a man whose land produces a bumper crop. He starts to plan how to store it all up and prepare for retirement. But God says tonight he will die and all will be lost to him.

Application

People invest their time and energy into gathering more and more possessions. There is often a tendency in many places to judge people by their monetary wealth.

People are more than their possessions.

Sometimes we naively think that a better paying job or a lottery win will fix out problems. But really this is generally not true.

In pursuing wealth it is easy to take risks that lead us into bondage of ever increasing debt. A thriving business may fall apart suddenly because its owner borrows too much to grow too quickly, and the slightest down turn in the economy pulls it all down. Home owners borrow too much and cannot make the repayments.

Possessions do not define us. Our relationships do.

Our relationship with God is the most important thing. We were created for friendship with our creator. Anyone who tries to live without God lives a broken life.

Our relationship with family is also important. Those closest to us should build us up and encourage us, strengthening us for the daily battles of life. In the same way, we need to give ourselves to our families.

The relationships that many people miss in our self-centred lives are those with community- our neighbours and our christian brothers and sisters. Everyone is looking to belong in a community, but many do not realise it.

Prayer

Thank you, Father, for showing me that possessions are far less important than my relationship with you and with the people around me. Help me to build closer ties with you and with my family and friends. Amen.

Reflection on Colossians 3:1-11

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Scripture

Think of the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Observation

We have been raised to new life in Christ, so we should set our minds on things of heaven and not be consumed by worldly thoughts. We have died to this life and been raised to eternity in Christ.

We must put to death all the sinful and fleshly desires within us- immorality, impurity, greed, idolatry and so on.

We need to put on our new nature and be renewed as we learn to be like Christ.

Application

One of the biggest problems we have as christians is allowing God to transform us. Sin seems to cling to us despite our good intentions.

The problem is that we still live in the world and our thoughts are dominated by the world’s ways of thinking rather than by God’s ways.

We must see that our destiny is in heaven with Christ, and everything in our lives needs to be seen in that perspective.

The people of the world do not know God. All they see is this life. All their energy and thought go into the concerns of this world. They worry about work, possessions, sex, family and so on.

For we who are born again, our focus must always be on serving Christ. Our work is for His glory not ours. Our family is to serve Him not to live for its own purposes.

Thinking of heavenly things does not mean abandoning our responsibilities to live on a mystical plane unconcerned with earthly things.

We are to put Jesus first in everything and see the things that we do in the light of serving and worshipping Him.

When we look to God and live for Him, He deals with all the other things in our life, including sinful attitudes and wrong priorities.

We do not have to change the way we live, just where we place our affections. God will look after the rest.

Prayer

Lord please help me to seek you in every part of my life. I trust you to redirect my life and to change my thinking. Amen.

Reflection on Colossians 2:6-19

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Scripture

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

Observation

Just as we received Christ, we are to continue to live in Him, strengthened in faith as we walk with Him.

Avoid all hollow and deceptive philosophy based on worldly or human principles, rather than on Christ. We have been given all the fullness of Christ. We are united with Christ in His death and resurrection.

We were dead in our sins, but Christ made us alive in Him. He forgave our sins, cancelled the Law (crucified it, in fact!), and disarmed the powers and principalities.

So we need to beware of any attempt to take us back to the Law, or to the worship of angels, or other deceptions.

Application

People who claim to be more spiritual than they really are can lead us into all kinds of deception.

People who claim to have had angelic visitations, and talk about them all the time, can seem to be more spiritual than the rest of us., but they can lead us to a place where we worship the angels and other created beings, leading us away from Christ.

We can celebrate with those who have genuine experiences that are out of the ordinary. In fact we are supposed to be aware constantly of the spiritual realm.

Deception comes in when all we want is the angelic experience. When meeting with angels is more important to us than meeting with Christ, there is a problem.

Paul talks about human philosophy and the Jewish law as well as worshipping angels. All of these tings may be interesting, but our focus must always be on worshipping and living in Christ.

If I focus my eyes on Jesus, then I may have amazing experiences of the power of the Holy Spirit or of angels. But if I focus on the experiences, I may quickly lose sight of Jesus.

Prayer

Lord, may you always be right in front of me. Let nothing else take my focus away from you. Amen.

Reflection on Hosea 1:1-10

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Scripture

“But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies– not with weapons and armies nor horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.”

Observation

The Lord tells Hosea to go and marry a prostitute. This will illustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord.

His wife Gomer bears three children named Jezreel, Lo-ruhana (“Not loved”), and Lo-ammi (“Not my people”).

God will not show love to Israel, but He will favour Judah. Yet, the time will come when He unites the two nations under one leader.

Application

While preaching a mixed message to God’s people, Hosea does offer God’s blessing on the people of Judah. The Lord will free them from their enemies, but not by military might. Instead, He will set them free under His own mighty power.

The Lord does not require the weapons and methods of the world to achieve His purposes. He does use political and military methods at times, but He does not have to rely on them.

The important thing is that we look to the Lord to rescue us and not to human strength. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “the weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh.”

When we face spiritual battles, impossible battles, it is the Lord we trust, not merely our own limited resources.

When we try to make things happen out of our own abilities, then disaster will follow. When we commit our ways to the Lord, and trust Him to bring the victory, then we will see miracles happen.

