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Reflection on Matthew 15:15-28

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Scripture

“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Observation

Jesus explains His statement that people are not defiled by what they eat, but by the attitudes of the heart that are expressed by what comes out of their mouths. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile a person.

Jesus and the disciples head north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman pleads with Him to heal her daughter who is tormented by an evil spirit.

Jesus at first seems to refuse to help her, but as she persists, He sees her faith and tells her the child is healed.

Application

Faith in Jesus is what releases the power of God. In this passage, Jesus interacts with the woman in such a way as to provoke her faith. Then the daughter is healed.

What is the gradation between faith as small as a mustard seed that moves mountains and “great faith” that releases healing and deliverance?

In the case of this woman, it was the determination to persist despite Jesus’ apparent refusal to help her.

How many people pray one prayer for something only to give up when it didn’t happen straight away?

Many people give up praying for healing when the condition shows no immediate improvement or even gets worse.

Real faith persists and digs deeper when God seems to say “No.” Real faith holds on to God even when He seems far away.

Prayer

Lord, please help me to grow stronger in faith and to trust you even when my prayers go unanswered. Help me to cling to you until I get the breakthrough. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 15:1-14

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Scripture

“These people honour me with their lips

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is a farce,

for they teach man- made ideas as commands from God.”

Observation

Some Pharisees criticise Jesus because His disciples ignore the traditions about ceremonial hand washing prior to eating.

Jesus replies by asking them why they violate God’s law with their own traditions. He goes on to quote Isaiah who condemned people for honouring God with their lips, but having cold hearts towards Him.

Jesus tells the crowd to ignore the Pharisees. They are blind leaders of the blind. The Father will uproot them because they were not planted by Him.

Application

Hypocrisy is a real temptation for everyone who seeks to follow the Lord.

It is also very easy to accuse other people of hypocrisy, and people do make that kind of smear all the time about christians. We need to make sure that our hearts are indeed right with the Lord.

God does not judge those who sincerely love Him but don’t always get it right. That applies to all of us!

What angers God as much as anything else is self-righteous hypocrisy. This is where we pat ourselves on the back for being much better than other people, while covering up our own sins.

What God wants is a heart that is soft towards Him, a heart of love for the Lord. Such a person, He will not reject.

Prayer

Thank you Father for the assurance that I do not have to be perfect, just humble towards you and other people. Give me grace Lord to rise above hypocrisy. Amen.

Ephesians 4:19

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:19. 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 4:19

“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality, so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual last for more.”

Paul is continuing his description of those Gentiles who have not been saved .

This section started with an appeal to the Christians at Ephesus to not be like the Gentiles in their thinking. He is now describing how their misguided thinking becomes a lifestyle of sin and depravity.

Paul is not saying that every Gentile is living a lifestyle of sexual sin, but he is making a strong point that when we are apart from Christ, our standards and values are very different to God’s standards. In the same ways, cultures that turn away from God rapidly descend to self- centeredness and sexual immorality.

Paul says that the Gentiles have lost all sensitivity. They have become calloused and hard in their conscience.

When we consistently choose to sin and follow our own desires, the voice of our consciences, and even of the Holy Spirit, become unimportant. We make a decision to disobey God and soon we find ourselves committing acts that we once would have thought beyond our capability, and enjoying them.

An example can be pornography, although the principle applies to any area of sin. Many people feel guilty when they start looking at less explicit videos or pictures. They ignore their conscience and soon are looking at degradation they could never have imagined. While their conscience may still be calling them away from these things, they suppress that to enjoy the experience. Before long, some people are moving beyond the immoral to the forms of pornography such as child abuse.

Whenever we harden our hearts, or allow ourselves to lose sensitivity to sin, then we are on a slippery slope of depravity. Without Christ, we are all depraved and hostage to our fleshly desires.

The Gentiles, Paul says, have given themselves over to sensuality. Sensuality, as the name implies, is the pleasing of our senses, our natural fleshly desires. “If it feels good, do it,” is the mantra from the 1970’s that summarises sensuality .

We have seen this played out in the Western nations over the last two decades in particular. People are keen to have experiences that appeal to the senses. Another thought that expresses this is, “life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but the events that take your breath away.”

So we spend billions of dollars on travel, in exotic food, and so on We have TV shows that tell us where we can go for those breathtaking moments that live with us forever. We have endless cooking and home renovation shows to reproduce breathtaking moments (i.e. sensuality) in our homes.

