bible

Reflection on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

You are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are still controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

Observation

Paul says that when he was with the people in Corinth, he could not talk to them as to spiritual people. They were too worldly.

The church was divided into factions- one group following Paul, another Apollos. This, he says, is worldliness, sinfulness. The heroes they are following are just doing the work the Lord gave to them to do. It is God’s work. One may plant a seed, and another water it, but it is God who makes the plant grow.

Application

The sin of denominationalism was present in the early church.

Wherever people gather, there is a tendency to group into cliques of similar interest. The problem arises when we allow these smaller groups to become our focus.

These people who claimed to follow Apollos or Paul were not claiming to follow Jesus. They had truly lost the plot.

Today many people take pride in the label at the door of their church building. “I am Anglican”, “I am Catholic” and so on.

If the denominational affiliation of our congregation is our focus, then we are not looking to Jesus. We will never go beyond the most basic of teaching because we are not open to the spiritual things.

Churches, pastors, leaders, and in fact every member of a church, must always remember that while denominations are a convenient tag, Jesus must always come first.

To build up “my” church at the expense of Christ is idolatry. The Church belongs to Jesus, and He will build it in His way.

I am thankful for the variety of flavours of church (worship styles, governance etc) in my town. I am thankful for the other pastors who have gifts and callings that I don’t have. I rejoice when they are blessed, and I feel their hurt when they are set back.

There is only one church. We follow Jesus.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your church. May I always be faithful to Christ, seeking unity in the faith. Amen.

Reflection on Deuteronomy 30:15-20

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Observation

Moses addresses the people of Israel and offers them a choice between life and death, prosperity and disaster, blessings and curses.

If they love the Lord and worship Him alone, obeying His commandments, then they will live and multiply.

But if they refuse to listen, and instead worship and serve other gods then they will certainly be destroyed. They will not live a long, good life in the land.

Application

God gives us all the choice between blessings and curses, life and death, heaven and hell.

This is not complicated, although we do try to make it so. It is a choice- do I worship God alone and live for Him alone? Or will I serve some other god, or even myself?

The choice is obvious where false gods and idols permeate the streets, such as in India where shrines to the local idols are on nearly every corner. The presence of false gods there makes the choice so easy.

In the West, the false gods take more subtle forms such as money, pride, security and so on. Some of these seduce us with the notions of worldly wisdom. It is wise to save for a “rainy day” but when our peace comes from knowing we have money in the bank, then we are not trusting the Lord any more.

We must make a daily decision to serve the Lord in all we do, to worship Him only.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, my life’s direction is in your hands. Please hep me to trust you, to serve and worship you alone. Let my heart never be turned away to other gods. Amen,

Reflection on John 21:15-25

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

Jesus did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

Observation

After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Exasperated by the third time, Peter says, “Lord you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus commissions Peter to feed Jesus’ sheep. He goes on to say that when Peter was young he could go wherever he wanted, but when he is old he will be led by other people to places he doesn’t want to go.

John concludes the gospel by assuring us that because he testifies to these events we can know they are accurate.

Application

Jesus did so many things that the world could not contain all the books that might be written about Him.

What John is saying here is that the glory of the Lord Jesus is far greater than what can be recorded in words.

John’s gospel starts by telling us about the Word who was with God from the beginning and who is God. The gospel ends by telling us that the whole world is not big enough to contain all the words that might describe the Word.

Jesus is glorious, even more glorious than the stories told about Him. But we can only experience that glory through a personal encounter with Him.

John’s gospel points to the glorious one, hoping that we will take the step of faith to reach out and touch Him and invite Him into our hearts.

Scripture is not holy because it was written by holy people. It is holy because it draws us close to the holy one, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I see you are the glorious Word, the holy Son of God. Open my eyes so that I can see you as you really are. Amen.

Reflection on John 21:1-14

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

Then the disciple Jesus loved said, “It is the Lord!”

Observation

Jesus appears to a group of disciples who had gone fishing at the Sea of Galilee. They had worked all night and caught nothing.

At dawn, Jesus is standing on the beach, and He asks if they caught anything. They say, “No” at which Jesus tells them to throw the nets on the other side of the boat. They instantly have a huge catch.

John says, “It is the Lord!” Peter jumps into the water and swims ashore.

After the other return with the boat, Jesus serves them breakfast of fish and bread.

Application

They were slow to catch on, but eventually John says, “It’s the Lord!” Immediately Peter jumps off the boat to swim to shore where Jesus is.

Sometimes we can be slow to recognise Jesus in our midst. Maybe we just don’t expect Him to show up. When He does show up, He doesn’t look like we expect Him to, or act the way we think that He should.

