bible

Reflection on John 3:14-21

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Scripture

God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world through him.

Observation
This passage is a part of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.

Jesus says that just as Moses lifted up the bronze snake for healing, the Son of Man must also be lifted up to give eternal life to all who believe in Him.

God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.

Jesus did not come into the world to bring judgement. Yet everyone who rejects Him rejects the light and loves darkness. Therefore they are judged by their actions for loving evil and rejecting truth.

Application
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Everybody is invited to the Feast of Salvation. There are no prerequisites for eternity.

But we have to choose. Jesus is the way to eternal life. If we reject that way we say that we prefer the darkness, the way of satan.

So, in coming to save the world, Jesus condemns those who reject His way.

There is a very sharp line between heaven and hell, salvation and damnation. That line goes right through Jesus.

The question God will ask to judge us is: Do you follow the way of Jesus?

Prayer
Lord Jesus, today I turn from my sin and I lay down my life to follow you. Amen.

Reflection on Ephesians 2:1-10

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Scripture

So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness towards us as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Observation
We were once dead in our sins, just like the rest of the world, captive to the devil. We used to live by our fleshly desires and were subject to God’s wrath.

But God reached down to us in grace, giving us life when He raised Christ from the dead. He will point to us in future ages as examples of the wealth of His grace.

We are saved by grace, not by our own deeds. He has created us in Christ to do good deeds.

Application
It is all grace!

We have not earned our salvation. God saved us by grace to be an example to future generations. That is not as impressive as it may sound- “I saved him/her from his/her sinful lifestyle so I can certainly save a lesser sinner like you!”

We are not saved BY our good deeds as so many people think. The truth is that nobody is that good! No, we are saved FOR good deeds, saved for a life of loving holy living.

The legendary sinner becomes a legendary saint, all by the grace of God.

Prayer
Lord, without your grace I can do no good thing. Without your grace I would be on the way to hell. Thank you for saving me through Jesus Christ, Amen

Reflection on Numbers 21:1-9

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Scripture

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

Observation

The Canaanite king of Arad attacks the Israelites, capturing some of them. The people call out to the Lord, vowing to destroy the city if the Lord gives them victory. They do this, destroying the towns and the people.

As they travel on, the people become impatient, and they speak out against God and against Moses. The Lord sends venomous snakes which kill many people. The Israelites repent, Moses prays, and the Lord tells him to make a bronze snake which will bring healing to people who are bitten.

Application

The story of Israel is replete with ups and downs, victories and defeats. All through their history, there are times of awesome faith in the Lord and there are times of terrible unbelief and sin.

All of us go through similar cycles of great faith and great sin.

The key to overcoming and walking in victory is simple: Don’t give up.

Today’s defeat, sin or opposition can so quickly turn to victory as we surrender ourselves to the Lord and let Him have His way in us.

Prayer

Praise be to you heavenly Father. Please help me to walk increasingly in your ways, overcoming every sin and temptation. Amen.

Reflection on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

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Scripture

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Observation

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is God’s power.

God undermines worldly wisdom by making it look foolish. Jews look for signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but it is Christ who saves all who believe.

God’s stupidity is wiser than the smartest human and His apparent weakness is stronger than anything man can do.

Application

You can’t get to heaven by human wisdom and reasoning. If you could, every philosopher would get there. Every form of military might, political power, financial muscle is useless before the God who made the universe with a word and can destroy it in an instant.

To be saved, we must embrace the cross, the “weakness” of God.

Sure, it doesn’t make sense to the logical mind obsessed with power.

But the cross is the logical outcome of a God who loves the world so much that He would put aside His strength, become vulnerable to our sin, and pay the price for sins He never committed. All for love’s sake.

Prayer

Father, I receive your love. The cross has set me free from death. Thank you. Amen.

Reflection on Exodus 20:1-17

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Scripture

“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Observation

Ten “word “ or commandments for the people of God:

1. No other gods

2. Do not worship idols

3. Do not misuse the name of the Lord

4. Do not work on the Sabbath

5. Honour your parents

6. Do not murder

7. Do not commit adultery

8. Do not steal

9. Do not give false testimony

10. Do not covet

Application

Many many things have been written and spoken about these simple commandments. Together they are a minimum standard of behaviour for a person to obey God and live His way.

Of course, Jesus takes this much further, dealing with the thoughts that precede the action.