Every form of sexual deviance is now accepted as normal, and even better than normal marital relations.

We move from sensuality to impurity or uncleanness. There are some things which God has declared to be unclean, that is, not suitable for people who have been made holy by the blood of Christ.

This idea of impurity is not laid down in law like in the Old Testament. It does not relate to what we eat or wear, but to who we are.

What the world says is good does not necessarily line up with what God says is good for us, or suitable for us.

Things that take us away from Him become idols, and are therefore impure. We can find forgiveness for these things, but it is much better to stay in the place of blessing .

Contrary to the world, any form of sexual expression outside of marriage (that is, one man plus one woman united for life) is wrong.

The taking of a life in murder, through slavery, or abortion is wrong.

Putting our trust in the acquisition of material goods is wrong.

We need to ensure that we live in humble dependence on God, trusting Him to meet our needs, and believing that the Bible is God’s word for us. Our values and our conduct must be so different to the world or “the Gentiles.”

Finally ,Paul says there they constantly lust for more. Pursuing the way of the flesh gives a person a thrill that leads to a lust for more of the same.

If you were going to be unfaithful to your wife, why stop at one affair, one lover, or even just women?

Our imaginations can always develop scenarios or pictures or fantasies of how this particular pleasure could be even better.

If you step off God’s path, why even go in the same direction? That is the logic of sensual pleasure- all for the body, and the body alone. Don’t stop with tentative sins. Sin boldly. ”You might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.”

So who can save the people of the world from this hideous pathway of sin? Thanks be to God- it is Jesus Christ who has paid for our redemption and who calls us back to Him.

Key points in this verse:

  • The Gentiles, or unredeemed people of the world, have given themselves to a lifestyle of sin .
  • Christians are not to be like this.
  • When we sin, our conscience is can be hardened towards God.
  • Worshipping the senses can lead to uncleanness.
  • Sin tends to take us deeper than we might have thought possible
  • Only Christ can take us off this treadmill of hunger for more sin.

Keys To Healing

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One of the confusing aspects of healing ministry is the reason why some people are not healed. After all, Jesus healed everyone who came to Him, so why does this not happen today? It is easy to be discouraged by these apparent failures when we should rejoice in the fact that many are healed.

We have been conditioned by our technological culture to believe that there should be techniques , procedures or methods for every problem. Sickness can be dealt with by a pill or a needle- just follow the directions on the bottle. Of course we ignore the side effects and the cases where this approach fails, because of our faith in medical science.

This is not to disparage medical science. Our lives are immeasurably better because of the insights and knowledge of the medical and scientific professions.

Christians need to take a different approach. If our faith in doctors and medicines is greater than our faith in God, then we have made medicine an idol.

My thinking on this subject has been provoked by a question somebody asked at a recent cell group study of Psalm 91. Here is Psalm 91 in the Passion Translation:

When you abide under the shadow of Shaddai,

you are hidden in the strength of God Most High.

2 He’s the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me,

the only God for me, and my great confidence.

3 He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy,

and he will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse.

4 His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you.

You can run under his covering of majesty and hide.

His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm.

5 You will never worry about an attack of demonic forces at night

nor have to fear a spirit of darkness coming against you.

6 Don’t fear a thing!

Whether by night or by day, demonic danger will not trouble you,

nor will the powers of evil be launched against you.

7 Even in a time of disaster, with thousands and thousands being killed,

you will remain unscathed and unharmed.

8 You will be a spectator as the wicked perish in judgement,

for they will be paid back for what they have done!

9–10 When we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High,

our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm.

How then could evil prevail against us or disease infect us?

11 God sends angels with special orders to protect you wherever you go,

defending you from all harm.

12 If you walk into a trap, they’ll be there for you

and keep you from stumbling.

13 You’ll even walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness,

trampling every one of them beneath your feet!

14 For here is what the Lord has spoken to me:

“Because you loved me, delighted in me, and have been loyal to my name,

I will greatly protect you.

15 I will answer your cry for help every time you pray,

and you will feel my presence

in your time of trouble.

I will deliver you and bring you honour.

16 I will satisfy you with a full life and with all that I do for you.

For you will enjoy the fullness of my salvation!”

The question was this: are these promises absolute or not? We talked for some time about all the reasons why people do not get healed and we made excuses for God.