What is more natural than for Jesus to take an interest in the activities of His followers? And then give them a miracle, and serve breakfast as well? These are all signs of the presence of God’s kingdom.

Sometimes Jesus turns up in a physical form- perhaps a homeless person or an unfamiliar stranger. When we show love to this person, we might recognise after the event that it was the Lord.

Sometimes in a worship time the Holy Spirit touches us in a powerful way- we say, “Jesus was truly here.”

We meed to pay attention to the spiritual realm as much as we do to the physical. I do not want to be like Jacob in the Old Testament who said, “Surely the Lord was in this place, but I did not know it.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I know that you appear to your people, and often we don’t notice. Please help me to recognise when you are at work in me, my church and my community. Amen.

Reflection on John 20:19-31

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Observation

On Sunday evening of the day of the resurrection, the disciples meet behind closed doors because they are afraid.

Suddenly Jesus is with them. He sends them out and gives them the Holy Spirit.

Thomas, who had missed this meting with the Lord, declares that he will not believe it until he can touch Jesus’ wounds. The following week, Jesus again appears to the disciples, this time including Thomas. He now confesses, “My Lord and my God.”

Application

When we really know Jesus, we want to be a part of His mission.

Jesus gives the disciples the Holy Spirit to equip them and empower them. This is immediately after He tells them, “I am sending you.”

This raises two questions- where and what?

Jesus sends His followers out into the world. We are to live as His faithful followers, living in the grace of God’s kingdom. We are not to meet behind closed doors. To be “sent” means to be open to other people all the time.

We are sent into the world. For some that means being a missionary in a distant land. For most of us it means to go to the neighbourhood or the city where we live.

What is important is that we remember we are sent by Jesus.

For what purpose are we sent? To make disciples (Matthew 28:19) of all nations. We are not here for our own benefit but to serve the mission of Christ. He was sent by the Father to bring the Kingdom of God into the world, and we are to be a part of that same mission.

We need to walk each day with that sense of being a part of an apostolic (that is, “sent”) community.

Prayer

Holy Father, please help me to see who I am sent to, and how to share the Good news with them. Amen.

Reflection on John 20:1-18

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

Until then they still hadn’t understood the scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.

Observation

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb and finds that it is empty. She runs to find Simon Peter and John, and they immediately run to the tomb.

Going inside, they notice that the grave clothes are lying there, They see this and believe that Jesus is alive.

Mary is outside the tomb, and she sees two angels in the place where Jesus’ body had been. Suddenly Jesus appears, but she fails to recognise Him at first. She goes to find the disciples and testifies, “I have seen the Lord!”

Application

When we read this, and the other accounts of the resurrection, it is clear that nobody seriously thought that Jesus was alive. He had been brutally beaten, flogged, crucified, declared dead and then buried.

Not one of the disciples, not the women with them, had any thought other than Jesus was dead.

Confronted by an empty tomb, the first thought was that someone had stolen the body. When John and Peter examined the tomb and the grave clothes carefully, it slowly dawned on them that Jesus had risen from the dead according to the Old Testament prophecies.

Often christians today skip too quickly over Jesus’ death in order to celebrate the resurrection. But there is no Easter Sunday without a Good Friday.

He died, was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead.

The resurrection is God’s amazing promise that death is not the end of our story. Sin brought death, sickness and destruction into the world. Now Jesus has defeated sin and death.

Jesus rose from the dead to show us that His followers will also rise from the dead.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the Good News that Jesus has conquered sin and death. Thank you that I too will rise from death into eternal life. Amen.

Reflection on John 19:28-42

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

Observation

Jesus calls out, “I am thirsty,” so someone soaks a sponge in sour wine and holds it up to His lips. Jesus then says, “It is finished.”

The Jewish leaders ask Pilate if they can hasten the deaths of the men crucified by ordering their legs to be broken. When the guards come to Jesus they discover that He is already dead.

Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. He and Nicodemus then lay the body in a nearby tomb.

Application

In Greek, the phrase “It is finished” is just one word. This word has several profound meanings.

1. John tells us just before this that Jesus knew His mission was nearly completed. The words “it is finished” can apply to this mission of redemption. Jesus has fought the battle and is now victorious in securing salvation for all who trust in Him.

2. It can mean “it is completed or fulfilled,” in this case referring to the kingdom of God being established on the earth. Nothing can stop the gospel now- the kingdom is here.

3. The word was often written across a statement of accounts when the final payment was made. The debt of sin has been fully paid, and there is nothing that can be added or needs to be added to it. Jesus is full payment for every sin ever committed.

Jesus’ death on the cross established the kingdom of God on the earth, completed the mission and achieved full payment for our sins.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for paying the full price for my sins. It is finished. I don’t have to worry about being punished or suffering your anger. Hallelujah! Amen.