Some people bridle at the suggestion that there are standards of behaviour for christians. “We are under grace, not law,” they say. This is true, but the requirements of responding to grace are far more stringent that mere law can dictate.

Jesus bought me out of slavery to sin and death. That says to me that I am His slave now and that means He has the right to tell me how to live.

Prayer

Lord please help me to honour you with my mind, my body, my thoughts and my words. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 8:31-38

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Scripture

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”

Observation
Jesus begins to tell the disciples that He must suffer many things, that He will be put to death, but He will rise from the dead three days later.

Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him for saying these things. Jesus tells him, “Get away from me Satan!”

Jesus then tells the crowd that to follow Him they must turn from their own ways, take up the cross and follow Him. To try to save your life is to lose it, but to give up your life for the sake of the gospel is to save it.

Application
Jesus turns all of our human viewpoints on their heads. The way up is to go down, the way to life is to surrender our life to Him.

Following Jesus is not about “Your best life now”. It is about His best life in us.

For many christians, following Jesus means literally laying down their lives for the gospel. For all christians it should mean becoming living sacrifices, letting Jesus’ plan for our lives take precedence over our own selfish ambitions.

Prayer
Lord Jesus I take up my cross to follow you today. Take all that I am, take my plans and be glorified in me as I surrender to you. Amen.

Reflection on Romans 4:13-25

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Scripture

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification

Observation

It wasn’t the law that gave Abraham the promise but the righteousness of faith. It is faith in the promise of God that has value not the law itself.

Abraham is our father in the faith in the sight of God. Abraham believed in hope and it was that unwavering faith that brought the promise to fruition.

Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, but those words are for us also, for when we believe in Christ’s death and resurrection God makes us righteous.

Application

Faith is not just about abstract belief in God. Abraham trusted God’s promise about his heritage, the destiny of descendants yet to come. He didn’t just believe a promise, he bet his whole family’s future on God’s faithfulness.

True faith is an all or nothing venture. No safety nets or Plan B.

Salvation is about trusting that God is who He says He is. We come to Him with no goodness of our own and we trust Him to show us mercy because of Christ.

We need also to live by that kind of faith in our daily life. We trust God for a ministry that might one day emerge, for provision for a need that is bigger than our resources.

God is faithful and when we trust Him, He credits it to us as righteousness.

Prayer

No safety nets Lord! I put my trust in you today. Amen

Reflection on Genesis 17:1-16

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Scripture

Abram fell face down and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.”

Observation

When Abram is ninety-nine years old, the Lord appears to him with a covenant. The promise is that the Lord will give Abram many descendants- he will be the father of many nations.

God will not just be Abram’s God, but the God of all this descendants. He will give Canaan as an everlasting possession to Abram and his descendants.

The sign of faithfulness to the covenant is that Abram and every male descendant, including slaves bought from others or born in his household, are to be circumcised.

Application

It seemed impossible to Abram that at the age of ninety-nine years, and his wife Sarai being well past child bearing, he could become a father of many nations.

Abram is thinking Ishmael, but the Lord has bigger plans than Abram can imagine.

This is always true for all of us. We see with limited vision, but God sees unlimited potential.

When we walk in humble obedience to our Father, the seemingly impossible becomes real.

Prayer

Father, you are the God of the impossible. Please let your miracle breakthrough come into my situation. Amen

Reflection on Mark 1:9-15

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Scripture
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days being tempted by Satan.

Observation
Jesus goes to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. As He comes out of the water, the Spirit comes on Him and a voice comes from heaven confirming Jesus is God’s beloved Son.

At once the Spirit drives Jesus into the desert where He is tempted by satan for forty days. Then He goes to Galilee proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is here.

Application
Jesus goes straight from being baptised in the Holy Spirit into temptation, fasting and spiritual warfare. In fact, Mark says “At once the Spirit sent Him.”

Our spiritual experiences, including the baptism in the Holy Spirit are not about making us feel good. They are to make us strong to defeat the enemy.

Having defeated satan, Jesus sets out on His mission. We don’t have to completely overcome every temptation in our life and get everything perfect before we start working through God’s plan for our lives, but we do need to make progress away from serving satan and towards serving God.

Prayer
Lord give me strength to defeat the in in my life. Show me how to move towards your purposes and direct my steps in following you. Amen.