When we see texts like this which are absolute promises of peace, healing and protection, we have to either compromise the text (“God didn’t really mean this”) or explain away the reasons why it doesn’t apply in a particular situation.

At the heart of the issue, we need to move our thinking away from a mechanical or technological mode (do this and that will happen) to a relational mode in which we understand that God is drawing us deeper into Him, and He will use physical, emotional and spiritual healing as part of a process.

Here are three important keys to healing:

1. Promise

All through the Bible we see promises about protection, healing, provision and so on. Sometimes these promises are very clear, and other times we can infer them from the narratives.

What we often overlook is that the promises come with conditions, “If you do this, I will do that.” In our eagerness to seize on isolated texts that seem to guarantee some benefit, we often fail to look back at the conditions that are set out. In other words, we have to do our part.

Psalm 91 offers us all kinds of wonderful promises, including the promise that even if thousands die around us we will not be harmed, and that no infection can touch us.

But look at the first two verses:

When you abide under the shadow of Shaddai,

you are hidden in the strength of God Most High.

He’s the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me,

the only God for me, and my great confidence.

There is the condition. We have to make God our refuge. When we turn to Him, rely on Him, trust Him for safety, then we can receive the promises.

When you are sick, where do you first turn to? Is it call the doctor, rush to the Emergency Department? Or do you turn to the Lord?

When you are feeling overwhelmed by life, do you trust alcohol or drugs ? Or is the Lord your refuge at that time?

To receive the promises of Psalm 91, we must make the Lord our sanctuary.

2. Power

Many of us have limited levels of faith. We believe that God can do some things but not others. We may think He can heal a cold but not cancer. Not that we say that of course.

We may believe that God will heal some people but not others. Or that healing and miracles happened in a fairy tale era called “Bible times.”

God has the power to heal today. Sickness was never a part of God’s plan for the world. It is caused by the general corruption of sin, but this does not mean God is unable to heal.

God is able and willing to heal. Faith means putting our trust in this fact.

3. Partnership

We need to understand that God works out His purposes In us in co-operation with us. We might know the promises of God and believe that He can heal but still fail to receive healing.

There are times when we might receive a sudden or miraculous healing, but often the Lord is asking us to do something as well. For example, when I was praying about my chronic issues with high blood pressure, I came under a strong conviction that I must lose weight. In other words, God is promising healing for me, but He wants me to take responsibility for my lifestyle .

Part of our quest for healing, particularly for chronic conditions is that we may need to do something that contributes to our continuing health.

We should not be surprised by this when we consider how often Jesus asked people to do something such as wash at a pool or go to the priests as a part of their healing process.

Notice that for each person there may be a different requirement. For me it is weight loss. For another person it might be that they have to forgive someone, give up drinking or something else. The point is that we must listen to the Holy Spirit to discern if there are things He is asking us to do in their healing journey.

It is important to see that healing (or good health) is not an end in itself. God pours out blessings upon us to encourage us to go deeper with Him. His goal is always relationship with us, and healing may be a by-product of that.

To live in the shadow of the Most High means that we live every day in close contact with Him. As we learn to do that those promises pf Psalm 91, including health and protection, will flow in us and through us to others.

Reflection on Matthew 14:22-36

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Scripture

Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

Observation

After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus sends the disciples away on a boat and He dismisses the rest of the crowd to go home. Then He goes up to the mountains to pray.

On the lake, the disciples are overtaken by a storm. Jesus comes to them walking on the water. At first, they think it is a ghost, but Jesus tells them not to be afraid.

Peter calls out, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus does this, and Peter walks towards Him on the water. Peter wavers in his faith and begins to sink, but Jesus rescues Him.

They continue on, and when the people of Gennesaret recognise Jesus, they bring all their sick to be healed.

Application

Fear sneaks up on us from all directions, and it is easy to be overwhelmed if we let it get to us.

When I was in Theological College, I used to become physically sick every weekend. After ruling out physical causes, I realised that it was all due to anxiety. Naming the root cause and confessing it stopped the weekend sickness.

Psalm 91 says that if we dwell in the shelter of the Most High God, we will find rest. He promises to rescue us so that no fear, dread or anxiety can overcome us.

“Do not be afraid” is a command. “Fear not” is how the older translations put it. It is a command that we redirect our attention away from the threat and towards the Saviour, from the thing that we fear and to the God who is our hope and our redeemer.