Prayer

Lord I thank you for your great love. I thank you that when you fight for me using your strength, then the victory will come. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 10:38-42

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Scripture

The Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing worth becoming concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Observation

Jesus and his disciples are travelling to Jerusalem. They come to the home of Mary and Martha. Martha is distracted by the dinner she is preparing while Mary sits at the Lord’s feet listening to His teaching.

Martha complains to Jesus about her sister, but He tells her Mary has chosen the better thing.

Application

Preparing food for thirteen people (plus all the extras) would have been a big thing then- no take away pizzas were available! In that culture, as in many places today, it was expected that you would put on a good meal for visitors, especially for someone as famous as Jesus.

Martha slaves away, preparing the food and fuming at her sister who has not lifted a finger to help.

Jesus tells Martha she has missed the point. Food is important, but not as important as eternal life. Honouring Jesus with food is good, but not when you are focusing on the failures of others.

The question not asked here is “What motivates you?”

Do I do things because it is expected of me, and people will judge me if I don’t do things according to their priorities?

Do I love Jesus with my words and actions while harbouring resentment or pride in my heart?

Jesus looks at our heart to see the true motivations that drive us. In that sense, we all need to spend more time with Jesus, letting His words transform out hearts.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I confess that many of the things I do “for you” have mixed motives. Forgive me for those times when I serve you from self interest. Help me to seek you for who you are and not for what I get from being seen to serve you. Amen.

Reflection on Amos 8:1-14

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Scripture

You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over, and for religious festivals to end, so that you can get back to cheating the helpless.

Observation

The Lord shows Amos a basket of ripe fruit. The Lord says, “Israel is ripe for punishment.” The Lord will not delay.

The prophecy goes on to words of judgement against those who despise the poor and cheat the helpless.

Judgement will come against Israel that will shock the earth. There will be famine in Israel – a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

Application

The people of Israel, like christians today, were meant to honour the Lord in all of their dealings, in every aspect of their lives.

Amos condemns people for being desperate for the Sabbaths and festivals to be over so they could get back to the business of ripping off the poor and helpless,

We must ensure that we honour God with our actions on Monday as much as we do with our lips on Sunday.

The problem with the people of Israel was that so many of them lived in a culture of holiness without letting their hearts be touched by God. Everything in the culture and daily life was meant to point people to their unique calling of living for God’s glory.

The trouble is that you can live in a godly culture and see it as a burden, as the way things are. You follow the rules and expectations without seeing the reason for the rules or the giver of the rules.

There are christians who worship God, who go through the outward appearance of christianity without having their hearts transformed by the Holy Spirit. Therefore their work life and family life can be a denial of what they claim to believe.

We all need to be changed from the inside out, not from the outside in.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, help me to yield heart to you. Come and dwell in every part of my life, teaching me how to glorify your name in every minute of every day. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 10:25-37

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Scripture

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”

Observation

An expert in the Jewish law asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asks him what the law says, and he replies that it is to love God and to love our neighbour.

To justify himself, the man asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” In response, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.

Application

We always want to justify ourselves. We always want to look good to others and to God.

The law is too hard to keep. God’s standard of righteousness is too hard to match. To cover our guilt we make excuses that seem to justify our actions.

We can never make ourselves right under the law.

Even if we could fulfil every letter of God’s law and live a perfect life, it would still not be enough.

A religious approach to life will always disappoint us and God. We can never be good enough for Him by our own efforts alone.

In Christ we do not have to live up to expectations that are too high.

In Christ we are already accepted by God. The sin is washed away in His blood. Better still, He gives us the grace to be “good.” And when we fail, He keeps on forgiving.

Acceptance comes first, and then the ability to live a life that is acceptable. God does not want performance form us. He wants love.

When I was saved, the love of God flooded into my heart. My response was, “God loves me so much; how can I love Him in return?”

I don’t worry about sin or about being good enough. No, I seek to serve my Father and to let Him correct my actions and attitudes. Much better to have a loving coach than to just read the rule book!

In Jesus there is no need to feel guilty abut our sins. There is no need to justify ourselves when we fall.

God’s love covers it all.

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for paying the price for my sin. Thank you for showing me what love looks like. Help me to walk in fellowship with you every day, letting your grace transform my heart. Amen.

Reflection on Colossians 1:1-14

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Scripture

This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

Observation

Paul writes to the holy people of Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. He has heard of their faith and love which come from their confident hope in their eternal destiny.

This same Good News is bearing fruit all over the earth as people turn to Christ. Paul prays for the Colossians that they will be strengthened ad filled with joy.

Application

The Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has been spreading constantly through the world since the day of Pentecost. In just about every nation of the world there are faithful followers of Christ.

As people turn to the Lord, their lives are transformed, and ultimately whole nations are changed.

In the West we often find this hard to believe. It seems that the society in which we live is turning against the Gospel, sometimes with hostility.

In this situation, we just need to let Jesus continue to work in us, changing our lives one day at a time. As we are able to give testimony about what He has done for us, our actions will demonstrate the truth of our words.

People are hungry for truth and authenticity. They are tired of slick advertising messages, political spin and hollow promises. When they see someone whose life shows the truth of their beliefs, then they will take notice.

The Good News is bearing fruit all over the world. We need to believe that it will bear fruit in the lives of our friends and neighbours.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the transformation that comes when people believe your Good News. Help me to live a life that testifies to your goodness, and to speak words that point people to you. Amen.