reflection

Reflection on Galatians 3:23-29

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Scripture

You are all sons of God trough faith in Christ Jesus.

Observation

The law was a kind of prison which held people captive until Christ came. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

We are all sons of God, for having gone through the waters of baptism we have put on Christ. There are no identities to separate us into different groups or tribes. We all heirs of the promises given to Abraham.

Application

I am a son of God because I have clothed myself in Christ.

Paul says here that the law is obsolete because it is Christ who teaches us the was of righteousness.

Sons of God (and daughters of God) means that we have a direct relationship with God. We have been brought into God’s family, and we are heirs to everything God owns- which is everything in all creation.

I am a son of the living God! What an awesome privilege that is!

We no longer need priests and other mediators to stand between us and God. We are the priests. We are the ones who relate to the Father.

This places on us the responsibility to grow in that relationship. I need to learn who my Father is by reading the Scriptures. I need to take time to build my relationship with Him in prayer.

If my christian brothers and sisters are also sons and daughters of God, then I must express my love for our Father by loving them. There is no room for envy, gossip, back stabbing or name calling amongst the sons and daughters of God.

Prayer

Thank you Father for calling me your son. Please take hold of me and make me more like you in my character. Amen,

Reflection on 1 Kings 19:1-18

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Scripture

“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel- all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose lips have not kissed him.”

Observation

After the great confrontation on Mount Carmel in which all the prophets of Baal had been killed, Jezebel vows to kill Elijah. Elijah runs away.

After many days journeying, he arrives at Horeb, the mountain of God where he spends the night in a cave.

The Lord comes to Elijah, asking him what he is doing there. Elijah tells the Lord that he has been very zealous for the Lord, but now he is the only one left.

Then there is a fire, a strong wind and an earthquake, in none of which is the Lord found. Finally a gentle whisper, the still sound of silence, takes Elijah’s attention.

The Lord commissions Elijah to anoint Hazael as king of Aram, Jehu as king of Israel and Elisha as the prophet to succeed him.

Application

Elijah as come to the end of his tether as the “man of God.” He feels like he is the only one left who is loyal to the Lord.

The Lord takes Elijah out of action, leads him on a journey, and refreshes his spirit and his calling.

Elijah was not done with miraculous signs and wonders. He had seen all the spectacular stuff already, and he wasn’t in a place of separation from God. The Lord was talking to him and directing him before the fire, the wind and earthquake.

What Elijah needed was to re-focus his attention onto the Lord and away from himself. Although Elijah thought he was the only saviour in Israel, there were in fact over 7000 people who remained faithful to the Lord.

Sometimes when we feel like we are the only people on God’s team, we need to re-focus and see the great and marvellous things God is doing in and through the people around us.

Prayer

Lord, sometimes I lose my focus on what is important in serving you. I centre my attention on me rather than on you. Please help me to always look to you and to serve you regardless of how I perceive my own successes, Amen.

Reflection on Romans 5:1-5

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Scripture

Therefore, since we have been justified with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Observation

We have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have peace with God. We have access to grace and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Our suffering produces perseverance, character and hope, so we can rejoice even in suffering. The hope that God gives comes through the holy Spirit given to us in Christ.

Application

When we come to Jesus, we are made right, or justified, with God. The record of our sins is deleted because God counts them as being paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross. It is as if seconds before being executed, the call comes through to declare the condemned man is innocent. Instead of walking to certain death, we walk to life and freedom in Christ.

We didn’t do anything to earn the forgiveness of God. We aren’t even smart enough to trust in Christ from our own wisdom. No, this is the free gift of God, and our ability to say “Yes” to Christ is also a gift from God.

So now we have peace with God. Our rebellion against Him, our war for independence is over. Our inner fight is also finished, as the battle for our hearts and minds comes to a close.

We have peace with God because He forgives us, and we are then enabled to live the life we were created for- a life of fellowship with God.

Prayer

What wonderful peace comes from you, Father, when we live in reconciliation with you. Thank you. Amen.

Reflection on Psalm 8

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O Lord my Lord

Your name is glorious

The stars in all their majesty

Testify to your glory

Babies proclaim your praises,

Silencing the claims of satan’s horde.