Prayer

Father, I confess my fear to you today. I come to you, my refuge and fortress, and I put my trust in you. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 14:1-12

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Scripture

So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl who took it to her mother.

Observation

Herod had had John the Baptist imprisoned because john had told Herod that his marriage to Herodias was against God’s law. At a feast for Herod’s birthday, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that please Herod. Herod promised the girl anything she wanted. The girl demanded the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

The king regretted his vow, but he had no choice. So John was beheaded and the head was given to the girl.

Application

How evil are the hearts of people when they are not surrendered to the Lord! The ways of God bring life, but the ways of people lead to death.

Since God controls even the most evil of tyrants, it is clear that John’s days were ordained by the Lord and it was time for John to go to heaven.

John represents the old covenant, the covenant of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus said that John was the greatest of the old covenant prophets, but even the least person in God’s kingdom was greater than John.

The kingdom of God is here. The kingdom of King Jesus has been established.

We need to understand that God works in seasons and ages. The death of John signalled that an age had passed, and so in our own lives we can be sure that different seasons are appointed for us.

We always need to be ready to discern when God is ordaining a new season. We have to be ready to move on when God says move, and not clinging to the activities and expectations of an old season.

Prayer

Father please help me to see when a season in your Spirit changes. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 13:44-57

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Scripture

“A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his home town and among his own people.”

Observation

Jesus tells more parables. The parables of the buried treasure and the precious pearl show us that the kingdom of heaven is worth giving up everything in this life for.

The parable of the fishing net teaches us that there will be a great judgement at the end of the age.

Jesus then goes to his home town of Nazareth. People there refuse to accept Him. They refuse to believe in Him, so He can only do a few miracles.

Application

Jesus was respected as a teacher and miracle worker everywhere except in Nazareth. There, for some reason, they decided that the proverb was true that “nothing good comes from Nazareth.” They knew His family, so He couldn’t be anything special.

This quest for novelty goes on today. People are still more impressed by a visiting preacher than by their own pastor, even when they say the same things.

Frustrating as it may be for the local pastors, it it is an unfortunate trait of many people.

We must not fail to honour our leaders who put in years of faithful service. We must not have more faith in the anointing on a visiting preacher than the anointing on a young person who grew up in our church.

If we fail to see the Holy Spirit at work in a person, regardless of where they come from, Jesus will not be able to do many miracles among us.

Prayer

Father, please overcome my prejudices. Help me to see your Spirit working on everyone who seeks to serve you. Amen.

Reflection on Matthew 13:31-43

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Scripture

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.” It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree and birds come and nest in its branches.”

Observation

Jesus tells two more parables- the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. The kingdom starts off small, but becomes something big and visibly significant.

Jesus always used stories and parables to explain the hidden things.

The disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable of the weeds in the field, which He does. Jesus explains that it is a parable about the judgement of the wicked.

Application

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It seems to be tiny and insignificant. Over time, it grows into something great.

Despite what our secular media would have us believe, christianity is growing around the world at a phenomenal rate. Over a quarter of the world’s population claims to be christian. In some places, notably China, the church is growing so quickly that it is becoming a threat to the power of the ruling Government.

When the N.S.W. Government was easing Covid restrictions, the churches were at first ignored. Within hours, after much prayer and lobbying, churches were allowed to reopen along with pubs and restaurants.

People overlook God’s kingdom because they think it just doesn’t matter, or sometimes because they hate God and His people.

Jesus tells us that the Kingdom grows so big that the birds of the air come and nest in it. From the previous parable about the seeds and the soil, we may assume that the birds represent the devil. People who are not saved, even people who are followers of satan not Jesus, will infiltrate the church. We must always be on the look out for these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Prayer

Thank you Father for the Kingdom. May I see your church as it really is- in all its glory as well as its limitations. Amen/

Ephesians 4:18

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:18. 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 4:18

“They[ the Gentiles] are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

Paul here is scathing in his description of the state of unredeemed Gentiles. He goes on to make it clear that he is not talking about the Ephesian christians because they have clearly accepted the gospel.

The unsaved Gentiles are darkened in their understanding.

Before any person comes to know Jesus, they are living in a state of spiritual darkness. Satan has blinded them to the truth because they are living under deception. They cannot see the truth because they are blind and in the dark.

Even when such people make an intellectual assent to the gospel, it lacks the power to change them because they are in the dark. It takes a revelation, a special act of God, to heal their spiritual blindness.