Reflection on John 19:17-27

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

Pilate posted a sign on the cross that said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Observation

Jesus is nailed to the cross at the place called Golgotha. Pilate has a sign announcing Jesus is King of the Jews attached to the cross. The priests want the sign changed to read, “He said “I am the king of the Jews”, but Pilate reuses.

After crucifying Jesus, the soldiers gamble for His clothes.

Application

What Pilate meant as mockery, God turns to prophecy.

Pilate sees the crucifixion as another political management issue. He has interrogated Jesus, had him flogged and now crucified. He sees the Jewish leaders are terrified of the influence of Jesus, and so Pilate now throws their own words back at them.

Jesus of Nazareth is King of the Jews. It is hard to believe that this battered body hanging on a cross is king of anybody. But by faith we look at the cross and say “Jesus is my King. Jesus is my Lord.”

Jesus laid aside the glory of the heavenly realms and became a human being. He was born in a stable, but those who first saw Him worshipped Him.

Jesus’ kingship is not about human appearances. It is not about what we see, but what we perceive by faith.

Jesus’ kingship over all humanity was established at the cross, because He was obedient to the Father all the way to death on a cross. Having been brought to the lowest place, God raised Him up to the highest place so that every tongue will confess He is Lord.

Jesus is not only King of the Jews. He is King of all creation.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I praise you and acknowledge that you are King. I pledge to obey you in all things and to walk in your ways. May your kingdom be shown through me. Amen.

Reflection on John 19:1-16

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.

Observation

Pilate has Jesus flogged, and the soldiers mock Him, pretending to worship Him as King.

Pilate declares Jesus to be not guilty, but the priests shout “Crucify him!”

Pilate says, “You want me to crucify your king?”

“We have no king but Caesar,” the priests shout back.

Application

The priests and other leaders of the Jewish people are forced to choose between two competing claims of kingship- Jesus or Caesar.

Caesar is the might and glory of the Roman Empire. This is worldly power- dominion exercised by a greater power over a lesser power. At that time there was no greater power than Rome.

Jesus represents something entirely different. His kingdom is a voluntary kingdom, based on love not power. His reign is not imposed forcefully.

Battered and bleeding, already weakened by the scourging, Jesus must have looked very insignificant in front of Pilate, the guards and all the trappings of earthly glory.

When the priests rejected Jesus as their king, they were rejecting the Lord. Israel was supposed to be the kingdom where the Lord reigned. From the beginning they had wanted human kings, rejecting the Lord’s invisible kingship.

Now they rejected all forms of divine reign. “We have no king but Caesar” declared that Caesar alone, the rule of Rome, would be their authority.

It was a public repudiation of all that Israel was meant to be. It is no surprise that just 40 year later, the Lord allowed Rome to destroy the Temple and the whole of Jerusalem. Caesar gives and Caesar takes away.

We have to make this sort of decision every day. Who will be the Lord of my life? Will I let Jesus rule, or will I give in to my own sinful desires? Will I stand up as a follower of Jesus and declare that He is the King? Or will I follow the ways of the world, and say “We have no king but Caesar”?

Prayer

Lord, you are my God, you are my king. Help me to remember this in all the choices I make today. Amen.

Reflection on John 18:19-40

/ newlifenarrabri / Leave a comment

Scripture

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my kingdom is not of this world.”

Observation

Jesus is interrogated by Annas before being sent to Caiphas, the high priest. While this is happening, Peter twice denies being a follower of Jesus.

After being questioned by Caiphas, they take Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate asks them what charge they are bringing against Jesus. He wants them to judge Him by local laws, but they want Him crucified, which can only be authorised by Pilate.

So Pilate interrogates Jesus and finds out that although He is claimed to be a king, His idea of kingdom is not an earthly one.

Application

Jesus’ kingdom is different to all worldly kingdoms, because its king is different. Jesus is motivated by pure love for His people, a love so deep He will die for us,

The values of the Kingdom are so different from those of the world. We need to remember that following Jesus means obeying His commandments and taking on His way of doing things:

  • I exalt Jesus not myself
  • Humility and service are the keys to leadership, not bossing people around.
  • Love conquers hearts, not physical or military power.
  • Security comes in serving the Lord, not in accumulating great wealth
  • God is preparing us for eternity, not just for this life
  • God looks at the heart of a person, not just the outward appearance.

At every point, the values of Jesus’ kingdom are the opposite of the values of earthly kingdoms, because His kingdom is not from this world.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please help me to see where I live by worldly priorities rather than kingdom priorities. Help me to trust you rather than in the things of this world. Amen.