Countless galaxies and planets

All created by your hand

Yet you love me, a mere man

I am tiny in the face of creation

Yet you crown me with honour

Pouring grace upon grace

O Lord, my Lord

Your name is glorious.

Reflection on John 17:20-26

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Scripture

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Observation

This is a part of Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” on the night before He was crucified.

Jesus prays for all believers, not just the twelve with Him, but for the other disciples and or those who down the ages will follow Him.

His prayer is for unity, the sort of unity that Jesus has with His Father.

This unity will be a witness to the world that Jesus was sent by the Father.

Application

When Jesus prays for His followers to be one, in the same way that He and the Father are one, He doesn’t specify how that should happen or what it looks like.

Some people think that unity means one church, and that all distinctives of worship and life style should be removed.

Other people look for a unification at the level of denominations.

Jesus is speaking here of something more organic. He sees love for one another, flowing from God’s love for us, as the important thing. We must love one another because God has loved us. It is love that makes us one.

This unity shows the world that God sent Jesus into the world. People can only understand what love is when they see it in action day by day. How can they know that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son, when those who claim to know Jesus fight and act selfishly?

Jesus also sees unity as a sign of God’s love for us. If God really loves me then that will transform me so much that I will love other people whom God loves. This natural outflow of love will show people that we know His love and live in His love.

Prayer

Lord may your love for your church be shown in all of our relationships with one another so that those who do not know you will be convinced of your love for them. Amen.

Reflection on Acts 16:16-34

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Scripture

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved– you and your household.”

Observation

A slave girl possessed by a spirit of divination follows Paul and Silas for several days calling out, “these men are servants of the Most High God who ar telling you the way to be saved.” Finally, Paul casts the spirit out of her.

The owners of the slave girl realise their opportunity to make money has been taken from them. They seize Paul and Silas and taken them to the authorities. Paul and silas are flogged and thrown into prison.

About midnight, Paul and Silas are praying and singing, when there is an earthquake that opens all the prison doors. The jailer is about to kill himself, but Paul tells him the prisoners are all still there.

The jailer taes Paul and Silas home where they shre the gospel with his family, and they are all saved.

Application

The gospel is so simple that the least educated of people can understand it.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”

There is no complicated formula or initiation process. No great knowledge is required. Just an understanding that we are sinners, and Jesus is our Saviour.

One small point needs to be stated about the word “believe.” It really means trust. To believe in Jesus is to trust Him and to accept that our lives now belong to Him. It is not about believing in some facts, but believing in a person.

If you have never put your faith in Jesus as your Saviour, do it now.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank you for paying the price for my sins. I put my hope in you and I trust you to show me how to live for you. Amen.

Reflection on John 13:31-35

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Scripture

“Now I am giving you a new commandment. Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another.”

Observation

It is the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest. Judas leaves the room to go and prepare his treacherous act.

In the midst of all this, Jesus’ thoughts are for His friends. He tells them He will soon be leaving them; they will look for Him but will not find Him.

He gives them a final commandment to love one another as He has loved them. Their love will be the proof to the world that they are His disciples.

Application

Jesus’ commandment to His followers is that we are to love one another as He has loved us.

Jesus loved us so much that He laid down His life for our sake.

He loved me like that, and He loved my christian sisters and brothers like that.

To be a follower of Jesus means that I have to love them like Jesus loved them.

The bottom line for the christian life is to love each other with sacrificial, self-denying love.

The New Testament spells this out in different ways so that we shall know what love looks like.

The person with much money should share with those who have little. We should share the burden of those who are weighed down in any way. We should help to meet the needs of other believers.

This might look like buying a car for someone or cooking a casserole or mowing a lawn.

The remarkable thing is that when love becomes a habit, Jesus dwells among us.

Prayer

Lord, please help me to love all my christian brothers and sisters. I find it hard to show love to some people, so I ask for a special measure of your grace to do this. Amen.

Reflection on Revelation 21:1-8

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Scripture

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Observation

Heaven and earth disappear to be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. The new Jerusalem comes own from God like a bride dressed for her husband.