This darkness of understanding extends to areas other than spiritual. It includes lack of wisdom (or foolishness) in daily living. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God,” (Psalm 14:1) and lives in the belief that he or she is God and able to determine their own life. The academics and elite leaders multiply this foolishness by promoting and endorsing it.

This darkness and understanding extends to scientific realms also. The presuppositions and biases in various fields are based on human wisdom, not on the understanding that God created all things and sustains them. They think that it all just came into existence, and ignore the signs that there is a creator.

They are separated from the life of God.

The word “separated” here can also mean “alienated”. They are not just cut off spatially from the life of God, but also relationally. They are not just removed from God, they are opposed to Him.

To be separated from the life of God means that they are far away from the source of life. They are effectively living as zombies, the walking dead.

Those who have not been born again, that is born of the Spirit, are living partial lives, lives that are less than what God intended for us. The way to experience true life, life in all its fullness, is to be connected to the source of life, that is God.

To do this we must receive Jesus, who is the Life. It is our rebellion against God that alienates us from Him. When we come to Jesus and confess our sins to Him, then we are forgiven and receive eternal life.

This darkness of their minds and separation from the life of God is due to the ignorance that is in them.

Ignorance is not a lack of knowledge, although that is tragic in itself. If that were the problem, then it would be silly to describe the minds of Gentiles as having ignorance in them. It is impossible to have a negative quality existing in itself. It is like saying a room is full of darkness.

Ignorance can be manifest as a characteristic. Here it is akin to foolishness. Lack of knowledge about God leads to a certain way of thinking that opposes itself to God, perhaps promoting idolatry instead.

The unbelieving Gentiles, then, are ignorant about God, and this leads to alienation from Him and darkness of thinking.

This ignorance is not due to lack of information, but is caused by the hardening of their hearts.

Paul says in Romans 1 that the glory of God is seen in creation, and so when people worship the creation rather than the Creator they are without excuse. That they do this is because their hearts are hardened.

Are they has hardened by their own indifference or by Satan? We cannot say for sure, although it is possibly both.

When we sin it causes a hardening in our hearts. We quieten the conscience that condemns us because we do not want to feel guilty or even admit that we are at fault. While God desires a soft heart, our history of sin makes us hardhearted and progressively more so.

It is only Christ who can rescue us from this cycle of sin, guilt, and ever hardening heart.

So Paul says that those who are not saved (“the Gentiles”) are hardhearted because of their sin. This leads to ignorance and indifference to God, which in turn causes them to be alienated from his life and darken in their understanding.

This self-sustaining process is the reason why we need a Saviour. We could never escape from this fate by ourselves. Praise God that he has provided the way to eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Key points in this verse:

  • Unredeemed Gentiles are darkened in their understanding
  • Satan has blinded their spiritual eyes
  • They are alienated from God and the life He brings so they live zombie-like lives
  • Ignorance of of God is due to the hardening of their hearts
  • Only Jesus can rescue is from this cycle of sin and death

Reflection on Matthew 13:16-30

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Scripture

“Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat into the barn.”

Observation

Jesus explains the meaning of the parable about the sower and the different kinds of soils.

He goes on then to give another parable. A farmer plants good seed in his field, but an enemy comes at night and plants weeds. When his workers report this, he instructs them to let the weeds and wheat grow together. He will instruct the harvesters to separate the wheat from the weeds. The wheat will be put into the barn, but the weeds will be tied up and thrown into the fire.

Application

It was not unheard of for someone to contaminate a sown field with a weed such as bearded darnel which closely resembles wheat and cannot be distinguished until both plants are mature. It seems like a very determined and premeditated form of vandalism.

We need to be aware that our enemy is sowing things into our lives to distract us or even remove us from the kingdom.

In the previous parable, Jesus explained that the weeds were the cares of the world which choke out spiritual growth or which lure us away from God’s will.

Satan plants these weeds in our lives in the form of financial and relational pressures, temptations, people who distract us from God’s kingdom, and so on.

We must always be on our guard against satan’s distractions without becoming guilty of ascribing everything in our lives to the devil.

Just as farm workers needed discernment to tell the difference between wheat and weeds, we need spiritual discernment to tell whether people in our lives have been placed there by God or by satan, whether they are opportunities for the Kingdom or distractions.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, please show me how to react to different people in my life. Grant me discernment, Lord to know whether you are stretching me or satan is assaulting me. Amen.