The Lord declares that God’s dwelling place is now with His people. There will be no more death or pain. It is finished! All who are thirsty will receive living water, and all who overcome will inherit all the blessings.

Application

We might be tempted to believe that all of this talk about new heavens and earth, and a new Jerusalem is future tense. In a sense this is true, as the ultimate fulfilment of this vision is yet to come.

In another sense, it is already here. When Jesus died on the cross, a new covenant, a new age, was inaugurated. In prophetic literature this is described as a new heavens and a new earth because everything has been made new.

The new Jerusalem comes down from God as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. That is the church; we are the bride and we are clothed in Christ.

God’s home is already with us. He wipes away every tear. He gives living water to all who are thirsty.

All of these promises receive their full glory at the end of all things. But they are also real right now.

We have the promise of God that He is with us- Emmanuel- now. He will meet every need that we have.

To see the promises come to life, all we have to do is trust. As we walk with the Lord day by day, He will light the path for us.

Prayer

Lord, our imaginations of heaven barely scratch the surface of what you have prepared for us. In this present age, we know the joy of your presence and the glory of your Son. Grant me the grace to see you in every part of my life. Amen.

Reflection on Acts 11:1-18

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Scripture

When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”

Observation

Not long after Peter visited the house of Cornelius and the household was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, news gets back to Jerusalem. When Peter arrives there, he is criticised for eating in the homes of Gentiles.

Peter recounts the story of his vision of unclean animals, the command to eat and the subsequent visit to the home of Cornelius. He tells how when he began to speak, the Gentiles believed and received the Holy Spirit.

Application

At first, the believers were all Jewish, and they understood Jesus’ ministry in the context and the culture of Judaism. It does not appear to have occurred to any of them that Gentiles could be saved. The next big issue that plagued the church was whether Gentiles needed to become Jewish in order to live as a follower of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit kept on showing them that the gospel was bigger than anyone could have imagined.

Salvation is for everyone who will repent- that is turn away from their sins- and follow Jesus.

The gospel is freely available to all people. In Revelation, John talks repeatedly about people from every tribe and nation and ethnic group.

There are no prerequisites for following Jesus, apart form a heart that loves God. God’s grace is like a flooding river that flows right over the top of human distinctions.

“God so loved the world” means the whole world. Every human being from the North Pole to the South, and all the points in between is loved by God.

We are all candidates for heaven if we accept Jesus as Lord.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your great and amazing grace that is so big that it even includes sinners like me. Amen.

Reflection on John 10:22-30

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Scripture

“You don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.”

Observation

Jesus is at the Temple at the time of Hanukkah. People are asking Him to reveal if He is the Messiah.

Jesus tells them that they have seen His works, but they don’t believe Him because they are not His sheep. His sheep know His voice and follow Him; they will receive eternal life, and nobody can snatch them from Him.

Application

We live in an age that is increasingly hostile towards the christian faith. People have no understanding of what christians believe or what motivates them to do what they do.

We can see this in the case of football player Israel Folau. He quoted on Instagram a Bible verse that says that adulterers, thieves, liars and homosexuals will not inherit God’s kingdom. Despite threats of punishment for this “homophobia” he remains true to his faith and will not back down. Commentators cannot see why he would give up a contract worth a million dollars a year for this.

In politics, the Opposition is threatening to remove exemptions for faith- based schools that allow them to discriminate against employees on the basis of sexuality. Schools may soon be forced to choose between compromising and closing down.

It is clear that people in corporations, media and politics cannot understand the convictions of christians. They are not in Jesus’ flock; they are not His sheep. Therefore they cannot hear the voice of the Lord.

Of course, this changes when we come to faith in Jesus. When we make Jesus Lord we suddenly learn to hear His voice, and everything that seemed stupid or irrational suddenly makes sense.

The Pharisees saw the miracles that Jesus did, but they still refused to acknowledge that He is Lord. Many others believe without seeing a miracle or sign. It just takes a heart that is soft towards God.

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for bringing me into your flock. Please help me to hear your voice and to walk in your paths. Amen